1977–78 Port Vale F.C. season

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Port Vale
1977–78 season
Chairman Arthur McPherson
Manager Roy Sproson
(until October)
Bobby Smith
(October onwards)
Stadium Vale Park
Football League Third Division 21st (36 Points)
FA Cup Second Round
League Cup First Round
Player of the Year Ken Beamish
Top goalscorer League: Ken Beamish (13)
All: Ken Beamish (16)
Highest home attendance 7,051 vs. Walsall (19 December 1977)
Lowest home attendance 3,220 vs. Hereford United (22 March 1978)
Average home league attendance 3,947
Home colours
← 1976–77 1978–79 →

The 1977–78 season was Port Vale's 66th season of football in the Football League, and their eighth successive season (14th overall) in the Third Division.[1] Finishing in 21st place, they were relegated to the Fourth Division. Roy Sproson was sacked in October after a poor start to the season, though things did not improve under his replacement Bobby Smith, despite Smith spending big money to bring in new players. Smith also left the club at the end of the season.

Overview

Third Division

The pre-season saw manager Roy Sproson attempt to re-sign Sammy Morgan for £12,000, however Morgan refused personal terms.[1] Former Player of the Year David Harris also refused terms and demanded a transfer, so Terry Alcock re-joined on a month's trial to take his place.[1] Three players arrived on free transfers: Jeff Hemmerman and Grahame McGifford from Hull City, and Bill Bentley from Blackpool.[1] On a 28 June meeting, Sproson was severely criticized for his poor judgement of players and his seeming to place greater priority on his newsagent business than the club.[1] Sproson did not attend the meeting, but was informed the board would review his position after fifteen games.[1] The Football Association also hit the club with a £500 fine for their continuing problem with player indiscipline, despite Sproson's argument that no Vale players had been sent off in the last two years.[1]

The season began poorly, though Harris returned to the first eleven and Alcock thus departed.[1] Keeper John Connaughton picked up a knee injury, whilst a reporter from The Sentinel was allegedly told "I'll kill you" by a club official after he criticized the team in the paper.[1] The reporter noted that "there is disenchantment in the air".[1] The situated was calmed on 27 September, when Vale beat high-flying Colchester United 3–2 at Layer Road, reserve keeper Trevor Dance making a double penalty save.[1] This was only a reprieve for Sproson however, as Vale would go the next fourteen league games without a victory, and the Vale Park faithful turned against the team.[1] This run was not too damaging however, as eleven of the games were draws.[1] Included in this was a club record streak of six home draws, lasting from 10 October to 27 December. Sproson complained of Mick Cullerton's attitude, and had to endure speculation of former Stoke City manager Tony Waddington taking his job.[1] Sproson was sacked in October, and he rejected the offer of an executive position at the club.[1] Colin Harper was made caretaker-manager.[1] The board tried and failed to attract Bill McGarry to the vacant managerial position, and so advertised the position with a significant salary increase to attract applicants.[1] On 17 November, Bobby Smith was sacked as Bury manager, and the next day walked into the Vale job.[1] He appointed Dennis Butler as his assistant, as Harper left the club.[1] Sproson also returned to Vale with an offer 'to help in any capacity'.[1] Victory finally came on New Year's Eve with a 3–0 win over Rotherham United.[1] Soon after this the 'Vale Lottery' was introduced, which proved to be a real money-spinner, and a five-a-side pitch was built for training.[1]

In January, veteran defender Graham Hawkins was signed as a player-coach from Blackburn Rovers for £6,000.[1] Forward Neville Chamberlain also joined the club as a professional, becoming the club's first black pro.[1] John Froggatt also joined the club, signing from Colchester United for £10,000.[1] Chairman Arthur McPherson celebrated this abandonment of frugality by declaring "we are going places".[1] Chris Harper slated the board for their decisions, calling them 'berserk'. Froggatt scored fifteen seconds into his debut in a 4–0 win over Exeter City.[1] However this would be as good as it got for both Froggatt and Vale that season. In February, Vale beat Fort Lauderdale Strikers in a friendly, but also started a five games sequence without a win.[1] Ged Stenson arrived the next month from Everton for a 'bargain' £3,000, and John Lumsdon joined on loan from Stoke City.[1] Vale improved, and were unbeaten in six of their seven March games, with Chamberlain scoring on his debut.[1] Yet on 28 March they started a club-record streak of twelve home games without a win that would continue into the following season. Encouragement came from the youth side, who reached the Quarter Finals of the FA Youth Cup.[1] With four games to go, Vale were point clear of the drop, however by losing all of their remaining games they doomed themselves to the Fourth Division.[1]

