Tooley’s Take

Phil Tooley takes a look at the game and its context

Chesterfield 1 Port Vale 1

League Two Game #26

As the transfer window draws towards a close, perhaps it’s a pencil sharpener that’s needed. Or a whetstone. The sharp end hasn’t quite been as sharp as it needs to be since winning 2-0 at Carlisle United, a victory that left Chesterfield in sixth spot. Last six EFL2 games, five scored, no more than one in any of the games.

Against Vale, 17 Town shots (with a whopping 75% possession), at Grimsby it was eight (63%), MKD 16 (56%), Bradford 12 (67%), Fleetwood 12 (72%) and (ironically) seven against Wimbledon, a game that was won 1-0 with only 50% possession. Plenty of ammunition, 72 shots in six games, our opponents mustered up 47 on those six games, Spireites five points, our foes earned 11 from eight goals from an average of 36% possession.

No Will Grigg in four of those games, plus a list of many otherabsentees, but it’s clear that Paul Cook’s side is more than competing at this level, creating enough openings to win virtually every game, but their tin opener sometimes seems like one of those real fancy ones that you’re really not quite sure how to use, even with the instruction manual opened up.

Port Vale scored early on after a sloppy start by Chesterfield, a poor back pass, maybe a better clearance from Max could have occurred (note that after that back-pass, Kyle McFadzean was excellent), 100 seconds in, a goal down against one of the best sides in the section at holding on to a lead. Not ideal.

Great minute of applause for Ernie from everyone in the stadium. Historian Stuart Basson came up with the best stat ever, I’m still high on it. On the day we remembered our greatest ever scorer, he of the wonderful headed goals, it was the 150th anniversary of Chesterfield’s first ever recorded headed goal, scored by a chap called Walter Roper, in a 2-1 win against Staveley on 25 January 1875. Love it.

Not too many equalising chances in the first half. Jamie Hewitt said at the break it had nil-nil written all over it, despite Vale having scored. Bang on, know what you mean Jamie.

Janoi Donacien had looked decent in his first start, but a tweak in his groin meant he failed to reappear after the interval, let’s hope it’s nothing major. Along with first time starter McFadzean, who joined his brother Callum in Chesterfield’s log of first teamers, and the equally impressive Jack Sparkes, who delivered a cross every time he was in a crossing position, the backline looked solid.

Red card, opportunity sniffed. Mitch Clark on Bim Pepple, Vale realign, Town dominate but fail to work the keeper anywhere near as much as they should have done. More stats. Vale, 55 clearances, 32 of them headers (Chesterfield 21 & 8). It was very crowded after the dismissal, but clearly anything high was dealt with by the hi-vis Valiants.

Shots aplenty, but the only breakthrough came when effervescent Armando pounced on some hesitation by sub Tom Sang, whose performance was far from Top of the Pops standard, enabling our #17 to skip through to level and bag goal #10 of the season. Lock him in a darkened room for a week please.

I thought we’d go on to win it from there. Balls in the box, corners, but not enough guile on the day against a side that packed the box and its immediate vicinity, something we know is never a style a PC team wants to play against.

Are eight points to the play-offs and ten to the top three bridges too far with 20 to go? I feel we need to bring in another flair player (plus not lose any more), one who understands the operating instructions for a wide variety of tin openers, one who can cut right through any multi-layered level of protection. They are rare, but they must be available on next day delivery. We just need to chalk up a win, starting on Tuesday.

Belligerent B for Bromley are back in town, but Chesterfield have been B for Best in the last three games on Whittington Moor. WARNING: Not only does Andy Woodman’s side have the Cheeky Boy, but this month they’ve recruited ex-Spireites target and hat-trick scorer against us for Barnet, Nicke Kabamba, and with the boy Sowunmi, perhaps the lads need to nip down the boxing gym to prepare for it.

Two games left in January. For me, two wins are vital if we’re to realistically continue to dream, but I saw enough at the back against Vale to think we’ll stop plenty of teams, I just want to see the midfield and flair players become more productive.

Mandeville, Colclough and Banks (who’s available again) have 42 EFL2 starts plus 22 sub appearances between them, but just a single goal and eight assists on the books. That’s not criticism, it’s a fact. Last season that trio scored 24 goals plus 29 assists in the National League. Match that, and we’ll at least extend the season.

Phil’s Positive: Debut makers McFadzean and Sparkes look great additions to the squad. The new midfielder Tom Naylor looked decent too.

Next Match: Not long to wait to welcome our most familiar opponents in recent years, Andy Woodman’s Bromley, on Tuesday, January 28, 7.45pm Kick-off. Full commented as well as streaming for subscribers (find details on Chesterfield FC website). Build-up from 7pm, half-time and After the Whistle remains on the 1866 Sport App.

Chesterfield (4-2-3-1 to start): Thompson; Donacien (Sheckleford 46),McFadzean, Grimes, Sparkes (Horton 91); Oldaker (Metcalfe 85), Naylor; Mandeville, Dobra, Colclough (Madden 69); Pepple (Drummond 85). Unused Subs: Boot, Fleck.