Vale?!

Do we press from the front?

Struggled at Conference level last season.

I certainly haven't seen attractive football nor any genuine attempt to get to, never mind sustain ourselves as a Premier League club.

It should never have been allowed to get to this stage, sadly we are owned by idiots.

The main problem was the stupid tactics employed by the manager. When have we won games convincingly this season or even at all by playing it out from the back? Rarely at best. Our good runs of form in the last 2 and a half years under either manager have been built on organisation and posing a threat on the counter attack. Trying to pass it out with incapable players has led to boring, slow and ineffective shite as we saw again yesterday.

Sell on clauses I think are usually on profit so if we sold for £8m it would be a nominal amount. We would then be able to improve the attack with 2 players and get a midfielder too potentially. Could we sign someone of equal goal threat to Brereton individually? Maybe not, but you'd find a much better player with the best part of £8m compared to nothing. The owners wont because they are idiots and as you say, maybe he would rather wait anyway, but its a joke of a situation. Every time I have seen him, he isn't an out and out number 9, talented player but likes to drop off and possibly better suited off a main striker. We should have a bit of money but the owners are disinterested in any promotion push. Failing that, we could sell Brereton and bring in a few permanent signings.

Regardless of if they are ready too. Vale probably will never make it at Championship level.

Plus it is one of them, the early goal made Rotherham even more content to sit in and let us slowly piss around passing it side to side. To only create 3 reasonable chances (one of which we didn't get a shot in) 90 minutes against such a poor side is unacceptable, not something to take as a positive.

Markanday has to start at Bristol City. Hedges has some ability and works hard but he doesn't do enough.

After this month, we have 18 league games. I will use a fairly low ballpark figure of £8m as what I reckon we could get for Brereton, less than the summer but still there surely will be teams willing to take a small risk at that price. If we choose to keep him and expect an unrealistic amount, we will be paying over £400k per game, not factoring in potential injuries which would increase that further. It is horrendous business, surely we have to sell and sign a striker and a winger.

Seemingly just loans, but we can surely loan a striker rather than a winger. Tomasson specifically said that it won't necessarily be a striker: “An attacking player for me could be a No.9, on the sides, and it’s about what’s possible and what’s not." When Mowbray didn't want to loan a young striker, he got lynched so surely Tomasson will likewise if he doesn't sign a proper striker. Our current options are not up to scratch. Obviously the bigger issue is having to only sign kids on loan amidst a supposed promotion push.

The three chances line is straight from Tomasson's press conference. But of course he would have said that anyway and is not just echoing what he says.

I need reminding of these games that we have convincingly won by passing it our from the back and dominating possession.

Are you genuinely trying to defend the tactical approach that led to an absolute pasting by Rotherham?! We never play with a quick tempo, it is always slow and it seldom leads to positive results, many of our wins have been when the other team has dominated the ball. Stop trying to deflect blame away from the manager, the team were clearly instructed to play out from the back hence why we had nearly 80% possession. As ever, when we win its down to the manager, when we lose the players are at fault. Gallagher is poor, you have repeatedly made out over the last couple of years that he just needs to play as a number 9 and he would score loads of goals. Mind you, you still were unsure the other day whether we should get some back up for him, rather than an improvement! Vale and Garrett don't get close to any other starting 11 in the top half. Get a striker and a central midfielder and let them go and play 20 games in League 1.

It's already been rubbished as a target for us thankfully, but still:

The thing is that he looks physically as fit as ever did. Surrounded by poor players though.

It is all underpinned by the same problem, Venkys are the common denominator behind a club not geared or seemingly aiming to get promoted. We seem to be just fishing in the loan market, a second successive winter window where we lie in a high position and the owners don't seem arsed.

He is terrible. Any time he appears at left back/left wing back, his positioning is shocking. Not a Championship player.

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/23251482.tomasson-transfer-search-amid-blackburn-rovers-joe-gelhardt-link/ What is this obsession with flexibility in attack? We need an out and out striker, whoever has played in that position this season for us has struggled to score goals due to a lack of quality. Gallagher is average, Vale nowhere near ready, we need a proper striker. Gelhardt in terms of talent is probably as good as we will get now we seemingly are working in the loan market whilst we allow our best player to run his deal down, but he isn't really a proper number 9. If it has to be a loan we are almost certainly going to struggle to get a proven goalscorer, but even the likes of Archer, Delap and potentially Muniz would be more suited to being the focal point? On Porteous, I just hope it isn't due to Hyam having a bad injury. It makes sense to pick up bargains whenever they appear although made redundant if we just allow him to run his deal down anyway.

He fits the bill of Hedges style signings ie players with 6 months left on their deals. But a centre back is right down the list of priorities.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/21045510/leeds-gelhardt-blackburn-loan-transfer-fa-cup-cardiff/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=sunsporttwitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1673721485 Probably nonsense based on the source who again has linked the player to numerous clubs. Talented player but nothing would say owner ambition like a loanee with 3 career goals.

*Venkys

Surely Lampard will be clearing his desk by Monday.