The Wonder Of P.V.F.C.: November 2007

Port Vale Vs Doncaster Rovers Saturday 24th November 2007

Let's not beat around the bush here this was crap, the second half performance was from a team that seems destined to be in League Two next season. The weekly collapsing defence appears to have returned again after it had seemed the corner had been turned. Even the deduction of 10 points for Luton Town after they were put into administration could not stop Vale from finishing the weekend on the bottom of League One, four points from safety, and appearing to be on a self destruct mission this season. This was the seventh defeat in ten home games this season, and with the ever looming Christmas and New Year heavy fixture list almost upon us, the team needs to get its act together very soon, or the inevitable result from these kind of performances will result in relegation.

The first half could not of started any brighter for Vale. From the off Vale got stuck into the visitors with some hefty challenges to break up their passing rhythm, and from the first attack on the Rovers goal a corner resulted in Vale taking the lead. Harsley had already put in a good cross for a corner just knocked out by a Doncaster defender for another one for Vale. This time the ball was met by Pilkington just on the six yard line and fired past keeper Sullivan to make it 1-0 on 10 minutes.

Vale continued to press and Harsley was picked out by Richards after a good passing move by Vale but his shot went high over the crossbar. Doncaster eventually gave Vale something to think about on 18 minutes when a powerful shot from Hayter produced a diving save from Anyon. As the visitors tried to gain a foothold in the game, the battling performance from Vale had them almost camped in the Doncaster half.

Harsley was not put off from his miss and was a real threat in the midfield. He helped Vale in winning most of the 50-50 balls, and some creative work led to Rocastle and Laird going close for the home side. Willock was also proving to be a thorn in the Doncaster defence, and a powerful run led to a great ball through to Rodgers, who forced a good save from Sullivan. For one of the first times this season the team went off at half time looking confident and in control of the match, and Sinnott would have nothing but praise for his players after the visitors were kept at bay with a good hard working performance. What could possibly go wrong?

Half Time Score Port Vale 1 - 0 Doncaster Rovers

If Lee Sinnott has learned anything today it will be not to underestimate how games can change from one half to the next. From one of the best first half performances of the season to one of the worst. Doncaster came out for the second half on a mission. Vale had been hard but fair in their approach in the first half, and when the visitors played them at their own game they crumbled like a house of cards in a spell that left the home fans reeling. Former Vale loanee James O'Connor should of helped level things from almost the first kick of the half when a pass left Guy unmarked with only Anyon to beat, but he appeared stunned at his opportunity, and fired wide when it seemed easier to score. The home fans breathed a huge sigh of relief in unison, but worse was to come.
O'Connor was proving to be a problem, and another great ball to Guy left him again in the clear and able to shoot at goal unmarked, but again his effort went wide and left Vale hanging on to the lead. Six minutes later the same two players combined again, this time with Guy hitting the net with a header to level the score on 59 minutes. Vale tried to step up the pressure again, but it was Doncaster who took the lead after some woeful defending. Westwood was to blame for losing his man on 68 minutes, when Hayter ran clear past him after a great ball from Wellens before sliding the ball past Anyon.

Almost immediately Sinnott took off Willock and replaced him with Edwards to try and create some width to the play. But with the three points in the bag Doncaster were in no mood to concede again, and Vale struggled to get hold of the ball, with the midfield looking inept and unable to do the simplest of tasks, like passing to team-mates, of winning tackles, which they had done so well in the first half.

With the clock ticking down Sinnott threw on Richards for the tiring Harsley. But as Richards was jogging to get into position, Wellens raced past the Vale defence to latch onto Coppingers long ball before sweeping the ball past Anyon to make it 3-1 on 81 minutes. The game was all but over when Sinnott brought on new loan signing Salmon for Laird on 88 minutes, and the only thing left was for a rather tame header from Richards that Sullivan saved with ease right on time.

