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Wanderers Ways. Neil Thompson 1961-2021

Port Vale (H)


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32 minutes ago, Duck Egg said:

One other big positive from today. The attendance. Might not be much compared to Weds, Ipswich and Derby but nearly 20k for us in a standard league game is impressive. 

I thought that too, on way in I thought I'd missed that it was another Family Day, was that busy. Encouraging level of support and buy-in

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49 minutes ago, ianofcleveleys said:

I thought that too, on way in I thought I'd missed that it was another Family Day, was that busy. Encouraging level of support and buy-in

Yeah I was the exact same. We'd average 20,000+ in the Championship easily with away teams bringing more than a taxi load.

For context, we are averaging more now than our first season back into the Championship in 2012/13

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2 hours ago, Jayjay23 said:

Onward. 

Can anyone put a finger on what they think went wrong today, or what we need to do differently.

Did anyone else think Williams was on the pitch far too long and it could have cost us 2 points? 

Positives.  3 great points.  Santos.  Trafford.  And especially Dempsey, I'm surprised its not been mentioned more, he was absolutely outstanding and no way do we hang on today without his defensive work (with Santos).

Negatives: "if you win when not playing well you're a good team", does that mean ignoring the obvious deficiencies?  Does IE get up tomorrow and say "we were poor, but we won, so nothing to see here"?  Course not, he looks at where we can improve.  Which would be:  Sheehan, just not upto it physically for all his goal was great.  Mbete - not the real deal.  An accident waiting to happen, looks nervous in possession and his sliced clearances into touch are no longer one offs, they are the norm.  Williams did have a decent spell around the time he set up a goal but today was more evidence that he is lightweight, lacking energy, doesn't track back enough and seems to make it up as he goes along.

Overall, the team feels weaker now, partly but not all due to injuries.  Sheehan instead of MJW or Thomasson, Williams instead of Iredale or John, Mbete intsead of Johnstone, Aimson and Jones.  And the loss of JDB/Sadlier/Dapo, it all feels a bit weak ATM, given that the new strikers haven't exactly hit the ground running, we are hanging on a bit.

To be clear, I'm ecstatic at where we are.  I just think we could be better, some of the new signings (and injuries) haven't helped and we end up playing games without Lee and Jones for no apparent reason, as if they can't play 2 games a week.  With only 3 games in March, I would like us to start with our best 11 and park the squad rotation till Easter.

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3 hours ago, Farnywhite said:

They gave it a go didn’t time waste to be honest as long as I can remember vale have always been a footballing team may be something to do with the pitch they have 

Good point that.  I've seen Vale play since the early 80s on and off at Bolton and other local grounds too, and they are just one of those teams that always seem to play decent stuff.  I don't think they've ever been associated with long ball (unlike their neighbours).  Some of their football today was outstanding, just lacked a decent striker like so many in this league (FGR, Cheltenham to name 2 recent opponents).

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I'm glad Vic got off the mark and in the light of the contract he's been given I'm hoping it's the first of many. He is certainly better technically than say Baka and he has the potential to do really well. Dan Nlundulu I'm not so sure about as he hasn't really done anything yet, but I guess we have to give him the benefit of the doubt until he's fully fit and up and running, but to me his touch and decision making isn't quite up to the mark - we'll see how he goes. Williams started to show us some decent stuff today and that was encouraging.

Vale were good today but they definitely need a finisher - they had some good chances to score more that went begging. It's games like that where it shows we can't just turn out the same team every week - as mentioned Shola and Josh weren't really in it but they'll excel against some teams.

We looked emotionally drained after Accy but thankfully we got the points and hopefully their heads and bodies will be in better shape for our tough away match at Pompey which could be an even bigger test of our promotion credentials.

All the other teams vying for a playoff spot will be looking to Pompey to turn us over so a win would be a psychological boost not just 3 points IMO.

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  • The topic was unpinned

Did well to grind out a win.  They will be gutted that they didn’t get something.

dempsey was immense and thought Bradley had a good game.

vic did well for his goal and assist and Randell was decent first half.

gave the ball away far too easily, particularly from the back.

taol and santos biggest culprits.

major thing was 3 points.  Big week now and really need 4 from these 2 aways, particularly with not everyone playing midweek.

