The Holy Farewell...

[valefan16]

Following todays Port Vale released list its finally been confirmed that Tom Pope will leave the club.

A boyhood Vale fan he finally joined his beloved Valiants in 2011 notably scoring a brace against Bradford on sky to open his account for the Valiants...

In 2012/13 he would have the season of his life scoring 33 goals, more incredibly none were from the spot! Scoring 4 against his old club Rotherham, hatricks against Bristol Rovers and notably in a crucial game at home to Cheltenham as the Valiants slump threatened to derail promotion.

He would score his 100th goal for the club at Northampton in 2019 and incredibly broke the clubs post war goal scoring record with his superb header against Manchester City in the FA Cup. He ends on 115 goals for his boyhood club.

The clubs only true "Legend" of the 21st century.

Sadly Pope would not get the send off he deserved due to the pandemic.

Thank you for the memories Tom! "Feed the Pope and he will score"

 

[shoddycollins]

Getting on in years now but I'd have Luke Joyce back here for a third spell in a heartbeat.

Last time you played us I think the Port Vale squad had more combined apperances in a Carlisle shirt than our own squad.

 

[Soz]

it has honestly been one of the greatest privileges of following vale to see a local lad, a vale fan, achieve what he has for port vale.

the goal against Man City will never be forgotten, and he was simply unplayable in our promotion season.

It's not quite as sad knowing that he'll be in around the place either as a fan or in an official capacity in years to come.

 

[valefan16]

it has honestly been one of the greatest privileges of following vale to see a local lad, a vale fan, achieve what he has for port vale.

the goal against Man City will never be forgotten, and he was simply unplayable in our promotion season.

It's not quite as sad knowing that he'll be in around the place either as a fan or in an official capacity in years to come.

That's it, the fact he is one of us makes it even sweeter.

That mental at Man City was unbelievable... he said he'd score against a defence with John Stones and did just that!

He lived the dream we all have as fans of the club.

That promotion season was unreal... 33 goals and not one penalty... if he took them instead of Jeno or Hughes he would likely have hit 40 plus! Not to mention he actually had an 8 game barren spell towards the end! Great memories and ones as fans we will talk about in decades to come like we do Naylor or Foyle now.

 

[Chris FGR]

I liked it when he scored against Man City after trolling John Stones and the City fans. After the game he admitted he was wrong about scoring 40 a season playing against Stones every week, said he’d actually get 50.

 

[valefan16]

I liked it when he scored against Man City after trolling John Stones and the City fans. After the game he admitted he was wrong about scoring 40 a season playing against Stones every week, said he’d actually get 50.

Was funny because the Man City players all wanted selfies with Pope to wind Stones up! Bernard Mendy absolutely loved it!

 

[valefan16]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1214087559661465600

Love this... I was literally a couple of rows in front. The best mental!

 

[Soz]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1214087559661465600

Love this... I was literally a couple of rows in front. The best mental!

just knew it was a goal as soon as it left amoo's foot.

what a fucking day that was. I had a mate tag along who is an everton fan, i'd told him pre-match that pope is one of the best headers of a ball in the country too and he did that.

i was about 8 pints deep at the time i came out with it fairness.

 

[Randolph Haggerty]

His hat trick against Cheltenham in the promotion year and his little dink at Rotherham Boxing Day are my favourites.
A proper legend, but he doesn’t look after himself and we knew this day would come.
Comes to something when the best thing that’s happened in the last few years is a 4-1 defeat at Man City.

 

[GTFCfish]

How come you Vale fans have never mentioned this Man City game before?

 

[valefan16]

His hat trick against Cheltenham in the promotion year and his little dink at Rotherham Boxing Day are my favourites.
A proper legend, but he doesn’t look after himself and we knew this day would come.
Comes to something when the best thing that’s happened in the last few years is a 4-1 defeat at Man City.

That hatrick at Cheltenham was so massive as they’d have overtaken us and we’d have possibly missed out. They went 2-1 up and he went nuts at Chris Neal, we got a corner moments later and it dropped to him and he walloped it with that anger in.

Great day.

 

[Soz]

How come you Vale fans have never mentioned this Man City game before?

too busy talking about the free meals aren't we

 

[PuB]

How come you Vale fans have never mentioned this Man City game before?

I’m struggling to think why Carol never gets a mention either

 

[valefan16]

Any other Valiants listened to the three hour “Ale and the Vale pod” with Popey yet?

Some deep and brutal stuff.

Some great stories, loved the one about us playing a top of the table clash against Shrewsbury and Jake Robinson had been banging them in, Micky tells Griffith to basically shadow him so in the tunnel Griff slaps him to let him know he’s there! Loved Griff.

