1995–96 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale

1995–96 season
Chairman	Bill Bell
Manager	John Rudge
Stadium	Vale Park
Football League First Division	12th (60 Points)
FA Cup	Fifth Round
League Cup	First Round
Anglo-Italian Cup	Runners-up
Player of the Year	Jon McCarthy
Top goalscorer	League: Tony Naylor (11) All: Tony Naylor (12)
Highest home attendance	19,197 vs. Everton (14 February 1996)
Lowest home attendance	4,380 vs. Huddersfield Town (22 August 1995)
Average home league attendance	8,217
Home colours
← 1994–95 1996–97 →

The 1995–96 season was Port Vale's eighty-fourth season of football in the Football League, and second successive season in the First Division. Despite a poor start to the season, John Rudge led his side to a twelfth place finish. The league highlights were two derby wins over Stoke City, had these results gone the other way then Stoke would have won automatic promotion to the Premier League. Vale's excellent mid-season form also raised hopes of a promotion campaign, but they faded away at the final stages. In the FA Cup, Vale achieved a celebrated upset by knocking out holders Everton with a 2–1 win at Vale Park. They were then eliminated at the Fifth Round, after taking Leeds United to a replay. They reached the final of the Anglo-Italian Cup, where they were defeated 5–2 by Genoa. These successes did not translate to the League Cup, where Vale exited at the First Round. Key new signings were Lee Mills and Player of the Year Jon McCarthy, though it was established star Tony Naylor who was the club's top-scorer.

Overview

First Division

The pre-season saw John Rudge make three key signings.. He bought Lee Mills from Derby County with Robin van der Laan going in the opposite direction with Vale receiving an additional £475,000; as well as Jon McCarthy from York City for a, still club record, £500,000; and defender Andy Hill from Manchester City for £200,000. He also signed Dutch defender Jermaine Holwyn from AFC Ajax for a £5,000 fee.

The season started terribly, as Vale won just one of their opening ten league games, failing to find the net in half of these fixtures. However the one win during this time was against the most important of opponents, rivals Stoke City at the Victoria Ground. The derby took place on 27 August, and a crowd of 14,283 witnessed Ian Bogie score the only goal of the game. Their win over Huddersfield Town at the Alfred McAlpine Stadium at the start of the October was also followed by a sequence of eight games without a win, leaving the club staring relegation in the face. In November, Canadian international defender Randy Samuel signed after impressing on trial, but soon was sidelined with a serious knee injury. Meanwhile John Jeffers left the club for Stockport County. The Vale turned a corner in December, and would remain one of the division's form sides until April, losing just two league games in a run of nineteen games, picking up eleven wins. One of these wins was against Stoke, who left Burslem on 12 March with a 1–0 defeat. To Stoke, Bogie lived up to his name, as he scored his second league goal of the campaign in front of a Vale Park crowd of 16,737. Vale were facing the prospect of a promotion battle to reach the top-flight of English football, the Premier League, for the first time in their history. However just two wins came in the final ten games, leaving Vale to settle for a top-half finish.

They finished in twelfth place with sixty points, eleven points shy of Charlton Athletic in the play-off zone, and eight points clear of Millwall in the relegation zone. Tony Naylor was top-scorer with twelve goals in all competitions, closely followed by Martin Foyle, Andy Porter, and Jon McCarthy.

At the end of the season Kevin Kent retired, and took up a coaching role at the club. Young winger Craig Lawton had not established himself at Vale, and so was transferred to non-league Colwyn Bay. Randy Samuel was also permitted to leave for Norwegian club Harstad IL. Bradley Sandeman was another departing player, as he was given a free transfer to Rotherham United, whilst Lee Glover also joined the "Millers" for a £150,000 fee.

Finances

The club's shirt sponsors were Tunstall Assurance.

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale faced a difficult tie against Crystal Palace. After a goalless draw at Selhurst Park, the Vale advanced with a 4–3 win thanks to a brace from Ray Walker. They then faced the Premier League cup-holders Everton at Goodison Park. Foyle equalized after the "Toffees" scored the opener, and Ian Bogie saved the day with a deflected goal in injury time after Everton had again taken the lead through Duncan Ferguson.^[1] This goal saved the blushes of Foyle, who missed a sitter from six yards earlier in the game, and Paul Musselwhite, who gifted Ferguson his goal when he spilled Anders Limpar's cross.^[2] Back at Vale Park, the "Valiants" added another scalp to their collection with goals from Bogie and McCarthy to win the match 2–1.^[3] The club also took in their highest ever gate receipt total, as the game saw Vale bank £170,349. They then faced another top side away in the Fifth Round, Leeds United at Elland Road. A goalless draw raised hopes of another cup upset, and hopes turned to expectations as Naylor put Vale ahead in the replay. However two goals from Gary McAllister saved United's blushes, dumping Vale out of the cup. For their efforts, John Rudge's side were handed the FA's Giantkillers award for the season.

