Port Vale on Saturday....

[Howe Magic]

Personally i think the game at port vale on saturday is a must win game they have the worst home record in league two (Played 6 won 1 lost 5) - If we dont get anything from this game plus the two home games against accy and aldershot then i am afraid it will be time for a change of manager (its only my opinion but i think we need minimum of 6 points from the next 9 but with confidence low its going to be tough) ...... if we were to change manager shortly i would like to see a manager brought in with plenty of league experience maybe someone like andy richie this is our record so far this season played 15 won 1 drawn 8 lost 6 (I am normally very positive but this record is making it very hard to stay positive and i for one am getting very worried about the rest of the season unless there is a dramatic change shortly)

[Keith]

I agree that Port Vale is a massive game. Anything less than a win will be very worrying. A defeat will leave me wondering where we can turn it around. Even a draw will be a poor result. We've played five of the bottom seven teams (us being the eighth) and failed to beat any of them. Accepting that Rotherham are not hanging around at the bottom, we are relying on staying ahead of Grimsby and one of the two teams who remain on negative points. Luton's late equaliser last night at Grimsby has helped because as things are progressing, Bournemouth are likely to catch Grimsby and probably us.

A confidence boosting win could result in a massive change in fortunes... for us or Port Vale.

[sgt major]

Ive read the script already - we go to play a team not on form - they see our form and play out of their skins - it happens every time - unfortunately.

Anyway, the Indies will be there and there are still spaces left on our coach.

[marky]

Wow. HM calling for a change in management! There seems to have been a collective change of heart from quite a lot of people following last night's defeat which, whilst it is frustrating, wasn't unexpected. I think I agree that the next 3 games could be make or break as far as Sammy is concerned, though I would still personally give him till the new year.

[shrimper]

There seems to have been a collective change of heart from quite a lot of people following last night's defeat which, whilst it is frustrating, wasn't unexpected. .

And why should that be? As you say, losing away to a very good team near the top of the league isn't disastrous nor unpredictable.

But what happened on the same night was Accy winning at home to a good side (I know we beat Shrewsbury as well, but the Accy win was significant last night).

We can't compare ourselves to teams like Brentford, Bury and Rochdale (who have a great league tradition) - never mind the likes of Bradford, Shrewsbury, Darlo and others who have big fanbases and/or great facilities.

But we can and do justifiably measure ourselves against the likes of Accy and Macclesfield and it's when we appear to be slipping badly behind those - in terms not only of results but of attracting good players - that people start asking questions.

Let's hope we get a few good results in the next couple of weeks and that we can build on that with the addition of a couple that Sammy is looking at bringing in, by whatever means.

[nobbyshrimp]

Home Record: PORT VALE, P6 W1 D0 L5 (Worst home record in the league)

Away Record: MORECAMBE, P6 W0 D3 L3 (2nd worst to Grimsby)

I'm normally quite positive when it comes to Morecambe FC but even I am starting to worry now. The stats above don't make for a good read

[BHmfc]

Personally i think the game at port vale on saturday is a must win game they have the worst home record in league two (Played 6 won 1 lost 5) - If we dont get anything from this game plus the two home games against accy and aldershot then i am afraid it will be time for a change of manager (its only my opinion but i think we need minimum of 6 points from the next 9 but with confidence low its going to be tough) ...... if we were to change manager shortly i would like to see a manager brought in with plenty of league experience maybe someone like andy richie this is our record so far this season played 15 won 1 drawn 8 lost 6 (I am normally very positive but this record is making it very hard to stay positive and i for one am getting very worried about the rest of the season unless there is a dramatic change shortly)

It would be madness to get rid of SM. He took us up to the next level, something Jim Harvey was unable to do and now we are all facing the realities of life as a football league club. We need a strong manager, something SM certainly is. The reality is that for the next 3 or 4 years, just to stay in the league is an achievement, we are a small club, with a small fan base and a small budget. Let's take 1 step at a time and give SM the time to consolidate the club in the league.

[Keith]

Had an e-mail exchange with my Port Vale friend... In my last e-mail to him I'd said Saturday will be either a dire 0-0 or an absolutely crackin' game. His response gives some interesting insights to Port Vale at the moment...

