Carlisle v Port Vale

[kieran_vale]

Legges been immense again and Hannant has played well. Joyce seems to have forgot he was transferred in the summer as he is constantly giving the ball away.

And to think there were some Vale fans writing Legge off as he had a slow start in pre-season. I wish we had a few more who could impose themselves on the game like he can.

I just wonder what it will take for Aspin to use the revolutionary tactic of putting square pegs in square holes. It shouldn't be that difficult for him.

 

[valefan16]

And to think there were some Vale fans writing Legge off as he had a slow start in pre-season. I wish we had a few more who could impose themselves on the game like he can.

I just wonder what it will take for Aspin to use the revolutionary tactic of putting square pegs in square holes. It shouldn't be that difficult for him.

It’s frustraing, really frustrating!

 

[leedsvaliant]

We've 100% lost. We haven't got the nouse, creativity or pace to come from behind away from home. Poor team selection.

 

[valefan16]

Left back on in central midfield!!!

 

[kieran_vale]

Starting to get a little bit of a foothold in the game now at least.

 

[kieran_vale]

So you're 1-0 down chasing the game late on and take off a striker for a midfielder!!!! Words fail me.

 

[shoddycollins]

starting to feel like a case of when, not if, Vale equalise.

 

[valefan16]

Big questions on Aspin after tonight. Really piss poor on the road again.

 

[kieran_vale]

Game over. Should have been put to bed by Carlisle a long time prior mind. Etuhu could have had a couple at least.

 

[Buxton Vale]

Serious questions need asking after another poor away performance.

 

[kieran_vale]

Hannant with one back but let's be honest it isn't going to happen.

 

[Buxton Vale]

too little too late

 

[kieran_vale]

Full time 2-1 Carlisle. Congrats on the win, better team by far won that.

I'm not about to start calling for the managers head as we've been down that road too often but I am calling for him to start doing a better fucking job. Michael Brown got rightly slaughtered for a lot of the same things am seeing from Aspin this season certainly in terms of selection and tactics.

 

[valefan16]

Dire absolutely ballsed up the tactics and Carlisle had to do virtually nothing for that win. Made it so easy with the penalty and a free header on six yards.

Great goal by Hannant but really really unbelievably bad from us again on the road.

Going to be a very very long hard season again based on that.

 

[Buxton Vale]

That was a winnable game and its been thrown away with negative tactics and poor team selection. I'd rather we had a go, even if we lost we can at least say we tried.

 

[valefan16]

Full time 2-1 Carlisle. Congrats on the win, better team by far won that.

I'm not about to start calling for the managers head as we've been down that road too often but I am calling for him to start doing a better fucking job. Michael Brown got rightly slaughtered for a lot of the same things am seeing from Aspin this season certainly in terms of selection and tactics.

Right back and right wing back, midfielder at left wing back, left back in central midfield... battering Carlisle into the second half so takes a striker off. He’s had a real shitter tonight.

 

[Vale on Trent]

Predictable and boring, a typical away performance from Vale. We hardly ever look like scoring or cutting the opposition apart with neat play. Our only threat is a long ball to Pope, praying he wins the header or holds it up. There’s not even anyone to bring on off the bench who could possibly change the game in an attacking way.

We might be slightly better than last year, but I can see another long, boring season approaching.

 

[hellogregory]

We weren’t great in attack tonight, Bennett was poor and we didn’t create that much until late on. We certainly played better against Northampton.

But a win is a win, and it could have been more comfortable had we not wasted some glorious chances late on. Thick c*** Bennett’s decision not to pass to Devitt for a tap in only for them to go up the other end, get a fk and score, made it a dodgy last few minutes.

Better defensively than recently, but we’re a much better side with the extra man in midfield. We lacked any sort of control in the game until Glendon came on.

 

[hellogregory]

starting to feel like a case of when, not if, Vale equalise.

They would have done if Sheridan hadn’t brought Glendon on. Adding the extra midfielder helped us get control of the game. Very good from Sheridan.