 

 

 

Edited by marple whites
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15 hours ago, captainmed said:

It isn’t.

We only need 4 wins and a couple of draws from our last 12 games.

76 points will be enough.

Next 4 games however are pivotal for automatics.

Big ask.

 

Sheff weds are done & dusted for me

for me it hinges on the form of Plymouth & barnsley for autos, I’ve always been a fan of points in the bag but after Tuesday barnsley have 4 in hand they have room for manoeuvre

 

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21 minutes ago, radcliffe white said:

Sheff weds are done & dusted for me

for me it hinges on the form of Plymouth & barnsley for autos, I’ve always been a fan of points in the bag but after Tuesday barnsley have 4 in hand they have room for manoeuvre

 

We’ve closed the gap on Plymouth by 5 points over the last 5 games. Continue with that and we have a chance. 
 

9 more wins.

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9 hours ago, Johnnyrotten said:

Overall, the team feels weaker now

I’m don’t agree with this bit.

While I agree with you that Evatt won’t accept that was good enough, I think over analysis on one game would be mis-leading, especially after their efforts Wednesday.

I don’t think anyone was at their best yesterday. That includes our best defenders Santos and Toal.

But since swapping Dapo and Sadlier with the new recruits and reinforcing our back line, our record is:

Won- 10

Drew - 1

Lost - 2

For - 26      Against - 5

So I’m really struggling to see how the team feels weaker! 

 

 

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9 hours ago, Johnnyrotten said:

Positives.  3 great points.  Santos.  Trafford.  And especially Dempsey, I'm surprised its not been mentioned more, he was absolutely outstanding and no way do we hang on today without his defensive work (with Santos).

Negatives: "if you win when not playing well you're a good team", does that mean ignoring the obvious deficiencies?  Does IE get up tomorrow and say "we were poor, but we won, so nothing to see here"?  Course not, he looks at where we can improve.  Which would be:  Sheehan, just not upto it physically for all his goal was great.  Mbete - not the real deal.  An accident waiting to happen, looks nervous in possession and his sliced clearances into touch are no longer one offs, they are the norm.  Williams did have a decent spell around the time he set up a goal but today was more evidence that he is lightweight, lacking energy, doesn't track back enough and seems to make it up as he goes along.

Overall, the team feels weaker now, partly but not all due to injuries.  Sheehan instead of MJW or Thomasson, Williams instead of Iredale or John, Mbete intsead of Johnstone, Aimson and Jones.  And the loss of JDB/Sadlier/Dapo, it all feels a bit weak ATM, given that the new strikers haven't exactly hit the ground running, we are hanging on a bit.

To be clear, I'm ecstatic at where we are.  I just think we could be better, some of the new signings (and injuries) haven't helped and we end up playing games without Lee and Jones for no apparent reason, as if they can't play 2 games a week.  With only 3 games in March, I would like us to start with our best 11 and park the squad rotation till Easter.

I feel like your over analysing here. You can't play well all the time. We were below par but we produced the moment of quality that was the difference. 

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20 minutes ago, radcliffe white said:

Made massive ground considering how many clear of us they was

barnsley are the ones but it’s a big ask for them to keep that momentum up

twists & turns 

Thought a couple of weeks back Barnsley were starting to get a head of steam up, big danger to all up top at moment. Not convinced they have the quality but definitely got momentum, with games to spare up their sleeves 

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6 minutes ago, desperado said:

I’m don’t agree with this bit.

While I agree with you that Evatt won’t accept that was good enough, I think over analysis on one game would be mis-leading, especially after their efforts Wednesday.

I don’t think anyone was at their best yesterday. That includes our best defenders Santos and Toal.

But since swapping Dapo and Sadlier with the new recruits and reinforcing our back line, our record is:

Won- 10

Drew - 1

Lost - 2

For - 26      Against - 5

So I’m really struggling to see how the team feels weaker! 

 

 

Can see where @Johnnyrottenis coming from with the Jan recruits, Victor showed plenty yesterday but for various reasons not seen enough to convince that any of the others are adding anything much.

