Saturday 13th January fixtures

[denzel ecfc]

Fair play to the Reading fans today, they really have been through enough.
Don't know how I would have felt had it had happened in our game though. Its quite a trek for the Vale fans and I can't imagine Reading paying for them to come back on a Tuesday night.
Be interesting to see how this goes.

 

[Brox]

Won 1-0 but was a dreadful game of football. Very few meaningful opportunities and when one did come it fell to Jamie Reid who won us the game. Think a draw probably would have been fair. Important for us to get back to winning ways given the poor start to 2024.

 

[valefan16]

Fair play to the Reading fans today, they really have been through enough.
Don't know how I would have felt had it had happened in our game though. Its quite a trek for the Vale fans and I can't imagine Reading paying for them to come back on a Tuesday night.
Be interesting to see how this goes.

In fairness most fans there were by the sounds of it very supportive, chanting “you greedy b****** get out of their club” and shaking hands with their fans etc.

Guess we were just the collateral, will have to see how it pans out, if this becomes a common occurrence until he sells or puts them into administration then it becomes a massive headache for the EFL.

 

[masi51]

Best wishes to the Bolton fan but couldn`t the game go on?

knobb!!!

 

[Robie]

Reading are having to deal with the consequences of overspending tens if not hundreds of millions of pounds over the years in the Championship.

Port Vale and other clubs shouldn’t be disadvantaged.
I hope the EFL finally get a grip of them.

 

[denzel ecfc]

As I said, he was resuscitated twice whilst in the stand - the players had been off for about 40 mins by the time he'd been taken away on the stretcher.

I'm not sure any player or fan would have been up to cheering their team on in a game that would have seemed pointless following what had just happened.

Presumably as well, because he would have been taken away in an ambulance there needed to be another one brought in for the game to continue, and who knows how long that would have taken?

 

[leedsvaliant]

Reading are having to deal with the consequences of overspending tens if not hundreds of millions of pounds over the years in the Championship.

Port Vale and other clubs shouldn’t be disadvantaged.
I hope the EFL finally get a grip of them.

I have to agree I'm afraid. They've clearly overspent for years to put themselves in a false position, even before the current owner. Sad for the fans but ultimately they've been cheating and taking the place of a team who have played by the book. I'm sure their fans thoroughly enjoyed their years in the Premier League and Championship at the time.

As I understand it, the current owner has put in tens of millions of pounds. He clearly didn't understand how much money it costs to sustain a club even at Championship level. He should sell but you can understand why he doesn't want to lose 10s of millions of pounds.

Vale have been in administration twice but we literally didn't benefit...in fact we got worse!

 

[Pompeyblueboy]

Probably longer than you have, and go on then, name me a first half worse than that.

Probably longer than you have, and go on then, name me a first half worse than that.

I'm not going to argue with you as to whether there have been worse first halfs or not.

Main thing is we've rode our luck this season and with the loss of a few of our better players we are now fcuked unless we can some how get a few diamonds in.

 

[White horse]

I was at the game and noticed about a hundred fans near the incident frantically waving to get help and tbf the referee spotted this quite quickly and the game came to a halt. Then that part of the stand was evacuated and the stewards formed a barrier as the medics got to work. It was right to abandon the game just out of respect for the family, can't just carry on as if nothing had happened. It was a life of a fellow football fan who set off for the day to cheer his team on. Hope he pulled through.

 

[The Terminator]

That was probably the best we've played in around 9/10 years, since we was last at this level and from our 2013/14 season when we finished third.

We was clinical with our chances, managed to play through the thirds and cause Pompey alot of problems in the firs 30mins.

The turning point was the penalty save from Bishop, that goes in and we'd have had a whole different test. Then the third goal right on half time - Since Dan Agyei has got up to speed our attacking play has dramatically improved.

This thankfully for us meant the second half turned into a non event and we saw the game out, Portsmouth just never ever got going.

