1974–75 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale

1974–75 season

Chairman

Mark Singer

Manager

Roy Sproson

Stadium

Vale Park

Football League Third Division

6th (51 Points)

First Round

First Round

Top goalscorer

League: Ray Williams (14)
All: Terry Bailey/Ray Williams (14)

Highest home attendance

9,135 vs. Blackburn Rovers (26 April 1975)

Lowest home attendance

2,704 vs. Gillingham (7 September 1974)

Average home league attendance

4,346

Home colours

← 1973–74

1975–76 →

The 1974–75 season was Port Vale's 63rd season of football in the Football League, and their fifth successive season (11th overall) in the Third Division.^[1] It was Roy Sproson's first full season in charge. With cross-town rivals Stoke City competing in Europe and running close for the First Division title, Vale's attendances waned, as they were the third least-supported club in the division. This was despite a promotion challenging season that eventually ended with a sixth place finish. Vale exited both cup competitions in the opening rounds.

Overview

Third Division

The pre-season saw Roy Sproson attempt to construct a new attacking style by signing attacking midfielder Terry Bailey from Stafford Rangers for £2,500, winger Frank Sharp from Grimsby Town, and goalkeeper John Connaughton from Sheffield United.^[1] There was also a dispute with John Woodward who asked for a transfer after a disagreement over his contract; Sproson said "he is trying to hold us to ransom and we are not having that".^[1]

The season opened with two Bailey goals, though Vale would have to wait until their fourth match for a victory, at which point their coffers were boosted by £10,000 following Sammy Morgan's success at Aston Villa.^[1] In September, Sproson made a £10,000 bid for Keith Leonard that was rejected.^[1] Instead he brought in young left-back Garry Dulson on loan from Nottingham Forest, and later bought him permanently for £5,000, using another £5,400 Villa were forced to pay Vale after Morgan hit another target.^[1] The "Valiants" proved difficult to beat, and heading into Christmas they won six of their last nine league games.^[1] Their 4–0 win over Huddersfield Town lifted them into third place, though attendances were still below 4,000.^[1] A 3–1 win over Southend United at Roots Hall then put the club into second spot, at which point Bob Mountford was sold to Rochdale for £2,000.^[1] A four day holiday in Benidorm in the new year did not seem to help the Vale, as three straight defeats followed to drag them down the table.^[1] To halt the slide Sproson bought striker Derek Brownbill from Liverpool for £5,000.^[1] Two sendings off in a 3–1 defeat at Leeds Road – John Brodie also managed to break his leg in the challenge that earned him a red card – forced Sproson to defend his team after that took the Vale's red card tally to seven for the season.^[1] Nevertheless a solid spell put Vale back into the promotion race by March, though their form dropped off again, and their hopes were crushed completely on 26 April with a 3–1 defeat at home to Gordon Lee's champions-elect Blackburn Rovers.^[1]

They finished in sixth place with 51 points, leaving them four points shy of promoted Charlton Athletic.^[1] Just two home losses were matched by only three victories on the road.^[1] The three main scorers were Ray Williams (14), Terry Bailey (14), and Brian Horton (13).^[1] At the end of the season the players took a break in Malta, where they drew 1–1 with Floriana.^[1] Tommy McLaren spent the summer in Oregon, playing for the Portland Timbers.^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a loss was made of £16,964 despite donations of £13,803 from the development funds.^[1] The supporters group also paid £1,200 for video equipment, allowing the club to record games and show players their mistakes.^[2] The average home attendance of 4,346 was the third-lowest in the division.^[1] Wages stood at £72,874, gate receipts took in £43,199, and there was a loss in the transfer market of £6,000.^[1] The financial situation meant that seven players were released and thirteen were retained.^[1] Amongst those departing were: John Woodward (Scunthorpe United); Frank Sharp (Northwich Victoria); Roy Cross (Nuneaton Borough); Bill Summerscales (Rochdale); and Reg Edwards (Brereton Social).^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale lost their First Round Replay 2–0 at Lincoln City's Sincil Bank, following a 2–2 draw in Burslem.^[1] Dulson scored an own goal in the original match and was sent off in the replay for punching Dick Krzywicki.^[1]

In the League Cup, Vale left the competition at the first stage with a 1–0 defeat at Fourth Division Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium.^[1]

