An upturn in fortunes and the rub of the green would be a welcome addition for Port Vale on the pitch under new manager Andy Crosby, reckons Supporters’ Club chairman Mark Porter.
He believes, ‘bad luck and fine margins’ played a big part in Vale’s slide down League One last season which ultimately cost Darrell Clarke his job.
He and the club’s fans are fully behind new boss Crosby but Porter believes the 18-match winless streak that did for Clarke might well have been different had circumstances in games been more favourable.
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Referees’ decisions too, cost Vale, in Porter’s eyes.
Porter cites two games in particular where fortunes might have been altered, including Clarke’s last match in charge – the 3-2 defeat at Lincoln City.
“Against Lincoln, we had two players sent off,” reflected Porter. “Our captain Tom Conlon gets sent off when we are winning 2-1. There was another sending off for two yellow cards [sub, Sam Robinson].
“We lost the game, yet Conlon’s red card was rescinded because he hasn’t done anything.
“So the referee got it wrong, we’ve lost the game, and Darrell Clarke loses his job on the Monday.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s fine lines and margins and that for me has been a big tell-tale story of last season.”
Another big moment came in the 1-1 draw against Accrington Stanley at home on February 7, which was the fifth game in the sequence of no wins in 18.
It was a moment that annoyed Porter and the army of Vale supporters.
“Vale scored a goal against Accrington, their player handballs it but the ball goes in,” he added. “It’s a goal. But the referee disallows the goal and gives a penalty to us. We miss the penalty and we get a draw. Those two points might have meant we went on a better run. That would have stopped it [the winless run].
“Eighteen matches is a long time without a win but we can look at some of the refereeing decisions we’ve had at Port Vale over the last couple of seasons, they are getting worse.
“It’s not about getting it wrong, it’s consistency. They are not even getting the consistency right.
“That has a bearing at lower levels too. But as you go up into the Football League those kind of decisions cost you livelihoods.”
Porter has no qualms about Crosby taking over despite being part of that slide down the table and he added: “There’s a defence for all of them really [staff and players]. The referees weren’t good, we were stung with a lot of injuries, and to be fair, if luck is not on your side, you sometimes don’t get the results, like the Accrington game.
“One or two Vale fans thought Darrell had a bit of credit in the bank to sort it out by the end of the season, then try and push on, but that wasn’t to be.
He added: “The supporters of Port Vale will always get behind the team, even if they lose 5-0, as long as the players give 100 per cent and put their heart and soul into it.
“That’s the kind of people they are. They are really behind them and they’ll be behind Andy.”
Recruitment is key for Porter and he concluded: “I think the manager has a really big job.
“Because I think this summer is a really big summer for the club. They need to really bring some players in because they have let such a lot go. We need to replace players with the quality the football club needs to maintain that League One stability, then to build on that to try and push on towards the top half of the table.”
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