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Port Vale

2003–04 season
Owner	Valiant 2001
Chairman	Bill Bratt
Manager	Brian Horton (until 12 February) Martin Foyle (from 13 February)
Stadium	Vale Park
Football League Second Division	7th (73 Points)
FA Cup	Second Round (knocked out by Scarborough)
League Cup	First Round (knocked out by Nottingham Forest)
Football League Trophy	First Round (knocked out by Scarborough)
Player of the Year	Stephen McPhee
Top goalscorer	League: Stephen McPhee (25) All: Stephen McPhee (27)
Highest home attendance	7,958 vs. Sheffield Wednesday, 7 February 2004
Lowest home attendance	4,016 vs. Ford United, 8 November 2003
Average home league attendance	5,810
Biggest win	5–1 vs. Grimsby Town, 17 January 2004
Biggest defeat	1–5 vs. Plymouth Argyle, 18 October 2003
Home colours Away colours
← 2002–032004–05 →

The 2003–04 season was Port Vale's 92nd season of football in the English Football League and fourth-successive season (41st overall) in the Second Division. Brian Horton resigned in February, and was replaced by Martin Foyle. Vale fought for promotion but finished outside the play-off zone on goal difference. In the FA Cup, Vale narrowly avoided humiliation by beating non-League Ford United after the replay went to extra time. However, Vale exited in the Second Round with a defeat to Conference club Scarborough, who also knocked the Vale out of the Football League Trophy in the First Round. Vale also left the League Cup at the First Round stage. Stephen McPhee was Player of the Year and top-scorer with 27 goals, but he left the club at the end of the season to play abroad. Financial problems still hounded the club, and Chairman Bill Bratt was desperate to attract investment from fans. However, he was unwilling to allow one person to have more than 50% of the club's shares.

Overview

Second Division

The pre-season saw Brian Horton bring in three key players on free transfers: George Pilkington (Everton); Jonny Brain (Newcastle United); and Austrian Andreas Lipa (Skoda Xanthi). Meanwhile, promising keeper Mark Goodlad began a lengthy period on the sidelines with injuries. Optimism surrounded the club, after the rebuilding of the new squad appeared to had finished after the break-up of the club's previous team due to financial troubles.

The season opened with seven wins in eleven games, earning Brian Horton the Manager of the Month award. The last of these victories was a 3–0 win over Peterborough United on 30 September, with McPhee scoring two goals after being to the central striker position from out wide. Though this was followed by a sequence of five defeats in eight games as the goals dried up, this run included a 5–1 thumping at home to Plymouth Argyle. They responded to this defeat with a 2–0 win over title-favourites Queens Park Rangers as goals from Paynter and McPhee secured the three points despite a red card for Rowland after he put in a two-footed challenge on Marcus Bean. In November, backup keeper Dean Delany joined Macclesfield Town on a two-month loan. Vale then were in patchy form until March, though the side managed to do the double over Sheffield Wednesday. Brian Horton resigned in February, with the club in the play-offs. His replacement was former Vale legend Martin Foyle, whose only previous experience was in the club's youth set-up. As his assistant he appointed former teammate, Dean Glover, another club legend. In March, Foyle made his first signing, bringing defender Craig James on loan from Sunderland, and after a few weeks he signed him permanently. Mark Boyd headed out of the club however, and was allowed to sign with Carlisle United. Vale lost just two of their final twelve games and ran close to a play-off place, only losing out due to their inferior goal difference. They won 2–0 at Rushden & Diamonds on the final day, but Swindon Town and Hartlepool United played out a 1–1 draw to ensure they both finished in the play-offs instead of Vale.

They finished in seventh place with 73 points. They were level on points with Hartlepool United and Swindon Town but finished outside of the play-off zone due to their inferior goal difference. Stephen McPhee scored 27 goals to become the club's top-scorer, the highest tally since Andy Jones hit 37 in 1986–87. Other major contributions came from Billy Paynter (14), Steve Brooker (8), Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (7) and Adrian Littlejohn (7).

