Two minute guide to: Shrewsbury Town v Port Vale

It’s a reunion with some former Vale players as the Valiants travel to Shrewsbury Town. Here’s our brief guide…

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In the picture:

The story behind our choice of image we’ve chosen to lead the article with…

It’s an obvious choice but of the four former Valiants who could face the club this weekend, it is Louis Dodds who had the longest spell and the greatest impact. Dodds was a Lee Sinnott signing in 2008 and started brilliantly with a goal on his debut against Luton Town.

He scored ten goals in his debut season and continued to be a regular scorer. Dodds scored seven times as Vale won promotion in 2013 but opted to leave the club in the summer of 2016. His 56 goals put him 26th on the club’s all-time scoring charts while his 100 sub appearances was the most in the club’s history.

Dodds did divide opinion among some fans but was generally a popular figure. On leaving the club he said it was “an honour and a privilege to represent the club for eight years of my career” and “I will always have a huge amount of love and respect for both the club and the fans.”

Port Vale career: 231+100 games | 56 goals

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The two sides

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Match details

Venue:

New Meadow

Date:

26th November 2016

Tickets:

Details on the official Port Vale website

Pre-match thoughts

“I hope I get a good reception from the Vale fans. I never fell out with Vale or had a bad word with fans in my time at the club so hopefully I’ll get a bit of a clap…”

Louis Dodds

“Come Saturday it’s back to it and the first opportunity to put a few things right and ultimately get the right result…”

Shrewsbury’s Paul Hurst

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Vale team news

Bruno Ribeiro could well hand a start to Rigino Cicilia (right) after his impressive cameo against Oldham Athletic at the weekend.

Vale will still be without suspended Anthony Grant plus injured trio Jerome Thomas, Sam Foley and Anton Forrester. However, Quentin Pereira could replace Paulo Tavares in central midfield.

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Last time we met…

The two sides met back in March and ironically it was Louis Dodds (now at Shrewsbury as we’ve already discussed) whose goal earnt Vale a 1-1 draw.

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Form guide

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Club connections

In addition to Dodds, Vale could also face former Valiants AJ Leitch-Smith (right), Ryan McGivern and former loanee Jack Grimmer. Meanwhile, injured Vale midfielder Sam Foley spent a loan spell with the Shrews.

Other players to appear for both sides include:

• Goalkeeper Chris Neal
• Midfielder Anthony Griffith
• Goalkeeper Joe Anyon
• Defender Lee Collins
• Striker Dave Hibbert
• Goalkeeper Alan Boswell
• Midfielder Sean McAllister
• Winger John Jeffers

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Did you know…

• The two sides first met back in 1951 when it ended 2-0 to Shrewsbury.
• Vale’s first win came in the next match – in April 1951.
• The Valiants have drawn on their last two visits to Shrewsbury.
• Vale’s last away win came in 2009 when John McCombe (right) scored the winner.

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