Opinion: the Port Vale road to promotion may have been bumpy at times but the end result deserves an awful lot of praise

Rob Fielding says the promotion campaign “wasn’t flawless” but there were “certainly a lot of positives” after Port Vale returned to League One.

Rob Fielding writes…

So, it wasn’t smooth running all the way but Vale have achieved their end goal – which is an immediate return to League One. It wasn’t flawless, but while there were some negatives there were certainly a lot of positives too.

It’s also worth reflecting on what a mammoth task Moore was presented with in the summer. Let’s remember that after the 2024 retained list, Vale’s squad contained just Ryan Loft and Uche Ikpeazu upfront…

Let’s take recruitment. I think Darren Moore comes out with a lot of credit in this regard. Yes, some of the signings look like “no brainers” – the physical addition of Jayden Stockley upfront for instance or the energy that Ryan Croasdale brings to midfield. However, as we know, just because someone arrives with a previous reputation and costs a fee doesn’t guarantee it’s a good signing. In the main, the more high profile players Moore has signed, have worked. Yes, the jury may be out on Ruari Paton and George Byers has been hit with fitness issues – but (of the players who either cost a fee or are presumed to be on good wages) Lorent Tolaj, Jayden Stockley, Ryan Croasdale, the returning Connor Hall and January signing Jaheim Headley have all been great additions.

Moore has shown an eye for a bargain too. Here’s two examples – Kyle John, without a single League appearance before this season was a model of consistency and deserved winner of the young player of the year award. Then there’s the return of Rhys Walters on a long-term deal, derided by some including (hands up) myself at the time, but it proved a masterstroke in the run-in. While many point to Ben Garrity’s influence on Vale’s results, it’s worth noting that Vale lost just two of the fifteen games that Walters started. These signings show that, as well as the obvious transfers that can be attracted through the largesse of the Shanahans, Moore can also bring in an unheralded signing that improves the squad.

Moore had mixed success in the loan market. Antwoine Hackford got some stick at times but was a useful addition to throw on late on when legs were tiring and scored four vital goals. Rico Richards was arguably the best of the bunch. He showed good skills and was a source of assists and goals. Wingback Brandon Cover had an immediate impact and an excellent first-half of the season. He proved invaluable when injuries affected the wingback slots. Benicio had a bright start before fading out of the picture while Jerry Umolu has managed just a couple of hours playing time spread over nine sub appearances. Finally, Nathan Broome and Finn Ashworth barely affected things, but three successful loans out of seven isn’t too shabby.

The flipside of good transfer business is how the players were utilised. One of the major frustrations of the season was the sometimes baffling team selections. The afore-mentioned Walters was dropped for an important game against Barrow that Vale went on to lose. Lorent Tolaj showed his goalscoring prowess once he was moved from a wide forward or a number ten to his natural centre-forward position. Ben Garrity was wasted earlier in the season in a withdrawn role. There’s also the underuse of Ethan Chislett, who seems likely to leave when his contract expires this summer.

Some of the formations in the first-half of the season also frustrated. There was a sense of square pegs in round holes at times. I praised Moore when he finally seemed to see sense and change formation. Some fans have criticised that view. Why praise him for something that took him thirty games to realise they said? Well, the answer is simple – I’m not praising him for the speed at which he changed (I would have liked him to do it earlier) but I’m praising him for finally changing. After all, it’s perfectly conceivable that he could have obstinately ploughed on and never changed. With that in mind, surely it’s worth praising him when he did eventually see sense?

It’s also worth reflecting on what a mammoth task Moore was presented with in the summer. Let’s remember that after the 2024 retained list, Vale’s squad contained just Ryan Loft and Uche Ikpeazu upfront. Not only did Moore upgrade (admittedly with the benefit of transfer fees – but let’s not forget even big money signings can fail) but he also managed to move on Loft and Ikpeazu (who scored two League goals between them) for fees. A holding midfield that consisted of Funso Ojo and Jason Lowe in May was transformed into Ryan Croasdale, George Byers and more latterly Rhys Walters. Not only has Moore facilitated a huge turnaround of players, he’s arguably massively improved the quality of the squad.

One thing that has been consistent all season has been the resilience of the backline. Four goals were shipped against Barrow early on but after that, Vale’s defence has been to the fore with eighteen clean sheets this season. That has also been achieved despite changing first-choice goalkeeper in mid-season and despite the mysterious absence of Nathan Smith for much of the first-half of the campaign. As Sir Alex Ferguson said – “attack wins you games, defence wins you titles” and Moore has rightly made Vale a difficult side to score against this season.

Finally, there’s the big game mentality. Yes, it’s the players who perform on the day but it’s Moore who (in the main) signed them, sets the tactics and man manages them for those key encounters. The wins over the likes of Crewe, Walsall and Bradford were all crucial in retrospect. Darren Moore deserves praise for making sure his team won those key clashes. There are still things he can work on – consistent team selection and playing players in their right positions. However, surely no-one can argue that delivering only the eleventh promotion in the club’s history is a towering achievement and Darren Moore deserves the accolades coming his way.