Tom Pope set to play for.....

[Douglas_Valley_Reds]

Crewe Alexandra.

Port Vale striker Tom Pope has agreed to wear the red of The Alex once more and play a part in the Crewe Alex v Crewe Alex legends game which is part of our ex assistant manager Neil Bakers testimonial

I can't wait to get a picture of Tom in an Alex shirt, I may have to create an account on One Vale Fan and share this image.

In all seriousness, well done Tom for agreeing to this, I hope he gets a good hand form the fans on the day, all this Alex/Vale shit can be forgotten, when Tom signed for us he never hid he was a Vale fan and why should he, plus the lad has never said one bad word about us, so fair play to him.

 

[darren gregory]

Fair play , he is a marmite character. Clearly bit of a knob at times but can't knock his efforts in a Vale shirt.
Not a problem is it and let's look at it as respect for Baker.
At least Baker's game will have real players, most testimonials at Vale involve Jonathan fucking Wilkes unless it clashes with the panto he is in every year

 

[kieran_vale]

I think Pope has always been respectful of Crewe and what they have done for him from his columns in the Sentinel and interviews etc. Anyone ask him about his time at Rotherham it becomes a different story where they are concerned.

 

[Douglas_Valley_Reds]

I think Dave Brammer is playing in this match, now he did get abuse from our fans when he went to Stoke, he did do the classic kissing of the badge in front of us at the Shittania, but I think he will get a decent reception also, football fans can be fickle!

 

[valefan16]

Pope in fairness doesn't overly celebrate against Crewe and has always said he wouldn't. Rotherham however.... he ran up to their fans when he scored 4 in the 6-2 win!

Fair play to Pope no issue with it and dare say could be some in return for Yates testimonial once announced with all the players we've shared over the years.

 

[PaulHaddock]

Clickbait

 

[Douglas_Valley_Reds]

Pope in fairness doesn't overly celebrate against Crewe and has always said he wouldn't. Rotherham however.... he ran up to their fans when he scored 4 in the 6-2 win!

Fair play to Pope no issue with it and dare say could be some in return for Yates testimonial once announced with all the players we've shared over the years.

I like to think the Alex fans who will be in attendance for 'Bakes' match are the Alex fans who are issued with brain cells and show Popey the respect he deserves, who in turn is showing respect to Neil and to our club.

For all the bad blood recently both clubs have strong links over the years, you could produce a big list of players who have played for both clubs, maybe this testimonial and the fact Tom is playing may defuse current tensions a bit, you never know.

For are all the hatred aimed at anything from S-O-T from the good folk of South Cheshire, we have to remember the testimonial is to respect a staunch Stoke fan, with a current Vale player agreeing to take part, along with a Vale fan in Ryan Colclough.

Hands across the A500

 

[kieran_vale]

Staunch Stoke fan is one way of putting it. In his younger years I think he was rumoured to be a part of the N40.

Brammer I'm a bit more 50-50 about to be honest. Loved his first spell at the club not least when he scored a screamer against Stoke at the Shit 365. His second spell soured me on him a fair bit, lots else wrong at the club back then (whats new?) but there was no excuse for the fact he was basically a fat lazy slob during that time. Maybe get Tony Naylor make an appearance, he often turns out for legends games etc at VP.

 

[Douglas_Valley_Reds]

Staunch Stoke fan is one way of putting it. In his younger years I think he was rumoured to be a part of the N40.

Brammer I'm a bit more 50-50 about to be honest. Loved his first spell at the club not least when he scored a screamer against Stoke at the Shit 365. His second spell soured me on him a fair bit, lots else wrong at the club back then (whats new?) but there was no excuse for the fact he was basically a fat lazy slob during that time. Maybe get Tony Naylor make an appearance, he often turns out for legends games etc at VP.

