Football Season Guide

Darrell Clarke will succeed or fail on his own terms after taking over at Port Vale in February. His departure from Walsall and subsequent appointment at Vale Park left a sour taste in the mouth for some and he has continued to rub people up the wrong way as he looks to turn around the Valiants. A dreadful start was followed by a remarkable run of victories which sealed a mid-table finish last season. He then allowed a whole host of players to leave the club this summer, including popular goalkeeper Scott Brown, midfielder Luke Joyce and club legend Tom Pope. The striker has been claimed there wasn’t much honesty or loyalty in his last two years at the club. Clarke’s attitude is completely at odds with owner Carol Shanahan, who has shown herself to be one of the best in the EFL. It gives the Valiants some stability at least and Clarke’s task it to challenge for promotion. With so many players moving on he has had a busy summer of recruitment. Goalkeepers Aidan Stone and Lucas Covolan will fight it out for the No.1 jersey whilst central defenders Lewis Cass and Ryan Johnson join after winning promotion via the National League play-offs with Hartlepool United. The middle of the park sees the additions of Ben Garrity, Brad Walker and Tom Pett, who surprisingly opted to make the move from Stevenage. Strikers Jamie Proctor and James Wilson will be expected to bring goals after signing from Rotherham United and Salford City respectively and further additions are likely, especially in attack