In the second of a double header, after looking at disappointments, we present a list of Port Vale seasons which were a surprising success.
This latest feature comes thanks to a suggestion from Port Vale fan Lindsay Whitehouse. Lindsay writes – “One thing that runs constant through Vale’s history is the ability to completely surprise fans, in a good, and bad way.” His suggestion gave us the idea of a double-header feature – so here are some shockingly good campaigns.
Words by Lindsay Whitehouse and Rob Fielding
The 1958-1959 season
In 1958, hopes were not high after successive relegations. It started badly too – with Vale failing to win any of their first five league games at home. The Valiants also limped out of the FA Cup in the first round, losing at Torquay. What transpired next was a magnificent turnaround when the side could not stop scoring goals. Winger Dickie Cunliffe scored 15 league goals, and he only finished as the fifth top scorer. Three players who scored 20+ goals, and two of them were local lads, Graham Barnett and Stan Steele. It was a huge unexpected success.
The 1969-1970 season
Vale were broke, and released their top scorers for the last three seasons, Roy Chapman and Mick Cullerton. They also released Jimmy Goodfellow and Milija Aleksic who both subsequently had fine careers. Fans were not happy to lose players of such quality. However, Gordon Lee forged a team with an indomitable spirit and steely determination which started the season with an eighteen game unbeaten spell and, despite a dip, won promotion to Division Three.
The 1984-1985 season
Non-League signing Andy Jones
The Valiants were unfancied at the start of this campaign but after a couple of years at the helm the genius of John Rudge was starting to show. The side was an expertly assembled mix of youth and experience. There was vast knowledge in goalkeeper Jim Arnold, striker Ally Brown and midfielder Paul Maguire. Meanwhile, the youth and energy of homegrown Robbie Earle and key summer signing, non-league striker Andy Jones was also on display. The duo finished as top scorers as Vale took fourth place and promotion to the Third Division.
The 2012-2013 season
OVF editor Rob Fielding wrote a book on this season as it was so unexpected. Here’s the back cover copy which sets the scene at the start of the season – “No owners… Five players under contract…In administration… Not even a kit to play in… Is it any wonder that Port Vale FC were written off as 18th favourites for promotion at the start of the 2012-2013 season? But by the end of a memorable campaign, the club had been promoted, finished as the division’s top scorers and a life-long Vale fan was the club’s top goalscorer. How on earth did that happen?” It came around due to a close-knit squad with a wing-based formation which suited targetman Tom Pope to the ground. It was not without its dramas including Vale’s customary dip in form but the side clung on to win promotion against all the odds.
The 1929-1930 season
Vale’s first promotion campaign was a stunning story of success against the odds. The Valiants had lost key man Wilf Kirkham but cleverly replaced him with two veterans – Sam Jennings and Albert Pynegar. The pair didn’t get on but still managed 49 goals between them. In September, manager Joe Schofield died, but the team soldiered on under his assistant Tom Morgan. Just as success looked inevitable, the Port Vale board decided to sell key player Jack Mandley to Aston Villa. It led to protests against the board and a slump in form. In the crucial run-in, with other teams closing in, Vale won all four games taking the title at old rivals Crewe Alexandra’s ground on the final day of the season.
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