1970–71 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale
1970–71 season
Chairman	Mark Singer; (until February); Graham Bourne; (from February)
Manager	Gordon Lee
Stadium	Vale Park
Football League Third Division	17th (42 Points)
FA Cup	First Round; (knocked out by Notts County)
League Cup	First Round; (knocked out by Walsall)
Player of the Year	Tommy McLaren
Top goalscorer	League: John James (15); All: John James (15)
Highest home attendance	11,224 vs. Aston Villa, 19 October 1970
Lowest home attendance	3,450 vs. Reading, 13 March 1971
Average home league attendance	5,437
Biggest win	4–0 vs. Swansea City, 17 October 1970
Biggest defeat	3–7 vs. Shrewsbury Town, 12 September 1970
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1969–70 1971–72 →

The 1970–71 season was Port Vale's 59th season of football in the Football League, and their first (seventh overall) season back in the Third Division following their promotion from the Fourth Division.^[1] Gordon Lee led his team to safety in the league, though Vale exited both cup competitions at the first stage.

Overview

Third Division

The pre-season saw the arrival of centre-half Roy Cross (Walsall); inside-forward Brian Horton (Hednesford Town); and full-back Mick Hopkinson (Mansfield Town).^[1]

The season began with two wins, but a run of one win in ten games then followed. In September, four of the five directors resigned, one of them (Len Cliff) stated that "the club is being run by outsiders".^[1] A new board was formed by November.^[1] Meanwhile, on 13 September the club suffered a loss of 7–3 at Gay Meadow to Shrewsbury Town, despite a Bobby Gough hat-trick – the match also saw a sending off, an attempted pitch invasion, and a £35 fine for Gordon Lee for remarks he made to referee Ricky Nicholson.^[1] Tommy McLaren then returned from injury to lead Vale on a four match winning streak that included a 2–0 win over fallen-giants Aston Villa in front of a Burslem crowd of 11,224 fans; Lee described the win as his "finest hour".^[1]^[2] Four straight defeats soon came after this sequence however, as Vale's form was patchy.^[1] In December, Ron Wilson left the club as he emigrated to South Africa due to his son's ill health.^[1] A 1–0 defeat at Villa Park on 16 January was the first of a nine-match streak without a victory.^[1] At the end of the month Lee signed John Brodie from Northern Premier League side Bradford Park Avenue for £250.^[1] During this spell forward, Sammy Morgan began to be jeered by fans after losing his scoring touch.^[1] He also began studying to be a teacher.^[1] Lee said that "I really feel some of our lads have been singled out by the boo boys. If only they realised that encouragement can lift players, things would be so much better".^[1] In February, Mark Singer resigned as chairman, and was replaced by Graham Bourne.^[1] By then the club were hovering above the relegation zone, but a record of just ten goals conceded in their final twelve games was enough to secure safety, with Brian Horton in good form.^[1]

They finished in the seventeenth spot, with 42 points, leaving them three clear of relegation.^[1] John James was the top-scorer with fifteen goals.^[1] As a reward for their endeavours, the players were taken on a working holiday to Benidorm, Spain.^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a profit of £3,424 was made, the club's first profitable season since 1962–63.^[1] A £19,322 donation from the Sportsmen's Association and the Development Fund helped to reduce the club's total debt to £134,640.^[1] Three players were released: Mick Hopkinson (Boston United); John Green (Northwich Victoria); and John King (Wigan Athletic).^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale were knocked out in the First Round by Fourth Division Notts County 1–0 in a 'physical' encounter at Meadow Lane.^[1]

In the League Cup, Vale were eliminated once again at the first stage, this time Walsall left Burslem with a 1–0 win.

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
15	Plymouth Argyle	46	12	19	15	63	63	1.000	43
16	Rochdale	46	14	15	17	61	68	0.897	43
17	Port Vale	46	15	12	19	52	59	0.881	42
18	Tranmere Rovers	46	10	22	14	45	55	0.818	42
19	Bradford City	46	13	14	19	49	62	0.790	40

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Football League Third Division

Results by matchday

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	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H
Result	W	W	L	L	W	L	D	L	L	L	D	D	W	W	W	W	D	L	L	L	L	W	L	W	W	L	D	L	D	D	L	D	L	L	W	W	D	L	W	D	L	L	W	D	W	D
Position	1	1	4	10	6	15	14	16	19	18	19	19	17	12	11	9	9	10	14	16	18	16	18	15	12	15	13	15	15	14	18	19	20	20	18	13	15	15	15	16	18	18	16	17	15	17

