1978–79 Port Vale F.C. season

The 1978–79 season was Port Vale's 67th season of football in the Football League, and their first season (seventh overall) back in the Fourth Division following their relegation from the Third Division.^[1] Under manager Dennis Butler, who stepped up after Bobby Smith's departure and brought in Bernie Wright from Bradford City and the club-record signing Ken Todd from Wolverhampton Wanderers, the club aimed to rebuild.

Port Vale

1978–79 season
Chairman	Arthur McPherson
Manager	Dennis Butler
Stadium	Vale Park
Football League Fourth Division	16th (42 Points)
FA Cup	First Round (knocked out by Bradford City)
League Cup	First Round (knocked out by Chester)
Player of the Year	Bernie Wright
Top goalscorer	League: Bernie Wright (14) All: Bernie Wright (15)
Highest home attendance	5,226 vs. Barnsley, 14 April 1979
Lowest home attendance	2,160 vs. Hereford United, 1 May 1979
Average home league attendance	3,287
Biggest win	5–1 vs. Crewe Alexandra, 25 August 1978
Biggest defeat	0–4 (twice) and 2–6
Home colours
← 1977–78 1979–80 →

However, on the pitch, Vale finished 16th, securing just 42 points from 46 matches. Their cup runs were short-lived — with exits in the first round of both the FA Cup (losing to Bradford City) and the League Cup (knocked out by Chester). Bernie Wright was the standout performer, finishing as top scorer with 15 goals in all competitions (14 in the league), and earning the Player of the Year accolade.

Off the pitch, the season was turbulent. There was unrest in the boardroom and among the fans, and Butler publicly expressed frustration at supporter abuse of the players. Financially, the club suffered a record loss of £52,000, despite generating significant commercial income and investing heavily in transfers (totalling well over £36,000 in net loss). In terms of support, Vale drew on average 3,287 fans to Vale Park, with the highest attendance being 5,226 against Barnsley on 14 April 1979, and the lowest just 2,160 against Hereford United on 1 May 1979. Their biggest win was an emphatic 5–1 away victory over Crewe Alexandra early in the season, and their heaviest defeats included two 4–0 drubbings and a 6–2 loss.

A season of financial strain and boardroom unrest underpinned a mid-table Fourth Division finish, with Bernie Wright's goals offering a rare spark during an otherwise turbulent campaign.

Overview

Fourth Division

Before the season began, Bobby Smith left to manage Swindon Town, with Vale being paid a compensation fee of £10,500. He denied "leaving a sinking ship". His assistant, Dennis Butler, turned down the chance to go as Smith's assistant to instead take over as Port Vale's new manager manager. Butler promoted Graham Hawkins to a first-team coach and then to assistant manager. Butler signed sign big striker Bernie Wright from Bradford City for £9,000 and right-back Neil Wilkinson on a free transfer from Blackburn Rovers.^[1] He also took the team on a three-match tour of Scotland.^[1] Just before the start of the season, Ken Todd was signed for a club-record fee of £37,000, despite having only made a handful of appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers.^[1] On 23 July, former Valiant Tommy McLaren committed suicide, friend and teammate Ray Williams said 'leaving the club shattered him'.^[1] On 2 October, a Memorial Fund match was played, raising £3,000.^[1]

The season opened with just two victories in eleven league games, as both Todd and keeper John Connaughton were sidelined with injuries in the defeat at Wimbledon on 22 August.^[1] The two wins came away from home, 5–1 over rivals Crewe Alexandra at Gresty Road (Wright scoring a hat-trick) and 3–1 at Doncaster Rovers at the Keepmoat Stadium.^[1] Butler then threw himself into the transfer market, selling John Froggatt to Northampton Town for £8,000, and then Mick Moore and Terry Bailey to Wigan Athletic and Northwich Victoria respectively, both for £2,000.^[1] Another 'shrewd piece of business' came when star forward Ken Beamish was sold to Bury for £35,000, whilst Gerry Keenan moved the other way for £15,000.^[1] On the pitch, Trevor Dance saved a penalty only to later gift a goal to Portsmouth in a 2–0 loss at Fratton Park on 16 September.^[1]

