Adam Yates (footballer)

Adam Yates

Yates as a Port Vale player in September 2010.
Personal information
Full name	Adam Paul Yates
Date of birth	28 May 1983[1]
Place of birth	Stoke-on-Trent, England[2]
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Playing position	Right-back
Club information
Current team	Port Vale
Number	16
Youth career
1992–2002	Crewe Alexandra
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2002–2004	Crewe Alexandra	0	(0)
2003–2004	→ Halifax Town (loan)	12	(0)
2004–2006	Leek Town	82	(2)
2006–2009	Morecambe	123	(2)
2008	→ Burton Albion (loan)	6	(0)
2009–	Port Vale	211	(4)
2015	→ Northampton Town (loan)	1	(0)
National team
2006–2007	England C	3	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:00, 1 May 2016 (UTC). † Appearances (goals)

Adam Paul Yates (born 28 May 1983) is an English footballer who plays as a right-back for League Two club Northampton Town, on loan from League One side Port Vale. He is a former semi-pro international with England.

Having spent ten years at the Crewe Alexandra Academy, he turned professional with the club in 2002. He spent five months of the 2003–04 season on loan at Conference club Halifax Town, though was released by his parent club at the end of the season, never having made a first team appearance for Crewe. He then spent two season at non-league Leek Town, before he was signed by Morecambe in August 2006. He helped the club win promotion into the Football League as the Conference's play-off winners in 2007. He played 54 games in 2007–08, though started the 2008–09 season on loan at Conference club Burton Albion. He signed with Port Vale in June 2009, and went on to make the right-back slot his own in the 2009–10, 2010–11 and 2011–12 campaigns. He helped the club to secure promotion out of League Two in 2012–13. He lost his first team place at Port Vale in August 2015 and was loaned out to Northampton Town.

Club career

Crewe Alexandra

Yates warming up for Port Vale before the match against Northampton Town on 20 April 2013.

Yates passed up through the ranks of the Crewe Alexandra youth system to become a professional in 2002, and spent five months on loan with Halifax Town during the 2003–04 season.^[3][4] After being released by Crewe Alexandra in May 2004, never having made the first team, he signed for Leek Town.^[5]

Leek Town

In February 2005 he had a trial with Port Vale, the team he had supported as a boy, but did not impress manager Martin Foyle and was not signed to a contract.^[6] Instead he became an almost permanent presence in the Leek defence during 2005–06, putting in a total of fifty appearances, also scoring once in the Northern Premier League.^[7]

Morecambe

After impressing Sammy McIlroy in a pre-season friendly in 2006, he was signed by Morecambe in August 2006.^[8] He scored his first goal for Morecambe in their 2–1 victory at Southport on 26 December 2006. His return to league football came at the end of the 2006–07 season as the "Shrimpers" achieved promotion from the Conference as play-off winners in 2007.

He made 54 appearances in the 2007–08 campaign, as Morecambe consolidated their Football League status. He was loaned out to Burton Albion in August 2008.^[9] On his return to Christie Park in October he went straight back into the first team. After having featuring heavily in the 2008–09 season he was offered a new contract by Morecambe, though he rejected the offer after deciding his future lay elsewhere.^[10]

Port Vale

Targeted by manager Dean Glover, Port Vale continued the hunt for his signature even after Glover's departure.^[11] Yates decided to wait until a manager was appointed before signing for the club,^[12] and after Micky Adams was made manager Yates signed a two-year deal with the "Vale".^[13] He was forced to wait until 22 August before he made his competitive debut for the club,^[14] as Sam Stockley had impressed in the right-back position in the pre-season and opening few games of the 2009–10 season. He was transfer listed in late September, along with the entire Port Vale squad, after manager Micky Adams saw his team slip to a third consecutive defeat.^[15] Following Stockley's retirement in November, Yates was expected to fill the void,^[16] though he faced competition for the right wing-back spot from Anthony Griffith.^[17] In his first game in almost a month he scored his first professional goal at a senior level, scoring the opener of a 1–1 home draw with Stevenage Borough in the FA Cup First Round.^[18][19] By February 2010 he was managing to hold off the competition,^[20] helped by the team's change of formation from 3–4–3 to 4–4–2.^[21]

He continued to make the right-back spot his own in the 2010–11 season, and in February 2011 he became the first player to enter new contract negotiations with new manager Jim Gannon.^[22][23] Despite Gannon's swift departure, contract talks continued on a new two-year deal.^[24] After playing in all 54 of the club's games that season, he put pen to paper on the deal in May 2011.^[25]

Micky Adams returned as manager for the 2011–12 campaign, and he continued to name Yates as his first choice right-back. However Adams signed centre-back Liam Chilvers and veteran full-back Robert Kozluk in September,^[26] and so Yates lost his first team place to Kozluk, and put in 'extra work' in training to try and force his way back onto the teamsheet.^[27] His efforts paid off, as he quickly won his first team place back,^[28] and Kozluk was released in December.^[29] He scored his first league goal for the club by providing the equalizer in the 2–1 boxing day victory at Hereford United.^[30] In February he picked up knee-ligament damage and was unable to play for several weeks.^[31] He hit his third goal for the club on 9 April, in a 1–0 win over Macclesfield Town.^[32]

He lost his first team place to Richard Duffy at the start of the 2012–13 season. He was returned to the starting line-up at the end of October, after Duffy was sidelined with a twisted ankle.^[33] Duffy returned to the first team line-up after making his recovery, though Yates was preferred in the end of season run-in and was hopeful of winning a new contract in the summer.^[34] Vale secured promotion with a third-place finish at the end of the season, with Yates making 32 appearances. He agreed to sign a new two-year contract in the summer.^[35]

Yates remained a key first team player during the 2013–14 season, and played 41 games as the club posted a ninth-place finish in League One.