Source: Statto^[3]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
15 August 1970	Swansea City	A	2–0	10,713	Wilson, Morgan
22 August 1970	Rochdale	H	4–1	6,196	McLaren (2), James, Morris
29 August 1970	Plymouth Argyle	A	1–2	7,753	Morgan
1 September 1970	Bristol Rovers	A	0–3	7,931
5 September 1970	Preston North End	H	1–0	6,954	James (pen)
12 September 1970	Shrewsbury Town	A	3–7	5,856	Gough (3)
19 September 1970	Gillingham	H	1–1	5,178	James
21 September 1970	Chesterfield	H	0–2	5,930
26 September 1970	Walsall	A	1–3	5,456	James (pen)
28 September 1970	Mansfield Town	A	0–2	8,121
3 October 1970	Barnsley	H	1–3	4,490	Gough
10 October 1970	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	0–0	9,383
17 October 1970	Swansea City	H	4–0	4,962	Gough (2), James, Morris
19 October 1970	Aston Villa	H	2–0	11,224	James, Gough
24 October 1970	Rotherham United	H	1–0	7,215	McLaren
31 October 1970	Bury	A	3–2	3,669	Lacey, Horton, Boulton
7 November 1970	Tranmere Rovers	H	2–2	5,495	Morris, McLaren
9 November 1970	Fulham	H	0–1	8,728
14 November 1970	Reading	A	1–2	5,036	Morris
28 November 1970	Halifax Town	A	0–2	3,404
5 December 1970	Torquay United	H	0–1	4,252
19 December 1970	Rochdale	A	3–0	3,619	James, Summerscales, Morris
26 December 1970	Wrexham	H	0–3	6,303
2 January 1971	Doncaster Rovers	A	2–1	2,997	Cross, Gough
9 January 1971	Mansfield Town	H	2–0	4,412	Morris, James
16 January 1971	Aston Villa	A	0–1	28,933
23 January 1971	Bradford City	A	1–1	4,436	Morris
30 January 1971	Halifax Town	H	0–1	4,059
5 February 1971	Torquay United	A	1–1	6,817	Morris
12 February 1971	Bradford City	H	0–0	4,361
20 February 1971	Fulham	A	1–4	10,389	Green
27 February 1971	Bury	H	0–0	3,805
6 March 1971	Rotherham United	A	1–2	6,866	James
10 March 1971	Chesterfield	A	0–3	7,592
13 March 1971	Reading	H	3–1	3,450	McLaren (2), Morgan
15 March 1971	Doncaster Rovers	H	1–0	4,782	James (pen)
22 March 1971	Tranmere Rovers	A	1–1	3,734	James
27 March 1971	Preston North End	A	0–1	16,591
3 April 1971	Plymouth Argyle	H	2–1	3,518	James, Morgan
10 April 1971	Wrexham	A	1–1	8,186	Boulton
12 April 1971	Shrewsbury Town	H	0–1	5,655
13 April 1971	Barnsley	A	0–1	4,837
17 April 1971	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	2–1	3,789	Morgan (2)
24 April 1971	Gillingham	A	1–1	2,207	James
26 April 1971	Bristol Rovers	H	2–0	4,525	James (2)
1 May 1971	Walsall	H	1–1	5,758	Lacey

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	21 November 1970	Notts County	A	0–1	15,965

League Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	18 August 1970	Walsall	H	0–1	6,605

Player statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Keith Ball	28	0	1	0	1	0	30	0
GK	Stuart Sharratt	18	0	0	0	0	0	18	0
DF	Roy Sproson	6	0	0	0	1	0	7	0
DF	Clint Boulton	45	2	1	0	1	0	47	2
DF	Ron Wilson	16	1	0	0	1	0	17	1
DF	Bill Summerscales	7	1	0	0	0	0	7	1
DF	Roy Cross	42	1	1	0	0	0	43	1
DF	Mick Hopkinson	13	0	1	0	0	0	14	0
DF	John Brodie	19	0	0	0	0	0	19	0
MF	Tommy McLaren	36	6	1	0	1	0	38	6
MF	John Green	25	1	1	0	1	0	27	1
MF	John King	26	0	0	0	1	0	27	0
MF	Brian Horton	39	1	1	0	0	0	40	1
MF	Tony Lacey	44	2	1	0	1	0	46	2
FW	John James	45	15	1	0	1	0	47	15
FW	Mick Morris	46	8	1	0	1	0	48	8
FW	Bobby Gough	36	8	1	0	0	0	37	8
FW	Sammy Morgan	38	6	1	0	1	0	40	6
FW	Bob Mountford	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Third Division	Total
1	FW	England	John James	15	15
2	FW	England	Mick Morris	8	8
–	FW	England	Bobby Gough	8	8
4	MF	Scotland	Tommy McLaren	6	6
–	FW	Northern Ireland	Sammy Morgan	6	6
6	MF	England	Tony Lacey	2	2
–	DF	England	Clint Boulton	2	2
8	DF	Scotland	Ron Wilson	1	1
–	DF	England	Bill Summerscales	1	1
–	DF	England	Roy Cross	1	1
–	MF	England	John Green	1	1
–	MF	England	Brian Horton	1	1
			TOTALS	52	52

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
June 1970	DF	Roy Cross	Walsall	Free transfer	^[4]
July 1970	DF	Mick Hopkinson	Mansfield Town	Free transfer	^[4]
July 1970	MF	Brian Horton	Hednesford Town	'a pint of shandy'	^[4]
January 1971	DF	John Brodie	Bradford Park Avenue	£250	^[4]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
December 1970	DF	Ron Wilson	Hellenic	Released	^[4]
May 1971	DF	Mick Hopkinson	Boston United	Free transfer	^[4]
May 1971	MF	John King	Wigan Athletic	Free transfer	^[4]
Summer 1971	MF	John Green	Northwich Victoria	Released	^[4]

References

Specific

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v Kent, Jeff (1990). "Surviving on a Shoestring (1969–1979)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 227–257. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
^ Baggaley, Mike (19 October 2023). "Injury blows as Port Vale weigh up move for midfielder". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
^ Port Vale 1970–1971 : Results & Fixtures Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

General

Kent, Jeff (1993). The Port Vale Record 1879-1993. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9508981-9-8.

[Kent-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v Kent, Jeff (1990). "Surviving on a Shoestring (1969–1979)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 227–257. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.

[2] Baggaley, Mike (19 October 2023). "Injury blows as Port Vale weigh up move for midfielder". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 19 October 2023.

[3] Port Vale 1970–1971 : Results & Fixtures Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.

[transfers-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

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