1985–86 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale

1985–86 season

Chairman

Jim Lloyd

Manager

John Rudge

Stadium

Vale Park

Football League Fourth Division

4th (79 Points)

FA Cup

Second Round

League Cup

Second Round

League Trophy

Northern Section Semi-Finalists

Player of the Year

Jim Arnold

Top goalscorer

League: Robbie Earle (15)
All: Andy Jones (18)

Highest home attendance

11,736 vs. Walsall (8 December 1985)

Lowest home attendance

1,584 vs. Blackpool (10 February 1986)

Average home league attendance

3,581

Home colours

← 1984–85

1986–87 →

The 1985–86 season was Port Vale's 74th season of football in the Football League, and second successive (13th overall) season in the Fourth Division.^[1] John Rudge achieved his first success as manager, leading Vale to promotion into the Third Division with a fourth-place finish. The club also reached the Second Round in both the FA Cup and League Cup, as well as the Northern Section Semi-Finals of the League Trophy. Rudge signing Andy Jones excelled to become the club's top-scorer, whilst Robbie Earle had another impressive season. However the promotion campaign was built on the strength of the Vale defence, and goalkeeper Jim Arnold was made Player of the Year.

Overview

Fourth Division

The pre-season saw John Rudge sign big defender John Williams from Tranmere Rovers for £12,000, and powerful Welsh striker Andy Jones from Northern Premier League side Rhyl for £3,000.^[1] He also signed goalkeeper Jim Arnold (Everton); Paul Maguire (Tacoma Stars); Jeff Johnson (Gillingham); and Wayne Ebanks (West Bromwich Albion).^[1] Meanwhile, new safety regulations reduced Vale Park's capacity down to 16,800, and later again to 16,300.^[1] The club set a £10 bonus for clean sheets and also set bonuses for promotion. Another late addition was Jon Bowden from Oldham Athletic for £5,000.^[1]

The season opened with a 1–0 defeat to Exeter City at St James Park.^[1] Vale continued on indifferent form, and on 17 September played out a goalless draw with Aldershot at the Recreation Ground's lowest recorded Football League attendance of 1,027.^[1] At the end of the month Vale went nine league games without a loss to fire the club into the promotion race, their run including three 4–0 wins in Burslem as they went clear at the top of the table.^[1] With John Williams sidelined with an ankle injury, Vale's form suffered with just two wins in the following eleven games, and Vale fell to fifth place.^[1] From 11 January to 26 April the "Valiants" hit a run of eighteen league games unbeaten (eight draws and ten wins), thus ensuring promotion.^[1] This run was built on the striking partnership of Robbie Earle and Andy Jones, as well as a solid defence and consistent displays from keeper Arnold.^[1] During this spell Rudge failed to re-sign Bob Newton from Chesterfield, though was cheered by completing the double over Dario Gradi's Crewe Alexandra at Gresty Road.^[1] One low point was an attack by a Stockport gang on Russell Bromage following a 2–1 win over Stockport County at Edgeley Park.^[1] Promotion was ensured with a 1–0 win over bottom club Torquay United at Plainmoor, in which the majority of the crowd were Vale fans.^[1] However, with two defeats and a draw in their final three games, Rudge accused his players of lacking professionalism as they lost the chance to head into the Third Division as runners-up.^[1]

They finished in fourth place with 79 points, seven points clear of Orient.^[1] Preston North End were the only team to beat Vale on their own ground in the league all season.^[1] Their 37 goals conceded was the lowest total in the division and a record excelled only by Manchester United in the First Division.^[1] Their 67 goals scored tally was not particularly impressive, though Earle and Jones' partnership provided almost half of these goals.^[1] Phil Sproson was selected for the PFA Fourth Division Team of the Year.^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, the season lost a disastrous sum of £79,474.^[1] The promotion bonuses meant the wage bill totalled at £413,471.^[1] Vale's average home attendance of 3,581 was the third-highest in the division.^[1] The club's shirt sponsors were ECI. Three players transferred at the end of the season were Peter Griffiths (Salisbury United), Chris Pearce (Wrexham), and Jeff Johnson (Barrow).^[1] Player of the Year Jim Arnold and Ally Brown retired, whilst Oshor Williams was sold to Preston North End for 'a small fee'.^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale beat Mansfield Town 1–0 in a replay following a 1–1 draw at Field Mill. Vale Park saw a crowd of 11,736 for the Second Round goalless tie with Walsall, and were then eliminated following a 2–1 defeat at the Bescot Stadium.

