The Best & Worst...

[darren gregory]

That was in the Cup, but bemused as to why that was too apart from it was a cracker and you should of won 15-10 instead of 4-3.

 

[TomPNE94]

How is it every comment I make you seem to have an issue with Tom? Firstly as I hadn,t pre-booked on their car park I was left driving around industrial estates to find somewhere, we got back to the car at 5-30 having negotiated a partly built dual carriageway in pitch darkness, nothing near to the ground food or pub wise and it,s a PERSONAL opinion, nothing against Colchester. Just feel these new grounds are cop outs away from civilisation and soulless. The football experience to me is about the whole day not sitting on a retail park next to Toys R Us or an Asda superstore. And the park and ride would of taken me exactly where considering I was in a car and no intention of going into town.

I don't take issue with every comment you have, just the ones I think are wrong.

The park and ride is across the dual carriageway at the ground and takes you to the ground.

 

[darren gregory]

well as it was my first and last visit I hadn,t a clue where anything was and was driving round like a twat as they wouldn,t let me on the car park so I never saw it.

 

[valefan16]

Definitely, because one of the other Port Vale fans on here had us as the best set of fans to visit Vale Park this season

That was in the cup to be fair I didn't attend the league game.

 

[Ciderup]

Of the games I actually went to:
Best Opposition Team? Preston at the Gate, a brilliant away performance. Honourable mentions to Rochdale (twice) and Chesterfield at our place.
Worst Opposition Team? Nott's County, really, really shite!
Best Opposition Player? Peter Vincenti really impressed me. Good player. Done is a class act as well.
Worst Opposition Player? Branco, it's football not GBH. Thug!
Best Opposition Fans? Oldham at our place were excellent but Preston and Chesterfield were brilliant hosts. Couldn't have been friendlier.
Worst Opposition Fans? Nobody was truly bad but I will plump for Cov away although it must be frustrating trying to get an atmosphere going at the Ricoh. Port Vale were truly pathetic at our place as there wasn't many of them at all.
Best Opposition Ground? Deepdale. Lovely ground, deserves to be higher. Stadium MK is a great ground too but I hate the location of it.
Worst Oppositon Ground? Swindon. Truly, truly shite!
Best Opposition Goal? The Gills goal at ours in the JPT was a good team goal IIRC. Smith at Swindon was a good finish as well.

 

[DaveOAFC]

Lee Johnsons team selection that day was shocking at home to Yeovil . Could see a defeat coming. Helping out his dad? Always thought it didn't seem right.

 

[skyblue76]

Worst Opposition Fans? Coventry. I know they were in the shit at the time but 7k at home only shortly after returning to the Ricoh was a poor effort.

It was actually 8K home fans, but get your point..

That said, our crowds last season were artificially low because of the circumstances. We started the season in Northampton, so we barely sold a ST all summer. There was a bit of a flurry when we moved back but we were still well short of where we would normally be. So, we were starting from a very low base every game, and as the season panned out (and got progressively worse) crowds dwindled.

Our crowds will increase notably next season.

 

[PUSBCCFC]

It was actually 8K home fans, but get your point..

That said, our crowds last season were artificially low because of the circumstances. We started the season in Northampton, so we barely sold a ST all summer. There was a bit of a flurry when we moved back but we were still well short of where we would normally be. So, we were starting from a very low base every game, and as the season panned out (and got progressively worse) crowds dwindled.

Our crowds will increase notably next season.

They won't unless we see some monumental changes on the pitch.

 

[F!RTHY]

THE BEST OOPOSITION TEAM:

For footballing ability, Swindon Town. Bristol were incredibly Clinical, along with PNE.

THE WORST OPPOSITION TEAM:

Most definitely Crewe at home earlier in the season.

BEST OPPOSITION PLAYER:

Sam Johnstone when at Donny (?). Fantastic keeper.

BEST OPPOSITION FANS:

No one in the league immediately springs to mind - so possibly either Reading at VP in the Quarters, or Halifax at the Shay in their cup final.

WORST OPPOSITION FANS:

Too many to list. Rochdale at Spotland.

BEST OPPOSITION GROUND:

Chelsea - Stamford Bridge

WORST OPPOSITION GROUND:

Crawley - Broadfield (?)

BEST OPPOSITION GOAL:

That Donny goal at VP - smashed it in from what seemed to be a ridiculous angle from 25 yards. Good effort.

