The Wonder Of P.V.F.C.: Port Vale Vs Notts Forest Saturday 15th September 2007

Poor, boring, incompetent, useless, unattractive, lack of passion, lack of guidance, inept, terrible. All good words that could describe all of Vale's home performances so far this season. One point from a possible nine and exit from the League Cup to a League Two side and all for the tidy sum of £71.00 if you were unfortunate enough to of had to of paid to get in. And are there any bright sparks on the horizon, well not from where I was sitting on Saturday. I cannot think of another club that starts it's top scorer from the bench, while the forward line put on the pitch would have a problem hitting a barn door with a very large target painted on it! And to top it all off we were out sang by a travelling support in the region of 2,500 (Don't believe The Sentinel there were more than 2,000 in Hamil End) which actually looked to have more fan's in than home fans! There is a deep crisis at the club at the moment. The manager looks clueless, but doesn't help himself with ludicrous team selection's. One of our best players has left, leaving a huge gap to be filled. The club is rife with takeover rumours. And the new signings have been on the whole appalling.

Forest were, on the whole, no better than Vale on the day. In the Forest line up was Neil Lennon, who clearly looks overweight and over the hill, and Kris Commons, the ex-Stokie who always plays well against Vale, started from the bench. The big named visitors have had as shaky start to the season as Vale have had, and were still looking for their first win of the campaign. They didn't have to wait long to get on top in this match. An early corner taken by Cohen was flicked on by Holt only to be blasted into his own net by Edwards in an attempt to clear the ball. They were unlucky to not be two ahead on five minutes when Agogo crossed in a ball which was met by Holt, whose fine header was saved by Anyon.
Vale were rocked by the early goal, but got there rhythm back as the half progressed. A chip from Danny Whitaker over the stranded Forest keeper landed on the roof of the net on nineteen minute's. McGoldrick then ran on into the box but his tame effort was knocked away by a Forest defender. Vale started the game with a change of partnership at the back, with Lowe coming in alongside Pilkinton, and Westwood moving to right back after Miller picked up a knock in training. This seemed to unsettle Pilkington, and Forest played on this throughout the half. Cohen easily beat Lowe, leaving Pilkington stranded, but in his eagerness to score, he dwelled on the ball to long and Westwood got back to clear up the danger.
Foyle was forced into a change when Lowe picked up an injury mid way through the half. This meant McGregor coming on as right back and Westwood slotting back in at his preferred center half position (Should of started the game with this back four Mr Foyle!). The change seemed to settle the Vale and they did start to push on towards the end of the half.

Rocastle , who has started to settle into the center midfield role, won the ball in the middle and threaded a ball to Harsley, but his low shot drifted wide of the post. Wilson then clattered into McGoldrick on the edge of the Forest box and from the resulting free kick Vale produced their best effort of the half. The ball was swung in by Harsley, and only a superb reflex save from the Forest keeper Smith denied Westwood equalising for the Vale.

Half Time Score Port Vale 0 - 1 Notts Forest

Vale had ended the first half well, and built on that almost from the start of the second half, when Whitaker missed another golden opportunity to equalise. McGoldrick won the ball and raced goalwards slipping the ball through to Whitaker, whose 20 yard shot was parried away by another great stop from the Forest keeper. As the goal drought looked far from over, Foyle decided to listed to the fan's and bring on Luke Rodgers on 52 minutes. He was involved almost straight away when he latched onto a Rocastle pass and curled his shot just wide. The pair were involved again when a neat one-two left Tudor in space, but his shot went tamely wide.

Forest appeared to be feeling the pressure a bit as Vale pushed on, and Calderwood brought on Kris Commons on 69 minutes to a chorus of boos from the Vale fans. As the half wore on Vale seemed to loose their grip on the game and Foyle decided to bring on Willock to add a bit of height to the forward line. But it was Forest who again went closest on 73 minutes when Holt shot just over the bar. In a final push Vale again threatened when a Tudor corner was met by the impressive Westwood, whose header was claimed by the keeper.

The final few minutes found Forest having the better of the chances. The first came on 85 when Cohen crossed and Holt headed into the path of McGregor, who cleared the ball. But with three minutes left on the clock they got a second goal when Commons crossed in and Chambers was unmarked to give Anyon no chance from eight yards with a fine downward header. Vale had the final chance of the game when McGoldrick chested down Tudors cross but could only find the keepers legs with his tame effort on goal.

Final Score Port Vale 0 - 2 Notts Forest

After the game Foyle blasted the team for their efforts in what should of been one of the biggest home games of the season. He criticised the lack of quality passes to the front pairing of McGoldrick and Richards and inexplicably blamed Edwards for the first goal, even though it was an own goal he was not that bad on the day, and ended up one of the better players on the pitch. Foyle will have to reconsider starting Rodgers from the bench, as he is our only scorer this season, and is the only player who seems to know where the goal is. It will be a tough away trip next week to Luton, and they will start heavy favourites. Foyle needs to pick his strongest eleven every week, and not the players on the biggest wage of transfer fee. Only when Lowe went off did the confidence get better at the back, and he was as much to blame for the first goal as Edwards, as his poor marking allowed the header in the first place. The fans all seem to think Rodgers can score the goals this term to get us up the league, but he is continued to start from the subs bench. He is a much better prospect than Richards, but Foyle persists with his " Main Man " Richards despite him rarely having a shot on goal let alone on target. Big changes are required and fast, or Vale will be in deep relegation trouble, and Foyle could well be on the management scrapheap. As a fan I hate to see one on my heroes struggle as Foyle appears to be doing, but the good of the club is at stake, and we cannot go on playing this way and not getting results. Forest were no better than us, but they created two clear chances and scored them both. Out finishing was woeful in the final third of the pitch, and Foyle tactics and team selection leaves a lot to be desired.

Port Vale Line Up