Swiss youth international Freddie Veseli was brought in on loan to replace him at right-back, but Yates won back his first team place in November after a series of consistent performances.^[36] He ended the season with 28 appearances to his name as Veseli eventually won back his first team place.^[37] He signed a new one-year contract in June 2015.^[38]

Having held the club's number 2 shirt for five seasons he was demoted to number 16 for the 2015–16 season as new right-back Ben Purkiss was handed the number 2 shirt.^[39] On 24 August, he joined League Two side Northampton Town on a one-month loan in order to provide "Cobblers" manager Chris Wilder with cover for the suspended Josh Lelan and injured Brendan Moloney.^[40] He played three games for the club, including a League Cup defeat to Newcastle United at St James' Park, before his loan spell was ended early by a thigh injury.^[41] He then returned to the Vale first team on 14 November as cover for an injured Purkiss, and his performances meant he retained his place once Purkiss returned to fitness.^[42]

International career

Yates made his England National Game XI debut against the Netherlands^[43] in a 4–1 victory on 29 November 2006. Named in a friendly against Northern Ireland in February 2007,^[44] he was unable to feature due to injury.^[45] He was also named in the 2007 Four Nations Tournament squad for England.^[46]

Personal life

Yates has two younger brothers, Ryan and Dominic; Ryan played for the Crewe Alexandra Academy. Yates was raised in Werrington, Staffordshire and attended Painsley High School in Cheadle. He was in the same year with Port Vale teammate Gareth Owen.^[47] Yates left the school with one A*, five Bs and four Cs at GCSE level.^[48]

As of June 2011 he is studying to complete a degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting at Staffordshire University, alongside teammates Gareth Owen, Justin Richards, and Ritchie Sutton.He graduated in the summer of 2013 achieving a 2:1 ^[49][50]

Yates and teammate Tom Pope began the 2011–12 season as joint-managers of local amateur Sunday League side Sneyd,^[51] fitting their management duties around their professional careers at Vale Park. The pair took the club to the Potteries and District Premier Division title and the final of the Sentinel Sunday Cup in 2012–13.^[52][53]

Statistics

Season	Club	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other[54]		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2002–03	Crewe Alexandra	Second Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2003–04[55]		First Division	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2003–04[55]	Halifax Town (loan)	Conference	12	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	13	0
Total			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2004–05	Leek Town	Northern Premier League	41	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	41	1
2005–06[56]			41	1	0	0	0	0	9	0	50	1
Total			82	2	0	0	0	0	9	0	91	2
2006–07	Morecambe	Conference	47	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	49	2
2007–08[57]		League Two	44	0	1	0	3	0	6	0	54	0
2008–09[58]			32	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	35	0
2008–09[58]	Burton Albion (loan)	Conference	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
Total			123	2	5	0	3	0	7	0	138	2
2009–10[59]	Port Vale	League Two	32	0	2	1	2	0	1	0	37	1
2010–11[60]			46	0	4	0	2	0	2	0	54	0
2011–12[61]			38	2	2	0	1	0	1	0	42	2
2012–13[62]			26	0	2	0	1	0	3	0	32	0
2013–14[63]		League One	34	1	5	0	1	0	1	0	41	1
2014–15[64]			25	1	1	0	1	0	1	0	28	1
2015–16[65]			10	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
2015–16[65]	Northampton Town (loan)	League Two	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	3	0
Total			211	4	17	1	8	0	9	0	245	5
Career total			435	8	22	1	12	0	27	0	496	9

Honours

with Morecambe

• Conference National play-off winner: 2007

with Port Vale

• Football League Two third-place promotion: 2012–13^[66]