In October, Felix Healy was signed from Finn Harps for £8,000, and Neil Wilkinson and £3,000 were traded to Crewe in exchange for outside-right Kevin Tully.^[1] Winning five games in a sequence of eight, Todd was still a disappointment to fans, who began getting 'on his back'.^[1] Butler's signings did not stop, however, and instead he sold John Ridley to Leicester City for a club-record £55,000.^[1] He then signed Andy Proudlove from Buxton for £1,000 – despite interest from Stafford Rangers.^[1] Then in came midfielder Peter Farrell from Bury for a new club-record £40,000.^[1] The 2–0 victory over Hartlepool United was the club's first win in 14 games at Vale Park.^[1] Butler defended his transfer activity by saying the team he had inherited was not good enough.^[1]

Going into December four games unbeaten, Butler then splashed out £30,000 on Chester's Bob Delgado.^[1] Despite this, Vale were thumped 6–2 by Barnsley in front of 10,532 at Oakwell.^[1] In January, legendary England goalkeeper Gordon Banks was appointed as coach, and results began to pick up as Vale were lifted into eighth spot.^[1] Healy quit the club in February, only to return two weeks later.^[1] Behind the scenes, there was trouble when Arthur McPherson ruled that club shares could only be transferable to a male relation, in order 'to safeguard plans by the current directors'.^[1] More defeats came, and the big money signings were targeted by fans for abuse.^[1] Butler reacted by switching to a 4–4–2 formation and calling the fans 'a bunch of yobs'.^[1] From mid-March, Vale went seven games with only one victory and one goal scored.^[1]

On 21 March, violence returned to Vale Park, when Portsmouth keeper Peter Mellor saved a penalty, floored Peter Farrell and made an 'assortment of gestures' to the Bycars End – he found himself attacked by a Vale fan on the pitch for his efforts.^[1] On 13 April, Vale surrendered a three-goal lead at Springfield Park to lose 5–3 to fifth-placed Wigan Athletic.^[1] Only 2,160 attended a 1–1 draw at home with Hereford United on 1 May. Danger of ending up in the re-election zone was ended with a late four-game unbeaten spell, despite heavy defeats from Reading and York City.^[1]

They finished in 16th place with 42 points, with an awful defensive record of seventy goals conceded.^[1] Despite this, their scoring tally away from Burslem was the highest in the Football League, and they were given £2,125 as a reward.^[1] Player of the Year Bernie Wright secured 15 goals in what was a poor season for the club.^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a record £52,000 loss was made despite a remarkable £225,000 income from the club's commercial department.^[1] Butler's transfer dealings had lost the club £36,000, whilst wages more than doubled from £113,000 to £259,000.^[1] The club's liabilities stood at £187,000.^[1] Despite all of this, the club made 'surprisingly sparing use of the pruning knife', letting go of just four players, most significantly David Harris (Halifax Town) and Andy Proudlove (Stafford Rangers).^[1] Behind the scenes, long-time club servant and president Mark Singer resigned from the board and was later sacked. However, club chairman Arthur McPherson did not comment to the press.^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, a week of preparation in Blackpool failed to prevent Vale from exiting at the first round with a 1–0 defeat to Bradford City at Valley Parade.^[1]

In the League Cup, Third Division side Chester knocked the Vale out 4–1 on aggregate. Teenage midfielder Ged Stenson was described as "the only glimmer of light" from the encounter.^[1]

Results

Football League Fourth Division

Main article: 1978–79 Football League

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
14	Hereford United	46	15	13	18	53	53	0	43
15	Bradford City	46	17	9	20	62	68	−6	43
16	Port Vale	46	14	14	18	57	70	−13	42
17	Stockport County	46	14	12	20	58	60	−2	40
18	Bournemouth	46	14	11	21	47	48	−1	39

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Results by matchday

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	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	A
Result	D	L	W	D	D	W	L	L	D	L	D	W	W	L	L	W	W	D	W	L	L	W	W	D	L	L	L	D	W	L	D	W	L	D	L	D	L	W	L	D	W	D	D	L	L	W
Position	9	17	6	9	9	8	12	15	15	16	15	13	10	14	16	14	11	12	10	15	17	11	8	8	9	11	15	15	15	15	13	12	12	13	13	13	15	14	16	16	14	13	15	16	17	16
Points	1	1	3	4	5	7	7	7	8	8	9	11	13	13	13	15	17	18	20	20	20	22	24	25	25	25	25	26	28	28	29	31	31	32	32	33	33	35	35	36	38	39	40	40	40	42

Source: Statto^[2]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Port Vale v Scunthorpe United

