6 players Port Vale have hated playing against over the years (Ranked) | OneFootball

Despite a 7-0 thrashing at the start of the season, Port Vale have had an excellent start to the new season.

The Valiants are sitting near the top end of the League One table, a position not many fans would have expected after the first game against Barnsley.

Port Vale did reasonably well last season in their first campaign back in England’s third tier, but now it will be about trying to improve on what they achieved last time.

But as with every team, they come across teams they don’t like playing and players as well, as certain individuals seem to perform their best when playing a certain team.

That got us thinking at Football League World about who Port Vale have hated playing against over the years.

So, here we picked six players they have played against who have a good record against the club, using Transfermarkt…

6 Lee Hughes

In joint-fifth place is former striker Lee Hughes, who netted seven goals in eight appearances against Port Vale.

Hughes played for a host of teams across the EFL during his career, so it is a surprise that he only played Vale eight times.

However, the retired footballer seemed to have an eye for goal when coming up against the Valiants.

5 Jamie Forrester

Alongside Hughes, who scored seven goals in eight games against Port Vale, is former Leeds United and Notts County attacker Jamie Forrester.

The 48-year-old is another player who played for a host of EFL teams in his career, and it seems his career saw him have a good record when it came to playing the Valiants.

4 Joe Garner

Joe Garner is next on the list, and he is a player that many football fans, not just Port Vale fans, will know.

The experienced forward has played Vale nine times in his career and has so far scored eight goals against them.

As Garner is still playing for Carlisle United, he could yet add to that record.

3 Jamie Cureton

In joint third place with Garner is former footballer Jamie Cureton.

He played against Port Vale seven times in his career, and the 48-year-old scored eight goals in the process.

Cureton played for the likes of Swindon Town and Norwich City in his career, and he is now said to be the manager of Enfield FC.

2 Adebayo Akinfenwa

In joint first place is a former footballer that everyone will know or have come across.

The striker played for a host of EFL teams, which included Wycombe Wanderers and AFC Wimbledon.

Akinfenwa mostly played in League One and League Two in his career, which meant he came across Port Vale a few times, and that shows as he played 12 games against the Valiants and netted nine goals.

1 James Vaughan

Along with Akinfenwa, James Vaughan is also a player who has netted nine goals against Port Vale, but he did it in only five games.

Vaughan is now retired from football, but in his playing career, he played for Everton, Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic, Bradford City, and Tranmere Rovers, to name a few.