Football Season Review

Port Vale entered their season of return to League One hoping to stay away from relegation zone, and they duly delivered, as they were never in danger of getting dragged into the relegation race and even managed to push for a play-off place until late in the season. Micky Adams kept faith in the efficient but unattractive brand of football which he used in League Two last season, and the approach worked like a charm despite the fact that last season's Valiants' Player of the Year Tom Pope found it difficult to reproduce the scoring form he showed a year earlier. Adams also deserves a lot of praise for making Port Vale an incredibly consistent side. The Valiants were arguably the most consistent team in the division in the season that is now behind us, as they did not have any major ups or downs during their entire campaign - their longest winning streak was two games, while their longest losing streak was three games. Despite all this, the atmosphere surrounding the club in the last two months of the season was not good. The biggest reason for this was the uncertainty surrounding Micky Adams's future, as the Vale boss, whose contract with the club expires in June, is yet to be offered a new deal despite achieving impressive results with the club. According to most sources, the main reason for this is that Adams finds himself in a situation similar to the one Sam Allardyce finds himself in at the moment - as large sections of fans are unhappy with his brand of football. Another dark cloud hovering above the Valiants is the Doug Loft's situation - the skipper missed the last three weeks of the season after getting injured in a training ground altercation, and it seems that he has played his last game for the club, as several Championship clubs are reportedly after him. All in all, the Valiants had a rather successful season, but are now set for a summer of uncertainty, with their best player being on the brink of leaving them, and their manager's future being uncertain.

Player of the Season: Doug Loft