1966–67 Port Vale F.C. season

The 1966–67 season was Port Vale's 55th season of football in the English Football League, and their second successive season (third overall) in the Fourth Division.[1] Again hopeful of escape from the basement division, Vale could only manage a mid-table finish. Player-manager Jackie Mudie resigned at the end of the season. Veteran defender Roy Sproson became the club's first ever Player of the Year winner.

Port Vale

1966–67 season
Chairman	Fred Pinfold
Manager	Jackie Mudie
Stadium	Vale Park
Football League Fourth Division	13th (43 Points)
FA Cup	Second Round (knocked out by Barnsley)
League Cup	First Round (knocked out by Walsall)
Player of the Year	Roy Sproson
Top goalscorer	League: Mick Cullerton (12) All: Mick Cullerton (12)
Highest home attendance	12,784 vs. Barnsley, 16 January 1967
Lowest home attendance	2,554 vs. York City, 24 April 1967
Average home league attendance	5,114
Biggest win	5–0 vs. Rochdale, 28 March 1967
Biggest defeat	1–4 vs. Southend United, 14 October 1966
Home colours

Overview

Fourth Division

The pre-season saw general manager Stanley Matthews injured in a car accident with a National Coal Board lorry on 29 July, Jackie Mudie was also in the car but remained relatively unharmed.[1] As Matthews recovered in came four new forwards, the most significant of which was Crystal Palace's Ian Lawson.[1] Lawson cost £1,000 with an additional £1,000 signing on fee.[1] Other new faces included winger Mick Mahon (Loughborough United); inside-forward Jimmy Goodfellow (Bishop Auckland); and Billy McCartney (Rangers).[1] There was a kit change to an all-white strip, upon the suggestion of Stanley Matthews.[1]

The season opened with a 2–1 home win over Southport using an optimistic 4–2–4 formation.[1] Following Roy Sproson's winning goal there was a pitch invasion – by then a disturbingly common occurrence.[1] Six games without a loss followed, leaving the club in fourth position.[1] Goals were still rare however, and so Lawson was dropped from the first eleven, despite the departure of in-form forward John Rowland to Mansfield Town for £6,500.[1] Financial difficulties made the atmosphere around Burslem quite gloomy, not helped by the news that former Valiant John Nicholson had been killed in a car crash.[1] Vale's form suffered, though the defence remained quite strong.[1] Young Scot Mick Cullerton was a ray of sunshine for the club in front of goal.[1]

Good form in the Christmas period continued into an unbeaten January in the league, as the club climbed to within five points of the promotion places.[1] In came forward Mel Charles from Porthmadog for a £1,250 fee.[1] A 1–0 defeat at Gresty Road to Crewe Alexandra in front of an unruly crowd marked the first of a crucial seven game sequence against the promotion hopefuls.[1] A win over Barrow and a draw at Stockport County were succeeded by five straight defeats, killing Vale's promotion hopes dead.[1] They reversed the decline by doing the double over Rochdale within two days, including a 5–0 victory witnessed by 3,004 fans at Vale Park.[1] In April, popular player John Ritchie was sold to Preston North End for £17,500.[1] Mel Charles sidelined with a knee injury, Vale limped to the season's end without a win in their final five games.[1] On 3 May, Stuart Chapman made his debut at the age of fifteen in a 2–2 draw with Lincoln City.[1] Five days later, manager Jackie Mudie tendered his resignation as player-manager, citing 'personal reasons'.[1]

They finished in thirteenth place with 43 points, marking a slight improvement on the previous campaign.[1] Mick Cullerton's twelve goals in all competitions were enough to make him the top-scorer.[1] In the club's first ever Player of the Year ceremony, veteran defender Roy Sproson was bestowed with the honour.[1] Meanwhile, the club's youth team performed brilliantly, reaching the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup, where they were eliminated 3–0 by Scunthorpe United.[1]

Finances

On the financial side, there was a loss of £7,925 despite a transfer credit of £20,425 and a donation of £19,381 from the Sportsmen's Association and the Development Pool.[1] Gate receipts were just £30,298, whilst the club's overdraft stood at £82,373.[1] Nine players were released at the end of the season, most notably: Mel Charles (Oswestry Town); Ian Lawson and Brian Taylor (Barnsley); and untested reserve Ray Kennedy – who would take a break from football before returning to the game to play for Liverpool and England.[1] Roddy Georgeson was also released at his own request to work in a bank,[1] though he soon turned out for Dundee before beginning a long career in Scottish football.

