The 2011–12 season was Port Vale's 100th season of football in the English Football League, and fourth-successive season in League Two. It marked the start of Micky Adams' second spell in charge of the club, and despite fan unrest with the board, Vale fans and players were hopeful of promotion come the end of the season. However, a ten-point deduction for entering administration doomed the club to a mid-table finish. They exited both the League Cup and Football League Trophy at the first round following defeats to League One clubs. They also crashed out of the FA Cup in the first round against non-League opposition.
Behind the scenes, former chairman Bill Bratt left the club, as a new look board was installed, consisting of chairman Peter Miller, vice-chairman Mike Lloyd, CEO Perry Deakin, and Glenn Oliver, with only Oliver having any connection to the previous Valiant2001 regime. In September, this new board announced that sports construction firm Blue Sky International was planning to invest £8 million into the club. However, doubts quickly began to emerge over the deal. In December, the CEO of Blue Sky confirmed that the company had never agreed to any such deal and that they would not be investing any money into the club.
The club's financial problems and boardroom infighting left Adams unable to strengthen his squad during the January transfer window, making promotion an unlikely goal by the halfway stage. The club was unable to pay the player's wages in February. On 29 February, HM Revenue and Customs issued the club with a winding up petition. The club entered administration on 9 March. On 4 April, the administrators revealed Keith Ryder as the preferred bidder, though he never completed the deal.
Overview
League Two The return of Micky Adams meant that Vale could enter the pre-season looking to improve the playing squad rather than search for a new manager. His first signings of the season were former Glenn Hoddle Academy youngsters Ryan Burge and Ben Williamson, a midfielder and striker respectively. Adams' notoriously tough pre-season training regime began in earnest, though the players reported that they had come to expect the hard work come summertime and Adams himself was pleased with the condition his players began the pre-season in. Adams built on his new youth policy with the signatures of Sheffield United duo Kingsley James and Phil Roe; as well as Walsall defender Clayton McDonald, and left-back Mike Green. The club undertook a tour of North America for the first time in its history, where they recorded victories over USL Premier Development League sides North Sound SeaWolves, Tacoma Tide, Kitsap Pumas, and Victoria Highlanders. Following this tour, Justin Richards made a surprise exit to Burton Albion – this left namesake Marc as the club's senior player at the relatively young age of 29, in one of the club's youngest ever squads. To replace the departing striker former loanee – and self-confirmed Vale supporter – Tom Pope was signed from Rotherham United.
Vale began the season with a run of four games unbeaten, picking up easy wins over Accrington Stanley and Barnet and hard-fought draws with Crawley Town and Burton Albion, before finishing August with a 3–2 defeat to Southend United. Following a spate of injuries Adams signed Rangers and Northern Ireland utility player Andrew Little on a four-month loan. With 25 goals in the first six league games, Vale players found scoring goals easy, but the strength of the previous season – defending – seemed to have left them. A brace from Gary Roberts consigned Plymouth Argyle to a sixth consecutive defeat as Port Vale won 2–0 at Home Park; both sides finished the match with ten men after Marc Richards and Ladjie Soukouna were sent off. In September, a brace from Rob Taylor and late winner from Pope were enough to beat Bradford City, as Vale climbed into the automatic promotion places. On 22 September, Adams signed free agent Rob Kozluk on a short-term contract until 1 January 2012, and also brought in Liam Chilvers on a month's loan from Notts County (a loan deal later extended to 24 December); both players were signed to bolster Vale's struggling defence. The pair made their débuts two days later, as Vale earned a 1–1 draw with local rivals Crewe Alexandra at the Alexandra Stadium – Pope finding an equaliser just two minutes after Byron Moore gave the "Railwaymen" the lead.
However, after scoring in all of their first 15 league and cup games, a 4–0 home defeat by Morecambe sent the "Valiants" down to eleventh place; in doing so the "Shrimps" avenged the 7–2 defeat inflicted upon them at the Globe Arena on the penultimate day of the 2010–11 season. Andrew Little returned to parent club Rangers after the game, having damaged his knee ligaments during the defeat. Mike Green also left the club after asking to have his contract terminated following a loan spell at Eastleigh. After a run of five games without a win – which included 388 minutes without scoring a goal – Adams signed Cameroonian striker Guy Madjo and winger Jennison Myrie-Williams on loan from Stevenage, as well as Irish defender Shane O'Connor on loan from Ipswich Town. The two Stevenage loanees scored a goal a piece against struggling Dagenham & Redbridge on 10 December, to give the Vale their first win in more than six weeks. Supporters showed their disapproval against the board by displaying red cards in the home fixture against Aldershot Town, a game in which Madjo scored a hat-trick. Following this match, both Roe and McDonald were signed until the end of the season, whilst Kozluk was released. On 30 December, midfield playmaker Gary Roberts had his contract terminated following two serious breaches of club discipline in the space of three months. Nominated for the Manager of the Month award for three wins in four December games, Adams revealed that due to the club's precarious financial position he was unable to sign any new players or even retain his loan players in the January transfer window – despite the chairman having previously told him to draw up a list of transfer targets. Contract negotiations were also put on hold.
