Rob Page Old Boys v Rob Page New Boys

[leedsvaliant]

So, after a frankly surprisingly comfortable FA Cup victory on Sunday, we need to hope that it has given us some confidence for the league. We've played, in general, dreadfully for around 2 months, with often bewildering team selections, tactics and people playing out of position.

Finally, we had a left back at left back, two midfielders and a proper target man and surprise surprise we were much better for it (albeit against poor opposition). Same team for me, except for Thomas replacing Kelly (if fit).

Northampton started the season very well, but seem to have become accustomed to Page's negative football. He did a fair job here but I don't think anyone was massively disappointed that he left. He'll never make it to the top in my opinion, too much of a nice guy and one of the lads and takes a really cautious approach.

What a surprise that we play yet another team that has lost 4 league games in a row (we always play teams on this sort of run). I'll go for an optimistic 2-0 win.

 

[valefan16]

Good post leedsvaliant and agree with all of this, despite the injuries and suspensions we looked very good against Hartlepool and although they were modest opposition at best we knocked the ball around and looked far better than of late.

The young side is a positive (only Ryan Taylor and Tavares over 23) but I would make the same change if as expected Thomas is fit as he is a top player at this level and we would look far better for it.

Impressed with Kiko, finally playing at left back where he should be and his crossing was superb to match, very much a med/latin style left back with his attacking qualities. Amoros covered Grant well and De Freitas looks a threat so keep the status quo, be positive and attacking and we should be able to get a result.

Page did ok but bored most of us to death, and his repeat interviews of "We go again" and "The lads in that dressing room are honest lads who I cant question their commitment" lines became as tedious as the football... although Bruno has kind of followed Page's trend in terms of boring slow paced and negative tactics! Plus Page had his favourites to the detriment of the team when playing people who weren't in form!

Alnwick

Taylor
Streete
Smith
Kiko

De Freitas
Amoros
Tavares
Thomas

Jones
Big Reg Cicilia

Positive is Pagey wont be able to give much insight into us from his previous time as the squad is virtually unrecognisable (especially with the changes enforced).

2-1 Jones and Big Reg.

 

[Strawberry_Jam]

We've played, in general, dreadfully for around 2 months, with often bewildering team selections, tactics and people playing out of position.

You thought Page was still your manager and started watching us?

 

[valefan16]

You thought Page was still your manager and started watching us?

Bruno is the Portuguese Pagey!

 

[Strawberry_Jam]

Vamos de novo...

 

[Andy Proctor]

So, after a frankly surprisingly comfortable FA Cup victory on Sunday, we need to hope that it has given us some confidence for the league. We've played, in general, dreadfully for around 2 months, with often bewildering team selections, tactics and people playing out of position.

Finally, we had a left back at left back, two midfielders and a proper target man and surprise surprise we were much better for it (albeit against poor opposition). Same team for me, except for Thomas replacing Kelly (if fit).

Northampton started the season very well, but seem to have become accustomed to Page's negative football. He did a fair job here but I don't think anyone was massively disappointed that he left. He'll never make it to the top in my opinion, too much of a nice guy and one of the lads and takes a really cautious approach.

What a surprise that we play yet another team that has lost 4 league games in a row (we always play teams on this sort of run). I'll go for an optimistic 2-0 win.

If that 11 starts than alnwick would be the only regular starter under page to play as smith was on loan at torquay and streete didnt play many. I think we will win 2 1 with jones and cicilia continueing there good goalscoring form.

 

[Andy Proctor]

Good post leedsvaliant and agree with all of this, despite the injuries and suspensions we looked very good against Hartlepool and although they were modest opposition at best we knocked the ball around and looked far better than of late.

The young side is a positive (only Ryan Taylor and Tavares over 23) but I would make the same change if as expected Thomas is fit as he is a top player at this level and we would look far better for it.

Impressed with Kiko, finally playing at left back where he should be and his crossing was superb to match, very much a med/latin style left back with his attacking qualities. Amoros covered Grant well and De Freitas looks a threat so keep the status quo, be positive and attacking and we should be able to get a result.

Page did ok but bored most of us to death, and his repeat interviews of "We go again" and "The lads in that dressing room are honest lads who I cant question their commitment" lines became as tedious as the football... although Bruno has kind of followed Page's trend in terms of boring slow paced and negative tactics! Plus Page had his favourites to the detriment of the team when playing people who weren't in form!