Otherwise half the team was just knackered yesterday, as Evatt's commented. Two of the other three sides that played in those semis got battered, we scrambled a win, says a bit about us.

We could do with that lighter period through March, maybe it'll help a few recover and reset and the others to get themselves fully fit and able to make some big contributions in that big run of games in April.

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Vale were the better team yesterday, but winning when not on top of your game is a good sign

We struggled to keep or win enough ball. Despite the goal I am still nowhere near convinced Sheehan is good enough in tight games. 
 

Everything was scrappy from our side and Vale looked a decent team (they always do against us some maybe the styles suit them??) 

Massive 2 games this week, Pompey inconsistent and Morecambe seem to have dropped off since they had a little spurt. 

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Agree entirely about Sheehan. Early on his touch was poor which allowed them to get about him, and he loses the physical battle.

He made lots of runs which weren't picked out which didn't help, but with him and Shoretire together, the press was weak.

As soon as Lee came on he was straight onto their players, reducing their time with the ball.

In turn that makes a difference, as much of their possession was then around their own backline- where have we seen that before!

They were less threatening second half, than the first, despite having good spells with the ball. 

Must compliment Jones too- his experience was invaluable in dealing with Harrison, who had caused Mbete many a problem.

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2 hours ago, desperado said:

I’m don’t agree with this bit.

While I agree with you that Evatt won’t accept that was good enough, I think over analysis on one game would be mis-leading, especially after their efforts Wednesday.

I don’t think anyone was at their best yesterday. That includes our best defenders Santos and Toal.

But since swapping Dapo and Sadlier with the new recruits and reinforcing our back line, our record is:

Won- 10

Drew - 1

Lost - 2

For - 26      Against - 5

So I’m really struggling to see how the team feels weaker! 

 

 

Fair points, yes our results have been great recently, no complaints.  And I've no issue now about Dapo and Sadlier leaving - Dapo replaced by Shoretire who is as good if not better, and Sadlier wasn't playing anyway.   

I know I can't back it up with hard data, its just an instinct which I'd love to be wrong about.  We can't do anything about injuries so this isn't a criticism, but a front 2 of JDB and Charles and a back 5 that included a few of Johnstone, Aimson, Iredale and Jones, and a midfield with Lee in there, just feels like a stronger spine.  It hasn't felt like they've played as a unit in the last couple of games, yes we won them both, but IE will know we can be better.  And things will improve as the injury list shortens and the strikers settle in.

Anyway we all see it differently, you noticed mistakes from Santos, I just saw a dominant CB keeping them out most of the time, but I miss stuff.  Agree on Toal though, that wasn't the player we've seen last few months, wasn't at the races.

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2 hours ago, Arrested development said:

I feel like your over analysing here. You can't play well all the time. We were below par but we produced the moment of quality that was the difference. 

Guilty as charged 😁 

I think maybe the difference in opinion is just down to if the "below par" was just one of those things/to be expected after the semi final win (eg Toal, a class player 90% of the time, is allowed a bad game) or if its that some individuals aren't as good as we need them to be and yesterday was their normal level? That's for IE to decide.

Anyway I've said enough as you say!

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13 minutes ago, Johnnyrotten said:

but IE will know we can be better.  And things will improve as the injury list shortens and the strikers settle in.

Everything about IE’s post match interview pointed towards us not (understandably) being at our best.

And if your 2nd point is correct and we  are going to improve when the injury list shortens and the strikers settle in, then God help the rest of the league! 

Automatic promotion here we come! 😂

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With Shola, Josh & Vic as the 'attacking' three, there was virtually no press. We played better from that perspective with the introduction of Charles & Lee and those two along with Trafford, Bradley, Santos, Toal, Dempsey & Morley should play every game they're fit for. 

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29 minutes ago, Traf said:

With Shola, Josh & Vic as the 'attacking' three, there was virtually no press. We played better from that perspective with the introduction of Charles & Lee and those two along with Trafford, Bradley, Santos, Toal, Dempsey & Morley should play every game they're fit for. 

Agree with that; our left side is the problem. I would go with Jones and John there. That only leaves one more if fit and it’s a toss up between Shoretire and Adeboyejo and more physical expected games start with Ade

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