In the League Cup, Vale advanced past Third Division Wigan Athletic 3–2 on aggregate following at 2–0 win at Springfield Park. They were then knocked out by First Division West Bromwich Albion, losing 1–0 at The Hawthorns, before giving an excellent account of themselves by battling back from 2–0 down at Vale Park to draw 2–2.

In the League Trophy, Vale advanced through the group stage with a 1–1 draw with Wrexham at the Racecourse Ground and a 2–0 home win over Blackpool. The next stage saw Vale triumph over Scunthorpe United at Glanford Park with a 4–3 win on penalties following a 1–1 draw. In the Area Semi-Finals they were then defeated by holders Wigan Athletic, though still earned £1,250 in prize money.

Final league table

Main article: 1985–86 Football League

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GA	Pts
1	Swindon Town	46	32	6	8	82	43	+39	102
2	Chester City	46	23	15	8	83	50	+33	84
3	Mansfield Town	46	23	12	11	74	47	+27	81
4	Port Vale	46	21	16	9	67	37	+30	79
5	Orient	46	20	12	14	79	64	+15	72
6	Colchester United	46	19	13	14	88	63	+25	70
7	Hartlepool United	46	20	10	16	68	67	+1	70
8	Northampton Town	46	18	10	18	79	58	+21	64
9	Southend United	46	18	10	18	69	67	+2	64
10	Hereford United	46	18	10	18	74	73	+1	64
11	Stockport County	46	17	13	16	63	71	-8	64
12	Crewe Alexandra	46	18	9	19	54	61	-7	63
13	Wrexham	46	17	9	20	68	80	-12	60
14	Burnley	46	16	11	19	60	65	-5	59
15	Scunthorpe United	46	15	14	17	50	55	-5	59
16	Aldershot	46	17	7	22	66	74	-8	58
17	Peterborough United	46	13	17	16	52	64	-12	56
18	Rochdale	46	14	13	19	57	77	-20	55
19	Tranmere Rovers	46	15	9	22	74	73	+1	54
20	Halifax Town	46	14	12	20	60	71	-11	54
21	Exeter City	46	13	15	18	47	59	-12	54
22	Cambridge United	46	15	9	22	65	80	-15	54
23	Preston North End	46	11	10	25	54	89	-35	43
24	Torquay United	46	9	10	27	43	88	-45	37

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; 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	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A
Result	L	D	W	D	L	W	D	W	L	W	W	W	W	D	W	W	D	D	L	D	W	L	W	L	L	D	D	W	W	W	D	D	D	W	D	W	D	D	W	W	W	W	W	L	D	L
Position	16	18	10	12	17	13	14	11	11	8	6	5	4	3	3	1	1	3	5	8	4	6	4	5	5	5	6	5	5	5	5	6	6	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	4

Sourced from Statto.^[2]

