1967–68 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale

1967–68 season

Chairman

Fred Pinfold

Manager

Stanley Matthews

Stadium

Vale Park

Football League Fourth Division

18th (39 Points)

FA Cup

First Round

League Cup

Second Round

Top goalscorer

League: Roy Chapman (24)
All: Roy Chapman (25)

Highest home attendance

8,228 vs. Bradford City (23 October 1967)

Lowest home attendance

3,151 vs. Rochdale (23 March 1968)

Average home league attendance

4,886

Home colours

← 1966–67

1968–69 →

The 1967–68 season was Port Vale's 56th season of football in the Football League, and their third successive season (fourth overall) in the Fourth Division.^[1] A poor season saw them battle to mid-table in order to avoid the re-election zone. Yet it would be off-the-field developments that would worry Vale supporters the most. An FA/Football League Joint-Inquiry investigated the club as club officials were forced to admit several breaches of the rules in regard to payment of players. The result was expulsion from the League, however before the start of the following season a vote of 39 to 9 allowed the club to be immediately readmitted to the competition. The whole saga was rather ironic, as the club re-entered the League in 1919 after Leeds City were expelled over illegal payments to their players. On the playing front it was the final season of both Harry Poole and Terry Miles' careers.

Overview

Fourth Division

The pre-season saw the departure of Terry Alcock to Blackpool, after the club 'reluctantly' accepted a £25,000 offer.^[1] In came £35-a-week striker Roy Chapman from Lincoln City and forward Mick Morris from Oxford United.^[1] In August there was a pre-season tour of Czechoslovakia to help with fitness, as the players also toured the spa at Luhačovice, the wine cellars at Čelákovice, as well as a giant footwear factory.^[1]

The season opened with seven games without a win, with just three goals scored.^[1] Stanley Matthews then returned to Czechoslovakia on business, much to the dismay of supporters.^[1] In came skilful midfielder John Green, who made a 'superb' debut in a 2–0 defeat at high-flying Aldershot.^[1] By now Vale were bottom of the league, but a remarkable turnaround then saw Vale hit four goals in each of their next four home games with the useful partnership of Cullerton and Chapman, and the skill of Green.^[1] Harry Poole picked up an injury and 'the spell was broken' with a 2–1 defeat in Burslem to league leaders Bradford City.^[1] In November Vale again suffered, and more problems came as the Football League began an examination into the club's books over alleged breaches of rules in regard to payment of players.^[1] Back on the pitch, Roy Sproson made his 700th appearances in a 1–1 draw with Newport County at Somerton Park.^[1] The next month held more financial problems, as lifelong Vale supporter and self-styled 'holiday camp king' Graham Bourne was denied a seat on the board despite buying up 13,000 shares – Chairman Pinfold stated 'we must proceed cautiously' and Bourne quickly sold his shares.^[1] On the field, the "Valiants" improved with a seven-match unbeaten run to take them into mid-table, their run was helped by the arrival of Bill Asprey from Oldham Athletic for £2,000.^[1]

In January the League's investigation resulted in a Football Association commission to investigate six charges: numerous amateurs had received a weekly wage; associate schoolboys played for the club despite this being against the rules; extra bonuses were offered for reaching the Second Round of the League Cup; John Ritchie had received illegal payments; Clint Boulton and Gordon Logan had received illegal bonuses; and that young players had been given gifts in breach of league rules.^[1] With this hanging over the club's head form suffered, and Jimmy Hill left the club to become player-manager of Derry City.^[1] Stan Steele returned from South Africa and joined on a month-long trial, however he only managed to score an 'incredible' own goal by lobbing Stuart Sharratt in a 3–0 loss to Aldershot.^[1] On 20 February the FA-Football League joint-inquiry 'severely censured' Port Vale officials at Lancaster Gate after the officials admitted the charges held against them.^[1] The club received a £2,000 fine and a recommendation that they be expelled from the league, a month later on 6 Mach another £2,000 fine was issued and the club were informed that they would be expelled from the Football League at the end of the season.^[1] The club's officials were 'shocked and appalled' at the 'savage penalties', and Stoke City chairman Albert Henshall also called the punishment 'severe'.^[1] The club changed the leadership structure and defiantly stated their aim to win promotion from the Fourth Division, and also their decision to appoint a new player-manager to lead them to such an aim.^[1] On the pitch, Vale hovered uncomfortably above the re-election zone, and were only safe of having to beg for readmission with a 1–0 win over Lincoln City at Sincil Bank on the final day.^[1]