Final league table

Main article: 1974–75 Football League

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GA	Pts
1	Blackburn Rovers	46	22	16	8	68	45	1.511	60
2	Plymouth Argyle	46	24	11	11	79	58	1.362	59
3	Charlton Athletic	46	22	11	13	76	61	1.246	55
4	Swindon Town	46	21	11	14	64	58	1.103	53
5	Crystal Palace	46	18	15	13	66	57	1.158	51
6	Port Vale	46	18	15	13	61	54	1.130	51
7	Peterborough United	46	19	12	15	47	53	0.887	50
8	Walsall	46	18	13	15	67	52	1.288	49
9	Preston North End	46	19	11	16	63	56	1.125	49
10	Gillingham	46	17	14	15	65	60	1.083	48
11	Colchester United	46	17	13	16	70	63	1.111	47
12	Hereford United	46	16	14	16	64	66	0.970	46
13	Wrexham	46	15	15	16	65	55	1.182	45
14	Bury	46	16	12	18	53	50	1.060	44
15	Chesterfield	46	16	12	18	62	66	0.939	44
16	Grimsby Town	46	15	13	18	55	64	0.859	43
17	Halifax Town	46	13	17	16	49	65	0.754	43
18	Southend United	46	13	16	17	46	51	0.902	42
19	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	16	10	20	56	64	0.875	42
20	Aldershot	46	14	11	21	53	63	0.841	38
21	Bournemouth	46	13	12	21	44	58	0.759	38
22	Tranmere Rovers	46	14	9	23	55	57	0.965	37
23	Watford	46	10	17	19	52	75	0.693	37
24	Huddersfield Town	46	11	10	25	47	76	0.618	32

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H
Result	D	D	L	W	L	D	W	D	D	L	D	W	L	D	W	W	D	W	L	W	W	W	L	W	W	L	L	L	D	D	D	W	W	L	W	W	D	W	L	D	D	W	D	L	L	W
Position	9	9	22	14	16	16	12	16	12	16	16	13	14	14	13	13	11	11	14	10	9	3	7	2	2	6	7	11	9	10	9	9	7	9	7	4	6	5	5	5	6	4	4	6	8	6

Sourced from Statto.^[3]

Football League Third Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
17 August 1974	Wrexham	A	2–2	6,314	Bailey (2)
24 August 1974	Swindon Town	H	2–2	3,446	Williams, Sharp
31 August 1974	Grimsby Town	A	0–3	5,383
7 September 1974	Gillingham	H	2–1	2,704	Horton (pen), Sharp
13 September 1974	Tranmere Rovers	A	0–1	3,033
18 September 1974	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	1–1	12,340	Bailey
21 September 1974	Hereford United	H	3–0	3,433	Williams, Horton, Bailey
28 September 1974	Halifax Town	A	1–1	1,935	Bailey
30 September 1974	Colchester United	H	2–2	3,722	Williams, Bailey
5 October 1974	Aldershot	A	1–2	3,406	Horton
8 October 1974	Walsall	A	0–0	6,507
12 October 1974	Plymouth Argyle	H	2–0	3,634	Horton, Woodward
15 October 1974	Colchester United	A	0–2	5,184
19 October 1974	Blackburn Rovers	A	2–2	9,777	Bailey, Woodward
26 October 1974	Crystal Palace	H	2–1	5,148	Bailey, Horton
2 November 1974	Bournemouth	A	2–1	5,143	Williams (2)
4 November 1974	Walsall	H	1–1	4,859	Williams
9 November 1974	Chesterfield	H	3–2	3,941	Woodward (2), Williams
16 November 1974	Watford	A	2–3	6,659	Bailey, o.g.
30 November 1974	Peterborough United	A	2–0	7,627	Chadwick, Horton
7 December 1974	Bury	H	1–0	4,038	Horton (pen)
14 December 1974	Huddersfield Town	H	4–0	3,986	Horton, Chadwick, Bailey, Lacey
21 December 1974	Preston North End	A	0–1	8,743
26 December 1974	Tranmere Rovers	H	1–0	6,196	Horton
28 December 1974	Southend United	A	3–1	6,535	Williams, Chadwick, Horton (pen)
11 January 1975	Bury	A	1–3	7,204	Horton
18 January 1975	Peterborough United	H	1–3	4,979	Horton
1 February 1975	Chesterfield	A	0–1	4,348
8 February 1975	Bournemouth	H	0–0	3,710
15 February 1975	Charlton Athletic	A	2–2	9,449	Chadwick (2)
22 February 1975	Watford	H	0–0	4,164
1 March 1975	Grimsby Town	H	1–0	3,335	Williams
3 March 1975	Charlton Athletic	H	1–0	4,638	Brownbill
8 March 1975	Huddersfield Town	A	1–3	6,705	Williams
15 March 1975	Halifax Town	H	2–1	3,334	Brownbill, Bailey
17 March 1975	Wrexham	H	2–0	4,661	McLaren, Lacey
22 March 1975	Gillingham	A	0–0	7,524
29 March 1975	Preston North End	H	2–1	6,583	Bailey (2)
31 March 1975	Hereford United	A	0–1	6,976
1 April 1975	Southend United	H	0–0	4,178
5 April 1975	Crystal Palace	A	1–1	15,195	Horton (pen)
12 April 1975	Aldershot	H	3–1	3,382	Williams (2), Brownbill
19 April 1975	Plymouth Argyle	A	1–1	22,447	Brownbill
22 April 1975	Swindon Town	A	2–3	7,637	Harris, Williams
26 April 1975	Blackburn Rovers	H	1–4	9,135	Williams
28 April 1975	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	1–0	2,754	Woodward

