Tues 14/Fri 17/Sat 18 March

[leedsvaliant]

We're just playing for pride now. We're comfortably safe and way off top 6. We'd have taken this preseason but I can't help feeling a little disappointed. The standard isn't great and a poor run of form after Christmas has killed us. In recent weeks, we've been playing teams off the park but we struggle to score more than 1 and give away soft goals. 2 or 3 quality additions would see us as top 6 challengers in a much more even league next season. but they cost money. We've either got to fall on a couple of rough diamonds or get some of the youth teamers coming through as top players.

I think everything will click in one of these games before the end of the season and we'll give someone a good thumping. We've been threatening it for a while. Hopefully this Saturday!

 

[BRFC_Gas]

We're just playing for pride now. We're comfortably safe and way off top 6. We'd have taken this preseason but I can't help feeling a little disappointed. The standard isn't great and a poor run of form after Christmas has killed us. In recent weeks, we've been playing teams off the park but we struggle to score more than 1 and give away soft goals. 2 or 3 quality additions would see us as top 6 challengers in a much more even league next season. but they cost money. We've either got to fall on a couple of rough diamonds or get some of the youth teamers coming through as top players.

I think everything will click in one of these games before the end of the season and we'll give someone a good thumping. We've been threatening it for a while. Hopefully this Saturday!

I wouldn't be too fussed about this season as there is no competing with that top lot. We were also looking at the play offs at one point but have tailed off since.
Just hope a few of the big hitters are in the Championship next season and have a crack then.
Our pitch has gone from one of the best to one of the worst this season due to drainage issues, so hopefully we will both put that right in the summer

 

[leedsvaliant]

I wouldn't be too fussed about this season as there is no competing with that top lot. We were also looking at the play offs at one point but have tailed off since.
Just hope a few of the big hitters are in the Championship next season and have a crack then.
Our pitch has gone from one of the best to one of the worst this season due to drainage issues, so hopefully we will both put that right in the summer

I agree. I think we'll actually be one of the smaller clubs ironically next season as we'll be saying goodbye to some of the smaller clubs in the division. However, all 3 coming down look like they've got issues and those coming up might be in for a struggle. Hopefully we get rid of Wednesday, Ipswich and maybe a Derby or Bolton and suddenly it becomes much more open.

 

[valefan16]

Burton at home now coming off the back of the thumping compared to a good win the other day so hopefully knocks them a bit!

Win here and we should be far away enough even if we lost the other 9 so a chance to finish the season and really allow us to start looking at some of the younger talents from the youth set up and experiment.

Burton seem improved so won’t be easy. In the league the last two meetings at Vale Park have been polar opposites, that great night in 2013 when we ran riot under the lights and big crowd winning 7-1 which pretty much decided which of the two would go up was incredible, followed a few years later by a 4-0 drubbing after we’d got ourselves on the play off cusp in league one.

Expecting a more mundane game on Saturday, we’ve not lost to a side as yet outside the top 10 at home but have generally scraped by with draws or the odd goal victory, probably be one or the other here.

Cautious that Maamria has come down here twice in the past and set up with some true anti football tactics with Stevenage (made Westley look like Pep) and Oldham so unsure if we are to expect the same!

Recall Tom Pope upsetting Stevenage fans by tweeting if they were the only club to offer him a deal he’d retire!

That with our pitch means it probably won’t be for the purist!

 

[Davidimp]

Ours is a 1pm KO. Posh usually sell-out but they've put tickets on general sale.

After our record of never losing when we score first ended yesterday, the two to look out for on Saturday is the end of our unbeaten home record and we haven't lost back to back league games this season either.

Could be because of the rail strike

 

[Tea Towel]

We're just playing for pride now. We're comfortably safe and way off top 6. We'd have taken this preseason but I can't help feeling a little disappointed. The standard isn't great and a poor run of form after Christmas has killed us. In recent weeks, we've been playing teams off the park but we struggle to score more than 1 and give away soft goals. 2 or 3 quality additions would see us as top 6 challengers in a much more even league next season. but they cost money. We've either got to fall on a couple of rough diamonds or get some of the youth teamers coming through as top players.

I think everything will click in one of these games before the end of the season and we'll give someone a good thumping. We've been threatening it for a while. Hopefully this Saturday!