Alnwick

Taylor
Streete
Smith
Kiko

De Freitas
Amoros
Tavares
Thomas

Jones
Big Reg Cicilia

Positive is Pagey wont be able to give much insight into us from his previous time as the squad is virtually unrecognisable (especially with the changes enforced).

2-1 Jones and Big Reg.

That was the quote i was meant to use for my reply.

 

[markpvfc]

Page will probably tell Northampton to target Streete as our weak link, judging by how little he played him. Time for Streete to show him how good he actually is, hopefully adding another goal or two.

 

[valefan16]

Page will probably tell Northampton to target Streete as our weak link, judging by how little he played him. Time for Streete to show him how good he actually is, hopefully adding another goal or two.

Streete and Smith could potentially make us £1.5-2 million between them yet Page rated neither and wouldn't have given them a chance to develop sadly.

 

[markpvfc]

I wouldn't necessarily say he didn't rate Smith, he was a young lad from the youth team who was sent out for a seasons loan at a lower league team. It seems to have done him the world of good, we'll never know how well he'd have played had he been thrown into league 1 football last season.
Shame none of the players out on loan this season seem to be doing so well. Boot was doing ok at Worcester but has swapped them for Macclesfields bench.

 

[valefan16]

Boot has been shafted by us going and signing Benfica's reserve keeper to be fair.

 

[MJA]

I wouldn't necessarily say he didn't rate Smith, he was a young lad from the youth team who was sent out for a seasons loan at a lower league team. It seems to have done him the world of good, we'll never know how well he'd have played had he been thrown into league 1 football last season.
Shame none of the players out on loan this season seem to be doing so well. Boot was doing ok at Worcester but has swapped them for Macclesfields bench.

Agree 100% Mark and think Page should be credited for sending Smith out instead of being criticised for it. It has clearly helped with Smith's development where a season in L1 before any real experience of pro football could have been the downfall of him.

I don't think anyone can say Page didn't do ok at Vale without ever setting the world on fire considering he took a mid-table League 1 club to a mid-table finish in League 1. He seems to be doing the same with Northampton so it would appear that he has found his level

 

[valefan16]

Agree 100% Mark and think Page should be credited for sending Smith out instead of being criticised for it. It has clearly helped with Smith's development where a season in L1 before any real experience of pro football could have been the downfall of him.

I don't think anyone can say Page didn't do ok at Vale without ever setting the world on fire considering he took a mid-table League 1 club to a mid-table finish in League 1. He seems to be doing the same with Northampton so it would appear that he has found his level

My only real gripe with Page was how he nearly got us relegated despite being on 48 points with 11 games to go in his first season! He seemed to know how to turn it around when we did hit a bad spell (lets be honest we never had a bad spell last season as we simply won/drew at home, lost away in the main.

 

[Shropshire Shoe]

Expecting us to be beaten again on Saturday by vale. Would take a point right now just to stop the losing run. Moloney missing for us is a big miss as he's been one of our better players and is a lot better than Aaron Phillips. Think we will lose 2-1.

 

[valefan16]

In 1 and a half seasons now we have only lost 5 times in the league at Vale Park, 4 of those to top 6 teams but it is going to end sooner or later! We have a lot of our big players missing so wont be straight forward.

 

[markpvfc]

Hope I don't hear any chants of "You should've stayed at Vale".
His football was awful, not that it's been any better recently, and I was glad he left.

 

[markpvfc]

For me one of the key parts of Smith's loan was that it was to Torquay, somewhere miles from home where he had to leave his family and friends behind, I think it probably helped him grow up a lot. Shame nothing similar has been done this year with somebody like Dan Turner.

 

[EricSabin]

Coming up for this one on the rattler, was a much better performance second half against Bolton so hopefully we can turn that into a point or three

 

[MJA]

My only real gripe with Page was how he nearly got us relegated despite being on 48 points with 11 games to go in his first season! He seemed to know how to turn it around when we did hit a bad spell (lets be honest we never had a bad spell last season as we simply won/drew at home, lost away in the main.

But he was (and still is) a rookie manager. If young managers are dismissed early in their careers just because they have a bad run then eventually the sport will run out of managers deemed as capable. And at the end of the day, you have said yourself that he managed to turn things around when we did hit the bad run and surely that in itself should be applauded as there are lots of managers who have never been able to stop the rot.

