Mentioned this on the other thread, however. I contacted the club to see if, as it was her birthday, I could bring my youngest daughter to the club to have a picture taken with the Autoglass trophy. Not a problem, so we duly arrived, youngest now in her new vale kit, and elder sister also in tow, both unaware of anything until we pulled into the car park.  On arrival, we were told to wait as someone wanted to know when we arrived. So, in walked John, daughters now in shock, and he greeted them so walmly, wishing the youngest a happy birthday, and personally took charge of the tour. Took us to the trophy room, pictures taken with the trophy, then disappeared for a minute and came back with players in tow. Melt down. What this all meant to my daughters was immense, however what it meant to Dad was unmeasurable.  Thank you John for not only being the best manager we have ever had, but also for being such a genuinely caring and humble man, who was at one with the people who mattered most.

 

Edited October 24, 20241 yr by Owd Seth

2 minutes ago, Owd Seth said:

Mentioned this on the other thread, however. I contacted the club to see if, as it was her birthday, I could bring my youngest daughter to the club to have a picture taken with the Autoglass trophy. Not a problem, so we duly arrived, youngest now in her new vale kit, and elder sister also in tow, both unaware of anything until we pulled into the car park.  On arrival, we were told to wait as someone wanted to know when we arrived. So, in walked John, daughters now in shock, and he greeted them so walmly, wishing the youngest a happy birthday, and personally took charge of the tour. Took us to the trophy room, pictures taken with the trophy, then disappeared for a minute and came back with players in tow. Melt down. What this all meant to my daughters was immense, however what it meant to Dad was unmeasurable.  Thank you John for not only being the best manager we have ever had, but also for being such a genuinely caring and humble man, who was at one with the people who mattered most.

 

Some post this 😍 

I won't go on about all the special games during your time at  Vale John as others have already mentioned them. 

What I will say is that when your statue was unveiled, the look on your face bought a massive lump in my throat and tears in my eyes, enough said. 

Johnny Rudges Black & White Army. 

Thinking back over all the wonderful memories of Rudge's era, one Sunday morning springs to mind. Walking into the dining room at a hotel outside Brighton, there was a young lad with a Vale top on eating his breakfast with a broad smile on his face. How typical of the  many happy Sunday mornings Rudgie brought us, another end of season massive smile was after Huddersfield. 

13 hours ago, manc_vale said:

Didn’t go to the unveiling but would love the opportunity to say thanks. 
 

thanks for the autoglass trophy

for Liverpool away, arsenal, Tottenham

for aspin against grimsby

for naylor against sunderland

for Mills,Bogie, Foyle against Stoke

for Taylor, Beckford, Ainsworth, Guppy, McCarthy, Walker

for that glorious evening against Everton   

thanks for making us, for a time, the highest ranking team in the area

You did this, and there are a bunch of middle aged folk like me that are forever Vale largely because of you.

So many great memories - thank you. 

So many brilliant memories. At the time record points for a team not to get promoted as we lost the play off final. Took us to the brink of the Championship play offs. Also took us to the Anglo Italian cup final at Wembley where we lost to a very good Genoa team. This makes us the only team in the Potteries to play in a European football  final. Made us the number one team in the Potteries. I couldn’t believe that we were actually playing in the same league as our neighbours. On a beautiful sunny day we took a deserved lead, only for them, then to equalise through a deflected goal, was devastating. It was made even worse as I was right behind the goal when Jepson missed the header. I remember a seeing a poster afterwards showing the Vale fans celebrating the opening goal with the heading

’Welcome to the pleasure dome’

Players, Slaven, Ford,Mills, Kerr. Cross, Jeffers (RIP),Swann and Widdrington. I know it’s subjective but for me the best left back we’ve ever had, Darren Hughes. I apologise for players that I or others haven’t mentioned but were people’s favourites.I’m sure he would have had many offers from bigger clubs, but remained with us. 👏👏

Edited October 24, 20241 yr by Playa Amodores
.

12 hours ago, manc_vale said:

Didn’t go to the unveiling but would love the opportunity to say thanks. 
 

thanks for the autoglass trophy

for Liverpool away, arsenal, Tottenham

for aspin against grimsby

for naylor against sunderland

for Mills,Bogie, Foyle against Stoke

for Taylor, Beckford, Ainsworth, Guppy, McCarthy, Walker

for that glorious evening against Everton   

thanks for making us, for a time, the highest ranking team in the area

You did this, and there are a bunch of middle aged folk like me that are forever Vale largely because of you.

So many great memories - thank you. 

Edited October 24, 20241 yr by Playa Amodores
.

Thanks for all the wonderful contributions so far. As mentioned, these will be copied and put into a document for Rudgie and his family to read. Keep them coming!

26 minutes ago, robf said:

Thanks for all the wonderful contributions so far. As mentioned, these will be copied and put into a document for Rudgie and his family to read. Keep them coming!

Get the bloke properly knighted in new-year honours! Well done sir john.👍

Just a simple heartfelt thanks Sir John for all the memories I now carry with me of your fantastic time at Vale. I used to live round the corner from you in Trentham and all the locals, Valeites or not  always had a good word to say about you. Brilliant human being. You had a massive part in putting Port Vale on the map.

A statue would never be enough. Everything good about the club can be traced back to his era. He is Mr Port Vale, an icon, a legend and I don’t think it can ever be overstated how much he means to me. Thank you Sir John, forever in your debt.

Well I've got to say that on this forum when Vale aren't doing well, posters are on here spouting off and within 24 hours we would have about 10 pages. 

But when it comes to leaving a tribute to the greatest manager we have ever had, In 48 hours we only have 2 pages. Disappointed, to say the least. 

Back in the mid 90s, my son trained with the under 11s on a Friday night in Alsager.

One week, when Vale had no weekend game, Sir John showed up and talked to the lads about values, teamwork etc.

What a legend. Could have just given himself the night off

3 hours ago, barny61 said:

Well I've got to say that on this forum when Vale aren't doing well, posters are on here spouting off and within 24 hours we would have about 10 pages. 

But when it comes to leaving a tribute to the greatest manager we have ever had, In 48 hours we only have 2 pages. Disappointed, to say the least. 

Yeah if a new Smurfwaite thread was opened…

3 hours ago, TJHValiant said:

Yeah if a new Smurfwaite thread was opened…

That’s what people are like. No surprise

Maybe only two pages because I, and I am sure others, are having difficulty in finding the right words.

Thank you for the memories, John.