Football Season Guide

Despite being one of the most pleasant surprises of the League One 2013/14 season, Port Vale entered the summer with an air of uncertainty regarding the future of manager Micky Adams. The people running the club were reportedly unwilling to offer Adams a contract early in the previous season and, once an offer was on the table, Adams was reluctant to sign the contract. However, the situation was finally resolved in June, as Adams signed a one-year rolling contract with the club, and was therefore able to focus on his side's summer transfer window. Despite the lengthy list of outs, the Valiants have mostly gotten rid of dead wood, with one notable exception, as their skipper Doug Loft left them to join Gillingham. Loft's departure was certainly a blow, but was by no means a surprise, as it had been well known that Loft had offers that the Valiants could not match in financial terms and that he was all but certain to leave the club. When it comes to players who joined, Adams opted to take stabs in the dark with the signings of Colin Daniel, Mark Marshall and Frederic Veseli, while Byron Moore and Ryan McGivern both have sufficient League One experience to be considered decent and proven signings. Both players seem likely to become starters for the Valiants on the left side of the pitch. Moreover, three midfield signings were made in short succession in mid July, as Michael O'Connor, Michael Brown and Steve Jennings all joined, and Adams will hope for their arrivals to compensate for Loft's departure. Adams admitted that his side's transfer window is not over, as he is still looking to add a striker to his ranks, as the Valiants are short in numbers in the attacking department, following the departures of Jordan Hugill and Gavin Tomlin. The Valiants boss hopes to sign a new striker or two in time for the season kick-off.