Hello................and ................Goodbye

[redjed]

Hello to all our new friends in League 2, especially to our local rivals, Cheltenham, Yeovil and Exeter, we are only going to be here briefly as we will be trading and playing in the National league season after next, if we have the same management and chairman as we have now.
Also i would like you to fill your boots with all the points you can get out of us; as we will be a new team of cast offs and youth team players, which we will get together about 2 weeks before the season starts.
I can see you all now, rubbing your hands in anticipation off the fruitful harvest of points that you will be gleaning from us, fair play, enjoy!
Our club is a mess, with the chairman (Lee Power) asset stripping us and filling his Swiss bank account with our hard earnt money, and we suspect that he has put some monies into the club and charging us huge interest rates just to keep his wallet happy, the fans are suffering from a hugh dose of apathy and are not buying season tickets, next season i hope that we, the few that turn up will make our feelings known about how we feel about the situation.
It looks like we are going to keep the same manager, Luke Williams, he was our coach until Mark Cooper left, Power promoted him to manager, gave him a 5 year contract and its been a rapid decline since, he has been in charge for one and a half seasons, and in that time we have won about 20 matches out of the 60 odd we have played, he is tactically inept and his motivation skills are non-existent, and in his latest statement has the gall to say he will not walk away, you really have to believe it!

 

[mozzavale]

As Redjed says, just passing through lads. Nothing to see.

 

[valefan16]

As Redjed says, just passing through lads. Nothing to see.

Neither Swindon or Vale will go down next year, our chances of bouncing back however will be very much dependent on a huge summer.

 

[shoddycollins]

Neither Swindon or Vale will go down next year, our chances of bouncing back however will be very much dependent on a huge summer.

I don't know, the prospects are tough for most teams coming down here. When we came down we went immediately into a relegation battle, as did Tranmere, and they went down. Notts, Crawley and Orient have all struggled too since first coming down. Crewe haven't fared much better. That's almost half of the teams who have been relegated into this division in the last three years either struggling or being relegated further.

 

[Chief Rocka]

I don't know, the prospects are tough for most teams coming down here. When we came down we went immediately into a relegation battle, as did Tranmere, and they went down. Notts, Crawley and Orient have all struggled too since first coming down. Crewe haven't fared much better. That's almost half of the teams who have been relegated into this division in the last three years either struggling or being relegated further.

I'm in agreement here, we came down after the 12/13 season and have consistently been at the arse end of League 2 ever since, mind some if not all would say reverting to type..

 

[valefan16]

I don't know, the prospects are tough for most teams coming down here. When we came down we went immediately into a relegation battle, as did Tranmere, and they went down. Notts, Crawley and Orient have all struggled too since first coming down. Crewe haven't fared much better. That's almost half of the teams who have been relegated into this division in the last three years either struggling or being relegated further.

Not saying we won't struggle we may as I say depends on the summer:

Ownership situation set to be revealed shortly

Keeping our centre halves or investing the big fee for Smith back into the side

Keeping key quality players such as Eagles, Bikey and Foley

Signing a striker capable of scoring.

Giving Brown the job and backing or getting a decent replacement in.

So much in the air at the moment but i am not expecting to be relegated nor will Swindon. We could struggle (we are in far better shape than the side Crewe came down with for example) but shouldn't be in the bottom two barring a colossal balls up ten times worse than the one we experienced last summer.

 

[3Loggerheads]

I'm in agreement here, we came down after the 12/13 season and have consistently been at the arse end of League 2 ever since, mind some if not all would say reverting to type..

If you do go down, take note how York City and Torquay have fared......

 

[Chief Rocka]

If you do go down, take note how York City and Torquay have fared......

Relegation is the absolute least of our concerns right now.

 

[Boletus Edulis]

I don't know, the prospects are tough for most teams coming down here. When we came down we went immediately into a relegation battle, as did Tranmere, and they went down. Notts, Crawley and Orient have all struggled too since first coming down. Crewe haven't fared much better. That's almost half of the teams who have been relegated into this division in the last three years either struggling or being relegated further.

Agreed, the first three years we were at the bottom end and very close to going out twice. Only in the last three have we really looked like relegation was not for us. It is a tough league, where you need certain types of players.

 

[Indian Dan]

I can honestly see us flirting at the wrong end of the league. We're already lining up one of the 7 dwarves as a striker. Add another smattering of gangly, spotty youths to have the shit kicked out of them by some gnarled, hairy-arsed L2 defenders.

