Join us from 6:30pm for updates from tonight's Football Forum with First Team Manager, Andy Crosby and Director of Football, David Flitcroft.
Summary
- Updates from tonight's Football Forum
- Andy Crosby and David Flitcroft to answer questions from those in attendance
18:32
We are underway! Community and CSR Director, Matt Hancock, welcomes everybody to tonight's Football Forum.
18:33
Matt Hancock begins tonight's proceedings by paying tribute to club legend, Harry Poole.
18:42
Matt Hancock breaks the news that Stoke on Trent Live reporter, Mike Baggaley, will be returning to report on the club moving forwards!
Welcome back, Mike.
18:46
Baggers takes to the stage to thank everybody for their support and says how excited he is to be back and solely reporting on the Vale.
More information regarding Mike's coverage of the Valiants will be made available in the coming days and weeks.
18:50
Dan Townley introduces Andy Crosby and David Flitcroft to the stage!
18:51
The first topic of the night is the summer recruitment.
18:54
Q: What went wrong with signing strikers throughout the summer window?
DF: "There wasn't the volume of the right type of striker available within our range in the market.
"We thought that certain players would be available for £100-150k who turned out to be available for around £500k, meaning they went out of our range due to a shift in the market. With the supply and demand, the players within our budget just weren't there."
18:55
Talking of the difference in loan signings this season:
DF: "We now have the right infrastructure to sign some of the country's best young talent and we now have that.
"We didn't quite have that in the past, but thanks to the owners and the incredible people within the club, we now do. This allows us to bring the best young talent to the club."
19:00
AC: "We have been able to recruit from some top Premier League clubs and we now have good relationships with those clubs, their Directors of Football, their Loan Managers and so on and they now trust us with their young talent.
"They can see that players are being really well looked after at the club both on and off the pitch and we hope that, when and if they go back to their parent clubs, they return as better players and even better people."
19:05
Q: How confident are you that the likes of Josh Thomas, Ollie Arblaster and Alfie Devine will be at the club after the January window and if not, do you have other targets in mind?
AC: "We have just come out of a 90-minute meeting discussing that very topic, covering any and every eventuality. All we can do is keep our end of the bargain and try to make them better players.
"If their parent clubs decide to recall them, there's nothing we can do but we will help them to become the best versions of themselves whilst they're with us."
19:08
Q: How did you convince Connor Ripley to join in the Summer?
DF: "Persistence. We went for him early and we stalked him! We double-teamed him, we kept asking him to think about us.
"He had good options. The club we have become and are becoming, he has come for that as well. His personality suited the way in which Andy wanted his team to play and the football that he wanted to play.
"We went for a top-quality keeper and the persistence of Andy and myself and the backing from the board allowed us to recruit such a player."
19:09
Q: Does the club still have a pay structure that it sticks to?
DF: "We have a budget that we work to. A budget that we’re comfortable with. We believe that over a number of years, we will regenerate income into the club which will allow us to reinvest back into the team and into the Academy.
"It’s important for any club to be as competitive but as wise as they can possibly be, but we do that on a budget that we are comfortable with."
19:12
Q: James Wilson is on a contract until January, what's the latest on his future with the club?
DF: "We have a plan for that, we are monitoring Willo’s numbers and his availability. He is so committed to all the off-field work and he has been outstanding.
"We aren’t currently negotiating, but it is something that we will be doing as we move closer to the window."
19:15
Q: What is the latest on Tom Conlon's involvement with the squad?
AC: "Tom had a hamstring injury just before the season started which was quite severe.
"He has been on the grass and rehabbing with our medical team. He hit his top speed today in training which is usually the final clearance when coming back from injury. In terms of being part of the group on and off the pitch? Absolutely."
19:17
Q: What is the Football Plan?
AC: "The aims of myself, the staff and all the players - we want to be competitive in EVERY competition. We want to sweat and we want to show to supporters that any player who represents us does genuinely care.
"In terms of the style of football, I have my own ideas on how the game should be played and that evolves. We have a very good group of players that suit a technical style of playing.
"You guys dedicate your time and money to the football club and I want you to all walk away thinking “they tried to entertain us”, not walking away thinking “that was boring”. I think we have recruited a group of players to do that.”
19:23
Q: Does last night's Carabao Cup draw change anything with your preparation this month?
AC: "I think everyone in this room wants to get to the QF of the Carabao Cup.
"I will pick a team every game to try to win a game of football.
"Because of the schedule, players can't turn out in every game. I will keep trying to make a decision for what I think is best for our team.
"I will stay in the present and make a decision with no emotion and, rightfully or wrongfully, go for it!"
19:27
Q: What was going through your mind after the Barnsley game?
AC: "It obviously wasn’t how I dreamt it the night before! It’s taken a long time for me to become a manager of a football club, but it was an extremely disappointing afternoon and when you’re asked to speak to the press following a game like that, it’s difficult to find any positives from the game.
"In the immediate aftermath of the game in the dressing room, I stayed very calm with the players and pointed out what we could have done better as a team and individually.
"We couldn’t change the result, but we could influence what happened moving forward. We came back in on the Monday morning and we did what we have done for every game since. We evaluated the game together as a squad, we discussed what we did wrong and we started to put things right.
"The support from the club, the owners, the staff was immense and we sit here at the end of the first couple of months having made a really good start overall."
19:33
Q: What was the thought process with appointing Nathan Smith and Funso Ojo as captain and vice captain?
AC: "Throughout my time at the club, Nathan’s every day standards, his leadership qualities, his availability and his connection with the club and fans, I thought that needed recognising and so far, so good.
"With regards to Funso, you are now seeing performances of a player whose qualities both on and off are really good.
"I would suggest that, on current form, there is not a better central midfield partnership than Funso and Ollie and when we came back into training, he was the player that was really driving the standards and setting the pace and example for the younger lads and squad as a whole."
19:36
Q: What is the long-term Football Plan?
DF: "When I first came to the club, I was a very big advocate of being away from the club in a separate training ground from the ground to get away from the matchday environment and I didn’t think it was right that we had the training ground connected to the ground, but I was wrong!
"When Carol and myself looked at the vision of the club, you realise what the club is really about, who it’s about and who it’s for, right at the centre of the local community.
"We want to have an environment that can improve the Academy, the Womens Team and the First Team and continuously improve that environment to keep pushing all corners of the club to improve."
19:54
Q: What are your plans for Women's football at the club?
DF: "With Carol being the owner with her passion and energy for anything in life, the next part of our phase is to run a women's academy that runs alongside the first team.
"It's going to take a few years, but we have incredible people in Jack and Henry at the club and we have got to carry on supporting the women's side of the game. The recruitment has been phenomenal, we are attracting top-quality players that really want to be part of the club and part of the team and what we're building here.
"It'll grow and it'll develop and it's something that is high on our list."
19:56
Dan Townley thanks Andy Crosby, David Flitcroft and everybody for their attendance tonight and brings the Football Forum to an end.