David Flitcroft promised a “real asset” but Port Vale recruit leaves with little impact - View | OneFootball

Port Vale have announced that midfielder Gavin Massey will leave the club following the conclusion of his contract this summer.

It brings to an end two years of mediocrity from the former Watford, Leyton Orient, Colchester and Wigan Athletic man, who arrived at Vale Park in the summer of 2022 and was heralded as "a real asset" by former director of football David Flitcroft.

However, Massey never got close to hitting the heights of his five seasons at Wigan and finishes his Vale career having made 98 total appearances and scoring just four goals.

Championship and League One success should have helped Vale

Massey joined the Valiants off the back of winning League One with Wigan Athletic in 2022. He made 33 appearances that season, although only nine of them were starts.

His love for Wigan, where he had spent five seasons, including two in the Championship, appeared undiminished on his release from the club, as he told the Wigan website: "I'll be a Latics fan forever."

And the club eulogised on his departure saying: "It’s certainly safe to say that the 29-year-old has been at the heart of some truly unforgettable memories during his five years at the DW Stadium, including two Sky Bet League One title victories, the shock win over Manchester City in the Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round, and THAT famous brace at Elland Road that wrote his name into Latics’ folklore forever."

Port Vale's director of football would have hoped that some of the League One winner's magic would have rubbed off on a team looking to cement their place in the third tier - but it wasn't to be.

Inauspicious start at Vale Park

Massey's time in Burslem didn't get off to the best start as manager Darrell Clarke explained he was unfit following "a long summer break" at the start of the campaign.

Once back fit, Massey was a regular in the team that were coping admirably in the top half of the table, but perhaps tellingly for his Vale career, his flexibility meant that he was never truly able to nail down a starting spot.

Massey found himself lining up as one of two attacking midfielders, sometimes wide right, and often in an unfamiliar wing-back role as Clarke set Vale up in a 3-5-2 formation.

He never once looked confident and was unable to offer much of a goal threat. Even in a game where he did score a crucial winner, in a 1-0 victory against Morecambe on Boxing Day, Massey had found himself playing in three different positions during the 90 minutes.

Accrington display sparks fan abuse

Massey's indifferent relationship with the Vale Park faithful came to a head during a defeat to Accrington Stanley in April 2023 in a key game that put Vale's League One status at serious risk.

A 3-0 defeat in which Massey started on the right side of midfield saw fans jeer the players at full time and he, alongside other players, did not react well to it. It led to some fans booing the former Wigan player at future games.

However, following a crucial win towards the end of the season which all but guaranteed Vale's safety, Massey told the club's website: “The crowd have seen some dull performances of late. They pay their well-earned money to watch us, so when we are not putting in the performances and getting results, they can have their say."

He was retained for the next season, but again was played out of his most natural position, with new manager Andy Crosby telling Mike Baggeley of The Valiant: "I think Gavin has had a difficult time at the club for a variety of reasons. I certainly didn’t help him at the start of the season by playing him out of position. We have had conversations about that and I take responsibility for that."

Massey scored his last goal for the club in a 3-3 draw with Charlton Athletic, but he had little impact through the course of the season and now finds himself looking for a new club.

Flitcroft's prediction when Vale snapped up the much-loved former Latic made sense in many ways but in truth, the 31-year-old never lived up to the billing.