PORT VALE - HOME SHIRT 2023/2024
Port Vale, founded in 1876, are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. Known as The Valiants - a nickname bestowed by chairman Frank Huntbach in 1920 - they have called Vale Park home since 1950, a ground once dubbed "The Wembley of the North" for its scale. Port Vale hold a record no club celebrates: more seasons in the English Football League than any other side without ever reaching the top flight.
The 2023/2024 campaign, in which this classic home shirt was worn, was the season Vale's three-year (two season) stay in League One came to an end. The omens were not good - the campaign opened with a 7-0 defeat at Barnsley, the heaviest EFL opening-day loss in sixty years. Andy Crosby was relieved of his duties on 5 February following a defeat to Fleetwood, interim John Schofield steadied the ship for two games, and former Sheffield Wednesday and West Brom boss Darren Moore was appointed on 13 February. The decline continued and Vale ultimately finished 23rd in League One on 41 points (W10 D11 L25).
What this season is best remembered for, then, are the cup nights. Vale produced their best EFL Cup run in over a decade, knocking out Fleetwood, Sutton United and Mansfield Town to reach the quarter-finals - only to lose 3-0 at home to Championship side Middlesbrough. The FA Cup ended in a second-round replay defeat to Stevenage on penalties despite Ben Garrity's brace in the tie, and the EFL Trophy run ended at the second-round stage with a defeat to Bolton.
Midfielders Ben Garrity and Ethan Chislett were the club's top scorers in the league with 9 goals each, with Chislett also grabbing the most assists for the club. The two took vastly different career paths after that. Garrity opted to stay despite relegation whilst, after a season in League Two, Chislett joined South African giants Kaizer Chiefs on a free!
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