Noticed you mention the standard not being great quite a bit. Has it ever been that great in League One? Sure you get the odd team that’ll come down and is far too good but as for the league in general, from what I’ve seen, I don’t think it’s ever been great.

 

[valefan16]

Noticed you mention the standard not being great quite a bit. Has it ever been that great in League One? Sure you get the odd team that’ll come down and is far too good but as for the league in general, from what I’ve seen, I don’t think it’s ever been great.

I think as an outsider coming in like we were looking at the table last season it looked very daunting with such a gulf between the top 10 points wise and the rest, now obviously it could be the bottom few we’re so bad that it pushed the top 10 to higher totals as more gimmes but I think looking at it coming into the season was how do we compete with sides like that.

Truth is it’s not as spectacular as it looked but the top sides you can football against them and even dominate in games but the clinical side of the top guns sees them through. That’s what the big bucks gets you I guess! And that’s the hardest step for the rest to take to compete.

 

[Bartonyellow]

I’m making no predictions for Saturday as we are truly an enigma. Lose 4-0 at Ipswich, beat Wycombe and play well and lose last night. Our defending at times is conference north standard and other games we look a tight unit.
We will stay up by virtue of others been worse and our ability to get some results at the right time.
For me he has to go in the summer if we stay up or not and go for someone with a bit more creativity and guile. But having said that he has done well from were we was when JFH went. Trouble is the huge amount of apathy around the club. Think this is the hangover from years of comparative success.
Tough game Saturday - vale have equipped themselves well, so I expect a defeat or a draw but can’t decide on which.

 

[leedsvaliant]

Noticed you mention the standard not being great quite a bit. Has it ever been that great in League One? Sure you get the odd team that’ll come down and is far too good but as for the league in general, from what I’ve seen, I don’t think it’s ever been great.

Pretty much what valefan16 said.

We were a bit wary coming into the league as a few of the teams that were in it were saying how much better the teams at the top are and how much better it is than league 2. I said at the start of the season that all teams will be pretty shite at level 3 but those with the biggest budgets will have those 1 or 2 players that can nick a goal out of nothing. I think that's what has happened. There's not been a single game that I have been when I thought 'wow, these are too good'. Perhaps Ipswich earlier in the season, but we still gave them a good game.

Basically, we've played most of the season with predominantly our league 2 promotion team, and occasionally with injuries a weaker starting line up. But for a really crap run of form which coincided with having no fit strikers, we were pushing the playoffs at one point.

Basically, those with the biggest budgets can afford to buy those 2 or 3 difference makers, where the others have to chance upon them. If the standard remains next season, then hopefully there will not be as many teams who can buy the game changers and it creates a more equal and competitive league.

 

[leedsvaliant]

I’m making no predictions for Saturday as we are truly an enigma. Lose 4-0 at Ipswich, beat Wycombe and play well and lose last night. Our defending at times is conference north standard and other games we look a tight unit.
We will stay up by virtue of others been worse and our ability to get some results at the right time.
For me he has to go in the summer if we stay up or not and go for someone with a bit more creativity and guile. But having said that he has done well from were we was when JFH went. Trouble is the huge amount of apathy around the club. Think this is the hangover from years of comparative success.
Tough game Saturday - vale have equipped themselves well, so I expect a defeat or a draw but can’t decide on which.

You seem to have picked up significantly from when we played you at your place. You didn't seem to have any plan and Hasselbaink looked lost. Your new manager will get results but his methods aren't for the purists. I suspect there will be a 'get a result whatever it takes ' attitude.

We've been playing really quite well for a few weeks but without the points tally we really should have. Should have beat Bolton, should have beat Morecambe, should have beat Fleetwood, yet we got 1 point. Played them all off the park but we rarely score 2 and I don't think we've scored 3 all season. With a shite goalkeeper and a bit of a soft core at the back, we always give other teams a chance, whereas other teams would be 3 or 4 up.

Can see this being a draw to be honest as we're virtually on the beach. We have enough points already.

 

[valefan16]

You seem to have picked up significantly from when we played you at your place. You didn't seem to have any plan and Hasselbaink looked lost. Your new manager will get results but his methods aren't for the purists. I suspect there will be a 'get a result whatever it takes ' attitude.