They finished in 21st place with 36 points, three short of Rotherham United and safety.[1] Their tally of 46 goals scored was the third-lowest in the division.[1] They had failed to keep a clean sheet on their travels all season, achieving just one away win.[1] Player of the Year Ken Beamish hit sixteen goals, far outscoring his rivals.[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a loss of £1,575 was made.[1] The massive transfer outlay was paid for by huge donations of £51,428 from the Sportsmen's Association and the Development Fund.[1] The lottery also brought in £600 a week.[1] Gate receipts had brought in £78,965, a downturn in attendance being outweighed by an increase in ticket prices.[1] Seven players were handed free transfers, five of which were: Mick Cullerton and Grahame McGifford (Northwich Victoria); Derek Brownbill (Cleveland Cobras); Alan Lamb (Dundee); and Kevin Kennerley (Stafford Rangers).[1] Manager Bobby Smith also departed, having taken the vacant position at Swindon Town – Vale received £10,500 in compensation.[1] Dennis Butler rejected the opportunity to leave with him, and instead was appointed as Smith's replacement at Vale.[1] Graham Hawkins became Butler's assistant.[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Smith's first game in charge was a goalless draw at Midland Counties League side Arnold.[1] The replay in Burslem was won 5–2, the club's biggest win since January 1969.[1] In the Second Round, Vale drew 1–1 with Walsall at Fellows Park, before losing the replay 3–1 after Connaughton allowed a speculative shot from 25 yards out to trickle through his hands.[1] He later admitted "I deserve to be strung up!".[1]

In the League Cup, Vale beat Preston North End 2–1 in the home leg, though the fixture was unsettled by crowd violence.[1] Preston won the return leg at Deepdale, and also the replay at Edgeley Park, Stockport.[1]

Final league table

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Main article: 1977–78 Football League
P W D L F A GD Pts
1 Wrexham 46 23 15 8 78 45 +33 61
2 Cambridge United 46 23 12 11 72 51 +21 58
3 Preston North End 46 20 16 10 63 38 +25 56
4 Peterborough United 46 20 16 10 47 33 +14 56
5 Chester 46 16 22 8 59 56 +3 54
6 Walsall 46 18 17 11 61 50 +11 53
7 Gillingham 46 15 20 11 67 60 +7 50
8 Colchester United 46 15 18 13 55 44 +11 48
9 Chesterfield 46 17 14 15 58 49 +9 48
10 Swindon Town 46 16 16 14 67 60 +7 48
11 Shrewsbury Town 46 16 15 15 63 57 +6 47
12 Tranmere Rovers 46 16 15 15 57 52 +5 47
13 Carlisle United 46 14 19 13 59 59 +0 47
14 Sheffield Wednesday 46 15 16 15 50 52 -2 46
15 Bury 46 13 19 14 62 56 +6 45
16 Lincoln City 46 15 15 16 53 61 -8 45
17 Exeter City 46 15 14 17 49 59 -10 44
18 Oxford United 46 13 14 19 64 67 -3 40
19 Plymouth Argyle 46 11 17 18 61 68 -7 39
20 Rotherham United 46 13 13 20 51 68 -17 39
21 Port Vale 46 8 20 18 46 67 -21 36
22 Bradford City 46 12 10 24 56 86 -30 34
23 Hereford United 46 9 14 23 34 60 -26 32
24 Portsmouth 46 7 17 22 41 75 -34 31

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 H A H A H H A A H A H A H A H A A H A H A H H A H A A H A A H H A H A H A H A A H H A H H A
Result L D W L W D L W L L D D D D D L D D D D L D W L W L L W L L D L D W D W D D L D D D L L L L
Position 20 19 17 20 12 15 20 17 21 23 22 22 21 21 21 22 21 21 21 20 21 21 18 18 17 18 20 18 19 19 19 19 19 19 18 18 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 20 20 21

Sourced from Statto.[2]

