2006–07 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale

2006–07 season
Chairman	Bill Bratt
Manager	Martin Foyle
Stadium	Vale Park
Football League One	12th (60 Points)
FA Cup	Second Round
League Cup	Fourth Round
Football League Trophy	Second Round
Player of the Year	Akpo Sodje
Top goalscorer	League: Leon Constantine (22) All: Leon Constantine (26)
Highest home attendance	7,388 vs. Nottingham Forest (26 September 2006)
Lowest home attendance	3,077 vs. Gillingham (5 December 2006)
Average home league attendance	4,726
Home colours Away colours
← 2005–06 2007–08 →

The 2006–07 season was Port Vale's 95th season of football in the Football League, and third successive season in League One. Martin Foyle's side again finished in mid-table, whilst exiting the FA Cup and the League Trophy at the Second Round. Vale, notoriously poor performers in the League Cup, managed to reach the Fourth Round for the first time, at which point they were beaten by top-flight Tottenham Hotspur. Strike partners Leon Constantine and Akpo Sodje put in a 42 goal partnership, with Sodje picking up the club's Player of the Year award. At the end of the season top-scorer Constantine left the club, as did senior midfielder Danny Sonner, scuppering Foyle's long-term plans.

Manager Martin Foyle.

Player of the Year Akpo Sodje.

Top-scorer Leon Constantine.

Overview

League One

The pre-season saw Martin Foyle make a number of signings, including: Danny Sonner (Peterborough United);^[1] Jason Talbot (Mansfield Town);^[2] Paul Harsley (Macclesfield Town);^[3] Richard Walker (Crewe Alexandra);^[2] Danny Whitaker (Macclesfield Town); Colin Miles (Yeovil Town);^[4] and Akpo Sodje (Darlington).^[2] He also took Stefan Moore on loan from Queens Park Rangers,^[5] and utility player Ritchie Humphreys from Hartlepool United.^[6] Youth team player Danny Glover, son of assistant manager Dean Glover, was also given a squad number.

The season started with Vale in fine form, winning their first four games. His four goals meant Constantine was named the division's Player of the Month for August.^[7] This run came to a halt with four defeats in the next five games, Vale scoring just three goals. In November, Ross Gardner was signed on loan from Nottingham Forest, and would join permanently in the January transfer window.^[8] Foyle also signed defender Clayton Fortune on a season long loan for a second time, this time from Leyton Orient.^[9] Heading into December with just three wins in fifteen league games, they won their first four games, with Constantine hitting five of Vale's nine goals. In January, Foyle splashed out £30,000 on Crewe Alexandra striker Luke Rodgers. He also signed former teammate Paul Musselwhite as an emergency back-up goalkeeper following an injury to Mark Goodlad,^[10] as well as Cardiff City midfielder Malvin Kamara.^[11] He also turned down an offer from Barnsley of £200,000 (plus Marc Richards) for Constantine,^[12] who claimed to be happy at Vale Park.^[13] However he did sell skilful winger Jeff Smith to Carlisle United for £60,000.^[14] Also leaving Burslem was Louis Briscoe, who was allowed to join Leek Town.^[15] Vale's form had left them once again, as they failed to pick up a win in a sequence of seven games. In February, defender Rhys Weston joined on a short-term contract, having left Norwegian club Viking FK.^[16] On 10 March, Vale travelled to the Don Valley Stadium, and Sodje managed to hit four goals past the Rotherham United defence to give Vale a 5–1 win.^[17] This gave Vale fans a sliver of hope of reaching the play-offs, but Vale failed to string two wins together in their final nine games, despite a 3–0 win over nearby Crewe Alexandra.

They finished in twelfth place with sixty points, a clear distance from both the play-off and the relegation zones. They again had the lowest numbers of draws in the division, recording just six stalemates. Constantine was the second-highest scorer in the division after Billy Sharp of Scunthorpe United. Player of the Year Sodje also hit sixteen goals. Captain George Pilkington and midfielder Danny Whitaker missed just two games between them all season.

At the end of the season a number of players were released: Nathan Lowndes (Chester City); George Abbey (Crewe Alexandra); Rhys Weston (Walsall); Michael Husbands (Macclesfield Town);^[18] Christian Smith (Clyde); Ross Gardner (Ilkeston Town);^[19] Malvin Kamara (Huddersfield Town);^[20] Michael Walsh and Mark Soboljew. Leon Constantine also decided against signing a new contract at Vale, and instead joined Leeds United.^[21] Danny Sonner also rejected his contract offer, and moved on to Walsall,^[22] but not before making a parting shot at the club's leadership.^[23]

Finances

The club had to make monthly repayments of around £19,000 for a £2.25 million loan taken out from the local council in 2005.^[24] The club's shirt sponsorship came from local company BGC Gas.

