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2015–16 Port Vale F.C. season

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Port Vale
2015–16 season
ChairmanNorman Smurthwaite
ManagerRob Page
StadiumVale Park
Football League One12th (65 points)
FA CupSecond Round
(knocked out by Exeter City)
League CupSecond Round
(knocked out by West Bromwich Albion)
Football League TrophySecond Round
(knocked out by Blackpool)
Player of the YearAnthony Grant
Top goalscorerLeague: A-Jay Leitch-Smith (10)
All: A-Jay Leitch-Smith (12)
Highest home attendance6,822 vs. Sheffield United, 3 October 2015
Lowest home attendance2,571 vs. Carlisle United, 1 September 2015
Average home league attendance4,993
Biggest win3–0 (twice) and 4–1 (once)
Biggest defeat0–5 vs. Walsall, 8 May 2016

The 2015–16 season was Port Vale's 104th season of football in the English Football League, and third-successive season in League One. It was manager Rob Page's first full season in management. The season covers the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016.

Chairman Norman Smurthwaite announced a cut in the wage bill. He reduced contract offers for many out-of-contract players, which led to Mark Marshall, Ben Williamson and top-scorer Tom Pope leaving the club on free transfers after rejecting contract offers. A new youth policy was unveiled, and eight free agents, five youth team players and two loan players were signed at the start of the campaign. They made an encouraging start to the campaign, with new names Enoch Andoh and Jak Alnwick impressing, beating Championship side Burnley in the League Cup before going out on penalties to Premier League club West Bromwich Albion. However, a poor defeat in the Second Round of the FA Cup to League Two side Exeter City cost the club a lucrative Third Round tie with Liverpool and prompted Smurthwaite to put the club up for sale officially.

Vale remained positioned between 13th and 8th from November onwards, and realistic hopes of a play-off position were ended after a run of just one point from four games from 19 March. They ended this run of poor form by relegating local rivals Crewe Alexandra on 2 April. They were reliant on loan striker Uche Ikpeazu for goals early in the campaign before Louis Dodds and A-Jay Leitch-Smith, in particular, found scoring form in the latter half of the season.

Rob Page had a successful first season in management.
A-Jay Leitch-Smith finished as top-scorer with 12 goals.
Louis Dodds scored right goals in 44 appearances.
Uche Ikpeazu scored six goals during his loan spell.
New signing Ben Purkiss proved to be a key player.
Chris Birchall had his final season in professional football.

Overview

[edit]

League One

[edit]

Five youth team players were given professional contracts for the 2015–16 season: defender Lewis Bergin, midfielders Chekaine Steele, Billy Reeves and Omar Haughton, and striker Jonathon Kapend.[1] Manager Rob Page signed a new two-year contract in May 2015.[2] However, he needed to avoid a poor start to the season as chairman Norman Smurthwaite warned he was prepared to make "ruthless decisions" if the club were struggling by September.[3] The first signings of the season were powerful former loanee defender Remie Streete from Newcastle United, and former Norwich City youth player Sam Kelly.[4] Midfielder Sam Foley also joined the "Valiants" on a two-year contract, choosing to leave relegated Yeovil Town just after picking up Yeovil's Player of the Year award.[5] Page further strengthened the defence and midfield by signing Walsall right-back Ben Purkiss and Crewe Alexandra defensive midfielder Anthony Grant.[6] Page needed to find a cost-effective forward with the club both short on strikers following the departure of Tom Pope and Ben Williamson and with little funds available due to a large cut to the wage bill, and so brought in young Watford striker Uche Ikpeazu on loan, having been impressed by Ikpeazu's performances for Crewe last season.[7] Another former Crewe favourite, A-Jay Leitch-Smith, was also signed after impressing Page during pre-season.[8] The eighth and final summer signing was Ryan Inniss, who was confirmed as joining on a season-long loan from Crystal Palace after being linked with a return to Vale Park for many weeks.[9] On 6 August, Vale signed goalkeeper Jak Alnwick on a short-term deal; he was signed to compete with Sam Johnson for a first-team place as Chris Neal was out injured at the start of the season.[10]

The season opened with the derby against Crewe Alexandra at Gresty Road, and the game ended 0–0 with eight players making their debuts for Vale; Crewe boss Steve Davis admitted Vale were the better team and had man of the match goalkeeper Ben Garratt to thank for the clean sheet.[11] Two days later a third former Newcastle United Academy graduate arrived in striker JJ Hooper, who had scored 20 goals in 29 games the previous season for Havant & Waterlooville.[12] The unbeaten start continued with a 1–1 draw with Gillingham, Louis Dodds scoring the equalising goal to secure the point.[13] An injury-time penalty from Sam Foley then rescued a point away at Swindon Town as Vale twice came from behind against an attractive Swindon side; the penalty was awarded in bizarre circumstances as Jordan Williams handled the ball from a corner to try and stop the game after seeing a teammate lying injured on the pitch.[14] Vale then cruised to a comfortable 3–0 home victory over Doncaster Rovers despite Foley missing a penalty early in the game.[15] Yet another player arrived in the form of central midfielder Jak McCourt, signed on a one-month loan from Leicester City.[16] The unbeaten start to the season came to an end at Bradford City when Devante Cole scored the only goal of the game four minutes into stoppage time.[17]

