Sentinel: Port Vale owner on contract offers and giving club best chance for next season

[News Feed]

Port Vale have finished eighth, just a point outside the play-off places

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[robf]

I seem to always bang on about continuity in lots of posts but I think Carol has done a much better job of explaining it in that article.

"It [the decision to offer new deals] was a very thought out decision. Looking at our cash flow and what we could commit to, we had to take a decision. Do we cut the costs down to the minimum and then hunker down, wait for the storm to pass and then start to rebuild a new squad. Or, did we invest in our core?

"We had worked really hard, and had built that team spirit, and we could see where the players are gelling and we can look after them. Also we had the furlough scheme in place.

"We decided to invest in these players, maintaining the core was the best thing for the club because it gave us the greatest chance to hit the deck running when next season starts.

“We didn’t want to have to wait for a long time for the team to coalesce. We want to bring in an established squad with additions, rather than creating a new squad.” 

For me, that's 100% correct. It's the continuity of a team who know each other, who seem to have a great team spirit and so on. In a nutshell it answers why Vale have kept faith with handing out of contract players new deals rather than thinking the "grass is greener" and looking for high profile, free agent additions (which we know from experience don't always work out). It's because the club like the existing players' character and attitude.

The squad is strong and that continuity can give us a massive advantage over some other clubs next season.