‘Bolton should win, but we said that in the away game...’
WHAT’S YOUR TEAM? Mark Walton: After Tuesday’s encouraging performance, I’d make just one change - bring in Amoo, if he’s anywhere near fit, and move Rodney central.
He’s not been at his best, but is still much more of a threat than the less-than-deadly Guthrie.
My team: Brown, Mills, Smith, Legge, Crookes, Joyce, Conlon, Worrall, Amoo, Rodney, Swan. Eddie Jackson: The team which started against Oldham looked worthy of another start this weekend, but with a couple of players returning from injury to the bench Darrell Clarke might be tempted to start with some of them.
I’ll go with Brown, Mills, Legge, Smith, Crookes, Worrall, Joyce, Conlon, Rodney, Swan, Guthrie. Wayne Windsor: After a few weeks of well below-par football, we have a game to reflect on in which the players looked like they actually did care.
We battled, pushed, played some decent football on the front foot, got crosses into the box, worked their defence... but sadly we don’t have a goalscorer amongst our fit forwards.
I’ve seen and heard: ‘If only Popey was playing he would have scored three or four’.
Probably correct, but we have to work with what we have and, unfortunately in my opinion, that’s not a lot.
My team: Brown, Mills, Legge, Smith, Crookes, Worrall, Burgess, Conlon, Hurst, Robinson, Swan.
I wouldn’t change the team much after Tuesday except to give Burgess (if available) a run in place of Joyce, just down to the amount of games Joyce has played recently.
I was thinking of packing the midfield and going one up front, but we are at home so should
start off on the front foot and set the pace of the game, giving Bolton something to think about.
There would also be changes on the bench if Rodney and Cullen were fit, but I’m not sure how their fitness is at the moment.
WHAT’S YOUR PREDICTION? Mark Walton:
Just our luck that, after finally finding a glimmer of form, we run into one of our toughest remaining home fixtures against a team which has won eight out of the last 10.
Sadly I think the Trotters will have a bit too much for us. 1-2 (that said, I was never more certain of a Vale defeat than in December’s reverse fixture and we all know what happened then).
Eddie Jackson: Despite Vale’s amazing 6-3 win at their place you would not expect anything but an away win for this one.
Bolton have now won eight of
their last 10 games and will be full of confidence.
I wonder if Bolton might do what Vale did on Tuesday - dominate but not score? I’ll let heart rule head and go for 1-1.
Wayne Windsor: This is a tough one due to not knowing about injuries. I would love to let my heart rule my head but unfortunately I can only see a close game with a defeat, with Bolton winning eight out of 10 and hitting form at the right time, maybe a 2-1 defeat.
Just out of interest my heart says a 2-0 win with Conlon and Smith with the goals.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS? Mark Walton: I’m ready for this season to end. It’s been one long slog of crushed optimism, under-performing players, endless injuries, atrocious defeats (the Mansfield game which did for Askey ranks among Vale’s worst ever
performances) and all of it watched via a laptop screen rather than at Vale Park.
Thursday’s Zoom Q&A offered a vision of what might be in store if the Shanahans, Flitcroft and Clarke can transform the club. The support is there 10,000 replica shirts sold is a ridiculous figure.
First there’s the small matter of not getting relegated. I’ll admit I’m as worried as I was in 2018 and 2019 when we just about got over the line.
It’s likely we’ll again be saved by there being teams even worse than us rather than by our own efforts.
We’ll take it of course but consistent awfulness eventually catches up with you.
What price Pope recovering in time to rescue the team once more? If he does that, I hope someone’s got the number of the Sproson statue sculptor.
Clarke asks us to give him a chance which is the least we can do. Frankly, he’s all we’ve got.
He says he wants no hard luck stories from the players. That applies as much to him - regardless of injuries or the poor recruitment he’s inherited, he’s got to get a tune out of what he has at his disposal.
I’m a firm believer that the best managers will improve any given set of players.
Clarke must by definition be better than Askey or Pugh, otherwise why employ him? We’ve just got to hope that whatever extra he can eke out of the current squad will be enough.
It took Askey six games to land a win. Today is Clarke’s seventh in charge of Vale. If it goes against us we’ll need at least four points from Newport and Colchester.
Going down under decent owners would be just too bitter an irony after surviving years of decline under the previous one.
Let’s stay up, reset in the summer and look forward to a brighter future for Port Vale. And attending games again. Eddie Jackson: The arrival of Bolton at Vale Park brings back memories of some stirring encounters with The Trotters over the years and I’ve seen a fair number of them.
I’ll choose just two of them. The first took place on 23rd April 1973 at Vale Park, our final home game of what had been a successful season with promotion to the second tier a distinct possibility.
