1972–73 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale

1972–73 season

Chairman

Mark Singer

Manager

Gordon Lee

Stadium

Vale Park

Football League Third Division

6th (53 Points)

Third Round

Second Round

Top goalscorer

League: Sammy Morgan/Ray Williams (11)
All: Sammy Morgan/Ray Williams (11)

Highest home attendance

20,619 vs. West Ham United (13 January 1973)

Lowest home attendance

3,468 vs. Bristol Rovers (2 September 1972)

Average home league attendance

5,429

Home colours

← 1971–72

1973–74 →

The 1972–73 season was Port Vale's sixty-first season of football in the Football League, and their third successive season (ninth overall) in the Third Division.^[1] Their promotion efforts ended with a sixth place finish, whilst in the two cup competitions they lost out to Newcastle United and West Ham United. Opposition managers condemned the players as overly physical, whilst off the pitch there were sporadic scenes of violence as football hooliganism gripped the club, and the sport in general.

Overview

Third Division

The pre-season saw Gordon Lee make a number of big signings.^[1] The most significant was the signing of Ray Williams from Stafford Rangers, who had scored 47 goals for the non-league club the previous season.^[1] Williams cost Vale £3,000 and was on a wage of £40 a week (plus incentives).^[1] Also arriving was midfielder Freddie Goodwin (Southport); 'controversial' goalkeeper Alan Boswell (Bolton Wanderers); young midfielder Colin Tartt (Alsager College); and trialist goalkeeper Reg Edwards (Nuneaton Borough).^[1] Ticket prices were raised to between 40 and 60 pence, whilst season tickets were priced between £8 and £10.^[1]

The season opened with six victories in eight league games, though the third match was a huge 7–0 defeat at Millmoor to Rotherham United – the defeat was blamed on Boswell.^[1] After mid-September the "Valiants" struggled to score, and recorded six draws in eight games, though they remained in the top three.^[1] The club spent £8,500 on new floodlights and a public address system, however attendances dropped off from the crucial 6,000 break-even number.^[1] Lee complained about the lack of support, and said "the people here are not genuinely interested in league football".^[1] Offered the management position at Shrewsbury Town, he rejected the offer as he believed the club 'lacked potential' and that he had a 'feeling of loyalty towards the [Vale] players'.^[1] Going into the Christmas period Brian Horton was struck by injury, and the team struggled, heading down the league with inconsistent play.^[1] In January, Lee sold John James to Chester for £5,000, Ray Harford to Colchester United for £1,750, and Keith Lindsey to Gillingham for £750.^[1] To keep up the promotion bid, in February he spent £2,250 to bring 'pacey' striker John Woodward from Walsall.^[1] Vale began to pick up wins, though their 2–1 win over Blackburn Rovers led to them being branded by Rovers manager Ken Furphy as 'a brutal and physical side'.^[1] Vale lifted themselves into third place, though were out of the race after a 'shattering' 5–0 defeat to Southend United at Roots Hall.^[1] Their final home game of the season was a 2–2 draw with champions Bolton Wanderers, in which 'frenzied scenes' included police dogs separating the two sets of fans at the Bycars End, two attempted pitch invasions, and the referee kicked to the ground at the final whistle.^[1]

They finished in sixth spot with 53 points, four short of promoted Notts County. The 69 goals conceded tally was higher than that of all but the bottom two clubs.^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a £14,304 profit was made after donations of £16,029 from the Sportsmen's Association and the Development Fund.^[1] Gate receipts had risen massively from £36,323 to £67,202.^[1] The wage bill stood at £59,663, whilst the club's debt was at £44,721, along with £57,860 owed to the directors.^[1] At the end of the season Freddie Goodwin was let go, and he joined Macclesfield Town.^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale progressed past Fourth Division Southport and then Third Division Wrexham with home victories. In the Third Round they faced Second Division West Ham United at Vale Park, where the "Hammers" won 'an epic battle' 1–0 in front of a season-best crowd of 20,619.^[1] The match raised £8,600, but also the issue of violence, as two Londoners were stabbed, two policemen seriously assaulted, and thirty fans ejected from the stadium.^[1] West Ham manager Ron Greenwood claimed that the Vale players attempted 'the most blatant calculated intimidation I have ever seen anywhere in the world'.^[1]

In the League Cup, the club recorded their first ever away victory in the competition with a 1–0 win over Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park.^[1] The Second Round held a home tie with First Division Newcastle United, and the "Magpies" left Stoke-on-Trent having won 3–1 in front of 10,370 spectators.