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale advanced past League Two side Lincoln City with a 2–1 victory at Sincil Bank.^[25] However they then were on the end of a 4–0 hiding from Hereford United at Edgar Street in the Second Round.

In the League Cup, Vale faced Preston North End, who they defeated with goals from Sodje and Constantine.^[26] The "Valiants" then vanquished Queens Park Rangers 3–2 in the Second Round.^[27] This left them facing Norwich City, the third Championship club of the season to travel to Burslem in the League Cup. Vale against upset the odds by winning the penalty shoot-out 3–2 following a goalless draw against a strong "Canary" side.^[28] Premier League Tottenham Hotspur awaited in the Fourth Round, who at White Hart Lane proved to be too much of a challenge for the Vale. Constantine put Vale into the lead, but a Tom Huddlestone goal took the game into extra-time, before both Huddlestone and Jermain Defoe scored to give "Spurs" a 3–1 win, thus saving Martin Jol's blushes.^[29] This represented the club's greatest achievement in the competition, as Vale had never reached the Fourth Round before.

In the League Trophy, Vale advanced past Scunthorpe United after winning on penalties at Glanford Park.^[30] They then had a home tie with local rivals Crewe Alexandra. The "Railwaymen" won the game 3–2 despite a brace from Constantine.

Final league table

			P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
C	1	Scunthorpe United	46	26	13	7	73	35	+38	91
P	2	Bristol City	46	25	10	11	63	39	+24	85
P	3	Blackpool	46	24	11	11	76	49	+27	83
	4	Nottingham Forest	46	23	13	10	65	41	+24	82
	5	Yeovil Town	46	23	10	13	55	39	+16	79
	6	Oldham Athletic	46	21	12	13	69	47	+22	75
	7	Swansea City	46	20	12	14	69	53	+16	72
	8	Carlisle United	46	19	11	16	54	55	−1	68
	9	Tranmere Rovers	46	18	13	15	58	53	+5	67
	10	Millwall	46	19	9	18	59	62	−3	66
	11	Doncaster Rovers	46	16	15	15	52	47	+5	63
	12	Port Vale	46	18	6	22	64	65	−1	60
	13	Crewe Alexandra	46	17	9	20	66	72	−6	60
	14	Northampton Town	46	15	14	17	48	51	−3	59
	15	Huddersfield Town	46	14	17	15	60	69	−9	59
	16	Gillingham	46	17	8	21	56	77	−21	59
	17	Cheltenham Town	46	15	9	22	49	61	−12	54
	18	Brighton and Hove Albion	46	14	11	21	49	58	−9	53
	19	Bournemouth	46	13	13	20	50	64	−14	52
	20	Leyton Orient	46	12	15	19	61	77	−16	51
R	21	Chesterfield	46	12	11	23	45	53	−8	47
R	22	Bradford City	46	11	14	21	47	65	−18	47
R	23	Rotherham United	46	13	9	24	58	75	−17	38*
R	24	Brentford	46	8	13	25	40	79	−39	37

* Deducted 10 points for going into administration

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H
Result	W	W	W	W	L	L	W	L	L	L	D	W	L	W	L	D	L	L	L	W	W	W	W	L	L	D	L	L	D	L	W	L	W	L	W	D	W	L	W	D	L	L	W	L	L	W
Position	1	1	1	1	2	3	3	3	4	7	9	8	10	7	9	10	13	14	17	15	12	9	9	10	11	11	11	11	13	15	12	16	14	15	13	13	12	12	11	12	12	14	12	14	15	12

Sourced from Statto.^[31]

