Bury v Port Vale

[leedsvaliant]

I would have had this as an away win this time last week, however Bury appear to have had a good few days. Apparently awful in the first half against Walsall, they turned it around in no small part to our former favourite Pope and that must give them some real impetus going into Saturday. They also had a good win in the Checkatrade, with Pope bagging another 2, but how much can you really take from these sorts of games?

Basically, if we score first we are more likely to win as our defence is the best in the football league, but go behind and we sometimes struggle to create enough chances. I'm hopeful that what appears to be a fairly shambolic (at times) Bury defence will give us at least a goal.

I knew that people would underestimate us this season as they assumed that we'd have 10 new non-league standard foreign lads in the team. What we've done is kept our best players (and spine) from last year, supplemented it with a couple of really good youngsters and then fitted 2-3 of the best foreign lads that we've signed, to make us stronger than last year. As usual, lazy journalism and bookies.

Really pleased with how we've started the season, everybody working for everybody else and for once in a long time it appears that we have a plan and system and can also defend set pieces. We rested some of the key names in the week, so hopefully they'll be fresh. Anton Forrester looks a good player and we've also got decent options from the bench for a change.

My concern is that we know what Pope is like and he's probably the best in the entire leagues in the air. If we allow service to him, he can dominate, so we need to be wary of that.

I'm going for an optimistic 1-0 win courtesy of Forrester.

 

[KeithH]

Shite Fred Title.
Pope on fire so Fatboy will either drop him or put him left wing.
442 we have a chance, Danns Vaughn and NatCam back we will win.
Or not!!

 

[valefan16]

Fancy us at the moment but this is usually where our bubble then bursts!

 

[Vale on Trent]

How many do you reckon we will take?

 

[King Kev]

Keith has it nailed on, our manager will over complicate things which will give you a great starting point. He will probably grow a brain cell at 60 mins when you are 2-0 up, and go 4-4-2, it will be too late then though.

However, if Flitcroft is not a dick and fields his best team and formation reckon we can get something.

Could be another decent crowd by our pathetic standards if Vale bring their usual decent following.

 

[T.A]

We could do with a win really to get the confidence going again. If we play 4-4-2 with Pope and Vaughan up font I'm confident of getting a result.

 

[valefan16]

If we defend as well as we have been in the league then we should be able to handle them two well but my worry is after concededing only twice in the five league games we are due a shitter at the back!

 

[leedsvaliant]

We could do with a win really to get the confidence going again. If we play 4-4-2 with Pope and Vaughan up font I'm confident of getting a result.

How's Vaughan looking for you? Seems as though League One is about his level but he should do well really. How match fit is he?

I just hope we've done some good scouting on Pope. In his last season with us, you could see his legs were going a bit, but give him service and he will score, especially from crosses and he gets himself into space very adeptly. The games where he was starved of any service, he might as well have not been playing and offered very little goal threat.

Having looked at some of the highlights of you, it looks like you're pretty lively when attacking but prone to a few clangers at the back. Noticed a few blind balls or passes out from the back that were intercepted and led to chances or goals, so we need to be lively to that.

As someone else has said previously, just when we look to have a bit of hope or expectation, we tend to be masters at bursting the bubble.

 

[T.A]

He's only played one game for us and scored! The positive is that he had a full pre-season with Birmingham so there's no issue there it's just making sure he doesn't pick up any niggly injuries. We need Cameron back in defence but even so we are likely concede at least one. First goal on Saturday will probably decide which way this match will go.

 

[Monkey]

How many do you reckon we will take?

1600 easy for this one. Lots of knob heads to turn up tho. I'll be there

 

[1977Valiant]

We've had a bag of mixed results at Bury over the last few years so this match is a bit difficult to predict, and not knowing too much about this years Bury team, I will just go with how Vale will likely approach the game.

I'm sure Bruno will go with 1 up front again with us being away from home. But will he go with Anton Forrester or Martin Patterson (seeing he made it through 90 minutes on Tuesday night).

Hopefully this will make us very hard to break down, as Bradford, Southend, Rochdale and Scunthorpe have already found out this season, so we could hopefully get the 5th clean sheet of the season as long as Smiith and Streete can keep the pontiff and Vaughan quite.

Like in all of our previous games this season I think we will probably have more possession again, but it just depends if we can capitalise on it.

If Paulo Tavares is fit then will he get back into the team in place of Sebastian Ameros (who has had two really decent games in midfield since Tavares picked up his hamstring pull)?.