At the end of the season several players left the club: Neil Brisco (Rochdale); Liam Burns (Bristol Rovers); Adrian Littlejohn (Lincoln City); and Dean Delany (Shelbourne). Stephen McPhee also decided to leave the club, and though Chairman Bill Bratt had rejected offers of £100,000 for the player, McPhee exploited a loophole in his contract to join Portuguese side Beira-Mar. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson also turned down a new lower-paying contract, and instead signed with Stockport County. Player-coach Ian Brightwell also left Vale Park, having lost his assistant manager role to Glover, and joined Horton at Macclesfield Town. One boost was that Billy Paynter and George Pilkington put pen to paper on new long-term deals.

Finances

Peter Walker was appointed as Chief Executive in August 2003, having volunteered to work for free for six months. One feature of the season proved to be the long-running courtroom battle between former chairman Bill Bell and owners Valiant2001 over unpaid rent on the club shop. The club's finances were still worrying for supporters, though the problem appeared to have eased by the end of the season.

In December, a Peter Jackson-led consortium put a £150,000 investment into the club, which Bratt said "...ensures the future of the club is safe". The club also rejected other investment proposals from confidential sources. Vice-chairman Charles Machin recommended the board sell the club to Italian businessman Gianni Paladini for £530,000, but the board disagreed. In March 2004, Machin and director Geoff Wakefield were voted off the board, as the 'Jackson Five' clique elected Peter Jackson and Stan Meigh in their place. Machin said that "I will not go away. I will haunt the corridors of power like Marley's ghost". However, he was never elected back onto the board.

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale risked humiliation in a 2–2 draw with non-League Ford United at Vale Park. In the replay, Vale had led 1–0 before a last minute equaliser took the game into extra time. Despite having substitute Ian Armstrong's sent off, the "Valiants" escaped the lottery of the penalty shoot-out when on 114 minutes Ford scored an own goal. However, in the Second Round they were still eliminated by a non-League club, when Scarborough's Ashley Sestanovich scored an 80th-minute winner at Vale Park. This was the first time a League side had been beaten twice in the same season by the same non-League opponents.

In the League Cup, Vale faced First Division Nottingham Forest. They held Forest to a goalless draw but were eliminated 3–2 in the subsequent penalty shoot-out.

In the Football League Trophy, Vale travelled to the McCain Stadium, where they were defeated 2–1 by Conference club Scarborough.

League table

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Football League Second Division

Results by matchday

Matches

FA Cup

League Cup

Football League Trophy

Player statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos.	#	Name	Football League		FA Cup		League Cup		Football League Trophy		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	1	Mark Goodlad	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
DF	2	George Pilkington	44	1	3	0	1	0	1	0	49	1
DF	3	Ian Brightwell	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
DF	4	Andreas Lipa	30	2	2	0	1	0	0	0	33	2
DF	5	Michael Walsh	13	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	14	0
DF	6	Sam Collins	43	4	3	0	1	0	1	0	47	4
MF	7	Neil Brisco	27	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	30	0
MF	8	Micky Cummins	42	4	2	0	1	0	1	0	46	4
FW	9	Steve Brooker	32	8	1	0	1	0	0	0	34	8
FW	10	Stephen McPhee	46	25	3	1	1	0	1	1	51	27
MF	11	Marc Bridge-Wilkinson	32	7	2	0	1	0	1	0	36	7
GK	12	Dean Delany	14	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	15	0
MF	13	Levi Reid	11	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
MF	15	Ian Armstrong	20	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	22	1
DF	16	Steve Rowland	29	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	30	0
MF	17	Chris Birchall	10	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
FW	18	Billy Paynter	44	13	2	1	1	0	1	0	48	14
FW	19	Simon Eldershaw	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
MF	20	Adrian Littlejohn	36	7	3	0	1	0	1	0	41	7
DF	21	Liam Burns	27	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	30	1
DF	22	Ryan Brown	17	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	18	0
GK	23	Joe Molloy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
GK	24	Jonny Brain	32	0	3	0	0	0	1	0	36	0
DF	25	Craig James	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
Players that left the club mid-season:
MF	14	Mark Boyd	22	0	3	0	0	0	1	0	26	0