A rather downbeat Sinnott said after the match " It was maybe a fair result as we made error's and contributed to our own downfall. You can't afford to do that, it really is back to basics now. I've had a chat with the players and we have to move on from here, I didn't expect to walk into the job and for every week be completely positive. You will take knocks. We have taken one today and its up to us as a group to stand up and be counted and rectify it. " When asked about how recent comments about how certain players had received barracking's from certain sections of the crowd at home Sinnott responded by praising the fans for the recent backing of the players in recent matches. He said " Looking at the job coming in, we have had two good away performances at Morecambe and Oldham. We also performed well against Crewe, although we didn't get the result. I am going to have to get psychological when we play at Vale Park. That is not aimed at the supporters as they have been magnificent. It would of been easy for then to of been more vociferous, in a negative way, after how Doncaster took control of the game. It is important to get into the minds of the players a little bit with their attitude to playing at home. If you lose so many games at the start of the season you are going to have a negative mindset. It is my job to get that out of their system as soon as possible. "

Final Score Port Vale 1 - 3 Doncaster Rovers

Port Vale Line Up

Joe Anyon
George Pilkington
Jason Talbot
Ashley Westwood
Mark McGregor
Craig Rocastle
Marc Laird (Mark Salmon 88)
Paul Harsley (Marc Richards 80)
Callum Willock (Paul Edwards 69)
Luke Rodgers
Danny Whitaker

Subs Not Used

Mark Goodlad
David McGoldrick

Today's Attendance: 4,581

Man Of The Match: Marc Laird

League One Standings

22. Bournemouth: Pl 17 W 3 D 4 L 10 GF 16 GA 29 Pts 13

23. Luton Town: Pl 17 W 6 D 4 L 7 GF 19 GA 20 Pts 12 (Deducted 10 Pt's)

24. Port Vale: Pl 17 W 3 D 3 L 11 GF 14 GA 25 Pts 12

Oldham Athletic Vs Port Vale Saturday 17th November 2007

A tough match for Vale as the reign of Lee Sinnott continues to look as if the corner has been turned for Vale this season. In fact this performance was a mile away from the Vale team that Sinnott inherited that collapsed so readily at Huddersfield, Orient and Luton this season. In fact this was the first time this year that Vale have gone behind in a game and come out of it with anything at all, so in that sense this was a big improvement.

After last weeks FA Cup win at Morecambe, Vale kept the faith with goalscorer Callum Willock. Back into the team came Ashley Westwood, with Keith Lowe reverting back to the bench. Vale started off the game in a positive mood and Luke Rodgers fired just wide with 60 seconds just about on the clock to show Oldham they meant business today. The good attacking form continued when a corner came in and was headed just over the bar from Willock.

Oldham had Lee Hughes in their line up today, and the ex West Brom player was looking on form as he had Oldham's first effort on goal after 16 minutes. He stooped to knock in a low header past the stranded Joe Anyon into the net, but the effort was adjudged to be offside by the linesman. Hughes was beginning to cause the Vale back line problems, and he set up Davies for an effort that went just wide. But the pressure from the home side paid off on 23 minutes when Taylor whipped in a cross that was met by Davies who headed the ball past Anyon to put the home side 1-0 up.

This is the time in recent games when Vales resolve has crumbled and they have gone on to concede a couple more, but Sinnott has instilled a bit of steel into the team and with determination Vale found themselves back on level terms within nine minutes. Vale had been pressing for an equaliser when Laird fired in a great ball towards Callum Willock, who turned and volleyed the ball past Mark Crossley in the Oldham goal in one movement. It was a spectacular goal from the front man who has now scored two in two games, and looks like he has settled into the new regime with a new determination to earn himself an extension to his contract which runs out in January.

Vale almost led at the break as they pilled the pressure on the Oldham goal. Paul Edwards fired in a cross met by Luke Rodgers, whose shot was pushed around the post by Crossley. The Vale seemed to be boosted by the spectacular goal, and went into half time the better of the two sides, and for once level after falling behind.

Half Time Score Oldham Ath 1 - 1 Port Vale

Vale kept Oldham waiting on the pitch for the start of the second half, but the delay seemed to fire the home side up as they started the half the brighter of the two sides. But Vale soon found themselves back in the groove they had ended the first half with.
Rodgers was his usual troublesome self, and won a free kick just outside the 18 yard box, which he took himself and forced Crossley into another fine save. Vale were playing some good football and Oldham were struggling to gain any possession of the ball, but Vale were not really creating any chances when they should of been stepping up the gears and taking on a side that appeared to be much worse than they were. They best chance fell to Willock again, whose looping header had Mark Crossley looking on as it bounced of the top of the crossbar and over.

