Port Vale v Bradford City preview – can Valiants impress in front of the TV cameras?
Port Vale v Bradford City. The Valiants have been in fine home form, will it continue in front of the Sky TV cameras? Here’s our match preview…
Match details
Details:
Port Vale v Bradford City, League Two
Where:
Vale Park stadium
When:
Saturday 13th November, 12 noon
Last time we met?
The Valiants recorded a 2-1 home win back in April with goals from Tom Conlon and (ironically) Theo Robinson, now at Bradford. However, that’s Vale’s only home League win in the last four fixtures.
Overall record:
34 Vale wins, 32 draws and 44 defeats.
Pre-match quotes
We are going to have players now who won’t make the bench on Saturday who have perhaps have been used to playing games for this club or their own parent club. We are going to name a team and a bench on Saturday against Bradford and there will be four or five who won’t even make the bench. I have not been at the club for long but I wouldn’t imagine that the quality of the players who won’t get on the bench on Saturday has happened previously…
Port Vale assistant manager Andy Crosby
We are on the crest of a wave and we are enjoying it. But we are not enjoying it as much as everybody else should be, if that makes sense. We have to control that environment. Our fans, rightly so, need to be enjoying it, the board members and everyone at the football club needs to be enjoying that. But I am always slapping our lads and my staff down. Of course I enjoy it, I love watching my team perform because that’s what we do the work on the training pitch for. But nothing is achieved…
Port Vale manager Darrell Clarke
For our players to play in front of the cameras, it is always an exciting one. It is great exposure for the players, and for Bradford City as a whole…
Bradford City manager Derek Adams
I wouldn’t want to be the gaffer right now because nearly everyone is back to full fitness so he has a lot of players to pick from. But at the moment the team can’t really change because of the run we are on. We have a big game ahead on Saturday and that’s what we are looking forward to…
Port Vale defender Leon Legge
Valiants team news
So who will make the Port Vale starting line-up? Competition for places is now intensely fierce. Two examples are returning veteran Leon Legge who may be struggling to get a start at the back and Jake Taylor, impressive as a sub in the FA Cup and goalscorer in the Football League Trophy who may still find it tricky to get into the central midfield.
Top-scorer Jamie Proctor could still be missing but fellow forward Devante Rodney could be contention – whether he gets into an increasingly contested starting eleven is another matter!
Opposition team news
Bradford have been boosted by the return of several players. Lee Angol, Niall Canavan, Abo Eisa and Liam Ridehalgh have all returned to training. However, manager Derek Adams has urged caution adding: “Abo hasn’t played a minute in a league game and Lee Angol has played limited minutes as well. ”
Top scorer Andy Cook is ruled out which could mean former Valiant Theo Robinson starting upfront.
- Man in charge: Derek Adams
- Age: 46
- Appointed: June 2021
- Games in charge: 20
- Win ratio: 25%
Recent form…
Port Vale
Imperious. The wins over Accrington and Liverpool B in the cup competitions, made it seven straight wins at Vale Park. It’s seen Darrell Clarke pick up back-to-back monthly awards
Form:
Top scorer:
Proctor (7)
The opposition
Bradford’s last League win was back on the 23rd October although Vale be warned – it was an away victory. But it remains their solitary victory in the last four League games.
Form:
Top scorer:
Cook (7)
Current connections
There will be a lot of attention on former Port Vale striker Theo Robinson, who moved from the Valiants to Bradford City earlier this season. It’s fair to say that Robinson’s spell at Vale Park from 2020 to 2021, his second with the club, was not a great success. Brought in by John Askey on a two year contract, Robinson was deregistered from Vale’s League squad at one point. He finished the 2020-21 season with a tally of six goals from 37 appearances.
Robinson was one of three Vale players who was transfer-listed by Askey’s replacement Darrell Clarke in the summer. He was signed by Bradford on transfer deadline day and so far he has scored three goals in ten appearances.
While Robinson may hog the headlines, there’s another former Valiant in the Bradford ranks. Goalkeeper Sam Hornby turned down a Vale contract offer in 2019 and opted for a move to Bradford instead.
Vintage connection
Colourful striker Ron Futcher was an inspired John Rudge signing from Bradford City in 1988. Although Rudge had tried to sign five other strikers, Futcher proved to be a revelation as paired with the youthful Darren Beckford he helped the club to promotion in 1989. The striker 23 goals in 69 before in another inspired piece of business, Rudge sold the 34 year-old for a £25,000 profit to Burnley.
At Bradford, Futcher had a two year spell where he scored 23 times in 53 games.
Other players to appear for both clubs in recent years include Will Atkinson, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, Alex Jones and Callum Guy.
From the archives
The Port Vale programme against Bradford City in 1971. It finished in a 1-0 win for the Valiants with Tony Lacey scoring the winner.
Potted history
The club was founded in 1903 and was immediately elected into the Football League. They were promoted into the first division in 1908 and won the FA Cup final in 1911. In 1999 they reached the Premier League where they enjoyed a two year stay.
Were you paying attention?
Here’s a quick quiz on the opponents:
- Which now Bradford player scored for Vale in the last match between the two sides?
- Who is the current Bradford City manager?
- When were Bradford city founded?
- Which year did they win the FA Cup?
Quiz answers (no cheating):
- Theo Robinson
- Derek Adams
- 1903
- 1911