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Port Vale

1978–79 season
Chairman	Arthur McPherson
Manager	Dennis Butler
Stadium	Vale Park
Football League Fourth Division	16th (42 Points)
FA Cup	First Round (knocked out by Bradford City)
League Cup	First Round (knocked out by Chester)
Player of the Year	Bernie Wright
Top goalscorer	League: Bernie Wright (14) All: Bernie Wright (15)
Highest home attendance	5,226 vs. Barnsley, 14 April 1979
Lowest home attendance	2,160 vs. Hereford United, 1 May 1979
Average home league attendance	3,287
Biggest win	5–1 vs. Crewe Alexandra, 25 August 1978
Biggest defeat	0–4 (twice) and 2–6
Home colours
← 1977–781979–80 →

The 1978–79 season was Port Vale's 67th season of football in the Football League, and their first season (seventh overall) back in the Fourth Division following their relegation from the Third Division. Bernie Wright was highly impressive with his fifteen goals, though the rest of the team limped to a sixteenth-place finish, and exited both cup competitions at the first stage. This occurred with unrest in the boardroom behind the scenes, unrest amongst fans on the terraces, and annoyance from Butler towards the fans for abusing his players. Butler broke club transfer-records in both signing players and selling them.

Overview

Fourth Division

The pre-season saw new manager Dennis Butler sign big striker Bernie Wright from Bradford City for £9,000 and right-back Neil Wilkinson on a free transfer from Blackburn Rovers. Butler also took the team on a three match tour of Scotland. Just before the start of the season Ken Todd was signed for a club-record £37,000, despite Todd having only made a handful of appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers. In the summer former Valiant Tommy McLaren committed suicide, friend and teammate Ray Williams said 'leaving the club shattered him'. On 2 October a Memorial Fund match was played, raising £3,000.

The season opened with just two victories in eleven league games, as both Todd and keeper John Connaughton were sidelined with injuries. The two wins came away from home, 5–1 over rivals Crewe Alexandra at Gresty Road (Wright scoring a hat-trick) and 3–1 at Doncaster Rovers at the Keepmoat Stadium. Butler then threw himself into the transfer market, selling John Froggatt to Northampton Town for £8,000, and then Mick Moore and Terry Bailey to Wigan Athletic and Northwich Victoria respectively, both for £2,000. Another 'shrewd piece of business' came when star forward Ken Beamish was sold to Bury for £35,000, whilst Gerry Keenan moved the other way for £15,000. In October, Felix Healy was signed from Finn Harps for £8,000, and Neil Wilkinson and £3,000 were traded to Crewe in exchange for outside-right Kevin Tully. Winning five games in a sequence of eight, Todd was still a disappointment to fans, who began getting 'on his back'. Butler's signings did not stop however, and instead he sold John Ridley to Leicester City for a club-record £55,000. He then signed Andy Proudlove from Buxton for £1,000 – despite interest from Stafford Rangers. Then in came midfielder Peter Farrell from Bury for a new club-record £40,000. They ended their club-record streaks of 42 away games without keeping a clean sheet on 30 September, and of twelve home games without a win on 21 October.

Going into December four games unbeaten, Butler then splashed out £30,000 on Chester's Bob Delgado. Despite this, Vale were thumped 6–2 by Barnsley in front of 10,532 at Oakwell. In January, legendary England goalkeeper Gordon Banks was appointed as coach, and results began to pick up as Vale were lifted into eighth spot. Healy left the club in February, only to return two weeks later. Behind the scenes there was trouble when Arthur McPherson ruled that club shares could only be transferable to a male relation, in order 'to safeguard plans by the current directors'. More defeats came, and the big money signings were targeted by fans for abuse. Butler reacted by calling the fans 'a bunch of yobs'. From mid-March, Vale went seven games with only one victory and one goal scored. On 21 March violence returned to Vale Park, when Portsmouth keeper Peter Mellor saved a penalty, floored Peter Farrell and made an 'assortment of gestures' to the Bycars End – he found himself attacked by a Vale fan on the pitch for his efforts. On 13 April, Vale surrendered a three-goal lead at Springfield Park to lose 5–3 to Wigan Athletic. Danger of ending up in the re-election zone was ended with a late four game unbeaten spell, despite heavy defeats from Reading and York City.

They finished in sixteenth place with 42 points, with an awful defensive record of seventy goals conceded. Despite this, their scoring tally away from Burslem was the highest in the Football League, and they were given £2,125 as a reward. Player of the Year Bernie Wright secured fifteen goals in what was a poor season for the club.

Finances

On the financial side, a record £52,000 loss was made despite a remarkable £225,000 income from the club's commercial department. Butler's transfer dealings had lost the club £36,000, whilst wages more than doubled from £113,000 to £259,000. The club's liabilities stood at £187,000. Despite all of this, the club made 'surprisingly sparing use of the pruning knife', letting go of just four players, most significantly David Harris (Halifax Town) and Andy Proudlove (Stafford Rangers). Behind the scenes, long-time club servant and president Mark Singer was fired. However, chairman Arthur McPherson did not comment to the press.

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, weeks of preparation in Blackpool failed to prevent Vale from exiting at the first stage with a 1–0 defeat to Bradford City at Valley Parade.