Vale let slip a two-goal lead over Wigan Athletic on 12 September, but Ikpeazu managed to claim all three points for Vale after Wigan's equalising goalscorer Leon Barnett was sent off for bringing down Andoh.[18] Millwall were the next visitors to Vale Park, and like Wigan had been relegated from the Championship the previous season, but unlike Wigan managed to beat the Vale 2–0 with a professional performance.[19] Vale then travelled to Bury and slipped to a 1–0 defeat in a poor game that was decided by a set-piece.[20] Vale came from behind at Fleetwood Town to win 2–1 after Page substituted top-scorer Ikpeazu for Colin Daniel, who went on to score the equalising goal.[21] The situation was reversed at home to Oldham Athletic, Ikpeazu coming off the bench to secure a point against the division's away draw specialists, though Page again bemoaned his team's habit of conceding form set pieces.[22]

Vale put in a highly impressive performance to defeat Sheffield United 2–1 and climb to within one point of the play-off places.[23] They failed to build on the result however, falling to a 1–0 loss at Southend United; Phil Brown said the Southend performance was the best he had seen as Southend manager.[24] The story before the Peterborough United game was that Jak Alnwick was to line up against his elder brother Ben Alnwick, though the headlines after the game focused on Vale's penalty takers, as Michael O'Connor marked his return from injury by missing a penalty and central midfield partner Foley later missed a second penalty in the game to squander two points in what ended as a 1–1 draw.[25] Vale then had a tough mid-week game at Colchester United, and lost 2–1 after suffering two injuries in the first half.[26] More significantly Andoh suffered damage to his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and was ruled out for the rest of the season.[27] Ikpeazu was sent off 25 minutes into Vale's trip to high-flying Burton Albion, but ironically it was only after the hosts also went down to ten men late into the game that Vale conceded two goals to lose 2–0.[28] Vale ended a poor October with a 2–0 home victory over Shrewsbury Town.[29]

On 14 November, Vale picked up all three points at Oakwell after a 2–1 victory over Barnsley.[30] Less than 40 hours after their FA Cup first round victory, Vale then had a home fixture against Chesterfield on a snow covered pitch, but managed to put in a high quality performance and claim a 3–2 win.[31] Their home game against Blackpool was the players' third game in five days, but they showed no signs of fatigue as two late goals secured a 2–0 victory.[32] They failed to end the month unbeaten however, as they fell to a 2–1 defeat at Rochdale; after the game Page said he was "gobsmacked" by the referee's key decisions to award Rochdale a penalty when Carl Dickinson had "definitely taken the ball", to deny Vale a penalty after Ikpeazu was "absolutely poleaxed" in the penalty box, and to send Dickinson off when he "hasn't touched the lad at all and the lad goes down like he has been shot."[33] Page was nominated for the League One Manager of the Month award.[34]

Despite revelations off-the-pitch and a disappointing FA Cup exit, Vale kept their league form steady on 12 December with a 1–1 home draw with Scunthorpe United.[35] However, they then came away from a trip to high-flying Walsall with a 2–0 defeat in a game that typified the team's unsuccessful negative tactics away from home.[36] Captain Carl Dickinson defended the team's record however, stating that negative fans who booed should "shut up and get behind the team".[37] A trip to the Ricoh Arena on boxing day to face Coventry City seemed to be heading for a goalless draw until Coventry took the lead ten minutes from full-time, leaving Page to rue his team's missed opportunities in the first half.[38] Vale ended the year with a 1–0 home win over Bury, maintaining their excellent form at Vale Park.[39]

A waterlogged pitch meant Vale had to wait until a trip to Blackpool on 9 January to open the year, and Vale managed to continue their good form with a hard-earned 1–0 victory, Leitch-Smith the goalscorer.[40] Their away form remained poor however, as they were well beaten at Millwall on 17 January.[41] The team were then booed off after surrendering a 1–0 lead over ten man Bradford to draw 1–1.[42] Page then entered the transfer market, bringing in Jamaica international striker Theo Robinson and taking Cardiff City winger Matty Kennedy on a one-month loan (which was later extended by two months[43]).[44] Kennedy started the next game, as Leitch-Smith scored both of Vale's goals in a 2–1 win over Doncaster Rovers.[45] However, Vale ended the month with a 3–0 defeat at Wigan following a first-half red card for Ryan McGivern.[46]

Vale began February just a point outside the play-offs after recording what Page described as an "ugly" 1–0 win over Swindon.[47] Vale then outplayed Coventry, but needed a sensational goal from Sam Kelly to win a point and a 1–1 draw.[48] Vale then rounded off a series of three successive home games with a 0–0 draw with Fleetwood.[49] Injury to Alnwick meant that Neal was recalled from his loan spell at Doncaster Rovers for the trip to Sheffield United, which ended in a 1–0 defeat from a Billy Sharp goal.[50] They ended the month with an impressive 3–1 home win over Southend to remain in touch with the play-off places.[51]