Sinnott decided to build on the momentum, taking off Edwards and replacing him with McGoldrick, meaning Vale attacking with three up front and without us being behind, unheard of in previous weeks. A small scare for the team came when Davies almost put the home side ahead on 70 minutes with a shot from close range that went wide.

With full time getting nearer, Sinnott made a second change on 75 minutes, bringing on Lowe for Rodgers and pushing McGoldrick further forward and pushing Talbot to a more attacking role on the left of the midfield. This gave Vale more opportunities to grab a winner with McGoldrick and Willock both going close. In a final change Vale brought on Richards for the tiring Willock on 85 minutes, but it was the home side who were piling on the pressure with Smalley going close for the home team. With the final whistle looming Vale almost snatched a late winner as Richards went agonisingly close. He turned Trotman in the Oldham defence and steadied himself for the shot. His effort beat the onrushing Crossley in the goal, but his shot hit the foot of the post and came back into the path of a defender who hoofed the ball away to safety. Vale had worked hard for this point, and although the result still leaves them in the relegation zone, they are looking more like a team that will not be going down, and surely it is only a matter of time before they start to turn pressure into win's.

After the match Lee Sinnott had this to say of the performance " What they gave me was an extremely gutsy performance. That will do for me and stands us in good stead for the rest of the season. You can't play great football and build the play all the time, not every game is the same. We played better football against Crewe, but this time we got a point. It is about building blocks in my view. Its about adding to what this squad is capable of. They have added a brick that you could call 'guts' and I am pleased with them in that aspect. The idea behind the tactical changes was to take us over the finishing line. Although Oldham had more play than us in front of goal, I felt we had the lesser of two evils, and they looked less likely to score than our effort that nearly gained us all three points at the end of the match. "

Final Score Oldham Ath 1 - 1 Port Vale

Port Vale Line Up

Joe Anyon
George Pilkington
Jason Talbot
Mark McGregor
Ashley Westwood
Danny Whitaker
Craig Rocastle
Marc Laird
Callum Willock (Marc Richards 85)
Luke Rodgers (Keith Lowe 75)
Paul Edwards (David McGoldrick 67)

Subs Not Used

Mark Goodlad
Paul Harlsey

Today's Attendance: 5,097

Man Of The Match: Callum Willock

League One Standings

22. Millwall: Pl 16 W 3 D 4 L 9 GF 14 GA 25 Pts 13

23. Port Vale: Pl 16 W 3 D 3 L 10 GF 13 GA 22 Pts 12

24. Cheltenham Town: Pl 16 W 2 D 6 L 8 GF 14 GA 26 Pts 12

F.A. Cup Second Round Draw

After the all important First Round win the even more important Second Round draw comes around very quickly, and as long as you get a home tie in this round, you have every chance of getting through this round and maybe pulling the big one out of the hat in the Third Round. So I'm sure that Lee Sinnott and the boy's were all sitting with baited breath to see who they will face in this round. So here is the draw in full. Note that some of the fixtures will change due to First Round replays.

Oxford United Vs Southend United
Swindon Town Vs Forest Green or Rotherham
Oldham or Doncaster Rovers Vs Crewe
Darlington or Norhampton Town Vs Walsall
Cambridge United Vs Weymouth
Millwall Vs Barrow or Bournemouth
Stockport County or Staines Vs Peterborough United
Bradford City Vs Tranmere Rovers
Torquay United Vs Cheltenham Town or Brighton
Notts County Vs Havant & Waterlooville
Dagenham & Redbridge Vs Kidderminster Harriers
Port Vale Vs Chasetown
Leyton Orient or Bristol Rovers Vs Rushden & Diamonds
Huddersfield Town Vs Carlisle United or Grimsby Town
Burton Albion Vs Barnet
Bury Vs Exeter City
Luton Town or Brentford Vs Lincoln City or Nottingham Forest
Horsham Vs Swansea City
Hereford United or Leeds United Vs Hartlepool United
Harrogate Railway Vs Mansfield Town

All ties to be played 30 November and 1 & 2 December.