 

[chrisblor]

Is Proper Football Man Tim Sherwood still hanging about, or has he done a runner now you've been relegated?

 

[Indian Dan]

Wish he was hanging. Fucking laughing stock.

Power - 'The biggest signing Swindon have made'

Sherwood - 'It was never a job. I was just helping out a mate'.

The club is rotten and rotting.

 

[Optipez]

If you go down in poor shape and don't sort the club out in the summer , there's no reason to suppose you'll fare better next season. As other posters have said, League 2 is tougher than you think.
Certainly has been for Notts, it's taken new owners to stop us from sinking ever deeper. All clubs need stability, if you don't have it , you end up near or at the bottom.
This year Orient, Hartlepool, Newport and us all have had off field issues and it bleeds onto the pitch.
Coventry, Swindon and Port Vale in League 1 and Forest, Blackburn and Birmingham in the Championship all have off field issues that stop them being unified and progressing.
Fair play to Blackpool, they are doing remarkably well considering their seemingly interminable issues with the Oysten family.

 

[redjed]

Neither Swindon or Vale will go down next year, our chances of bouncing back however will be very much dependent on a huge summer.

You are in a different postion than us, if your getting new ownership, just maybe you will not struggle , but with us , Power is not going to give up his cash cow, if he can make money he is happy , as Indian Dan has said , a supporter left the club a couple of million pounds, he is very interested on getting his grubby hands on that money, and he is a devious character at the best.
Every season , since Power took us over, he has waited till the season has nearly started before recruiting, and as I said before , it's mainly the dross that other clubs didn't need, so the players don't get a proper pre season and are defiantly not match fit , as seen last season , we looked knackered by half time.
I'm hoping Waterford get promotion this season , as Power also owns them, a lot of our supporters reckon he will then concentrate on them trying to get them into Europe for the season after next, where he can earn mega bucks for a couple of matches , then the greedy money grabbing barsteward might just sell us off, as I reckon we could be non league!

 

[Vanni]

Next season is going to be one hell of a moan fest on this board. All four of the relegated L1 clubs plus the usual L2 suspects and everything's set to go. Did I mention that we'll also be taking part in this whingeathon since we're sticking with Derry and most probably will lose our best player Luke Berry? I didn't? Good, that's cleared up now.

Anyways, welcome to L2 Swindon and Vale. We've already welcomed the other two relegated clubs some two months ago.

 

[Indian Dan]

If only we had a best player

 

[Randolph Haggerty]

The best thing about being in league 1 is the buffer it provides.
That buffer has gone.
We will struggle, lots of shite still contracted, an inexperienced manager, and a bonkers chairman.
Add this to a diminished and divided fan base.
It doesn't bode well.
I'll take 16th.

 

[valefan16]

The best thing about being in league 1 is the buffer it provides.
That buffer has gone.
We will struggle, lots of shite still contracted, an inexperienced manager, and a bonkers chairman.
Add this to a diminished and divided fan base.
It doesn't bode well.
I'll take 16th.

Hardly any are under contract? Think eight are left which includes Smith, Turner and Reeves.

Amoros and Pereira have agreed terminations.

 

[redjed]

I would take 22nd........,
If we get relegated ..... it could be the end of STFC, ..... What sort of state Power leaves us in, is anybody's guess, we could go the way of Hereford, reformed and playing in the Wessex league, if their are people out there that can be bothered to start all over again, that is.

 

[BlackHaddock]

As someone living in Shropshire I am delighted to welcome all four religated clubs, each is a lot closer than Plymouth and Portsmouth for a start and of course poor old Orient. Lincoln coming up is also a bonus.

I am sure all your troubles will seem trivial once you see some of the other teams down here and what they've got.

 

[Randolph Haggerty]

Knops, kiko, Tavares,mbamba, forrester, ciclia.
Shite, all.
If you believe that un official vale tweeter, that's nearly half our budget.
I'd doubt smith would stay, turner and reeves are young and could come good.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

I'm so grateful for League One,

I never felt nervous (apart from our first brush with relegation) about going down to League Two because I knew it'd happen eventually given the downward spiral we were in and, at the end of the day, it's still The Football League. Being in League One protected us from a Davis inspired abseil down to the non-leagues.

