The "Valiants" is obviously derived from "Vale" which has nothing to do with courage, but there is not much to scope for engendering a suitably spirited nickname from "a long depression in the land, usually between two hills and containing a river."
However our qualities are not defined by our names and PV will be endeavouring to discover some fighting spirit after losing at Barrow by four goals to Nil last time out. This was the second meeting between the clubs in a month, both at Barrow with a 3-2 loss there in the in the League Cup. They've played 2 out of 3 away in the league and drawn with Tranmere, but they beat Salford away in the opener.
So it sounds as though they still need to organise what seems to be a considerable collection of talent into a winning combination.
And the same could be said of Rovers.
The team spirit and application was far better in the 2 cup games than we have seen in the league. We won't win promotion with minimal effort and some players prefer to play it safe rather than make positive contributions.
Westbrook reminded me of Close and Bostock on Tuesday. He is not a defender but a midfielder whose job is to initiate attacks, but for a lot of the time he just passed the ball sideways and backwards, seemingly fearful of risking a forward pass in case it did not find its target. So I wouldn't have him in my team. I prefer more tenacity, like you get from Kelly and Clifton. I would also like to see more involvement of Hurst, rather than him just drifting around on a part-time basis. We need a bit more cohesion in the way we formulate attacking moves. Molyneux could combine more, although he can't do so without a bit more dynamic involvement of those around him. And where do Sharp and Ironside fit in? Is there a strategy to supply them or are they making it up as they go along? Can the supply mechanism work the same for both of them? At the moment it does not seem to be working for either of them.
And we need TSL back. I'm not sure how Lawlor made no effort to stop Everton's first goal; his initial view might have been restricted, but it was close enough for him to have seen it coming at him and to react for the last 5 yards or so, yet he just watched it go a foot or two past him.
I am hoping for a draw at least 1-1 (Molyneux/Sharp/Ironside)
DPL v Port Vale
posted on 1/9/24
Based on the highlights, three great goals, but where was our defence for their first goal? I agree with Grant that under today's rules that was no penalty. The cross was way above both players and the PV guy had no chance of getting the ball. Still, encouraging signs of what our attack can do.
I see Hakeeb Adelakun has finally got a team - Salford. If you look at his stats on Wikipedia, the most productive time was at Rovers at, on average, about a goal every two games. Maybe Grant was able to get the best out of him.
posted on 1/9/24
No one was marking the “zone” or the man for their first goal.
So often refs seem to favour making important decisions quickly rather than thinking for a moment or two and consulting their assistant.
I think Adelukan burnt his boats with us by not accepting what Rovers offered and expecting something better elsewhere. I should think Rovers would be offering at least 2 years. Maybe you are right Micky and he had never played as well before or indeed since - because he had trials elsewhere in the close season.
posted on 2/9/24
Adelukan may be a case to study why, and what was the magic dust Grant sprinkled on him? His time at Lincoln was the most productive after comparing his performance at the Rovers, but they loaned him out and did not offer him a new contract. Then his performance at our last three games was poor.
I hate to think this (but the world today is so different from when we grew up - remember a max salary of 20 pounds per week!), but did he take performance enhancing drugs (legal or illegal) while at the Rovers?
We will see what happens at Salford.
posted on 2/9/24
I did not mean to imply the possibility that the Rovers gave him drugs!
posted on 2/9/24
That never occurred to me. I see that there is an FA programme which extends across football generally to include the EFL and there was some publicity in 2018 which suggested that a quarter of their players were not tested in a whole year at that time.
posted on 4/9/24
It has been quite a treat to be able to watch Rovers via Sky+ and last night’s Trophy match v Huddersfield gave another opportunity to study the performances of more players in the squad.
McGrath put up a good show apart from injudiciously and unnecessarily trying something fancy which did not mcome off and allowed their player a free run with only Lawlor to beat. He shot wide fortunately, but it showed McG’s unacceptable naivety as a defender.
Olowu was prone to this sort of thing and now he seems to have learnt the lesson and was potential MOM last night.
Our L2 squad team kept a good level of effort against a L1 equivalent, so it reflected the kind of contest we might well have been facing had the Play-offs ended favourably. Consequently, winning was satisfying.
It will be interesting to see what the Dingles and Man U U21s, especially with Tommy Rowe now a coach there, will offer.
posted on 5/9/24
I watched the game, and thought we did OK against a top League One side. However, they did miss two golden chances - the one when McGrath made the error before we had scored, and the right at the end their captain headed wide when it seemed easier to hit the target.
The sponsors' MOM was Ben Close. He did show some ability for some good forward passes, but too often passed sideways or backwards as in the past. In fact the team's backward play was so different to our recent games.
It was hard to judge Lawlor as he had not much to do. His punching on the whole went to "safer" places, but sometimes I thought he could have caught the ball. His distribution was mediocre - maybe because players passed back to him too often and all he could do was boot it up the field.
posted on 5/9/24
We are of one mind as far as Close is concerned; a team of Closes would not score many goals, although I too noticed more adventurous passes than normal and of course his fans seem irrepressible when he does anything constructive, hence MOM!!
I did pay some attention to Sbarra for the first time in this game and he hardly managed to keep the ball when he got it or to successfully challenge for it either; he was not really up with the pace. Broadbent too, had the ball quite a bit, but did not do much with it, often being dispossessed. Yeboah seems to be a similar player to Faal, but with less imagination, not quite in control of his feet, but nevertheless able to come out the other side of tackles with the ball. Richards and John-Jules were examples of players who had taken this ability to a higher level. If he can develop more vision he could be quite dangerous
This switchover to SKY+, a feed which may well not be accessible in the US, has not always been technically as well done as one might expect, but it has meant that if you are already a Sky Sports subscriber, like me, you are able to watch a lot more games free of the extra £10 per match which we paid to iFollow to stream them. So it allows me to become much more familiar with the players than I could when we only got isolated games streamed. I think Saturday afternoon's game v Gillingham will be streamed live too as the restrictions don't apply when there are international matches. It is an unfathomable rationale, but I'm not objecting!
Defenders like McGrath, must have the taking of unnecessary risks drilled out of them. Lawlor only has to have a relatively satisfactory game for his fans to single him out for praise, don't they?
posted on 5/9/24
Did you listen to the interview with Close? It really brought home what players go through with long injuries. He said his was not all that long, but mentally it was very difficult.
It gave me much more appreciation of what players go through - we complain about them, sometimes without realising how short their careers can be, and what injury can do. Just think about Jon Taylor, without going back to King Alick.
posted on 6/9/24
It's very early days yet. Not a settled side by any means but one that has potential and cover. 3 wins from 4 is probably a bit flattering as we've not been as convincing as the later end of last season. Gillingham will be a big test. Of the youngsters I'd say McGrath has the most potential but needs to learn a lot. Not sure we have the control in midfield we need.as yet. Close is a bit of an enigma. Good to see Ironside scoring. I'm pretty sure we'll make the play offs but we really should be automatic promotion.contenders.