In the League Cup, Third Division Chester knocked the Vale out 4–1 on aggregate.

League table

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Football League Fourth Division

Results by matchday

Matches

FA Cup

League Cup

Player statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	John Connaughton	19	0	1	0	2	0	22	0
GK	Trevor Dance	27	0	0	0	0	0	27	0
DF	Neil Griffiths	26	1	0	0	1	0	27	1
DF	David Harris	11	0	1	0	1	0	13	0
DF	Phil Sproson	23	0	1	0	1	0	25	0
DF	Graham Hawkins	43	2	1	0	2	0	46	2
DF	Bill Bentley	31	0	1	0	2	0	34	0
DF	Neil Wilkinson	7	0	0	0	2	0	9	0
DF	Gerry Keenan	32	2	1	0	0	0	33	2
DF	Bob Delgado	24	0	0	0	0	0	24	0
DF	Billy Leese	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
DF	Russell Bromage	20	2	0	0	1	0	21	2
MF	John Ridley	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
MF	Terry Bailey	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
MF	Kenny Beech	23	4	1	0	0	0	24	4
MF	Peter Sutcliffe	8	1	0	0	0	0	8	1
MF	Mick Moore	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
MF	Andy Proudlove	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
MF	Ged Stenson	11	0	0	0	2	0	13	0
MF	Ken Todd	41	8	1	0	0	0	42	8
MF	Kevin Tully	8	1	1	0	0	0	9	1
MF	Mark Chamberlain	8	1	0	0	0	0	8	1
MF	Peter Farrell	28	4	1	0	0	0	29	4
MF	Ian Elsby	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
MF	Alan Bloor	6	1	0	0	0	0	6	1
MF	Felix Healy	23	2	1	0	0	0	24	2
FW	Ken Beamish	6	4	0	0	2	0	8	4
FW	John Froggatt	2	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
FW	Neville Chamberlain	26	6	0	0	2	0	28	6
FW	Bernie Wright	46	14	1	0	1	1	48	15
FW	Brian Sinclair	18	2	0	0	0	0	18	2

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Fourth Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Bernie Wright	14	0	1	15
2	MF	England	Ken Todd	8	0	0	8
3	FW	England	Neville Chamberlain	6	0	0	6
4	MF	England	Kenny Beech	4	0	0	4
–	MF	England	Peter Farrell	4	0	0	4
–	FW	England	Ken Beamish	4	0	0	4
7	DF	England	Graham Hawkins	2	0	0	2
–	DF	England	Gerry Keenan	2	0	0	2
–	MF	Northern Ireland	Felix Healy	2	0	0	2
–	FW	England	Brian Sinclair	2	0	0	2
–	DF	England	Russell Bromage	2	0	0	2
12	MF	England	Kevin Tully	1	0	0	1
–	MF	England	Mark Chamberlain	1	0	0	1
–	MF	England	Alan Bloor	1	0	0	1
–	MF	England	Peter Sutcliffe	1	0	0	1
–	DF	England	Neil Griffiths	1	0	0	1
–	–	–	Own goals	2	0	0	2
			TOTALS	57	0	1	60

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
June 1978	DF		Neil Wilkinson	Blackburn Rovers	Free transfer
June 1978	FW		Bernie Wright	Bradford City	£9,000
August 1978	FW		Brian Sinclair	Blackpool	Free transfer
August 1978	MF		Ken Todd	Wolverhampton Wanderers	£37,000
September 1978	MF		Paul Bennett	Everton	Free transfer
September 1978	DF		Gerry Keenan	Bury	£15,000
October 1978	FW		Felix Healy	Finn Harps	£8,000
October 1978	MF		Kevin Tully	Crewe Alexandra	Exchange
November 1978	MF		Peter Farrell	Bury	£40,000
November 1978	MF		Andy Proudlove	Buxton	£1,000
December 1978	DF		Bob Delgado	Chester	£30,000

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
August 1978	MF		Terry Bailey	Northwich Victoria	£2,000
August 1978	MF		Mick Moore	Wigan Athletic	£2,000
September 1978	DF		Alan Bloor	Retired
September 1978	FW		John Froggatt	Northampton Town	£8,000
September 1978	FW		Ken Beamish	Bury	£35,000
October 1978	MF		John Ridley	Leicester City	£55,000
October 1978	DF		Neil Wilkinson	Crewe Alexandra	Exchange
December 1978	MF		Peter Sutcliffe	Chester City	£15,000
May 1979	DF		David Harris	Halifax Town	Free transfer
May 1979	MF		Andy Proudlove	Stafford Rangers	Free transfer

Loans out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
May 1978	GK		Trevor Dance	Stoke City	May 1978
May 1978	MF		Ian Elsby	Cleveland Cobras	August 1978
May 1978	DF		Neil Griffiths	Cleveland Cobras	August 1978
May 1978	DF		Billy Leese	Cleveland Cobras	July 1978
May 1978	MF		John Ridley	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	August 1978
August 1978	GK		Trevor Dance	Cleveland Cobras	August 1978

References

Specific

1. ^ 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. Port Vale 1978–1979 : Results & Fixtures Archived 6 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. 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.

• Port Vale F.C. seasons
• English football clubs 1978–79 season