Vital February Review

February saw Vale`s winter of discontent show signs of abating, at least with regard to off the pitch matters, but the jury remains very much out on boss Jim Gannon. The month started, and ended, in scarcely believable fashion. A miserable January, saw an instant, if unexpected improvement, with a win over promotion rivals Rotherham United, courtesy of a superb strike by the on loan Jay O`Shea. The victory was even more remarkable given the events that led up to the game. A player`s revolt and subsequent meeting with the Chairman ensued, though rumours that Gannon was to be placed on gardening leave, regardless of the result, proved untrue.

The Vale followed up that result with a creditable point and performance at Wycombe, although it could have been so much better if it were not for Tom Pope`s late penalty miss. The fans got their wish, with a switch to 4-4-2 for the home game with Northampton, though Gannon seemingly refuses to accept that this group of players can actually adopt this formation successfully. The game saw the return of key players Gary Roberts and Marc Richards, giving the Vale faithful reason to believe that a push for promotion was still alive.

A rare win on live television against Bradford City saw Vale momentarily jump up to fifth, with eyes firmly on an assault on the automatic promotion spots.

Unfortunately, Vale`s Jekyll and Hyde personality was very much in evident, as days later a dreadful defensive performance saw the Valiants slip up at home to Stevenage.

The shambolic events of last week certainly don’t reflect well on anyone at the club. The entire episode demonstrated a lack of leadership within the set up from top to bottom, and was further evidence that the club needs taking in a fresh direction. Credit goes to the players, who remained professional enough to take the three points at Aldershot, a win that somehow leaves the Valiants only two points off the automatic promotion places.

Off the pitch, things don`t look any brighter, despite the hard work of all those involved with the Black and Gold campaign. Mo Chaudry appears no nearer to securing his desired takeover, with the board seemingly stalling for even more time. Time that appears to be quickly running out, as the present regime seemingly have no creditable plan to take the club forward, especially given the half baked nature of their ‘Blueprint` for the future that was sent to all shareholders.

March would appear to be a make or break month, with seven games in all. Vale face promotion rivals Shrewsbury Town and Oxford United in quick succession, whilst Bury also travel to the Potteries at the end of the month.

With a tilt a promotion still a real possibility, the next few weeks are a vital period in Vale`s season, and one that could decide which direction the club will be taking for the foreseeable future.

March Fixtures

Macclesfield Town (h) 5th

Shrewsbury Town (a) 8th

Oxford United (h) 12th

Accrington Stanley (a) 19th

Hereford United (h) 22nd

Bury (h) 26th

Lincoln City (h) 29th

You can check out the latest poll to have your say on Vale`s star performer for the month.



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