1975–76 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale

1975–76 season
Chairman	Mark Singer
Manager	Roy Sproson
Stadium	Vale Park
Football League Third Division	12th (46 Points)
FA Cup	Second Round
League Cup	First Round
Player of the Year	John Ridley
Top goalscorer	League: Mick Cullerton (17) All: Mick Cullerton (21)
Highest home attendance	6,121 vs. Crystal Palace (4 October 1975)
Lowest home attendance	2,789 vs. Grimsby Town (20 December 1975)
Average home league attendance	4,133
Home colours
← 1974–75 1976–77 →

The 1975–76 season was Port Vale's 64th season of football in the Football League, and their sixth successive season (12th overall) in the Third Division.^[1] Manager Roy Sproson brought Mick Cullerton back to Vale Park, and Cullerton was to become the top-scorer for the season with 21 goals. However the ongoing success of rivals Stoke City in winning the League Cup, playing in Europe, and competing at the top of the First Division caused Vale's support to suffer. The loyal support of a few thousand fans was not enough to balance the books, and so Brian Horton was controversially sold to Brighton & Hove Albion for £30,000.

Overview

Third Division

The pre-season saw failed attempts by Roy Sproson to sign Wales internationals Mike England and Wyn Davies.^[1] Instead he bought back Mick Cullerton from Stafford Rangers for £4,000, who had scored over seventy goals for Rangers in his two seasons away from Burslem.^[1] Another former player, Ken Hancock, re-signed as a player-coach, however he soon found himself unable to play as he had received a pay-out upon his retirement in 1973.^[1] Just two days before the opening game Sproson quickly signed Terry Lees from Stoke City for £3,000 and Geoff Morris from Bangor City for £200.^[1]

The season opened with five draws, followed by two victories which took the Vale up to second.^[1] Six games without a win soon brought the "Valiants" tumbling down the table though, as Cullerton lost his scoring touch.^[1] At the end of October arrived Steve Taylor on loan from Bolton Wanderers, who put more 'bite' into the Vale attack.^[1] Home fans turned against the players, and coach Reg Berks was 'appalled by some of the abuse hurled at the players'.^[1] Taylor scored a brace past Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on 8 November, only to return immediately back to Bolton.^[1] The team's poor disciplinary record continued from the previous campaigns, and The Football Association put the club 'under constant review' after Sproson arrived 45 minutes late to a disciplinary hearing in London after missing his train.^[1] Cullerton was back in scoring form as the Vale picked up victories and rose up the table.^[1] A season-low crowd of 2,789 on 20 December saw Vale come from 3–0 down to Grimsby Town to win the match 4–3.^[1] To motivate the players coach Reg Berks had told them at half-time that he was facing the sack if the team lost the game.^[2] The promotion-chasers pulled away from Vale in the New Year however.^[1] A rare event occurred on 17 January, when the Vale directors permitted rivals Stoke to play a home game to Middlesbrough at Vale Park.^[1] This happened because a severe gale severely damaged the Victoria Ground, whilst the gale also caused £2,000 worth of damage to Vale Park, the damage to Stoke's ground was much more severe.^[1] A crowd of 21,009 saw Stoke win 1–0, the highest crowd at Vale Park in over a decade. Vale's campaign carried on, though injuries built up Ray Williams managed to break a 21 game goal drought to earn a credible point at Cardiff City's Ninian Park on 25 February.^[1] Eight more points in the next four games took the club to within three points of the promotion zone.^[1] Yet in March the club sold Brian Horton to Brighton & Hove Albion for £30,000, a sum the club needed to balance the books.^[1] The club's form suffered immediately, and mid-table was the result.^[1] On 10 April, Brighton beat Vale 3–0 at the Withdean Stadium, and John Brodie broke his leg.^[1]

They finished in twelfth place with 46 points.^[1] Mick Cullerton hit 21 goals in all competitions to become the club's top scorer.^[1] To celebrate the club's centenary, a friendly was played with Stoke City, which finished 1–1 in front of 9,825 spectators.^[1] Stoke generously allowed the Vale to pocket the entire £6,500 worth of takings from the match.^[3]

Finances

On the financial side, the Horton transfer and donations of £19,965 from the Development Fund ensured a profit of £24,819.^[1] An increase in ticket prices offset the cost of a reduced average gate.^[1] An income of £2,775 was gained from renting out space to market traders, however Stoke-on-Trent Council soon put a stop to this.^[1] Geoff Morris left on a free transfer in the summer, signing with Kidderminster Harriers.^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale progressed past Southern League Grantham 4–1 in Burslem following a 2–2 draw away. This proved a lucky escape for Vale as Brownbill's equalizing goal at Grantham was allowed to stand despite an obvious handball.^[4] In the Second Round they faced Fourth Division Huddersfield Town at Leeds Road, and were eliminated 2–1.

