The 2007–08 season was

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

's 96th season of football in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

, and fourth-successive season in

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

. Vale finished second-from-bottom, and were

relegated In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

, some twelve points from safety.

Manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Martin Foyle Martin John Foyle (born 2 May 1963) is an English former professional footballer and manager who is the Head of Recruitment at club St Mirren. In his 20-year playing career he played 533 League games, scoring 155 goals. As a manager, he took ...

left the club in September, and

Lee Sinnott Lee Sinnott (born 12 July 1965) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently manager of Gainsborough Trinity. As a player, he was a defender for Walsall, Watford, Bradford City, Crystal Palace, Huddersfi ...

failed to improve results despite making several

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

signings. Vale were also knocked out of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

at the Second Round by

Southern Football League The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English fo ...

side

Chasetown Chasetown is a village in the town of Burntwood in Staffordshire, England. It is split between the civil parishes of Burntwood and Hammerwich. History Chasetown developed in the mid 19th century as a coal mining village. At first the village wa ...

, a club five divisions below the Vale. Vale also had no luck in either the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

or the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

, exiting both competitions at the first stage after a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

. Throughout the season the club saw a large turnover of players, as Sinnott attempted to build a squad of players of his own choosing to prepare for a

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

push the following season. Martin Foyle 06-09-2015 1

Overview

League One

The pre-season saw

sign

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

defender Keith Lowe on a season-long

, and both Paul Edwards and

Craig Rocastle Craig Aaron Rocastle (born 17 August 1981) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. A former youth team player at Queens Park Rangers, he joined Kingstonian from Gravesend and Northfleet in 2001. He signed with Chelsea v ...

from

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

. He also signed

Marc Richards Marc John Richards (born 8 July 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker and is now, upon retiring, a first-team coach at Northampton Town. A youth team player at Hednesford Town, he turned professional at Blac ...

from

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

, as well as Shane Tudor and Justin Miller from

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

. Calum Willock also joined on a short-term deal, as did

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

loanee

David McGoldrick David James McGoldrick (born 29 November 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Derby County. He won 14 caps for the Republic of Ireland national team between 2014 and 2020, scoring one international goal. A train ...

, and Chester City's veteran defender Ashley Westwood. However, an audacious attempt to land

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

legend

Robbie Fowler Robert Bernard Fowler (born 9 April 1975) is an English football manager and former player, who most recently managed East Bengal in the Indian Super League. As a player, he was a striker, and is the eighth-highest goalscorer in the history ...

failed. The season started with just five points in the opening six games, with just one goal scored from open play. A few games into the season

Akpo Sodje Idoro Akpoeyere Ujoma "Akpo" Sodje (born 31 January 1980) is an English former professional footballer. A journeyman striker, he is usually an instantly recognisable figure on the pitch due to his original – and most of all colourful – hairs ...

was sold to

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

for an undisclosed fee. With only two disappointing mid-table finishes to his name, and with Vale lying 23rd in the league, Foyle left the club by mutual consent on 26 September.

Caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular Manager (association football), manager is dismissed or leaves for a ...

Dean Glover Dean Victor Glover (born 29 December 1963) is an English former football player and manager. A cultured and stylish defender, he had the ball control skills of a midfielder. He played 457 league games in a seventeen-year career in the English ...

was disappointed with the players, comparing them to a pub team. In October, Glover signed teenage midfielder

Will Atkinson William Henry Atkinson (born 14 October 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Having begun his professional career with Hull City in 2006, Atkinson spent time on loan with Port Vale, Mansfield Town, Rochdale (t ...

joined on loan from

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

and left-back Adam Eckersley on loan from

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. On 5 November,

Farsley Celtic Farsley Celtic Football Club is a football club based in Farsley, West Yorkshire, England. The club was founded in 1908, but folded in 2010 and were reformed as Farsley AFC before returning to the name Farsley Celtic in 2015.

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

was appointed as the new Vale boss. This decision caused Dean Glover to consider his position at the club, though he eventually chose to remain as Sinnott's assistant. Sinnott warned of big changes at the club. Young defender Charlie O'Loughlin was then loaned out to

Nantwich Town Nantwich Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1884 and is nicknamed ''The Dabbers'', a reference to the town's tanning industry. They currently compete in and play ...

, and Shane Tudor was sent out on loan to

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

. Arriving at the club were midfielders Mark Salmon (

) and

Marc Laird Marc James Peter Laird (born 23 January 1986) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish League Two side Stirling Albion. Though he began his career with Manchester City in 2004, he was never used in a first team game, tho ...

(

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

) on short loan deals. In January, goalkeeper

Mark Goodlad Mark Goodlad (born 9 September 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper; his most recent role was as goalkeeping coach at club York City. He began his career at Nottingham Forest, playing on loan at Scarbo ...

was forced to retire due to injury, and young

Joe Anyon Joseph Anyon (born 29 December 1986) is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. A youth player at Port Vale, he turned professional at the club in 2004, and was loaned out to non-League sides Stafford Rangers and Harrogate Town to gai ...

faced criticism from the fans for his performances. Adam Eckersley then returned to the club after his release from

, as Sinnott's first non-loan signing. Sinnott then signed

Dave Mulligan David James Mulligan (born 24 March 1982) is a New Zealand former football player and head coach. Born in England, he began his career at Barnsley, making his first-team debut in October 2001. He became a first-team regular in the 2001–02 ...

from

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

on a short-term

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

. Midfielder David Howland also arrived on loan from

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

, and would join the club permanently at the end of the season. Fellow Birmingham player Krystian Pearce also signed on loan, though would impress enough to win a longer stay with Birmingham. Sinnott then raided another Birmingham club, this time

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, to bring

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n teenager Chris Herd on a one-month loan, as well as Swedish youngster

Tobias Mikaelsson Tobias Lars Mikaelsson (born 17 November 1988) is a Swedish footballer. He started his professional career with Aston Villa in England in 2007. After loan spells with Ljungskile and Port Vale, he signed with Swedish side Trollhättan in 2009. ...

