The 2012–13 season was Port Vale's 101st season of football in the English Football League, and fifth successive season in League Two. The club secured promotion into League One with a third-place finish. Administration scuppered the club's promotion chances in the previous campaign, and high-profile departures in the summer meant that manager Micky Adams had to rebuild his team from the ground up. His rebuilding efforts were severely hampered when Keith Ryder's expected takeover collapsed. The club was instead taken over by Paul Wildes on 20 November.
There were no lengthy cup runs, as Vale exited the League Cup with an opening day defeat to Championship club Burnley, and were knocked out of the FA Cup at the second round with a loss away at League One side Sheffield United, before their progress in the Football League Trophy was halted by League Two rivals Bradford City. This allowed the "Valiants" to focus on gaining promotion, and their goal-scoring feats took them up to second place by 15 September, behind only defensive masters Gillingham. With the new owners in place, Adams could afford to sign experienced players in the January transfer window, and the team pushed on to establish themselves as the division's leaders. However the wheels then fell off as Vale struggled to score as they showed relegation form heading on from mid-February. After just one win in eight games, Vale rediscovered their previous form by mid-March and went on to beat fourth-placed Burton Albion 7–1 in front of 10,978 supporters on 5 April. Promotion was secured 15 days later with a 2–2 draw with Northampton Town before a home crowd of 12,496. After promotion was secured Paul Wildes resigned as chairman and Norman Smurthwaite took full control of the club.
Overview
League Two
On 19 June 2012, Port Vale were given odds of 40 to 1 of gaining promotion. The club had lost some its best players as versatile defender Lee Collins, midfield general Anthony Griffith, and top-scorers Sean Rigg and Marc Richards all signed big money deals elsewhere – the latter two moving to club's expecting to win promotion out of League Two.
With the club's new owner in place, Adams signed six players early in July. He first signed midfielder Darren Murphy and winger Jennison Myrie-Williams (who had impressed in a loan spell at the club the previous season) from Stevenage, as well as Colchester United attacker Ashley Vincent. He then made another triple swoop by bringing in Shrewsbury Town goalkeeper Chris Neal, Crewe Alexandra centre-back David Artell, and former Wales international Richard Duffy. Highly rated striker Liam Dickinson, veteran forward Darren Byfield, and Irish attacker Tadhg Purcell also joined the club on trial. Adams appointed Doug Loft as club captain at the end of July. The pre-season tour of Ireland was hailed as a success, whilst Vale recorded wins in each of their encounters with non-League opposition. However, David Artell left the club as a free agent days before the start of the season, as he refused to sign a contract that reflected the club's status as 'in administration' (the initial contract he signed listed Keith Ryder as the club's owner, and was therefore invalid).
The team got off to a solid start in August, recording wins over a poor Barnet side and a much more resilient Morecambe. They lost away at Accrington Stanley despite having 56% possession and 12 attempts on goal. They continued their form into September, as 14 points from a possible 18 left them sitting second in the table. Only a bizarre own goal from Brian Saah won them a point at home to Torquay United, before Tom Pope hit four against former club Rotherham United in a 6–2 victory; the win over Steve Evans's big spending "Millers" sent a message to the rest of the division that Vale were genuine promotion candidates. They then came from behind to win away at Plymouth Argyle, before putting a highly impressive Fleetwood Town to the sword with a 5–2 away victory. A top-of-table clash with Gillingham at Vale Park ended the "Valiants" impressive run, as the visitors claimed a 2–0 victory with a professional performance. Having named the same first XI for nine successive games, Adams introduced Rob Taylor and Ryan Burge at the expense of central midfielders Sam Morsy and Chris Shuker, and was rewarded with a 1–0 win over high-flying Bradford City in front of over 11,000 spectators at Valley Parade. Micky Adams was named as Manager of the Month and Pope was named as Player of the Month.