1986–87 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale

1986–87 season
Chairman	Jim Lloyd
Manager	John Rudge
Stadium	Vale Park
Football League Third Division	12th (57 Points)
FA Cup	Second Round
League Cup	Second Round
League Trophy	Northern Section Quarter-finalists
Player of the Year	Andy Jones
Top goalscorer	League: Andy Jones (31) All: Andy Jones (37)
Highest home attendance	10,568 vs. Manchester United (7 October 1986)
Lowest home attendance	994 vs. Hereford United (22 December 1986)
Average home league attendance	3,312
Home colours
← 1985–86 1987–88 →

The 1986–87 season was Port Vale's 75th season of football in the Football League, and first (16th overall) season back in the Third Division following promotion from the Fourth Division.^[1] John Rudge led to Vale to a mid-table finish, his Player of the Year signing Andy Jones scoring 37 goals in all competitions. Vale Park saw its record lowest attendance for a competitive encounter when only 994 loyal supporters turned out for a League Trophy clash with Hereford United. More than ten times this number turned out to see the Vale beaten by Manchester United in the Second Round of the League Cup. Rudge also signed Ray Walker to the club, and Andy Porter made his debut.

Overview

Third Division

The pre-season saw John Rudge bring 28-year-old stopper Mark Grew to the club from Ipswich Town.^[1] He also bought Aston Villa's Ray Walker for £12,000; Sheffield United winger Paul Smith for £10,000; and Walsall's 'cultured' striker Richard O'Kelly for £6,000.^[1] Rudge was connected with the vacant management position at Preston North End, but declared himself happy at Vale Park.^[1] The season would see its midweek games played on a Tuesday, rather than the traditional Monday, and the play-offs were also introduced.^[1]

The season opened with a 2–2 draw at crisis club Middlesbrough, who were forced to play the fixture at Hartlepool, after finding themselves kicked out of Ayresome Park.^[1] Vale also drew their opening home match the following week against Rotherham United, and Grew was forced off with a knee injury and Alan Webb split his shinbone.^[1] Jim Arnold agreed to return to the club on non-contract terms to replace the injured Grew.^[1] Playing a 'fluent, passing game', Vale defeated bogey-team Walsall, who had maintained a 21-game unbeaten league run against the "Valiants" since 1965.^[1] Ageing Arnold failed to maintain his fitness and Vale struggled around the foot of the table.^[1] Rudge signed 'giant' Alex Williams on loan from Manchester City.^[1] Despite Andy Jones leading the scoring charts, Vale still suffered, and Rudge's attempts to sign Steve Bull from West Bromwich Albion failed.^[1] On 9 November, Vale Park hosted an American football match, in which Locomotive Derby beat the Stoke Spitfires 13–8.^[1] By the end of the month Vale were cut four points adrift at the bottom of the league.^[1] The next month John Williams was sold to Bournemouth for £30,000, having been in poor form for Vale.^[1] Rudge then splashed out £5,000 on Bristol City's Gary Hamson.^[1] He also brought Bob Hazell in from Reading on a free transfer.^[1]

Hazell successfully shored up the Vale defence, as in his first three games the Vale kept three clean sheets.^[1] In January, O'Kelly required a knee operation, but good news came as Alex Williams was signed permanently for £10,000.^[1] On 27 January, Robbie Earle made his 142nd consecutive appearance in a 1–1 draw with Rotherham United at Millmoor, picking up a groin injury that put him into the treatment room.^[1] The next week a 4–2 win over Doncaster Rovers was the last of a streak of six games unbeaten, that took the Vale up to fourteenth in the table.^[1] A bad February ended with a 6–1 capitulation at home to Blackpool, Vale's biggest home defeat since March of the disastrous 1956–57 season.^[1] Vale picked up eleven of a possible eighteen points in March, with Rudge also signing Darren Beckford on loan from Manchester City.^[1] On 28 March, the club recorded their biggest ever away win by thumping Fulham 6–0 at Craven Cottage, with Jones bagging a hat-trick.^[1] On 1 April, Jones was selected for the Wales squad, and scored past Finland.^[1] Vale lost five of their seven April games, but ensured their safety by ripping apart Newport County on 4 May, with Jones hitting five goals.^[1]

