Vale of tears
Port Vale v Darlington
Coca-Cola League Two
Saturday
22nd August 2009, 3pm
Vale struggled badly at the
start of the season after relegation and new manager Dean Glover,
after a bright beginning before Christmas, slumped and paid the
price in the summer. Ex-Brighton and Swansea manager Mickey Adams
has the job of revitalising Vale, and he has brought in Geoff Horsfield,
among close-season signings, as well as a few players from his old
club.
Man
to watch
Full match previews on the D@rlo
Uncovered website.

The away fans at Vale Park are
behind the goal in the the Hamil Road Stand, with plenty of room
- a capacity of 4,500 - so we looked a little lost. It's a pretty featureless ground from the outside, but inside you can still tell it used to be a proper stadium. The main stand only has half the seats fitted, but they hardly need to hurry in completing the job.Ticket prices
pegged to: Adults £19, OAPs £12.50, under 16s £8 - bought from a
kiosk next the the turnstiles. The programme costs £2.50 and
there are two fanzines too - Derek I'm Gutted (£1) still
cheerfully produced the old fashioned way on a photocopier and reflecting
Vale fan's displeasure at more underperformance and a succession
of managers. The pies looked punyat first glace but tasted fine,
with chunks of meat (always a good sign..), and there were no queues;
coffee not blistering hot either.
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Port
Vale FC:
Vale Park, Hamil
Road, Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, ST6 1AW
Tel: 01782 655 800
History:
Formed in Burslem in 1876, the club had an itinerant start - the
club took its name from either a local canal wharf or a house. Burslem
Port Vale joined Division Two in the Football League in 1891 but
the club struggled, was eventually wound up and taken over by local
non-league side Cobridge Church in 1907 and lost its league status.
It moved to a ground in Hanley and eventually replaced Leeds City,
who were expelled from the League in 1919. The 1920s saw all-time
record scorer Wilf Kirkham play for Vale, who survived an attempt
to merge with rivals Stoke. They won promotion in 1930 and finished
fifth in Div 2, their highest position, the next season. The club
moved to its existing stadium in 1950, but they had to sell star
player Ronnie Allen. In 1954, the club reached the FA Cup semi-finals,
after beating Stanley Matthews' Blackpool on the way but lost to
West Brom after leading - old favourite Allen with a controversial
penalty. With the club dropping to Div 4, in 1965, Stanley Matthews
became manager. The club faced explusion from the League in 1967
over broken rules on payments to players but were re-elected. Generally,
the 70s were a time of struggle before promotion was won again in
1983. John Rudge started his long association with the club, which
lasted 15 years as manager. In 1988, his early successt included
the FA Cup scalp of Spurs and the following season a long-awaited
return to Div 2 and an Autoglass Trophy win at Wembley (1993). The
club also lifted the LDV Vans Trophy in Cardiff in 2001. But financial
problems led the club going into administration in 2003.
Record Attendance: 49,768 v Aston Villa, FA Cup 5th Rd, 1960
Capacity: 18,900
Last season: 18th
Honours: Div 3 runners-up 1993/1994; Div 3 North champions
1929/1930 and 1953/1954; Div Four champions 1958/1959, Autoglass Trophy, 1993, LDV Trophy, 2001
Record victory: 9-1 v Chesterfield, Div 2, 1932
Defeat: 0-10 v Notts County (A, 1895) or Sheff Utd (H, 1892)
Nicknames: The Valiants
Colours: White amd black
Manager: Micky Adams
Chairman: Bill Bratt
Players in: Tommy Fraser and Doug Loft (both Brighton), Jamie
Guy (Colchester, loan), Geoff Horsfield, Kris Taylor (Hereford),
Adam Yates (Morecambe)
Players out: Kyle Perry (Mansfield), Dave Brammer, Scott
Brown, Paul Edwards (released)
Famous fans/connections: Will Kirkham, Ronnie Allen, Roy
Sproson, Brian Horton, Mark Bright, Darren Beckford, Robbie Earle,
Steve Guppy, Bernie Slaven, Ian Taylor, Marcus Bent (players), Neil Aspin (ex-Darlo).
John Rudge, Gordon Lee, Stanley Matthews (managers), Robbie Williams and Phil "The Power" Taylor (fans)
Click for Streetmap of ground |