Struggling Oldham held Vale to a 1–1 draw on 1 March, having lost their slender lead to a disputed penalty.[52] A 2–0 home win over bottom-club Colchester kept the Vale in touch of the play-offs.[53] The season appeared to be petering out as Vale trailed by 2–0 at half-time at Peterborough, but they turned the game around completely in the second half to claim a 3–2 victory.[54] Page praised the character of his players after revealing eight players had paid to stay in a local hotel the night before to save travelling on the day.[55] However, the next game saw Page apologizing to the fans after league leaders Burton ended Vale's 14-game unbeaten league run at home with a 4–0 win.[56] Vale were heading for a 1–0 victory over Shrewsbury when a late error from Alnwick allowed Sullay Kaikai's long-distance strike to become an equalizing goal.[57] A 1–0 home defeat to play-off chasing Barnsley then ended any realistic hopes of a play-off place for the Vale.[58]

On 2 April, Port Vale collapsed away at Chesterfield, losing a convincing 1–0 half-time lead to lose 4–2; Page described the performance as "embarrassing" and "not acceptable".[59] Seven days later Vale went on to relegate nearby Crewe Alexandra with a comfortable 3–0 home victory, Dodds scoring a brace and Hooper claiming one goal.[60] Vale went on to record a 2–0 win at sixth-place Gillingham using a 3–5–2 formation with McGivern, Streete, and Richard Duffy operating as central defenders.[61] The winning run continued with a comfortable 4–1 victory over Rochdale, before coming to an end with a 1–0 defeat at Scunthorpe.[62][63] Walsall inflicted a heavy 5–0 on Vale on the final game of the season.[64]

Page offered new contracts to 13 out-of-contract players, and opted to release nine players: Lewis Bergin, Achille Campion, Colin Daniel, Omar Haughton (who was later re-signed after Page departed[65]), Jonathon Kapend, Ryan McGivern, Chris Neal, Chekaine Steele, and Theo Robinson.[66] However, Page himself would not stay to see any of these contracts signed, as he left the club to take charge at newly-promoted Northampton Town.[67] The first player to leave the club after rejecting a contract was Louis Dodds, who joined league rivals Shrewsbury Town.[68] He was quickly followed by Richard Duffy, who dropped down two divisions to join National League club Eastleigh.[69] Star midfielder Michael O'Connor, top-scorer A-Jay Leitch-Smith, and club captain Carl Dickinson also confirmed that they would be leaving the club after rejecting the club's new contract offer.[70][71] The last to leave was Enoch Andoh, who could not agree terms with the club despite protracted negotiations.[72]

Finances & ownership issues

[edit]

Chairman Norman Smurthwaite stated that due to falling gate figures the club's wage bill would be cut for the 2015–16 season, meaning a severely reduced contract offer for star striker Tom Pope, who chose to leave the club.[73] In a statement released in March 2017, Smurthwaite stated that on 10 November 2015 he was approached by an American hedge fund consortium who were looking to buy the club.[74] He further stated that a local business also approached the club secretary to purchase the club behind Smurthwaite's back.[74] Following the club's FA Cup exit Smurthwaite officially put the club up for sale, saying that he felt "humiliated, ashamed and embarrassed" after witnessing the team's performance.[75] He set an asking price of £4.25 million, stating "I have never lost money on a transaction in my adult life and I am not starting now".[76] He also stated that plans to sign a striker in the January transfer window would be scrapped.[77] He continued to reveal that he had been physically assaulted by three Vale supporters in April 2014, though Staffordshire Police could find no record of Smurthwaite's complaint.[78] He also admitted that he had been planning on buying Torquay United before being told by the Football League that he would not be allowed to own two clubs.[79] He further claimed that he had considered appointing Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink as manager in September 2014, but decided against it partly because he believed that a racist minority of the club's supporters would make appointing a black manager a bad idea.[80]

"I just feel I have let the club down because I have tried to do everything myself which meant cut costs to put every available penny on to the pitch. Clearly that must be wrong because yesterday if the players had put the same amount of effort into playing as I do into paying them every month we would have knocked that club for six."

— Smurthwaite became disillusioned with the club following the FA Cup defeat.[81]

Smurthwaite signed an exclusivity deal with a local company in February 2016.[82][74] He said that if the club were not sold than next season's budget would be slashed by £800,000 and the playing squad would be reduced; Page said that Smurthwaite's comments were "unwelcome".[83] Ben Purkiss admitted that Smurthwaite's threat to cut player's wages by 40% had a destabilising effect on the squad.[84] The exclusivity agreement ended in early March, with the club back on general sale.[85] Smurthwaite said this was because the company had significantly reduced their offer and admitted that they needed to find further finances to conclude the deal.[74] A consortium from Boston, USA then signed an exclusivity deal on 14 March.[74] Smurthwaite ended the negotiations after finding that the investors had no working capital.[74] Port Vale owed Norman Smurthwaite £3 million as a director's loan at the end of June 2016.[86]

Cup competitions

[edit]

Vale's first opponents in the FA Cup were Maidenhead United of the National League South, who came back from Byron Moore's first half opener to bring about a replay after a stoppage time equaliser.[87] An upset seemed on the cards in the replay when Maidenhead took the lead, but Vale gradually took control of the game and A-Jay Leitch-Smith scored a brace in an eventual 3–1 victory.[88] Smurthwaite was rumoured to have planned to sack Page live on BT Sport if the club lost the game, though he dismissed the rumour as untrue.[89] A trip to mid-table League Two side Exeter City awaited in the second Round, and an all-round "hugely disappointing performance" resulted in a 2–0 defeat.[90] After the game Smurthwaite and Page had a heated confrontation on the pitch, leading to speculation on the manager's future.[91] Had Vale beaten Exeter then they would have had a lucrative home tie with Liverpool in the Third Round.[92]