19 August 1978 1	Port Vale	2–2	Scunthorpe United	Burslem
	Wright Bromage	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 3,027

Wimbledon v Port Vale

22 August 1978 2	Wimbledon	1–0	Port Vale	Wimbledon, London
		Report		Stadium: Plough Lane Attendance: 2,638

Crewe Alexandra v Port Vale

25 August 1978 3	Crewe Alexandra	1–5	Port Vale	Crewe
		Report	Wright Bloor Beamish	Stadium: Gresty Road Attendance: 4,413

Port Vale v Rochdale

2 September 1978 4	Port Vale	1–1	Rochdale	Burslem
	Beamish	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 3,222

Port Vale v Aldershot

9 September 1978 5	Port Vale	1–1	Aldershot	Burslem
	Beamish	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 3,045

Doncaster Rovers v Port Vale

12 September 1978 6	Doncaster Rovers	1–3	Port Vale	Doncaster
		Report	Bromage Todd Beamish	Stadium: Belle Vue Attendance: 3,405

Portsmouth v Port Vale

16 September 1978 7	Portsmouth	2–0	Port Vale	Portsmouth
		Report		Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 9,937

Port Vale v Bournemouth

23 September 1978 8	Port Vale	1–2	Bournemouth	Burslem
	Griffiths pen'	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 3,140

Port Vale v Northampton Town

26 September 1978 9	Port Vale	2–2	Northampton Town	Burslem
	N.Chamberlain	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 3,245

Hereford United v Port Vale

30 September 1978 10	Hereford United	1–0	Port Vale	Hereford
		Report		Stadium: Edgar Street Attendance: 3,963

Port Vale v Grimsby Town

7 October 1978 11	Port Vale	1–1	Grimsby Town	Burslem
	N.Chamberlain	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 3,433

Halifax Town v Port Vale

14 October 1978 12	Halifax Town	0–3	Port Vale	Halifax, West Yorkshire
		Report	Wright Tully	Stadium: The Shay Attendance: 1,591

Bradford City v Port Vale

18 October 1978 13	Bradford City	2–3	Port Vale	Bradford
		Report	Sutcliffe Wright Healy	Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 4,136

Port Vale v Torquay United

21 October 1978 14	Port Vale	1–2	Torquay United	Burslem
	Todd	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 4,108

Darlington v Port Vale

28 October 1978 15	Darlington	4–0	Port Vale	Darlington
		Report		Stadium: Feethams Attendance: 1,793

Port Vale v Hartlepool United

4 November 1978 16	Port Vale	2–0	Hartlepool United	Burslem
	N.Chamberlain Beech	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 3,195

Rochdale v Port Vale

11 November 1978 17	Rochdale	0–1	Port Vale	Rochdale
		Report	Keenan	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1,882

Port Vale v Crewe Alexandra

18 November 1978 18	Port Vale	2–2	Crewe Alexandra	Burslem
	Farrell pen' Healy	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 4,607

Port Vale v Stockport County

9 December 1978 19	Port Vale	2–1	Stockport County	Burslem
	Wright Farrell pen'	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 3,689

Barnsley v Port Vale

26 December 1978 20	Barnsley	6–2	Port Vale	Barnsley
		Report	Todd Keenan	Stadium: Oakwell Attendance: 10,532

Newport County v Port Vale

30 December 1978 21	Newport County	1–0	Port Vale	Newport, Wales
		Report		Stadium: Somerton Park Attendance: 4,075

Port Vale v Huddersfield Town

1 January 1979 22	Port Vale	1–0	Huddersfield Town	Burslem
	Wright	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 4,021

Port Vale v Wigan Athletic

9 January 1979 23	Port Vale	2–1	Wigan Athletic	Burslem
	Wright Todd	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 3,746

Aldershot v Port Vale

13 January 1979 24	Aldershot	1–1	Port Vale	Aldershot
		Report	Sinclair	Stadium: Recreation Ground Attendance: 3,708

Port Vale v Doncaster Rovers

16 January 1979 25	Port Vale	1–3	Doncaster Rovers	Burslem
	o.g.	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 3,381

Bournemouth v Port Vale

6 February 1979 26	Bournemouth	3–1	Port Vale	Bournemouth
		Report	o.g.	Stadium: Dean Court Attendance: 3,416

Port Vale v Halifax Town

24 February 1979 27	Port Vale	0–1	Halifax Town	Burslem
		Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 3,117

Torquay United v Port Vale

3 March 1979 28	Torquay United	2–2	Port Vale	Torquay
		Report	Todd Wright	Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 1,711

