Fixture – Crawley Town vs Port Vale
Date – 5th August 2017
Venue – Checkatrade Stadium
Preview
It’s the opening day of the Sky Bet League Two season and Michael Brown will lead his side into the new campaign as manager of Port Vale Football Club.
Brown was named manager following a stint as Caretaker boss at the end of the 2016/17 season and he will be looking for the perfect start.
It has been a busy pre-season at Vale Park for the Gaffer and his side, as they have rebuilt the squad, bringing in a vast amount of experience and talent in during the summer.
Port Vale will look to bounce back at the first time of asking to League One and will be hoping that journey starts with three points against Crawley Town.
The Opposition
It’s been a very similar summer at the Checkatrade Stadium this summer, as another former Premier League star has taken over the reigns in their first management job.
Former Leeds United and Liverpool winger, Harry Kewell has been given the opportunity to take charge at Crawley after learning his trade with Watford.
Kewell has had a rebuilding job with The Reds and will be hoping that he can prove the bookies wrong, with most bookmakers backing his side as one of the favourites to go down.
It will be the first time that Crawley have entertained Vale since December 2014, when on that day, goals from Michael Brown and Louis Dodds were enough for Vale to come away with three points.
to come away with three points.
Talk
Brown:
“We’re ready. It’s a new team and we’re looking to see how they gel. It’ll take a bit of time for us but we’re looking forward to it and a plan is in place.”
Kewell:
"They’ll have a point to prove, and they’ve recruited well – but I’m more interested in the way we go about things on Saturday."
Team News
Vale could be without winger Cristian Montano, as the winger picked up an injury against Chester last weekend. The Valiants will also be without Tyrone Barnett who could be missing for the next few months.
Coverage
iFollow The Vale will be providing full 90 minute commentary from the match, while the Port Vale Twitter and Facebook feed will be providing live updates for the entirety.
There will also be build-up to the game with the official Snapchat account: officialpvfc.
Reaction will be available on the official website post-match, as well as on YouTube, iFollow and social media.