Football League Fourth Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
17 August 1985	Exeter City	A	0–1	2,868
24 August 1985	Mansfield Town	H	0–0	2,930
26 August 1985	Burnley	A	2–1	3,995	Sproson, Griffiths
31 August 1985	Rochdale	H	1–1	3,043	Jones
7 September 1985	Orient	A	0–1	2,455
14 September 1985	Cambridge United	H	4–1	2,674	Maguire (2 [2 pens]), Earle, Brown
17 September 1985	Aldershot	A	0–0	1,027
21 September 1985	Halifax Town	H	3–2	2,754	Hunter (2), Maguire
27 September 1985	Colchester United	A	0–1	3,110
30 September 1985	Hartlepool United	H	4–0	3,015	O.Williams, J.Williams, Jones, Maguire
5 October 1985	Wrexham	H	4–0	3,351	Maguire (2 [1 pen]), Johnson, o.g.
12 October 1985	Tranmere Rovers	A	2–1	2,338	Earle, Maguire
19 October 1985	Southend United	H	4–0	4,736	Jones (2), Webb, Earle
22 October 1985	Scunthorpe United	A	0–0	1,888
26 October 1985	Swindon Town	H	3–0	5,073	O.Williams, Earle, Brown
2 November 1985	Preston North End	A	1–0	4,536	Maguire (pen)
6 November 1985	Hereford United	A	1–1	3,308	Sproson
9 November 1985	Stockport County	H	1–1	5,248	Bowden
23 November 1985	Peterborough United	A	0–1	2,852
14 December 1985	Northampton Town	A	2–2	3,259	Sproson, Earle
17 December 1985	Torquay United	H	1–0	3,421	Hunter
22 December 1985	Mansfield Town	A	1–2	3,730	O.Williams
26 December 1985	Crewe Alexandra	H	3–0	5,976	Maguire, Brown, Earle
1 January 1986	Chester City	A	1–4	5,323	Earle
4 January 1986	Preston North End	H	0–1	3,592
11 January 1986	Rochdale	A	3–3	2,445	Jones (2), Brown
17 January 1986	Exeter City	H	0–0	3,385
25 January 1986	Cambridge United	A	3–1	2,437	J.Williams, Hunter, Earle
1 February 1986	Orient	H	2–0	3,074	Earle (2)
3 February 1986	Scunthorpe United	H	3–1	2,977	J.Williams, Jones (pen), Bromage
24 February 1986	Burnley	H	1–1	3,030	Banks
1 March 1986	Colchester United	H	1–1	2,726	Jones
5 March 1986	Hartlepool United	A	1–1	2,550	Bowden
8 March 1986	Wrexham	A	3–1	2,614	Shankland, Earle, Jones (pen)
15 March 1986	Tranmere Rovers	H	0–0	3,527
18 March 1986	Aldershot	H	3–1	2,461	Bowden, Hunter, Earle
23 March 1986	Swindon Town	A	0–0	10,147
29 March 1986	Chester City	H	1–1	4,490	Sproson
31 March 1986	Crewe Alexandra	A	1–0	4,986	Earle
5 April 1986	Hereford United	H	1–0	3,344	Jones (pen)
11 April 1986	Stockport County	A	2–1	4,691	Maguire, Brown
19 April 1986	Peterborough United	H	2–0	3,765	Jones (2 [1 pen])
26 April 1986	Torquay United	A	1–0	1,898	Earle
29 April 1986	Halifax Town	A	0–2	1,389
3 May 1986	Northampton Town	H	0–0	3,873
5 May 1986	Southend United	A	1–2	1,687	Earle

FA Cup

Main article: 1985–86 FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	16 November 1985	Mansfield Town	A	1–1	5,207	Earle
R1 Replay	18 November 1985	Mansfield Town	H	1–0	6,749	Maguire (pen)
R2	8 December 1985	Walsall	H	0–0	11,736
R2 Replay	10 December 1985	Walsall	A	1–2	5,671	Brown

League Cup

Main article: 1985–86 Football League Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1 1st Leg	20 August 1985	Wigan Athletic	H	1–2	2,620	Sproson
R1 2nd Leg	2 September 1985	Wigan Athletic	A	2–0	2,772	Jones, Earle
R2 1st Leg	24 September 1985	West Bromwich Albion	A	0–1	6,218
R2 2nd Leg	7 October 1985	West Bromwich Albion	H	2–2	7,985	Jones, Maguire