So Port Vale have been handed a great chance to progress to the Third Round being drawn at home to Chasetown. The plucky little non-league team have never been this far in the competition before, and they gave Oldham a scare in 2005 in the First Round when they earned a replay. This should be an easier task for Vale as new manager Lee Sinnott is freshly plucked from the Non-League and will know exactly the mentality of his counterparts. His knowledge should give Vale the advantage, but a large following is expected from Chasetown as they are close in terms of distance (less than 30 miles) and in 2005 they took over 2500 to a midweek replay to Oldham. Should be a great atmosphere at Vale Park on December 2nd, and Vale will be hoping they don't fall foul of the giantkillers in this tie, and maybe become giantkillers themselves in the next round!

Morecambe Vs Port Vale FA Cup 1st Round Saturday 10th November 2007

The road to Wembley starts here for the eighty teams in the first round proper today, and of course nobody expects any of the teams that start their FA Cup campaign today to still be in the competition much longer than January anyway, let alone for a final date at the new Wembley Stadium in May......

But you can dream, and in the FA Cup the dream for the majority of the teams in the first and second round is to get to the third round and pull out the plumb tie against Man United or Chelsea, and set the financial worries of being in footballs lower echelons to rest for another year. Today for Port Vale the game had another more pressing reason for wanting a victory. Lee Sinnott in his second match in charge was looking for his first victory as manager, and the players were looking for revenge after the embarrassing defeat on penalties a few weeks ago in the Johnson's Paint Trophy here, which left the team being described as nothing more than a pub side by then caretaker manager Dean Glover. All thoughts of a glamour tie had to be put to rest today as first and foremost a victory was needed.

The team was changed around from Tuesdays defeat to Crewe, some enforced, some due to injury. McGoldrick was withdrawn as Southampton didn't want him Cup Tied, Willock replaced him with Richards still not fit. Also Keith Lowe started due to Westwood having a slight hamstring pull. And new loan signing Marc Laird was thrust into the line up as well. But the biggest surprise by Lee Sinnotts team selection was the inclusion of 16 year old youngster James Lawrie from the youth team on the bench.

Vale started with purpose from the off, and Morecambe were stretched from Vale's first move as Willock blasted a shot over the bar. The home side were on the back foot again as Rodgers raced onto a pass from Laird, and he was brought down by Sorvel just outside the area. The resulting free kick was sent in by Whitaker towards the back post and captain George Pilkington met the ball with a great header past the stranded keeper and into the net for his first goal of the season, sending the 700 travelling Vale fans wild after only 6 minutes had been played.

From that moment on Vale could of added at least another couple of goals as wave after wave of Vale attacks stretched the home side and kept the play in their half. The pressure was relentless, and Marc Laird was creating some good chances for Rodgers, and the impressive Callum Willock on his return to the side. As Laird was winning the ball it allowed Rocastle to venture forward more and more and he tested the keeper twice in quick succession with rasping shots from outside the area.

The pressure told on 22 minutes as Vale added a second goal. The Morecambe keeper raced out of the area to try and clear a poor back pass to be met by the on-coming Luke Rodgers, who won the ball and laid on Willock. He composed himself in the 18 yard box and fired the ball into the roof of the net to put the Vale 2-0 up and score his first goal for the club. As Vale seemed to be on cruise control now, Morecambe began to put a bit of a fight into the match. Anyon saved well from a Baker 30 yard free kick, and a brilliant save pushed a shot from Stanley round the post on 35 minutes. Vale withstood the pressure well, and never looked like conceding a goal in the half, and Lee Sinnott would of been delighted with his teams first half performance.

Half Time Score Morecambe 0 - 2 Port Vale

The second half kicked off with Vale coming under a bit of pressure from the home side, but not enough to worry them this time, and gaps in the Morecambe defence soon started to appear again. The Vale had early second half shots from Talbot and Rocastle just go wide. Rodgers was a bit out of sorts on today's performance, and the Vale striker was feeling the pressure of some hefty challenges from former Crewe and Vale player Adam Yates.

