DECLINE AND FALL HAS been a recurring theme in Burslem, but it appears that Port Vale may be bucking the trend in one of the more depressed regions of the Potteries.
The Ceramica museum amid the town centre Victoriana confirms that the once thriving Royal Doulton factory is no longer producing bone china, while the collieries were shut during the Thatcher purge of the 1980s.
Vale were on the brink of closing down during a period of administration almost four years ago, but this stirring win over Chesterfield, their promotion rivals, at Vale Park suggests that the renaissance is gathering momentum.
“I’m looking forward to the likes of Bristol City and Nottingham Forest coming here,” Martin Foyle, the Vale manager, said. “They have spent fortunes and it will be a good benchmark for a little club like us.”
Foyle, a former Vale player who has been with the club for 15 years, has guided the team to the top of the table after an unblemished opening few matches, the first time in 77 years they have managed four successive wins from the start of the season.
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“It’s nice to make history but it’s all about the club moving forward,” Foyle said.
Financial imperative forced Foyle to sell Chris Birchall to Coventry City after his exploits with Trinidad & Tobago at the World Cup finals, but the manager believes that the team will achieve results, although Leon Constantine seems intent on stealing the limelight. The tall forward was bought for £20,000 from Torquay United last March and his late winner was his fifth goal in four matches.
“He came late into the game, but he’s willing to learn and you need to put your arm around him now and again,” Foyle said.
Constantine had dragged Vale level from close range shortly before half-time, when Akpo Sodje’s scuffed effort fell to his feet, the goal cancelling out Aaron Downes’s 23rd-minute header.
After George Pilkington nudged Vale ahead, Chesterfield’s responded when Caleb Folan converted a cross by Phil Picken. It was a deserved equaliser, especially because Kevan Hurst ruthlessly tormented George Abbey, the Nigeria defender, on the left wing during the second half.
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“It was disappointing,” Roy McFarland, the Chesterfield manager, said. “We should never have lost, but then this is not a lucky ground for us.”
PORT VALE (4-4-2): M Goodlad — G Abbey, M McGregor, G Pilkington, C Miles (sub: M Walsh, 12) — D Whitaker, D Sonner, P Harsley, J Smith — L Constantine, A Sodje (sub: M Husbands, 80) Substitutes not used: J Anyon, R Walker, J Cardle. NEXT: Yeovil Town (a)
CHESTERFIELD (4-4-2): B Roche — P Picken, R Hazell, A Downes, A O’Hare — P Hall, D Niven, M Allott, K Hurst — C Folan, W Allison (sub: C Larkin, 78) Substitutes not used: M Jordan, J Jackson, J Kovacs, A Bailey. Booked: Picken NEXT: Tranmere Rovers (h)
Referee: D Deadman. Attendance: 5,622