Tues 19th & Sat 23rd September

[SVH]

 

[The Evil Dead]

1-0 to the Port Vale.

Well, I'd certainly take another. Got a feeling this will either be a piece of piss and we'll win comfortably. Or we'll put in a shitter, finally, and lose. There'll be no inbetween. Burton always make things difficult for us (bar that one freak game in 2013) so if we can finally score a first half goal for the first time in the league this season, i think we'll win.

 

[nelsonpfc]

Tough match for us away at Barnsley after travelling to Derby on Saturday with 6 first teamers out and no fit forwards or wingers on the bench. Bishop playing 90 plus minutes on Saturday on the back of a week of sickness. Saydee may be on the bench, but returning from suspension Morrell and Rafferty back in the fold to freshen things up. We were totally outplayed last season up at Barnsley and got a well deserved spanking. Hoping its alot closer this season and a sneaky 1-0 win would be awesome, however I feel our 18 match unbeaten in the league will come under extreme pressure tomorrow, just be the sheer amount of travelling for the lads

 

[leedsvaliant]

This has got all the hallmarks of our first home defeat. We're flying, they're doing shite. It's absolutely classic Vale. Having said that, our level of player seems much higher than previous seasons. We looked miles ahead of Northampton at times on Saturday, so maybe just maybe we might finally deliver when expected to.

 

[Si Robin]

We're going to get absolutely battered by Posh.

Wade Elliott will definitely be in the dugout for it, but I suspect he'll be gone by Wednesday morning.

 

[Moomin]

Oxford away will be a good indication of where we really are. Our away form has been decent so far but we’ll need to be at our best to get anything on Saturday.

We should have a couple more players back. Muskwe in particular is needed as he’ll give us that pace we currently lack up top. Wildschut will undoubtably want to impress against his former team. He looked good early on vs Cheltenham but clearly is way short of full fitness, so keen to see him come off the bench for this.

Oxford should definitely be up there. Kyle Edwards was a great signing and his goal vs Fleetwood was top drawer. I can see them dictating the play early on, so if we can frustrate them and get on the counter quickly, we may well get some joy. I’d take a draw all day long.

 

[denzel ecfc]

I think we will slip to third after tomorrow, but still this will be a top end of the table clash. Like Moomin said this will be a tough task. Hoping we can get over some injuries and not create some more in the ex-Pizza trophy tomorrow.
A win will be tough so I'm going for a draw

 

[leedsvaliant]

Oxford away will be a good indication of where we really are. Our away form has been decent so far but we’ll need to be at our best to get anything on Saturday.

We should have a couple more players back. Muskwe in particular is needed as he’ll give us that pace we currently lack up top. Wildschut will undoubtably want to impress against his former team. He looked good early on vs Cheltenham but clearly is way short of full fitness, so keen to see him come off the bench for this.

Oxford should definitely be up there. Kyle Edwards was a great signing and his goal vs Fleetwood was top drawer. I can see them dictating the play early on, so if we can frustrate them and get on the counter quickly, we may well get some joy. I’d take a draw all day long.

I thought Oxford were the strongest team we have played so far and probably the only game where we've been slightly fortuitous to win. Their midfield is very strong but they played a lot of that pointless possession stuff, which if you can force them into errors could prove fruitful. Looked shy of a goalscorer too but looked overall like they'll be nearer the top of the table rather than the bottom.

Not many teams will go there and get anything, so don't be too downhearted if you come away with nothing.

 

[HutchECFC]

Would be happy with a point, but surely it's written in the stars for the following...

Oxford 0-1 Exeter
Wildschut '86

 

[Fuzzyvalefan]

Buzzing about tonight. Play as we have been doing and we will win. So much quality in this Vale side but also a strong work ethic and a dogged determination. It would also be such a Vale thing to find themselves top of the league with a negative goal difference.

 

[The Evil Dead]

Buzzing about tonight. Play as we have been doing and we will win. So much quality in this Vale side but also a strong work ethic and a dogged determination. It would also be such a Vale thing to find themselves top of the league with a negative goal difference.

Someone's getting an absolute pasting off us soon.

We just need an early goal as we've been slow starters this season but excellent in the second half of matches.

 

[valefan16]

It’s one of those nights where it all seems set up for a fall!

This is Vale after all, if we do win tonight then we maybe can start to believe this side may be a bit different but it won’t be easy, no game is and as we saw last season sections of their club build this up to be a derby or rivalry (which it really isn’t certainly from our side) but may pump them up further.