Portsmouth were poor, not the efficient team who'd already beaten us twice already this season. Losing Andy Robertson clearly a big blow for them.

 

[leedsvaliant]

Pompey are still in a very strong position but they seem to have this mid season dip in them historically. Still think they'll be there or thereabouts. They beat us and weren't really at their best, in fact we were the better team for the first half. So I imagine they'll get a few more of those sort of results over the season.

 

[Trapdoor]

Good shit from the reading fans. Football in England does have an ownership problem. Clubs are supposed to be for the fans and community, not just a quick payday or plaything for the rich and famous.

 

[Robie]

Good shit from the reading fans. Football in England does have an ownership problem. Clubs are supposed to be for the fans and community, not just a quick payday or plaything for the rich and famous.

When they fall to a level that is sustainable for them maybe they will get that.

 

[GEORGE]

You've not been watching us long then

What do you think about us little teams now. And before you say " Have I been watching you for long " I first saw Portsmouth at AG in 1965.

 

[Super_horns]

Reading are having to deal with the consequences of overspending tens if not hundreds of millions of pounds over the years in the Championship.

Port Vale and other clubs shouldn’t be disadvantaged.
I hope the EFL finally get a grip of them.

Wasn’t much effort to stop the protest (which was kind of understandable) so guess they let it happen without making the situation worse ?

 

[kieran_vale]

Wasn’t much effort to stop the protest (which was kind of understandable) so guess they let it happen without making the situation worse ?

It would only have incited worse I think. The game was stop-start before that with the tennis balls being thrown on. They occasionally would do an announcement over the PA threatening that the game would be abandoned if they didn’t move (which was bizarre given that was their goal). From speaking to Reading fans today though this is not likely to be a one-off, can see a situation they end up playing home games behind closed doors.

 

[mozzavale]

Reading fans did what they had to do. The points are of no real concern to them such is their situation. They want a club to support once this is all done and dusted.

Rules state Vale should be awarded the 3 points, so that's what should be the conclusion. Shouldn't be a situation where we're disadvantaged as a result of this, so the rules should be followed.

 

[Marked Ox]

It would only have incited worse I think. The game was stop-start before that with the tennis balls being thrown on. They occasionally would do an announcement over the PA threatening that the game would be abandoned if they didn’t move (which was bizarre given that was their goal). From speaking to Reading fans today though this is not likely to be a one-off, can see a situation they end up playing home games behind closed doors.

I suspect they might target the game at ours on Feb 3rd.

 

[Carver]

Why did Reading sell their club to some dodgy Chinese billionaire in the first place?
Some blame must lie with their previous owner for not doing any due diligence and did the fans trust not get a say?

 

[Gassy]

Why did Reading sell their club to some dodgy Chinese billionaire in the first place?
Some blame must lie with their previous owner for not doing any due diligence and did the fans trust not get a say?

Perhaps, but that’s probably on the EFL as well for their “fit and proper” test.

Which has failed how many times now?

 

[Super_horns]

Reading fans did what they had to do. The points are of no real concern to them such is their situation. They want a club to support once this is all done and dusted.

Rules state Vale should be awarded the 3 points, so that's what should be the conclusion. Shouldn't be a situation where we're disadvantaged as a result of this, so the rules should be followed.

Apparently when Blackpool did it for a game v Huddersfield few seasons back the result stayed as it was although was near the end of the season .

 

[Bartonyellow]

They replayed the Scunthorpe v Buxton game after 91 minutes so they will do the same for 16 minutes.
Will be in April or something to imagine when they are already down.

 

[kieran_vale]

Apparently when Blackpool did it for a game v Huddersfield few seasons back the result stayed as it was although was near the end of the season .

Im guessing that was a dead rubber. In this circumstance it’s very much a live game with implications on the relegation battle certainly for Reading and who knows if we hit another bad spell us potentially. Maybe a situation where they deduct three points from Reading and then have it replayed so they can’t make any gains out of it as such.