Football League Third Division

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
20 August 1977 Chesterfield H 1–3 4,091 Hemmerman (pen)
27 August 1977 Wrexham A 1–1 5,797 Brownbill
3 September 1977 Lincoln City H 2–1 3,520 Hemmerman (2 [1 pen])
10 September 1977 Exeter City A 1–4 5,026 Cullerton
12 September 1977 Bradford City H 1–0 3,814 Lamb
17 September 1977 Sheffield Wednesday H 0–0 5,136
24 September 1977 Walsall A 0–2 4,897
27 September 1977 Colchester United A 3–2 4,820 Beamish (2), Beech
1 October 1977 Bury H 1–2 3,672 Cullerton
8 October 1977 Shrewsbury Town A 0–3 3,553
10 October 1977 Gillingham H 2–2 3,418 Bailey, Brownbill
15 October 1977 Swindon Town A 1–1 6,327 Sutcliffe
22 October 1977 Peterborough United H 0–0 3,502
29 October 1977 Hereford United A 1–1 5,393 Sutcliffe
5 November 1977 Preston North End H 0–0 4,208
12 November 1977 Chester A 1–2 3,321 Brownbill
15 November 1977 Portsmouth A 1–1 7,071 Hemmerman
19 November 1977 Tranmere Rovers H 1–1 3,576 Hemmerman (pen)
3 December 1977 Carlisle United A 1–1 4,323 Bailey (pen)
9 December 1977 Plymouth Argyle H 3–3 3,650 Beamish, Harris, Lamb
26 December 1977 Cambridge United A 0–2 6,124
27 December 1977 Oxford United H 1–1 3,997 Harris
31 December 1977 Rotherham United H 3–0 3,861 Beamish (2), Sutcliffe
2 January 1978 Preston North End A 0–2 10,940
7 January 1978 Portsmouth H 2–0 3,481 Beamish (2)
14 January 1978 Chesterfield A 0–2 4,619
28 January 1978 Lincoln City A 0–3 3,205
8 February 1978 Exeter City H 4–0 3,333 Froggatt, Sutcliffe, Beamish, (pen)
11 February 1978 Sheffield Wednesday A 1–3 9,659 Griffiths (pen)
25 February 1978 Bury A 0–3 4,475
28 February 1978 Walsall H 2–2 4,682 Beamish, Lamb
4 March 1978 Shrewsbury Town H 1–2 3,499 Griffiths (pen)
8 March 1978 Bradford City A 1–1 6,205 Bailey
11 March 1978 Swindon Town H 1–0 3,723 Chamberlain
17 March 1978 Peterborough United A 1–1 4,277 Chamberlain
22 March 1978 Hereford United H 1–0 3,220 Froggatt
25 March 1978 Oxford United A 1–1 4,120 Beamish
28 March 1978 Cambridge United H 1–1 4,240 Griffiths (pen)
1 April 1978 Rotherham United A 0–2 3,707
4 April 1978 Gillingham A 1–1 7,627 Beamish
8 April 1978 Chester H 0–0 3,615
11 April 1978 Wrexham H 1–1 6,912 Hawkins
14 April 1978 Tranmere Rovers A 1–2 2,460 Beamish
22 April 1978 Carlisle United H 0–1 3,942
24 April 1978 Colchester United H 0–3 3,684
29 April 1978 Plymouth Argyle A 2–3 9,474 Beamish, Froggatt

FA Cup

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Main article: 1977–78 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 26 November 1977 Arnold A 0–0 3,600
R1 Replay 28 November 1977 Arnold H 5–2 5,205 Sutcliffe (2), Bailey, Beamish, Ridley
R2 17 December 1977 Walsall A 1–1 5,978 Beamish
R2 Replay 19 December 1977 Walsall H 1–3 7,051 Beamish

League Cup

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Main article: 1977–78 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 1st Leg 13 August 1977 Preston North End H 2–1 4,630 Beech, Alcock
R1 2nd Leg 16 August 1977 Preston North End A 1–2 5,816 Hemmerman (pen)
R1 Replay 23 August 1977 Preston North End N 1–2 2,201 Alcock

Player statistics

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 1.38 1.39 1.40 1.41 1.42 1.43 1.44 1.45 1.46 1.47 1.48 1.49 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Port Vale 1977–1978 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
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