The Port Vale Player of the Year award is voted for annually by Port Vale's supporters in recognition of the best overall performance by an individual player throughout the football season. Towards the end of each season, fans are invited to cast their votes for this award.
The inaugural award was made to Roy Sproson in 1967 and became an annual event from Ron Wilson's victory in 1969. David Harris (1974 and 1977), Ray Walker (1988 and 1991), Mark Grew (1989 and 1992), Neil Aspin (1990 and 1994), Martin Foyle (1995 and 1999), Nathan Smith (2017 and 2023) and Ben Garrity (2022 and 2024) have all won two awards during their time at Vale Park. Aspin and Foyle also went on to manage the club, whilst Grew spent three spells as caretaker manager. Tom Pope is the only player to win the award thrice, winning in 2013, 2014 and 2018. Eamonn O'Keefe and Anthony Griffith represented Ireland and Montserrat respectively at international level, though both players were born in England. After receiving his first award in April 2013, Tom Pope stated, "To be voted for by the fans like this is a massive honour for me. It means such a lot, more than the other [PFA] awards I've been lucky enough to win." Midfielders are more commonly rewarded, claiming 20 wins.
The current holder is midfielder Kyle John, following his consistent performances throughout the 2025–26 season.
Winners YearLevelNamePositionNationalityReferenceNotes1967 4 Defender 1969 4 Defender 1970 4 Midfielder 1971 3 Striker 1972 3 Striker 1973 3 Striker 1974 3 Defender 1975 3 Goalkeeper 1976 3 Midfielder 1977 3 Defender 1978 3 Striker 1979 4 Striker 1980 4 Midfielder 1981 4 Midfielder 1982 4 Striker 1983 4 Defender 1984 3 Striker 1985 4 Defender 1986 4 Goalkeeper 1987 3 Striker 1988 3 Midfielder 1989 3 Goalkeeper 1990 2 Defender 1991 2 Midfielder 1992 2 Goalkeeper 1993 3 Midfielder 1994 3 Defender 1995 2 Striker 1996 2 Midfielder 1997 2 Striker 1998 2 Midfielder 1999 2 Striker 2000 2 Midfielder 2001 3 Midfielder 2002 3 Goalkeeper 2003 3 Defender 2004 3 Striker 2005 3 Striker 2006 3 Defender 2007 3 Striker 2008 3 Midfielder 2009 4 Goalkeeper 2010 4 Midfielder 2011 4 Defender 2012 4 Midfielder 2013 4 Striker 2014 3 Striker 2015 3 Midfielder 2016 3 Midfielder 2017 3 Defender 2018 4 Striker 2019 4 Goalkeeper 2020 4 Midfielder 2021 4 Midfielder 2022 4 Midfielder 2023 3 Defender 2024 3 Midfielder 2025 4 Midfielder 2026 3 Defender
Wins by playing position Position Number ofwinners Midfielder 21Striker 17Defender 14Goalkeeper 7
Wins by nationality Nationality Number ofwinners 49 3 3 2 1 1
Footnotes A. For ease of reading, the complexities of the frequent renaming of the various divisions have been simplified to a number, reflecting the official "Level" of competition in the English league system. For more information see English football league system#Structure.
B. For a full description of positions, see Association football positions.
C. Inaugural winner.
D. Second award.
E. First non-British winner.
F. Multiple winners are counted multiple times.
G. Third award.
References General
Specific