They finished in eighteenth position with 39 points, three points clear of the re-election zones.^[1] They finished ahead of Rochdale and Exeter City by one point; ahead of York City by three points; ahead of Chester by seven points; ahead of Workington by eight points; and a massive sixteen points clear of Bradford Park Avenue. Recording just two away wins all season, their home form was also poor.^[1] Roy Chapman had excelled however, his 25 goals in all competitions the highest since 1960–61.^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a loss of £6,279 had been made.^[1] Poor attendances reduced gate receipts by almost £5,000, though expenditure was cut by over £6,000.^[1] The club's total debt stood at £168,151.^[1] Seven players were given free transfers, including youngsters Alex Donald and Malcolm James MacKenzie; as well as club veterans Terry Miles and Harry Poole – who had almost thirty years and some 716 league appearances for the Vale between them.^[1] Developments at the club included the opening of Vale Shop at the Hamil End, and the appointment of 'young... modern track-suited' Gordon Lee as manager.^[1] The club were in dire straits however, and Lee had to persuade Sproson to continue playing.^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Chester knocked the Vale out at the First Round with a 2–1 victory in the snow at Vale Park.

In the League Cup, the "Valiants" reached the Second Round after a Mick Cullerton hat-trick in a 3–0 win over Chester at home. Defeat then came at Fratton Park to Second Division Portsmouth after Clint Boulton 'gave away two needless penalties'.^[1] It was the first time the club progressed further in the League Cup than in the FA Cup – an occurrence that would not be repeated until 1983–84.

Final league table

Main article: 1967–68 Football League

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GA	Pts
1	Luton Town	46	27	12	7	87	44	1.977	66
2	Barnsley	46	24	13	9	68	46	1.478	61
3	Hartlepools United	46	25	10	11	60	46	1.304	60
4	Crewe Alexandra	46	20	18	8	74	49	1.510	58
5	Bradford City	46	23	11	12	72	51	1.412	57
6	Southend United	46	20	14	12	77	58	1.328	54
7	Chesterfield	46	21	11	14	71	50	1.420	53
8	Wrexham	46	20	13	13	72	53	1.358	53
9	Aldershot	46	18	17	11	70	55	1.273	53
10	Doncaster Rovers	46	18	15	13	66	56	1.179	51
11	Halifax Town	46	15	16	15	52	49	1.061	46
12	Newport County	46	16	13	17	58	63	0.921	45
13	Lincoln City	46	17	9	20	71	68	1.044	43
14	Brentford	46	18	7	21	61	64	0.953	43
15	Swansea Town	46	16	10	20	63	77	0.818	42
16	Darlington	46	12	17	17	47	53	0.887	41
17	Notts County	46	15	11	20	53	79	0.671	41
18	Port Vale	46	12	15	19	61	72	0.847	39
19	Rochdale	46	12	14	20	51	72	0.708	38
20	Exeter City	46	11	16	19	45	65	0.692	38
21	York City	46	11	14	21	65	68	0.956	36
22	Chester	46	9	14	23	57	78	0.731	32
23	Workington	46	10	11	25	54	87	0.621	31
24	Bradford Park Avenue	46	4	15	27	30	82	0.366	23

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

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	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A
Result	L	D	L	D	L	L	L	W	W	L	W	D	W	L	L	W	L	L	D	L	W	D	D	W	W	D	D	L	D	D	D	W	L	L	D	W	L	L	D	D	L	W	L	L	D	W
Position	19	16	21	20	23	23	24	20	19	21	19	17	14	17	18	17	18	20	20	20	18	18	18	13	15	16	15	17	17	17	17	16	16	16	16	14	16	16	16	17	19	17	18	18	19	18

Sourced from Statto.^[2]