In the League Cup First Round Vale hosted Burnley, who had been relegated from the Premier League the previous season; Byron Moore scored the only goal of the game on 82 minutes.[93] The Second Round draw took them to Premier League side West Bromwich Albion, and Vale held Tony Pulis's side to a 0–0 draw until the end of extra time before losing the penalty shoot-out.[94]

Vale hosted League Two side Carlisle United in the First Round of the Football League Trophy, and Page named the strongest side at his disposal whilst "Blues" boss Keith Curle left top-scorer Jabo Ibehre on the bench; Uche Ikpeazu scored the only goal of the game as a Vale booked their place in the Second Round.[95] Despite naming a strong team at home to struggling Blackpool, who made eight changes, Page was angered with the team for their performance as they crashed out at the Second round with a 2–1 defeat.[96]

Results

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Pre-season

[edit]
11 July 2015 (2015-07-11) Newcastle Town 0–3 Port Vale Newcastle-under-Lyme
14:30 BST Report Daniel 17'
Brown 28'
Campion 79'
Stadium: Lyme Valley Stadium
Attendance: 1,612
14 July 2015 (2015-07-14) Alsager Town 2–5 Port Vale Alsager
19:30 BST Hill
Johnson 43'
Report Moore
O'Connor 60' (pen.)
Andoh 68'
Daniel 70'
Campion 82'
Stadium: Wood Park Stadium
15 July 2015 (2015-07-15) Kidsgrove Athletic 0–5 Port Vale Kidsgrove
19:30 BST Report Daniel 10'
McGivern 18'
Birchall 46'
Leitch-Smith 73', 83'
Stadium: The Novus Stadium
Attendance: 818
21 July 2015 (2015-07-21) Port Vale 2–1 Notts County Burslem
19:30 BST Dickinson 68'
Dodds 72'
Report Stead 58' Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 768
25 July 2015 (2015-07-25) Port Vale 2–2 Getafe Burslem
15:00 BST Leitch-Smith 6', 45' Report Wanderson Campos 8'
Villameuela 69'
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 1,652
28 July 2015 (2015-07-28) Port Vale 1–2 Bolton Wanderers Burslem
19:30 BST Foley 69' Report Madine 39', 59' Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 1,288
1 August 2015 (2015-08-01) Altrincham 1–2 Port Vale Altrincham
15:00 BST Reeves Report Daniel 28'
Ikpeazu 39'
Stadium: Moss Lane
Attendance: 494

League One

[edit]

League table

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
10 Rochdale 46 19 12 15 68 61 +7 69
11 Sheffield United 46 18 12 16 64 59 +5 66
12 Port Vale 46 18 11 17 56 58 −2 65
13 Peterborough United 46 19 6 21 82 73 +9 63
14 Southend United 46 16 11 19 58 64 −6 59
Updated to match(es) played on 1 July 2016. Source: BBC Sport
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored

Results by matchday

[edit]
Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
GroundAHAHAHHAAHHAHAAHAHHAHAAHAAHAAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
ResultDDDWLWLLWDWLDLLWWWWLDLLWWLDWLWDDLWDWWLDLLWWWLL
Position17151311131214151213811111617151312101111131311101111101089911101099101011131211111212
Source: Statto[97]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