I will always say Page did a decent job for us although I wasn't spending money and time actually watching it so I guess my opinion is not as valid as you lot who sat through it

 

[darren gregory]

My opinion is the football away from home was utter bilge. Lost count last season of the 1-0 defeats, all followed same pattern, boring tactics, opposition score from 65th minute onwards, no idea what to do then to rectify it.
Bradford, Southend, Sheff Utd, Bury are all off top of my head 1-0 defeats with barely an attack or shot. Burton away was 2-0 one of worst Vale performances in living memory.
At home Wigan 3-2 was one of the best games at VP in years, he was ok nothing more nothing less.
The difference here is that he has left us for a club with a lot more money to spend on wages, Revell, Zakuani, Matt Taylor, all of whom on decent bucks i presume, yet they are 2 points behind this mish mash of a team/ squad which are the current Vale side.
Page should never of got the job after nearly taking us down, the Yeovil away when we secured our status was him down to a tee.
A dreadful opposition, yet an over cautious approach, instead of going for the jugular we sat back and sat back until the inevitable equaliser. A fluky goal from Brown and a miracle save from Neal won us the game, not Mr Page. Smurf made a huge error by appointing him.
That said i won,t boo him, he did so so but is certainly not an up and coming shining light in the game as some seem to suggest.

And please god if he is interviewed on Radio Stoke as i presume he will be i will scream if i here that phrase' we go again ' . Although that may well mean Vale have won if he does come out with that boring dross.

 

[Randolph Haggerty]

If I go, I certainly won't boo him, as managers go he wan't that bad.
He never slagged the fans off ( unlike Adams) and although we were always poor away(what's changed?) we were good at home , Wigan and donny spring to mind.
He came across as a likeable bloke, and although ovf would suggest otherwise, he seemed to maintain the support of the vast majority of fans.
From what I can see, he seems to have completely changed the cobblers team, which is a bit strange considering their last season.
I would imagine he is polarising their support somewhat, but they have gone from a very competent manager to a bit of a rookie.
As for the game, vale are doing ok and Northampton are on a bad run, I would like to see us go at them as we did Hartlepool but I fear our consistently inconsistent season will continue.
Draw.

 

[valefan16]

Same XI as last weeks 4-0 win, sounds like Thomas wife had a baby so hasn't returned. I'd have given Shalaj a go over Kelly but we shall see.

 

[valefan16]

Big Marc Richards starts for Cobblers, seems a forgotten man after his impressive stint at the Vale. Hoping he has an off day mind!

 

[valefan16]

Getting a wee bit mugged to be honest but diabolical goal to concede and haven't been our usual clinical self. Unlucky not to be playing 10 men too after that challenge on Tavares.

 

[valefan16]

Absolutely mugged!

 

[valefan16]

Gutted was more one sided than last week and somehow contrived to lose. Now in deep deep trouble and we're worryingly awful at set pieces today. Really disappointed

 

[Strawberry_Jam]

Judging by the amount of chances we wasted and the amount of times Tim Oglethorpe shouted on the radio, I highly doubt you were mugged.
Seems to be some trouble between Vale supporters and board members at the end. Highly embarassing.

 

[LordJord]

We go again.

 

[valefan16]

Judging by the amount of chances we wasted and the amount of times Tim Oglethorpe shouted on the radio, I highly doubt you were mugged.
Seems to be some trouble between Vale supporters and board members at the end. Highly embarassing.

Clearly weren't there then! Most dominant we've been all season, was disappointed as it was heading for a draw and got caught late going for the win.

McCourt had to see red for a two footed lunge, summed up a highly frustrating afternoon for us. Really shafted ourselves on set pieces (unusual for us this season).

Would of been gutted to draw so to lose was a real kick in the teeth but after weeks of shitness it's hope as produce that week in week out and we will soon climb the table.

Kiko is fucking quality mind!

 

[markpvfc]

Clearly weren't there then! Most dominant we've been all season, was disappointed as it was heading for a draw and got caught late going for the win.

McCourt had to see red for a two footed lunge, summed up a highly frustrating afternoon for us. Really shafted ourselves on set pieces (unusual for us this season).

Would of been gutted to draw so to lose was a real kick in the teeth but after weeks of shitness it's hope as produce that week in week out and we will soon climb the table.

Kiko is fucking quality mind!

Very little of that I agree with. Don't think it was a red card for McCourt, especially with Salisbury as ref who is probably the most lenient around. We had plenty of possession but rarely worked their keeper, shooting wide or over. Combine that with some horrendous defending, we were lucky to only concede 3, and we deservedly lost that game.