 

[BCFC]

Best opposition? Bristol City at home absolutely battered us.
Worst Oppositon? Crawley away, easiest 3 points of the season.
Best opposition player? The tall Bristol player at the back.
Worst opposition player? Too many to choose.
Best opposition fans? MK Dons were the loudest home fans but nothing special, only other home fans I actually remember singing were Crewe, Oldham and Peterborough. To come to Valley Parade, either Oldham, Bristol, PNE or MK Dons fans but again no one was particularly loud.
Worst opposition fans? Pretty much everyone else who were not mentioned above, but would probably have to give it to Sheffield for having 19,000+ home fans and made it so eerily silent.
Best Opposition ground? Definitely Bramall Lane, no atmosphere but looks great, followed by Deepdale.
Worst Opposition ground? Crewe, didn't go to Swindon this season otherwise it would have been them. Gillingham has by far the worst away end.

 

[Scumarmy.]

Best opposition? Bristol City at home absolutely battered us.
Worst Oppositon? Crawley away, easiest 3 points of the season.
Best opposition player? The tall Bristol player at the back.
Worst opposition player? Too many to choose.
Best opposition fans? MK Dons were the loudest home fans but nothing special, only other home fans I actually remember singing were Crewe, Oldham and Peterborough. To come to Valley Parade, either Oldham, Bristol, PNE or MK Dons fans but again no one was particularly loud.
Worst opposition fans? Pretty much everyone else who were not mentioned above, but would probably have to give it to Sheffield for having 19,000+ home fans and made it so eerily silent.
Best Opposition ground? Definitely Bramall Lane, no atmosphere but looks great, followed by Deepdale.
Worst Opposition ground? Crewe, didn't go to Swindon this season otherwise it would have been them. Gillingham has by far the worst away end.

That is one of the nicest things anybody has ever said about our support

 

[Dion'sHead]

Best Opposition Team: Preston
Worst Opposition: Colchester
Best Opposition Player: The Oldham goalkeeper
Worst Opposition Player: The Colchester goalkeeper
Best Opposition Fans: Port Vale
Worst Opposition Fans: Notts County
Best Opposition Ground: MK Dons
Worst Oppositon Ground: Oldham
Best Opposition Goal: Crawleys 2nd at The Ricoh

 

[Dan Phillips]

Best Opposition Team: Bristol City comfortably beat us in both fixtures, but they were mainly down to individual errors. They played some sumptuous football at times, but they looked a bit suspect on the counter and down the flanks (probably down to their system). Preston North End possessed some excellent footballers, and that clearly showed in our two league meetings. However, they were very wasteful, especially in the second half of both games, and didn't seem to be able to deal with pace. You could tell they were a very effective and well-drilled outfit though, and at times, they weren't even out of first gear, and we still couldn't get near to the ball. However, I think it's only fair to give this prestigious honour to a side that were extremely impressive over both the home and away fixtures, and that goes to Chesterfield. They were the only side to completely dominate both games this season. They played great, passing football at Vale Park at the end of August, and scored literally seconds into the second half. Their performance at the Proact was the best team performance I've seen from the opposition since we've been back in League One. Maintained possession excellently, every man knew their position, and their requirements, and were there to every second ball. Our ex-player Sam Morsy absolutely ran the show in midfield, another of our ex-players (Charlie Raglan) had an excellent game, Tendayi Darikwa had Mark Marshall in his back pocket (and not many players can say that this season) and we simply couldn't handle Armand Gnanduillet.

Worst Opposition Team: Milton Keynes Dons were very poor in both our meetings, especially as we spent half the game with ten men at stadium:MK. However, you could see, at times, they had quality amongst their ranks, and it was down to a mixture of us performing at a higher level than usual and them not being at the races, so to speak. Crawley Town were dreadful at their place, but redeemed themselves by winning 2-3 at Vale Park (even though they were very average). Colchester United likewise. Barnsley were poor at Vale Park, but beat us at Oakwell without playing too well. Leyton Orient would've had this wrapped up if we didn't have goalkeeper Chris Neal sent off at their place, resulting in them overturning a 0-1 deficit to win 3-1. The league table doesn't lie though, and Yeovil Town, unsurprisingly, take this award as they were awful at Vale Park, and their goalkeeper stopped it being a cricket score, and they were very poor at Huish Park (albeit they were already down).

