Opinion: even a depleted Port Vale defence still shows its appetite for clean sheets
Rob Fielding looks back at recent events at Vale Park and (among other things) congratulates the Vale defence on their clean sheet record…
Rob Fielding writes…
Causes for celebration
No hiccups on transfer deadline day
Compared to the antics at Bristol Rovers and Wrexham, the deadline day dealings at Vale Park were well managed and straight-forward. In case you missed it, Bristol Rovers managed to mess up the transfer of Jonson Clarke-Harris by not submitting the paperwork on time. Damningly, Clarke-Harris’ manager Darren Ferguson said the club bizarrely didn’t ask for a fifteen minute extension which is available for clubs when it was clear they may just miss the 11pm deadline. It was a similar story at moneybags Wrexham who met Harrogate’s asking price for Luke Armstrong only to fail to submit their papers in time. It means both clubs are a marquee striker short until Christmas.
In contrast, Vale’s business went seamlessly. Ellis Harrison’s move to MK Dons was announced, followed minutes later by the addition of Ryan Loft. In former years it could well have been Vale messing up (remember the Lee Hughes fiasco of 2012) so it’s good to see Vale doing things properly while other clubs mess up.
Even a depleted defence shows its appetite for clean sheets
Despite the absence of Dan Jones and Kofi Balmer through injury, Vale’s defence has been excellent during their recent run. Following that seven-nil opener, the side have conceded just five in their next eight games with five clean sheets. The value of Nathan Smith is well known while the man mountain that is Alex Iacovitti has rapidly become a fans favourite with some domineering performances, but a word too for Lewis Cass who has also done really well during the recent run.
Focus on youth development is a good sign of future sustainability
In the next section I’m going to talk about adding some players but to be honest it’s all very well me spending the owners’ money – they are the ones making the financial commitments and having to pay the wages. Over the past few years it appears an awful lot has been spent both on Vale Park’s infrastructure but also on a revamp of the youth team structure. The improvements caused by the former can be seen immediately (new scoreboard, new Robbie Williams suite, new turnstiles etc) but it now looks like the youth team investment is also paying off. We’ve had the sale of Mike Mills to Newcastle United plus the presence of Jack Shorrock, Rhys Walters and (especially) James Plant in matchday squads, with Plant often a starter. There are also other youngsters to take note of – Tommy McDermott, on loan at Rochdale as well as Bayley Diapepa and Liam Brazier.
Room for improvement
Still gaps in Vale’s squad
Despite that good work there remains a few gaps in the Vale squad. Upfront, Loft should provide a reliable option and will probably be the preferred starter. However, other options could be limited. There’s James Wilson, available so far this season but with historic injury issues and there’s Josh Thomas who has shown much promise but is inexperienced and also subject to Wales International calls. It leaves Vale potentially a bit thin on the ground for experienced striker options.
Similarly there’s a dearth of options at left wingback. Conor Grant has had his injury issues but will probably be first-choice if fit. Youngster Jack Shorrock looks like he could be one for the future but he probably needs a bit more experience before he will be given any starts in the League. So that leaves James Plant, who has done an admirable job as cover but is right-footed and can be found out at times. In an ideal world, another left-footed wingback addition would have been ideal.
I never want to end on a negative so best of luck to Andy Crosby, at time of writing Port Vale’s most successful manager of all-time (with a 53% win ratio from 30 games in charge) when they take on Northampton Town in their next game.