In the League Cup, the new two-legged format only resulted in a 4–4 aggregate draw, and so a replay was held at Gay Meadow, Shrewsbury, which Hereford won 1–0. Cullerton scored a hat-trick in the first leg, thereby making 'a fairytale come true' by hitting three in his first game back at Vale Park.^[1]

Final league table

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GA	Pts
1	Hereford United	46	26	11	9	86	55	1.564	63
2	Cardiff City	46	22	13	11	69	48	1.438	57
3	Millwall	46	20	16	10	54	43	1.256	56
4	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	22	9	15	78	53	1.472	53
5	Crystal Palace	46	18	17	11	61	46	1.326	53
6	Wrexham	46	20	12	14	66	55	1.200	52
7	Walsall	46	18	14	14	74	61	1.213	50
8	Preston North End	46	19	10	17	62	57	1.088	48
9	Shrewsbury Town	46	19	10	17	61	59	1.034	48
10	Peterborough United	46	15	18	13	63	63	1.000	48
11	Mansfield Town	46	16	15	15	58	52	1.115	47
12	Port Vale	46	15	16	15	55	54	1.019	46
13	Bury	46	14	16	16	51	46	1.109	44
14	Chesterfield	46	17	9	20	69	69	1.000	43
15	Gillingham	46	12	19	15	58	68	0.853	43
16	Rotherham United	46	15	12	19	54	65	0.831	42
17	Chester	46	15	12	19	43	62	0.694	42
18	Grimsby Town	46	15	10	21	62	74	0.838	40
19	Swindon Town	46	16	8	22	62	75	0.827	40
20	Sheffield Wednesday	46	12	16	18	48	59	0.814	40
21	Aldershot	46	13	13	20	59	75	0.787	39
22	Colchester United	46	12	14	20	41	65	0.631	38
23	Southend United	46	12	13	21	65	75	0.867	37
24	Halifax Town	46	11	13	22	41	61	0.672	35

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	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	D	D	D	D	D	W	W	L	D	L	D	L	L	W	L	W	L	W	L	W	W	W	L	W	L	W	D	L	D	W	L	D	W	W	D	D	L	L	D	D	W	L	D	W	D	L
Position	11	11	13	13	13	7	4	8	9	11	10	13	18	13	13	12	17	13	16	14	10	8	8	8	11	7	9	10	8	8	9	10	10	9	8	8	10	12	11	12	10	11	11	11	10	12

Sourced from Statto.^[5]

Football League Third Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
16 August 1975	Hereford United	A	0–0	6,219
23 August 1975	Preston North End	H	1–1	4,282	Cullerton
30 August 1975	Peterborough United	A	0–0	6,065
6 September 1975	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	1–1	3,289	Morris
13 September 1975	Southend United	A	3–3	4,569	Dulson, Cullerton (pen), Tartt
20 September 1975	Swindon Town	H	3–0	3,720	Bailey (2), Cullerton
22 September 1975	Cardiff City	H	2–1	5,143	Cullerton, Lees
27 September 1975	Wrexham	A	0–1	3,863
4 October 1975	Crystal Palace	H	0–0	6,121
11 October 1975	Gillingham	A	1–2	5,041	Chadwick
18 October 1975	Chesterfield	H	1–1	3,892	Cullerton
21 October 1975	Shrewsbury Town	A	0–1	4,673
25 October 1975	Colchester United	A	0–1	3,053
1 November 1975	Rotherham United	H	1–0	3,921	Ridley
3 November 1975	Aldershot	H	0–1	3,917
8 November 1975	Sheffield Wednesday	A	3–0	11,035	Taylor (2), Chadwick
15 November 1975	Chester	H	0–1	3,908
29 November 1975	Millwall	H	2–0	3,580	Horton (2)
6 December 1975	Walsall	A	1–3	4,526	Horton
20 December 1975	Grimsby Town	H	4–3	2,789	Cullerton (2), Harris, Lees
26 December 1975	Halifax Town	A	3–1	2,959	Cullerton (2), Brownbill
27 December 1975	Bury	H	2–1	5,957	Cullerton, Bailey
3 January 1976	Mansfield Town	A	1–3	5,417	Cullerton
10 January 1976	Peterborough United	H	2–0	4,013	Cullerton, Horton
17 January 1976	Swindon Town	A	1–2	5,730	Brownbill
24 January 1976	Chesterfield	A	1–0	4,058	Cullerton
31 January 1976	Shrewsbury Town	H	0–0	3,835
7 February 1976	Aldershot	A	0–2	3,446
9 February 1976	Southend United	H	1–1	3,494	Harris
16 February 1976	Sheffield Wednesday	H	1–0	5,569	Brownbill
21 February 1976	Chester	A	0–1	5,914
25 February 1976	Cardiff City	A	1–1	9,109	Williams
28 February 1976	Colchester United	H	3–2	3,803	Cullerton, Brownbill, Bailey
6 March 1976	Rotherham United	A	2–1	4,338	Dulson, Williams
9 March 1976	Crystal Palace	A	2–2	23,032	Cullerton, Tartt
13 March 1976	Gillingham	H	1–1	3,517	Williams
20 March 1976	Millwall	A	0–1	7,116
27 March 1976	Walsall	H	1–2	4,870	Bailey
30 March 1976	Grimsby Town	A	1–1	4,533	Cullerton (pen)
3 April 1976	Hereford United	H	1–1	4,430	Griffiths
5 April 1976	Wrexham	H	3–1	3,604	Bailey (2), Tartt
10 April 1976	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	0–3	19,194
17 April 1976	Halifax Town	H	1–1	3,169	Beech
19 April 1976	Bury	A	2–1	4,609	Cullerton, McLaren
20 April 1976	Mansfield Town	H	2–2	4,239	Bailey, Tartt
24 April 1976	Preston North End	A	0–3	5,783

