Port Vale's 6 worst managers in order of win percentage (ranked) | OneFootball

Port Vale have Andy Crosby in charge at present, but have had some catastrophic managers take the managerial hotseat previously.

Last season, they secured an 18th-place finish in League One to confirm their spot in the third tier for a second consecutive season.

Crosby became interim manager after Darrell Clarke was sacked in April following a run of two wins in eighteen League One matches, and he went on to win one and lose three of the final four games of the 2022/33 season, which earnt him the permanent role 12 May.

Vale opened the current season in disastrous fashion with a 7-0 defeat at Barnsley, the biggest opening day defeat for any team in the EFL since the 1962/63 season over 60 years ago. However, since then, his team have responded with ten points from the remaining twelve on offer in August and turned things around.

They will be looking to kick on even further in the coming months this season, to secure the club's place even higher up the table than last term, in a much safer position.

Sticking to the theme of managers, we take a look at the 6 worst managers of the club based on their win percentage at Vale Park.

Stanley Matthews - 26.5%

In sixth place is a legend of English football, Sir Stanley Matthews. The Stoke City and Blackpool winger managed Birmingham from May 1967 to April 1968, with his managerial reign spanning 49 games in total. Matthews won just 13 times, losing 21 games in charge.

The former England international would never manage a club side again but would stay on as a youth team manager. That was after Port Vale were expelled from the Football League for financial irregularities and he was forced to use his name to plead with the other Football League clubs to re-elect the Vale, which they duly did.

Mark Grew - 25%

A more recent entry is in fifth spot, with Grew in charge for two spells, starting in December 2011 and the last one ending in May 2011 as caretaker. The 65-year-old lost five of his 12 games in the hotseat and would also win only three times.

As a player, Grew played for Vale for six years in the 1980s and 90s, with the former goalkeeper eventually joining as a youth team coach but worked his way up to caretaker and assistant roles. He left the club in May 2015 as part of new manager's Rob Page's reshuffle of his backroom staff, and decided to take time out of football to undergo a back operation. He left the club following his testimonial match to honour his 25 years of service to the club and hasn't coached since.

Lee Sinnott - 20.5%

Next up is Sinnott, who took charge at Vale Park from November 2007 until September 2008, with his stint seeing him in the dug-out for 44 games. He won nine of his matches, drawing 11, and losing 24 times.

During his playing career, Sinnott was most well known for his stint with Bradford City, but would go on to manage a whole host of clubs. He had spells at Farsley Celtic, Bradford Park Avenue, Altrincham, and Gainsborough Trinity. The 58-year-old has not managed since 2019, yet despite the poor results Vale picked up during his reign, many of Sinnott's signings would become key players for the club over the next few seasons.

Bobby Smith - 18.2%

Smith takes the Bronze medal, unfortunately. The 79-year-old has had greater success elsewhere, having managed Swindon Town, Newport County, Swansea City after his Vale stint, and Bury prior to joining the Valiants.

It wasn't a productive spell with Port Vale, as Smith won six of his 33 games in charge, whilst losing a further 13 times in the process. With four games to go, Vale were one point clear of the drop, but by losing all of their remaining games the Valiants ended the 1977/78 season in 21st place and were relegated into the Fourth Division.

Michael Brown - 17.6%

Brown is another more recent entry, and his stint was a complete disaster with Vale. The pundit was in charge from December 2016 until September 2017. He lost 19 of 34 games, whilst only winning six in the process.

He had previously been a player for the club that year, but was appointed as caretaker to replace Bruno Ribeiro. Despite being relegated, Brown was confirmed as the club's permanent manager in May 2017. However, they then suffered their worst start to a season in 50 years at the beginning of the 2017/18 season, going a club record six games without scoring a goal as they sat bottom of the table in September following six consecutive league defeats. He has not managed a club since.

Ivor Powell - 10.5%

In first place, by some distance, is the former QPR and Aston Villa player, who took charge at Port Vale as player-manager but he played just the six times, restricted on the field by a knee injury. As a manager, he then attempted to 'rule by fear' and was not well liked by the players.

He managed the club for 19 games from July 1951, but with the club bottom of the Third Division South, his contract was terminated in November. Powell won twice, with eight draws and nine defeats, giving him the worst record in the club's history. Powell became manager of Bath City in 1964 and then a member of the coaching staff at Team Bath (University of Bath), where he worked for over 30 years, before becoming a coach at the same club. At the age of 93, Powell announced his retirement as the "world's oldest football coach" in May 2010, he passed away a few years later at the age of 96.