On this day in 1982 Robbie Earle

[Aussie Rules]

…makes his debut in a 1-0 defeat to Swindon Town.

[Lornelounger]

Wonderful player. Wish we had his energy in midfield right now - he pushed us forward so well and must have covered miles in every game.

[Smugsy]

The greatest player I've seen in a Vale shirt.

[Paul6754]

Good player.

 

He's currently a Football Analyst on tv in the USA, never heard him once mention he played for the Vale.

[Jacko51]

 

I was at that game. He got off the bus with his boots in a plastic carrier bag!

[Trampilot]

I may be right but is Robbie the only ex Vale player to score at a World Cup?

 

Can't think of any others.

[smithie]

One for whom the words "Vale legend" are appropriate.

[TheSage]

I can never mention Robbie Earle's name without thinking of Bristol Rovers in the same breath.

I'd never seen the Vale play in the Championship so his goal meant the world to me.

Wonderful servant - one of many of that fabulous era. It's hard to see us matching that in the near future, very hard.

Great player. Great memories.

[Essex Vale]

There must be something about the date of 5 September then. Twelve years earlier Brian Horton made his debut on 5 September 1970. We beat Preston 1-0 and I think Archie Gemmill was in direct opposition to Horton. The same Archie Gemmill who scored the goal of the tournament in the 1978 World Cup finals.

 

Nobby Horton was a colossus in our mid field. His sale was, without doubt, the one that most upset our supporters before or since. It was not the fact that he was sold, we have always been a selling club, but the fact he was sold to a team in the same division for a paltry £30K. Brian Horton then led Brighton to successive promotions to get them into the top league for the first time in their history.

 

He and Robbie Earle are unparalleled as strong midfield men who can run, tackle, defend, score, pass, head, they had it all.

 

Incidentally, on 5 September 1970 Roy Cross also made his debut and I seem to think that was a run of consecutive games where he played in every game for the next 3 years, about 140 odd in total.

[Valiant62]

Finals , yes otherwise Sammy Morgan against Yugoslavia during the power cuts.

[TheSage]

Fascinating stats those and especially so for those of us who remember all those players.

I was in reception at the Vale the day Horton signed. Gordon Lee wasn't it?

 

We've talked about this endlessly on here but my word we've had some smashing midfield players over the course of the past 50 years. Those two I agree were excellent but I know many rate Ray Walker highly, though he didn't score so many, and others have fond memories of Johnny Green and 69-70, but at a lower level.

 

My own opinion (which is worth diddly squat) is that Ian Taylor was the best of the lot. Again, he could shoot, head, run for 90 minutes, tackle, defend. I can see him now breaking from midfield and sticking one in the net.

 

But they were all great players for us. Van Der Laan too in the halcyon days. What would we give now for an all-action midfield player of their type?

[man in the pub]

Always remember Robbies distinctive running action. Not a stat man but he always seemed to arrive with a perfectly timed run to score.

[SourceOfTheTrent]

There must be something about the date of 5 September then. Twelve years earlier Brian Horton made his debut on 5 September 1970. We beat Preston 1-0 and I think Archie Gemmill was in direct opposition to Horton. The same Archie Gemmill who scored the goal of the tournament in the 1978 World Cup finals.

 

Nobby Horton was a colossus in our mid field. His sale was, without doubt, the one that most upset our supporters before or since. It was not the fact that he was sold, we have always been a selling club, but the fact he was sold to a team in the same division for a paltry £30K. Brian Horton then led Brighton to successive promotions to get them into the top league for the first time in their history.

 

He and Robbie Earle are unparalleled as strong midfield men who can run, tackle, defend, score, pass, head, they had it all.

 

Incidentally, on 5 September 1970 Roy Cross also made his debut and I seem to think that was a run of consecutive games where he played in every game for the next 3 years, about 140 odd in total.

 

Bob on about Brian Horton, the second best player I've seen in a Vale shirt after Robbie Earle. I was still a lad when we sold him and I was utterly devastated, because we sold him for peanuts and to a promotion rival as well I think it was at that moment I realised my childhood dreams of us one day reaching the big time were just that, childhood dreams. The Championship is realistically the highest level we can aim at, unless, of course, we get a Bournemouth style sugar daddy but that's very unlikely.

 

Robbie Earle was brilliant and incredibly versatile. Even then there were some Vale fans who slated him! I remember a mate of mine having a go at a bloke in the Bycars in the mid-80's who was constantly on Robbie's back shouting he'd never be anything more than a Fourth Division player. Unbelievable.

[RailwayRowdy]

Bob on about Brian Horton, the second best player I've seen in a Vale shirt after Robbie Earle. I was still a lad when we sold him and I was utterly devastated, because we sold him for peanuts and to a promotion rival as well I think it was at that moment I realised my childhood dreams of us one day reaching the big time were just that, childhood dreams. The Championship is realistically the highest level we can aim at, unless, of course, we get a Bournemouth style sugar daddy but that's very unlikely.

 

Robbie Earle was brilliant and incredibly versatile. Even then there were some Vale fans who slated him! I remember a mate of mine having a go at a bloke in the Bycars in the mid-80's who was constantly on Robbie's back shouting he'd never be anything more than a Fourth Division player. Unbelievable.

 

I don’t think that Earle was the most gifted footballer and he lacked real pace. However, what he did have was a fantastic attitude, a heart of a lion and an eye for goal.

 

Although I’m sure opposition managers must have warned their team about Robbie’s breaks from midfield, he always arrived in the box at the right time and invariably scored.

 

He started as a forward as I remember, but lacked pace and ended up as a midfielder, like Scoles at Utd.

 

What makes Earle’s success with us even more sweet was that he was rejected as a lad with the inbreds down the road in the other half of the City !

 

How sweet is that !

[Smugsy]

What makes Earle’s success with us even more sweet was that he was rejected as a lad with the inbreds down the road in the other half of the City !

 

How sweet is that !

 

And who can ever forget that wonderful, wonderful moment when he put his us one up in the first Potteries derby for 32 years.