1966–67 Port Vale F.C. season

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Port Vale
1966–67 season
Chairman Fred Pinfold
Manager Jackie Mudie
Stadium Vale Park
Football League Fourth Division 13th (43 Points)
FA Cup Second Round
League Cup First Round
Player of the Year Roy Sproson
Top goalscorer League: Mick Cullerton (12)
All: Mick Cullerton (12)
Highest home attendance 12,784 vs. Barnsley (16 January 1967)
Lowest home attendance 2,554 vs. York City (24 April 1967)
Average home league attendance 5,114
Home colours
← 1965–66 1967–68 →

The 1966–67 season was Port Vale's 55th season of football in the Football League, and their second successive season (third overall) in the Fourth Division.[1] Again hopeful of escape from the basement division, Vale could only manage a mid-table finish. Player-manager Jackie Mudie resigned at the end of the season. Veteran defender Roy Sproson became the club's first ever Player of the Year winner.

Overview

Fourth Division

The pre-season saw general manager Stanley Matthews injured in a car accident with a National Coal Board lorry on 29 July, Jackie Mudie was also in the car but remained relatively unharmed.[1] As Matthews recovered in came four new forwards, the most significant of which was Crystal Palace's Ian Lawson.[1] Lawson cost £1,000 with an additional £1,000 signing on fee.[1] Other new faces included winger Mick Mahon (Loughborough United); inside-forward Jimmy Goodfellow (Bishop Auckland); and Billy McCartney (Rangers).[1] There was a kit change to an all-white strip, upon the suggestion of Stanley Matthews.[1]

The season opened with a 2–1 home win over Southport using an optimistic 4–2–4 formation.[1] Following Roy Sproson's winning goal there was a pitch invasion – by then a disturbingly common occurrence.[1] Six games without a loss followed, leaving the club in fourth position.[1] Goals were still rare however, and so Lawson was dropped from the first eleven, despite the departure of in-form forward John Rowland to Mansfield Town for £6,500.[1] Financial difficulties made the atmosphere around Burslem quite gloomy, not helped by the news that former Valiant John Nicholson had been killed in a car crash.[1] Vale's form suffered, though the defence remained quite strong.[1] Young Scot Mick Cullerton was a ray of sunshine for the club in front of goal.[1]

Good form in the Christmas period continued into an unbeaten January in the league, as the club climbed to within five points of the promotion places.[1] In came forward Mel Charles from Porthmadog for a £1,250 fee.[1] A 1–0 defeat at Gresty Road to Crewe Alexandra in front of an unruly crowd marked the first of a crucial seven game sequence against the promotion hopefuls.[1] A win over Barrow and a draw at Stockport County were succeeded by five straight defeats, killing Vale's promotion hopes dead.[1] They reversed the decline by doing the double over Rochdale within two days, including a 5–0 victory witnessed by 3,004 fans at Vale Park.[1] In April, popular player John Ritchie was sold to Preston North End for £17,500.[1] Mel Charles sidelined with a knee injury, Vale limped to the season's end without a win in their final five games.[1] On 3 May, Stuart Chapman made his debut at the age of fifteen in a 2–2 draw with Lincoln City.[1] Five days later, manager Jackie Mudie tendered his resignation as player-manager, citing 'personal reasons'.[1]

They finished in thirteenth place with 43 points, marking a slight improvement on the previous campaign.[1] Mick Cullerton's twelve goals in all competitions were enough to make him the top-scorer.[1] In the club's first ever Player of the Year ceremony, veteran defender Roy Sproson was bestowed with the honour.[1] Meanwhile, the club's youth team performed brilliantly, reaching the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup, where they were eliminated 3–0 by Scunthorpe United.[1]

Finances

On the financial side, there was a loss of £7,925 despite a transfer credit of £20,425 and a donation of £19,381 from the Sportsmen's Association and the Development Pool.[1] Gate receipts were just £30,298, whilst the club's overdraft stood at £82,373.[1] Nine players were released at the end of the season, most notably: Mel Charles (Oswestry Town); Ian Lawson and Brian Taylor (Barnsley); and untested reserve Ray Kennedy – who would take a break from football before returning to the game to play for Liverpool and England.[1] Roddy Georgeson was also released at his own request to work in a bank,[1] though he soon turned out for Dundee before beginning a long career in Scottish football.

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, a 4–3–3 formation was used to defeat Bradford City 2–1 at Valley Parade with a forty-yard 'goal of a lifetime' from John Ritchie.[1] Vale drew Barnsley in the Second Round, and earned a replay with a 1-1 draw at Oakwell. The replay attracted 12,784 supporters, but "Tykes" ran out 3–1 winners.

In the League Cup, Third Division Walsall knocked out the Vale at the first stage with a 3–1 win.