Scoring a hatrick against Bristol Rovers whilst suffering with food poisoning and Micky asking him to see if he can get through ten minutes was a good one, recall that game and he hasn’t warmed up but played and unlucky not to have the Fourth as Willo nicked it on the line.

The fall out with Askey was kind of rumoured so didn’t throw up many surprises and had heard Scunthorpe tried to sign him but couldn’t afford the wages so just confirmed that (although it was a loan).

The obvious bombshell stuff around DF and DC and how he felt the last few weeks played out was pretty sad and hard to hear, two sides to a story of course but clearly some bad blood with DF with the way he talks about him.

Regardless of it and have to see if Vale respond at all to it but it’s really sad to hear he feels how he does and that’s it’s played out like it has, he did deserve better but partly the pandemic robbed him and us that big farewell.

Did shaft him a bit with that mess of a side thrown out against Mansfield last day and if promised more then that is disappointing.

 

[Salvador]

Congleton fairly close to me and hoping to get to a game to see Pope in action. Surely too good for that level. He’s a player I hated us playing against but would’ve loved to have had.

 

[Soz]

I've listened to it yeah, staggering stuff and brutal honesty but definitely two sides to the story.

the more we learn about askey the weirder he gets.

the flickers stuff is very concerning, he calls him a scum bag and a master manipulator.

the Darrell stuff i mean yeah he has a point but ultimately it was an argument about game time and we did go on an 8 game winning run whilst he was coming back from injury. i bet that stuff goes on at every club, every year. it will have just hurt more as it's tom pope and pvfc.

 

[kieran_vale]

Listened to it yesterday. Truth be told what you think of it will be influenced by what you think of Pope already. Either he can do no wrong in some peoples eyes or like me you acknowledge he WAS a great player for the club but his act grew tiresome a long time ago.

Everyone can speak their own truth and who is anybody to tell them they shouldn’t. I thought it was cheap to bring in Montys mental health as to why he left the club as he couldn’t work with DC. Implication there that at Bristol Rovers players hated him when literally a few months ago Linesy was on the pod saying how much they all loved him and he was a great motivator.

The other thing is you can just tell how much of a negative influence he’d have been the last couple of years for sure whoever is to blame out of him and Askey. If you’re DC who wants to change the whole culture of the club then add in 3 goals in 18 games you don’t keep that around.

 

[valefan16]

Problem with Flitcroft is he does talk all the salesman bullshit proof will be the pudding if we back it up I guess. Popey did a good impression mind!

Interestingly he said there was no behind the scenes issues last season with Askey and the lads.

I think it’s clear DC wanted a clear out of the players as he did but maybe could of just been up front with Tom being a club legend about his future.

 

[Bartonyellow]

Was a decent striker, until he got fat - but jeez..he was thick as mince. Can’t see him going into punditry or management as he can’t string a sentence together.

 

[valefan16]

Was a decent striker, until he got fat - but jeez..he was thick as mince. Can’t see him going into punditry or management as he can’t string a sentence together.

He’s been offered chances to pundit on radio Stoke apparently, and in fairness does have a half decent column in the sentinel.

 

[Bartonyellow]

He’s been offered chances to pundit on radio Stoke apparently, and in fairness does have a half decent column in the sentinel.

But that would be ghost written for him you would think, with some comments from him.

mind you, Rooney is hardly blessed with articulation and he has got a management job so who knows, and Jimmy Bullard is also in the media and he is even worse…

 

[Super_horns]

Was a decent striker, until he got fat - but jeez..he was thick as mince. Can’t see him going into punditry or management as he can’t string a sentence together.

That hasn't stopped some on Talksport and even the BBC/Sky getting a job!

If Tom Pope turned up on the BBC or Sky they'd probably think he was just a relation of Nick Pope!

 

[Bartonyellow]

That hasn't stopped some on Talksport and even the BBC/Sky getting a job!

Very true. It’s why talksport clips of the week is comedy gold every week as so many stupid comments made.

 

[kieran_vale]

That hasn't stopped some on Talksport and even the BBC/Sky getting a job!

If Tom Pope turned up on the BBC or Sky they'd probably think he was just a relation of Nick Pope!

In Popes case his getting banned for peddling Rothschild conspiracies in the past may well have put paid to that though.

I think there was a time when Nick Pope got an England call up I think it was the BBC that mixed him up with Tom as it happens.

 

[T.A]

Not the first and won’t be the last that someone calls Flitcroft a snake.