Port Vale v Darlington

10 March 1979 29	Port Vale	2–1	Darlington	Burslem
	Hawkins Beech	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 2,566

Northampton Town v Port Vale

13 March 1979 30	Northampton Town	1–0	Port Vale	Northampton
		Report		Stadium: County Cricket Ground Attendance: 1,572

Port Vale v Portsmouth

21 March 1979 31	Port Vale	0–0	Portsmouth	Burslem
		Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 2,738

Port Vale v Wimbledon

24 March 1979 32	Port Vale	1–0	Wimbledon	Burslem
	Beech	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 2,906

Scunthorpe United v Port Vale

27 March 1979 33	Scunthorpe United	2–0	Port Vale	Scunthorpe
		Report		Stadium: Old Show Ground Attendance: 1,580

Reading v Port Vale

31 March 1979 34	Reading	0–0	Port Vale	Reading, Berkshire
		Report		Stadium: Elm Park Attendance: 6,704

Grimsby Town v Port Vale

3 April 1979 35	Grimsby Town	1–0	Port Vale	Cleethorpes
		Report		Stadium: Blundell Park Attendance: 8,072

Port Vale v York City

7 April 1979 36	Port Vale	0–0	York City	Burslem
		Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 2,712

Wigan Athletic v Port Vale

13 April 1979 37	Wigan Athletic	5–3	Port Vale	Wigan
		Report	Todd Wright	Stadium: Springfield Park Attendance: 8,452

Port Vale v Barnsley

14 April 1979 38	Port Vale	3–2	Barnsley	Burslem
	N.Chamberlain Wright Todd	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 5,226

Huddersfield Town v Port Vale

16 April 1979 39	Huddersfield Town	3–2	Port Vale	Huddersfield
		Report	M.Chamberlain Beech	Stadium: Leeds Road Attendance: 3,236

Port Vale v Newport County

21 April 1979 40	Port Vale	1–1	Newport County	Burslem
	Wright	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 2,444

Port Vale v Bradford City

24 April 1979 41	Port Vale	2–1	Bradford City	Burslem
	Farrell N.Chamberlain	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 2,264

Stockport County v Port Vale

27 April 1979 42	Stockport County	0–0	Port Vale	Stockport
		Report		Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 3,345

Port Vale v Hereford United

1 May 1979 43	Port Vale	1–1	Hereford United	Burslem
	Hawkins	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 2,160

Port Vale v Reading

5 May 1979 44	Port Vale	0–3	Reading	Burslem
		Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 3,603

York City v Port Vale

7 May 1979 45	York City	4–0	Port Vale	York
		Report		Stadium: Bootham Crescent Attendance: 2,344

Hartlepool United v Port Vale

10 May 1979 46	Hartlepool United	1–2	Port Vale	Hartlepool
		Report	Sinclair Farrell	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 2,007

FA Cup

Main article: 1978–79 FA Cup

Bradford City v Port Vale

25 November 1978 R1	Bradford City	1–0	Port Vale	Bradford
		Report		Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 5,625

