‘The Porthill Pirlo’: Tom Conlon’s Instrumental Role in Port Vale’s Ongoing Unbeaten Run

Tom Conlon has played a key role in Port Vale’s ongoing unbeaten run, which included eight wins (six being consecutive), a record which dates back to the 13^th of March with the Burslem side snatching 25 points from an available 27.

Port Vale were amongst the League Two promotion favourites at the start of the season, however following a good start to the season things started to take a turn for the worst under the later stages of John Askey’s tenure which saw him sacked at the turn of the year.

Port Vale have been rejuvenated under new manager Darrell Clarke who was appointed in February. The 43-year-old has uplifted the atmosphere of the club, which had been incredibly flat before his arrival.

As the Valiants found themselves drifting towards the League Two relegation zone, Clarke’s formula clicked which has seen his side go on an incredible run of form bringing the best out of many players including midfielder Tom Conlon.

The 25-year-old, who was born in Porthill which is just over a mile and a half away from Vale Park, was bought to the club in the summer of 2018 from Stevenage and has made 96 appearances for the North Staffordshire outfit so far netting 14 goals in the process.

The dynamic midfielder has enjoyed fine form during Vale’s nine game unbeaten run, scoring five goals, providing two assists, and being named man of the match on three occasions.

Conlon possesses slick passing, especially in the opponent’s half, which shows his attacking intent and prowess. Not only this, Conlon also has a gritty aggression about his play which is a key trait that’s required to be successful in the Football League, especially for midfielders.

The ‘Porthill Pirlo’ became the first Port Vale midfielder to score ten goals in a season since Micky Cummins in the 2005/06 campaign, following his winning goal on Saturday as Vale were victorious 2-1 over Bradford City.

During his impressive run of form, the midfielder has provided excellent service to players like Devante Rodney and Theo Robinson, two attacking players who in recently have benefitted from Conlon’s fine form.

Tom Conlon also has a wand of a left foot which is a real threat from set pieces. This was perfectly shown in Port Vale’s recent game against Morecambe, where a pinpoint away swinging free-kick from Conlon was headed home by defender Nathan Smith from seven yards out.

The midfielder has averaged a 7.25 WhoScored match rating throughout the 2020/21 League Two season and has the third highest average match rating in the division behind the league’s top assister Callum Guy of Carlisle and clinical Tranmere forward James Vaughan.

Conlon’s standout performance during this incredible streak came in Vale’s away victory at Barrow where he bagged a brace. His first goal of the game coming from a perfectly struck volley from inside the centre circle in the Barrow half which looped over Joel Dixon in goal – not only a goal of the season contender but a worthy contender for the Puskas goal of the year award.

His second goal of the game came through his attentive nature of play. Following a great tackle from the Barrow defence, a loose ball fell kindly to Conlon’s feet before he dispatched a shot which rocketed straight into the back of the net.

The 25-year-old has also received the trust of manager Clarke, as the midfielder has captained Port Vale during this run, with the manager saying that Conlon was “not necessarily too vocal, but leading by example.”

Conlon will be hoping to add to his goals tally (10) and hit double figures for assists (currently on eight) before the end of the season.

Alongside this, the Valiants will be hoping to extend this unbeaten streak going into next season and will be hoping to break the club’s all-time unbeaten record of 16 games which hasn’t been broken for two decades.

Before the unbeaten streak began, Vale were sat 21st in the League Two table, whereas now they’ve soared all the way up to 11th and only six points off the playoff places. Whilst the playoffs look unlikely for Port Vale, this momentum gives them a great platform to build on at the start of next season.

In a recent interview with the Sentinel newspaper, Port Vale’s number nine Tom Pope gave his thoughts on Conlon:

Tom Conlon is having a great season and is hopefully a player we can build our team around… I’m not surprised Danny Pugh (former caretaker manager between Askey’s and Clarke’s tenures) gave the armband to Tom when Leon Legge was suspended – it’s recognition of the improvement he has made over the last 18 months and the influence he has on the rest of the group… So, I do think Tom has a really bright future. It’s good news he’s got 18 months left on his contract because I am sure there is going to be interest in him.

There’s no doubt that clubs will be keen to land the versatile midfielder’s signature this summer, but if Port Vale manage to keep Conlon at the club, he will play a pivotal part in a potential promotion push next season as the Vale target a return to League One.

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