They finished in twelfth spot with 57 points, twelve points clear of Bolton Wanderers.^[1] Andy Jones scored 37 goals in all competitions.^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a loss was made of £53,373.^[1] Match receipts earned £228,422, whilst the market rents raised £100,614.^[1] The bank overdraft stood at £216,453, whilst the club's total debts were £363,878.^[1] The club's shirt sponsors were Browns Transport. Both Geoff Hunter and Wayne Ebanks left on free transfers, Hunter joining Wrexham.^[1] Chairman Jim Lloyd also resigned due to his deteriorated relationship with the board.^[1] He was replaced by garage owner Bill Bell, who was one of many men to have worked on building Vale Park in the 1940s.^[1] Bell stated that he was not afraid to cut loose any deadwood.^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, the First Round tie with non-league neighbours Stafford Rangers attracted a healthy crowd of 5,738 (the second highest attendance of the season), and Vale advanced with a 1–0 win. Travelling to Walsall for the Second Round, they were on the end of a 5–0 drubbing at the Bescot Stadium. Jim Lloyd called the 'tame surrender' a 'disgrace' and Rudge ordered extra training for the players.^[1]

In the League Cup, Vale advanced past Notts County 7–1 on aggregate following wins both at home and at Meadow Lane. They then faced Ron Atkinson's First Division Manchester United at the Second Round, just as they had in 1983. United picked up a 3–0 victory at Old Trafford before eliminating the Vale with a 5–2 win in Stoke-on-Trent.

In the League Trophy, the opening match against Fourth Division Hereford United set a club-record for the lowest-ever attendance for a competitive first team game, as only 994 fans turned up at Vale Park on 22 December to witness Vale win through a Jones goal.^[1] The missing fans only missed 'a long yawn in freezing conditions'.^[1] A 2–1 defeat to Newport County at Somerton Park failed to prevent Vale advancing to the First Round. Vale then eliminated Exeter City with a 1–0 win at St James Park. However Gillingham defeated Vale 4–3 on penalties after a 3–3 draw in Burslem.

Final league table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Bournemouth	46	29	10	7	76	40	+ 36	97
2	Middlesbrough	46	28	10	8	67	30	+ 37	94
3	Swindon Town	46	25	12	9	77	47	+ 30	87
4	Wigan Athletic	46	25	10	11	83	60	+ 23	85
5	Gillingham	46	23	9	14	65	48	+ 17	78
6	Bristol City	46	21	14	11	63	36	+ 27	77
7	Notts County	46	21	13	12	77	56	+ 21	76
8	Walsall	46	22	9	15	80	67	+ 13	75
9	Blackpool	46	16	16	14	74	59	+ 15	64
10	Mansfield Town	46	15	16	15	52	55	– 3	61
11	Brentford	46	15	15	16	64	66	– 2	60
12	Port Vale	46	15	12	19	76	70	+ 6	57
13	Doncaster Rovers	46	14	15	17	56	62	– 6	57
14	Rotherham United	46	15	12	19	48	57	– 9	57
15	Chester City	46	13	17	16	61	59	+ 2	56
16	Bury	46	14	13	19	54	60	– 6	55
17	Chesterfield	46	13	15	18	56	69	– 13	54
18	Fulham	46	12	17	17	59	77	– 18	53
19	Bristol Rovers	46	13	12	21	49	75	– 26	51
20	York City	46	12	13	21	55	79	– 24	49
21	Bolton Wanderers	46	10	15	21	46	58	– 12	45
22	Carlisle United	46	10	8	28	39	78	– 39	38
23	Darlington	46	7	16	23	45	77	– 32	37
24	Newport County	46	8	13	25	49	86	– 37	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	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A
Result	D	D	W	L	D	L	W	L	L	W	D	L	L	D	L	L	L	W	L	D	W	W	W	D	W	L	D	D	L	W	D	W	L	D	W	L	L	L	W	W	L	L	L	D	W	W
Position	7	14	7	10	12	16	12	15	16	13	14	16	17	20	20	21	24	22	23	24	20	17	16	16	14	14	14	14	19	15	13	13	14	15	12	12	15	16	13	11	13	14	14	15	13	12

