1971–72 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale

1971–72 season
Chairman	Graham Bourne (until January) Mark Singer (January onwards)
Manager	Gordon Lee
Stadium	Vale Park
Football League Third Division	15th (41 Points)
FA Cup	Third Round
League Cup	First Round
Player of the Year	Sammy Morgan
Top goalscorer	League: Bobby Gough (10) All: Bobby Gough (10)
Highest home attendance	11,118 vs. Aston Villa (6 November 1971)
Lowest home attendance	2,475 vs. Rochdale (12 May 1972)
Average home league attendance	4,366
Home colours
← 1970–71 1972–73 →

The 1971–72 season was Port Vale's 60th season of football in the Football League, and their second successive season (eighth overall) back in the Third Division.^[1] Roy Sproson's 22-year career at the club came to an end, in what was an otherwise unremarkable campaign.

Overview

Third Division

The pre-season saw the arrival of left-half John Flowers from Doncaster Rovers and full-back Tony Loska from Shrewsbury Town for 'a small fee'.^[1] Meanwhile, three players picked up injuries: John James (cartilage), Roy Sproson (ribs), and Stuart Sharratt (ankle); whilst Sammy Morgan threatened to quit altogether after falling out with manager Gordon Lee over his decision to remain resident in Great Yarmouth rather than moving nearer to Burslem.^[1] Violence broke out in pre-season games, as the sport was in the grip of hooliganism.^[1]

The season opened with a 1–1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion in front of just 4,384 fans, causing Lee to warn that such low attendances would require him to sell off the club's best players.^[1] By the end of September Vale were performing well on the pitch, and off it had sold the main car park to The Co-operative Group for £30,000.^[1] Goals were at a premium despite a 4–3 win over York City and 4–4 draw with Aston Villa at Vale Park.^[1] Sporadic violence continued to break out at many matches, as local businesses had their windows smashed, local residents were menaced and fights broke out.^[1] In November, Clint Boulton was sold to Torquay United for £10,000.^[1] The next month Lee brought Ray Harford from Mansfield Town for a £5,000 fee, as well as Keith Lindsey from Southend United for 'a small fee'.^[1] Vale comfortable in the league, Chairman Graham Bourne resigned in January, along with colleague and fellow director George Sanders.^[1] This left the Board of Directors with just two members, one of which, previous chairman Mark Singer, was re-elected as Chairman.^[1] The Sentinel's Chris Harper stated that "Vale will never make progress while they are plagued by trouble at the top".^[1] The team continued with good home form, but invariably lost away from Vale Park.^[1] On 16 February, Sammy Morgan scored on his debut for Northern Ireland, and picked up six further caps whilst at the club.^[1] On 4 March, only 2,809 bothered to turn out for a 1–0 home win over Mansfield Town in strong wind and snow, whilst rivals Stoke City won the 1972 League Cup Final in front of a crowd of nearly 100,000 at Wembley Stadium.^[1] Vale went on to go ten games without a win, also scoring just one goal in a run of seven games, to the frustration of their supporters.^[1] Despite this, the now annual 'Meet the Manager' evening 'warmed the heart' of Lee.^[1] A 1–0 win over Barnsley at the end of April ensured the club's safety from the drop.^[1] On 8 May, Sproson made his farewell competitive appearance for the club in front of only 2,743 supporters, in a 2–1 defeat to Rotherham United.^[1] Lee angrily declared that "the attendance was nothing short of a disgrace to mark the end of a legend".^[1] Four days later there was an even smaller turnout for a final day 1–1 draw with Rochdale.^[1]

They finished in fifteenth place with 41 points, 30 of which were won at home.^[1] With just 43 goals scored, they had the lowest goal tally outside of the bottom four.^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a drop in average home attendance of over a thousand failed to prevent a profit of £596.^[1] This profit was due to a £10,000 transfer credit and £13,967 worth of donations from the Sportsmen's Association and the Development Fund.^[1] The club's total debt stood at £100,130.^[1] Four players were let go at the end of the campaign: Mick Morris (Stafford Rangers), Keith Ball (Stourport), Stuart Sharratt (retired), and John Flowers (Eastwood).^[1] Sproson also retired as a player, but stayed on as a scout and coach.^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale beat Blackburn Rovers 3–1 following a 1–1 draw at Ewood Park. A last-minute Sammy Morgan goal then defeated Fourth Division Darlington in the Second Round.^[1] Vale then were defeated 3–0 at St Andrew's by Second Division Birmingham City.

