RODNEY THE DIFFERENCE AGAIN IN VALE WIN
PORT Vale’s players will have the chance to audition for a first-team place in today’s reserve game against Hereford, although all of a sudden that first team looks hard to get into.
That wasn’t always the case. In the opening seven winless games of Darrell Clarke’s reign, as the manager gave a damning verdict about the fitness of his squad, it seemed anyone who could manage a spritely walk across the car park was at the very least pencilled in.
Well no more. Back-to-back wins, with only one change to the side between them, as Shaun Brisley came in for the injured Zak Mills, have moved the Vale 10 points clear of the relegation zone as they start to show the sort of consistency the manager has been demanding.
Clarke has also stopped dropping hints about poor fitness into his interviews, and presumably not only because someone could put their back out trying to pick them up.
He was delighted with Saturday’s victory, and rightly so, as Vale showed some enterprising football at times, followed by spells of resilience when required.
So, that’s wins at home to Newport and away to Colchester in a week, both featuring match-winning goals from Devante Rodney.
His decider against Newport was a poacher’s finish, dispatched as he reacted quickest eight yards out. His strike at Colchester was more like the spectacular variety we’ve been used to from the summer signing from Salford, gathering Tom Conlon’s excellent pass wide on the left before cutting inside and bending the ball beautifully across the keeper
and inside the far post on 19 minutes.
That’s his 12th goal of the season, including 11 in the league, and he was unlucky not to add to that in the second half with a move he started by beating two men wide on the left before spreading the play, receiving the ball back on the edge of the Colchester area, dropping his shoulder to make room to shoot and
then hitting the inside of the post.
His manager reckons Rodney plays better when he’s angry, in which case hopefully the top scorer won’t read this stat, supplied by club historian Phil Sherwin.
Phil put the 22-year-old’s first full season at this level into context by revealing he is the first Vale player – apart from Tom Pope – to
score more than 10 league goals since Marc Richards managed it in the 2011/12 season.
Talking of Pope, he travelled with the squad to Colchester and, although he wasn’t in the matchday 18, he will make his comeback by playing in the reserve game against Hereford.
Pope was last seen finishing the Papa John’s Trophy game at Sunderland on January
12 with a broken arm and shoulder ligament damage because Vale had used all their subs and he didn’t want the team to finish a man down.
Yes, at 35, Vale’s post-war record goalscorer has more of his career behind than in front of him. But at 35, he is also old enough to have been forged at Shelton Bar.
Clarke explained he wants Pope involved and around the
squad, which seems like smart man-management, and no doubt motivation for the rest of the players.
Anyone considering slackening off during the 90 minutes would only have had to glance across to see Pope glowering at them from behind the dugouts.
Mind you that probably wasn’t necessary because Clarke and coach Andy Crosby
were providing motivation enough from the technical area.
The football cliché….‘once the players cross that white line there’s nothing you can do…’ is clearly not something Clarke subscribes to.
He made three changes to his formation during the win over Newport, and was at it again on Saturday, switching to a 3-5-2 for kick off, and then
4-3-3 in the second half as Vale outplayed the hosts in the first half then held on to the lead with few alarms after the break.
The press box at Colchester is merely yards from the technical areas which gave an opportunity to study the manager in the wild, cajoling, instructing and demanding at every pass, challenge and throw in.
There was plenty of encouragement, but he’s not afraid to vent his displeasure either.
Occasionally he would turn to bellow into the mostly empty stand, at which point reporters’ heads would duck beneath their laptops to avoid catching his gaze.
Still, he was happy enough by the end, his post-match comments this week have been all about praising his team for yes, showing some extra quality, but also for their effort, their resilience, and their determination to battle for points on difficult pitches at this stage of the season.
So, the challenge has been set for the players trying to force their way into the side via the Hereford reserve game. Good luck fellas, on this evidence, it won’t be easy.