1963–64 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale
1963–64 season
Chairman Tom Talbot
Manager Freddie Steele
Stadium Vale Park
Football League Third Division 13th (46 Points)
FA Cup Fourth Round
League Cup First Round
Top goalscorer League: Tony Richards (12)
All: Tony Richards (13)
Highest home attendance 42,179 vs. Liverpool (27 January 1964)
Lowest home attendance 4,497 vs. Wrexham (25 April 1964)
Average home attendance 10,056
Home colours

The 1963–64 season was Port Vale's fifty-second season of football in the Football League, and their fifth season in the Third Division.[1] Freddie Steele spent big on transfers, bringing in players such as Billy Bingham, Albert Cheesebrough, and Jackie Mudie. However it was a disappointing season in the league and a disaster financially. The highlights of the season came in the FA Cup, where Vale beat top-flight Birmingham City at St Andrew's, and drew 0–0 with Liverpool at Anfield.

Contents

Overview

Third Division

The pre-season saw manager Freddie Steele spend unprecedented sums of money – though Vale's spending was insignificant to the standard of many of their rivals.[1] Steele brought in Northern Ireland international Billy Bingham from Everton for £15,000; Albert Cheesebrough from Leicester City for another £15,000; as well as Walsall's Tim Rawlings for £4,000.[1] Chairman Tom Talbot approved of these signings despite the club's financial problems.[1] The club also took a tour of Northern Ireland, though a friendly with Benfica (arranged to match rivals Stoke City's match with Real Madrid) was cancelled due to fixture congestion.[1]

The season opened with a 1–0 defeat to Shrewsbury Town at Gay Meadow.[1] This was followed with two victories, including a 4–1 win over Bristol City in which Tony Richards bagged a hat-trick.[1] After another three poor away games came a 3–0 win over Brentford in which Cheesebrough scored a hat-trick, and a 4–0 win over nearby Crewe Alexandra in front of 17,118 fans.[1] Richards sustained a bad leg injury in this win over Crewe.[1] In the beginning of October, Steele bought winger Ron Smith from Crewe for £6,500.[1] Vale improved as a consequence, and three successive victories followed, leaving Vale in fifth spot.[1] However with Richards' return came a downturn in form, as Vale's impressive strikers failed to find the net in a run of one win in nine league games.[1] This one win was a 1–0 victory over struggling Barnsley at Vale Park, though a subsequent pitch invasion by youths emphasised a growing hooligan culture that would plague the club and the sport itself for decades.[1]

In November, Vale paid Stoke City £12,000 for both ex-Scotland striker Jackie Mudie and left-back Ron Wilson.[1] The defeats kept coming, and so Steele experimented with a 4–2–4 formation, dropping Richards from the first eleven.[1] Vale then went six league games unbeaten, including a 4–4 draw with Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium.[1] However a 1–0 home loss inflicted by Notts County sent Vale on a run of seven defeats and two draws in nine league games.[1] By March the club was in a relegation battle, though results then began to go Vale's way.[1] Only one defeat in their final eleven games ensured safety, as the season ended with a 5–0 drubbing of relegated Wrexham.[1]

They finished in thirteenth place with 46 points, a poor finish for the money spent on transfers.[1] Only 53 goals were scored, as Richards and Cheeseborough were affected with injuries, and Bingham struggled to find his footing in the third tier.[1] Their 49 goals conceded was an excellent record though.[1]