[edit]
8 August 2015 (2015-08-08) 1 Crewe Alexandra 0–0 Port Vale Crewe
15:00 BST Report Stadium: Gresty Road
Attendance: 6,751
Referee: Dean Whitestone
15 August 2015 (2015-08-15) 2 Port Vale 1–1 Gillingham Burslem
15:00 BST Dodds 35' Report Dack 17' Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 5,067
Referee: Fred Graham
18 August 2015 (2015-08-18) 3 Swindon Town 2–2 Port Vale Swindon
19:45 BST Robert 12'
Rodgers 66'
Report Ikpeazu 21'
Foley 90+6' (pen.)
Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 7,026
Referee: Brendan Malone
22 August 2015 (2015-08-22) 4 Port Vale 3–0 Doncaster Rovers Burslem
15:00 BST Foley 35'
Ikpeazu 46'
Moore 88'
Report Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 4,775
Referee: Robert Lewis
29 August 2015 (2015-08-29) 5 Bradford City 1–0 Port Vale Bradford
15:00 BST Cole 90+4' Report Stadium: Valley Parade
Attendance: 17,806
Referee: Jeremy Simpson
12 September 2015 (2015-09-12) 6 Port Vale 3–2 Wigan Athletic Burslem
15:00 BST Grant 34'
Dodds 64'
Ikpeazu 90'
Report McCann 66'
Barnett 83'
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 5,953
Referee: Mark Haywood
15 September 2015 (2015-09-15) 7 Port Vale 0–2 Millwall Burslem
19:45 BST Report Beevers 66'
Gregory 90+2' (pen.)
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 4,477
Referee: Oliver Langford
19 September 2015 (2015-09-19) 8 Bury 1–0 Port Vale Bury
15:00 BST Cameron 78' Report Stadium: Gigg Lane
Attendance: 4,323
Referee: Darren Drysdale
26 September 2015 (2015-09-26) 9 Fleetwood Town 1–2 Port Vale Fleetwood
15:00 BST Grant 14' Report Daniel 56'
Foley 65' (pen.)
Stadium: Highbury Stadium
Attendance: 3,560
Referee: Seb Stockbridge
29 September 2015 (2015-09-29) 10 Port Vale 1–1 Oldham Athletic Burslem
19:45 BST Ikpeazu 70' Report Higdon 35' Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 4,065
Referee: Kevin Johnson
3 October 2015 (2015-10-03) 11 Port Vale 2–1 Sheffield United Burslem
15:00 BST Moore 17'
Ikpeazu 45'
Report Done 90+5' Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 6,822
Referee: Graham Salisbury
10 October 2015 (2015-10-10) 12 Southend United 1–0 Port Vale Southend-on-Sea
15:00 BST Pigott 63' Report Stadium: Roots Hall
Attendance: 6,543
Referee: Iain Williamson
17 October 2015 (2015-10-17) 13 Port Vale 1–1 Peterborough United Burslem
15:00 BST Andoh 40' Report Bostwick 56' (pen.) Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 4,864
Referee: Richard Clark
20 October 2015 (2015-10-20) 14 Colchester United 2–1 Port Vale Colchester
19:45 BST Elokobi 25'
Sordell 73'
Report Daniel 45' Stadium: Colchester Community Stadium
Attendance: 2,785
Referee: Darren Deadman
24 October 2015 (2015-10-24) 15 Burton Albion 2–0 Port Vale Burton upon Trent
15:00 BST Naylor 84'
El Khayati 90'
Report Stadium: Pirelli Stadium
Attendance: 4,076
Referee: David Coote
31 October 2015 (2015-10-31) 16 Port Vale 2–0 Shrewsbury Town Burslem
15:00 GMT Dodds 52'
O'Connor 80' (pen.)
Report Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 4,880
Referee: Darren Handley
14 November 2015 (2015-11-14) 17 Barnsley 1–2 Port Vale Barnsley
15:00 GMT Winnall 77' Report Leitch-Smith 40'
Foley 47'
Stadium: Oakwell
Attendance: 8,696
Referee: Tony Harrington
21 November 2015 (2015-11-21) 18 Port Vale 3–2 Chesterfield Burslem
15:00 GMT Kelly 6'
Leitch-Smith 10'
Dodds 48'
Report Simons 8'
Novak 90'
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 4,420
Referee: Michael Bull
24 November 2015 (2015-11-24) 19 Port Vale 2–0 Blackpool Burslem
19:45 GMT Leitch-Smith 82'
Birchall 86'
Report Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 3,640
Referee: David Webb
28 November 2015 (2015-11-28) 20 Rochdale 2–1 Port Vale Rochdale
15:00 GMT Henderson 40' (pen.)
Mendez-Laing 78'
Report Birchall 13' Stadium: Spotland Stadium
Attendance: 2,510
Referee: Darren England
12 December 2015 (2015-12-12) 21 Port Vale 1–1 Scunthorpe United Burslem
15:00 GMT Leitch-Smith 45+2' Report King 36' Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 3,983
Referee: Lee Collins
20 December 2015 (2015-12-20) 22 Walsall 2–0 Port Vale Walsall
12:00 GMT Cook 64', 83' Report Stadium: Bescot Stadium
Referee: Kevin Wright
26 December 2015 (2015-12-26) 23 Coventry City 1–0 Port Vale Coventry
15:00 GMT Maddison 80' Report Stadium: Ricoh Arena
Attendance: 17,779
Referee: Robert Lewis
28 December 2015 (2015-12-28) 24 Port Vale 1–0 Bury Burslem
15:00 GMT Kelly 57' Report Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 5,467
Referee: James Adcock
9 January 2016 (2016-01-09) 25 Blackpool 0–1 Port Vale Blackpool
15:00 GMT Report Leitch-Smith 49' Stadium: Bloomfield Road
Attendance: 6,527
Referee: Seb Stockbridge
17 January 2016 (2016-01-17) 26 Millwall 3–1 Port Vale New Cross
15:00 GMT Gregory 14', 34'
Morison 44'
Report Hooper 61' Stadium: The Den
Attendance: 7,773
Referee: Andy Davies
23 January 2016 (2016-01-23) 27 Port Vale 1–1 Bradford City Burslem
15:00 GMT Leitch-Smith 2' Report Proctor 65' Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 4,849
Referee: Lee Swabey
26 January 2016 (2016-01-26) 28 Doncaster Rovers 1–2 Port Vale Doncaster
19:45 GMT Evina 88' Report Leitch-Smith 6', 65' Stadium: Keepmoat Stadium
Attendance: 4,799
Referee: Geoff Eltringham
30 January 2016 (2016-01-30) 29 Wigan Athletic 3–0 Port Vale Wigan
15:00 GMT Duffy 7' (og.)
Grigg 41' (pen.), 69'
Report Stadium: DW Stadium
Attendance: 9,627
Referee: Darren Drysdale
2 February 2016 (2016-02-02) 30 Port Vale 1–0 Swindon Town Burslem
19:45 GMT Dickinson 6' Report Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 3,256
Referee: Peter Bankes
7 February 2016 (2016-02-07) 31 Port Vale 1–1 Coventry City Burslem
14:00 GMT Kelly 84' Report Murphy 42' Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 6,320
Referee: Phil Gibbs
13 February 2016 (2016-02-13) 32 Port Vale 0–0 Fleetwood Town Burslem
15:00 GMT Report Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 4,194
Referee: Charles Breakspear
20 February 2016 (2016-02-20) 33 Sheffield United 1–0 Port Vale Sheffield
15:00 GMT Sharp 50' Report Stadium: Bramall Lane
Attendance: 18,276
Referee: Ben Toner
26 February 2016 (2016-02-26) 34 Port Vale 3–1 Southend United Burslem
19:45 GMT Dickinson 18'
O'Connor 38'
Coker 40' (og.)
Report McQueen 90+3' Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 3,957
Referee: Andy Haines
1 March 2016 (2016-03-01) 35 Oldham Athletic 1–1 Port Vale Oldham
19:45 GMT Kelly 68' Report Foley 60' Stadium: Boundary Park
Attendance: 3,507
Referee: Darren Handley
5 March 2016 (2016-03-05) 36 Port Vale 2–0 Colchester United Burslem
15:00 GMT Robinson 9'
Foley 73'
Report Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 4,116
Referee: Jeremy Simpson
12 March 2016 (2016-03-12) 37 Peterborough United 2–3 Port Vale Peterborough
15:00 GMT Taylor 2'
Williams 41'
Report Moore 49'
Hooper 86'
Dodds 89'
Stadium: London Road Stadium
Attendance: 4,942
Referee: Darren Bond
19 March 2016 (2016-03-19) 38 Port Vale 0–4 Burton Albion Burslem
15:00 GMT Report Akins 34'
Grant 45+1' (og.)
Duffy 50'
Butcher 60'
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 6,157
Referee: Eddie Ilderton
25 March 2016 (2016-03-25) 39 Shrewsbury Town 1–1 Port Vale Shrewsbury
15:00 GMT Kaikai 73' Report Dodds 60' Stadium: New Meadow
Attendance: 7,019
Referee: Mark Heywood
28 March 2016 (2016-03-28) 40 Port Vale 0–1 Barnsley Burslem
15:00 BST Report Hourihane 9' Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 4,839
Referee: Scott Duncan
2 April 2016 (2016-04-02) 41 Chesterfield 4–2 Port Vale Chesterfield
15:00 BST Campbell-Ryce 47'
Hird 60'
Ariyibi 73'
O'Shea 83'
Report Leitch-Smith 36'
Hooper 70'
Stadium: Proact Stadium
Attendance: 5,917
Referee: Kevin Wright
9 April 2016 (2016-04-09) 42 Port Vale 3–0 Crewe Alexandra Burslem
15:00 BST Dodds 3', 83'
Hooper 90+2'
Report Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 5,771
Referee: Paul Tierney
16 April 2016 (2016-04-16) 43 Gillingham 0–2 Port Vale Gillingham, Kent
15:00 BST Report Leitch-Smith 19'
Dickinson 21'
Stadium: Priestfield Stadium
Attendance: 5,887
Referee: Ross Joyce
23 April 2016 (2016-04-23) 44 Port Vale 4–1 Rochdale Burslem
15:00 BST Robinson 37'
O'Connor 45' (pen.), pen.'
Hooper 46'
Report Andrew 50' Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 4,380
Referee: Nick Kinseley
30 April 2016 (2016-04-30) 45 Scunthorpe United 1–0 Port Vale Scunthorpe
15:00 BST Madden 61' Report Stadium: Glanford Park
Attendance: 7,275
Referee: Ben Toner
8 May 2016 (2016-05-08) 46 Port Vale 0–5 Walsall Burslem
15:00 BST Report Downing 23'
Bradshaw 26'
Forde 38', 67'
Mantom 71'
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 8,595
Referee: Nigel Miller

