Port Vale Season Preview: An uphill battle

Port Vale narrowly avoided relegation in their first season back in League One last term, but it will be a tall order to repeat that feat in 2023/24.

The Valiants survived by just four points last season, leading to promotion-winning manager Darrell Clarke being sacked and replaced by his former assistant Andy Crosby.

Crosby has performed well in the Vale dugout before, with the 50-year-old deputising for Clarke when he took time away from the club due to family reasons in 2022.

Vale were desperately short of goals last season, scoring just 48 league goals and finishing on a goal difference of -23. Both figures were the second-worst out of the teams that survived last season, with only Cambridge United performing worse.

Transfers:

Players in: Alex Iacovitti, Ethan Chislett, Connor Ripley, Tom Sang, Mitchell Clark, Conor Grant, Jason Lowe, Jayson Leutweiler, Kofi Balmer (loan), Ollie Arblaster (loan)

Players out: Aidan Stone, David Worrall, Jamie Proctor, Rory Holden, Will Forrester, James Wilson, Sam Robinson, Tom Pett, Derek Agyakawa, Lucas, Dennis Politic (end of loan)

Vale’s forward issues have only been compounded with the departure of Dennis Politic after his loan ended, with the winger now joining Dinamo Bucharest in his native Romania.

Politic was their second-highest goal scorer last season with seven goals, four behind Ellis Harrison’s tally of 11.

Ethan Chislett, who scored nine goals in League Two for Wimbledon last season, is a decent addition, but he has just six League One goal contributions to his name.

Connor Grant did score seven goals and assist six during the 2021/22 season, but he was limited to just nine appearances for Plymouth last season after a string of injuries.

Right-back Mitchell Clark, who is returning for his fourth spell at Vale, does add some creativity from the full-back position after his six assists for Accrington last season.

However, they still lack a true scorer besides Harrison and that will need to be addressed in the final month of the window.

On the defensive side, Jason Lowe is a strong signing to shore up the midfield while Connor Ripley is a decent option in goal.

They have signed some decent players, but the squad still looks light if they want to survive again this season.

Performance

In truth, Vale are in a bit of a mess right now.

They have a relatively poor squad and an inexperienced manager taking on his first permanent managerial role.

They have an uphill battle to survive and they will need to make full use of the remaining month of the transfer window, perhaps by utilising their remaining loan slots.

Prediction: Relegation