It will also be interesting to see if our new winger Gezim Shalaj formally of Dinamo Bucharest that we signed yesterday has any part in the game (but this will be subject to us receiving international clearence in time). If we do get clearence then judging by the videos that I've seen of him he looks a very like a tidy tricky winger, who seems to have quite a good turn of pace and a bit of a wand of a left foot. Personally I can't see Bruno dropping Jak Alnwick in favour of our new keeper Miguel Santos who we signed from Benfica last night, but he could throw a curve ball and surprise us.

If we can just start to be a little more creative in the last third (which is what it seems that Bruno has brought Shalaj in for), it will give the forwards a bit more to feed on, then paired with the experience of Patterson, and the hunger and youth of Forrester and Jones up front then I can see us continuing our good start to the season.

At the end of the day we now have manager who if plan A is not working, then as he has decent enough depth in the current squad he is willing to go to plan B and change it to try to get something out of the game, which is what we didn't seem to have with Rob Page last season.

My prediction is 1-0 Vale with Patterson getting his 1st goal of the season.

 

[KeithH]

No Natcam No Danns No bloody hope, unless the tactical madman throws a wobblie and plays 442.
1.5 games of 442 and 7 goals scored, expect formation bingo to continue

 

[Burberry]

No Danns, Cameron, Etuhu, Tutte possibly no Pope or Jones. Both left the game on Tuesday on crutches. Ankle injury for Pope and Knee for Jones. Be a big loss to us.

 

[T.A]

Oh we've lost then.

 

[stevie_howard]

Shit fred title.

 

[McShambles]

Shit fred title.

 

[Burberry]

Erm meant players be a big loss. I think we will draw at least

 

[T.A]

I was being genuine. We'll lose without all those imo.

 

[MJA]

You'd lose with them, so no need to panic about these players being out

 

[ColB]

Score first and I'll think we'll win the game. We look a proper team, organised but also capable of playing good football. We do have a tendency to start slowly though which might get us in trouble if the defence has a bit of an off day. Bury have some good players and will take confidence after the last game, so it should be a close game and will probably only have a goal in it if either team goes on to win.

Heart say's 1-2, head say's 1-1. A point would be decent as we're looking a real force at Vale Park under Bruno and we'll get plenty of points their this season.

On a sidenote, I hope Pope gets the reception from us he deserves. He's a true Valiant, but he'll no doubt be busting a but to make an impression and will either grab himself a goal or two or go on to have a bit of a shocker!

 

[Monkey]

Excited about this one today. Love a trip to Bury and a few in the Staff of life with the lads.

 

[Buxton Vale]

After the Scunthorpe result we have to be confident and go for a win. If our defence is up to recent standards I can see a 0-2 with Forrester on the scoresheet again.

 

[Monkey]

After the Scunthorpe result we have to be confident and go for a win. If our defence is up to recent standards I can see a 0-2 with Forrester on the scoresheet again.

A win today and I really start to think we've got something special this season.

 

[valefan16]

Got some horrible looking fixtures next two months, this is arguably the most winnable (and that's not a slight on Bury as this will be very tough) so could do with a positive result going into the next couple of months.

Wonder if the new 1912 based third kit will get its first run out!

 

[shoddycollins]

I see Vale are doing well. I'd never have guessed that on the evidence of their visit to Brunton Park, our radio commentator said at one point he feared the worst for Vale's chances in League One this season. Transformation?

 

[Monkey]

I just think we've been underestimated. If another league 1 team had done what Vale had in signing so many unknowns I'd probably have written them off too.

I don't know if we've just got lucky with these signings or if its a touch of brilliance.

Either way I'm happy with how things seem to be going.

 

[MJA]

If our start is a sign that this squad of players are capable of competing at the top end of the table then realistically Bury is a place we would have to go and return with all 3 points. It's generally a tight affair whenever we meet so there is a strong chance of this one finishing 1-0 to either side but I'd be disappointed to return home without anything at all

 

[ColB]

Let's smash these fuckers Vale!

I hope Smith launches Pope into our stand, he can then have a bit of a sing song with us.

 

[ColB]

If our start is a sign that this squad of players are capable of competing at the top end of the table then realistically Bury is a place we would have to go and return with all 3 points. It's generally a tight affair whenever we meet so there is a strong chance of this one finishing 1-0 to either side but I'd be disappointed to return home without anything at all

True in a sense, but we look very good at home early on, carrying on the form we showed at Vale Park last season, so a point away to a lot of teams in this league isn't a bad result at all, and I wouldn't consider Bury one of the poorer sides at all.

I used 'at all' too much there, but whatever.

 

[MJA]

True in a sense, but we look very good at home early on, carrying on the form we showed at Vale Park last season, so a point away to a lot of teams in this league isn't a bad result at all, and I wouldn't consider Bury one of the poorer sides at all.

Well I've always worked on winning all home games and drawing all away games being the perfect formula for promotion so yeah I know what you mean