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, a 4–3–3 formation was used to defeat Bradford City 2–1 at Valley Parade with a forty-yard 'goal of a lifetime' from John Ritchie.[1] Vale drew Barnsley in the Second Round, and earned a replay with a 1-1 draw at Oakwell. The replay attracted 12,784 supporters, but "Tykes" ran out 3–1 winners.

In the League Cup, Third Division Walsall knocked out the Vale at the first stage with a 3–1 win.

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
11	Bradford City	46	19	10	17	74	62	1.194	48
12	Halifax Town	46	15	14	17	59	68	0.868	44
13	Port Vale	46	14	15	17	55	58	0.948	43
14	Exeter City	46	14	15	17	50	60	0.833	43
15	Chesterfield	46	17	8	21	60	63	0.952	42

Source: rsssf.com

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

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	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	H	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	A
Result	D	D	D	W	D	W	D	L	D	D	L	L	L	W	W	L	W	L	L	D	W	D	D	W	W	L	W	D	L	L	L	L	L	W	W	D	W	L	D	L	W	D	D	D	L	L
Position	4	4	7	4	6	5	4	9	9	10	9	13	15	14	13	13	14	14	17	16	15	15	15	13	12	12	11	11	12	13	14	17	17	15	14	13	13	13	12	13	12	12	12	12	12	13

Source: Statto[2]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
20 August 1966	Southport	H	2–1	8,143	Rowland, Sproson
27 August 1966	Notts County	A	0–0	5,648
3 September 1966	Chester	H	1–1	6,853	Georgeson
5 September 1966	Bradford City	H	3–2	6,258	Mahon, Rowland, Hill
10 September 1966	Bradford Park Avenue	A	1–1	5,246	Rowland
17 September 1966	Exeter City	A	1–0	4,789	Miles
24 September 1966	Crewe Alexandra	H	1–1	11,325	Hill
28 September 1966	Bradford City	A	0–2	3,928
1 October 1966	Barrow	A	2–2	3,354	Goodfellow, Hill
8 October 1966	Tranmere Rovers	H	1–1	6,684	Sproson
14 October 1966	Southend United	A	1–4	12,609	Ritchie
17 October 1966	Chesterfield	H	2–3	5,649	Georgeson, Mahon
22 October 1966	Wrexham	H	0–2	7,753
29 October 1966	Aldershot	A	1–0	5,047	McCartney
5 November 1966	Luton Town	H	1–0	3,502	Mahon
12 November 1966	Barnsley	A	0–1	4,823
19 November 1966	Newport County	H	2–0	3,883	Miles, Hill
3 December 1966	Halifax Town	H	0–1	4,002
10 December 1966	Hartlepools United	A	1–2	5,342	Hill
17 December 1966	Southport	A	0–0	3,975
27 December 1966	Lincoln City	A	1–0	5,268	Cullerton
31 December 1966	Notts County	H	0–0	5,359
14 January 1967	Bradford Park Avenue	H	0–0	4,798
21 January 1967	Exeter City	H	2–0	3,450	Cullerton (pen), Mahon
28 January 1967	Chester	A	3–1	5,586	Mahon (2), Cullerton
3 February 1967	Crewe Alexandra	A	0–1	10,414
11 February 1967	Barrow	H	2–1	6,267	Boulton, Mahon
17 February 1967	Stockport County	A	1–1	9,756	Miles
24 February 1967	Tranmere Rovers	A	1–2	8,047	Cullerton
4 March 1967	Southend United	H	1–3	4,695	Goodfellow
11 March 1967	Stockport County	H	0–2	6,363
18 March 1967	Wrexham	A	1–2	7,176	Georgeson
25 March 1967	Brentford	H	1–3	3,434	Ritchie
27 March 1967	Rochdale	A	2–1	2,254	o.g., Goodfellow
28 March 1967	Rochdale	H	5–0	3,004	Georgeson, Poole, Cullerton, Goodfellow, Wilson
1 April 1967	Luton Town	A	1–1	5,410	Wilson
8 April 1967	Barnsley	H	3–1	3,209	Cullerton (2), Hill
10 April 1967	York City	A	1–3	3,834	Goodfellow
17 April 1967	Newport County	A	1–1	1,914	Cullerton
22 April 1967	Aldershot	H	0–2	3,265
24 April 1967	York City	H	4–1	2,554	Cullerton (2), Georgeson, Goodfellow
29 April 1967	Halifax Town	A	2–2	3,562	Taylor, Goodfellow
3 May 1967	Lincoln City	H	2–2	3,085	Cullerton (2)
6 May 1967	Hartlepools United	H	0–0	3,178
8 May 1967	Chesterfield	A	1–2	2,605	Boulton
13 May 1967	Brentford	A	0–2	3,592

