TT No.135: Mike Latham - Sunday 2nd December 2007: FA Cup 2nd Round. Port Vale 1-1 Chasetown.  Attendance: 5,875; Admission: £19; 76pp programme: £2.50; FGIF Match Rating: 3*

Port Vale’s ground has changed out of all recognition since I first visited in 1973 and whilst it is now all-seated retains much of its original character. Seats now occupy three sides of the ground that were once predominantly terraces but the main stand has been re-designed and re-built and also houses hospitality boxes, the club shop (where a rail advertises training tops to be cleared in an ‘End of Season Sale’- in December) and a restaurant.   If travelling from the north, Burslem is just a few minutes’ drive from J16 of the M6 and while there is plentiful car-parking at the ground it can take a while to get away so the option of a car-park in Burslem town centre, albeit at a steep £3.50 fee (and this on a Sunday!) can be taken.   Vale Park still has the brooding atmosphere and feel of a traditional football ground and once inside the vastness of the place can make one appreciate why it was termed the ‘Wembley of the North’ upon its construction in 1950.  The pitch is one of the biggest in the league and to add to the feeling of space there is a cinder track around it.   It was a case of pay at the turnstiles for home fans and £19 secured an unreserved seat in the main (Lorne Street) stand- so watching this level of football is not a cheap option.  Once inside there is a large concourse and refreshment bar though the area could do with a coat of paint and a good power-hosing- the concrete floors are filthy and the place looks drab and uninviting.   An opportunity has been lost in the main stand design as the camber of the seats is rather shallow and so the sight-lines are not great.  There’s also not a great deal of room between rows and getting to a vacant seat requires squeezing past several supporters, none of whom look too pleased to be disturbed.  Previously I had been in all the other three sides of the ground and again found the sight-lines to be disappointing for what is an otherwise atmospheric ground.   The programme, entitled ‘Black & White but bold and bright’ is superb- 76 pages crammed with information and articles with good features on the visitors and also helpfully for neutrals, good pen pictures of the home players. It’s an outstanding effort and has plenty of good stuff to read with the contributors not resorting to the placid cliché-ridden articles that perpetuate in many club programmes.  The player feature was on one Robin Hulbert who when asked ‘Port Vale debut’ replies: ‘Not sure.’ He doesn’t feature today, not that he will probably remember in the future.   Chasetown have brought a large and noisy following and they pack the stand away to the left. Port Vale, meanwhile, are rock bottom of League One and after a few minutes play it’s easy to see why.  The industry and invention of Luke Rodgers up front apart they look a poor side and new manager Lee Sinnott, who worked wonders at Farsley Celtic, clearly has an enormous job on his hands to turn this around.   Chasetown look the better, more organised and better structured side and despite falling behind to a Rodgers free-kick, equalise just before half-time when a 40-yard free-kick eludes everyone in a crowded area and they earn a replay with some comfort as the frustration grows for the home fans.   They are proper football people in these parts- the fans are steeped in the game and supporting Vale passes through the generations. They won’t tolerate fancy Dans or players who lack the basic skills like one desperately off-key right-sided midfield player whose crossing and free-kicks are simply woeful. The programme notes remark that Crewe fans at a recent game took “a tirade of personal abuse to a different level.”  Well, the Vale fans (and remember these were the best seats) were little different- the abuse heaped at some of the players, often by well-dressed elderly gentlemen such as the three sat on my right was of Premiership quality.   ‘You’re not fit to wear the shirt!’ rings out from three sides of the ground long before the end as Chasetown earn a deserved draw and the home frustrations grow.   Come the final whistle and cue massed and completely over-the-top celebrations from Chasetown’s players in front of their fans.  After all they’ve only drawn the game- and against a struggling side so the four levels’ gap between them in the pyramid has been easily met. Disgracefully there’s a massed pitch invasion by the visiting fans and one moron swings on the crossbar for ages as if trying to break it. It shows a complete lack of respect to their hosts and the many Vale fans who put aside their frustrations by waiting behind to finally applaud the Chasetown players from the field.  The Vale players wait for a while to shake their opponents’ hands but then disappear up the tunnel as the celebrations are that prolonged.   Lee Sinnott, an outstanding young manager, clearly has an enormous job on his hands if Vale are to avoid relegation and an FA Cup exit at the hands of the Southern League (Midlands Division) club.  For those long suffering Vale fans it might get worse before it starts to get better.

contributed on 02/12/07