The one thing we are not doing well is scoring goals when on top and that lack of clinical edge could cost us if we don’t improve it, if when we are on top we can get a goal then hopefully we can push on to win but as with most Vale fans I just see potential slip up!

 

[K-Win]

Two teams in good form going at it tonight. We've been notoriously bad the last few years at getting results in the bigger games away from home. However, I feel a big statement away win is close. I'm hopeful it will come tonight at Barnsley but would definitely take a draw. 1-1 (Cole, Pack)

Morrell is back from suspension and will definitely start. Rafferty is also back from a three match ban and might just edge out the increasingly impressive Zak Swanson. Swanson was our MOTM at Derby on Saturday but he picked up a slight knock at the end which may mean that Mousinho goes with a fresh Rafferty tonight. I'd be more than happy if he stuck with Swanson though.

Midfield and out wide is less clear. Saydee is fit again but likely to be on the bench and used as an impact player. Robertson had a good game on Saturday filling in for Morrell, and I have a feeling he may be given the attacking midfielder role tonight ahead of Whyte and Anjorin.

Kamara should start again wide left, with a toss-up between Whyte and Lane on the right. All pure guesswork and I'm rarely right on these things.

 

[CTFCfan99]

We're going to get absolutely battered by Posh.

Wade Elliott will definitely be in the dugout for it, but I suspect he'll be gone by Wednesday morning.

Obviously I hope we can get a point or 3, or even score a goal, but either way sadly Wade needs to go. You know it's an untenable situation when even JP is saying he should go.

 

[leedsvaliant]

It’s one of those nights where it all seems set up for a fall!

This is Vale after all, if we do win tonight then we maybe can start to believe this side may be a bit different but it won’t be easy, no game is and as we saw last season sections of their club build this up to be a derby or rivalry (which it really isn’t certainly from our side) but may pump them up further.

The one thing we are not doing well is scoring goals when on top and that lack of clinical edge could cost us if we don’t improve it, if when we are on top we can get a goal then hopefully we can push on to win but as with most Vale fans I just see potential slip up!

Every other team in our position would be very confident of 3 points tonight but we all know what we're like!

 

[Bar Carousel]

Two teams in good form going at it tonight. We've been notoriously bad the last few years at getting results in the bigger games away from home. However, I feel a big statement away win is close. I'm hopeful it will come tonight at Barnsley but would definitely take a draw. 1-1 (Cole, Pack)

Morrell is back from suspension and will definitely start. Rafferty is also back from a three match ban and might just edge out the increasingly impressive Zak Swanson. Swanson was our MOTM at Derby on Saturday but he picked up a slight knock at the end which may mean that Mousinho goes with a fresh Rafferty tonight. I'd be more than happy if he stuck with Swanson though.

Midfield and out wide is less clear. Saydee is fit again but likely to be on the bench and used as an impact player. Robertson had a good game on Saturday filling in for Morrell, and I have a feeling he may be given the attacking midfielder role tonight ahead of Whyte and Anjorin.

Kamara should start again wide left, with a toss-up between Whyte and Lane on the right. All pure guesswork and I'm rarely right on these things.

I'd definitely take a point now if offered it.

 

[thewwfc]

All the signs are pointing to a Charlton win on Sat.

• They have Alfie May (who always scores against us for fun, the little <censored>)
• They have Chem Campbell on loan from Wolves...who was with us on loan last year and arguably didn't get as much playing time as he might have wanted
• We're doing well in the form table, they're doing badly
• Players will still be trying to impress the new gaffer to try and cement a place in the side

So yeah, 3 points to Charlton, oh well, we move on.

 

[kieran_vale]

Be interesting to see what Burtons approach will be against us. They’ve underperformed so far compared to how good a transfer window I thought they had. Might even be to the point if they lose this and to Fleetwood Maamria could be in a spot of bother.

My guess is there might be one or two changes to the lineup tonight, it’s generally what Crosby has done before when we have had the Saturday-midweek-Saturday routine. Certainly expect Josh Thomas to come back into the reckoning for this one and add some pace. Last game for me for a few weeks as off on holiday so hopefully can get a result of some sort tonight.

 

[BRFC_Gas]

Be interesting to see what Burtons approach will be against us. They’ve underperformed so far compared to how good a transfer window I thought they had. Might even be to the point if they lose this and to Fleetwood Maamria could be in a spot of bother.

