James Plant
James John Plant (born 3 February 2004) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for EFL League One club Port Vale. He has previously played on loan at Nantwich Town and Salisbury.
![]() Plant in 2023 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | James John Plant[1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 3 February 2004||
Place of birth | Werrington, Staffordshire, England[3] | ||
Position(s) | Winger | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Port Vale | ||
Number | 21 | ||
Youth career | |||
Port Vale | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2022– | Port Vale | 20 | (2) |
2022 | → Nantwich Town (loan) | 6 | (0) |
2023 | → Salisbury (loan) | 10 | (3) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:57, 24 October 2023 (UTC) |
Early life
James John Plant was born in Werrington, Staffordshire; his grandfather, Ian Powell, ran a food fan selling spit roasted chickens from his blue van in Stoke-on-Trent city centre for 40 years before his retirement in 2023.[4]
Career
Plant made his senior debut for Port Vale in a 1–0 victory over Stockport County in an EFL Trophy group stage game at Vale Park on 30 August 2022; he came on as an 86th-minute substitute for Tommy McDermott.[5] On 24 September 2022, he joined Northern Premier League Premier Division club Nantwich Town on a work experience loan, having been recommended to joint-manager Ritchie Sutton, who said Plant would bring "energy, enthusiasm, quality and a great attitude" to the "Dabbers" squad.[6][7] Plant made his debut later that day, and was named as man of the match in a 2–0 defeat at Whitby Town.[8] He was praised by "Dabbers" supporters for his "creative playing style and energetic performances".[9] On 31 January 2023, he joined Southern League Premier Division South club Salisbury on a work experience loan, alongside Tommy McDermott.[10] He was named as Player of the Match in each of his first two appearances for Salisbury and scored on his fourth appearance, a 3–0 win at Hanwell Town.[11][12] He was named as the club's Player of the Month for February.[13] He received a career first red-card during a 3–0 victory at Metropolitan Police on 4 March.[14] On 30 March, it was announced that the loan deal had been extended until the end of the 2022–23 season.[15] He made his League One debut for Port Vale on 10 April, coming on as a 69th-minute substitute for Gavin Massey in a 0–0 draw with Oxford United.[16] He started his first League One game eight days later, impressing in central midfield in a 2–1 defeat at Ipswich Town.[17] He signed his first professional (two-year) contract in April 2023; David Flitcroft, the club's director of football, said that "his ability, attitude, character and commitment to getting better is outstanding and is now a benchmark for all players who come through the academy".[18] Plant scored his first goal in the EFL in a 3–2 loss at Charlton Athletic on 29 April.[19]
Plant began the 2023–24 season strongly and was teasingly nicknamed "Son of Crosby" by his teammates due to manager Andy Crosby's fulsome praise for his attitude and performances.[20]
Style of play
Plant is a versatile player, able to play as a forward, central midfielder or at wing back.[21]
Career statistics
- As of match played 24 October 2023
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Port Vale | 2022–23[22] | EFL League One | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 9 | 2 |
2023–24[23] | EFL League One | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
Total | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 28 | 2 | ||
Nantwich Town (loan) | 2022–23[24] | Northern Premier League Premier Division | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 7 | 0 |
Salisbury (loan) | 2022–23[25] | Southern League Premier Division South | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 |
Career total | 36 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 45 | 5 |
- Appearances in the EFL Trophy.
- Appearances in the FA Trophy.
References
- "Club List Of Registered Players" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
- James Plant at Soccerway
- Baggaley, Michael (31 January 2023). "Port Vale duo McDermott and Plant join Salisbury on loan". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
- Olah, Maisie; Lee, Matt (26 July 2023). "Stoke-on-Trent's chicken man retires after 40 years". BBC News. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- "Papa Johns Trophy (Sky Sports)". Sky Sports. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- Bamforth, Harry (24 September 2022). "James Plant joins Nantwich Town on loan". www.port-vale.co.uk. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- Price, Liam (24 September 2022). "James Plant joins Dabbers on work experience loan from Port Vale". Nantwich Town Football Club. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- Baggaley, Michael (26 September 2022). "Port Vale's James Plant impresses on loan debut at Nantwich Town". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- Mounteney, Luke (4 October 2022). "Loan Round Up | James Plant stars as Nantwich Town held to draw at Matlock". www.port-vale.co.uk. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
- "Tommy McDermott and James Plant join Salisbury FC on loan". www.port-vale.co.uk. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
- "Loan Round Up | Find out how Port Vale's out on loan players are faring". www.port-vale.co.uk. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- "Loan Round-Up | James Plant off the mark for Salisbury as four Valiants feature". www.port-vale.co.uk. 19 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- "Loan Round Up | Find out how Port Vale's out on loan players fared this weekend". www.port-vale.co.uk. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- Pearson, Ian (4 March 2023). "Met Police Match Report". Salisbury FC. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
- Pearson, Ian (30 March 2023). "Plant & McDermott". Salisbury FC. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- Baggaley, Michael (10 April 2023). "Port Vale player ratings vs Oxford draw with red card and late drama". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- Baggaley, Michael (18 April 2023). "Port Vale player ratings vs Ipswich as Plant impresses in defeat". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
- Baggaley, Michael (25 April 2023). "Flitcroft issues 'outstanding' verdict as Plant agrees Port Vale contract". StokeonTrentLive. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- "Andy Crosby | "Disappointed with our first-half, but the primary goal has been achieved"". www.port-vale.co.uk. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
- Baggaley, Mike (2 October 2023). "Why Port Vale class act James Wilson is more than statistics". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
- Baggaley, Mike (16 October 2023). "Ben Garrity, a century and finest of the new era". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- "Games played by James Plant in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- "Games played by James Plant in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- "Nantwich Town | Appearances | James Plant | Football Web Pages". www.footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
- "Salisbury FC". Salisbury FC. Retrieved 19 February 2023.