Summary
- Updates from tonight's Meet The Staff event
- Andy Crosby, John Schofield, David Dunn and Carlo Nash answer questions from Vale Fans
18:40
We are underway at tonight's Meet the Staff event!
Community and CSR Director, Matt Hancock, provides everybody in attendance with a brief club update:
Barnsley tickets will be on sale from Saturday 29th July with more information to follow in due course. The club will endeavour to get all away tickets on-sale two weeks prior to the respective fixture, when circumstances allow.
Reading tickets will be available to purchase from Monday 31/07.
The club recently held a produtive and positive meeting regarding the stand swap recently. All authorities are more than happy with the plans that are in place with no concerns and the club are pressing ahead with plans before the start of next season.
The 2023/24 away kit will be launched tomorrow with the bumper away kit release weekend to follow later this week.
The 2023/24 away shirt will be available to purchase online from tomorrow, but supporters will receive an email following their purchase.
The Supporters Summit group will receive an action plan following the Summit tomorrow and will shared on all club channels in due course.
18:50
Dan Townley welcomes Andy Crosby, John Schofield, David Dunn and Carlo Nash to the stage.
Dan proceeds to ask the first question of the night... Will we be signing a striker?
AC: "Plans are place and we are looking to bring in strikers soon, notice the plural. We have a number of targets that we have been speaking to and continue to speak to. We are trying to bring a different profile of striker to the club and will continue to work towards that.
"The process is ongoing and we are delighted with the players that we have already brought to the club so far and we have a real desire to do well and represent the club with real pride next season.
"It's important that all players understand the demographic that they are representing and the players and myself want to represent you all with pride and passion, it's the very least that you deserve."
18:59
The next question of the night comes from our Chair, Carol Shanahan.
CS: "Last year we had Aidan Stone and your role last year was to develop him as a young goalkeeper. This year we have two very experienced goalkeepers, how does your role change and what do you do to bring the best out of them?"
CN: "Both goalkeepers bring bags of experienced. I worked with Connor Ripley at Oldham Athletic previously and he’s a player that is capable of playing higher than this level. He has all of the tools to be a fantastic goalkeeper, certainly at this level, in the Championship and possibly beyond.
"My role now is to refine him as a goalkeeper and make him the best possible goalkeeper for Port Vale. He can dominate his box, make saves in abundance and has the ability to get us on the front foot with attacks. My job is to get him there and hopefully with Port Vale.
"Jayson also has bags of experience and has played in the Championship. Both are great lads around the place and are both leaders on and off the pitch. They are both capable of bringing success to the football club."
AC: "We believe that we have recruited the best goalkeeper in League One in Connor and he still has room to develop further.
"Connor adds leadership value to the dressing room and we now have a match-defining goalkeeper on our books and the stability of the whole team starts from the goalkeeper and defence and we believe that Connor can bring that.”
19:06
Question from the room: “We have good youth at the club, noticeably in James Plant and Tommy McDermott. What’s your view on the youth policy at the club and how will you utilise the loan market going into next season?”
AC: “The youth structure has changed massively throughout my time at the club and it is a lot stronger as a result. The players within the Academy now have a clear pathway to the first team and that’s a huge part of the club’s philosophy now.
“I have a lot of love for James Plant, the guys up here will probably call him my son! He is an incredible example of a young person with incredible values and he grasped his opportunity when it came along. He has come back in incredible shape and that speaks volumes of his work ethic and values as a person. He will undoubtedly be a part of the first team next season.
“Tommy bursted onto the scene in a different way, he was the best player throughout pre-season last year and deservedly got his chance within the first team and continues to develop.
“Jack Shorrock and Rhys Walters have also spent this summer with us. We have to give deserving youngsters the chance to grow and develop in and around the first team.
“With regards to the loan market, it’s fundamental for our recruitment that we get to know the person behind the player that we’re bringing in and we will hold our hands up and say we have made some mistakes along the way, but we will continue to utilise the marketing and our good relationships with clubs to hopefully bring the best people and best talent to the club.”
19:16
“What’s the situation with Mal Benning’s contract?”
AC: “Mal triggered a contract extension based on the number of appearances he made last season. He is under contract and remains with the squad as we move to next season.”
19:25
“What is the latest update on James Wilson training with the club?”
AC: “James came back to train with the club and came to Spain with us last week. He is a player who has undeniable talent and a player and person that I have got a lot of faith in, but he also has some things he needs to improve on, noticeably his match availability.
"I have met with James numerous times and it’s an open agreement. He is looking at how I want things to be done at the club and I am observing how James fits in with what we require from the squad both in training and in games moving forwards."
19:29
“Talk us through the decision to appoint Nathan Smith as captain.”
AC: “The decision to appoint Nathan Smith as captain means absolutely no disrespect towards Tom Conlon, he has represented the club incredibly well throughout his time as captain from lower reaches of League Two up until now and we thank him for that.
“I look at Nathan Smith and think that he is an absolute warrior who is always available for all games and all training sessions.
"He has undeniable pride in both himself and the club and has definitely improved as a player throughout my time with the club too. He's a leader that wears his heart on his sleeve and gives absolutely everything for the club both in training and in all games which is an absolute minimum requirement of our squad.”
19:31
“If you could give feedback to fans, what would you say?”
DD: "Throughout my time with the club, the supporters have been terrific - very rarely do you hear any booing and for us to get the best from the players, it’s important for the lads to feel really confident and the supporters can definitely help with that by getting behind them like you have done.”
JS: “We have a couple of things up our sleeves that will happen throughout games. The recruitment process is recruiting players that can play in a number of positions across the pitch, meaning we can make changes without actually making subs. We have to be flexible as a team.”
AC: “From my own experience, the most important thing as a squad of players is to understand the demographic of supporter that they are representing. It’s about hard graft and hard work. The supporters of this club work extremely hard for their money and it's a non-negotiable that the players leave absolutely everything on the pitch in every game."
19:40
“Who was your biggest influence throughout your career?”
AC: “From a young age, certainly my parents. I had a really good upbringing in Rotherham. From a footballing point of view, I played most of my career in League Two, there certainly wasn’t a lot of coaching, which is probably why I was rubbish!
"Nigel Adkins helped me to become the person I am today. The person or leader that you see before you now is very different from the captain that you saw on the pitch and that's all thanks to him. The influence that Nigel had on me certainly helped me to become a much better person and I owe a lot to him.”
19:46
"Are we expecting any outgoings from the club?"
AC: "We haven't got a crystal ball, but every player at every club has a price.
"We don't know who is looking at our players, but we are ready for any eventuality and our recruitment process in every position is ongoing and we are prepared for every 'what if?'"
19:50
"Which player/s do you expect to get fans excited next season?"
DD: "I don't like to single players out, but Ethan Chislett is certainly one. His movement, skill, the way he moves the ball - he gives us a different dynamic that I think will get supporters off their seat next season.
"You can expect the squad to be a lot more creative in the final third of the pitch next season and we will look to cause a lot more problems and ask more questions of opposition defences next season."
19:55
And that concludes tonight's event. Thank you to all supporters in attendance here at Vale Park.