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Number	Name	Second Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Football League Trophy	Total
1	FW	Scotland	10	Stephen McPhee	25	1	0	1	27
2	FW	England	18	Billy Paynter	13	1	0	0	14
3	FW	England	9	Steve Brooker	8	0	0	0	8
4	MF	England	11	Marc Bridge-Wilkinson	7	0	0	0	7
–	MF	England	20	Adrian Littlejohn	7	0	0	0	7
6	MF	Ireland	8	Micky Cummins	4	0	0	0	4
–	DF	England	6	Sam Collins	4	0	0	0	4
8	DF	Austria	4	Andreas Lipa	2	0	0	0	2
9	DF	England	2	George Pilkington	1	0	0	0	1
–	MF	England	15	Ian Armstrong	1	0	0	0	1
–	DF	Northern Ireland	21	Liam Burns	0	1	0	0	1
–		–	–	Own goals	1	1	0	0	2
				TOTALS	73	4	0	1	78

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
June 2003	DF		Andreas Lipa	Skoda Xanthi	Free transfer
June 2003	DF		George Pilkington	Everton	Free transfer
August 2003	GK		Jonny Brain	Carlisle United	Free transfer
March 2004	DF		Craig James	Sunderland	Free transfer

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
March 2004	MF		Mark Boyd	Carlisle United	Free transfer
May 2004	DF		Ian Brightwell	Macclesfield Town	Free transfer
May 2004	DF		Liam Burns	Bristol Rovers	Released
May 2004	GK		Dean Delany	Shelbourne	Free transfer
June 2004	MF		Marc Bridge-Wilkinson	Stockport County	Rejected contract
June 2004	MF		Neil Brisco	Rochdale	Free transfer
June 2004	FW		Stephen McPhee	Beira-Mar	Bosman transfer
August 2004	MF		Adrian Littlejohn	Lincoln City	Free transfer

Loans out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
27 November 2003	GK		Dean Delany	Macclesfield Town	14 January 2004

References

Specific

1. "Axe hovers over Valiants". BBC Sport. 10 December 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
2. "Vale fans fail to buy club". BBC Sport. 22 December 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
3. "Vale land Pilkington". BBC Sport. 24 June 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
4. "Vale sign young keeper". BBC Sport. 22 August 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
5. "Vale net Lipa". BBC Sport. 9 June 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
6. "Goodlad blow for Vale". BBC Sport. 24 July 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
7. "Port Vale season preview". BBC Sport. 5 August 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
8. "Valiant Horton Picks Up Prize". LMA. Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
9. Baggaley, Mike (30 September 2024). "Home comforts in a big week". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
10. Baggaley, Mike (23 October 2024). "Vale make it four in a row". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
11. "Horton leaves Port Vale". BBC Sport. 12 February 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
12. "Port Vale appoint Foyle". BBC Sport. 13 February 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
13. "Glover back at Vale". BBC Sport. 16 February 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
14. "James joins Vale on loan". BBC Sport. 19 March 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
15. "James signs Vale contract". BBC Sport. 2 April 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
16. Baggaley, Mike (9 May 2024). "Why Vale are determined pitch investment will pay off". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
17. "Foyle releases Vale trio". BBC Sport. 11 May 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
18. "Vale reject McPhee offer". BBC Sport. 4 June 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
19. "McPhee moving to Portugal". BBC Sport. 17 June 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
20. "Bridge-Wilkinson makes move". BBC Sport. 8 June 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
21. "Vale search for new coach". BBC Sport. 26 May 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
22. "Brightwell leaves Vale". BBC Sport. 25 May 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
23. "Duo boost Port Vale". BBC Sport. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
24. "Financial boost for Vale". BBC Sport. 14 May 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
25. "Consortium saves Port Vale". BBC Sport. 30 December 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
26. "Vale set for takeover talks". BBC Sport. 15 December 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
27. ^ What If There Had Been No Port In The Vale?: Startling Port Vale Stories! p.179 (Witan Books, 2011, ISBN 978-0-9529152-8-7)
28. "Port Vale 2-2 Ford Utd". BBC Sport. 8 November 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
29. "Ford Utd 1-2 Port Vale (aet)". BBC Sport. 19 November 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
30. "Port Vale 0-1 Scarborough". BBC Sport. 7 December 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
31. Baggaley, Mike (7 December 2023). "Injuries, plans and Exeter challenge for Port Vale". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
32. "Scarborough 2-1 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 14 October 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
33. "England 2003–04". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
34. Port Vale 2003–2004 : Results & Fixtures Archived 16 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
35. ^ "Port Vale FC Club Details | Transfers | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 7 October 2016.

General

• Soccerbase

• Port Vale F.C. seasons
• 2003–04 Football League Second Division by team