burslem
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Port Vale 0-3 Stockport County: No Shelter from the Storm
I thought the cold light of day might wash it clean, give me perspective, a little clarity. It didn’t. It’s still there, raw and ugly. That performance was a surrender, a folding of cardboard in the rain, limp and shapeless.… Continue reading
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Port Vale vs Stockport County: Under The Lights
No football for us this weekend. Why? Because Sky Sports, the great puppeteer of the modern game, wanted it played on a Monday night for the cameras. That’s why. And what Sky wants, Sky gets. So here we are, Stockport… Continue reading
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The Soul of the North: Wigan in Motion
Come Saturday we’ll be back on the road, northbound. M6, A49. 50 straight miles into Wigan. Wigan Athletic vs Port Vale. It’s more than just a game of football — it’s a cosmic pause, a roadside prayer whispered through transistor… Continue reading
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FA Cup 1st Round: Port Vale vs Maldon & Tiptree
The FA Cup — sacred chalice of English football, holy grail of the working man’s dream — rattles into town like a ghost train and we’ve jumped on board. 1st Round Proper, numbers drawn out of the hat, names put… Continue reading
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AFC Wimbledon 1-1 Port Vale: Our Achilles Heel
Where we end up this season, it’s all down to the back line — the last stand, the trench, the place where dreams get mugged in the alleyways. Defending. It’s not been great, has it? Not great at all. Ok,… Continue reading
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AFC Wimbledon vs Port Vale: Tripping On London
Tunstall. Crack of dawn. Streets half-lit and half-forgotten. Furlong Road stands quiet, like it’s waiting for something to happen. Sitting on the doorstep with a Sterling red and a coffee. The town’s still asleep but the day’s ready to tell… Continue reading
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Mo Faal – The Enigma and The Moment
That goal against Accrington Stanley the other night — watch it again. See what he does. He receives the ball with his back to goal, ten yards inside the Stanley half. Controls it. Holds off two defenders. Turns and sweeps… Continue reading
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Accrington Stanley vs Port Vale: The Joy of the Vertu Trophy?
Here we go. The Vertu Trophy. What even is it? A shimmering illusion, a corporate-branded fever dream, a midweek distraction dressed up as destiny. On the one hand, it’s a tinpot sideshow, a glorified training session with a sponsor’s name… Continue reading
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Port Vale: International Duty Robs Us Of Aussie Joe
Big Bird is grounded! Aussie Joe Gauci, our keeper, our feathered sentinel with hands like velvet and feet like jazz-hands in a thunderstorm, is off to wear the green and gold, repping his country against whoever dares. He won’t be… Continue reading
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Port Vale: Derek I’m Gutted!!! – The End of an Era
The fanzine is dying, man. Twenty-five years of ink-stained rebellion, of typewriter dreams and sardonic truths, and now Andy McCormack — the beat poet of Burslem terraces — is hanging up his pen, his keys, his soul. Derek I’m Gutted!!!… Continue reading
tales from the paddock 