Best Opposition Player: Jay Emmanuel-Thomas was a joy to watch at Ashton Gate, as was Luke Freeman and Korey Smith. Gary Roberts was excellent at Vale Park at the beginning of the campaign, but didn't really have much impact in the return fixture. Billy Knott was very calm on the ball and dictated play tremendously at Vale Park, but I didn't go to Valley Parade, so he misses out for me. Massimo Luongo was fantastic at Vale Park (which took some going because Swindon were poor after the first 15 minutes), but I didn't go to the County Ground either. So, as I attended both fixtures, and he impressed me in both, this honour will go to Aden Flint. Absolutely dominant in both fixtures, won everything in the air, good with the ball at his feet and a threat from set pieces (also scored at Vale Park). Best centre half in the league by a country mile, IMHO.

Worst Opposition Player: Far too many to mention, surely? Well, maybe not that bad, but there's been some hand-over-face moments from several players this season (Stephen Bywater for Doncaster Rovers, Luke O'Neill for Leyton Orient etc..) but the standout player for me that deserves this shameful award is Reece Wabara of Doncaster Rovers. Positionally dreadful in both games, constantly lost the ball, put it out for a throw-in or unnecessarily put Rovers under pressure with his decision-making. I can see why the Rovers fans weren't too happy to see him kept on this season, and are pretty glad to see the back of him this summer.

 

[Dan Phillips]

Best Opposition Fans: Admittedly, there's not too many sides that tend to create an atmosphere, over a sustained period of the match, unless they're in great form, it's a big game, or it's a local game with pride at stake. Our home atmosphere is, on the whole, probably average if all the sides were listed in a league table based on noise. Very quiet when things aren't going well, but can be very vocal on occasion (pretty much every side could argue this is the case for them though mind). Bristol City fans were surprisingly awful at Ashton Gate, but were very good at Vale Park with a substantially lower number of support (away games do tend to carry that something extra though, I guess). Crawley Town supporters were non-existent at the Broadfield Stadium, yet all 30-odd of them actually created an atmosphere at a morgue-like Vale Park so fair play to them. Sheffield United were embarrassing at the Lane, but more than decent at Vale Park. However, the side I can genuinely say created a decent atmosphere in both games this season were Oldham Athletic. It is very easy to knock their support for being a bunch of 'school kids' and singing songs about 'school on Monday' etc.., but they do back their team very well at both Boundary Park (sod off sponsorship deals) and away from home. Even though they won 0-1 at Vale Park, the game was a real bore, but they still backed their side and sang for the majority, and their fans were excellent in our 1-1 draw up at their place in August. Bit of banter between both sets of fans.

Worst Opposition Fans: I mentioned a couple in the previous award, but they redeemed themselves in the corresponding fixtures. Notts County were awful at Vale Park, yet were very vocal and supportive at Meadow Lane given it was a scrappy, niggly game where neither side looked very good at all. A few notable mentions for Fleetwood Town (understandable given they're a fairly 'new' club (although you'd expect something given their recent run of success through the leagues), Peterborough United and Colchester United. There's no doubting the outstanding candidates though, and a resounding victory (?) for the supporters of Scunthorpe United. They was minimal noise from them at Vale Park given it was an entertaining midweek game with four goals and a red card for an ex-player of ours, but given how big the game was for both sides at Glanford Park, their support was terrible and they only cheered in the final minute of stoppage time when they equalised. I'll also add that our support (both in numbers, and atmosphere, was also terrible before that gets commented on).

Best Opposition Ground: It's clear that a select few people tend to base their opinions on an opposing ground on things such as the day itself, what pubs are are available on matchday, whether or not they find the club attractive, whether they like their supporters on an internet forum or social media or not, and what colour the paintwork on nearby buildings is etc.. However, I base my opinions on opposing grounds on, you guessed it, the ground itself. Those factors can determine what view you take, but using the stadia itself as a yardstick, then I have to say Deepdale, Bramall Lane, Valley Parade and Meadow Lane are all very appealing for various reasons. However, and I know some fans won't take too kindly to this, and will undoubtedly reel off some expletives and other such nonsense about them being a 'plastic club' and not being deserving of a place in the second tier of English football, but stadium:MK is head and shoulders above any other stadia in this division. Outstanding facilities, very good view anywhere you sit and a ground that wouldn't look out of place in the Premier League. Yes, Milton Keynes as an away day is rather unappealing to the ordinary supporter with it being adjacent to a retail park and not too much nearby, but there's no arguing about the calibre of the stadium itself. It just looks a bit peculiar at the moment with it being almost two-thirds empty on a regular basis.

