Forest Green Rovers v Port Vale preview – Valiants start 2023 at the New Lawn
Forest Green Rovers v Port Vale preview – the Valiants begin 2023 with an away trip to the West Country.
Match Info
Venue: New Lawn stadium | Date: 1st January 2023, 3pm | Competition: League One
Predict the score
Preamble
The Valiants will be keen to get 2023 off to a good start by beating struggling Forest Green Rovers. It may not be the most glamorous game of the season but it’s the sort of game Vale will be targeting to win in order to remain in League One next season.
Pre-match comments
Let’s try and have a very successful 2023, dust ourselves down and go to Forest Green and try to get the three points…
Port Vale manager Darrell Clarke
Playing in front of our own fans again, we need to step up. We’re going find out a bit about ourselves now. When the chips are down, you learn things about yourselves. The players will certainly be learning more things about themselves now than they did last year. We’re going to see who’s got character and who’s brave enough to step out and perform…
Forest Green Rovers manager Ian Burchnall
Port Vale team news
The Valiants have confirmed that David Worrall is out for several weeks and he could be joined on the sidelines by James Wilson who limped out of the defeat to Sheffield Wednesday. Sam Robinson impressed on the right flank after coming on as a sub and could make the starting eleven. Dan Butterworth, Mipu Odubeko or Dennis Politic could stand in for Wilson if he fails to make it.
Striker Jamie Proctor remains sidelined until later in the New Year.
Opposition team news
Kyle McAllister could feature but veteran striker Connor Wickham is unlikely to make the 18-man squad as he recovers from injury.
Form guide
The Valiants will be keen to turn their form around and end a run of three defeats in their last four games. Their opponents are on a run of four straight defeats ahead of this match.
Man in charge
Ian Burchnall was appointed as manager in May and has been in charge for 32 games with a 34% win ratio.
Familiar faces
There are no current players to appear for both sides but there are several who have done so in recent years. That list includes:
- Striker Kurtis Guthrie who played 91 times for FGR and 17 times for the Valiants
- Defender Callum Evans had brief spells at both clubs
- Nomadic forward Kaid Mohamed (pictured) also had spells with both clubs
Vintage connections
Defender George Pilkington made over 250 appearances with the Valiants during a five year stay with the club. He was the club’s player of the year in 2006. He joined Forest Green on loan during the 2013-14 season making eight appearances in total.
Pilkington ended his career at Macclesfield Town after 647 senior appearances, retiring after securing Town’s promotion to the Football League.
Through the years…
The two sides first met in an FA Cup game in 2012 which ended in a dramatic 3-2 win for the Valiants. Clayton McDonald, Ashley Vincent and Ben Williamson were the Vale goalscorers that day.
The first League meeting was in 2017 when it finished in a 1-1 draw at Vale Park. Youngster Dan Turner was on the mark for the Valiants that day. Vale are unbeaten at the New Lawn stadium since the 2017 clash – a run of four games.
Last time we met…
It finished in a 2-2 draw at Vale Park earlier this season. The Valiants were 2-0 down at the break but countered to make it all-square thanks to late goals from Mipu Odubeko and Ellis Harrison.
Overall record
4 Port Vale wins | 6 draws | 2 Port Vale losses
From the archives
Some photos from our FA Cup game back in 2012:
A brief history of…
Forest Green Rovers was formed in October 1889, the club’s fortunes rocketed when eco entrepreneur Dale Vince bought the club in 2010. They entered the Football League in 2017 and have often hit the headlines for a string of green initiatives. In 2018 Forest Green Rovers became the first football club in the world to be certified carbon neutral by the United Nations. They were promoted to League One last season.
Were you paying attention?
Our traditional quiz…
- Who is the current FGR manager?
- What was the score the last time the two teams met?
- In which year were the club formed?
Answers below (no cheating)…
Quiz answers…
- Ian Burchnall
- Port Vale 2-2 Forest Green
- 1889