6:40am Monday 6th September 2010
By Simon Parker
City 0, Port Vale 2
There are plenty of issues surrounding City at the moment.
The worrying lack of points; the lack of goals; the lack of a settled side. There are the injuries to big-hitters Simon Ramsden and Michael Flynn and the lack of form from players capable of doing much more.
But one issue continues to cloud everything else at Valley Parade and it reared its ugly head once more during this fourth loss of a depressing start to the season.
Director Steve Longbottom had tried to take the bull by the horns in his boardroom notes in the programme entitled “To boo or not to boo”.
He laid out the case for both sides before coming up with the blindingly obvious conclusion that hounding your own team serves absolutely no purpose.
Peter Taylor would rather not get involved. He has already had his say on the matter after the Stevenage game.
He is reluctant to dive into the debate again but felt forced to do so after Tommy Doherty, the biggest name of his summer shopping haul, was singled out following Vale’s second goal.
The midfield playmaker had just claimed an unfortunate assist in a joke goal to nip City’s hopes of a fightback.
Doherty collected a bobbled pass facing his own goal and then hurried a lob wedge of a return back towards Jon McLaughlin. The keeper took a touch because of the height of the pass, miscontrolled badly and presented Justin Richards with the easiest of tap-ins.
It was a bad goal all round – and how the boo boys made sure Doherty knew it when he received the ball from the resulting kick-off.
Taylor was far from impressed, saying: “I’m 57 years of age and I can’t understand it where a midfield player who’s been outstanding in the game makes a mistake and then he’s going to get booed.
“If someone can explain to me how that’s going to help, then I’ll introduce booing in training. How’s that going to make the player feel the next time he comes and plays here?
“But I can’t say any more. Tommy Doherty had a superb game before that pass. He’s strong enough to handle it.”
Again it was a minority. But a minority who are clearly having an impact.
Of course, it’s far easier to be generous when you’ve won the game. Vale chief Micky Adams knew his team could prey on City’s nerves but felt the home supporters were good.
He also echoed Taylor’s pre-match thoughts that the players have got to handle it, saying: “This is the one big club in the division. There’s big support and you’ve got to live with that and deal with it.
“But Peter knows what he’s doing and doesn’t need any advice from me. He’s been there, seen it and done it and he’ll know what he needs.”
Saturday was much better than the last two home games. With a touch of fortune in front of goal, the scoring drought would have been sorted. But how Taylor must envy the attacking resources that Adams has at his disposal.
The Richards “boys” sound like a pair of wild-west gunslingers – and Marc and Justin certainly fire the bullets, with nine goals between them already. In contrast, no City player has got more than one.
At least they created chances this time, particularly in a flurry right at the end of the first half which should have sent them into the dressing room on level terms.
Marc Richards, rumoured to have been a Taylor target, had nodded Vale ahead with an unmarked header from a corner which City felt should never have been awarded after the same player had handled in the build-up.
It was one of several curious non-decisions from rookie referee David Coote, in his first proper season in the middle after years running the line. He had given a similarly baffling performance two years ago against Morecambe on his whistle-blowing debut.
Both teams also had strong shouts for penalties – City for another missed handball, while Vale were mystified as to how Luke O’Brien’s foul on Gary Roberts inside the box was only given as a free-kick on the edge.
Coming two minutes after the opening goal, a penalty then would surely have killed it. Instead, City grabbed the lifeline with arguably their best bit of pressure at home all season. In the league, anyhow.
Jake Speight once again represented the brightest spark with his in-yer-face energy. He skipped past Gareth Owen to slid in a cross which a panicky John McCombe hacked against his own bar.
David Syers, another one who looked up for the battle on the right side of midfield, drove across goal before Speight squandered City’s best chance.
Luke Oliver, for once not getting his shirt tugged, headed across the six-yard box and Speight looked certain to score at the far post. But instead of stooping to head, he tried to control and shoot and the ball bobbled up against his left arm – and the referee did not miss that one.
With Doherty getting more on the ball, City pushed and probed again after the break but there was no obvious sign of a recovery. The tempo picked up but the final options were still rushed and shots wayward.
O’Brien’s withdrawal in a double substitution produced a few groans, especially as Robbie Threlfall had been struggling behind him. Breaks from Syers and Speight came to nothing and the discontent in some quarters was building.
Doherty was robbed of possession by Roberts, who tried to imitate his Rotherham wonder goal from the halfway line with another dip from 50 yards at the same end. This time it sailed into the TL Dallas Stand. Then Vale’s hustling forced the comical coup de grace.
City, to their credit, kept going in the closing 15 minutes and should have pegged one back.
Substitute Louis Moult wriggled through a gap on the right wing before cutting back to Gareth Evans to shoot. The striker had not had a good afternoon in front of goal but this one looked bound for the net – until it smacked into the back of Speight a yard out.
The game finished with a minor push and shove in the tunnel involving Moult but Vale assistant Geoff Horsfield smoothed matters over before the row could escalate.
How City need to cut out the simmering argument with their more vocal critics before it gets out of hand. But nobody needs reminding there is only one way to do that.
Attendance: 10,834
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