Next Port Vale manager? Five possible candidates for the role
Next Port Vale manager? Following the departure of John Askey, we profile five possible candidates for the vacant position.
John Askey left Port Vale on the 4th January and the club are now looking for a replacement. Here is a selection of potential candidates.
Next Port Vale manager?
Simon Grayson
Age: 51
Notable spells: Blackpool, Leeds United, Preston North End
Honours: 3 (Blackpool, Leeds and Huddersfield)
Win Ratio: 41%
If the Valiants want a manager in the blunt style of Micky Adams, they could do a lot worse than the Yorkshireman. A veteran of 685 games in management, he clearly has vast experience and is a multiple promotion winner (although that last promotion was eight years ago). Grayson is currently available with his last appointment being at Blackpool who he left in February 2020.
Phil Parkinson
Age: 53
Notable spells: Colchester, Charlton, Bolton, Bradford
Honours: 3 promotions (Colchester, Bradford and Bolton)
Win Ratio: 37%
Another strong contender, Parkinson also has bags of managerial experience (over 800 games in charge) and like Grayson also has three promotions to his name (the most recent being guiding Bolton Wanderers to the Championship). Parkinson is the only manager to take an English fourth-tier league club to the final of a major cup competition after guiding Bradford to Wembley. He’s without a club after leaving Sunderland in November.
Graham Alexander
Age: 49
Notable spells: Fleetwood, Scunthorpe, Salford
Honours: 1 promotion (Fleetwood)
Win Ratio: 43%
Alexander was surprisingly sacked by Salford earlier this season despite a win ratio of 48% while at the club. He has decent managerial experience and he’s available which must also make him one of the prime candidates for the role.
David Flitcroft
Age: 46
Notable spells: Mansfield, Bury, Barnsley
Honours: 1 promotion (Bury)
Win Ratio: 41%
Flitcroft is also available after being released by Bolton Wanderers last season. His longest and most notable spell was with big-spending Bury but he also did a decent job at Swindon as recently as 2018 where he boasted a 50% win ratio.
Derek Adams
Age: 45
Notable spells: Ross County, Plymouth Argyle, Morecambe
Honours: 1 promotion (Plymouth) 2 divisional titles (Ross County) 1 cup (Ross County)
Win Ratio: 42%
The only one on our list with another club (Morecambe), Adams has plenty of admirers on the onevalefan forum. He has bags of experience and is used to working under a budget at Morecambe. However, Vale would need to prise him away from their League Two rivals.
Next Port Vale manager: who would you want?
Do any of the above candidates tickle your fancy? Are you outraged we’ve missed your favourite out of our list? Share your views and post a comment at the bottom of the article.
Ray
6th January 2021 @ 11:03 am
Tony Pulis is out of work.
And he knows the area very well.
He’s also never been relegated.
John zyla
6th January 2021 @ 11:19 am
Graham Alexander
Phil Smith
6th January 2021 @ 1:27 pm
For me it has to be Graham Alexander, Danny Cowley or Paul Cook: I wouldn’t look outside this three unless we have to. Grayson might be a nice fit too if the other three slip through. Cowley was a little out of his depth at the Terriers, I think the move came too soon for him really, and neither of the other two lost their jobs due to their poor performances (Alexander’s sacking was bizarre to say the least, and Cook’s exit from Wigan was caused by the EFL screwing over Wigan Athletic). I wouldn’t be a fan of Parkinson coming; he’s a dour character and his recent record is poor; nor would I be too keen on Flitcroft who seems to divide opinion too much at his former clubs. I don’t think we can afford to poach a manager from another club, so those names are non-runners for me. Nobody untried for me either please, and nobody who’s long in the tooth or had been out of the game a fair while such as the nutcase Ian Holloway or the psycho Martin Allen; not Saint Mickey Adams either – who although I was one of hos biggest fans, he’s been too long away from the game and his last two jobs didn’t really pan out too well; besides that he’s a successful business that he’s very unlikely to want to abandon.
KARL
6th January 2021 @ 2:20 pm
the best manager 4 vale was john rudge
Dave
6th January 2021 @ 3:20 pm
Tony pulis for me all day long gets on with rudge good task master takes no prisoners
Norfolk Enclue
7th January 2021 @ 6:51 pm
Derek Adams. Apparently he has a release clause in his current contract with Morecambe. I believe that sometimes we do ourselves an injustice. We have a fantastic stadium and all that goes with it. A big fan base. Above all, super owners who have, positively raised the profile of the Club. I think that we have enough in our tank to “land” Derek Adams. Time will tell.
Warren Park
8th January 2021 @ 1:04 am
Emile Heskey.