Sourced from Statto.^[2]

Football League Third Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
23 August 1986	Middlesbrough	A	2–2	3,690	O'Kelly, Maguire
30 August 1986	Rotherham United	H	1–1	3,734	O'Kelly
6 September 1986	Brentford	A	2–0	3,150	Maguire, Smith
13 September 1986	York City	H	2–3	4,893	Jones (2 [1 pen])
16 September 1986	Notts County	H	1–1	3,725	Jones
20 September 1986	Bolton Wanderers	A	0–3	4,872
27 September 1986	Walsall	H	4–1	4,531	Jones (2 [1 pen]), Bowden, Earle
30 September 1986	Blackpool	A	0–2	4,585
4 October 1986	Fulham	H	0–1	3,862
11 October 1986	Chesterfield	A	4–2	2,755	Jones (2), Earle, Maguire
18 October 1986	Bristol Rovers	A	0–0	3,054
21 October 1986	Swindon Town	H	3–4	3,420	Earle, Jones, o.g.
25 October 1986	Gillingham	H	1–2	3,055	Jones
1 November 1986	Bury	A	2–2	2,598	Jones (pen), Smith
4 November 1986	Carlisle United	A	0–2	2,748
8 November 1986	Wigan Athletic	H	0–1	3,339
22 November 1986	Doncaster Rovers	A	1–2	2,455	O'Kelly
14 December 1986	Chester City	H	2–1	3,397	Earle, Smith
19 December 1986	Darlington	A	2–3	1,052	Jones (2)
26 December 1986	Bristol City	H	0–0	4,168
27 December 1986	Newport County	A	2–0	2,105	Jones (pen), Smith
1 January 1987	Mansfield Town	A	1–0	3,053	Hazell
24 January 1987	Brentford	H	4–1	3,062	Jones (2 [1 pen]), Earle, Smith
27 January 1987	Rotherham United	A	1–1	2,397	Walker
3 February 1987	Doncaster Rovers	H	4–2	2,835	Jones (2 [1 pen]), Hamson, Maguire
7 February 1987	Notts County	A	1–4	5,277	Bowden
14 February 1987	Bolton Wanderers	H	1–1	3,678	Bowden
17 February 1987	Middlesbrough	H	0–0	3,263
28 February 1987	Blackpool	H	1–6	3,765	Sproson
3 March 1987	Bury	H	2–0	2,261	Smith, Maguire
7 March 1987	Gillingham	A	0–0	3,929
14 March 1987	Bristol Rovers	H	4–1	2,758	Jones (2 [1 pen]), Walker, Maguire
17 March 1987	Swindon Town	A	0–1	7,347
21 March 1987	Chesterfield	H	2–2	2,903	Bowden, Sproson
28 March 1987	Fulham	A	6–0	3,798	Jones (3), Smith, Walker, Maguire
31 March 1987	Bournemouth	H	1–2	3,228	Walker
4 April 1987	Wigan Athletic	A	1–2	3,567	Jones
11 April 1987	Carlisle United	H	0–1	2,449
14 April 1987	York City	A	4–1	2,804	Webb, Jones, Sproson, Maguire
18 April 1987	Mansfield Town	H	3–2	2,625	Beckford, Jones, Maguire
20 April 1987	Bristol City	A	0–1	8,669
25 April 1987	Darlington	H	1–2	2,492	Jones
28 April 1987	Walsall	A	2–5	5,696	Beckford, Bromage
2 May 1987	Bournemouth	A	0–0	9,559
4 May 1987	Newport County	H	6–1	2,733	Jones (5 [2 pens]), Sproson
9 May 1987	Chester City	A	2–1	3,021	Earle, Beckford

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	15 November 1986	Stafford Rangers	H	1–0	5,738	Earle
R2	6 December 1986	Walsall	A	0–5	7,033

League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1 1st Leg	26 August 1986	Notts County	A	3–1	2,167	Jones (2 [2 pens]), O'Kelly
R1 2nd Leg	3 September 1986	Notts County	H	4–1	3,486	Jones, O'Kelly, Walker, Smith
R2 1st Leg	24 September 1986	Manchester United	A	0–3	18,906
R2 2nd Leg	7 October 1986	Manchester United	H	2–5	10,568	Jones (pen), o.g.