My guess is there might be one or two changes to the lineup tonight, it’s generally what Crosby has done before when we have had the Saturday-midweek-Saturday routine. Certainly expect Josh Thomas to come back into the reckoning for this one and add some pace. Last game for me for a few weeks as off on holiday so hopefully can get a result of some sort tonight.

Park the bus I expect, same as 80% of the teams ive seen so far. Such dull games too, promotion is definitely there for the taking this season now the big hitters have left. Poor quality overall and that includes us.

 

[leedsvaliant]

Park the bus I expect, same as 80% of the teams ive seen so far. Such dull games too, promotion is definitely there for the taking this season now the big hitters have left. Poor quality overall and that includes us.

I'm pretty certain that there'll be a couple of 'unfancied' teams in the top 6 come the end of the season. Can't see us sustaining it but you never know.

You'd think that Bolton, Derby and Portsmouth will spend a few quid here and there to be in with a shout of the top 2 and maybe Barnsley but after that it's fair game really. Even among the so called 'better' teams the standard seems pretty poor.

 

[Luke Imp]

Aside from the obvious anomaly, Vale feel similar to us last season so far (and in some games for us this season) with being a fine margins kinda side.

 

[leedsvaliant]

Aside from the obvious anomaly, Vale feel similar to us last season so far (and in some games for us this season) with being a fine margins kinda side.

Definitely. We've certainly had some good fortune go our way but our midfield (which has been poor for a few years) now seems to have good technical ability and be comfortable in possession. We deserved more on Saturday and if we'd have scored in the first 10 minutes it could have been 3 or 4. We seem to want to keep it tight in the first half and then let our excellent fitness levels show through (as evidenced by the fact that we are yet to score in the first half of a game). Most of our goals have come in the last quarter.

 

[valefan16]

Aside from the obvious anomaly, Vale feel similar to us last season so far (and in some games for us this season) with being a fine margins kinda side.

We’ve generally dominated games at home and had spells of real pressure but only won 1-0 whereas away we’ve generally hit 2 or 3 in a more open game and been far more clinical.

If we can be clinical especially in those spells of games where we seem to have a 15-20 minute spell of carving sides open we’d be more comfortable.

As it stands we’ve won 5 and only lost 1 but have a negative goal difference so over that 5 wins we’ve won each by the odd goal!

Believe if we draw or win by one tonight it’s the first time a league one (third tier side) would be top with a negative GD!

We are playing some really good stuff and certainly have far better “footballers” than we’ve had in a long long time down Vale but is largely based on superb use of the loan market for what seems like the first time ever… as great as that is, it could pose a problem in January if we did manage to keep it up.

 

[BRFC_Gas]

I'm pretty certain that there'll be a couple of 'unfancied' teams in the top 6 come the end of the season. Can't see us sustaining it but you never know.

You'd think that Bolton, Derby and Portsmouth will spend a few quid here and there to be in with a shout of the top 2 and maybe Barnsley but after that it's fair game really. Even among the so called 'better' teams the standard seems pretty poor.

I agree with the standard being poor, I can already see the difference even from last season. Which makes it even more annoying we arent higher with the players we have. Long way to go though I guess

 

[AmberAndy]

No doubt it’s a more open league this year without Ipswich and Sheff Wed, but another couple of losses for the teams at the bottom and you can see a gap beginning to grow down there already. Up top will be far more interesting this year and I can see it being a pretty open race for not just the play off spots, but the automatics as well.
Will be quite happy to see Vale win and go top tonight, will add extra spice to the game on Saturday, and perhaps push the crowd up to a near capacity gate if Vale sell all their tickets.

 

[CTFCfan99]

When it rains it pours. Olayinka sent off after 4 minutes, deemed a high boot although the Peterborough player stooped about a yard down. Was stomach height at worst. Nice to know the refs are still as shambolic as we are.

 

[Craig]

That goal difference might not look so good once this is over.

 

[Si Robin]

When it rains it pours. Olayinka sent off after 4 minutes, deemed a high boot although the Peterborough player stooped about a yard down. Was stomach height at worst. Nice to know the refs are still as shambolic as we are.

Very harsh decision.

 

[Super_horns]

Cannot be too many times the same team has scored twice in the same minute ?

 

[kieran_vale]

After falling behind early have to admit I feared the worst knowing how Maamria teams in the past can “manage” the game but we are deservedly level. Stay patient and the chance is there to win it. Bit of a nasty crosswind which has caught the ball a couple of times.