We all knew at the start of the season that Port Vale weren’t going to be listed among the favorites with the offshore sportsbooks to be champions or even as a contender to go up, but a strong start to the season means it’s now a realistic outcome if the team can put together a strong run of form over the Christmas period.
The recent win over League One leaders Plymouth has demonstrated exactly what this squad of players is capable of, but the markets aren’t going all-in on Vale yet as they’re listed as tenth-favorites to go up this season, so it does suggest that outsiders think a fall-off in form is inevitable at some stage in the season.
It’s always important to never get too carried away and you can’t add points to the tally before games have even been played, but you have to look at the next three and wonder if another three wins are possible. Bristol Rovers and Accrington Stanley have failed to show any consistency, while Morecambe sit rock-bottom and concede almost twice as many goals as they score.
The upcoming fixture against Bristol Rovers may be the concern as they are among the highest scorers in the division, so it suggests that it could be a high-scoring game and Vale don’t have the firepower to consistently keep up in a shootout kind of game, but taking nine points or even seven from these three fixtures will result in some serious optimism going into the new year.
It’s a big if, but if they can go into the Sheffield Wednesday game on the 29th with a run of four or five wins from their previous five then it’s some serious momentum to take into that clash, and taking something away from Hillsborough would suggest that Vale have to be taken seriously going into the second half of the season.
Add your first comment to this post