. He also allowed Rocastle to join Gillingham on a two-week loan. Sinnott also completed the signings of Chasetown pair Chris Slater and

Kyle Perry Kyle Blain Perry (born 5 March 1986) is an English footballer who plays as a forward for club West Didsbury & Chorlton. Failing to make the first team at Walsall, he dropped into non-league circles with AFC Telford United, Sutton Coldfield ...

, who left their jobs to become full-time professional footballers. In February, O'Loughlin was loaned out to Hinckley United. After the club lost a 2–0 lead at

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

to lose 3–2 against

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

, club legend

Jon McCarthy Jonathan David McCarthy (born 18 August 1970) is a former professional footballer who is the assistant manager at Cymru Premier club Connah's Quay Nomads. McCarthy played as a winger and made around 700 appearances in his career, many of wh ...

questioned the team's mental strength. In April, Craig Rocastle's contract was terminated by mutual consent, and he moved to play for Greek club

Thrasyvoulos Thrasyvoulos Football Club ( el, Α.Ο. Θρασύβουλος Φυλής) is a Greek football club based in Fyli, Attica, currently in the A EPSDA. It was founded in 1938 and named after Thrasybulus, an ancient Athenial General who used Fyli as ...

. Teenage goalkeeper

Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Univ ...

made his debut on 19 April, as Vale were on the end of a 6–0 defeat by

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...

at The County Ground. Despite just two defeats in the final ten games of the season, Vale had long been

. They finished in 23rd place with 38 points, above

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

only because the "Hatters" were hit with a ten-point deduction. Vale were twelve points behind

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

, who finished one place above the relegation zone.

Luke Rodgers Luke John Rodgers (born 1 January 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played in England's Football League, starting at Shrewsbury Town in 1999. Rodgers spent six years with the Shropshire side and made ...

was the club's top scorer with twelve goals in all competitions. There was a distinct lack of goals in the side, though their goals conceded tally of 81 was the highest in the league. At the end of the season there was an exodus of players: Robin Hulbert (

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

); Colin Miles (

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

);

Jason Talbot Jason Christopher Talbot (born 30 September 1985) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, left back. He started his senior career with Bolton Wanderers F.C., ...

(

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

); Mark McGregor (

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

); Joe Cardle (

Airdrie United Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United ...

); Adam Eckersley (

Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 61,074 (1 January 2022) and the municipality's population is 94,443 (), making it the 8th largest city in De ...

); Dave Mulligan (

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...

); Justin Miller (

Chelmsford City Chelmsford City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Currently members of they play at the Melbourne Stadium. History Chelmsford Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members o ...

); Charlie O'Loughlin (Nantwich Town); as well as club

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

George Pilkington George Edward Pilkington (born 7 November 1981) is an English former professional footballer. During his playing career he was a defender, and made 647 league and cup appearances across a 16-year professional career in the English Football Lea ...

(Luton Town). Sinnott claimed this cull was necessary to turn the club around.

Danny Whitaker Daniel Phillip Whitaker (born 14 November 1980) is an English former professional football player and manager who was recently the player-manager of club Macclesfield. A former Manchester United F.C., Manchester United Manchester United F.C. ...

rejected Vale's contract offer, and their revised offer, to move off to

. Player of the Year Paul Harsley also turned down a new deal, and instead signed with

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

discussed a £100,000 move to

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

, though chose to stay in

Burslem Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is often referred to as the "mother town" of Stoke on Trent. T ...

Finances

The club had to make monthly repayments of around £19,000 for a £2.25 million loan taken out from the local council in 2005. The club's shirt sponsorship came from

Sennheiser Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG (, ) is a German privately held audio company specializing in the design and production of a wide range of high fidelity products, including microphones, headphones, telephone accessories and aviation headse ...

Cup competitions

In the

, Sinnott's first cup game in charge saw Vale take revenge on Morecambe with a 2–0 win at

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950. The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...

, to give the "Valiants" what seemed to be an easy Second Round tie with Southern League side

(an eighth tier team 101 league places below them). Vale sacrificed a one-goal lead over the amateurs to limp to a 1–1 draw at

, after conceding from a

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offence ...

taken by trainee accountant Mark Branch. Chasetown then made a giant-killing with a late goal on their home ground, after Luke Rodgers missed two penalties. In the

, Vale exited at the First Round after losing to

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

5–3 on penalties, following a 1–1 home draw. In the

, Vale were beaten on penalties by a League Two side for the second time in the season, this time after a 2–2 draw with

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

at Christie Park. Caretaker manager Dean Glover likened his side to a "pub team". Marc Richards in action