In the League Cup, Vale made 'their annual early exist', losing 2–0 at home to Shrewsbury Town.^[1]

Final league table

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GA	Pts
1	Aston Villa	46	32	6	8	85	32	2.656	70
2	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	27	11	8	82	47	1.745	65
3	Bournemouth	46	23	16	7	73	37	1.973	62
4	Notts County	46	25	12	9	74	44	1.682	62
5	Rotherham United	46	20	15	11	69	52	1.327	55
6	Bristol Rovers	46	21	12	13	75	56	1.339	54
7	Bolton Wanderers	46	17	16	13	51	41	1.244	50
8	Plymouth Argyle	46	20	10	16	74	64	1.156	50
9	Walsall	46	15	18	13	62	57	1.088	48
10	Blackburn Rovers	46	19	9	18	54	57	0.947	47
11	Oldham Athletic	46	17	11	18	59	63	0.937	45
12	Shrewsbury Town	46	17	10	19	73	65	1.123	44
13	Chesterfield	46	18	8	20	57	57	1.000	44
14	Swansea City	46	17	10	19	46	59	0.780	44
15	Port Vale	46	13	15	18	43	59	0.729	41
16	Wrexham	46	16	8	22	59	63	0.937	40
17	Halifax Town	46	13	12	21	48	61	0.787	38
18	Rochdale	46	12	13	21	57	83	0.687	37
19	York City	46	12	12	22	57	66	0.864	36
20	Tranmere Rovers	46	10	16	20	50	71	0.704	36
21	Mansfield Town	46	8	20	18	41	63	0.651	36
22	Barnsley	46	9	18	19	32	64	0.500	36
23	Torquay United	46	10	12	24	41	69	0.594	32
24	Bradford City	46	11	10	25	45	77	0.584	32

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	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	A	A	H	H	H
Result	D	W	L	L	W	D	D	W	D	L	D	D	L	W	L	D	W	L	W	W	L	W	L	L	D	W	L	W	L	W	L	L	W	D	D	D	D	L	D	D	L	L	L	W	L	D
Position	13	4	15	15	13	13	14	10	8	15	15	15	16	13	17	17	14	14	14	10	11	11	12	14	12	13	13	10	12	12	14	15	13	13	13	14	13	14	15	14	15	15	15	15	16	15

Sourced from Statto.^[2]

Football League Third Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
14 August 1971	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	1–1	4,384	Horton (pen)
21 August 1971	Swansea City	A	1–0	6,457	Morris
28 August 1971	Chesterfield	H	0–2	4,416
30 August 1971	Notts County	H	0–3	5,298
4 September 1971	Wrexham	A	2–1	7,407	Brodie, Horton
11 September 1971	Plymouth Argyle	H	0–0	3,707
18 September 1971	Shrewsbury Town	A	0–0	5,443
25 September 1971	Halifax Town	H	1–0	3,724	Gough
27 September 1971	Blackburn Rovers	H	0–0	4,963
2 October 1971	Walsall	A	0–2	4,642
9 October 1971	Bolton Wanderers	H	1–1	6,394	Horton (pen)
16 October 1971	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	1–1	9,007	Mountford
19 October 1971	Bournemouth	A	2–3	10,404	Morgan, Gough
23 October 1971	York City	H	4–3	4,484	McLaren (2), Gough, Morgan
30 October 1971	Oldham Athletic	A	0–1	8,140
6 November 1971	Aston Villa	H	4–4	11,118	McLaren, Mountford, Morgan, Loska
13 November 1971	Mansfield Town	A	1–0	5,996	Mountford
27 November 1971	Torquay United	A	0–3	3,710
4 December 1971	Tranmere Rovers	H	2–1	3,701	Morgan, McLaren
18 December 1971	Wrexham	H	1–0	4,310	Summerscales
27 December 1971	Bristol Rovers	A	1–2	12,073	McLaren
1 January 1972	Shrewsbury Town	H	2–1	5,056	Gough, Horton
8 January 1972	Chesterfield	A	1–2	6,532	Gough
22 January 1972	Blackburn Rovers	A	1–3	8,495	Loska
29 January 1972	Bournemouth	H	1–1	4,937	Gough
5 February 1972	Bradford City	H	1–0	3,715	Lacey
12 February 1972	York City	A	1–2	4,319	Gough
19 February 1972	Oldham Athletic	H	1–0	4,506	Morgan
26 February 1972	Aston Villa	A	0–2	32,806
4 March 1972	Mansfield Town	H	1–0	2,809	Morgan
11 March 1972	Bolton Wanderers	A	0–3	6,240
13 March 1972	Rochdale	A	2–3	3,157	James, o.g.
18 March 1972	Swansea City	H	3–0	3,257	Gough (2), Harford
21 March 1972	Barnsley	A	0–0	4,048
25 March 1972	Plymouth Argyle	A	0–0	8,801
1 April 1972	Bristol Rovers	H	0–0	3,823
3 April 1972	Walsall	H	1–1	5,250	Gough
4 April 1972	Halifax Town	A	0–2	3,319
8 April 1972	Bradford City	A	0–0	2,969
15 April 1972	Torquay United	H	0–0	2,737
18 April 1972	Rotherham United	A	0–3	4,161
21 April 1972	Tranmere Rovers	A	2–3	3,544	McLaren, o.g.
26 April 1972	Notts County	A	1–2	9,033	Morgan
29 April 1972	Barnsley	H	1–0	2,614	Morris
8 May 1972	Rotherham United	H	1–2	2,743	Morris
12 May 1972	Rochdale	H	1–1	2,475	Horton (pen)

