Shanahan OBE reviving Vale and, like Rashford, helping the needy
WHEN Marcus Rashford was honoured at Windsor Castle, Port Vale owner Carol Shanahan was not far behind following in his footsteps.
England and Manchester United hero Rashford MBE has become a national darling for his work leading the fight against child poverty.
But less than an hour down the M6 at Vale Park, in Burslem, 46 miles from Old Trafford, Shanahan has also been making her mark.
Her work revitalising League Two side Vale and helping the local community saw Prince Charles present Shanahan with an OBE last month.
Shanahan’s drive, vision and positivity has set-up Vale, under boss Darrell Clarke, for a promising season on the pitch where tomorrow they meet Premier League Brentford in the FA Cup third round.
But off the pitch, Shanahan’s charitable efforts supporting children and families with food and activities have been even more appreciated.
Under Shanahan’s direction,
Potteries’ charity the Hubb Foundation teamed up with Vale and her other businesses to deliver more than 350,000 meals to homes across Stoke-on-Trent in the pandemic.
It saw Vale, who are sixth in League Two, named the EFL’s Community Club of the Year last April, while Shanahan is now on the EFL Trust Board and on increasingly friendly terms with Prince Charles.
Shanahan, 64, (with her OBE, below) said: “Going to Windsor Castle was amazing.
“In typical football style we had Bristol Rovers away the night before. So we booked a hotel just around the corner from Windsor Castle and we didn’t get there until 1am and had to be at the castle at 9.45am, but it was beautiful.
“It was Prince Charles, which I was really pleased about, as I have met him a few times.
“I got it for services to the community of Stoke-on-Trent and he started off by saying, ‘How are things in Stoke?’.
“The Prince’s Trust did a lot of work to restore Middleport Pottery locally. I felt very comfortable and knew what to say to him and how to engage.”
Shanahan has a rare gift of being as comfortable with royalty as she is with regular football fans.
But she also has a steely determination which has helped building her own IT company Synectics Solutions from scratch with husband Kevin before moving into football.
Shanahan added: “It is really good what Marcus Rashford has done for children and also on discrimination. I am really big on that.
“I had some fans write to me about taking the knee, saying they would give their season tickets back. I rang these old blokes and said, ‘I want to understand more, what is your issue?’. Let’s just say no one asked for their money back.”
But for all of Vale’s initiatives, Shanahan’s mailbox a year ago, when the club was struggling, underlined the importance of winning.
She makes no secret of her wish to get Vale promoted after buying it in 2019 from Norman Smurthwaite for £5million.
Shanahan said: “I hosted the players’ BBQ before the season.
“One said, ‘we have only known this at clubs when we have got promoted’. I said, ‘well, we are just premature’.
“Last season, I call a c**p sandwich – we were great, we were c**p. But I grew more as a person than ever before.
“When we get promoted I want the foundations to be deep, not shallow.”
But while Shanahan is upbeat about Vale’s future, she has seen first hand how many lower-league clubs are toiling.
“There is a lot of money above us, but it doesn’t trickle down,” she said. “We have been treated in the lower leagues as if we are members of a rich family, but we are not all rich clubs.”