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

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 WDLFAGAPts
1Hereford United462611986551.56463
2Cardiff City4622131169481.43857
3Millwall4620161054431.25656
4Brighton & Hove Albion462291578531.47253
5Crystal Palace4618171161461.32653
6Wrexham4620121466551.20052
7Walsall4618141474611.21350
8Preston North End4619101762571.08848
9Shrewsbury Town4619101761591.03448
10Peterborough United4615181363631.00048
11Mansfield Town4616151558521.11547
12Port Vale4615161555541.01946
13Bury4614161651461.10944
14Chesterfield461792069691.00043
15Gillingham4612191558680.85343
16Rotherham United4615121954650.83142
17Chester4615121943620.69442
18Grimsby Town4615102162740.83840
19Swindon Town461682262750.82740
20Sheffield Wednesday4612161848590.81440
21Aldershot4613132059750.78739
22Colchester United4612142041650.63138
23Southend United4612132165750.86737
24Halifax Town4611132241610.67235

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
Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
GroundAHAHAHHAHAHAAHHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAAHAHAHHAHAHA
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

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
16 August 1975 Hereford UnitedA0–06,219
23 August 1975 Preston North EndH1–14,282Cullerton
30 August 1975 Peterborough UnitedA0–06,065
6 September 1975 Brighton & Hove AlbionH1–13,289Morris
13 September 1975 Southend UnitedA3–34,569Dulson, Cullerton (pen), Tartt
20 September 1975 Swindon TownH3–03,720Bailey (2), Cullerton
22 September 1975 Cardiff CityH2–15,143Cullerton, Lees
27 September 1975 WrexhamA0–13,863
4 October 1975 Crystal PalaceH0–06,121
11 October 1975 GillinghamA1–25,041Chadwick
18 October 1975 ChesterfieldH1–13,892Cullerton
21 October 1975 Shrewsbury TownA0–14,673
25 October 1975 Colchester UnitedA0–13,053
1 November 1975 Rotherham UnitedH1–03,921Ridley
3 November 1975 AldershotH0–13,917
8 November 1975 Sheffield WednesdayA3–011,035Taylor (2), Chadwick
15 November 1975 ChesterH0–13,908
29 November 1975 MillwallH2–03,580Horton (2)
6 December 1975 WalsallA1–34,526Horton
20 December 1975 Grimsby TownH4–32,789Cullerton (2), Harris, Lees
26 December 1975 Halifax TownA3–12,959Cullerton (2), Brownbill
27 December 1975 BuryH2–15,957Cullerton, Bailey
3 January 1976 Mansfield TownA1–35,417Cullerton
10 January 1976 Peterborough UnitedH2–04,013Cullerton, Horton
17 January 1976 Swindon TownA1–25,730Brownbill
24 January 1976 ChesterfieldA1–04,058Cullerton
31 January 1976 Shrewsbury TownH0–03,835
7 February 1976 AldershotA0–23,446
9 February 1976 Southend UnitedH1–13,494Harris
16 February 1976 Sheffield WednesdayH1–05,569Brownbill
21 February 1976 ChesterA0–15,914
25 February 1976 Cardiff CityA1–19,109Williams
28 February 1976 Colchester UnitedH3–23,803Cullerton, Brownbill, Bailey
6 March 1976 Rotherham UnitedA2–14,338Dulson, Williams
9 March 1976 Crystal PalaceA2–223,032Cullerton, Tartt
13 March 1976 GillinghamH1–13,517Williams
20 March 1976 MillwallA0–17,116
27 March 1976 WalsallH1–24,870Bailey
30 March 1976 Grimsby TownA1–14,533Cullerton (pen)
3 April 1976 Hereford UnitedH1–14,430Griffiths
5 April 1976 WrexhamH3–13,604Bailey (2), Tartt
10 April 1976 Brighton & Hove AlbionA0–319,194
17 April 1976 Halifax TownH1–13,169Beech
19 April 1976 BuryA2–14,609Cullerton, McLaren
20 April 1976 Mansfield TownH2–24,239Bailey, Tartt
24 April 1976 Preston North EndA0–35,783

FA Cup

Main article: 1975–76 FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R120 November 1975 GranthamA2–22,853Brownbill (2)
R1 Replay24 November 1975 GranthamH4–14,851Brownbill (2), Cullerton, Tartt
R213 December 1975 Huddersfield TownA1–26,218Brownbill

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R1 1st Leg20 August 1975 Hereford UnitedH4–23,787Cullerton (3 [1 pen]), Bailey
R1 2nd Leg20 August 1975 Hereford UnitedA0–24,107
R1 Replay1 September 1975 Hereford UnitedN0–13,676

Player statistics

Appearances

Pos. Name Football League FA Cup League Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GKEngland John Connaughton 4503030510
GKEngland David Ryan 10000010
DFEngland John Brodie 1200000120
DFEngland Neil Griffiths 3212010351
DFEngland David Harris 3222030372
DFEngland Garry Dulson 3021030342
DFEngland Trevor Robson 10000010
DFEngland Terry Lees 4123030472
MFScotland Tommy McLaren 3113010351
MFEngland Brian Horton 3143010354
MFEngland Colin Tartt 4243130485
MFEngland John Ridley 4613030521
MFEngland Keith Chadwick 1421030182
MFEngland Terry Bailey 4383031499
MFEngland Kenny Beech 71000071
MFEngland Geoff Morris 1510020171
FWEngland Ray Williams 2933020343
FWEngland Derek Brownbill 3643520419
FWEngland Steve Taylor 42000042
FWEngland Mick Cullerton 411731334721
FWEngland Tony Betts 10000010

Scorers

All competitions

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

League

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

References

  1. 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 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.
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