FA Cup

[edit]
8 November 2015 (2015-11-08) 1 Port Vale 1–1 Maidenhead United Burslem
15:00 Moore 31' Report Mulley 90+4' Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 3,977
Referee: Adrian Holmes
19 November 2015 (2015-11-19) Replay Maidenhead United 1–3 Port Vale Maidenhead
19:45 Massey 15' Report O'Connor 35'
Leitch-Smith 49', 57'
Stadium: York Road
Attendance: 2,212
Referee: Dean Whitestone
6 December 2015 (2015-12-06) 2 Exeter City 2–0 Port Vale Exeter
14:00 Tillson 19'
Watkins 89'
Report Stadium: St James Park
Attendance: 3,565
Referee: Trevor Kettle

League Cup

[edit]
10 August 2015 1 Port Vale 1–0 Burnley Burslem
19:45 BST Moore 82' Report Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 4,634
Referee: Trevor Kettle
25 August 2015 2 West Bromwich Albion 0–0
(5–3 p)
Port Vale West Bromwich
20:00 BST Report Stadium: The Hawthorns
Attendance: 13,915
Referee: Keith Stroud
Penalties
Lambert soccer ball with check mark
Yacob soccer ball with check mark
McManaman soccer ball with check mark
McClean soccer ball with check mark
Chester soccer ball with check mark
Leitch-Smith soccer ball with check mark
Duffy soccer ball with red X
Purkiss soccer ball with check mark
Foley soccer ball with check mark