We've been playing really quite well for a few weeks but without the points tally we really should have. Should have beat Bolton, should have beat Morecambe, should have beat Fleetwood, yet we got 1 point. Played them all off the park but we rarely score 2 and I don't think we've scored 3 all season. With a shite goalkeeper and a bit of a soft core at the back, we always give other teams a chance, whereas other teams would be 3 or 4 up.

Can see this being a draw to be honest as we're virtually on the beach. We have enough points already.

We are playing very well away from home without the results to really show for the performances and dominance but at home we are not as good (mostly the pitch) but grinding out 1-0 wins certainly against most of the teams around and below us, all be it usually without facing much of a threat from the opposition, been a weird one because the last 5 or 6 home wins have all been almost identical 1-0 wins, barely a shot to save against us with us being fairly wasteful but not as fluid as away.

We have scored three in the league once at FGR (3-1) after that our biggest win is 2-0 at Plymouth of all places!

Not been the most exciting season but so far we’ve been getting the core job of being safe done.

 

[eric read]

Noticed you mention the standard not being great quite a bit. Has it ever been that great in League One? Sure you get the odd team that’ll come down and is far too good but as for the league in general, from what I’ve seen, I don’t think it’s ever been great.

As someone who's team have been in League One for seven years now I feel well qualified to comment on this and I'd say that this does appear to be the weakest league of those seven seasons. All the more frustrating that it's the season that our ex-manager decided to completely lose the plot and assemble one of the most dysfunctional squads we've ever had.

It's all subjective, of course, but the league has had better teams at the top, middle and bottom in pretty much every season we've been in it.

 

[Laker]

As someone who's team have been in League One for seven years now I feel well qualified to comment on this and I'd say that this does appear to be the weakest league of those seven seasons. All the more frustrating that it's the season that our ex-manager decided to completely lose the plot and assemble one of the most dysfunctional squads we've ever had.

It's all subjective, of course, but the league has had better teams at the top, middle and bottom in pretty much every season we've been in it.

I think the teams at the bottom are weaker than they were last year. Crewe were poor but I think the other three relegated teams would stay up this season as they weren’t that bad. Wimbledon went down when Palmer chased the Welsh coin, Doncaster played good stuff but couldn’t get results etc.

I think Wednesday, Plymouth and Ipswich are better than Wigan, Rotherham and Sunderland last season. And I reckon the rest of the play offs is stronger too. It’s hard to say with the sides in mid table.

So yeah I don’t think the whole league is weaker, just the bottom is really poor.

 

[Floreat Salopia]

As someone who's team have been in League One for seven years now I feel well qualified to comment on this and I'd say that this does appear to be the weakest league of those seven seasons. All the more frustrating that it's the season that our ex-manager decided to completely lose the plot and assemble one of the most dysfunctional squads we've ever had.

It's all subjective, of course, but the league has had better teams at the top, middle and bottom in pretty much every season we've been in it.

I personally think the 2020-21 season standard of teams was even worse than what we’ve faced this season. You had a top two of Hull City and Peterborough despite them both losing 11 games each and normally you’d have at the very least one team that standouts from the rest, there wasn’t one.

It comes to something that we finished 17th that season despite sacking Sam Ricketts in November who assembled one of the shittest Salop sides I’ve witnessed and we replaced him with Steve Cotterill. Cotterill was then fighting for his life in Bristol hospital just two months later and we managed to miraculously finish 17th with that shambles of a team and our gaffer picking the team from his hospital bed. I’ve never known the bottom half of League 1 to be so wank that year! This year is far from the weakest imo.

Best team I’ve seen in this division is Wolverhampton Wanderers when they pissed the league with 103 points. Some of the players they had were genuinely Premier League standard that season, it was a joke!

Looking at the teams coming up from League 2 and down from the Championship, next season looks like it could be a fun one in here if we can just get rid of Sheffield Wednesday, Ipswich and Derby. Two of the teams coming down look to be in financial difficulties and the other in Blackpool won’t have a ridiculous budget like others that come down. Then looking at League 2, not one of them would threaten the play off places and if Northampton and/or Carlisle come up, then that’s one or two relegation places sorted.

 

[ShrimpsMeltdown]

We're pants and Adams sounds like a beaten man, not sure where our next win is coming from. It's typical Oxford get a new manager before playing us.