In the League Cup, Vale faced league rivals Huddersfield Town. Despite a 2–1 victory at the Alfred McAlpine Stadium, the "Terries" escaped from Burslem with a 3–1 victory to knock Vale out of the competition.

In the Anglo-Italian Cup, Vale drew 2–2 with Cesena, beat Ancona 2–0, and drew 0–0 with Genoa, before beating Perugia 5–3. This took Vale through the Group Stage, along with Birmingham City, as they finished ahead of both Oldham Athletic and Luton Town. Facing Ipswich Town in the English semi-final, they progressed with a 4–2 win. They still had to beat West Bromwich Albion in a two-legged affair to reach the final. They beat the "Baggies" 3–1 to become the last English team in the competition, and face Genoa once again, this time to decide the tournament's winner. Despite a brace from Foyle, the Serie B side were the 5–2 victors, former Italian international Gennaro Ruotolo scoring a hat-trick.

Final league table

Pos	Team	Pl	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1.	Sunderland	46	22	17	7	59	33	83
2.	Derby County	46	21	16	9	71	51	79
3.	Crystal Palace	46	20	15	11	67	48	75
4.	Stoke City	46	20	13	13	60	49	73
5.	Leicester City	46	19	14	13	66	60	71
6.	Charlton Athletic	46	17	20	9	57	45	71
7.	Ipswich Town	46	19	12	15	79	69	69
8.	Huddersfield Town	46	17	12	17	61	58	63
9.	Sheffield United	46	16	14	16	57	54	62
10.	Barnsley	46	14	18	14	60	66	60
11.	West Bromwich Albion	46	16	12	18	60	68	60
12.	Port Vale	46	15	15	16	59	66	60
13.	Tranmere Rovers	46	14	17	15	64	60	59
14.	Southend United	46	15	14	17	52	61	59
15.	Birmingham City	46	15	13	18	61	64	58
16.	Norwich City	46	14	15	17	59	55	57
17.	Grimsby Town	46	14	14	18	55	69	56
18.	Oldham Athletic	46	14	14	18	54	50	56
19.	Reading	46	13	17	16	54	63	56
20.	Wolverhampton Wanderers	46	13	16	17	56	62	55
21.	Portsmouth	46	13	13	20	61	69	52
22.	Millwall	46	13	13	20	43	63	52
23.	Watford	46	10	18	18	62	70	48
24.	Luton Town	46	11	12	23	40	64	45

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; 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	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	A	H	H	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	H	H	A	A
Result	D	L	W	D	L	L	L	L	D	D	W	L	D	L	D	L	D	L	D	W	W	W	L	W	L	W	D	D	D	D	W	W	W	W	W	W	D	L	L	L	W	D	W	L	L	D
Position	14	22	18	18	20	22	24	24	23	24	23	23	22	24	23	24	24	24	24	24	20	21	21	18	19	18	19	21	12	23	23	19	17	17	14	12	11	12	16	17	10	12	9	10	11	12

Sourced from Statto.^[4]