Football League Trophy

[edit]
1 September 2015 (2015-09-01) 1 Port Vale 1–0 Carlisle United Burslem
19:45 BST Ikpeazu 60' Report Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 2,571
Referee: Darren England
6 October 2015 (2015-10-06) 2 Port Vale 1–2 Blackpool Burslem
19:45 BST Grant 52' (pen.) Report Rivers 44'
Robertson 56'
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 2,720
Referee: Mark Heywood

Squad statistics

[edit]

Appearances and goals

[edit]
Pos. # Name League One FA Cup League Cup Football League Trophy Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK 1 England Chris Neal 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
DF 2 England Ben Purkiss 39 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 45 0
DF 3 England Carl Dickinson 44 3 2 0 2 0 2 0 50 3
DF 4 England Remie Streete 13 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 18 0
DF 5 Northern Ireland Ryan McGivern 28 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 32 0
DF 6 Wales Richard Duffy 45 0 3 0 2 0 2 0 52 0
MF 7 Trinidad and Tobago Chris Birchall 10 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 12 2
MF 8 Northern Ireland Michael O'Connor 26 4 3 1 0 0 0 0 29 5
FW 10 England Louis Dodds 37 8 3 0 2 0 2 0 44 8
MF 11 Republic of Ireland Sam Foley 45 6 3 0 2 0 0 0 50 6
GK 12 England Sam Johnson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF 14 England Colin Daniel 20 2 2 0 1 0 2 0 25 2
FW 15 England JJ Hooper 28 5 1 0 0 0 1 0 30 5
DF 16 England Adam Yates 11 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 12 0
MF 17 England Michael Brown 13 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 14 0
MF 18 Republic of Ireland Sam Kelly 28 3 1 0 2 0 0 0 31 3
MF 19 England Byron Moore 36 3 2 1 2 1 1 0 41 5
FW 20 England A-Jay Leitch-Smith 37 10 3 2 2 0 1 0 43 12
GK 21 England Jak Alnwick 41 0 3 0 2 0 2 0 48 0
MF 22 England Ryan Lloyd 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
GK 23 England Ryan Boot 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DF 24 England Nathan Smith 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW 25 Jamaica Theo Robinson 14 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 2
DF 26 England Ryan Inniss 15 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 17 0
MF 27 Ghana Enoch Andoh 12 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 16 1
FW 28 France Achille Campion 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW 30 England Dan Turner 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MF 31 Wales Billy Reeves 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DF 32 England Lewis Bergin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF 33 England Chekaine Steele 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW 34 England Jonny Kapend 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF 35 England Omar Haughton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF 42 Jamaica Anthony Grant 38 1 3 0 2 0 2 1 45 2
Players that left the club mid-season:
FW 9 Uganda Uche Ikpeazu 21 5 3 0 2 0 2 1 28 6
MF 9 Northern Ireland Matty Kennedy 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 0
MF 25 England Jak McCourt 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0
DF 38 Sierra Leone Aziz Deen-Conteh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Top scorers

[edit]
Place Position Nation Number Name League One FA Cup League Cup Football League Trophy Total
1 FW  England 20 A-Jay Leitch-Smith 10 2 0 0 12
2 FW  England 10 Louis Dodds 8 0 0 0 8
3 MF  Ireland 11 Sam Foley 6 0 0 0 6
FW  Uganda 9 Uche Ikpeazu 5 0 0 1 6
5 MF  England 15 JJ Hooper 5 0 0 0 5
MF  England 19 Byron Moore 3 1 1 0 5
MF  Northern Ireland 8 Michael O'Connor 4 1 0 0 5
8 MF  England 3 Carl Dickinson 3 0 0 0 3
MF  Ireland 18 Sam Kelly 3 0 0 0 3
10 MF  Trinidad 7 Chris Birchall 2 0 0 0 2
MF  England 14 Colin Daniel 2 0 0 0 2
MF  Jamaica 42 Anthony Grant 1 0 0 1 2
FW  Jamaica 25 Theo Robinson 2 0 0 0 2
14 MF  Ghana 27 Enoch Andoh 1 0 0 0 1
Own goals 1 0 0 0 1
TOTALS 56 4 1 2 63

Disciplinary record

[edit]
Number Nation Position Name League One FA Cup League Cup League Trophy Total
Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card
3  England DF Carl Dickinson 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
9  Uganda FW Uche Ikpeazu 3 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 5 1
5  Northern Ireland DF Ryan McGivern 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1
42  Jamaica MF Anthony Grant 13 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 15 0
6  Wales DF Richard Duffy 11 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 14 0
11  Ireland MF Sam Foley 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 7 0
8  Northern Ireland MF Michael O'Connor 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
21  England GK Jak Alnwick 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0
18  Ireland MF Sam Kelly 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
2  England DF Ben Purkiss 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
4  England DF Remie Streete 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 4 0
14  England MF Colin Daniel 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
26  England DF Ryan Inniss 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
9  Northern Ireland MF Matty Kennedy 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
7  Trinidad MF Chris Birchall 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
17  England MF Michael Brown 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
15  England FW JJ Hooper 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
20  England FW A-Jay Leitch-Smith 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
25  England MF Jak McCourt 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
19  England MF Byron Moore 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
TOTALS 71 3 5 0 7 0 3 0 86 3

