With 3 wins from 5 league games so far, this is Port Vale's best overall start to a season since 2006/07. Vale were then 2nd in League One after 4 wins from 5 games, one place below Nottingham Forest. Martin Foyle's team finished 12th in the end, whilst Forest slumped to a humiliating playoff defeat against Yeovil.
The last time Vale won 3 league away games in a row was in the 2001/02 season when they beat Notts County 3-1 (Steve Brooker (2), Steve McPhee), Stoke City 1-0 (Michael Cummins, in front of 23,019), and Cambridge United 1-0 (McPhee, in front of only 2,379). Stoke finished 4th and won the playoff final for promotion. Cambridge finished bottom, 9 points adrift, but Notts County survived with a win on the last day of the season.
BUT THE LAST TIME PORT VALE STARTED THE SEASON WITH 3 AWAY WINS IN A ROW WAS...81 years ago, in the 1929/30 season.
Only a few days before the Wall Street Crash, Vale beat Halifax Town 2-1, New Brighton 1-0, and Wrexham 2-0. They actually won their first 5 games, going on to win 10 of their first 11 games. They ended the season champions of the Third Division (North).
But today, whilst Stoke City are experiencing their worst start in 24 years, Vale are flying high in 4th place.
Curiously, when the 2010/11 Vale fixtures were announced last June, Chairman Bill Bratt had this to say: "The first five or six games look difficult."
"It's a very difficult start but playing those teams at the start is as good a time as any to get them out of the way."
Does this imply that it's going to get easier?