From the M6: Leave the M6 at junction 15, then take the
A500 towards Stoke-on-Trent. After six miles, take the exit for
the A527 Tunstall/Burslem. Take a left at the roundabout (signposted
Tunstall A527, Longport Road). After half a mile take a right onto
the B5051 (second exit) at a small roundabout into Newcastle St.
Carry on up to the next roundabout and across to the crossroads.
Then carry on straight over the crossroads into Moorland Rd, then
it's second left into Hamil Rd. The ground is on the left.
Parking: There is a large car park (Hamil Rd, £4
cars) located outside a superstore next to the stadium, otherwise
some street parking.
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Stoke railway station (in
Hanley) is around four miles from the stadium, in Burslem. You can
catch connecting trains (every hour) to Longport, five minutes
away but this still leaves a 25-30 minute walk from the stadium. Return
trains from Longport are 17.27 or 18.27.
More straightfoward is to either take a taxi (about £6
to the ground) or a No
21 bus from Stoke Road, close to the railway station.
This has the destination Bradeley on the front(fare £1.70 and services
every 10 minutes). (To locate the bus stop - it's three minutes
walk from station - turn left out of the main entrance, past the
turning for College Road on your right and taxi rank on your left,
and it is the next turning on the right at the end of Station Road
by a mini-arounabout. Up Stoke Road for about 50 yards and the bus
shelter is on the opposite side to the Signal radio station offices).
The bus takes a slightly circuitous route into town first, where
you can also catch it - Hanley (city centre) and bus statio. Get
off the bus at the top of the hill, as you arrive in Burslem - the
Ceramica centre, and it's a short walk up the hill into Hamil Road.
Bus
route map (PDF)
Suggested train times
(updated July 2009): Darlington 08.00 (York, 08.28)
08.40-(Manchester Piccadilly, 10.05) 10.15-arr Stoke-on-Trent, 10.48.
Rtn: 18.18-(Manchester Picc, 19.00) 19.11-(York, 20.35) 20.45-arr
21.14. Fares: From £62 off-peak return
Birmingham New Street 10.31-arr 11.18, rtn 18.07-arr 18.58.
Fare: Off-peak day returns from £12.20
Plenty of direct trains from London Euston 10.00-11.24, rtn: 18.13-19.42. Off-peak return, £54.70
Sheffield 10.11 (Stockport, 10.53) 10.58 arr Stoke 11.42. Rtn: 17.58 via Stockport, arr 19.35. Or the 18.48 (Stockport, 19.16) 19.26-arr 20.08. Fares from £27.50 off-peak return.
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City Cabs 2000 01782 844444
Magnum Taxis 01782 819 819
Autocabs 01782 332211
City Centre Taxis 01782 811811
Four Star Taxis 01782 334334
N Staff Eagles Taxis 01782 314315
Darlington
FC Supporters' Club
Coach. 10am, cost £18 Contact:
01325 243911. See Darlington
Supporters' Club for more details.
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Trivia quiz question - Stoke-on-Trent
is made up of which six towns? Answer: Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley (the city
centre), Stoke, Fenton and Longton - rather than being just one city, in
case you get confused. It was founded on the ceramic and pottery industry,
which gives its name The Potteries. There are plenty of factory outlets
and museums with relation to the industry, for visitors. Port Vale is in
Burslem , synonymous with Josiah Wedgewood, and 10 minutes from the
town centre by car, taxi or bus.
There are online maps on the tourism website, showing the city in relation to the stadium to the south, with Fenton being the closest of the six towns. Tourist Information Centre, Victoria Hall, Bagnall St,
Cultural Quarter, Stoke-on-Trent (City Centre) ST1 3AD, Tel: 01782
236000 Visit Stoke website
The website has accommodation
Real ale

The
Bull's Head, 14 St John's Square, Burslem.
The DAFTS choice by a country mile and awarded our DAFTS 2008-2009
away pub of the year. Two-room, football-friendly pub, 10 minutes
walk from the ground. There is also a fair-sized beer garden, which
serves BBQ on match days. Bob the landlord is very fan-friendly and
welcoming, encouraging supporters with a love of real ale. The pub
also sells the Vale fanzine behind the bar. Serves at least three ales from the nearby Titanic
Brewery (named after the captain of the doomed liner Edward Smith,
who was born locally). Usually two other guest
ales to provide a good choice of beers, continental bottled beers
and occasional beer festivals or themes. CAMRA-recommended. Click
for Streetmap
The local
CAMRA also recommend The Leopard 21 Market Place, Burslem
although the wearing of hats and swearing is banned. A note that
theThe Post Office Vaults, 3 Market Place, Burslem, which
is popular on match days, is a home fans only pub now.
Bars near ground Red Lion, 3 Moorland
Road, Burslem
A short walk from the stadium, this pub apparently serves Titanic
real ale and bar snacks. Robbie Williams was born and brought up
in this very pub...now you'll only find him on the jukebox.
The Vine, Hamil Road, Burslem
Gets very busy on match days, used by both sets of fans and a bit
on the bijou side - five minutes walk. On the local CAMRA
list and a few real ales.
New Inn, 50 Market Place, Burslem, ST6 4AR
Fan-friendly, there may also be some real ale and bar food. Click for Streetmap

There's a chip shop in May
Road, 100 yards from the ground, or it's Burslem high street for
the usual take-aways and restaurant chains, such as KFC.
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