It’s never dull at Port Vale, as Darren Moore is probably well aware after a year in the hot seat. The former defender got drafted in after Andy Crosby’s dismissal – and it’s fair to say he was dealt a tough hand. After some abysmal recruitment in the 2023 summer transfer window, the Vale squad was poorly balanced, lacking League One quality, and had been overly reliant on two loan players who had long since returned to their parent clubs.
Vale rarely seem to get a ‘new manager bounce’ and the arrival of Moore was no exception. It took a whopping nine games for him to register a first win. Fans were exceptionally patient, although the reality is Moore struggled to get any tune out of the squad – or even organise them effectively – in his initial half a dozen games in charge. Whether another manager could have done better with such a dire crop of players remains to be seen, but the stats don’t make for pretty reading. Vale recorded a painful 11 defeats in Moore’s first 16 games in charge and were relegated to League Two with a whimper.
Vale co-owner Carol Shanahan publicly accepted mistakes had been made and the squad was reshaped in the summer. Experienced heads were brought in. The likes of Ryan Croasdale, Ronan Curtis, Ben Heneghan and Jayden Stockley all had experience of playing in League Two or higher. The club also paid a fee for versatile forward Lorent Tolaj, who had been making waves in the National League at Aldershot. The Swiss ace has looked the real deal for Vale in recent weeks and could prove to be a very astute bit of business.
George Byers – formerly of Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea – was by far the most high profile summer arrival. Following their time working together at Hillsborough, an existing relationship between Moore and the midfielder undoubtedly helped seal the deal. Nevertheless, it seems unlikely that Byers’ switch to Burslem was driven entirely by bonhomie, a passion for pottery, and oatcakes.
Fans aren’t daft. Money talks and Moore had been backed to the hilt.
As the business end of the season looms large, he now has to deliver. With the help of FIRST.com, where you can get all the latest betting tips and find the best bookies, we’ve had a look at the latest odds for what Moore, and Vale, could achieve. Promotion under Darrell Clarke in 2022 came via the playoffs. But with such an expensively assembled squad, top three (Vale currently priced at 11/4), has to be the focus this time round.
At the time of writing, the table is delicately balanced with a host of teams jockeying for the automatic promotion spots. Walsall (1/2 L2 outright winner) remain top of the pile, but are wobbling after a series of poor results.
Vale (28/1 L2 outright winner) are in reasonable form and unbeaten in the league since a dismal 3-0 defeat to Grimsby on December 29.
The most recent fixture against Notts County was impressive and confusing with equal measure. A dire first half resulted in Vale effectively stifling high-flying County (7/1 L2 outright winner) at the expense of barely mustering a single goal-scoring chance themselves. But Vale improved after the break and Curtis poked home the winner after some tragic County defending.
Influential Stockley limped off, which will be a concern to the Vale faithful, but other key players are now returning to full fitness. Byers lasted 90 minutes against County and Ben Garrity is building up to his usual sharpness after injury woes before Christmas. The return of Nathan Smith to the starting XI following a period out in the cold has also brought some much needed grit and dark arts to the Vale defence. County hot shot Alassana Jatta, who has 14 league goals to his name this term (5/2 to finish top L2 goal scorer), should have been given his marching orders after lashing out at Smith in an off-the-ball incident.
The football under Moore hasn’t always been pretty – but it can be effective. The 50-year-old has seen promotion as a manager before after guiding Sheffield Wednesday back to the Championship in 2023. The 22/23 campaign was a record-breaking season for Wednesday too. Moore smashed several club records: number of points (96), longest unbeaten run (23), highest number of clean sheets (24), and the biggest comeback in EFL play-off history.
The play-off reference is key though. Despite Wednesday being well fancied and well backed, Moore couldn’t get them over the automatic promotion line. At Vale this time round he must show he’s got the killer instinct.
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