Wanderers had had an even better season and were already guaranteed promotion. Vale stars in that team included Brian Horton, Ray Williams, Tommy Mclaren and John Woodward. Vale held the lead at half-time and were 2-1 up in the 100th minute! 100th minute?
Yes, referee Keith Styles decided to keep on playing until Bolton equalised, which Byrom
duly did, sending 5,000 Bolton fans in a crowd of 14,168 delirious. Styles needed an escort off the pitch moments later.
My second memory takes us to Burnden Park on 10th December 1988. It was for a FA Cup second-round tie.
Vale lay third in the third tier and Bolton were 12th. The Vale were to achieve promotion to the Championship at the end of the season.
It was a full-blooded encounter in which Keeley gave Bolton a half-time lead, but second-half goals from Futcher and Earle sent Vale through.
The crowd of 7,499 included a predictably large and vociferous Vale following.
The Vale side at Bolton contained such fine players as Mark Grew, Ray Walker, Bob Hazell, Phil Sproson, Robbie Earle and Darren Beckford.
Sadly, Vale were to exit the competition in the next round at home to Norwich in front of 15,697.
Bolton experienced some great years after those two games, including successful seasons in the Premier League under such Managers as Sam Allardyce.
Their problems on and off the pitch in recent times have seen them sink to the bottom tier, but their recent excellent form suggests the recovery is under way, despite that unexpected 6-3 defeat at home to Vale in December.
More of the same this week Vale please.
Wayne Windsor: I’ve just watched the supporters’ club meeting via Zoom with the Q&A forum. Can I just say hosted very well by Mark Porter and every question answered with honesty from the panel.
David Flitcroft’s enthusiasm is contagious and I could listen to him for hours, what a great addition he is to the club, bringing experience and hopefully a host of contacts in the game.
The no-nonsense talking from Clarke is refreshing, pulling no punches in his assessment of all things on and around the pitch, players, training, fitness, interviews, even it seems the players’ levels of fitness during the first five months of Covid during lockdown.
Nothing is going unnoticed regarding the manager, hopefully he has noticed the need for a 20-goal a season striker in his summer recruitment...
MICHAEL O’neill insists he won’t be fazed by players getting changed on the team bus if needed as they face a Neil Warnock reunion at Middlesbrough. Boro manager Warnock vowed revenge after referring to Stoke’s temporary away changing rooms, which were brought in to meet social distancing guidelines and restrictions, as a pigsty. A planned upgrade actually took place that week in early December.
O’neill was asked what he expected in the return match and said: “I would expect that we get the same as every other team that goes to Middlesbrough. That’s the protocol as the EFL and the Championship stipulate.
“Middlesbrough complained about their changing facilities when they came to Stoke. We addressed that situation and had Tottenham here and Jose Mourinho didn’t complain.
“I’m not that bothered about that situation. I’m sure we’ll manage. If we have to go and change on the coach or bus, that’s what we’ll do.”
Middlesbrough are having a similar season to Stoke on the fringes of the Championship play-offs – and both have had reason to complain about refereeing decisions, particularly in recent meetings with Swansea.
Warnock’s club have until Monday to answer an FA charge for their post-match reaction to decisions at the Liberty Stadium last weekend.
O’neill hesitates to say he has sympathy for his opposite number.
“Empathy maybe is a better word,” he said. “I knew how he felt but that’s what happens in football. It happens all the time.
“Our priority is about what we do. We got a good reaction last weekend to a poor decision and we’ve moved on from that and managed to win the game.”
Stoke edged a 1-0 win earlier this season and are expecting a tough test over 90 minutes as they look for their three points on the road since December 2 at Wycombe.
O’neill said: “That’s what Neil demands from his players. I’ve found that with every coach in this league and every team we play. No one has rolled over.
“There are many teams with many types of play and different types of manager. There are managers who have come in from overseas and a lot of variety. There is no recipe for success in the Championship.
“Neil is obviously from a more old school, I suppose, and he has managed a long time at this level and been very successful at this level. I’m sure he has aspirations to be successful at Middlesbrough.
“But our focus is on ourselves and how we play. We expect a very tough game and it will be extremely competitive.”
Warnock had a big smile on his face when he was asked what he had in store for Stoke.
He said: “I have driven my camper van round the corner for the manager and staff, I hope they enjoy it in the car park.”
He added: “I think Jose was quite pleased I complained. Apparently it was excellent when they went.
“Quite rightly so. Enough has been said. The way Stoke reacted was very good. It should have happened before but at least they reacted and changed.
“I don’t think a manager thinks about the dressing room.
“I have asked numerous times why we give such great facilities to away teams when we go to places like QPR, no disrespect, where we’re at the other side of the ground behind the terraces, having to walk with flip flops in the open air to get a shower.
“For me, at this level you’d think the EFL would inspect away dressing rooms. It’s not difficult to do. If the EFL gave the OK, we wouldn’t have a problem.”