Football League One

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
5 August 2006	Leyton Orient	H	3–0	5,631	Constantine (2), Sodje
8 August 2006	Oldham Athletic	A	1–0	4,975	Sodje
12 August 2006	Cheltenham Town	A	1–0	4,309	Constantine
19 August 2006	Chesterfield	H	3–2	5,622	Constantine (2), Pilkington
26 August 2006	Yeovil Town	A	0–1	4,827
3 September 2006	Doncaster Rovers	H	1–2	4,862	Whitaker
9 September 2006	Blackpool	H	2–1	5,171	Constantine, Sodje
12 September 2006	Scunthorpe United	A	0–3	3,473
16 September 2006	Bradford City	A	0–2	7,829
23 September 2006	Bristol City	H	0–2	5,295
26 September 2006	Nottingham Forest	H	1–1	7,388	Husbands
30 September 2006	Northampton Town	A	2–0	5,316	Pilkington, Moore
8 October 2006	Rotherham United	H	1–3	4,810	Constantine (pen)
13 October 2006	Tranmere Rovers	A	2–1	7,866	Smith, Constantine
21 October 2006	Huddersfield Town	H	1–2	5,225	Constantine
28 October 2006	Millwall	A	1–1	10,189	Sodje
4 November 2006	Crewe Alexandra	A	1–2	7,632	Abbey
18 November 2006	Swansea City	H	0–2	4,615
25 November 2006	Carlisle United	A	2–3	7,543	Harsley, Smith
5 December 2006	Gillingham	H	2–0	3,077	Gardner, Constantine
9 December 2006	Bournemouth	A	4–0	4,538	Constantine (2), Pilkington, Sodje
16 December 2006	Brentford	H	1–0	4,166	Pilkington
23 December 2006	Brighton and Hove Albion	H	2–1	4,349	Constantine (2 [1 pen])
26 December 2006	Nottingham Forest	A	0–3	22,999
30 December 2006	Bristol City	A	1–2	12,776	Smith
1 January 2007	Scunthorpe United	H	0–0	4,869
6 January 2007	Bradford City	H	0–1	4,146
13 January 2007	Blackpool	A	1–2	6,661	Sodje (pen)
27 January 2007	Brighton and Hove Albion	A	0–0	5,177
3 February 2007	Leyton Orient	A	1–2	4,295	Gardner
6 February 2007	Northampton Town	H	1–0	3,353	Whitaker
17 February 2007	Chesterfield	A	0–3	3,752
20 February 2007	Oldham Athletic	H	3–0	4,061	Whitaker, Pilkington, Constantine (pen)
24 February 2007	Doncaster Rovers	A	0–1	7,848
3 March 2007	Yeovil Town	H	4–2	4,202	Constantine (2), Whitaker, Rose (og)
6 March 2007	Cheltenham Town	H	1–0	3,340	Kamara
10 March 2007	Rotherham United	A	5–1	3,854	Sodje (4), Pilkington
17 March 2007	Tranmere Rovers	H	2–3	4,809	Sonner, Constantine
24 March 2007	Millwall	H	2–0	3,973	Whitaker, Sodje
31 March 2007	Huddersfield Town	A	2–2	10,313	Sodje (2)
7 April 2007	Carlisle United	H	0–2	4,882
9 April 2007	Swansea City	A	0–3	12,465
14 April 2007	Crewe Alexandra	H	3–0	5,740	Hulbert, Constantine, Rodgers
21 April 2007	Gillingham	A	2–3	5,928	Whitaker, Constantine (pen)
28 April 2007	Brentford	A	3–4	5,125	Constantine (2), Rodgers
5 May 2007	Bournemouth	H	2–1	5,080	Sodje, Rodgers

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	11 November 2006	Lincoln City	A	2–1	3,884	Whitaker, Sodje
R2	2 December 2006	Hereford United	A	0–4	4,076

League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	23 August 2006	Preston North End	H	2–1	3,522	Sodje, Constantine
R2	19 September 2006	Queens Park Rangers	H	3–2	3,550	Smith, Whitaker, Walker
R3	24 October 2006	Norwich City	H	(3)0–0(2)	4,518
R4	8 November 2006	Tottenham Hotspur	A	1–3	34,560	Constantine

League Trophy

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	30 October 2006	Scunthorpe United	A	(5)0–0(3)	3,421
R2	29 November 2006	Crewe Alexandra	H	2–3	4,694	Constantine (2)