Ha, yeah,heard those stories of Bakes back in his youth, and I think they are true. I remember Neil telling a story at an end of season do, we beat Sjoke 2-0 at the Shittania, a week after they had been dicked 7-0 at home against Brum, well little old Crewe taking the piss was the final straw so they got on the pitch, tried to storm the directors box (a Sjoke favorite) and it was turning nasty. A guy got arrested on the pitch but was still kicking out and trying to get free, he was approaching the Alex dug out and Bakes thought the guy was going to kick off, when he drew near the tattooed 6ft 4ins arrested thug winked at Bakes and said, "see ya tonight if I get let out". It was one of his mates from his local boozer

As for Brammer, bizarrely he sits in the row right behind me a lot of time on match days, he didn't against the Vale, but he's usually their. A bit odd having a guy who you have sung the praise of and have also called every name under the sun being sat behind you! Heard he is an agent now.

Tonly Naylor was just before Bakes time, broke my heart when you took him off us, but a cracking player for both clubs.

 

[valefan16]

Brammer was immense in his first spell, oddly 17 years ago yesterday his finest hour with us as we won the LDV.

I forgot he came back during the late 00's!

 

[TimeyWimey]

Always thought Pope was over rated and a bit shit when with us but clearly did well for himself. Brammer on the other hand was absolutely awesome with us, absolutely gutted when he left us and slightly pleased it all went tits up for him afterwards.

The Baker testimonial is going to be a brilliant watch though. A cracking line up, missing only a couple of names like Danny Murphy (though I suspect he'll have some sort of TV/Radio duties that day) and Rob Hulse (he has a proper job now tho). Deano, Dele, Seth, Powell, Lunt, Big George, Ollie Turton... all on the same pitch, blimey.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

I'm not gonna lie, I think I like Tom Pope more than about 80% of our past players, even if he's a club legend at Vale. At the end of the day he was a window-fitter turned footballer with something about him and I always liked that as a kid watching us. Too many detestable shithouses (Harry Davis, Marcus Haber, Anthony Elding to name three) and vanilla-personality youth players (Ollie Turton hands down) have worn this shirt for my liking. Always was a fan of Pope's but I understand why he was sold for a pittance due to his off-field problems at the time. Luckily for the Vale, Popey grew up quickly after being left on the scrapheap at Rotherham and I think that gave him the newfound professionalism he needed to succeed.

Brammer was a legend, Dario fucked him about not offering him a two year deal due to injuries. Stoke actually paid him less than we did but they gave him that extra year. We failed to replace Brammer adequately for many many years and that was a key factor in our decline, particularly after we were relegated from the Championship.

 

[Liam_SWFC]

He had some bizarre Twitter spat with Sam Winnall last season.

 

[Douglas_Valley_Reds]

I'm not gonna lie, I think I like Tom Pope more than about 80% of our past players, even if he's a club legend at Vale. At the end of the day he was a window-fitter turned footballer with something about him and I always liked that as a kid watching us. Too many detestable shithouses (Harry Davis, Marcus Haber, Anthony Elding to name three) and vanilla-personality youth players (Ollie Turton hands down) have worn this shirt for my liking. Always was a fan of Pope's but I understand why he was sold for a pittance due to his off-field problems at the time. Luckily for the Vale, Popey grew up quickly after being left on the scrapheap at Rotherham and I think that gave him the newfound professionalism he needed to succeed.

Brammer was a legend, Dario fucked him about not offering him a two year deal due to injuries. Stoke actually paid him less than we did but they gave him that extra year. We failed to replace Brammer adequately for many many years and that was a key factor in our decline, particularly after we were relegated from the Championship.

Brammer going off injured at half time against Everton in the FA Cup in 2002 robbed us of a cup q/f appearance, and maybe us going even further that year. He did stay after we go relegated and played a big part in getting us back up at the first attempt. What an embarrassment of riches we had back then, nice to be able to see so many coming back for this game.

 

[Soz]

 

[TimeyWimey]

Poor performance from Pope. Have him back.

Sexy pic tho...

 

[Douglas_Valley_Reds]

Deano, Nick and the Gaffer, quality afternoon. Fair play to Tom, got a few boos but it was all taken in fun as he pissed himself laughing.