Football Season Review

Port Vale endured a miserable season which ended with manager Neil Aspin doing just enough to keep them in the Football League. The Valiants might have thought things couldn’t get worse after being relegated from League One under caretaker manager Michael Brown. Norman Smurthwaite resigned as Chairman in the aftermath claiming he had “seriously damaged the club” but then made Brown’s appointment permanent as they looked bounce back in League Two. They won away at Crawley Town on the opening day of the season but then lost their next six games and failure to beat fellow strugglers Forest Green Rovers at Vale Park saw Brown sacked in mid-September. Gateshead manager and former Vale defender Neil Aspin was appointed as his successor and he was under no illusions at the extent of the task which faced him. He oversaw a slow but steady improved which reached a season high just before the New Year when they thrashed runners-up Luton Town 4-0 at Vale Park. It was a fourth win in five matches and they climbed up to the heights of 16th place in the table. That was as good as it got sadly as 2018 became a real struggle. They won just two of their last 21 league games but it was enough to finish in 21st place in the table; just a point clear of the relegation places. The season ended on a real low following a 5-0 thrashing away at Cambridge United and Aspin has a huge summer ahead as looks to turn around the club’s fortunes. He can rely on striker and leading goalscorer Tom Pope, who was a real talisman with 19 goals and was voted player of the season. Defender Nathan Smith was an ever-present whilst defender James Gibbons enjoyed a breakthrough season at right-back.

Player of the Season: Tom Pope