Thankfully we sacked him when we hit 18th in League Two. I genuinely believe we've bottomed out and, barring disastrous recruitment, will begin our climb towards the upper reaches of this league next season. The club is a different place to the club it was in 2016 that's for sure.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Also to add to the four basket cases going down.

Newport (if they survive) - Almost certainly gonna be in the scrap next year unless Mike Flynn truly is a managerial genius. Lost a ton of money this season and their squad is so bloated it needs a gastric band before any more players can come in!

Hartlepool (if they survive) - Just look at their past record in this league and that shady owner they have and you've got trouble staring at you right in the face...

Morecambe - Well documented financial troubles, if they aren't taken over they'll almost certainly have their budget cut and Jim Bentley has hinted he may walk away after Saturday's games. Will be down there next season.

Accrington - People will be bemused by this given John Coleman's managerial record with them but they suffer from a large amount of player turnover every season and they always need time to gel before they hit their stride. What if he signs a load of duds this Summer?

Yeovil - Another club in dire finances who can't seem to sack their underperforming manager Darren Way. Many of their fans were very pessimistic about the club's future when we were down there the other week and are confident they'll struggle for the foreseeable future unless new investment is found.

Crawley - If they sell James Collins and don't replace him adequately then they'll definitely be in this scrap.

Cheltenham - Their current manager may have to retire due to ill-health and that squad has vastly underperformed this year given their spectacular title winning season in 2015-16. If they don't get their next managerial appointment right it could be another season of struggle for them.

There'll be surprise packages for relegation from sides at the top end and middle of the table who've lost key personnel too. I genuinely believe ourselves and Notts County will be two sides that won't be in the scrap next season (famous last words) as we seem to have rid our respective clubs of the evils that were dragging our sides down, Steve Davis in our case and Ray Trew and John Sheridan in Notts' case.

 

[valefan16]

Knops, kiko, Tavares,mbamba, forrester, ciclia.
Shite, all.
If you believe that un official vale tweeter, that's nearly half our budget.
I'd doubt smith would stay, turner and reeves are young and could come good.

Knops isn't shit... he is however out injured for a year potentially with ACL injury.

Kiko isn't shit but has to be in the right formation, he's too attacking as a full back to play 4-4-2.

Tavares is an odd one... Brown refuses to play him despite the best quality on paper of all our summer foreign signings. Started well for us, had a bad spell and Brown didn't like him. If he has a normal pre season though and Brown gives him a chance at league two level he should be good enough. Big IF though.

Mbamba well that's another odd one... allegedly on big money but couldn't tell you if he's good enough or not... nor could any Vale fan as we've barely ever seen him! Assume we will look to move him on.

Forrester looked decent at the start... had 7000 injuries and then struggled. Needs fitness but that's the issue, he just can't stay injury free. Won't leave as no one will gamble so have to hope we can get him fit.

Cicilia I'd love to really find his level at league two and bang them in... he's a cult hero is our Big Reg, I actually think he's ok in a two man forward line or as an impact sub... he hasn't got a clue what he's going to do let alone a defender.

After using forty one players over this season though we need to see what's staying, who's going to sign a new deal and then just buy quality over quantity.

Andre Bikey would be a monster in this division... the Wycombe game against Bayo would be a corking battle that's for sure. If we can keep Smith then he's going to be one of best centre halves at this level and Eagles we seem to have found the formula that Bury and Stanley couldn't. De Freitas set to stay too is a boost as he could be a special player with a full pre season and the raw talent he undoubtedly has.

At the moment though so much is up in the air. We need to see who's staying, what the ownership situation is and who the manager will be (although seems Brown will be it) and then see what we can bring in.

Last time we came down well adrift at the bottom (aside from Luton who'd had a deduction) and there isn't your Bradfords or Bournemouths to contend with so should be nice and open and we should be able to be competitive as assume our budget will be decent if not one of the top ones at this level. Need to use it wisely though.

 

[AdamStag]

So we're all safe in the knowledge that Swindon and Chesterfield are going down next season.

Cool, time to put our feet up and chill, right?

Come on, you can't be that bad, don't you recall how poor this league is!?

 

[Dan Phillips]

 

[mowgli]

The same Dan Phillips on 1FF?

 

[Dave-Vale]

Roll up, roll up! The Port Vale Park Circus has returned!

 

[Dan Phillips]

The same Dan Phillips on 1FF?

The one and only.

 

[mowgli]

The one and only.

How you been mate? Haven't see you for ages on 1FF nor Lady Vale or VTID.