Week ending 26th March

[leedsvaliant]

Great win and seen out relatively comfortably in the second half. The ref stopped giving them cheap free kicks and we always looked more likely to add to the goals.

Feels like we have the momentum with us...4 wins out of 5, teams can't handle Proctor and Wilson and we look full of running. It feels like us and Exeter are the teams that work the hardest and I think that goes a long way.

 

[HutchECFC]

Not the prettiest, but job done. That'll do


P.S. I always did like Carlisle & Colchester.

 

[Back in the DHSS]

Feels like we got mugged today!

 

[valefan16]

Apparently 22 years to the day since that goal by Di Canio…

Up steps Paulo Di Proctor

https://twitter.com/x/status/1507742944194924550

 

[chipmunx]

was travelling down from Barrow to Cheshire so missed the commentary - so all i can say is thank goodness for Oldham's inability to play to the final whistle.

 

[shoddycollins]

Not the prettiest, but job done. That'll do


P.S. I always did like Carlisle & Colchester.

*cheers in CUFC

 

[Gassy]

Only saw the 2nd half and thought we were no where near our usual level, we lacked direction and going forward seemed fairly toothless. Too many mistakes that lead to the Carlisle goal, and it seems like we certainly didn’t deserve to lose. But apparently we didn’t deserve to beat Northampton, so swings and roundabouts really.

One thing I will say though is that when we do lose, it seems to kick us up the backside and fire us on further - so maybe this could work on our favour.

Still plenty of games left but I will admit my confidence in finishing in the playoffs has taken a little knock

 

[Strawberry_Jam]

Only saw the 2nd half and thought we were no where near our usual level, we lacked direction and going forward seemed fairly toothless. Too many mistakes that lead to the Carlisle goal, and it seems like we certainly didn’t deserve to lose. But apparently we didn’t deserve to beat Northampton, so swings and roundabouts really.

One thing I will say though is that when we do lose, it seems to kick us up the backside and fire us on further - so maybe this could work on our favour.

Still plenty of games left but I will admit my confidence in finishing in the playoffs has taken a little knock

I think deep down, you don't want to go up under Barton...just think of the future - him coming to all the reunions of promoted teams of the past, having to make him a vip, inviting him on the pitch at half time etc. You just don't need it.

 

[hellogregory]

A masterstroke by the Carlisle board in offering Farman a shit contract. They knew his worth.

I didn’t mind Farman, but as I said at the time I wasn’t bothered that he left and I’m glad we didn’t push the boat out to keep him. Can get far better at this level.

Zanzala was the one I was disappointed about.

 

[valefan16]

Little Smyth has put us one up with an(other) outstanding goal after his screamer last week, so Proctor will have some competition for goal of the day. Barrow are absolute pish but we’re so bad at the back that they’ll probably get back into it.

Edit: Oops, maybe not. 2-zip.

Some fans are calling it one of the best goals at Vale Park in decades, the technique was unbelievable. Think it was further out than Di Canio too.

Everything thinks of Procs as a big burly target man but he’s surprised me in how good he is technically… that today though was absolutely filthy!

 

[kieran_vale]

For any Sutton fans on here good luck at Wembley next weekend. Will be a great occasion am sure.

Thought that was really good from us today. Defensively Connor Hall once again was a rock at the back. Probably not the biggest headline grabbing signing in January but in terms of performance he has been outstanding. Mal Benning is really starting to look like the player I remember him being at Mansfield, getting a good run of games will do that. Our midfield is doing a very nice job with Charsley and Garrity being able to break lines while Pett / Walker play the holding role and the strikers complement each other well. Proctors goal is the best I’ve seen from a Vale player for definite, some older ones would point to a Jimmy Greenhoff volley v York but that’s before my time and don’t think there’s any footage.

Am mindful though this is L2 and as happened to a couple of teams today being on the end of surprise results this could equally happen next Saturday at Barrow.