Player statistics

Appearances Pos. # Name Football League FA Cup League Cup Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals GK 1 Mark Goodlad 25 0 2 0 4 0 32 0 DF 2 George Pilkington 46 6 1 0 4 0 53 6 DF 3 Jason Talbot 22 0 0 0 3 0 26 0 MF 4 Danny Sonner 33 1 2 0 4 0 40 1 DF 5 Michael Walsh 18 0 0 0 1 0 20 0 DF 6 Richard Walker 16 0 1 0 4 1 22 1 FW 7 Stefan Moore 12 1 1 0 1 0 15 1 FW 7 Luke Rodgers 8 3 0 0 0 0 8 3 MF 8 Paul Harsley 32 1 2 0 4 0 40 1 FW 9 Nathan Lowndes 12 0 0 0 0 0 12 0 FW 10 Leon Constantine 42 22 2 0 4 2 50 26 MF 11 Jeff Smith 27 3 2 0 4 1 34 4 GK 12 Joe Anyon 22 0 0 0 0 0 23 0 MF 14 Danny Whitaker 45 6 2 1 4 1 53 8 DF 15 George Abbey 24 1 2 0 3 0 31 1 DF 16 Mark McGregor 32 0 1 0 2 0 35 0 FW 17 Michael Husbands 23 1 0 0 3 0 27 1 DF 18 Colin Miles 29 0 2 0 1 0 33 0 MF 19 Joe Cardle 7 0 1 0 1 0 10 0 FW 20 Akpo Sodje 43 14 1 1 4 1 50 16 MF 21 Robin Hulbert 20 1 0 0 0 0 20 1 MF 22 Mark Soboljew 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 DF 23 Luke Prosser 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 MF 24 Louis Briscoe 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 DF 24 Rhys Weston 15 0 0 0 0 0 15 0 MF 25 Christian Smith 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 MF 27 Ross Gardner 16 2 2 0 1 0 20 2 DF 29 Clayton Fortune 13 0 1 0 0 0 15 0 MF 32 Malvin Kamara 18 1 0 0 0 0 18 1 GK 40 Paul Musselwhite 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 DF Ritchie Humphreys 7 0 0 0 0 0 7 0

Scorers All competitions Scorer Goals Leon Constantine 26 Akpo Sodje 16 Danny Whitaker 8 George Pilkington 6 Jeff Smith 4 Luke Rodgers 3 Ross Gardner 2 Danny Sonner 1 Stefan Moore Michael Husbands Richard Walker George Abbey Paul Harsley Malvin Kamara Robin Hulbert League Scorer Goals Leon Constantine 22 Akpo Sodje 14 Danny Whitaker 6 George Pilkington Jeff Smith 3 Luke Rodgers Ross Gardner 2 Danny Sonner 1 Stefan Moore Michael Husbands George Abbey Paul Harsley Malvin Kamara Robin Hulbert

References

1. "Vale sign Posh midfielder Sonner". BBC Sport. 28 May 2005. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
2. "Boss adds trio to Port Vale squad". BBC Sport. 19 May 2006. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
3. "Harsley decides on Vale Park move". BBC Sport. 2006-05-30. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
4. "Vale snap up Miles and Whitaker". BBC Sport. 28 June 2006. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
5. "Vale capture QPR striker on loan". BBC Sport. 29 August 2006. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
6. "Humphreys leaves Pools". The Northern Echo. 2007-09-08. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
7. Coca-cola Manager of the Month 2006-07 Football League.co.uk. Retrieved on 24 March 2007
8. "Port Vale sign Forest's Gardner". BBC Sport. 8 November 2006. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
9. "Fortune signs Port Vale loan deal". BBC Sport. 22 November 2006. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
10. "Port Vale sign keeper Musselwhite". BBC Sport. 3 January 2007. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
11. "Port Vale capture winger Kamara". BBC Sport. 16 January 2007. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
12. "Constantine's Tykes move is off". BBC Sport. 18 January 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
13. "Constantine content at Port Vale". BBC Sport. 14 February 2007. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
14. "Carlisle snap up Vale midfielder". BBC Sport. 2004-01-25. Retrieved 2007-01-25.
15. "Port Vale release striker Briscoe". BBC Sport. 2007-01-23. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
16. "Port Vale wrap up Weston transfer". BBC Sport. 12 February 2007. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
17. "Rotherham 1-5 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 10 March 2007. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
18. "Husbands makes Macclesfield move". BBC Sport. 11 July 2007. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
19. "Vale boss Foyle clears the decks". BBC Sport. 9 May 2007. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
20. "Huddersfield sign winger Kamara". BBC Sport. 18 June 2007. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
21. "Leeds complete triple acquisition". BBC Sport. 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
22. "Veteran Sonner rejects Vale offer". BBC Sport. 17 May 2007. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
23. "Chairman responds to Sonner blast". BBC Sport. 24 May 2007. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
24. "Port Vale late with repayments of £2.25m council loan". BBC Sport. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
25. "Port Vale 2-1 Lincoln". BBC Sport. 11 November 2006. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
26. "Port Vale 2-1 Preston". BBC Sport. 24 August 2006. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
27. "Port Vale 3-2 QPR". BBC Sport. 19 September 2006. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
28. "Port Vale 0-0 Norwich (AET)". BBC Sport. 24 October 2006. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
29. "Tottenham 3-1 Port Vale (aet)". BBC Sport. 8 November 2006. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
30. "Port Vale beat Iron on penalties". BBC Sport. 30 October 2006. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
31. Port Vale 2006–2007 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.

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