In what could potentially be considered a slightly weaker League Two renewal, plenty of teams will fancy their chances of taking the title, or even more simply gaining promotion this term.
It is fair to say that the league lost a few rather ‘big’ teams, all who to promotion last season. Stockport County were only a kick away from promotion the season prior and rightly took the title, Wrexham’s finances and transfer budget have been well documented and the club are now in a position to really challenge in the third tier, whereas Mansfield Town have been knocking on the door for a number of years.
There are some slight question marks surrounding Crawley Town, who look up against it in League One, as do any team who gain promotion via the play-offs, just look at Carlisle United the season prior, but they were one of the best teams in the division for the second half of the season. With three, potentially four, notable teams gaining promotion, the attention switches to the four sides who were relegated from the third tier.
Carlisle struggled massively last term but better is expected, the same goes for Fleetwood Town but there are question marks surrounding both. Cheltenham Town‘s squad has been torn apart in the window thus far and they really don’t look as if they are a side who will be fighting for promotion in the forthcoming season. The other relegated team, who actually finished below both Cheltenham and Fleetwood last season was Port Vale, but it is the Valiants who look in the best place to gain an immediate promotion back into England’s third tier.
As soon as Darren Moore took charge of the club in mid-February it was clear that the future was in mind. That was partly down to the five-and-a-half-year contract that he was handed but nonetheless there seems to be a clear indication of direction. Moore couldn’t keep Vale up, nor did they really improve under him but in fairness he didn’t ever have the chance to bring in the sort of players that he wanted.
However, now being given the summer transfer window its fair to say that there has been a huge overhaul at the club from a players perspective. That is despite the fact that at the time of writing only seven of last season’s squad have left the club. Those being ; James Wilson, Gavin Massey, Jayson Leutwiler, Alex Iacovitti, Lewis Cass, Ryan Loft and Uche Ikpeazu.
Despite there being one or two decent names on that list, the significance of the incomings this summer greatly outweigh those departures.
The signing of George Byers is a major coup, and it came as a huge surprise to see him drop down from Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship all the way down to League Two. Given the Valiants beat Oxford United to his signature, it is clear that there is something building at the club.
Byers, who has spent the majority of his career playing in the Championship for the likes of Wednesday and Swansea City, is no doubt the name who will grab the headlines but their business goes far deeper than just the signing of the 28-year-old.
Plenty of experience has also been added to the Valiants’ ranks through the signings of Ryan Croasdale, who is fresh off of the back of winning the League Two title with Stockport County, as well as former promotion winner Connor Hall who despite maybe not having the best season with Colchester United, did previously have a successful spell with the club. Add the signings of Ben Amos and Sam Hart to the mix and it could already be considered a successful window, and that’s without even looking at the new attacking options.
The forwards areas have seen the biggest overhaul of the lot, with Ronan Curtis, Jayden Stockley, Ruari Paton and Lorent Tolaj all being brought in this summer.
It came as a bit of surprise that Curtis didn’t step back up to League One after recovering from a nasty injury and then impressing for AFC Wimbledon last term. On his day, he is one of the most exciting players in the league and is another with plenty of experience. The same can be said about Jayden Stockley, who joins from rivals Fleetwood and the attack already looks rather lethal.
Furthering that, the future of the forward line looks to be forming through the signings of youngsters Ruari Paton and Lorent Tolaj. The former would net 17 times for Queens Park in the Scottish Championship last term whilst the latter would put up 27 goal contributions in the National League for Aldershot and could still have untapped potential despite a previous spell in the league with Salford City not working out.
Sometimes after a relegation, we see a shift in a club’s ambitions as well as the set-up, just look at Forest Green Rovers for example. That isn’t present at Vale Park and its clear that they’re targeting an immediate promotion back into the third tier.
With all of the incomings, it may take a bit of time for the squad to gel. They’ve not exactly set the world alight in pre-season, beating Newcastle Town, scraping a 1-0 win against Kidsgrove Athletic, drawing with Rushall Olympic and then losing to Leek Town, Coventry City and then most recently Bath City but it has to be remembered, this is only pre-season.
Moore has experimented with a number of different lineups and formations during this time and should now have more of an idea going into their final preparation matches.
Don’t be surprised if they do make somewhat of a slow start to the forthcoming season down to both adjusting to life in League Two again as well as the amount of players who have arrived through the doors at Vale Park. Then again, looking at their first five fixtures, Salford City, Tranmere Rovers, Barrow, Doncaster Rovers and then Newport County, they may well make a good start, which could indeed lead them to being the favourites for the title.
Although they’re not deemed the current favourites, that being Chesterfield, there’s a lot to like about the current project and their transfer business is arguably the strongest in League Two. It’s now all about seeing these ambitions come to fruition on the pitch and fans will be hoping for far more of an enjoyable season than that of last term.