Tuesday was a big game and we were just dire, so Saturday is even bigger now. We are reliant on our home form keeping us up but it looks like that's gone out of the window now.

 

[leedsvaliant]

As someone who's team have been in League One for seven years now I feel well qualified to comment on this and I'd say that this does appear to be the weakest league of those seven seasons. All the more frustrating that it's the season that our ex-manager decided to completely lose the plot and assemble one of the most dysfunctional squads we've ever had.

It's all subjective, of course, but the league has had better teams at the top, middle and bottom in pretty much every season we've been in it.

We were sold the 'it's a much tougher league than league 2' line at the start of the season. Yet we find ourselves in midtable despite going several weeks without any fit strikers, a pair of goalkeepers who would struggle in Sunday league, a team that was basically our league 2 team and a manager that (allegedly) had his head turned by a rival club midway through the season.

Top 3 are definitely better than the rest (or just more consistent due to deeper squads). We beat Derby and should have beaten Bolton, although they both looked like they had the potential to be decent. The rest are much of a muchness, and I include us in that. We've just not scrapped enough points when perhaps we deserved them.

I'm feeling quite good about next season. I think there'll be a few more Wycombe type clubs in and around the playoffs. Knowing us we'll probably have a stinker and go down!

 

[valefan16]

We were sold the 'it's a much tougher league than league 2' line at the start of the season. Yet we find ourselves in midtable despite going several weeks without any fit strikers, a pair of goalkeepers who would struggle in Sunday league, a team that was basically our league 2 team and a manager that (allegedly) had his head turned by a rival club midway through the season.

Top 3 are definitely better than the rest (or just more consistent due to deeper squads). We beat Derby and should have beaten Bolton, although they both looked like they had the potential to be decent. The rest are much of a muchness, and I include us in that. We've just not scrapped enough points when perhaps we deserved them.

I'm feeling quite good about next season. I think there'll be a few more Wycombe type clubs in and around the playoffs. Knowing us we'll probably have a stinker and go down!

Interesting on our Pod the other day about our fans moaning.

They made the point that if you were told without knowing where we are in the league that:

We’d play 2 months with no fit stikers

Start the season with a youth team midfielder up front

Both goal keepers had a dire save % ratio

James Wilson would miss half the season and bag only 4 goals

Proctor would miss half a season and only bag 1

In January we’d let Connor Hall, Charsley and Walker go and replace with a kid on loan from Forest.

You’d assume we were bottom based on all those facts! It’s not been that difficult to be comfortable up to now with all those things against us.

That said I don’t think we’d get away with it again next season and expect the sides coming up to be much stronger than the ones going down.

 

[leedsvaliant]

Interesting on our Pod the other day about our fans moaning.

They made the point that if you were told without knowing where we are in the league that:

We’d play 2 months with no fit stikers

Start the season with a youth team midfielder up front

Both goal keepers had a dire save % ratio

James Wilson would miss half the season and bag only 4 goals

Proctor would miss half a season and only bag 1

In January we’d let Connor Hall, Charsley and Walker go and replace with a kid on loan from Forest.

You’d assume we were bottom based on all those facts! It’s not been that difficult to be comfortable up to now with all those things against us.

That said I don’t think we’d get away with it again next season and expect the sides coming up to be much stronger than the ones going down.

Agree with that. I also forgot that we basically wrote August off as we were playing a 17 year old midfielder up front!

I would say that I think the teams coming up might be like for like.

Can potentially see Orient being mid bottom half but you'd expect Carlisle and Stevenage to struggle (if they come up of course).

We have to get our recruitment spot on. If we do we might trouble the top 10.

 

[valefan16]

Agree with that. I also forgot that we basically wrote August off as we were playing a 17 year old midfielder up front!

I would say that I think the teams coming up might be like for like.

Can potentially see Orient being mid bottom half but you'd expect Carlisle and Stevenage to struggle (if they come up of course).

We have to get our recruitment spot on. If we do we might trouble the top 10.

Hard to see, for example Stockport would do well certainly.

I think we’d need 2-3 spot on windows to be top 10 come the end of a season.

 

[Chris FGR]

Our trip to Home Park is unusual in that it’s the first time we’ve ever played there, despite having been in the same league as Plymouth 3 seasons ago.

