EUROPE CALLING: CAN WE PITCHUP AT VALE?

SO much for Brexit. Port Vale and their new Portuguese manager, Bruno Ribeiro, have embraced the Continent like never before. Just three of their 14 summer signings hail from old Blighty. There’s Kjell Knops from the Netherlands, Carlos Saleiro from Portugal, Sebastien Amoros from France. And let’s not forget Christopher Mbamba, signed from Norwegian third division side HamKam, or Quentin Pereira, last seen playing semi-pro for Epernay Champagne in France’s fourth tier. Now, these mystery men could be brilliant. Ribeiro may have the finest scouting network in Europe. Until things get grim and grisly in deepest December, nobody knows. But if I was a Vale fan, I’d be worried. Leyton Orient and Charlton both stocked their squads with cheap imports, their owners falsely equating the Football League with the sub-standard, often parttime lower leagues in France and Spain. Both were relegated as a result. Doncaster attempted a similar experiment in 2011-12, only to find their Papa’s Army of French veterans woefully short of Championship class. That’s not to disparage foreign players or suggest that Ribeiro is a fool. But, as Plymouth boss Derek Adams said: League Two sides could easily hold their own in the Scottish Premier and you don’t see many French amateurs thriving up there. They may be talented. They may thrive in the autumn. But history suggests Vale’s multicultural outfit lack the power and endurance to survive a brutal 46-game season.