Final league table

Main article: 1972–73 Football League

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GA	Pts
1	Bolton Wanderers	46	25	11	10	73	39	1.872	61
2	Notts County	46	23	11	12	67	47	1.426	57
3	Blackburn Rovers	46	20	15	11	57	47	1.213	55
4	Oldham Athletic	46	19	16	11	72	54	1.333	54
5	Bristol Rovers	46	20	13	13	77	56	1.375	53
6	Port Vale	46	21	11	14	56	69	0.812	53
7	Bournemouth	46	17	16	13	66	44	1.500	50
8	Plymouth Argyle	46	20	10	16	74	66	1.121	50
9	Grimsby Town	46	20	8	18	67	61	1.098	48
10	Tranmere Rovers	46	15	16	15	56	52	1.077	46
11	Charlton Athletic	46	17	11	18	69	67	1.030	45
12	Wrexham	46	14	17	15	55	54	1.019	45
13	Rochdale	46	14	17	15	48	54	0.889	45
14	Southend United	46	17	10	19	61	54	1.130	44
15	Shrewsbury Town	46	15	14	17	46	54	0.852	44
16	Chesterfield	46	17	9	20	57	61	0.934	43
17	Walsall	46	18	7	21	56	66	0.848	43
18	York City	46	13	15	18	42	46	0.913	41
19	Watford	46	12	17	17	43	48	0.896	41
20	Halifax Town	46	13	15	18	43	53	0.811	41
21	Rotherham United	46	17	7	22	51	65	0.785	41
22	Brentford	46	15	7	24	51	69	0.739	37
23	Swansea City	46	14	9	23	51	73	0.699	37
24	Scunthorpe United	46	10	10	26	33	72	0.458	30

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	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A
Result	D	W	L	W	W	W	W	W	L	L	W	L	D	W	D	D		W	D	D	L	W	L	L	D	W	L	W	L	W	W	L	W	W	L	W	D	W	L	W	D	W	L	W	D	L
Position	10	4	15	6	5	1	1	1	2	4	3	5	4	3	3	2	3	2	3	3	3	3	5	7	6	10	10	9	10	10	9	9	9	5	9	7	8	4	6	6	4	4	5	4	5	6

Sourced from Statto.^[2]

Football League Third Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
12 August 1972	Rochdale	A	0–0	2,661
19 August 1972	York City	H	2–1	4,112	Horton, Goodwin
26 August 1972	Rotherham United	A	0–7	4,788
28 August 1972	Wrexham	H	3–2	3,885	Mountford, James, Morgan
2 September 1972	Bristol Rovers	H	2–1	3,468	Goodwin, Horton (pen)
9 September 1972	Chesterfield	A	2–1	7,854	Loska, Horton (pen)
16 September 1972	Brentford	H	1–0	4,663	Williams
18 September 1972	Halifax Town	H	2–1	5,715	Morgan, Loska
23 September 1972	Walsall	A	0–2	8,159
26 September 1972	Bournemouth	A	0–4	12,145
30 September 1972	Southend United	H	3–1	4,005	Gough, Morgan, Williams (pen)
7 October 1972	Oldham Athletic	H	0–2	5,352
10 October 1972	Watford	A	1–1	5,556	Morgan
14 October 1972	Blackburn Rovers	A	1–0	6,500	Morgan
21 October 1972	Tranmere Rovers	H	0–0	4,007
23 October 1972	Shrewsbury Town	H	1–1	5,213	James
28 October 1972	Notts County	A	1–1	8,544	Horton (pen)
4 November 1972	Bournemouth	H	2–1	6,414	Morgan (2)
11 November 1972	Halifax Town	A	2–2	2,026	Williams, Horton
25 November 1972	Plymouth Argyle	H	1–1	3,881	McLaren
2 December 1972	Charlton Athletic	A	0–2	4,391
16 December 1972	Scunthorpe United	H	2–0	3,833	o.g., McLaren
23 December 1972	Bolton Wanderers	A	0–2	12,643
26 December 1972	Walsall	H	1–2	6,787	Mountford (pen)
30 December 1972	York City	A	0–0	3,589
27 January 1973	Chesterfield	H	2–1	3,806	James, McLaren
30 January 1973	Bristol Rovers	A	1–4	10,009	Loska
3 February 1973	Watford	H	1–0	3,987	Williams
10 February 1973	Brentford	A	0–5	6,694
24 February 1973	Scunthorpe United	A	1–0	2,734	Summerscales
26 February 1973	Rotherham United	H	4–1	4,433	o.g., Gough, Woodward, Williams
3 March 1973	Oldham Athletic	A	0–1	6,998
6 March 1973	Grimsby Town	A	1–0	14,092	Williams
10 March 1973	Blackburn Rovers	H	2–1	7,854	Woodward (2)
16 March 1973	Tranmere Rovers	A	0–2	5,346
19 March 1973	Swansea City	H	3–1	5,104	Morgan (2), Summerscales
24 March 1973	Notts County	H	1–1	8,920	Williams
27 March 1973	Shrewsbury Town	A	3–2	4,419	Woodward (2), Williams
31 March 1973	Plymouth Argyle	A	1–2	9,416	Williams
7 April 1973	Charlton Athletic	H	3–1	5,076	Williams, Morgan, Woodward
9 April 1973	Rochdale	H	0–0	6,413
14 April 1973	Swansea City	A	1–0	2,594	Morgan
20 April 1973	Southend United	A	0–5	9,395
21 April 1973	Grimsby Town	H	3–0	3,772	Woodward (2), Williams
23 April 1973	Bolton Wanderers	H	2–2	14,168	Horton (pen), Woodward
27 April 1973	Wrexham	A	0–5	3,543