Sourced from Soccerway.[98]

Awards

[edit]
End of Season Awards Winner[99]
Player of the Year Anthony Grant
Away Travel Player of the Year Louis Dodds
Supporters' Club's Trophy Anthony Grant
Players' Player of the Year Anthony Grant
Young Player of the Year Jak Alnwick
Youth Player of the Year Dan Turner
Goal of the Season Sam Kelly (vs Coventry City, 7 February 2016)

Transfers

[edit]

Transfers in

[edit]
Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref.
1 July 2015 MF Republic of Ireland Sam Foley Yeovil Town Free transfer [5]
1 July 2015 MF Jamaica Anthony Grant Crewe Alexandra Free transfer [6]
1 July 2015 MF Republic of Ireland Sam Kelly Norwich City Free transfer [4]
1 July 2015 DF England Ben Purkiss Walsall Free transfer [6]
1 July 2015 DF England Remie Streete Newcastle United Free transfer [4]
20 July 2015 FW England A-Jay Leitch-Smith Yeovil Town Free transfer [8]
6 August 2015 GK England Jak Alnwick Newcastle United Free transfer [10]
10 August 2015 FW England JJ Hooper Havant & Waterlooville £8,400 (compensation) [100]
25 January 2016 FW Jamaica Theo Robinson Scotland Motherwell Free transfer [44]

Transfers out

[edit]
Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref.
29 January 2016 DF Sierra Leone Aziz Deen-Conteh Moldova Zaria Bălți Released [101][102]
8 May 2016 FW France Achille Campion Republic of Ireland Sligo Rovers Released [103]
13 May 2016 DF England Lewis Bergin Newcastle Town Released [104]
13 May 2016 FW England Colin Daniel Blackpool Released [105]
13 May 2016 FW England Jonathon Kapend Nantwich Town Released [106]
13 May 2016 DF Northern Ireland Ryan McGivern Shrewsbury Town Released [107]
13 May 2016 GK England Chris Neal Fleetwood Town Released [108]
13 May 2016 MF England Chekaine Steele Worcester City Released [66][109]
13 May 2016 FW Jamaica Theo Robinson Lincoln City Released [110]
26 May 2016 FW England Louis Dodds Shrewsbury Town Rejected contract [68]
27 May 2016 DF Wales Richard Duffy Eastleigh Rejected contract [69]
27 May 2016 MF Northern Ireland Michael O'Connor Notts County Rejected contract [111]
31 May 2016 FW England A-Jay Leitch-Smith Shrewsbury Town Rejected contract [107]
17 June 2016 FW England Byron Moore Bristol Rovers Rejected contract [112]
23 June 2016 DF England Carl Dickinson Notts County Rejected contract [113]
1 July 2016 MF Trinidad and Tobago Chris Birchall Kidsgrove Athletic Rejected contract [114]
5 July 2016 MF Ghana Enoch Andoh Whitehawk Rejected contract [72]

Loans in

[edit]
Date from Position Nationality Name From Date until Ref.
13 July 2015 FW Uganda Uche Ikpeazu Watford 2 January 2016 [7]
27 July 2015 DF England Ryan Inniss Crystal Palace End of season [9]
28 August 2015 MF England Jak McCourt Leicester City 26 September 2015 [16]
25 January 2016 MF Northern Ireland Matty Kennedy Cardiff City 7 April 2016 [115]

Loans out

[edit]
Date from Position Nationality Name To Date until Ref.
27 July 2015 DF England Nathan Smith Torquay United End of season [116]
11 August 2015 DF Sierra Leone Aziz Deen-Conteh Boston United 12 September 2015 [117]
24 August 2015 DF England Adam Yates Northampton Town 8 September 2015 [118]
25 August 2015 DF England Lewis Bergin Kidsgrove Athletic End of season [119]
28 August 2015 FW England Jonathon Kapend Stafford Rangers 26 September 2015 [120]
28 August 2015 MF England Chekaine Steele Buxton 26 September 2015 [120]
11 September 2015 MF England Omar Haughton Newcastle Town 9 October 2015 [121]
29 October 2015 FW France Achille Campion Torquay United 29 November 2015 [122]
6 November 2015 MF Wales Billy Reeves Witton Albion 6 February 2016 [123]
24 November 2015 MF England Ryan Lloyd Chester End of season [124]
27 November 2015 GK England Sam Johnson F.C. Halifax Town End of season [125]
29 January 2016 MF England Omar Haughton Leek Town End of season [126]
29 January 2016 MF England Chekaine Steele Witton Albion 27 February 2016 [127]
1 February 2016 GK England Chris Neal Doncaster Rovers 20 February 2016 [128]
12 February 2016 FW England Jonathon Kapend Kidsgrove Athletic 12 March 2016 [129]
12 February 2016 MF Wales Billy Reeves Hyde United 12 March 2016 [129]
23 February 2016 FW England Colin Daniel Mansfield Town End of season [130]
18 March 2016 GK England Chris Neal Bury End of season [131]

References

[edit]
Specific
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