 

[jbet]

First half was one of the worst Vale performances since well, most of last season. Why on earth is Aspin so afraid to let the team do anything in the first half of matches? This is fourth division football and he's going to contain Carlisle? Give me a break (no offence meant to Carlisle, I'm just of the belief that every single defence in this league is dreadful, especially if you out any pressure on them). Half time he's obviously told them to play 20 yards further up the pitch and press higher - hey presto, we get control of the game ad cause some problems.

Carlisle zipped the ball around well first half but looked pretty toothless up front. Penalty was a bit daft but we were lucky to get off the hook when Rawlinson gifted them a one on one soon after. Actually thought the back five did well apart from that, with Clark and Hannant actually looking like footballers. Hannant gets better by the game.

Anthony Kay has completely lost any legs he still had last season and playing with him is like playing with ten men. How we are going to miss Manny when he's not fit, like tonight.

Dodds was once again the sacrificial lamb despite not doing any worse than the rest of them in the first half, but Montano took up a more advanced position which worked far better. Joyce was poor on his return, as was Ricky Miller - looked a shadows of the player I watched rip Cambridge to shreds on the opening day.

It's going to be a frustrating season if Aspin doesn't grow a set on the road. No away win in 2018 - says it all.

 

[cufc17]

2 good wins so far this week, genuinely surprised we’ve put a decent run of form together, couldn’t see it coming at all. Wasn’t there tonight as working, but sounds like a decent performance and deserved victory.

Crewe at home on Saturday is a great opportunity to get a 3rd straight win.

 

[valefan16]

Despite the many negatives I must say on two positive notes:

Luke Hannant - Did well in a poor side after signing from Gateshead last January... he is just getting better and better, was quality last night and his free kick was superb. Considering he was out of position he was our best outlet.

Leon Legge - Had a shocking pre season and looked past it... was immense Saturday and again last night won pretty much everything, an absolute beast that we've needed at the back for years. Very impressed and the player we thought we were signing rather than the Legge we saw in pre season (although turns out he was carrying a knock in pre season)

 

[darren gregory]

First half unbelievably gash. Talk about slow start, Carlisle must of had 6 corners within the first 5 minutes.
Beginning to get pissed off with negative tactics , we look like rabbits in headlights.

A good tactic also would of been to tell Joyce he has left Carlisle, what an atrocious return , did he even find a white shirt ?

Second half way better and could only see the all important 2nd goal being scored by us.

Standout players Etuhu and Legge who's yellow card was bordering on scandalous having won the ball clearly.

Got in at a reasonable 12-30am considering the motorway was shut and wondering why I actually bother.

Miller was brilliant v Cambridge an absolute best, since then we can't even get him in the game.

Positives Legge


Negatives Worst away form of all 92 clubs

Jury is out for me now on Aspin , can't take much more of this losing mentality

 

[Dave-Vale]

Aspin cannot continue to pick weird, negative starting 11’s and allow his players to play with a lack of any tactical distinction. We don’t have a specific style of play. We occasionally play some decent football but then just start hoofing it long.

He also cannot continue to make absolutely absurd substitutions. We were behind in the game and at one point looked like we were playing 361. Unbelievable from a manager that has been a manager at a relatively decent level for over a decade.

My patience with him is wearing very thin despite a couple of decent home results in the league we have had 1 decent performance out of 5 (including the cup game) and we haven’t won away this calendar year.

I also have a massive problem with his weird treatment of James Gibbons who was one of our better performers last season and has played well so far this season. Last night we were crying out for a wing back that would get forward and Gibbons would have done this, Clark, whilst he looks a decent player, seemed a bit scared to get past the half way line at times.

 

[shoddycollins]

Was pretty low on quality all round, but that's twice now we've come out on top in such dogged encounters, and haven't conceded a goal from open play in those games either despite our accommodating defence. That sort of thing bodes well and gives hope that we'll keep ourselves out of the way of the relegation scrap.

Vale's long-ball tactics certainly suited Gerrard and let him show his experience and put in a good performance. Talking to a Vale fan in the pub before the match, he was raving about Miller's pace and how he likes to run at defenders, and I feared the worst but we didn't see any of that.