Football League First Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
13 August 1995	Derby County	A	0–0	10,869
19 August 1995	Millwall	H	0–1	8,202
27 August 1995	Stoke City	A	1–0	14,283	Bogie
30 August 1995	Sunderland	H	1–1	7,693	Porter
2 September 1995	Norwich City	A	1–2	13,908	Mills
9 September 1995	Portsmouth	H	0–2	7,374
12 September 1995	Leicester City	H	0–2	8,814
16 September 1995	Grimsby Town	A	0–1	4,066
23 September 1995	Reading	A	2–2	7,819	Lee Glover, Lee Mills
30 September 1995	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	2–2	11,550	Porter, Richards (og)
7 October 1995	Huddersfield Town	A	2–0	11,335	Guppy, McCarthy
15 October 1995	Crystal Palace	H	1–2	6,935	L.Glover
21 October 1995	Barnsley	A	1–1	7,332	Guppy
29 October 1995	Birmingham City	H	1–2	8,875	Porter
5 November 1995	Oldham Athletic	A	2–2	5,138	Mills (2)
11 November 1995	Sheffield United	H	2–3	7,284	Mills, Naylor
18 November 1995	Watford	H	1–1	6,265	Samuel
22 November 1995	Tranmere Rovers	A	1–2	6,681	Naylor
25 November 1995	Charlton Athletic	A	2–2	10,174	Griffiths, Porter
2 December 1995	Huddersfield Town	H	1–0	7,701	Foyle
9 December 1995	Reading	H	3–2	6,376	Foyle, Guppy, Porter
16 December 1995	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	1–0	23,329	Porter
20 December 1995	Southend United	A	1–2	4,506	Naylor
26 December 1995	West Bromwich Albion	H	3–1	10,807	Foyle, Guppy, Naylor
1 January 1996	Ipswich Town	A	1–5	9,926	Naylor
13 January 1996	Millwall	A	2–1	14,220	Foyle, Naylor
20 January 1996	Derby County	H	1–1	11,947	Naylor
10 February 1996	Sunderland	A	0–0	15,954
17 February 1996	Leicester City	A	1–1	13,758	McCarthy
2 March 1996	West Bromwich Albion	A	1–1	13,707	McCarthy
9 March 1996	Southend United	H	2–1	6,222	L.Glover, McCarthy
12 March 1996	Stoke City	H	1–0	16,737	Bogie
20 March 1996	Norwich City	H	1–0	6,085	Foyle
23 March 1996	Ipswich Town	H	2–1	7,277	Bogie, McCarthy
27 March 1996	Portsmouth	A	2–1	6,335	Griffiths, Naylor
30 March 1996	Barnsley	H	3–0	7,358	Foyle, Naylor, Porter
2 April 1996	Crystal Palace	A	2–2	14,180	Foyle, McCarthy
6 April 1996	Birmingham City	A	1–3	17,469	Porter
8 April 1996	Oldham Athletic	H	1–3	7,796	Mills
13 April 1996	Watford	A	2–5	9,066	McCarthy, Porter
16 April 1996	Grimsby Town	H	1–0	5,796	Aspin
20 April 1996	Tranmere Rovers	H	1–1	7,419	Naylor
23 April 1996	Luton Town	H	1–0	6,054	Mills
27 April 1996	Charlton Athletic	H	1–3	8,428	McCarthy
30 April 1996	Luton Town	A	2–3	5,443	?, ?
4 May 1996	Sheffield United	A	1–1	18,741	Naylor

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	6 January 1996	Crystal Palace	A	0–0	10,456
R3 Replay	16 January 1996	Crystal Palace	H	4–3	6,754	Walker (2), Foyle, Porter
R4	27 January 1996	Everton	A	2–2	33,168	Bogie, Foyle
R4 Replay	14 February 1996	Everton	H	2–1	19,197	Bogie, McCarthy
R5	21 February 1996	Leeds United	A	0–0	18,607
R5 Replay	27 February 1996	Leeds United	H	1–2	14,023	Naylor

League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1 1st Leg	15 August 1995	Huddersfield Town	A	2–1	5,363	Sedgley (og)
R1 2nd Leg	22 August 1995	Huddersfield Town	H	1–3	4,380	L.Glover

Player statistics

Scorers All competitions Scorer Goals Tony Naylor 12 Martin Foyle 11 Andy Porter 10 Jon McCarthy 9 Lee Mills 6 Ian Bogie 5 Steve Guppy 4 Lee Glover 3 Ray Walker 2 Gareth Griffiths Neil Aspin 1 Randy Samuel League Scorer Goals Tony Naylor 11 Andy Porter 9 Jon McCarthy 8 Martin Foyle 7 Lee Mills 6 Steve Guppy 4 Ian Bogie 3 Lee Glover 2 Gareth Griffiths Neil Aspin 1 Randy Samuel

References

• Soccerbase

Port Vale F.C. seasons 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 99–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 99–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20

Port Vale Football Club History Honours Managers Records Reserves & Youth Seasons Grounds Athletic Ground Old Recreation Ground Vale Park Players 25+ appearances <25 appearances Player of the Year Winners Matches 1989 Play-off Final 1993 League Trophy Final 1993 Play-off Final 1996 Anglo-Italian Final 2001 League Trophy Final Potteries derby

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