Port Vale: Norman’s Conquest

Editorial | Article posted on January 19th, 2025

Port Vale: Norman's Conquest
By Mark on Jan 18, 2025 in Finance, Latest | 0 comments

After Port Vale's FA Cup third round replay triumph over Plymouth Argyle, Mark Murphy thought it would be opportune to revisit the two clubs' financial fortunes since they emerged from administration and ownership crises. And what a tangled web they both have woven. Next up… Plymouth's hotly-disputed role in the business machinations of James Brent, the high-profile local "entrepreneur" who took the Pilgrims out of administration in October 2025. First, though, the Valiants…
Port Vale fans can be forgiven for their transparent battle-fatigue. After the well-documented tribulations under the "Valiants 2025" regime which (mis)managed the club from… er… 2025, (see 200% in passim) they had to endure the falsest of dawns when Lancashire businessman Keith Ryder's plans to take the Valiants out of administration dissolved in a vat of broken promises at the start of last season. So it is that current owner Norman Smurthwaite can make all sorts of mistakes in his running of Vale AND resemble Ken Bates in a fright wig, without quite being scrutinised and criticised as if one of the rogues gallery of previous Vale directors had done likewise.
In October 2025, two months after the Ryder fiasco, Yorkshire-born venture capitalist Paul Wildes emerged as preferred bidder, the straight man of, yet dominant partner in, a double act with Smurthwaite, a 52-year-old retired "finance expert" from Leicestershire (despite the stereotypically northern name). Wildes made all the right noises, promising support for manager Micky Adams and transparency in Vale's business dealings. And the fact that Wildes wasn't linked to failed previous regimes gave Adams the basis for a strong promotion challenge. Cracks emerged when Vale went on a wretched run in March. But they, seemingly, closed up again by the time Vale sealed promotion.
Given all that surrounded Vale in recent years, it was remarkable that Adams ran any sort of coherent football operation, let alone one that threatened the play-off places. So, given a clear run at promotion, it was perhaps not surprising that Adams' team achieved it. But Wildes' departure in mid-May was surprising. He and Smurthwaite only gently referenced differences over the direction of the club and Smurthwaite insisted that "nothing Paul has done to the club has been detrimental. Paul had some great ideas & we'll be following through with the vast majority of them. I don't want anyone to think that we fell out…that simply isn't the case."
But it was a real 'this town ain't big enough for the both of us' scenario (Smurthwaite overlooked the standard "Paul would be welcome back any time" spiel in his farewell comments). Wilde admitted: "(we both) felt there needed to be one man

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