League Cup

Main article: 1978–79 Football League Cup

Port Vale v Chester

12 August 1978 R1 1st Leg	Port Vale	0–3	Chester	Burslem
		Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 2,819

Chester v Port Vale

16 August 1978 R1 2nd Leg	Chester	1–1	Port Vale	Chester
		Report	Wright	Stadium: Sealand Road Attendance: 3,741

Player statistics

Appearances and goals

Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	John Connaughton	19	0	1	0	2	0	22	0
GK	Trevor Dance	27	0	0	0	0	0	27	0
DF	Neil Griffiths	26	1	0	0	1	0	27	1
DF	David Harris	11	0	1	0	1	0	13	0
DF	Phil Sproson	23	0	1	0	1	0	25	0
DF	Graham Hawkins	43	2	1	0	2	0	46	2
DF	Bill Bentley	31	0	1	0	2	0	34	0
DF	Neil Wilkinson	7	0	0	0	2	0	9	0
DF	Gerry Keenan	32	2	1	0	0	0	33	2
DF	Bob Delgado	24	0	0	0	0	0	24	0
DF	Billy Leese	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
DF	Russell Bromage	20	2	0	0	1	0	21	2
MF	John Ridley	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
MF	Terry Bailey	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
MF	Kenny Beech	23	4	1	0	0	0	24	4
MF	Peter Sutcliffe	8	1	0	0	0	0	8	1
MF	Mick Moore	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
MF	Andy Proudlove	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
MF	Ged Stenson	11	0	0	0	2	0	13	0
MF	Ken Todd	41	8	1	0	0	0	42	8
MF	Kevin Tully	8	1	1	0	0	0	9	1
MF	Mark Chamberlain	8	1	0	0	0	0	8	1
MF	Peter Farrell	28	4	1	0	0	0	29	4
MF	Ian Elsby	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
MF	Alan Bloor	6	1	0	0	0	0	6	1
MF	Felix Healy	23	2	1	0	0	0	24	2
FW	Ken Beamish	6	4	0	0	2	0	8	4
FW	John Froggatt	2	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
FW	Neville Chamberlain	26	6	0	0	2	0	28	6
FW	Bernie Wright	46	14	1	0	1	1	48	15
FW	Brian Sinclair	18	2	0	0	0	0	18	2

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Fourth Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Bernie Wright	14	0	1	15
2	MF	England	Ken Todd	8	0	0	8
3	FW	England	Neville Chamberlain	6	0	0	6
4	MF	England	Kenny Beech	4	0	0	4
–	MF	England	Peter Farrell	4	0	0	4
–	FW	England	Ken Beamish	4	0	0	4
7	DF	England	Graham Hawkins	2	0	0	2
–	DF	England	Gerry Keenan	2	0	0	2
–	MF	Northern Ireland	Felix Healy	2	0	0	2
–	FW	England	Brian Sinclair	2	0	0	2
–	DF	England	Russell Bromage	2	0	0	2
12	MF	England	Kevin Tully	1	0	0	1
–	MF	England	Mark Chamberlain	1	0	0	1
–	MF	England	Alan Bloor	1	0	0	1
–	MF	England	Peter Sutcliffe	1	0	0	1
–	DF	England	Neil Griffiths	1	0	0	1
–	–	–	Own goals	2	0	0	2
			TOTALS	57	0	1	60

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
June 1978	DF		Neil Wilkinson	Blackburn Rovers	Free transfer	[3]
June 1978	FW		Bernie Wright	Bradford City	£9,000	[3]
August 1978	FW		Brian Sinclair	Blackpool	Free transfer	[3]
August 1978	MF		Ken Todd	Wolverhampton Wanderers	£37,000	[3]
September 1978	MF		Paul Bennett	Everton	Free transfer	[3]
September 1978	DF		Gerry Keenan	Bury	£15,000	[3]
October 1978	FW		Felix Healy	Finn Harps	£8,000	[3]
October 1978	MF		Kevin Tully	Crewe Alexandra	Exchange	[3]
November 1978	MF		Peter Farrell	Bury	£40,000	[3]
November 1978	MF		Andy Proudlove	Buxton	£1,000	[3]
December 1978	DF		Bob Delgado	Chester	£30,000	[3]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
August 1978	MF		Terry Bailey	Northwich Victoria	£2,000	[3]
August 1978	MF		Mick Moore	Wigan Athletic	£2,000	[3]
September 1978	DF		Alan Bloor	Retired		[3]
September 1978	FW		John Froggatt	Northampton Town	£8,000	[3]
September 1978	FW		Ken Beamish	Bury	£35,000	[3]
October 1978	MF		John Ridley	Leicester City	£55,000	[3]
October 1978	DF		Neil Wilkinson	Crewe Alexandra	Exchange	[3]
December 1978	MF		Peter Sutcliffe	Chester City	£15,000	[3]
May 1979	DF		David Harris	Halifax Town	Free transfer	[3]
May 1979	MF		Andy Proudlove	Stafford Rangers	Free transfer	[3]

Loans out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
May 1978	GK		Trevor Dance	Stoke City	May 1978	[3]
May 1978	MF		Ian Elsby	Cleveland Cobras	August 1978	[3]
May 1978	DF		Neil Griffiths	Cleveland Cobras	August 1978	[3]
May 1978	DF		Billy Leese	Cleveland Cobras	July 1978	[3]
May 1978	MF		John Ridley	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	August 1978	[3]
August 1978	GK		Trevor Dance	Cleveland Cobras	August 1978	[3]