Had we been a bit better in front of goal then it could have been a fairly comfortable win. We started brightly, passing it around and for twenty minutes or so, looked like we'd be too much for Port Vale. Etuhu saw a shot pushed onto the post and Bennett came close as well. Then before half time, Nadesan failed to capitalise on a mix-up in their defence. Even in the second half as we got sucked into a game of aerial football, we had some decent chances.

Vale approached the game the way I hoped they might. We have weaknesses that can be exploited if our opponents play positive football but Vale didn't seem to have confidence in themselves, or their manager didn't have confidence in his players, and set up as though they were playing a team from two divisions higher.

 

[valefan16]

Was pretty low on quality all round, but that's twice now we've come out on top in such dogged encounters, and haven't conceded a goal from open play in those games either despite our accommodating defence. That sort of thing bodes well and gives hope that we'll keep ourselves out of the way of the relegation scrap.

Vale's long-ball tactics certainly suited Gerrard and let him show his experience and put in a good performance. Talking to a Vale fan in the pub before the match, he was raving about Miller's pace and how he likes to run at defenders, and I feared the worst but we didn't see any of that.

Had we been a bit better in front of goal then it could have been a fairly comfortable win. We started brightly, passing it around and for twenty minutes or so, looked like we'd be too much for Port Vale. Etuhu saw a shot pushed onto the post and Bennett came close as well. Then before half time, Nadesan failed to capitalise on a mix-up in their defence. Even in the second half as we got sucked into a game of aerial football, we had some decent chances.

Vale approached the game the way I hoped they might. We have weaknesses that can be exploited if our opponents play positive football but Vale didn't seem to have confidence in themselves, or their manager didn't have confidence in his players, and set up as though they were playing a team from two divisions higher.

Our away form is a massive confidence thing that Page, Bruno, Brown and now Aspin have all failed to address over a good four or five years now. Aspin from being very set in his approach last season (1 up top, 3 in the central midfield this season has decided to become the tinker man, even in pre season he was trying Montano (who was excellent when he came on) at centre back!

Its his squad now and on paper a better one than last on paper but still so reliant on certain players being fit, both our energetic central midfielders are out injured and lose them or Pope and we are severely limited.

If we don't address the away form then we will struggle again, annoyingly if we had approached the first half as we did the second we would likely have got something from the game.

 

[Habbinalan]

Miller was brilliant v Cambridge an absolute best, since then we can't even get him in the game.

Talking to a Vale fan in the pub before the match, he was raving about Miller's pace and how he likes to run at defenders, and I feared the worst but we didn't see any of that.

We have history with Miller, both from the FA Cup games against Dover and his Posh connections. That was possibly a major factor in his motivation for the first match of the season.

Overall, I don't think he's a particularly good footballer but he gets in the box and has a blinkered, some would say greedy, shoot on sight attitude when outside the box that delivered goals at the lower level.

 

[valefan16]

His greed is the problem, a couple of times last night he took a shot on that was difficult, one of them was poor because if he had played the ball through we'd have been 1 on 1 with the keeper second half and Clarke has made an overlap into the box.

If he improves his decision making he could be decent for us.

 

[Andy Proctor]

You might aswell put 23 losses by us for away games save anybody the hassle of going or playing the match.

 

[leedsvaliant]

It's clearly a tactic of Aspin to contain the home team in the first half and try and get to half time at 0-0 and then push on more in the second half to try and snatch a victory, he virtually said as much in his interview.

The trouble is we are neither good enough or clever enough to carry this out and once we inevitably concede we are chasing the game and usually end up conceding a second.

We're not a lowly premier league club playing Man City. Most defences in this league border on the shite, so the best tactic is to test them from the off and let them worry about us. The tactics were crazy on Tuesday, particularly changing a defence that had just kept a clean sheet and playing Dodds who has no pace.

Once we brought Montano on in the second half, we looked more of a threat but it's too late by then and people start snatching at chances as desperation kicks in.

I'm disappointed that we haven't got a clue how to play away from home still. Having said that, we are missing Manny in midfield who I believe will be a key player for us.