The impressive Marc Laird was getting stuck in for the Vale in his first FA Cup match, and picked up a booking for a challenge on the halfway line. Callum Willock was looking to impress his new boss with a workman like performance today. When he was brought down just outside the area, the resulting free kick almost gave Vale a third goal. Rodgers hit the shot with venom, but it flew just inches over the bar into the visiting Vale fans.

Morecambe were unlucky not to pull a goal back, when a shot from Baker hit the crossbar after an impressive run down the wing. Sinnott appears to have galvanized the squad in the two games he has been in charge, and the players have responded to his methods, with players like Willock, who under Foyle looked poor, but now look like they could win matches for the team. As the half wore on Vale looked the more likely team to score, and had a 78th minute penalty appeal turned away by the referee. A great ball from Whitaker was chased down by Rodgers, and he was promptly brought down by the keeper, but the referee gave a foul for shirt pulling by Rodgers on the defender he had raced past.

As the tired legs began to show from Vale, Sinnott made two quick changes bringing on Tudor for Willock on 82 minutes, and Miles for Edwards on 86 minutes. It was great to see a Vale manager making tactical substitutions for a change, slowing the game down and wasting time the home side didn't have, and his final substitute on 93 minutes bringing on youngster James Lawrie to make his Vale debut, perhaps showed his intent to the travelling Vale fans, that he is a manager who is capable of bringing the best out of what he has for a squad, and that no matter the age of the player, he is not afraid to play them

Much to the delight and relief of the Vale players and fans the referee brought the game to an end, but more importantly Vale got the result they should of got here in the Johnsons Paint Trophy, looking more confident than they have all season, and hoping for a good Second Round tie to hopefully get them into that Third Round against one of the big teams. After witnessing his first win, manager Lee Sinnott had this to say about the game " I would rather fail trying than not to bother in that aspect. Sometimes, you take gambles and they don't come off, but you have to be prepared to take them and see things out. Yes we have brought players in, but I have only been in the job five days and I want to see these players for myself. Situation arise where people get an opportunity. It is up to them to take them with both hands. If you get the shirt, keep the shirt. This performance has given me a few thing to think about. And the young players showed their commitment to the club today also. James Lawrie was only drafted in when Hulbert failed his fitness test, and he didn't even have a shirt with his name or squad number on at 1.45, but we fixed him up and he made his debut. I don't care if the players are 16 or 40, if they can come on and do as I ask, and win us a game of help us into the next round of the cup and do a job for Port Vale, then they will be included. That is a message I want to send loud and clear to everyone around the club. " All in all Sinnott would of been proud to give the team all the credit they deserved today, and a big thumbs up from the boss was in order...

Final Score Morecambe 0 -2 Port Vale

Port Vale Line Up

Joe Anyon
George Pilkington
Jason Talbot
Mark McGregor
Keith Lowe
Craig Rocastle
Marc Laird Booked 54
Danny Whitaker
Callum Willock (Shane Tudor 82)
Luke Rodgers (James Lawrie 90+3)
Paul Edwards (Colin Miles 86)

Subs Not Used

Danny Glover
Mark Goodlad

Today's Attendance: 2,730

Man Of The Match: Callum Willock

FA Cup Second Round Draw will be posted shortly.

The Dream Goes On.....

First Signing For Lee Sinnott

With Adam Eckersley returning early to Man United with an injury, and Will Atkinson having returned to Hull after his loan, Lee Sinnott took the opportunity to bring in his first signing as Vale manager, with Marc Laird being brought in on a months loan from Manchester City.

The 21 year old Scottish player has featured only once in the Man City first team when he came on in the 70th minute in a friendly against Carlisle United, scoring eight minutes later in a 4-0 win. He spent some of last season on loan at Northampton Town, where he played here at Vale Park in their 1-0 defeat.

He has been a member of the successful Man City youth team, and has been described as a player with huge potential. He is an attacking midfielder who has an eye for goal, and is looking to make his mark here at Vale in his loan spell. Due to injuries and the return of Atkinson to Hull, Marc will make his Vale debut in the FA Cup First Round tie at Morecambe this weekend.

