End of season 2014/15 review – one vale fan article

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

Hi,



I'm the reporter for the Port Vale Fans Forum One Vale Fan.

First of all congratulations on your superb season and promotion! :)

Part of my role is to contact fans of our rivals new to the league for 2015/16 to ask them a few questions and gain their views on the season just past and next season in League 1 in order to produce a summer article which we release on the site.

I wondered if up to three of you have a few minutes and would be prepared to share a few views if you would kindly offer your feelings on the game by answering the following few questions;
THIS SEASON
1. Best player this season (it can be more than one / with mentions of most improved etc.)?
2. Highlight(s) of the season on the pitch?
3. Worst moment(s) of the season on the pitch?
4. Sum up the season in a sentence or two. How have your team done in the 2014/15 campaign in general & in relation to what you expected at the start of the season?
5. Your view on off-field affairs this season?
NEXT SEASON
6. What are your expectations for next season (both ideally & realistically)?
7. Where do the club need to strengthen on the pitch?
8. If you could take one Port Vale player for next season who would it be?
9. What do the club need to do off-field to improve?
10. If you were granted one wish for next season, what would it be?

Please also feel free to include any other information you feel worthy and I will knock it into a report. To enable me to produce this in good time I need a reply by Wednesday 1st July.


Please also let me know if you would like me to include your name on the article. Many thanks for your potential support in this matter.

Best Regards,




REP

 

[Agent Lomas]

I'll do it :thumbsup:

 

[Shrimpergonzo]

THIS SEASON
1. Best player this season (it can be more than one / with mentions of most improved etc.)?

Probably our young goalkeeper, Daniel Bentley, who broke a club record for the most consecutive home clean sheets. He'll turn 22 in July this year but plays like a much more experienced 'keeper. His gamesmanship antics in the penalty shoot-out during the play-off final at Wembley showed him to have self-confidence beyond his years. Whether he'll go on to play for England, as Phil Brown predicted, remains to be seen but he certainly has a bright future in the game.

2. Highlight(s) of the season on the pitch?

Er, that's easy - a play-off final win at Wembley!

3. Worst moment(s) of the season on the pitch?

The last game of the season at Morecambe, a win guaranteed us promotion and we took a couple of thousand away fans up there to enjoy the promotion celebrations....and promptly lost 3-1! It's a long way home.

4. Sum up the season in a sentence or two. How have your team done in the 2014/15 campaign in general & in relation to what you expected at the start of the season?

Probably matched my expectations, I thought with our squad we should be challenging for promotion and we were there or thereabouts all season.

5. Your view on off-field affairs this season?

We're still waiting for further news on the long-promised new stadium, whether I'll see it in my lifetime remains to be seen. Most fans are pretty sceptical about it by now - the saga has been dragging on for years. Most bizarre thing of the year was the purchase of the London Soccerdome (former David Beckham academy), which is now in bits on our training ground.

NEXT SEASON
6. What are your expectations for next season (both ideally & realistically)?

Ideally I'd love to see us in the play-offs, realistically I think mid-table.

7. Where do the club need to strengthen on the pitch?

We need to sign some strikers as with the loanees returning, Barnard being released and Corr signing for Cambridge we only have a relatively untried teenager as an out and out striker at the moment.

8. If you could take one Port Vale player for next season who would it be?

If you hadn't already let him go to Bury, then Tom Pope would have been a handy acquisition for us, but in his absence we'll take any other striker likely to score double figures next season! ;-)

9. What do the club need to do off-field to improve?

Start building the new stadium

10. If you were granted one wish for next season, what would it be?

Promotion



Please also let me know if you would like me to include your name on the article. - Just Shrimpergarry will do!

 

[chapperzUK]

8. If you could take one Port Vale player for next season who would it be?

Tom Pope would be a handy acquisition for us

Talk about rubbing it in! :winking:

 

[ColinMorrisWalksOnWater]

Talk about rubbing it in! :winking:

Agreed, better to stroke a member of the press' ego and say Anthony Grant :winking:

 

[Shrimpergonzo]

Talk about rubbing it in! :winking:

Oops! I hadn't really been keeping up with other clubs' business! Changed it now!

 

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

I'll do it :thumbsup:

Ok fire away....

 

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

Oops! I hadn't really been keeping up with other clubs' business! Changed it now!

Smashing thanks great replies. Anyone else like to take part?

 

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

Agreed, better to stroke a member of the press' ego and say Anthony Grant :winking:

So what are everyone's thpoughts on Grant, he's always looked good against us for you and Crewe?

 

[manor15]

So what are everyone's thpoughts on Grant, he's always looked good against us for you and Crewe?

Good player at this level, frustrating but at times funny how successful he is at diving to win free-kicks in your own half. Defensive minded and good positioning.

 

[manor15]

THIS SEASON
1. Best player this season (it can be more than one / with mentions of most improved etc.)?
Dan Bentley, our young goalkeeper who is destined for the top. If we didn't get promoted he'd have been off and deservedly so, promotion would have been a distant dream if it wasn't for his superb run of clean sheets at home and match winning saves. Young Jack Payne could be one to keep an eye out for over the next couple of seasons.

2. Highlight(s) of the season on the pitch?
Joe Pigott equalising with about 20 seconds left of injury time of extra time in the play-off final. Highlight of all my time supporting Southend, let alone the season!

3. Worst moment(s) of the season on the pitch?
Morecambe. Never beaten them in the league and one of our longest journeys. Need a win to get promoted. Lost 3-1. Enough said.

4. Sum up the season in a sentence or two. How have your team done in the 2014/15 campaign in general & in relation to what you expected at the start of the season?
Fighting for promotion and the play-offs was pretty much what was expected, and similar to the season before, but with the lottery of the play-offs I felt we did well to get promoted, particularly given how Wycombe played all season.

5. Your view on off-field affairs this season?
Bizarrely things haven't been too bad this season, progress on our new stadium is non-existent as ever, but we've paid a few for a player for the first time in a number of years and bought the London Soccerdome to help the growth of the youth side of the club.

NEXT SEASON
6. What are your expectations for next season (both ideally & realistically)?
Ideally I'd say top half, realistically bottom half but close to midtable, it all depends on if we can get a goalscorer in, we're hard to beat but need some goals to get wins.

7. Where do the club need to strengthen on the pitch?
Undoubtedly up front, we've only got one recognised striker and he is a youngster with only a short loan spell in the Conference for experience. I'd expect at least 3 strikers to come in before we kick off, and some League 1 experience would help.

8. If you could take one Port Vale player for next season who would it be?
Ben Williamson, purely because we need a striker who can score goals! Tom Pope would have been a great signing for us. Anthony Grant would have been welcomed back as well, though we don't really need to strengthen in central midfield.

9. What do the club need to do off-field to improve?
Some clarity over the new stadium, if it's going to happen and when.

10. If you were granted one wish for next season, what would it be?
Realistically, consolidation is the aim and midtable would be a good season for us.




Very similar to Shrimpergarry, hope its still of use!

 

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

Thats smashing, thanks to all three that have taken part, I will piece it together into a report and it will appear on our website over the next week :)