Famous Players – The 2000’s

Micky Cummins

Irish midfielder Micky Cummins joined the Vale on a free transfer from Middlesborough in March 2000. He played 12 games at the end of that season as the Valiants were relegated to the third tier. However, he had impressed with his skilful performances and was given a two-year contract.

He played a total of 56 games in 2000-01, many of which were out of position at right-wing-back.  He also featured in the 2001 Football League Trophy final 2–1 victory over Brentford at the Millennium Stadium.

Cummins was a key player for Vale in 2001-02, scoring nine goals in 53 games; the most significant of these nine goals came in a 1–0 win against Stoke City at the Brittania Stadium in 2002 (the last such league meeting between the two clubs). The following season he suffered a serious shoulder injury which limited his appearances and ultimately required surgery. He recovered to score four goals in 46 games in 2003-04 as new manager Martin Foyle led the club to a seventh-place finish just outside of the play-offs.

Micky signed a new two-year deal in May 2004, and appeared regularly throughout the season as Vale struggled to compete in the third tier. With 10 goals in 2005-06 he finished the campaign as the club’s joint-highest league goalscorer after featuring in a total of 42 games.

In May 2006 Micky decided to relocate to the North East for family reasons and signed for Darlington Town. He went on to play for Rotherham, Grimsby and Gateshead before taking up coaching. He currently coaches in the Academy at Middlesborough.