Sounds like we’re in for a thriller on Saturday! All you have to do is play with some conviction and you’ll beat us. Apart from Bradford we get easily the biggest gates in the division and our young players just can’t cope with the expectation and go into their shells (mainly because the crowd get on their backs if it’s still 0-0 after 5 minutes) and you can visibly see the confidence drain away from them. We won our last 2 away matches playing 4-5-1 so our fool of a manager decided to play it at home last night and we were just toothless in attack.

If you play it long and get at our back four you will win – end of story. As long as you can take care of our big no. 9 Marc Richards then you be able to cope with our pretty lacklustre attack. We’ve also got a couple of decent wingers in Edwards and Dodds, but they’re lightweight and can be easily shrugged off the ball. Our only hope is play 4-4-2 and really get at you, but we’ll need an early goal. If you score first then you won’t lose and will probably go on to grab more goals. I am dreading it!

Our 6 home games this season

0-2 Accrington
3-1 Bournemouth
0-2 Bradford
1-4 Macclesfield
1-2 Notts County
1-3 Exeter

So, having hoofed it most of the season, will we choose this match to not go long Let's take it on board and get stuck in right from the off. Another early goal, but against a team that would crumble rather than come back? PLEASE don't go for the 'keep it tight' routine because a) we can't and b) they will grow in confidence if they are invited on to us.

He'd better not visit this site between now and Saturday!

[slackAlice]

BHmfc

The reality is that for the next 3 or 4 years, just to stay in the league is an achievement, we are a small club, with a small fan base and a small budget. Let's take 1 step at a time and give SM the time to consolidate the club in the league.

Thats just about hit the nail on the head. IF things detioriate even further and Sammy's sacked / resigns etc. ; WHO of any substance / track record is going to fancy a "small club,with a small fan base and a small budget". It's nonsense on stilts to call for Sammy's head -last season was an exceptional 1st season in the League , not just our final league position but the highs of beating North End and Wolves at their place - just over a year ago that was ! The first sniff of a struggle and what looks like a very nervy season and everything is all sh*te - sack this , chuck that.

[mfc:)]

Who is going on saturday i no i am?

[Harry]

If we play with conviction we could pretty much beat anyone in this league, as we showed last season.

I hope for an enjoyable afternoon on Saturday.

[Christies Child]

BHmfc

The reality is that for the next 3 or 4 years, just to stay in the league is an achievement, we are a small club, with a small fan base and a small budget. Let's take 1 step at a time and give SM the time to consolidate the club in the league.

Thats just about hit the nail on the head. IF things detioriate even further and Sammy's sacked / resigns etc. ; WHO of any substance / track record is going to fancy a "small club,with a small fan base and a small budget". It's nonsense on stilts to call for Sammy's head -last season was an exceptional 1st season in the League , not just our final league position but the highs of beating North End and Wolves at their place - just over a year ago that was ! The first sniff of a struggle and what looks like a very nervy season and everything is all sh*te - sack this , chuck that.

Who on this board actually knows with certain that we have 'a small budget'?

I believe that it's not always money that stops some players coming. It's our geographical location. Previous managers said that it was location that was always regarded by players as being a concern. If we look around the Greater Manchester and Merseyside areas, there is a number of clubs of similar stature to us that they could choose from. If you can play for a club within 50 miles of your home, would you travel 80 miles to play for us?

I often had a 4 hour round trip to my former office in Stockport. Would you fancy something like that if a local club offered you a contract?

[slackAlice]

Christies Child

Who on this board actually knows with certain that we have 'a small budget'?

Well I for one havn't got a clue how much are in the club's coffers , I'd guess were not as flush as some in League 2 ; but thats not really the point. If you change the quote to say " small club , with a small fan base AND not very attractive for your up and coming professional football player / manager" - it still doesn't bode well for future personnel acquisitions.

There are the facts ? Similarly Baker and Thommo have gone there not likely to be coming back anytime soon and I very much doubt you would be knee deep in quality replacements for the managers job. Whatever the club achieves both on and off the field is going to take time and hard graft ; last season was perhaps as good as it was through a mixture of luck and good judgement - Lewis [on loan] , Baker etc all falling into place. This season things have got off to a very bad start - but its happened Sammy won't be too pleased with how its going , I think he's the kind of bloke that will dig in and work hard to turn it round - thats my opinion - just look what he has acheived thus far !!!

Anyway I notice In Artell's column that they've got a psychologist in now , and he says that some think its a good idea and some .....