Port Vale Vs Crewe Alex Tuesday 6th November 2007

First game in charge tonight for Lee Sinnott, and what better way to start a new era than with a derby match against Crewe Alex. More important than the result was the performance for Sinnott. If at least the team was to look like they could play together then then his job would be made a lot easier, and after how badly the team performed against Huddersfield on Saturday, then a win would be the icing on the cake. Well at least half of what he wanted was here to be seen. The result went against the Vale, but the performance would of given Lee Sinnott a lot of positives to look at. Vale dominated the match from the start and only folded when Crewe scored form their only dangerous strike on goal in the game, but the overall performance would of given the team and the fans a lot to be happier about.

In his first line up as manager Sinnott brought back Pilkington to the back four, with McGregor switching to right back, as Miller fell to illness before the game. He also brought back in Jason Talbot and Robin Hulbert, who replaced Edwards and Harsley respectively.

Vale started the much more determined of the two sides tonight, and looked more like a play-off contender than a relegation threatened team. Will Atkinson was causing Crewe problems and in the ninth minute he created space for a Pilkington header that forded a save from Williams. Vale were pushing on to the Crewe back line, and most of the play in the first half hour had Crewe pinned in their own half. Rodgers looked like it was only a matter of time before he scored past his former club, and the Crewe fans giving him stick every time he touched the ball seemed to fire the little guy into wanted to score even more. Will Atkinson continued to cause problems down the wing, and his balls into the box were putting Alex under pressure, with Rodgers forcing Williams into two fine saves.

In a rare move into the Vale half Crewe almost snatched a goal when Simon Church fired a shot which was well saved by Anyon. Hulbert was also making his presence felt on the match, as a series of strong but fair challenges on the Crewe midfield helped keep Vale on the attack as the half wore on. Crewe needed to stop the pressure, and mainly from the threat posed by Atkinson. Not renowned as as a battling side the challenge by Woodards on Atkinson left the Vale winger struggling to carry on but went unpunished by the referee, much to the annoyance of the Vale fans who were screaming for a red card.

The rash challenge seemed to knock the wind from the sails from Vale, and as the half drew to a close it was Crewe who seemed that they had built up more of a momentum, with Cox and Moore both being denied by fine saves from Anyon. After the first half, Sinnott would of been happy with his teams performance, but the finishing would have to improve in the second half to put away the chances they were creating.

Half Time Score Port Vale 0 - 0 Crewe Alex

After the challenge on Atkinson left him unable to continue for the second half, Harsley replaced him. Vale once again started they stronger of the two sides. McGoldrick was denied by a late challenge from Baudet inside the six yard box. As the home fans got behind the team Vale again went close. Harlsey played a great ball through to Rodgers who lined up a shot aimed at the top corner, bringing a fine fingertip save from Williams to deny him a goal against his former club.

Vale were forced into a change on 61 minutes when Westwood, who picked up a hamstring strain, was replaced by Keith Lowe. Vale upped the tempo again and Hulbert fired just wide with a good effort, followed by another close effort from Rocastle forcing a save from Williams in the Crewe goal. But the pressure Vale were putting onto the Crewe goal was not being turned into goals, and frustration was creeping into the home side. Sensing this Crewe mounted an attack which produced the sucker punch snatch and grab goal from the game. Rocastle lost the ball to Roberts in the middle and he ran on to find Moore in space down the right. The striker fired a ball across the Vale goal and the defence failed to clear the ball, which was buried into the net by Elliott Bennett on 76 minutes.

Vale could of pulled one back almost immediately when Harsley crossed in towards McGoldrick. He met the ball and fired in a low shot which flew past Williams but hit the post. The ball fired out and was met by Rocastle, but his shot from 20 yards out flew over the crossbar.
Vale did try to rally on in the last ten minutes, and Sinnott brought on Tudor for Talbot to try and create a more attacking approach for the Vale. As the winger brought fresh legs to the game he fired in a couple of great crosses met by McGoldrick and Rocastle, but both their efforts went wide of the goal. As the board went up to show four minutes of injury time Vale pushed on again and another fine save from Williams after a Rodgers effort almost levelled things for the Vale, but Crewe defended well and the game ended with a win for Crewe, but the home side would of been much happier with the performance, and it would only be a matter of time before things on the pitch turned into results going in their favour.