Finances

On the financial side, good attendance figures failed to prevent a massive loss of £42,650, which had come from a £45,567 deficit in transfer fees.[1] A donation of the £19,867 from the Sportsmen's Association and the social club could not disguise the disaster of poor finances.[1] The wage bill had also risen by 20% to over £40,000.[1] Leaving the club were Colin Grainger to Doncaster Rovers and Terry Harkin to Crewe Alexandra for a £3,000 fee.[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale conquered Fourth Division Bradford City with a 2–1 win at Valley Parade. They then defeated Workington 2–1 in a 'slipshod affair'.[1] The Third Round held First Division Birmingham City at St Andrew's. Three thousand of the 21,652 spectators were Vale fans, who 'sung and chanted their way through' a 2–1 victory.[1] In the Fourth Round Vale were drawn against top-flight giants Liverpool at Anfield. The "Reds" had inflicted a 6–1 thrashing of Stoke on Boxing day, in an ominous sign of the challenge the "Valiants" faced.[1] Vale achieved a goalless draw in front of 52,327 fans – 8,000 of them Vale supporters – in a fantastic team performance.[1] The replay at Vale Park ended in a 2–1 loss in front of 42,179 paying fans (as well as an additional 6,000 or so Liverpool supporters who 'mob stormed' the gates to enter the Railway Paddock).[1] Crowd trouble ate into the £8,000 worth of gate receipts, and more significantly caused the death of a Leek man (Harold Birch), and saw serious injuries inflicted to Liverpool fans Harry Taylor and James McDonough, as well as Vale supporter Billy Poulson.[1]

In the League Cup, a First Round exit came with a 2–1 defeat at Southend United's Roots Hall.

Final league table

P W D L F A GA Pts
1 Coventry City 46 22 16 8 98 61 1.607 60
2 Crystal Palace 46 23 14 9 73 51 1.431 60
3 Watford 46 23 12 11 79 59 1.339 58
4 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 46 24 8 14 79 58 1.362 56
5 Bristol City 46 20 15 11 84 64 1.313 55
6 Reading 46 21 10 15 79 62 1.274 52
7 Mansfield Town 46 20 11 15 76 62 1.226 51
8 Hull City 46 16 17 13 73 68 1.074 49
9 Oldham Athletic 46 20 8 18 73 70 1.043 48
10 Peterborough United 46 18 11 17 75 70 1.071 47
11 Shrewsbury Town 46 18 11 17 73 80 0.912 47
12 Bristol Rovers 46 19 8 19 91 79 1.152 46
13 Port Vale 46 16 14 16 53 49 1.082 46
14 Southend United 46 15 15 16 77 78 0.987 45
15 Queens Park Rangers 46 18 9 19 76 78 0.974 45
16 Brentford 46 15 14 17 87 80 1.087 44
17 Colchester United 46 12 19 15 70 68 1.029 43
18 Luton Town 46 16 10 20 64 80 0.800 42
19 Walsall 46 13 14 19 59 76 0.776 40
20 Barnsley 46 12 15 19 68 94 0.723 39
21 Millwall 46 14 10 22 53 67 0.791 38
22 Crewe Alexandra 46 11 12 23 50 77 0.649 34
23 Wrexham 46 13 6 27 75 107 0.701 32
24 Notts County 46 9 9 28 45 92 0.489 27

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

Football League Third Division

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
24 August 1963 Shrewsbury Town A 0–1 9,710
26 August 1963 Mansfield Town H 1–0 14,451 Richards
31 August 1963 Bristol City H 4–1 10,363 Richards (3), Rowland
7 September 1963 Oldham Athletic A 0–1 14,730
9 September 1963 Mansfield Town A 1–1 12,064 Hancock
14 September 1963 Notts County A 0–2 7,309
16 September 1963 Brentford H 3–0 11,539 Cheesebrough (3)
21 September 1963 Crewe Alexandra H 4–0 17,118 Cheesebrough, Bingham, Steele, Richards
28 September 1963 Crystal Palace A 0–2 15,044
1 October 1963 Brentford A 2–1 11,914 Poole, Cheesebrough
5 October 1963 Walsall H 2–2 12,760 Bingham, o.g.
9 October 1963 Luton Town A 0–1 5,914
12 October 1963 Southend United H 4–1 10,306 Rowland, Smith, Harkin, Miles
14 October 1963 Luton Town H 1–0 11,449 Rawlings
19 October 1963 Wrexham A 2–1 6,781 Bingham (2)
23 October 1963 Reading A 0–1 8,731
26 October 1963 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic H 0–0 12,402
28 October 1963 Reading H 0–0 9,492
2 November 1963 Hull City A 1–4 8,460 Richards
9 November 1963 Barnsley H 1–0 9,083 Steele
23 November 1963 Colchester United H 0–2 11,108
30 November 1963 Watford A 1–1 9,890 Poole
14 December 1963 Shrewsbury Town H 1–1 6,906 Mudie
21 December 1963 Bristol City A 0–0 6,021
26 December 1963 Bristol Rovers H 1–0 11,442 Mudie
28 December 1963 Bristol Rovers A 4–4 12,954 Richards (2), Mudie (2)
11 January 1964 Oldham Athletic H 1–0 12,322 Richards
18 January 1964 Notts County H 0–1 7,337
31 January 1964 Crewe Alexandra A 0–1 9,425
8 February 1964 Crystal Palace H 1–2 8,204 Richards
15 February 1964 Walsall A 1–2 7,056 Mudie
22 February 1964 Southend United A 1–1 7,612 Smith
29 February 1964 Peterborough United H 1–2 6,613 Poole
7 March 1964 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic A 0–3 7,584
16 March 1964 Millwall A 1–3 8,312 Mudie
23 March 1964 Peterborough United A 1–1 10,408 Steele
28 March 1964 Millwall H 1–0 5,385 Bingham
30 March 1964 Coventry City H 1–1 17,567 Steele
31 March 1964 Coventry City A 1–1 29,641 Smith
4 April 1964 Colchester United A 2–1 3,263 Miles, Rowland
6 April 1964 Queens Park Rangers H 2–0 7,167 Steele, Smith
11 April 1964 Watford H 0–0 7,698
13 April 1964 Hull City H 1–0 6,090 Rowland
18 April 1964 Queens Park Rangers A 0–3 4,955
20 April 1964 Barnsley A 0–0 4,918
25 April 1964 Wrexham H 5–0 4,497 Richards (2), Bingham (pen), Smith, Cheesebrough

