Simply the Best

That's what Vale's youth team are at the moment having lifted the Midland Youth Cup last night for the second year running.

The Valiants defended their title with a 3-1 win over Rushden and Diamonds in front of a crowd of 656.

Goalkeeper Daniel Lloyd Weston pulled off a string of fine saves that kept Mark Grew's side in the game and Rushden can consider themselves extremely unlucky to be going home with runners up medals.

But Vale's international quality shone through with the likes of James Lawrie in the side who has a number of Northen Ireland under 21 caps under his belt and looks to have a promising future ahead of him.

However, the most disappointing news is that this cup winning side could well be dismantled as early as next week as the season draws to a close and contracts are handed out of hearts and dreams broken for another year.

But for now the group of youngsters can wallow in the success of being the best youth side in the Midlands.

Anyon Laid off

Vale suffered another defeat away at Chesterfield this weekend. Two goals from Jack Lester sealed their victory, while Vale pulled a goal back from on-loan Man City youngster Paul Marshall.

The talking point of the game however, will be the injury to Vale goalkeeper Joe Anyon who was stretchered from the field clasping a oxygen mask.

The 21 year-old has been thrust into the limelight since an injury to former keeper Mark Goodlad meant he had to retire.

Fans will be hoping the same thing doesn't happen to Joe as he looks to have a promising career ahead of him.

Money, Money, Money

While today's game is under when I thought I'd take this oppurtuinity to talk about one of the major events to come out of Vale Park this week.

There has been lots of speculation surrounding investors, three of which are said to be interested in the club and has prompted this article from the local paper.

With dwindling crowds already and the season isn't yet over, the club need to provide some sort of incentive to attract the crowds backnext season as I'm sure this is one both the fans and club will want to forget in a hurry.

If season ticket prices don't match that of the fans then don't be surprised if more protests are organised and a scalding interview is released by some big shot at the club.

Glad all over

Well who'd have thought

We'd have managed a win over Bradford last week. That was a shock one I can tell you, wish I'd made the effort to go now but thought against it after the Accrington game.

Kevin Gall has gone back to Carlisle not sure why to be quite honest, maybe somebody can fill me in. But there is talk of having a former old boy back in Paul Harsley, maybe we can have a word when we go to play Chesterfield on Saturday.

What is it about all these former players? We know Peter Jackson likes getting the old boys in, but it doesn't work Peter, just look at the situation we are in now with old players as managers, hardly up for promotion are we.

I seem to have set the trend with my exclusive the fans sites are now rife with rumours and people meeting up with more privileged ones for all the goss. Form a queue I was first.

Chesterfield this weekend, started well but have fallen by the wayside just lately. Similar to us, but we didn't have the successful start to be honest.

Normal service has been resumed

Just as we were all looking slightly hopeful. Rob Taylor's back in the side, we have a good win where we score than one or two gaols adn then we go and stuff it all up at Accrington. Must have been that sloping pitch eh?

Thankfully I didn't make the trip this time, learnt the lessons when we were thinking about going and it got called off at 7 due to a water-logged pitch.

It was described as one of the worst performances in 30 years. There's been a few of them just lately, we could make a DVD and get the club shop to sell it. It'll be a collectors item.

We need points on the board as quick as possible over the next few weeks, we can't keep relyig on Chester and Grimsby to stuff it all up. We need pull our own fingers out.

Glad all over

Back again

Well there have been a few developements on here over the last week.

I couldn't have predicted the response I had after publishing the first two parts of an interview with former employee Steve Joesbury, if you can call him an employee, they weren't paying him for a lot of the time.

Anyway, I've been relieved of my official duties at the club, because apparently they can't have people working for them writing that sort of thing.
Well 1. I don't work for them 2.I never got paid for anything I did it was all voluntary 3. Should they have people at the club sending me messages saying i'm a nasty and destructive person. No I think not.

But have had a number of people offering me other projects for which I am truly thankful - just to keep my writing ticking over at this crucial time.

Amazingly we managed to pick up a win over Darlington on Saturday, don't ask me how. I actually wanted us to lose so we could have a protest with me at the fore front after the last week, which seems to have felt like a year.

See what happens when you put Rob Taylor in, we win convincingly, he scores, gets Man of the Match what more could Deano want?

Rob Taylor player of the year everybody

Glad all over

Exclusive - Part 2

In the latest extract, of the diary of a football club consultant, Steve Joesbury reveals about Lee Sinnott’s first few days in charge and what life was like behind the scenes

He said: "You can’t blame Lee. He wanted his chance. He didn’t think they would stab him in the back. I don’t mind using the word stab, because it got to the point where it was horrible. It really was horrible."

"Lee is an honest guy and Lee is a very good person at reading people. The only reason I stayed, I would have gone, but that would have isolated Lee. It wasn’t for the money that’s for sure, because it was costing me money initially working for the club, which was stupid."

"Lee was told by a lot of people, a lot of respected managers to watch his back. He was also told by a respected manager who is also a friend of Glover’s who told me to tell Lee to watch his back."

"Lee wanted to find out for himself. There was a meeting; Lee was asked if everything was ok. Lee was in the position to give Glover the opportunity. The players had a great deal of respect for Andy Porter and his coaching methods but Lee was reminded under no uncertain terms that on Dean Glover’s contract it said assistant manager.
We wanted Williams away from the coaching area. We found out that he was telling Jackson everything."

"The discipline at that football club when we got there was awful. I never forgot, I was in the coaches’ room. The phone rings, somebody answers the phone and it’s the chairman, someone turns round and says “Oh hello Bratty”
Now I’ve worked under Doug Ellis and Jeff Bonsar. You don’t treat Chairmen like that; you don’t speak to Chairmen like that. I don’t care who you are its Mr Chairman or its Bill. "

"We had apprentices sitting down in the coaching room. We had players on web-sites looking at stuff. It was an open house. We stopped all that. We moved the television into Lee’s room. We took everything so that it couldn’t get outside. "
If anything happened at that football club it was on the internet straight away, there was stuff being leaked everywhere. We know who was doing it and we know who some of the people are on web-sites.

"A former player said that under Lee Sinnott that if training was compared to being at school Sinnott was like a head teacher, while Dean Glover was like a student teacher."

Stay tuned for more on players.........