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May as well start this one nice and early given it's the opening day of the season .
It looks on paper a relatively gentle start to the new season and I say that with all due respect to Vale but it's a game we should be expecting to win .
However it's the first game under a new HC and we are minus two of the best centre backs in the league from last season .
People can go all optimistic and that's fair enough but in my opinion this squad at this moment and under a new HC is a weaker one than what walked off the pitch at Wembley at the end of May .
It's a weaker one until it's proved otherwise is where I'm at , everything else is just blind optimism .
The same HC and the exact same players who walked off that Wembley pitch and are still here would be a different thing altogether in my opinion .
However we should have enough to see off a Vale outfit who had a very poor second half to the season last time out and haven't added too much to that squad as of yet which doesn't generally bode well going in to a new season .
They looked a very poor outfit at Vale Park in February when we won comfortably 3-1 on a bit of a leveller of a pitch .
A good performance and a two or three nil win would be very welcome .
Collins needs a good start in my opinion , he's not had to fix too many problems at the level he's previously coached at and this is not the place right now for learning on the job or if he needs to it would better be pretty sharpish .
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IMO we will be a stronger team this season - in what could be a weaker league.
But we won’t get the full picture until the transfer window closes.
New coach - new players - maybe reverting to the old formation.
The first match is going to be mightily interesting on a few fronts - no matter what the result.
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The opening day of the season is always tricky and unpredictable. Will we still be nursing a Wembley hangover and be feeling sorry for ourselves? The losing play off finalists seldom go into the season after bouncing with confidence and tend to struggle at the start.
I'm just gonna be looking at how we set up as a team under Collins and if we see a positive performance then that will be enough for me.
I don't know owt about the Vale side that we'll be facing and who they've signed but over all the years I've watched Barnsley, we've never had an easy time of it against Vale at Oakwell and they've always come here, fought hard, played some decent stuff and earned my respect. They're a bit of a bogey team if I'm being perfectly honest
Last edited by pass_and_move; 30-07-2023 at 11:28 AM.
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I was at the Boxing Day massacre of 1978. Does anyone else remember the 6-2 win.
10.5k through the turnstiles too.
Our record against Vale is 47 wins apiece the rest obviously drawn.
Making it 48-47 would be a nice way to begin. I won’t be there but to those who are going I hope you have a great day.
To Neill Collins and staff I wish you good luck you’ve taken on a tough assignment at BFC.
Vale will fancy their chances as on the face of it they will face a squad that is unfinished in its construction and a fair proportion of it is used to operating at least 2 divisions lower. They’ll come and have a good go at us.
Let’s have 3 points please.
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Even with a couple of CB's signed this week I wouldn't expect them to start on Saturday which seems to be the way these days and they like to integrate them in more cautiously .
I'd expect the starting line up to be as follows as it stands right now .
------------------- Roberts ----------
Williams ---- Lopata ----- Kitching ------
------------------ Connell --------
O'Keeffe - - Styles - Kane - Cadden
----------------- Norwood ----- Cole ------
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Allan Clarke hat trick if my memory serves me right .Originally Posted by EthelRed
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Vale have signed 11 players and 3 have left this summer!
I believe it will be difficult for them to merge as a team if they play a lot of new players??
Who knows what they will be like on the day!
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Or
------------- Roberts -------------
Williams - Lopata - Kitching --
--------------- Connell ------------
O'Keeffe ----------------------------- Cadden
------------------- Styles ------------------
Cole ------ Watters ----- Norwood
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I would put Port Vale to finish just below half way but all clubs will be buzzing to get a result on the opening day.
The intensity may come as a shock to Collins being used to the second tier in the USA with no worries about promotion or relegation.
I hear this "the Third Division is weaker this year" argument being expressed but there are several similar clubs, any of whom could make the top six--in alphabetical order,
Barnsley (possible points deduction)
Blackpool
Bolton
Charlton
Derby
Oxford
Peterborough
Portsmouth
Reading
Wycombe
A Surprise Team
Even Wigan on minus 8
Still over a month to go in the transfer window so anything could happen as regards line up and key players.
i think our defence and Collins will still be finding their feet and Vale could take advantage. Much less confident about keeping clean sheets this season.
I'll give it ten games before taking a firmer view.
#In Collins We Trust
Trialist
Although only a friendly, we played some nice football against Crewe, with Styles running the show. If we can keep him till January, if not the full season, I think he'll be the key to getting us a good start. I'm expecting a win, though not an easy one, and that will give confidence to both the management side and the players.
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