Football League Fourth Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
19 August 1967	Southend United	H	1–2	7,451	Cullerton
26 August 1967	Chester	A	1–1	7,932	Cullerton (pen)
2 September 1967	Chesterfield	H	0–1	6,214
6 September 1967	Notts County	A	0–0	4,338
9 September 1967	Exeter City	A	1–3	3,722	Hill
16 September 1967	Darlington	H	0–1	4,599
23 September 1967	Aldershot	A	0–2	6,138
25 September 1967	Notts County	H	4–1	4,021	Chapman (2), Goodfellow, Poole
30 September 1967	Workington	H	4–2	4,752	Poole (2), Chapman, MacKenzie
4 October 1967	Bradford City	A	1–2	5,257	Chapman
7 October 1967	Doncaster Rovers	H	4–2	5,436	Chapman (2), James, Mahon
14 October 1967	Bradford Park Avenue	A	2–2	3,648	Chapman, Cullerton (pen)
21 October 1967	Brentford	H	4–1	5,944	Morris, Cullerton, Chapman, o.g.
23 October 1967	Bradford City	H	1–2	8,228	Mahon
28 October 1967	Rochdale	A	1–3	2,566	Chapman
4 November 1967	York City	H	1–0	4,786	Chapman
13 November 1967	Chesterfield	A	0–3	13,183
18 November 1967	Hartlepools United	H	2–3	3,875	Chapman (2)
21 November 1967	Newport County	A	1–1	2,434	Cullerton
25 November 1967	Swansea Town	A	2–4	4,827	Morris, Chapman
2 December 1967	Barnsley	H	2–0	3,724	Morris, Chapman
15 December 1967	Southend United	A	1–1	8,543	Mahon
23 December 1967	Chester	H	4–4	3,740	Mahon, Chapman, Sproson, Morris
26 December 1967	Halifax Town	H	2–1	6,946	Chapman, Sproson
30 December 1967	Halifax Town	A	1–0	3,956	Chapman
20 January 1968	Darlington	A	2–2	3,596	Chapman, Morris
26 January 1968	Luton Town	H	0–0	5,970
3 February 1968	Aldershot	H	0–3	4,241
10 February 1968	Workington	A	1–1	2,880	Chapman
16 February 1968	Lincoln City	H	1–1	4,187	James
24 February 1968	Hartlepools United	A	2–2	4,388	Mahon (2)
2 March 1968	Bradford Park Avenue	H	4–0	3,938	Chapman (2), Morris, o.g.
9 March 1968	Luton Town	A	0–2	12,749
16 March 1968	Brentford	A	1–3	5,111	Chapman
23 March 1968	Rochdale	H	1–1	3,151	Chapman
25 March 1968	Exeter City	H	1–0	3,395	McLaren
30 March 1968	York City	A	1–5	5,153	Mahon
6 April 1968	Newport County	H	0–1	3,607
12 April 1968	Crewe Alexandra	A	1–1	8,775	Mahon
13 April 1968	Doncaster Rovers	A	0–0	10,782
15 April 1968	Crewe Alexandra	H	0–2	7,048
20 April 1968	Swansea Town	H	4–2	3,555	Cullerton (3), Chapman
22 April 1968	Wrexham	A	0–1	4,192
26 April 1968	Barnsley	A	0–2	15,913
4 May 1968	Wrexham	H	1–1	3,575	Mahon
11 May 1968	Lincoln City	A	1–0	6,649	Cullerton

FA Cup

Main article: 1967–68 FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	9 December 1967	Chester	H	1–2	4,171	Goodfellow

League Cup

Main article: 1967–68 Football League Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	22 August 1967	Chester	H	3–0	5,006	Cullerton (3 [1 pen])
R2	13 September 1967	Portsmouth	A	1–3	16,960	Chapman