FA Cup

Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 16 November 1963 Bradford City A 2–1 8,189 Whalley, Richards
R2 7 December 1963 Workington H 2–1 10,286 Steele, Bingham
R3 4 January 1964 Birmingham City A 2–1 21,652 Sproson, Mudie
R4 25 January 1964 Liverpool A 0–0 52,327
R4 Replay 27 January 1964 Liverpool H 1–2 42,179 Cheesebrough

League Cup

Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R2 25 September 1963 Southend United A 1–2 6,126 Harkin

Player statistics

Appearances

Pos. Name Football League FA Cup League Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK Ken Hancock 44 0 5 0 1 0 50 0
GK John Cooke 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
DF Roy Sproson 46 0 5 1 1 0 52 1
DF Selwyn Whalley 41 0 5 1 1 0 47 1
DF Terry Lowe 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
DF Terry Alcock 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
DF Ron Wilson 24 0 4 0 0 0 28 0
MF Terry Miles 24 2 2 0 1 0 27 2
MF John Nicholson 46 0 5 0 1 0 52 0
MF Colin Grainger 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
MF Tim Rawlings 19 1 3 0 0 0 22 1
MF Ron Smith 34 5 5 0 0 0 39 5
FW Harry Poole 26 3 2 0 1 0 29 3
FW Stan Steele 44 5 5 1 1 0 50 6
FW Barry Hancock 5 1 0 0 0 0 5 1
FW John Rowland 23 4 4 0 1 0 28 4
FW Tony Richards 30 12 4 1 0 0 34 13
FW Terry Harkin 10 1 0 0 1 1 11 2
FW Jackie Mudie 18 6 3 1 0 0 21 7
FW Mick Porter 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
FW Billy Bingham 35 6 2 1 1 0 38 7
FW Albert Cheesebrough 25 6 1 1 1 0 27 7

Scorers

All competitions

Scorer Goals
Tony Richards 13
Jackie Mudie 7
Billy Bingham
Albert Cheesebrough
Stan Steele 6
Ron Smith 5
John Rowland 4
Harry Poole 3
Terry Miles 2
Terry Harkin
Barry Hancock 1
Tim Rawlings
Roy Sproson
Selwyn Whalley

League

Scorer Goals
Tony Richards 12
Jackie Mudie 6
Billy Bingham
Albert Cheesebrough
Stan Steele 5
Ron Smith
John Rowland 4
Harry Poole 3
Terry Miles 2
Terry Harkin 1
Barry Hancock
Tim Rawlings

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af Kent, Jeff (1990). "Flattering Only to Deceive (1960–1969)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 196–226. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.