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	26 November 1966	Bradford City	A	2–1	5,712	Ritchie, Lawson
R2	7 January 1967	Barnsley	A	1–1	13,343	Hill
R2 Replay	16 January 1967	Barnsley	H	1–3	12,784	Boulton

League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	23 August 1966	Walsall	H	1–3	9,181	Rowland

Player statistics

Appearances

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Stuart Sharratt	45	0	3	0	1	0	49	0
GK	Billy McNulty	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
DF	Roy Sproson	31	2	2	0	1	0	34	2
DF	Terry Alcock	41	0	3	0	1	0	45	0
DF	Clint Boulton	35	2	3	1	1	0	39	3
DF	Ron Wilson	33	2	3	0	0	0	36	2
DF	John Ritchie	28	2	3	1	1	0	32	3
DF	Gordon Logan	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
MF	Terry Miles	42	3	3	0	0	0	45	3
MF	Mick Mahon	26	7	1	0	1	0	28	7
MF	Jimmy Hill	36	6	3	1	0	0	39	7
MF	Alex Donald	23	0	1	0	0	0	24	0
MF	Stuart Chapman	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
MF	Malcolm Gibbon	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
MF	Jimmy Goodfellow	26	7	1	0	1	0	28	7
MF	Mel Charles	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
FW	Harry Poole	32	1	1	0	1	0	34	1
FW	John Rowland	7	3	0	0	1	1	8	4
FW	Jackie Mudie	5	0	2	0	0	0	7	0
FW	Brian Taylor	10	1	1	0	0	0	11	1
FW	John James	7	0	0	0	1	0	8	0
FW	Roddy Georgeson	22	5	0	0	0	0	22	5
FW	Mick Cullerton	28	12	3	0	0	0	30	12
FW	Billy McCartney	15	1	1	0	0	0	16	1
FW	Mel Lintern	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Ian Lawson	8	0	1	1	1	0	10	1

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Fourth Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW	Scotland	Mick Cullerton	12	0	0	12
2	MF	England	Mick Mahon	7	0	0	7
–	MF	England	Jimmy Goodfellow	7	0	0	7
–	MF	Northern Ireland	Jimmy Hill	6	1	0	7
5	FW	Egypt	Roddy Georgeson	5	0	0	5
6	FW	England	John Rowland	3	0	1	4
7	MF	England	Terry Miles	3	0	0	3
–	DF	England	John Ritchie	2	1	0	3
–	DF	England	Clint Boulton	2	1	0	3
10	DF	Scotland	Ron Wilson	2	0	0	2
–	DF	England	Roy Sproson	2	0	0	2
12	FW	Scotland	Billy McCartney	1	0	0	1
–	FW	England	Harry Poole	1	0	0	1
–	FW	England	Brian Taylor	1	0	0	1
–	FW	England	Ian Lawson	0	1	0	1
–	–	–	Own goals	1	0	0	1
			TOTALS	55	4	1	60

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1966	MF		Jimmy Goodfellow	Bishop Auckland	Free transfer	[3]
June 1966	FW		Billy McCartney	Rangers	Free transfer	[3]
August 1966	FW		Ian Lawson	Crystal Palace	£1,000	[3]
December 1966	MF		Mel Charles	Porthmadog	£1,250	[3]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
September 1966	FW		John Rowland	Mansfield Town	£6,500	[3]
November 1966	MF		Alan Johnson	Stafford Rangers	Free transfer	[3]
April 1967	DF		John Ritchie	Preston North End	£17,500	[3]
May 1967	MF		Mel Charles	Oswestry Town	Free transfer	[3]
May 1967	FW		Ian Lawson	Barnsley	Free transfer	[3]
May 1967	FW		Billy McCartney	Oswestry Town	Free transfer	[3]
May 1967	FW		Jackie Mudie	Oswestry Town	Retired	[3]
May 1967	GK		Jimmy O'Neill	Cork Celtic	Free transfer	[3]
May 1967	MF		Brian Taylor	Barnsley	Free transfer	[3]
July 1967	MF		Roddy Georgeson	Dundee	Released	[3]
August 1967	DF		Terry Alcock	Blackpool	£30,000	[3]

Loans out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
December 1966	GK		Jimmy O'Neill	Cork Celtic	May 1967	[3]

References

Specific

1. Kent, Jeff (1990). "Flattering Only to Deceive (1960–1969)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 196–226. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
2. Port Vale 1966–1967 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
3. 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.