2022–23 Port Vale F.C. season
Port Vale 2022–23 football season / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2022–23 season was Port Vale's 111th season in the English Football League, and first season back in EFL League One following promotion out of EFL League Two with victory in the 2022 EFL League Two play-off final. The season covers the period from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023.
2022–23 season | ||||
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Owner | Synsol Holdings Limited | |||
Chair | Carol Shanahan | |||
Manager | Darrell Clarke (until 17 April)[1] Andy Crosby (interim from 17 April)[1] | |||
Stadium | Vale Park | |||
League One | 18th (49 points) | |||
FA Cup | First round (knocked out by Exeter City) | |||
EFL Cup | First round (knocked out by Rotherham United) | |||
EFL Trophy | Round of 16 (knocked out by Salford City) | |||
Player of the Year | Nathan Smith | |||
Top goalscorer | League: Ellis Harrison (11) All: Ellis Harrison (11) | |||
Highest home attendance | 11,336 vs. Sheffield Wednesday, 1 October 2022 | |||
Lowest home attendance | 1,090 vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers U21, 18 October 2022 | |||
Average home league attendance | 7,681 | |||
Biggest win | 4–0 vs. Shrewsbury Town, 20 September 2022 | |||
Biggest defeat | 0–4 (twice) | |||
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In a compacted pre-season, the club signed seven players permanently and brought in a further six on loan, whilst six first-team players were moved on. Having won their opening game on 30 July, Vale picked up four points from five games in August, whilst they exited the EFL Cup in the first round. Summer signing Ellis Harrison soon found his form though, scoring five goals from seven league games, whilst the Vale qualified for the knock-out stages of the EFL Trophy with one group game to spare. Despite facing a difficult run of fixtures in October, they picked up ten points to firmly establish themselves in mid-table. They added four points from four league games in November and also advanced into the Round of 16 of the EFL Trophy. Vale ended 2022 in ninth place, though were knocked out of the EFL Trophy by Salford City.
Port Vale had a quiet January transfer window, with two loan signings coming and three senior players outgoing permanently. They went on to pick up just four points from seven league games in February but stabilised in March as attacking talent came back to fitness. However, one point from four games saw manager Darrell Clarke sacked on 17 April, with assistant manager Andy Crosby given the task of keeping the club out of the relegation zone as interim manager. The club's final total of 49 points was enough to secure an eighteenth-place finish, four points above the relegation zone, and Crosby was given the job permanently.