League One · League One · Est. 1876 · Vale Park

Burslem Port Vale Football Club

Updated March 17, 2026

Bottom of League One but FA Cup heroics provide a lifeline of joy

Port Vale's 2025-26 league campaign has been a grim affair: bottom of the table with just 28 points from 34 games, with manager Darren Moore departing in December when the team was rock bottom. Jon Brady was appointed in January to try to engineer an improbable survival. But amid the league misery, Vale have produced one of the stories of the FA Cup season, beating Bristol City in extra time and then stunning Premier League Sunderland 1-0 to reach the quarter-finals for only the second time in the club's history. Waine scored in both cup wins, becoming an instant Vale Park legend.

Vale Park and the proud football tradition of Burslem

Port Vale are based in Burslem, one of the six towns that make up Stoke-on-Trent, and their identity is rooted in the working-class pottery heritage of North Staffordshire. Vale Park has seen better days, but it remains a ground with character and a supporter base that refuses to give up on their club regardless of the league position. The contrast between the FA Cup glory and the league struggles encapsulates what it means to follow Port Vale: heartbreak and ecstasy in equal measure, often within the same week.