Comment by Martin Tideswell

IT'S that time of year. Any day soon the club will write to you asking you whether or not you want a season ticket for 2009/10.

I'll be up to see Ted within a week of the leaflet hitting my doormat.

It won't matter to me what happens with regard to the manager or the board.

Truth be told, even relegation to the Blue Square Premier wouldn't stop me renewing my season ticket.

Why? Because the most damaging thing I can think of inflicting upon the club I love would be to withdraw my financial support at a time when it is so desperately needed.

Some fans will disagree. Some will argue this is the best sanction – to hit the board where it hurts and force them to take the radical action that is certainly needed to resuscitate patient Port Vale.

Otherwise, they will say, how can you influence change?

My answer is that I would like to think that change is already afoot. I'm hoping the malingerers will very soon be shown the door and that the powers-that-be at ST6 1AW know full well by now that we need both a new manager and board if things are to improve next season.

It doesn't matter what happens between now and May 2. The damage is done. The board's reputation is shot thanks to the scheming of two or three individuals.

If the board and manager remain in place come the end of the season then it will simply serve to perpetuate the awful stagnation that has set in.

Worse than that, it will undoubtedly have a detrimental effect on season ticket sales among those supporters who, quite legitimately, will refuse to shell out good money again to watch the kind of fare that has been served up over the last nine months.

What did it cost last season? AIt cost a hundred and eighty something quid for an adult season ticket last season. I'm guessing it'll be a bit more this time around and £200-odd is a lot of money in these harsh times – even though it may represent excellent value in comparison to other league clubs.

Silly sods like me and the diehards will, of course, renew their season tickets – but what exactly would the club's sales pitch be this time around to those wavering fans who took the pledge last summer?

'Roll-up, roll-up: We've no new manager, bugger all funds for new players, and the same individuals on the board who are to blame for our current troubles'.

No. That's not going to work. New faces and new investment is vital.

For now, let's cheer our lads until the final whistle at the last game of the season then step back and see what can be salvaged from the wreckage of the current squad.

Mark my words – this is the calm before the storm. The road to recovery begins at Barnet and we mustn't take the wrong turn.

Martin Tideswell is assistant editor of The Sentinel and a lifelong Vale fan. His views do not necessarily reflect those of The Sentinel.

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