League Trophy

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
P	22 December 1986	Hereford United	H	1–0	994	Jones
P	6 January 1987	Newport County	A	1–2	826	o.g.
R1	20 January 1987	Exeter City	A	1–0	1,365	Maguire
SSQF	10 February 1987	Gillingham	H	3–3 (4-5 on pens)	2,768	Jones, Smith, Hazell

Player statistics

Appearances Pos. Name Football League FA Cup League Cup League Trophy Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals GK Jim Arnold 12 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 15 0 GK Alex Williams 31 0 2 0 0 0 4 0 37 0 GK Mark Grew 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 DF Phil Sproson 44 4 2 0 4 0 2 0 52 4 DF Alan Webb 21 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 24 1 DF Wayne Ebanks 16 0 1 0 4 0 1 0 22 0 DF Chris Banks 25 0 2 0 4 0 3 0 34 0 DF John Williams 14 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 18 0 DF Alan Dodd 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 DF Bob Hazell 21 1 0 0 0 0 3 1 24 2 MF Russell Bromage 41 1 2 0 4 0 4 0 51 1 MF Geoff Hunter 5 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 11 0 MF Robbie Earle 35 6 2 1 4 0 4 0 45 7 MF Paul Maguire 42 8 2 0 4 0 4 1 52 9 MF Jon Bowden 34 4 2 0 3 0 3 0 42 4 MF Andy Porter 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 MF Paul Smith 42 7 2 0 4 1 3 1 51 9 MF Gary Hamson 27 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 1 MF Ray Walker 45 4 1 0 4 1 4 0 54 5 FW Andy Jones 43 31 1 0 4 4 4 2 52 37 FW Richard O'Kelly 12 3 1 0 2 2 0 0 15 5 FW Darren Beckford 11 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 4

Scorers All competitions Scorer Goals Andy Jones 38 Paul Maguire 9 Paul Smith Robbie Earle 7 Ray Walker 5 Richard O'Kelly Jon Bowden 4 Darren Beckford Phil Sproson Bob Hazell 1 Alan Webb Gary Hamson Russell Bromage League Scorer Goals Andy Jones 31 Paul Maguire 8 Paul Smith 7 Robbie Earle 6 Ray Walker 4 Darren Beckford Jon Bowden Phil Sproson Richard O'Kelly 3 Bob Hazell 1 Alan Webb Gary Hamson Russell Bromage

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
June 1986	GK		Mark Grew	Ipswich Town	Free transfer	[3]
July 1986	FW		Richard O'Kelly	Walsall	£6,000	[3]
July 1986	MF		Paul Smith	Sheffield United	£10,000	[3]
July 1986	MF		Ray Walker	Aston Villa	£12,000	[3]
December 1986	MF		Gary Hamson	Bristol City	£5,000	[3]
December 1986	DF		Bob Hazell	Reading	Free transfer	[3]
December 1986	MF		Andy Porter		Free transfer	[3]
January 1987	GK		Alex Williams	Manchester City	£10,000	[3]
March 1987	FW		Darren Beckford	Manchester City	£15,000	[3]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
December 1986	GK		Jim Arnold	Kidderminster Harriers	Retired	[3]
December 1986	DF		John Williams	Bournemouth	£30,000	[3]
May 1987	DF		Wayne Ebanks	Cambridge United	Free transfer	[3]
May 1987	MF		Geoff Hunter	Wrexham	Free transfer	[3]
July 1987	MF		Jon Bowden	Wrexham	£12,500	[3]
August 1987	MF		Russell Bromage	Bristol City	£25,000	[3]

Loans in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Date to	Ref.
November 1986	GK		Alex Williams	Manchester City	January 1987	[3]
December 1986	DF		Alan Dodd	IF Elfsborg	December 1986	[3]

Loans out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
1987	MF		Andy Porter	Hutt Valley United	1987	[3]

References

Specific

1. 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.
2. Port Vale 1986–1987 : 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.