Football Season Guide

League 1

England

League 1

2015/2016

Port Vale

In

Remie Streete (def, Newcastle United), Sam Kelly (mid, Norwich City), Sam Foley (mid, Yeovil Town), Anthony Grant (mid, Crewe Alexandra), Ben Purkiss (def, Walsall), Uche Ikpeazu (att, Watford), AJ Leitch-Smith(att, Yeovil), Ryan Inniss(def, Crystal Palace - loan)

Out

Tom Pope (att, Bury), Ben Williamson (att, Gillingham), Chris Robertson (def, Ross County), Chris Lines (mid, Bristol Rovers), Mark Marshall (mid, Bradford City), Frederic Veseli(def, Lugano), Alex Nimely(att, released) Released: Chris Robertson, Alex Nimely, Kaid Mohamed.

Port Vale have been a solid midtable League One club over the last couple of years, and have managed to secure their survival in the division with few problems in their previous two campaigns.However, there are signs that things might be different this time around, as the Vale have lost three huge players in the likes of Ben Williams, Tom Pope and Mark Marshall. The financial constraints that the Vale manager have to work with have been widely known for some time, and this was the second consecutive summer during which Port Vale have lost star players to similar-sized League One clubs. On the bright side, they have also made a host of interesting signings, such as Sam Voley, Anthony Grant, Ben Purkiss, Uche Ikpeazu and AJ Leitch-Smith, who are all proven players at League One level. Despite the decent-looking list of signings, the Vale fans will be worried, as Marshall and Williamson were their most potent attacking weapons last season, and we will have to wait and see whether the new boys will manage to fill their shoes immediately.

Target

If looking at their squad on paper, Port Vale do not seem to be any weaker than they were last season, but the big problem is that the league as a whole seems stronger, especially the lower midtable teams. Port Vale's official goal will be to finish inside the top half, but they should realistically be happy to just stir clear of danger.