FA Cup

Main article: 1974–75 FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	23 November 1974	Lincoln City	H	2–2	4,840	Bailey, Mountford
R1 Replay	27 November 1974	Lincoln City	A	0–2	6,824

League Cup

Main article: 1974–75 Football League Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	20 August 1974	Northampton Town	A	0–1	5,688

Player statistics

Appearances

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Reg Edwards	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
GK	John Connaughton	44	0	2	0	1	0	47	0
DF	Bill Summerscales	27	0	1	0	1	0	29	0
DF	Roy Cross	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
DF	John Brodie	28	0	1	0	1	0	30	0
DF	Neil Griffiths	12	0	1	0	1	0	14	0
DF	David Harris	20	1	1	0	1	0	22	1
DF	Garry Dulson	32	0	2	0	0	0	34	0
MF	Tommy McLaren	39	1	2	0	1	0	42	1
MF	Brian Horton	44	13	2	0	4	0	47	13
MF	Tony Lacey	39	2	1	0	0	0	40	2
MF	Colin Tartt	37	0	1	0	0	0	38	0
MF	John Ridley	18	0	0	0	1	0	19	0
MF	Keith Chadwick	22	5	1	0	0	0	23	5
MF	Frank Sharp	24	2	2	0	1	0	27	2
MF	Terry Bailey	44	13	2	1	1	0	47	14
MF	Kenny Beech	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Bob Mountford	3	0	2	1	0	0	5	1
FW	John Woodward	39	5	2	0	0	0	41	5
FW	Ray Williams	40	14	0	0	1	0	41	14
FW	Derek Brownbill	16	4	0	0	0	0	16	4

Scorers

All competitions

Scorer	Goals
Ray Williams	14
Terry Bailey	14
Brian Horton	13
Keith Chadwick	5
John Woodward	5
Derek Brownbill	4
Tony Lacey	2
Frank Sharp	2
Tommy McLaren	1
David Harris
Bob Mountford

League

Scorer	Goals
Ray Williams	14
Terry Bailey	13
Brian Horton	13
Keith Chadwick	5
John Woodward	5
Derek Brownbill	4
Tony Lacey	2
Frank Sharp	2
Tommy McLaren	1
David Harris	1

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Kent, Jeff (1990). "Surviving on a Shoestring (1969–1979)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 227–257. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
↑ Kent, Jeff (December 1991). Port Vale Tales: A Collection Of Stories, Anecdotes And Memories. Witan Books. p. 42. ISBN 0-9508981-6-3.
↑ Port Vale 1974–1975 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.

Kent, Jeff (1993). The Port Vale Record 1879-1993. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9508981-9-8.

Port Vale F.C. seasons

1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 99–1900

1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10

1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20

1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30

1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40

1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50

1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60

1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70

1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80

1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90

1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 99–2000

2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10

2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20

Port Vale Football Club

History Honours Managers Records Reserves & Youth Seasons

Grounds	Athletic Ground Old Recreation Ground Vale Park

Players	25+ appearances <25 appearances Player of the Year Winners

Matches	1989 Play-off Final 1993 League Trophy Final 1993 Play-off Final 1996 Anglo-Italian Final 2001 League Trophy Final Potteries derby

1974–75 in English football

« 1973–74

1975–76 »

FA competitions

Football League

Lower leagues

European competitions

Related to national team

Club seasons

First Division	Arsenal Birmingham City Burnley Carlisle United Chelsea Coventry City Derby County Everton Ipswich Town Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Luton Town Manchester City Middlesbrough Newcastle United Queens Park Rangers Sheffield United Stoke City Tottenham Hotspur Wolverhampton Wanderers

Second Division	Aston Villa Blackpool Bolton Wanderers Bristol City Bristol Rovers Cardiff City Fulham Hull City Leyton Orient Manchester United Millwall Norwich City Nottingham Forest Notts County Oldham Athletic Oxford United Portsmouth Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Sunderland West Bromwich Albion West Ham United York City

Third Division	Aldershot Blackburn Rovers Bournemouth Brighton & Hove Albion Bury Charlton Athletic Chesterfield Colchester United Crystal Palace Gillingham Grimsby Town Halifax Town Hereford United Huddersfield Town Peterborough United Plymouth Argyle Port Vale Preston North End Southend United Swindon Town Tranmere Rovers Walsall Watford Wrexham

Fourth Division	Barnsley Bradford City Brentford Cambridge United Chester Crewe Alexandra Darlington Doncaster Rovers Exeter City Hartlepool United Lincoln City Mansfield Town Newport County Northampton Town Reading Rochdale Rotherham United Scunthorpe United Shrewsbury Town Southport Stockport County Swansea City Torquay United Workington

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