 

[White horse]

Perhaps, but that’s probably on the EFL as well for their “fit and proper” test.

Which has failed how many times now?

It was mind blowing how Bolton's former owner became in charge, He was barred from directing business in 2005 as 8 of his companies had gone bust. 8 years later that ban came to an end and he somehow got involved with BWFC, via Dean Holdsworth.

He got the club by saddling debt on an already struggling club a downward spiral, When we finally went into Administration him and his son walked away with thousands, at least some of these dodgy owners put their own money in,. Anderson was accused by the club’s administrators, David Rubin and Partners, of “using his position as a secured creditor to hamper and frustrate any deal that did not benefit him or suit his purposes” in the statement which announced the sale.

Inner Circle Investments, owned by Bolton Wanderers chairman Ken Anderson, has acquired Sports Shield's former 37.5% shareholding in the club.
Sports Shield BWFC Ltd was liquidated on 21 August after BluMarble Ltd lodged a winding-up petition in relation to non-repayment of a £5m loan.
Inner Circle holds 95% of shares after agreeing a deal with the liquidators.
In a statement, Anderson said a new arrangement had been reached with finance company BluMarble.
The loan to Sports Shield was secured against club assets and, because of accumulated interest, was thought to be closer to £7m.
"I am extremely pleased that this matter has been brought to a satisfactory conclusion and we can now all concentrate on taking the business forward without any further off-field distractions, which have been so publicly aired in the past," said Anderson.
"I would very much like to thank BluMarble for all of their co-operation in swiftly concluding the situation in respect of the outstanding loan.
"Throughout these negotiations their desire was to minimise any damage to the business and have remained very supportive of the football club.
"I'd like to thank all our loyal fans for their continued patience and support throughout this period."
Inner Circle and Sports Shield completed a joint-takeover of Bolton Wanderers in March 2016.
In May, Anderson said Inner Circle had acquired approximately 30% of Sports Shield to assist with resolving the matter with BluMarble, leaving Sports Shield with a 37.5% share in the Championship club and Inner Circle with 57.5%.

 

[Super_horns]

Im guessing that was a dead rubber. In this circumstance it’s very much a live game with implications on the relegation battle certainly for Reading and who knows if we hit another bad spell us potentially. Maybe a situation where they deduct three points from Reading and then have it replayed so they can’t make any gains out of it as such.

Agree - it will be replayed or points awarded in some shape or form.

It was mind blowing how Bolton's former owner became in charge, He was barred from directing business in 2005 as 8 of his companies had gone bust. 8 years later that ban came to an end and he somehow got involved with BWFC, via Dean Holdsworth.

He got the club by saddling debt on an already struggling club a downward spiral, When we finally went into Administration him and his son walked away with thousands, at least some of these dodgy owners put their own money in,. Anderson was accused by the club’s administrators, David Rubin and Partners, of “using his position as a secured creditor to hamper and frustrate any deal that did not benefit him or suit his purposes” in the statement which announced the sale.

Inner Circle Investments, owned by Bolton Wanderers chairman Ken Anderson, has acquired Sports Shield's former 37.5% shareholding in the club.
Sports Shield BWFC Ltd was liquidated on 21 August after BluMarble Ltd lodged a winding-up petition in relation to non-repayment of a £5m loan.
Inner Circle holds 95% of shares after agreeing a deal with the liquidators.
In a statement, Anderson said a new arrangement had been reached with finance company BluMarble.
The loan to Sports Shield was secured against club assets and, because of accumulated interest, was thought to be closer to £7m.
"I am extremely pleased that this matter has been brought to a satisfactory conclusion and we can now all concentrate on taking the business forward without any further off-field distractions, which have been so publicly aired in the past," said Anderson.
"I would very much like to thank BluMarble for all of their co-operation in swiftly concluding the situation in respect of the outstanding loan.
"Throughout these negotiations their desire was to minimise any damage to the business and have remained very supportive of the football club.
"I'd like to thank all our loyal fans for their continued patience and support throughout this period."
Inner Circle and Sports Shield completed a joint-takeover of Bolton Wanderers in March 2016.
In May, Anderson said Inner Circle had acquired approximately 30% of Sports Shield to assist with resolving the matter with BluMarble, leaving Sports Shield with a 37.5% share in the Championship club and Inner Circle with 57.5%.

