previous campaign, having slashed the player wage bill by more than £600,000 to £1.12 million. On 4 June 2009, it was announced that Micky Adams would become the club's new manager. Adams made a solid start to his tenure impressing the Vale faithful with his honest attitude on the club's situation and did not take long to write himself into the club's history books. In just his second match, a League Cup tie at Championship side Sheffield United, Vale ran out 2–1 winners. This becoming only the third time in the club's history that they had won away at a side two leagues above their own status (the others were in 1954 and 1964, both in the FA Cup). In the second round it was a case of deja vu, as Sheffield rivals Wednesday were dispatched 2–0. After a period of three defeats in seven days, including being knocked out of the League Cup at the third round, Adams decided to place his whole squad on the transfer list, saying of his team's performance: “We looked like a woman who had a big fur coat on but underneath she’s got no knickers on.” He later admitted he merely played "a psychological game with them... [and] I don't think they fell for it – I don't think anybody fell for it". Nevertheless, they stormed into the play-off places for the first time in the season with just two games left to play. However a loss and a draw saw them finish the season in tenth place. History repeated itself for the start of 2010–11, with Adams leading Vale to their fifth ever win over opposition two tiers higher than themselves, new signing Justin Richards scoring a brace in a 3–1 win at Queens Park Rangers in the League Cup First Round. Adams left the club in December 2010, with Vale second in the table, after his hometown club Sheffield United chose him as their new manager. Jim Gannon was appointed to finish the promotion job, having already masterminded Stockport County's escape from the division some years previous. Vale lost ground during the transition phase, though hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons in February, after Gannon and assistant Geoff Horsfield had a bust-up during a pre-match coach trip, which resulted in both men leaving the bus to return to Burslem. This argument proved to be just the tip of the