References

1. "Name: Adam Yates". port-vale.co.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
2. Adam Yates career statistics at Soccerbase
3. "Halifax sign Yates". BBC Sport. 13 November 2003. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
4. "Halifax release septet". BBC Sport. 30 April 2004. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
5. Shaw, Steve (30 October 2010). "Port Vale: Crewe exit saved my career, says Yates". The Sentinel. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
6. "Port Vale: New boy Yates has point to prove". The Sentinel. 18 June 2009. Retrieved 18 June 2009.
7. "Leek Town's record 2005/06". leektown.co.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
8. "Leek defender to join Morecambe". BBC Sport. 9 August 2006. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
9. "Brewers loan in Morecambe's Yates". BBC Sport. 29 August 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
10. "Port Vale: Yates signs Valiants deal". The Sentinel. 17 June 2009. Retrieved 17 June 2009.
11. "Vale closing in on defender Yates". BBC Sport. 25 May 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
12. "Vale target Yates' future unclear". BBC Sport. 1 June 2009. Archived from the original on 8 June 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
13. "Valiants capture defender Yates". BBC Sport. 17 June 2009. Archived from the original on 20 June 2009. Retrieved 17 June 2009.
14. "Port Vale 1 - 0 Darlington". BBC Sport. 21 August 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
15. "Adams puts Vale squad up for sale". BBC Sport. 27 September 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
16. "Yates can stake claim, says Adams". BBC Sport. 3 November 2009. Archived from the original on 6 November 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
17. "Yates: We Gave a Good Account". port-vale.co.uk. 30 November 2009. Archived from the original on 1 December 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
18. "Match report: Port Vale 1 Stevenage Borough 1 - FA Cup". The Sentinel. 7 November 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
19. "Yates on First Goal". port-vale.co.uk. 8 November 2009. Archived from the original on 11 November 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
20. "Adam Yates praises Port Vale goalkeeper Chris Martin". BBC Sport. 17 February 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
21. "Port Vale: Yates happy to sit back on his defensive laurels". The Sentinel. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
22. "Port Vale defender Adam Yates hopes for contract talks". BBC Sport. 4 February 2011. Archived from the original on 8 February 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
23. Shaw, Steve (4 February 2011). "Port Vale: Vale ready to reward impressive Yates with new contract". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
24. Shaw, Steve (8 April 2011). "Port Vale: Trio offered chance to extend Vale Park stay". The Sentinel. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
25. "Port Vale offer Micky Adams manager position". BBC Sport. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
26. "Port Vale sign Rob Kozluk and Liam Chilvers". bbc.co.uk. 22 May 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
27. "Adam Yates eager to regain place in Port Vale team". BBC Sport. 10 October 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
28. "Port Vale's Adam Yates targets FA Cup third round place". BBC Sport. 21 November 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
29. "Port Vale release defender Rob Kozluk". BBC Sport. 23 December 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
30. "Hereford 1 - 2 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 26 December 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
31. "Port Vale: Double setback rocks Valiants". The Sentinel. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
32. "Port Vale 1 - 0 Macclesfield". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
33. Pearson, Guy (27 October 2012). "Positive Yates ready to reap his reward with big chance". The Sentinel.
34. "Yates hoping to follow Vale into League One". The Sentinel. 9 April 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
35. Parsons, Chris. "Yates commits to Vale". port-vale.co.uk. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
36. Baggaley, Mike (2 December 2014). "Why this defender is Mike Baggaley's player of the month for November". The Sentinel. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
37. "Adam Yates among 16 out of contract Vale players". The Sentinel. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
38. "Adam Yates: Port Vale defender signs new one-year contract". BBC Sport. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
39. "Fitness guru not the nightmare we feared says Adam Yates". The Sentinel. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
40. "Adam Yates: Port Vale defender joins Northampton Town on loan". BBC Sport. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
41. Baggaley, Mike (8 September 2015). "Adam Yates back at Vale after injury". The Sentinel. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
42. Baggaley, Mike (27 November 2015). "Adam Yates on internet trolls and the retained list". The Sentinel. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
43. "Fairclough alters National squad". BBC Sport. 20 November 2006. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
44. "Donaldson makes England XI squad". BBC Sport. 29 January 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
45. Oliver, Pete (13 February 2007). "Fairclough plotting next phase". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
46. "Four Nations squads are announced". BBC Sport. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
47. "Port Vale: Yates has new lease of life". The Sentinel. 14 July 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
48. "Valiants tackle lesson time". The Sentinel. 14 October 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
49. Morris, Sam; Ted Woodward; Sam Fitch (19 November 2010). "Footballing classmates square up as Port Vale take on Wycombe". Staffs Live. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
50. Earle, Robbie (23 June 2011). "Robbie Earle: Career after football can be daunting prospect". The Sentinel. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
51. "Sunday football: Tough start for Vale duo". The Sentinel. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
52. "Dorryl Proffitt nets winner for Baddeley Green against Sneyd in Sentinel Cup final". The Sentinel. 16 May 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
53. "Sneyd lose at Caverswall, but still claim Premier title". The Sentinel. 28 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
54. Includes other competitive competitions, including the Football League Trophy
55. "Games played by Adam Yates in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
56. "Leek Town's record 2005/06". leektown.co.uk. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
57. "Games played by Adam Yates in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
58. "Games played by Adam Yates in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
59. "Games played by Adam Yates in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
60. "Games played by Adam Yates in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
61. "Games played by Adam Yates in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
62. "Games played by Adam Yates in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
63. "Games played by Adam Yates in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
64. "Games played by Adam Yates in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
65. "Games played by Adam Yates in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
66. Sherwin, Phil; Johnson, Dave (2013), Port Vale This Side Up: 2012-2013 Promotion Celebration, BGL, ISBN 978-0-9926579-0-1

External links

• Adam Yates career statistics at Soccerbase