The 2012–13 season was Port Vale's 101st season of football in the English Football League, and fifth successive season in League Two. The club secured promotion into League One with a third-place finish. Administration scuppered the club's promotion chances in the previous campaign, and high-profile departures in the summer meant that manager Micky Adams had to rebuild his team from the ground up. His rebuilding efforts were severely hampered when Keith Ryder's expected takeover collapsed. The club was instead taken over by Paul Wildes on 20 November.