 

[Boz]

Feels like we got mugged today!

Watching on Ifollow, I didn’t think it was as bad as some of the recent awaydays, though Colchester should have been given a penalty early on. Shamal George made some decent saves and one brilliant one from Nevitt. However some of MMs tactics in particular playing Hemmings out wide and replacing Hawkes with Jolley were puzzling.

Reckon this defeat has just about ended our hopes of an auto spot and having doubts we’ll make the play-offs.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Big week for us, I feel if we want to get into that top 3 we need to come away from here with maximum points from both

Lovely

 

[RLC]

Feels like we got mugged today!

We did. Colchester scored from their first shot on target......in the 95th minute.

We are not ruthless enough away from home, so we have only got ourselves to blame. We controlled the game for long periods and played a lot of decent football, but did not make our superiority count. Shamal George made two or three good saves to keep Colchester in the game, with one brilliant one in the second half from Nevitt.

It is difficult to see how we will make the top three given our awful away form, but hopefully we have got enough to hang on to a top seven position.

 

[Moomin]

Another massively important win, which we fully deserved. Probably should have won by 2-3 clear goals but it was a bit tense at the end as Stevenage almost snatched a point. Love you Cam Dawson.

Talking of love, Sam Stubbs is brilliant - a proper Rolls Royce of a defender. His first header almost broke the net and his second was probably a foul, but we’ll take it. Finally a shout out to Callum Rowe…wasn’t getting in the squad at his recent loan to Bath City, yet he comes straight into our team the past two games, to help with our midfield crisis, and he’s been excellent.

From what I saw of Stevenage today I expect they’ll be ok. Norris and List are two decent forwards plus Evans will get the best out of the squad. They should stay up.

HUGE game at Newport next week!!

 

[E10rifle]

Some fans are calling it one of the best goals at Vale Park in decades, the technique was unbelievable. Think it was further out than Di Canio too.

Everything thinks of Procs as a big burly target man but he’s surprised me in how good he is technically… that today though was absolutely filthy!

It’s a cracking volley that’s for sure. So difficult to keep that sort of strike down.

Little Smyth scored by swivelling whilst he’s running towards the corner flag along the goal-line. Different technique, but incredible skill all the same.

 

[FGR Stroud]

Week's results and attendances: -

 

[valefan16]

Decent support from us today considering Sutton only had 132 of that, which I thought was an awful following today considering their position and the fact this is the best spell in their history. I get they have a final next weekend but that’s literally down the road so shouldn’t have put them off travelling.

 

[kieran_vale]

It’s a cracking volley that’s for sure. So difficult to keep that sort of strike down.

Little Smyth scored by swivelling whilst he’s running towards the corner flag along the goal-line. Different technique, but incredible skill all the same.

I’ve just seen that Smyth goal. Absolutely superb bit of vision and just the right level of pace on the ball from that angle is brilliant. You have to be a very decent player to score that one.

Proctors was about timing to get the right connection on the ball. Nine times out of ten that’s hitting the roof of the away end. Did love Mal Bennings hands on head reaction right after as if to say “how did you just do that?”.

 

[shoddycollins]

Week's results and attendances: -

View attachment 16942

Colchester got over 6000 on Monday and then less than 2500 on Saturday?

 

[kieran_vale]

Colchester got over 6000 on Monday and then less than 2500 on Saturday?

Think they’d lowered the prices for the FGR game and were donating all gate receipts to aid Ukraine. Big discrepancy though, shows there could be potential for them though in the right circumstances.

 

[shoddycollins]

Think they’d lowered the prices for the FGR game and were donating all gate receipts to aid Ukraine. Big discrepancy though, shows there could be potential for them though in the right circumstances.

yeah I've thought for some time that something is seriously up at that club getting attendances in the 2000's no way that's their normal gate though seems it has been for a couple seasons.

