An inconsistent season but quality summer additions will make a big difference
The season has been one of inconsistency as all eyes turn to what changes Vale will make over the summer.
It would be fair to say that this season has had its good and bad bits.
However, everyone who follows the team would always like to believe that things really will get better, and there’s plenty of reasons to hope that they will. Results this season have been a mixed bag, with two good wins recently, one away at Gillingham and one at home to Crewe.
There was not enough consistency in the following months to get the team up the table as far as they would like to have been…
Every season is tough, no matter what league, and League One is always tightly fought as teams aspire to being promoted to the Championship.
August brought a mixed start with four draws, a couple of wins and a loss, and September started well with two wins. October wasn’t the best for the team, with four losses from seven, and though November picked up a little, there was not enough consistency in the following months to get the team up the table as far as they would like to have been.
It’s a common cliché used that a team is said to be “languishing in mid-table”, and though Port Vale are probably going to end up mid-table, it’s still a far better position than being in the relegation zone. As ever, a string of good results, depending on the teams above, has the potential to lift them into a late play-off place, and that adds to the excitement as the end of the season draws near.
Everyone needs trust so just as horse racing fans need reliable bookies for horse racing bets football clubs needs reliable support. The great thing about football teams is that their real fans will always support them through good and bad times, and the team still has an outside chance of clinching a play-off position if results go the right way. It’s certainly worth a bet on that, but also on forthcoming results. Some online betting sites, for example, will handicap a team; this means that the betting organisation considers one team to be a clear favourite and the other to be the underdog. It’s hard to predict – as is all betting – but the handicapped team is given points in advance and then that’s factored into the final score. The handicapped score is what counts for the original bet, but it’s important to understand how it works.
What about next season?
Obviously a proven striker would be a top priority along with a strong centre-half…
Prices for season tickets next season at Vale Park have been frozen, and there is a new proposal for a family season ticket to encourage the next generation of fans. In terms of prospects for 2016/2017, the club is likely to want to be reasonably active in the transfer market to strengthen the squad and be a real player in the league – and the manager and board have clearly been already considering what they need to do.
Obviously a proven striker would be a top priority along with a strong centre-half. If Vale can add those to the mix and keep the nucleus of the side together then there’s no reason why next season should not be very promising just so long as the right mix of experience and skills are brought onto the pitch.