FA Cup

Main article: 1972–73 FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	20 November 1972	Southport	H	2–1	4,624	James, Horton
R2	9 December 1972	Wrexham	H	1–0	5,980	Brodie
R3	13 January 1973	West Ham United	H	0–1	20,619

League Cup

Main article: 1972–73 Football League Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	16 August 1972	Tranmere Rovers	A	1–0	4,003	o.g.
R2	5 September 1972	Newcastle United	H	1–3	10,370	Summerscales

Player statistics

Appearances

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Alan Boswell	44	0	3	0	2	0	49	0
GK	Reg Edwards	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
DF	Bill Summerscales	45	2	3	0	2	1	50	3
DF	Roy Cross	35	0	3	0	2	0	40	0
DF	John Brodie	35	0	3	1	0	0	38	1
DF	Keith Lindsey	8	0	0	0	1	0	9	0
DF	Tony Loska	41	3	2	0	1	0	44	3
MF	Tommy McLaren	41	3	2	0	2	0	45	3
MF	Brian Horton	39	6	2	1	2	0	43	7
MF	Tony Lacey	25	0	3	0	1	0	29	0
MF	Ray Harford	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
MF	Freddie Goodwin	27	2	1	0	2	0	30	2
MF	Colin Tartt	29	0	3	0	0	0	32	0
FW	John James	16	3	2	1	2	0	20	4
FW	Bobby Gough	27	2	2	0	0	0	29	2
FW	Sammy Morgan	39	11	3	0	2	0	44	11
FW	Bob Mountford	17	2	1	0	2	0	20	2
FW	John Woodward	17	9	0	0	0	0	17	9
FW	Ray Williams	44	11	3	0	2	0	49	11

Scorers

All competitions

Scorer	Goals
Ray Williams	11
Sammy Morgan	11
John Woodward	9
Brian Horton	7
John James	4
Tony Loska	3
Tommy McLaren
Bill Summerscales
Freddie Goodwin	2
Bob Mountford
Bobby Gough
John Brodie	1

League

Scorer	Goals
Ray Williams	11
Sammy Morgan	11
John Woodward	9
Brian Horton	6
John James	3
Tony Loska
Tommy McLaren
Freddie Goodwin	2
Bob Mountford
Bill Summerscales
Bobby Gough

References

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 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.
↑ Port Vale 1972–1973 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.

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

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

1972–73 in English football

« 1971–72

1973–74 »

FA competitions

Football League

Lower leagues

European competitions

Related to national team

Club seasons

First Division	Arsenal Birmingham City Chelsea Coventry City Crystal Palace Derby County Everton Ipswich Town Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Norwich City Queens Park Rangers Sheffield United Southampton Stoke City Tottenham Hotspur Wolverhampton Wanderers

Second Division	Aston Villa Blackpool Brighton & Hove Albion Bristol City Burnley Cardiff City Carlisle United Fulham Huddersfield Town Hull City Leyton Orient Luton Town Middlesbrough Millwall Nottingham Forest Oxford United Portsmouth Preston North End Sheffield Wednesday Sunderland Swindon Town West Bromwich Albion West Ham United

Third Division	Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Bournemouth Brentford Bristol Rovers Charlton Athletic Chesterfield Grimsby Town Halifax Town Notts County Oldham Athletic Plymouth Argyle Port Vale Rochdale Rotherham United Scunthorpe United Shrewsbury Town Southend United Swansea City Tranmere Rovers Walsall Watford Wrexham York City

Fourth Division	Aldershot Barnsley Bradford City Bury Cambridge United Chester Colchester United Crewe Alexandra Darlington Doncaster Rovers Exeter City Gillingham Hartlepool United Hereford United Lincoln City Mansfield Town Newport County Northampton Town Peterborough United Reading Southport Stockport County Torquay United Workington

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