Worst Opposition Ground: Using the same criteria stated previously, there are a few that are standouts. I don't just tend to base my opinions on the quality of the away end either, as that's quite narrow-minded, IMHO. Precisely why I like Gillingham's ground. Scunthorpe United and Yeovil Town get a mention. Granted, YTFC have a terrace, which is a huge plus, but the ground as a whole, although 'traditional', is pretty bland and not at all appealing. Certainly not one I'd enjoy being at on a fortnightly basis. Scunthorpe United's is very strange. Can't quite make my mind up with it, but the away end has a weird feeling to it and it just doesn't do anything for me. However, the ground I consider, above and beyond, the worst in this division are 'sadly' (I use that term loosely) are no longer with us as they were relegated this season - Crawley Town. The Broadfield Stadium (again, FU sponsorship), has poor views in certain areas, random stands that look like they were thrown together overnight, and a general 'non-league' feel as soon as you come through the turnstiles.

Best Opposition Goal: There have been some very, very good goals scored this season for many reasons; the build-up play, one individual defence-splitting pass or cross, an individual's wonderful run or a moment of absolute magic from outside the box. A couple of worthy mentions go to Marcus Maddison and Jack Payne of Peterborough United (same match), Jay Emmanuel-Thomas of Bristol City, Carl Baker of Milton Keynes Dons (FA Cup game), John Egan of Gillingham, Mike Jones of Oldham Athletic and Dean Cox of Leyton Orient. However, the outstanding candidate and deserved winner of this award, IMO, goes to Joe Garner of Preston North End (JPT game). An exquisite strike.

A bit long-winded, but I thought I'd explain my choices and give credit to those that deserved mentioning.

 

[BCFC David]

Fucking hell Dan, long winded isn't the word.

Good read mind!

 

[Bacchus]

Best Opposition Team: Preston
While Bristol City walked the league I was just more impressed overall with Preston. Their whole set-up looked great, the defensive organisation was excellent, they controlled the middle of the park better than anyone else and seemed to really have the up hand tactically in both meetings with them. Some really good creative players too like Johnson, Gallagher and Garner.

Worst Opposition Team: Oldham
Might have done well initially under Lee Johnson but they were utter shite in both our meetings with them and we absolutely tore them apart in both fixtures while facing minimal resistance.

Best Opposition Player: Luke Freeman
Only saw they home leg against them but watching him was something different fro League One. I've been impressed by Dele Alli throughout the season, but Freeman was something different. Every attacking move he seemed to have a hand in and every time he did something he made Bristol City look dangerous and about to score. Would love a player like him to join us next season.

Worst Opposition Player(s): Notts County defence
Can't really remember there being a stand out one, but Notts County had an almost farcical back four. Without any doubt the worst I've seen all season.

Best Opposition Fans: Preston
Good at home, even better away. Thought they were by far the loudest and best quality away fans we hosted all season. Equally as entertaining afterwards when they took over the ASDA checkout area celebrating after the match. The drunken PNE fan that sat on the checkout and tried to get the till operator to scan him still remains the funniest thing I've seen all season. Even funnier than Swindon bottling it multiple times.

Worst Opposition Fans: Swindon
Just unpleasant and mouthier than any other fans I've come across. Ones up here were as bad shouting and swearing on the bus back to the station about MK being a shithole and abusing the bus driver on the way out. Ones down there were just prize tools, but funnier when they promised a 'hostile atmosphere' and even their local rag got in on goading us. Never been more satisfying to walk back after a match and see so many home fans with that tail-between-legs look after they'd been so mouthy and cocky before kick off.

Best Opposition Ground: Deepdale - Preston
Best ground in League One. Top atmosphere, good design for a modern stadium and the pubs in the city centre before the match are some of the best around and it's easy to get to on the train from MK.

Worst Opposition Ground: Vale Park - Port Vale
Not a fan. Bit of an odd layout and the scoreboard blocking the view from the back is just a pain.

Best Opposition Goal: Joe Garner
Don't really remember seeing any eye-catching ones against us, it was usually all from us. Best I've seen in highlights was probably the keepy-upppy volleyed one Joe Garner won Goal of the Season for.

 

[TomPNE94]

Best Opposition Goal: Joe Garner
Don't really remember seeing any eye-catching ones against us, it was usually all from us. Best I've seen in highlights was probably the keepy-upppy volleyed one Joe Garner won Goal of the Season for.

???

 

[Bacchus]

???

That one he won an award for, might be a different award then but surely you know which goal I mean?

 

[Bottega Don]

That one he won an award for, might be a different award then but surely you know which goal I mean?

That wasn't last season, it was the season before against Rotherham in the play-offs.