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	20 November 1975	Grantham	A	2–2	2,853	Brownbill (2)
R1 Replay	24 November 1975	Grantham	H	4–1	4,851	Brownbill (2), Cullerton, Tartt
R2	13 December 1975	Huddersfield Town	A	1–2	6,218	Brownbill

League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1 1st Leg	20 August 1975	Hereford United	H	4–2	3,787	Cullerton (3 [1 pen]), Bailey
R1 2nd Leg	20 August 1975	Hereford United	A	0–2	4,107
R1 Replay	1 September 1975	Hereford United	N	0–1	3,676

Player statistics

Appearances Pos. Name Football League FA Cup League Cup Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals GK John Connaughton 45 0 3 0 3 0 51 0 GK David Ryan 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 DF John Brodie 12 0 0 0 0 0 12 0 DF Neil Griffiths 32 1 2 0 1 0 35 1 DF David Harris 32 2 2 0 3 0 37 2 DF Garry Dulson 30 2 1 0 3 0 34 2 DF Trevor Robson 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 DF Terry Lees 41 2 3 0 3 0 47 2 MF Tommy McLaren 31 1 3 0 1 0 35 1 MF Brian Horton 31 4 3 0 1 0 35 4 MF Colin Tartt 42 4 3 1 3 0 48 5 MF John Ridley 46 1 3 0 3 0 52 1 MF Keith Chadwick 14 2 1 0 3 0 18 2 MF Terry Bailey 43 8 3 0 3 1 49 9 MF Kenny Beech 7 1 0 0 0 0 7 1 MF Geoff Morris 15 1 0 0 2 0 17 1 FW Ray Williams 29 3 3 0 2 0 34 3 FW Derek Brownbill 36 4 3 5 2 0 41 9 FW Steve Taylor 4 2 0 0 0 0 4 2 FW Mick Cullerton 41 17 3 1 3 3 47 21 FW Tony Betts 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

Scorers All competitions Scorer Goals Mick Cullerton 21 Terry Bailey 9 Derek Brownbill Colin Tartt 5 Brian Horton 4 Ray Williams 3 Keith Chadwick 2 Steve Taylor David Harris Garry Dulson Terry Lees Tommy McLaren 1 Neil Griffiths John Ridley Kenny Beech Geoff Morris League Scorer Goals Mick Cullerton 17 Terry Bailey 8 Brian Horton 4 Derek Brownbill Colin Tartt Ray Williams 3 Keith Chadwick 2 Steve Taylor David Harris Garry Dulson Terry Lees Tommy McLaren 1 Neil Griffiths John Ridley Kenny Beech Geoff Morris

References

1. 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.
2. Kent, Jeff (December 1991). Port Vale Tales: A Collection Of Stories, Anecdotes And Memories. Witan Books. p. 52. ISBN 0-9508981-6-3.
3. Kent, Jeff (November 1998). The Potteries Derbies. Witan Books. p. 169. ISBN 0-9529152-3-5.
4. Kent, Jeff (December 1991). Port Vale Tales: A Collection Of Stories, Anecdotes And Memories. Witan Books. p. 254. ISBN 0-9508981-6-3.
5. Port Vale 1975–1976 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.

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