The Voice - Match preview #36: Port Vale vs Bradford City (UPDATE) Wednesday 11th March 2026 7:45pm

I think you need to factor in the manager. Teams can overachieve or underachieve. I think we are overachieving with what we have and thats down to GA. If we go up I can only see 3 -4 as good enough for the Championship 11. Supported by another 6-7 as squad members.

 

I agree except I think a hotel would do well there

 

I have a feeling he’s aping Chelsea thinking “ tourists” or away fans will book rooms attending games ? When most of your opponents are a drive away I think he’s misunderstood the UK fan market?

 

Two to go at

https://youtu.be/odD62fLl6R8?si=wduFdAZHPZqepR6V

 

I don't disagree but I bet that would be the same for Cardiff and Lincoln. I imagine it's incredibly difficult to recruit championship ready players at this level given the huge gulf in wages.

As it is though, I think we only need enough quality to do well in this division and I suppose the argument that they can't step up is irrelevant to the conversation given that we're not a championship club. (Yet!)

 

GA didn't think a great many of those players that got us out of L2 were top end L1 standard and culled a bunch.

I imagine he'll just do the same if we go up.

Although he'd probably have an eye on (realistically) preparing for life back in L1 with better players, or at least that's what the club should be preparing for in case he departs. That's the entire point of the Sharpe role and why it's so absolutely crucial to our future, a fact which evaded so many at the club for so long it still makes my eyes water thinking about it...

 

Yeh there would be big cull...i reckon around 13-14 or so remain. TBH even if we are in L1 next season the same rules probably apply.

Walker, Baldwin, Tilt, Pennington, Touray, Neufville, T Wright, Metcalfe, Power, Sarcevic, Pointon, Jackson, Swan, Humphrys probably remain.

Question marks on J Wright and Evans for now. Rest will be gone. Maybe he tries for Wheatley.

 

Been trying to look at the PV manager’s thoughts on the game.

No interview on the Vale BBC Sounds page.
Nothing available on the BBC Stoke page.
Port Vale YouTube channel not updated for 3 years.
Nothing at all in the Stoke Sentinal.

Only option is an interview on the club website for paid subscribers only.

Shockingly bad level of coverage. We have a good carry on for City media with plenty available.

 

It’s available on the PV own “ Bantam TV” facility but you have to register and be a subscriber to view . I didn’t . I saw a 30 sec clip somewhere , maybe the PV forum but essentially, “we were tired and lacked any quality”

 

Yeah, it's a short one..

 

A bit more from their forum...


Brady told the club’s inhouse PVTV media team: “I thought they (Bradford) were brilliant. I thought they dominated the game from start to finish and it could have been a lot more were it not for Joe (Gauci) in goal. We didn’t compete really. We didn’t win any duels. They won most things in the middle of the park.”

The manager says the club have felt the effect of injuries adding: “It’s hard because at the moment we have eight out injured and we are struggling on our back line in terms of availability. The same players are having to roll out.”

However, Brady does not think lack of players nor the cup run were an excuse for the result concluding: “It is a little frustrating but, look, no excuses, it was just us tonight. We need to compete better to get a foothold in the game and we didn’t. And they (Bradford) were brilliant in what they did. That’s a team that is four years in the making. They are the standards you strive to get to yourself.”


"Four years in the making"??.. It's practically a new team this season.

 

I had to laugh at that comment myself . Strange he should say that . Two windows in all honesty , but four years wow!

 

I guess what he means is that GA has built and evolved the team since he’s been here, in contrast to his own short tenure at Vale. But, even then, it’s only his third season here and the first one was mostly using an inherited squad rather than his own.

 

4 years, i did not realise that GA had been here that long, thought it was under two and a half November 2023, or was he advising Sparkie. LOL

 

wheatley remember has been playing in div one, we are div three. its probably hard for him to adjust
to the slower 3rd div, he will get there. how about wheatley on the left swan down the middle.
if not it has to be humpheys left swan center forward.

 

4 years eh?

 

My daily chuckle

Still living rent free ,


Not watching it, but on stats Bradford are absolutely smashing them 2-0 at the moment. I'm also guessing it's not with sideways and backwards possession based football considering the 28 shots they've had



Amazing what happens when the full squad are invested in the team.

Is their manager better than ours? Possibly not.
Are the players better than ours? Nope

Do their manager and team care more? Yes. Currently they would do us over 2 legs in the play-offs. Not because they are better. Because they care more.

 

Re: Adaramola and Shepherd, both decent loans, it just goes to show there's no real requirement to go back and get a successful loan again like perhaps we've done with Tyreik Wright, plenty of fish in the sea and all that.

Overall, it goes to show most players are fairly easy to replace as long as you've got that solid core. Obviously Sarc didn't play in the first game and Baldwin was suspended on Wednesday but both were at the club for both games.

I know we can get hung up on ideas like "bring Wheatley back next season" but it's really not make or break. We have the be easy to mould and remould in order to adapt to each new level we (hopefully) find ourselves at.

TLDR: it's not really worth getting attached to anyone in particular at this point.

 

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