Remember Lawarence Bassini was sniffing around your club and he had been made bankrupt twice having to change his name once and that was before taking us over!

 

[coronakopite]

Be interesting to hear from any Cambridge fans who went to the game.
There's no doubt this was a much improved performance from Fleetwood and I'm tempted to say we at least deserved a point. However following the game live scores it was the hosts who finished stronger and we are now clearly their favourite team to play against, played 3 won 3 !! - you will miss us next year ( but not a lot )
So Charlie Adam I'm sure will be gutted by this result, it was winnable game, and to concede in extra time is even more sickening. We are not quite in the last chance saloon, they need to find a win from somewhere but that's proving rather difficult at the moment
Pompey at home next...who knows ?

I thought you were crap again to be honest, but so were we for the first 70 mins which was the difference between the first two games.

Screamed like the sort of game that happens to teams that end up getting relegated.

Have to agree with Tom ... to a point.

Both teams looked dire with the ball in the air and lumped forward early. Clearly that was the game Adam wanted and we resisited reasonably up to the equaliser. We were galvanised in the final 20 minutes, when we played 2 actual strikers (rather than converted No 10s or winger) up front - all be it a youngster who had shined in our FA Youth Cup team and a Wycombe reject who hasn't scored for ages and apparently has an attitude problem (a blend of Sam Smith ego with some Jayden Stockley shit-housing goes down fine with me).

If we can stay out of the relegation dogfight and get our current crop of strikers fit and with contracts for next season we might actually have goals in us for the first time since Paul Mullin left. But that's a big if and we have some crucial games in the next month with two of them not fit, one getting up to speed and one still raw. Kaikai's and Kachunga's goals from behind the "strikers" have already been invaluable and will be the key against the likes of Exeter, Burton, Shrewsbury, Cheltenham and Carlisle in the coming weeks

Your new signing, Harry Boyle looked a different level - speedy enough, with a cracking shot and reliable decent crosses in him from left wing back.

 

[valefan16]

Im guessing that was a dead rubber. In this circumstance it’s very much a live game with implications on the relegation battle certainly for Reading and who knows if we hit another bad spell us potentially. Maybe a situation where they deduct three points from Reading and then have it replayed so they can’t make any gains out of it as such.

It was alternatively Oldham v Salford was abandoned with 10 minutes left, a game that would see Oldham down and them losing and everyone went home and it was quietly finished behind closed doors a couple of hours later which I expected our game to be to be honest. Would have surely made sense and limited the financial impact on Vale in terms of travel and hotels… then the EFL can deal with punishment and how our fans get recompense.

That seemed too obvious though! Game was abandoned at 4:25 everyone gone by 5:30 say, do the warm ups and play on from 6:30 and have it done and dusted by 8 from a football perspective.

The issue now the EFL have is how to deal with the situation because Reading fans are saying this is the start and will do it in subsequent games so could have a situation where the next game gets abandoned and so on… do they force them to play behind closed doors? Or just give the opponents the three points each time it happens?

The EFL have to deal with the football integrity issue of it but know fans largely are sympathetic and supportive of Reading’s plight.

 

[Tallow]

Carlisle 1 - 3 Oxford
Simpsons tactics included playing Armstrong as a lone striker and leaving our most creative attacking player, Gibson, on the bench.
We got what we deserved.

 

[The Terminator]

Last seasons top three from League Two now in the top ten of League One, didn't think I'd be saying that back in August.

 

[Luke Imp]

Important point at Wycombe yesterday to stop the rot. Sounds like we got our formation and tactics all wrong for the first hour or so but improved when we changed it.