Final league table

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Main article: 1966–67 Football League
P W D L F A GA Pts
1 Stockport County 46 26 12 8 69 42 1.643 64
2 Southport 46 23 13 10 69 42 1.643 59
3 Barrow 46 24 11 11 76 54 1.407 59
4 Tranmere Rovers 46 22 14 10 66 43 1.535 58
5 Crewe Alexandra 46 21 12 13 70 55 1.273 54
6 Southend United 46 22 9 15 70 49 1.429 53
7 Wrexham 46 16 20 10 76 62 1.226 52
8 Hartlepools United 46 22 7 17 66 64 1.031 51
9 Brentford 46 18 13 15 58 56 1.036 49
10 Aldershot 46 18 12 16 72 57 1.263 48
11 Bradford City 46 19 10 17 74 62 1.194 48
12 Halifax Town 46 15 14 17 59 68 0.868 44
13 Port Vale 46 14 15 17 55 58 0.948 43
14 Exeter City 46 14 15 17 50 60 0.833 43
15 Chesterfield 46 17 8 21 60 63 0.952 42
16 Barnsley 46 13 15 18 60 64 0.938 41
17 Luton Town 46 16 9 21 59 73 0.808 41
18 Newport County 46 12 16 18 56 63 0.889 40
19 Chester 46 15 10 21 54 78 0.692 40
20 Notts County 46 13 11 22 53 72 0.736 37
21 Rochdale 46 13 11 22 53 75 0.707 37
22 York City 46 12 11 23 65 79 0.823 35
23 Bradford Park Avenue 46 11 13 22 52 79 0.658 35
24 Lincoln City 46 9 13 24 58 82 0.707 31

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 A H A A H A H H A H A H H A A A H H H A A H A A H H A H A H A H A A H H A H H A A
Result D D D W D W D L D D L L L W W L W L L D W D D W W L W D L L L L L W W D W L D L W D D D L L
Position 4 4 7 4 6 5 4 9 9 10 9 13 15 14 13 13 14 14 17 16 15 15 15 13 12 12 11 11 12 13 14 17 17 15 14 13 13 13 12 13 12 12 12 12 12 13

Sourced from Statto.[2]

Football League Fourth Division

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
20 August 1966 Southport H 2–1 8,143 Rowland, Sproson
27 August 1966 Notts County A 0–0 5,648
3 September 1966 Chester H 1–1 6,853 Georgeson
5 September 1966 Bradford City H 3–2 6,258 Mahon, Rowland, Hill
10 September 1966 Bradford Park Avenue A 1–1 5,246 Rowland
17 September 1966 Exeter City A 1–0 4,789 Miles
24 September 1966 Crewe Alexandra H 1–1 11,325 Hill
28 September 1966 Bradford City A 0–2 3,928
1 October 1966 Barrow A 2–2 3,354 Goodfellow, Hill
8 October 1966 Tranmere Rovers H 1–1 6,684 Sproson
14 October 1966 Southend United A 1–4 12,609 Ritchie
17 October 1966 Chesterfield H 2–3 5,649 Georgeson, Mahon
22 October 1966 Wrexham H 0–2 7,753
29 October 1966 Aldershot A 1–0 5,047 McCartney
5 November 1966 Luton Town H 1–0 3,502 Mahon
12 November 1966 Barnsley A 0–1 4,823
19 November 1966 Newport County H 2–0 3,883 Miles, Hill
3 December 1966 Halifax Town H 0–1 4,002
10 December 1966 Hartlepools United A 1–2 5,342 Hill
17 December 1966 Southport A 0–0 3,975
27 December 1966 Lincoln City A 1–0 5,268 Cullerton
31 December 1966 Notts County H 0–0 5,359
14 January 1967 Bradford Park Avenue H 0–0 4,798
21 January 1967 Exeter City H 2–0 3,450 Cullerton (pen), Mahon
28 January 1967 Chester A 3–1 5,586 Mahon (2), Cullerton
3 February 1967 Crewe Alexandra A 0–1 10,414
11 February 1967 Barrow H 2–1 6,267 Boulton, Mahon
17 February 1967 Stockport County A 1–1 9,756 Miles
24 February 1967 Tranmere Rovers A 1–2 8,047 Cullerton
4 March 1967 Southend United H 1–3 4,695 Goodfellow
11 March 1967 Stockport County H 0–2 6,363
18 March 1967 Wrexham A 1–2 7,176 Georgeson
25 March 1967 Brentford H 1–3 3,434 Ritchie
27 March 1967 Rochdale A 2–1 2,254 o.g., Goodfellow
28 March 1967 Rochdale H 5–0 3,004 Georgeson, Poole, Cullerton, Goodfellow, Wilson
1 April 1967 Luton Town A 1–1 5,410 Wilson
8 April 1967 Barnsley H 3–1 3,209 Cullerton (2), Hill
10 April 1967 York City A 1–3 3,834 Goodfellow
17 April 1967 Newport County A 1–1 1,914 Cullerton
22 April 1967 Aldershot H 0–2 3,265
24 April 1967 York City H 4–1 2,554 Cullerton (2), Georgeson, Goodfellow
29 April 1967 Halifax Town A 2–2 3,562 Taylor, Goodfellow
3 May 1967 Lincoln City H 2–2 3,085 Cullerton (2)
6 May 1967 Hartlepools United H 0–0 3,178
8 May 1967 Chesterfield A 1–2 2,605 Boulton
13 May 1967 Brentford A 0–2 3,592

FA Cup

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Main article: 1966–67 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 26 November 1966 Bradford City A 2–1 5,712 Ritchie, Lawson
R2 7 January 1967 Barnsley A 1–1 13,343 Hill
R2 Replay 16 January 1967 Barnsley H 1–3 12,784 Boulton

League Cup

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Main article: 1966–67 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 23 August 1966 Walsall H 1–3 9,181 Rowland

Player statistics

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Port Vale 1966–1967 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
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