 

[valefan16]

Our trip to Home Park is unusual in that it’s the first time we’ve ever played there, despite having been in the same league as Plymouth 3 seasons ago.

Oddly would have been the last game of the season… this time it’s Plymouth again but at Vale Park… both occasions could have been promotion games for Argyle.

 

[Bobbin']

Certainly one of the weaker seasons in my opinion. The top 4 or 5 are pretty good but then they are up against complete shite every week.

I’ve seen us get beat by some real dross this year and we are dreadfully bad and yet in no danger of going down at all.

 

[Greenacres]

Certainly one of the weaker seasons in my opinion. The top 4 or 5 are pretty good but then they are up against complete shite every week.

I’ve seen us get beat by some real dross this year and we are dreadfully bad and yet in no danger of going down at all.

I know that we have been poor all season, but I have to agree with your post...some of our opponents have been dreadful, it is just that we have been worse...the top half dozen are reasonably decent, but that is about it. I think we had more competitive games, with more entertaining football, last season in League Two.

 

[UppaTowen_ITFC]

Shrewsbury at home. I’d expect us to win albeit Shrewsbury are a decent side from what I have seen. I won’t be there though as am at Cheltenham for the week for the racing.

For those who like a bet, Gaillard Du Mesnil I’ve been backing for the NH Chase on Tuesday for 9 months. If he wins I’m hoping to be drunk all the way through until I’m home Sunday. Town will hopefully get the 3 points in my absence.

No idea if anyone listened but he won on Tuesday. Even money he went off at so hopefully a few maybe made a few quid.

 

[GEORGE]

I know that we have been poor all season, but I have to agree with your post...some of our opponents have been dreadful, it is just that we have been worse...the top half dozen are reasonably decent, but that is about it. I think we had more competitive games, with more entertaining football, last season in League Two.

You had more competitive games because the teams were weaker. And it was more entertaining because you were winning a lot more.

 

[Chris FGR]

Definitely, we aren’t cut out for League 1 on or off the pitch. Getting promoted was a bad idea. Hopefully we learn from this and don’t make the mistake of trying to get promoted again next season.

On another note it was funny that at the fans forum the other night Vince actually agreed with someone saying Doohan & Bakayoko are useless, which is a bit awkward given they are two of only 17 available players at this point and cost us fees two months ago. Motivation might be an issue now with their chairman publicly saying that about them!

 

[Greenacres]

Definitely, we aren’t cut out for League 1 on or off the pitch. Getting promoted was a bad idea. Hopefully we learn from this and don’t make the mistake of trying to get promoted again next season.

On another note it was funny that at the fans forum the other night Vince actually agreed with someone saying Doohan & Bakayoko are useless, which is a bit awkward given they are two of only 17 available players at this point and cost us fees two months ago. Motivation might be an issue now with their chairman publicly saying that about them!

Agree with the first bit, we have been proven to be out of our depth in League One...embarassingly bad at times, both on and off the pitch...a revolving door for players and staff hasn't helped but that can happen when things aren't going well.

By my reckoning we have 13 players who are contracted beyond the end of this season, I would be surprised if more than 7 or 8 of them are still around for pre-season in July. We face a summer of trying to assemble a squad for next season, whilst it may be easier to find players we can afford in League Two it will still present a significant challenge to whoever gets the job.

 

[denzel ecfc]

Agree with the first bit, we have been proven to be out of our depth in League One...embarassingly bad at times, both on and off the pitch...a revolving door for players and staff hasn't helped but that can happen when things aren't going well.

By my reckoning we have 13 players who are contracted beyond the end of this season, I would be surprised if more than 7 or 8 of them are still around for pre-season in July. We face a summer of trying to assemble a squad for next season, whilst it may be easier to find players we can afford in League Two it will still present a significant challenge to whoever gets the job.

Is JMT out of contract? Worth a punt, if he isn't getting injured too much

 

[Greenacres]

Is JMT out of contract? Worth a punt, if he isn't getting injured too much

Sadly he is, has been out for much of this season injured and we have definitely missed him...he was the only member of our squad last season who I reckoned was League One standard.

 

[Arbury]

No idea if anyone listened but he won on Tuesday. Even money he went off at so hopefully a few maybe made a few quid.

I did, thought it was a decent racing on all four days really, yesterday was a hard day though.

KTF