In his first post match interview, Lee Sinnott was disappointed by the result, but the positives he could take from the performance would of pleased him. He said " There were many good things to take from the game, but the priority was the result. Sometimes you don't get what you deserve from football matches. I thought the reaction from players to supporters and vice versa was superb, and we will need more of that.
There is a long way to go in this season, and I have to get that into the players minds. There is a fine line between success and failure and I think this season has proved that so far, but we need to change that. I would of been more worried tonight if my defence had been cut to ribbons or the keeper had been overworked and we hadn't created any chances, but apart from the score it was a good all round display. I feel that after the game we can see that we are able to progress, which will hopefully lead to success. "

Final Score Port Vale 0 - 1 Crewe Alex

Port Vale Line Up

Joe Anyon
George Pilkington
Mark McGregor
Ashley Westwood (Keith Lowe 61)
Jason Talbot (Shane Tudor 83)
Danny Whitaker
Craig Rocastle Booked 71
Robin Hulbert
David McGoldrick
Luke Rodgers
Will Atkinson (Paul Harsley 45)

Subs Not Used

Danny Glover
Mark Goodlad

Today's Attendance: 5,329

Man Of The Match: Luke Rodgers

League One Standings

22. Bournemouth: Pl 15 W 3 D 3 L 9 GF 15 GA 25 Pts 12

23. Port Vale: Pl 15 W 3 D 2 L 10 GF 12 GA 21 Pts 11

24. Cheltenham: Pl 15 W 2 D 5 L 8 GF 12 GA 24 Pts 11

Port Vale Unveil New Manager Lee Sinnott

A brave new dawn as a new era begins at Vale Park with the appointment of Lee Sinnott as the new Vale manager. The speculation of who would be the new man ended up a two horse race with caretaker boss Dean Glover and Lee Sinnott the main contenders, and the Vale board took the brave and exciting decision to appoint Sinnott with Glover to stay on as his assistant. Lee has signed a two and a half year deal and with his track record as a non league manager he will bring a new era to the Vale with a fresh outlook and no previous ties to hold his judgement back.

Bill Bratt said " We are all very excited at the appointment of Lee and he will of course get the full backing from us. We are also delighted at Dean's decision to stay on as Assistant Manager after all his years at the club and his hard work over the last few difficult weeks.

This is a fresh new start for the club and we feel that Lee is one of the best new up and coming English managers and we hope he will follow on from the success of other managers who have started in non league an done well as league managers such as Martin O'Neill, Martin Allen and Brian Little. "

A little about the new man at the helm now. Born in 1965 in Walsall and is the brother of actor Richard Sinnott. He started as an apprentice at Walsall before signing for Watford in 1983, where in his first season as a professional he got to live out every schoolboys dream and played in the FA Cup Final against Everton, collecting a runners up medal. His manager at the time was Graham Taylor, and he has been a huge influence on Lee's managerial style.

After four years at Watford he moved on to Bradford into what was then Division Two (Now the Championship). He helped Bradford make it to the Play-Offs that year, but the promotion bid failed and two years later they were relegated. He spent one season with Bradford in Division Three before moving back into the top league with Crystal Palace in 1991, but unable to maintain a regular first team place, he moved back to Bradford after two seasons.

Again Bradford just missed out on promotion in the Play-offs and then manager Frank Stapleton was sacked, so after one season back he moved on again to Huddersfield Town. In his first season under manager Neil Warnock he won promotion via the Play-Offs as captain of Warnock's team. He had three happy years at Huddersfield before signing for Oldham in 1997.

He had two years at Oldham who had just been relegated from League One, and in his time was loaned out again to Bradford. After he left Oldham he signed for Scarborough in 1999 and in his last season as a player the side reached fourth in the Nationwide conference.

Sinnott was not out of football for long and in 2003 he was appointed manager of Farsley Celtic. In his first season at the club he took them to third in the Northern Premier League Division One which gained them promotion to the Northern Premier League. After two years the team was promoted to the Conference North, and the following season the team was promoted to the Nationwide Conference via the Play-Offs. Farlsey's three promotions leaves them just two divisions behind neighbours Leeds United, and their highest League position ever.