In addition to off-the-field troubles in January, Adams also had to deal with an injury crisis to his small squad; already missing Ryan Burge and Lewis Haldane with long-term injuries, the treatment room also welcomed Marc Richards, Rob Taylor, Gareth Owen, Tom Pope and Lee Collins. Vale suffered four consecutive defeats, before managing to turn things around by the end of the month with 1–0 wins over Rotherham United and Plymouth Argyle. On 14 February, midfielders Chris Shuker and Paul Marshall joined the club on non-contract terms. However, the treatment room grew more busy, as Adam Yates and Tom Pope picked up injuries requiring several weeks of rest. The club expected to receive a boost when Trinidad and Tobago international Chris Birchall returned from the Los Angeles Galaxy to play for the club on a month-by-month basis; however, the club were hit by a transfer embargo by the Football League on 25 February for failing to pay a bill. Nevertheless, performances on the pitch were solid, and Vale entered the Crewe derby having won four and drawn one of their last five games. The derby finished honours even again at 1–1, with a late header from Byron Moore cancelling out the own goal scored by Crewe captain David Artell.
A 2–1 home defeat by Barnet on 10 March ended Vale's run of eight game unbeaten; combined with a ten-point deduction for entering administration, the club slipped from 9th to 14th in the space of 24 hours. Promising young defender Lee Collins was the first the leave the club post-administration, joining Championship side Barnsley on a loan deal worth £50,000 to the Vale on 15 March. The drama continued in the game against Shrewsbury Town on 27 March, as the match was abandoned after 64 minutes due to a fire caused by the failure of the floodlights at the New Meadow. With the season drawing to a close, Adams began developing his squad for the following season, and announced that he had 'reluctantly' released defender Charlie Raglan, without giving him his first-team debut. He offered contracts to all but three players: Chris Martin, Phil Roe, and Paul Marshall; he also placed Burge on the transfer list. Aside from Lee Collins, the first player to reject a contract with Vale to move elsewhere was Anthony Griffith, who signed a two-year deal with League One side Leyton Orient. The first out-of-contract players to pledge their futures to Port Vale were Rob Taylor (two years), Lewis Haldane (six months), Ben Williamson (one year), and Sam Johnson (one year). Days later it was announced that Sean Rigg had signed with Oxford United, whilst Clayton McDonald confirmed that he would accept Vale's offer of a new one-year deal. However, the biggest blow to fan's hopes of promotion came when it was announced that talismanic top-scorer Marc Richards had signed a two-year deal with relegated League One side Chesterfield. June began with John McCombe and Tom Pope both agreeing to sign new deals with the club. The only player to reject the club's offer of a new contract despite not signing a contract elsewhere was goalkeeper Stuart Tomlinson; he eventually ended up at Burton Albion.
Finances & ownership issues On the financial side, hostilities were renewed between Bill Bratt's board and some supporters' groups. The North London Valiants rejected a seat on the board after dismissing the offer as "hollow and disingenuous". Bratt resigned as chairman on 29 July, citing a desire to unite the fans, and was replaced by Mike Lloyd. The board of directors at the start of the campaign consisted of: Mike Lloyd (as chairman), Glenn Oliver, Bill Bratt MBE, and Micky Adams (serving as both manager and director). Matchday tickets for adult fans were priced between £20.50 and £21.50 – the highest minimum price for an adult in the division – though a BBC survey placed Vale Park as the eighth priciest venue in the league when food and drink were also factored into the equation. Fan unrest emerged on the opening day of the season, as some 500 protesters campaigned outside the ground during the draw with Crawley Town, before putting their views toward new chairman Mike Lloyd when he came to hear their views. Bratt then announced that he would step down as a director in September following planned investment from an anonymous group. This news was enough to end protests by fan group 'Black and Gold Until It's Sold', as the group waited for Valiant2001's influence in the boardroom to cease completely. In September 2011, the anonymous investors were revealed to be sports construction firm Blue Sky International, who planned to plough £5 million into the club in twelve months, as well as a further £2.5 million by 2016. This sum would secure the long-term future of the club.