League Trophy

Main article: 1985–86 Football League Trophy


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	21 January 1986	Wrexham	A	1–1	992	Jones (pen)
R1	10 February 1986	Blackpool	H	3–1	1,584	Maguire, Hunter, Jones
NSQF	10 March 1986	Scunthorpe United	A	1–1 (4-3 pens)	1,415	Jones (pen)
NSSF	26 March 1986	Wigan Athletic	H	1–2	4,832	Jones (pen)

Player statistics

Appearances

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Chris Pearce	5	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
GK	Jim Arnold	41	0	4	0	4	0	52	0
DF	Phil Sproson	44	4	4	0	3	1	54	5
DF	Alan Webb	39	1	4	0	4	0	48	1
DF	Wayne Ebanks	12	0	2	0	0	0	15	0
DF	Chris Banks	19	1	0	0	0	0	22	1
DF	John Williams	36	3	0	0	4	0	44	3
MF	Russell Bromage	40	1	4	0	4	0	51	1
MF	Geoff Hunter	45	5	4	0	4	0	57	6
MF	Robbie Earle	46	15	4	1	4	1	58	17
MF	Peter Griffiths	5	1	0	0	1	0	9	1
MF	Paul Maguire	45	10	4	1	4	1	57	13
MF	Jeff Johnson	10	1	0	0	4	0	16	1
MF	Oshor Williams	32	3	4	0	3	0	40	3
MF	Jon Bowden	36	3	4	0	1	0	44	3
FW	Ally Brown	27	5	4	1	2	0	33	6
FW	Mick Perry	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Andy Shankland	2	1	0	0	0	0	3	1
FW	Andy Jones	41	12	3	0	4	2	53	18
FW	Steve Cammack	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
FW	Steve Biggins	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0

Scorers

All competitions

Scorer	Goals
Andy Jones	18
Robbie Earle	15
Paul Maguire	13
Ally Brown	6
Geoff Hunter	6
Phil Sproson	5
Jon Bowden	3
John Williams
Oshor Williams
Alan Webb	1
Chris Banks
Peter Griffiths
Jeff Johnson
Andy Shankland
Russell Bromage

League

Scorer	Goals
Robbie Earle	15
Andy Jones	12
Paul Maguire	10
Ally Brown	5
Geoff Hunter	5
Phil Sproson	4
Jon Bowden	3
John Williams
Oshor Williams
Alan Webb	1
Chris Banks
Peter Griffiths
Jeff Johnson
Andy Shankland
Russell Bromage

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 Kent, Jeff (1990). "From Rags to Riches (1979–1990)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 258–290. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
↑ Port Vale 1985–1986 : 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

1985–86 in English football

« 1984–85

1986–87 »

FA competitions

Football League

Lower leagues

Related to national team

Club seasons

First Division	Arsenal Aston Villa Birmingham City Chelsea Coventry City Everton Ipswich Town Leicester City Liverpool Luton Town Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Oxford United Queens Park Rangers Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Tottenham Hotspur Watford West Bromwich Albion West Ham United

Second Division	Barnsley Blackburn Rovers Bradford City Brighton & Hove Albion Carlisle United Charlton Athletic Crystal Palace Fulham Grimsby Town Huddersfield Town Hull City Leeds United Middlesbrough Millwall Norwich City Oldham Athletic Portsmouth Sheffield United Shrewsbury Town Stoke City Sunderland Wimbledon

Third Division	Blackpool Bolton Wanderers Bournemouth Brentford Bristol City Bristol Rovers Bury Cardiff City Chesterfield Darlington Derby County Doncaster Rovers Gillingham Lincoln City Newport County Notts County Plymouth Argyle Reading Rotherham United Swansea City Walsall Wigan Athletic Wolverhampton Wanderers York City

Fourth Division	Aldershot Burnley Cambridge United Chester Colchester United Crewe Alexandra Exeter City Halifax Town Hartlepool United Hereford United Leyton Orient Mansfield Town Northampton Town Peterborough United Port Vale Preston North End Rochdale Scunthorpe United Southend United Southport Stockport County Swindon Town Torquay United Tranmere Rovers Wrexham

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