Graham Taylor said this in a recent interview about the appointment of Sinnott at Port Vale " I respect Port Vale for looking outside the league to give a young manager a shot. He has what I call a proper approach about football. He always wants to learn and will listen and bide his time. Whatever he has done before will count for nothing when the going gets tough and that is when he will need the board's support, he will need time to get it right. Lee will have to be out all the time looking for players and make sure he can work within the financial constraints, he can't afford to sit at home and not be well organised. He knows I'm at the end of the phone if he needs advice over the coming months and I will try to help "

Included below is the press conference which unveils Lee Sinnott as the new boss.

Hudderfield Town Vs Port Vale Saturday 3rd November 2007

A testing time for caretaker manager today as his future was made even more uncertain as his only rival for the vacant managers job, Lee Sinnott, was at the game today. Late last night the Farsley Celtic manager's club released a press statement that he had left the club, leaving it all but certain he was to be the next Vale manager. This along with the news that Adam Eckersley has had to return to Manchester United after picking up a knee injury that will require surgery and is likely to keep him out for 10 weeks would of been a major blow to Glover as the youngster had impressed in his time at Vale and he had become a favourite with the fans with his style of play.
So a reshape at the back was required with Edwards returning to the left back role and McGoldrick replacing the injured Richards. George Pilkington also pulled out late with a stomach bug, leaving Glover to include McGregor in the line up. In Huddersfield's line up today were former Vale star Malvin Kamara, and former Vale target Danny Cadermarteri. Also ex Man United player Ronnie Wallwork and Frank Sinlclair meant that Vale faced a stiff test at the Galpharm.

It couldn't of been a worse start for the Vale as they found themselves 2-0 down inside the first ten minutes of the match. The missing players had an adverse effect on the game from the start and Vale showed why they are in the relegation zone. Andy Booth scored with his first effort on 3 minutes to give the home side an early lead. A free kick from the corner was whipped in and Booth headed firmly past Anyon. But things got even worse six minutes later when Town got a second. A corner was whipped in and cleared the Vale defence to find the unmarked Wallwork who fired home from 20 yards.

Vale finally had a shot at the home team on sixteen minutes when McGoldrick was put clear in a one on one with the keeper, but his effort went wide after a weak shot. If it had of gone in Vale would of been back in the game, but things went even worse on 20 minutes when they fell 3-0 behind. Another corner for the home side, and another goal. The ball was whipped in by Skarz and Mirfin headed towards the goal. Rocastle tried in vain to hoof the ball away, but the referee adjudged the ball had gone over the line and awarded the goal.
With the game already dead and buried in the first 20 minutes what followed made little difference to the outcome. Luke Rodgers scored yet again on 43 minutes to give Vale a glimmer of hope, but after this woeful first half performance, whoever the next manager is will have his work cut out.

Half Time Huddersfield Town 3 - 1 Port Vale

The second half was pretty much a non event, but Vale did rally slightly to give the travelling support some hope, although the possession was rarely turned into chances on goal by Vale, and Huddersfield appeared to be on cruise control. Glover brought on Hulbert for Miller just after the break to try and toughen up the midfield. Rodgers again was the only Vale player to attempt any shots on the home teams goal, and the opening ten minutes saw him have a couple of efforts saved by the keeper.

On 59 minutes Glover replaced Atkinson for Tudor, and pushed Whitaker onto the left to try and open up the home side, but it made little difference. It was the pacy Huddersfield attack that could of added to the scoreline when Cadermarteri showed his skill by dribbling past the Vale defence and crossing for Booth, whose header went just wide. The loudest cheer of the day went up when the scoreboard flashed up that local rivals Leeds United were losing at Carlisle.

Apart from that the only other talking point was the penalty appeal when Sinclair appeared to push over Whitaker. The home side held its breath as it looked like the the referee was about to give a penalty, but he gave the foul the other way. As Vale mounted a last attack, Whitaker had a shot hit the side netting. Even the three minutes of added time didn't result in another attack, as the home side picked up and easy three points and Vale were left licking their wounds. As it looks like Sinnott will be the next manager then on this performance he will of seen the team at its worst, and he will have his work cut out to turn this season around with the local derby against Crewe as his possible first match, and the FA Cup trip to Morecambe next Saturday. If this is Glover's last game in charge he leaves the team in the relegation zone after losing six of his eight games in charge.