 

[AdamStag]

Referee got in the way of the ball during a Mansfield attack and gave Oldham a drop ball? That’s a 3 division demotion for him at least surely.

that was one of the most ridiculous decisions i’ve ever seen. how the fuck can you block an attack from us as he’s too incompetent to get out the way then give the ball to oldham.

I mean wow.

 

[northstandexile]

that was one of the most ridiculous decisions i’ve ever seen. how the fuck can you block an attack from us as he’s too incompetent to get out the way then give the ball to oldham.

I mean wow.

Yeah, the Oldham player just lofted the ball back to Bishop in the stags goal, as he knew it should have been Stags ball.

I suspect the ref told the Oldham player to do that.

 

[E10rifle]

yeah I've thought for some time that something is seriously up at that club getting attendances in the 2000's no way that's their normal gate though seems it has been for a couple seasons.

Combination of successive years of shit football, a Chairman who has gone out of his way to make buying tickets more difficult and moving to that horrific out of town new build stadium. Used to be a brilliant away day at Layer Road; now it’s just depressing as the A12 sucks the sound out of the WHCS like a noise dementor.

Plus their support has always been shit.

 

[shoddycollins]

Combination of successive years of shit football, a Chairman who has gone out of his way to make buying tickets more difficult and moving to that horrific out of town new build stadium. Used to be a brilliant away day at Layer Road; now it’s just depressing as the A12 sucks the sound out of the WHCS like a noise dementor.

Plus their support has always been shit.

What's the population of Colchester when you take the squaddies out? Is it maybe a town that looks bigger than it is because of the amount of temporary residents. Kinda like Durham where once you take the students out, hardly anyone is actually from there.

 

[shoddycollins]

Those bloody ballboys though. Its getting an annoying thing in football of late. i dont mind when they leave it which is what ours sometimes do, but to kick it away or hold onto it is bang out of order and needs stopping imo

Yeah I saw the rovers fans were making a lot of it on your forum. To be fair though the ref added a hefty chunk of injury time. I think we ended up playing 9 minutes after 6 was initially given so we probably gained no advantage. If anything we risk it coming back to bite us when refs err on the side of more injury time as a result. I don't think they were instructed to kick it away, just young lads swept up in the Simmo hype around the club at the moment. Like that Swansea ballboy against Chelsea.

 

[E10rifle]

What's the population of Colchester when you take the squaddies out? Is it maybe a town that looks bigger than it is because of the amount of temporary residents. Kinda like Durham where once you take the students out, hardly anyone is actually from there.

Population is somewhere around 130k I believe; the garrison has actually been stripped back over recent years. A good 30k are still military personnel/prisoners or students, mind, but it is a shit-sight bigger than Durham. Being so close to the Suffolk border they do suffer with swathes of the surrounding area being Ipswich territory - and anything further south is Wet Spam/Spurs outliers. Still, it’s more than big enough on its own to have less miserable attendances.

 

[dedwardp]

Average attendance this year is about 33% down on pre-covid levels. We had a spell averaging around 5,500 or so after we moved to the new ground, but the constantly declining quality on the pitch and finishing lower every season, coupled with the woeful experience of a matchday since leaving Layer Road has done nothing to retain any new fans. It's a miserable afternoon out.

 

[Gassy]

Yeah I saw the rovers fans were making a lot of it on your forum. To be fair though the ref added a hefty chunk of injury time. I think we ended up playing 9 minutes after 6 was initially given so we probably gained no advantage. If anything we risk it coming back to bite us when refs err on the side of more injury time as a result. I don't think they were instructed to kick it away, just young lads swept up in the Simmo hype around the club at the moment. Like that Swansea ballboy against Chelsea.

I think they made a bit of a meal of it if I’m honest (out forumers). As long as the ref adds it on I say it’s fair game. Problem is 95% of the time they don’t and you also can’t trust whether they will. It should be communicated IMO if a ref will carry on further, because teams will play differently knowing they have another 3 mins left instead of 15 seconds