This is the third in a new series where OVF is asking fans to name a team of their best-ever Port Vale players in a 4-4-2 formation. This time, David gives us his choices…
About this feature: it’s simple, we ask Port Vale supporters to pick their best ever Valiants XI in a 4-4-2 formation. Plus five subs. The players can be from any era – they don’t have to have played against each other. In addition to the individual elevens, we’ll also produce a running update on the overall best XI as selected by fans in this feature. Want to take part? Contact us and let us know
About me
My name is David Brown, I’m 72 years old and have followed Vale since the 1962-63 season. I was born in Burslem and lived in near by Newcastle-Under-Lyme until emigrating to Adelaide, South Australia in 1990. I’ve lived Melbourne since 2003, but manage to see all Vale games on TV and You Tube, and also keep abreast with all club matters through Rob’s excellent website.
I started going to home games in 1963, and became a regular at Vale Park from 1964. Through the 1980’s I also travelled to many away games, especially in the 1988-89 promotion campaign.
Memories of all the Vale matches I saw are still clear in my mind. Stand outs include a home game against Jimmy Hill’s Third Division Champions Coventry City in 1964 when Vale Park became a sea of sky blue support with 17,000 fans, the Liverpool FA Cup tie same year, the 1988 Spurs Cup tie, and a first leg promotion play off tie at Preston in 1989 when a fire broke out in the wooden stand away terrace where I nervously stood.
The game was temporarily suspended while the Fire Brigade promptly arrived to thankfully extinguish the danger. The 1989 Play Off Final win against Bristol Rovers and promotion to the Second Tier was a great achievement, and a day I thought I’d never see.
My choices
For me, Ken Hancock marginally edges out Mark Grew as the best keeper. Hancock was a calm presence, commanding his area, very safe handling, excellent positioning, and the epitome of reliability for the last line of defence. The club sold him to Spurs for £10,000. At the time it was a decent fee for a keeper, but an absolute snip for Spurs. That he had to play second fiddle there to world class Pat Jennings was tough on Hancock.My choices for defence are based on rugged power, skill and pace. I like to see a back line with a proper defensive full back and the tough and ferocious hard tackling Aspin is ideal for the right side. Man mountain club legend Roy Sproson was a powerhouse centre back with long stride pace in the 1969-70 promotion team albeit 39 at the time. He could have played in the top flight. Dean Glover was a “Bobby Moore” of lower divisions, a calm, smooth skillful centre back fully warranting a club record transfer fee to sign him. I select Darren Hughes at left back because of his reliability, pace, and supporting attacking instincts, although I was strongly tempted to choose the combative and tenacious Ron Wilson.
In midfield there were so many worthy options to consider. On the right flank I finally plumped for legendary Tommy McLaren. Rowland, Ainsworth and McCarthy were in mind, but McLaren’s tremendous work ethic supporting defence and attack swung it for me. Perhaps not the most skillful, but a fully committed team player with unstinting energy. I regard Harry Poole as a player with all the Ray Walker qualities, but with double the goal output. Poole was a superb footballer, either in creative midfield or as a forward. Great with free kicks, bending the ball producing swerving shots, he scored nearly 80 goals for the club. Box to box goal scoring midfielder Robbie Earle has to be in this team. What he lacked in sheer pace was made up for with high work rate, and a Martin Peters type ability to pop up head goals from nowhere. Finally across the middle, I have Steve Guppy, an England international taking the left flank role. He spread the game with his orthodox wing play, always able to probe and provide reliable service with a succession of accurate crosses. Others in my mind for this were Colin Grainger, and Mick Mahon a particular favourite of mine, but Guppy’s overall class just edged it.
For the two front men I had to go with Andy Jones, and the late John James. Jones was a bustling sharp shooting strong centre forward who could rattle any centre back partnership with his strength, pace, and persistence. His goals to games ratio at Vale was excellent, and I well recall standing in the old Railway Paddock one evening when he scored five against Newport County. Similar style player to ex Spurs and England centre forward Bobby Smith. John James was a striker with enduring selfless qualities. Great team player, he never gave up, held the ball up superbly, a real nuisance in the opposition penalty area, twisting, turning, often creating chances for others, and scoring himself usually close to goal. He lacked pace and perhaps finesse, but made life extremely difficult for opponents. He typified the Gordon Lee era work ethic. Obviously others came close to my selection including Foyle and Naylor, and also the enigmatic Mick Cullerton who was skillful and talented. I just think the Jones and James strike combination would be the biggest handful for opposing defences.
The line-up
My sub choices
Grew, Mills, Sproson (P), Walker, McCarthy, Cullerton
The overall best eleven
Positions (votes after 12 submissions)
Goalkeeper
- Mark Goodlad (5)
- Ken Hancock (3)
- Mark Grew (1)
- Paul Musselwhite (1)
- Jak Alnwick (1)
- Jim Arnold (1)
Right-back
- Simon Mills (5)
- Matt Carragher (2)
- Andy Hill (2)
- Neil Aspin (1)
- Michael Walsh (1)
- Alan Webb (1)
Centre-halves
- Dean Glover (11)
- Neil Aspin (7)
- Antony Gardner (3)
- Roy Sproson (1)
- Phil Sproson (1)
- Bob Hazell (1)
Left-back
- Allen Tankard(5)
- Darren Hughes (5)
- Chris Sulley (1)
- Roy Sproson (1)
Right winger
- Jon McCarthy (5)
- Gareth Ainsworth (3)
- Mark Chamberlain (3)
- Tommy McLaren (1)
Central midfield
- Robbie Earle (9)
- Ian Taylor (4)
- Ray Walker (3)
- Brian Horton (2)
- Harry Poole (1)
- Andy Porter (1)
- Johnny Green (1)
- Michael O’Connor (1)
- Robin van der Laan (1)
- Gareth Ainsworth (1)
Left winger
- Steve Guppy (12)
Strikers
- Martin Foyle (9)
- Andy Jones (4)
- Darren Beckford (4)
- Tony Naylor (4)
- John James (1)
- Lee Mills (1)
- Stan Steele (1)
Subs
- Ray Walker (6 votes)
- Darren Beckford, Tony Naylor, Paul Musselwhite, Andy Porter, Ian Taylor (4 votes)
- Mark Goodlad (3 votes)
- Neil Aspin, Phil Sproson, Lee Mills, Michael Walsh, Jon McCarthy, Robbie Earle, Jan Jansson, Ian Bogie (all 2 votes)
- Scott Brown, Alan Webb, Gareth Ainsworth, Paul Kerr, Bernie Slaven, Jim Arnold, Mark Grew, Mick Cullerton, Mike Stowell, Robin van der Laan, George Pilkington, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, Martin Foyle, Allen Tankard, Tom Pope, Kyle John (all one vote)
Great selection brings back memories of some of my favourite matches from the late 60s to the present day. Now players come and go with the club having a high turnover of players each season. It’s a pity but there’s no continuity of style of play every manager brings in his own system and the squad is built around it. There’s little sign of a Port Vale way of playing football which I think is a sad reflection on the modern game. Now all too often teams fail to deliver because the foundations are built on sand.
Hi David, I liked your choices, I started going to the Vale in 1960 until moving to Australia in 1987 (missing the Spurs match by a couple of weeks) I now live in Tasmania and like you watch the games on TV mostly in the middle of the night. The only different player I would bring into the team would be Mark Chamberlain, I can see him now absolutely mesmerising defenders