on 20 November 2012. The 2012–13 season was a resounding success, with Tom Pope scoring 33 goals to fire Vale to promotion back to League One with a third-place finish. Paul Wildes stepped down as chairman and was replaced by Norman Smurthwaite in May 2013. The club continued to progress in the league during the 2013–14, consolidating their League One status with a ninth-place finish. Adams left the club following a poor start to the 2014–15 campaign, and his assistant, Rob Page, stepped up to lead Vale to mid-table finishes in 2014–15 and 2015–16, before quitting the club to take charge at league rivals Northampton Town. Smurthwaite appointed the club's first foreign manager, Bruno Ribeiro, in June 2016. A virtually new squad of foreign recruits arrived and the result was relegation back into League Two at the end of the 2016–17 season under caretaker-manager Michael Brown, who succeeded Ribeiro on Boxing day. Smurthwaite issued a statement apologising for relegation, and stated that he would be stepping down as chairman and would no longer attend games as he looked to sell the club. An atrocious start to the 2017–18 season saw Brown sacked on 16 September with the club bottom of the Football League. Stepping in to replace Brown, with the club now 22nd in League Two, was former defender Neil Aspin, with John Rudge returning as director of football. They managed to prevent another relegation, though the 20th-place finish at the end of 2017–18 was still the joint-lowest in the club's history. Aspin resigned in January 2019, leaving the club 18th in League Two. John Askey came in and steered the club clear of the relegation zone despite losing his first four games in charge. Smurthwaite threatened to put the club into administration if a buyer was not found by May 2019, a fate which was avoided when Carol and Kevin Shanahan completed their takeover. 2020–present: Shanahan's ownership The 2019–20 was ended prematurely with the entire club staff on furlough due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom; now sole chairperson, Carol Shanahan voted to end the league early for the future financial health of other clubs in the division, even though it would cost the club a chance to improve on their eighth-place position and reach the play-offs. John Askey departed as manager with the team sitting 17th in the table in January 2021. David Flitcroft became the