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	20 November 1971	Blackburn Rovers	A	1–1	6,947	Horton
R1 Replay	22 November 1971	Blackburn Rovers	H	3–1	5,717	Horton (2 [1 pen]), Morgan
R2	11 December 1971	Darlington	H	1–0	5,402	Morgan
R3	15 January 1972	Birmingham City	A	0–3	32,937

League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	18 August 1971	Shrewsbury Town	H	0–2	4,638

Player statistics

Appearances Pos. Name Football League FA Cup League Cup Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals GK Keith Ball 31 0 3 0 1 0 35 0 GK Stuart Sharratt 15 0 1 0 0 0 16 0 DF Roy Sproson 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 DF Clint Boulton 15 0 0 0 1 0 16 0 DF Bill Summerscales 24 1 5 0 0 0 28 1 DF Roy Cross 46 0 4 0 1 0 51 0 DF John Brodie 37 1 4 0 2 0 42 1 DF Keith Lindsey 16 0 0 0 0 0 16 0 DF Tony Loska 30 2 4 0 1 0 35 2 MF Tommy McLaren 45 6 4 0 1 0 50 6 MF Brian Horton 42 5 4 3 1 0 47 8 MF Tony Lacey 31 1 2 0 0 0 33 1 MF Bob Peyton 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 MF John Flowers 34 0 2 0 1 0 37 0 MF Ray Harford 19 1 0 0 0 0 19 1 FW John James 14 1 0 0 0 0 14 1 FW Mick Morris 31 3 2 0 0 0 33 3 FW Bobby Gough 42 10 4 0 1 0 47 10 FW Sammy Morgan 36 7 4 2 1 0 41 9 FW Bob Mountford 21 3 3 0 1 0 25 3

Scorers All competitions Scorer Goals Bobby Gough 10 Sammy Morgan 9 Tommy McLaren Brian Horton 8 Mick Morris 3 Bob Mountford Tony Loska 2 Ray Harford 1 John Brodie Bill Summerscales Tony Lacey John James League Scorer Goals Bobby Gough 10 Sammy Morgan 7 Tommy McLaren 6 Brian Horton 5 Mick Morris 3 Bob Mountford Tony Loska 2 Ray Harford 1 John Brodie Bill Summerscales Tony Lacey John Brodie John James

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
July 1971	DF		Tony Loska	Southend United	Free transfer	[3]
August 1971	MF		John Flowers	Doncaster Rovers	'small'	[3]
December 1971	DF		Ray Harford	Mansfield Town	£5,000	[3]
December 1971	DF		Keith Lindsey	Southend United	'small'	[3]
January 1972	MF		Bob Peyton	Chelmsley Town	Free transfer	[3]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
November 1971	DF		Clint Boulton	Torquay United	£10,000	[3]
May 1972	GK		Keith Ball	Stourport	Free transfer	[3]
May 1972	MF		John Flowers	Eastwood	Free transfer	[3]
May 1972	FW		Mick Morris	Stafford Rangers	Free transfer	[3]
May 1972	DF		Roy Sproson		Retired	[3]
May 1972	GK		Stuart Sharratt		Released	[3]

References

Specific

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. Port Vale 1971–1972 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
3. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

General

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