Player statistics

Appearances

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Stuart Sharratt	46	0	1	0	2	0	49	0
DF	Roy Sproson	32	2	1	0	1	0	34	2
DF	Clint Boulton	39	0	1	0	2	0	42	0
DF	Ron Wilson	42	0	1	0	2	0	45	0
DF	Gordon Logan	15	0	0	0	2	0	17	0
DF	Bill Asprey	22	0	0	0	0	0	22	0
MF	Terry Miles	21	0	0	0	1	0	22	0
MF	Mick Mahon	32	9	1	0	1	0	34	9
MF	Jimmy Hill	7	1	0	0	2	0	9	1
MF	Alex Donald	9	0	0	0	1	0	10	0
MF	Stuart Chapman	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
MF	Malcolm Gibbon	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
MF	Jimmy Goodfellow	28	1	1	1	2	0	31	2
MF	Tommy McLaren	13	1	0	0	0	0	13	1
MF	David McClelland	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
MF	Malcolm James MacKenzie	6	1	0	0	0	0	6	1
MF	John Green	11	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
FW	Harry Poole	32	3	1	0	2	0	35	3
FW	John James	41	2	1	0	1	0	43	2
FW	Mick Cullerton	41	9	1	0	2	3	43	12
FW	Paul Bannister	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
FW	Roy Chapman	46	24	1	0	2	1	49	25
FW	Mick Morris	30	6	1	0	0	0	31	6
FW	Stan Steele	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0

Scorers

All competitions

Scorer	Goals
Roy Chapman	25
Mick Cullerton	12
Mick Mahon	9
Mick Morris	6
Harry Poole	3
John James	2
Roy Sproson
Jimmy Goodfellow
Jimmy Hill	1
Tommy McLaren
Malcolm James MacKenzie

League

Scorer	Goals
Roy Chapman	24
Mick Cullerton	9
Mick Mahon	9
Mick Morris	6
Harry Poole	3
John James	2
Roy Sproson	2
Jimmy Hill	1
Jimmy Goodfellow
Tommy McLaren
Malcolm James MacKenzie

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
May 1967	MF	Malcolm Bailey		Free transfer	^[3]
June 1967	FW	Roy Chapman	Lincoln City	Free transfer	^[3]
July 1967	FW	Mick Morris	Oxford United	Free transfer	^[3]
August 1967	MF	David McClelland	Bishop Auckland	Free transfer	^[3]
September 1967	MF	John Green	Blackpool	Free transfer	^[3]
October 1967	DF	Keith Broomhall		Free transfer	^[3]
November 1967	MF	Tommy McLaren	Berwick Rangers	Free transfer	^[3]
December 1967	DF	Bill Asprey	Oldham Athletic	£2,000	^[3]
January 1968	FW	Stan Steele	Port Elizabeth City	Trial	^[3]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
April 1968	MF	David McClelland	Wellington Town	Free transfer	^[3]
May 1968	MF	Alex Donald	Derry City	Free transfer	^[3]
May 1968	FW	Mel Lintern	Carlisle United	Free transfer	^[3]
May 1968	MF	Malcolm James MacKenzie		Released	^[3]
May 1968	GK	Billy McNulty	Chesterfield	Free transfer	^[3]
May 1968	MF	Terry Miles	Sandbach Ramblers	Free transfer	^[3]
July 1968	FW	Paul Bannister	Eastwood	Released	^[3]
Summer 1968	MF	Jimmy Hill		Released	^[3]
Summer 1968	MF	Harry Poole	Sandbach Ramblers	Free transfer	^[3]
Summer 1968	FW	Stan Steele	Port Elizabeth City	Released	^[3]

References

Specific

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 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.
↑ Port Vale 1967–1968 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 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

1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 99–1900

1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10

1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20

1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30

1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40

1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50

1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60

1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70

1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80

1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90

1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 99–2000

2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10

2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20

Port Vale Football Club

History Managers Records Seasons

Grounds	Athletic Ground Old Recreation Ground Vale Park

Players	25+ appearances <25 appearances Player of the Year Winners

Matches	1989 Play-off Final 1993 League Trophy Final 1993 Play-off Final 1996 Anglo-Italian Final 2001 League Trophy Final Potteries derby

1967–68 in English football

« 1966–67

1968–69 »

FA competitions

Football League

Lower leagues

European competitions

Related to national team

Club seasons

First Division	Arsenal Burnley Chelsea Coventry City Everton Fulham Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Sheffield United Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Stoke City Sunderland Tottenham Hotspur West Bromwich Albion West Ham United Wolverhampton Wanderers

Second Division	Aston Villa Birmingham City Blackburn Rovers Blackpool Bolton Wanderers Bristol City Cardiff City Carlisle United Charlton Athletic Crystal Palace Derby County Huddersfield Town Hull City Ipswich Town Middlesbrough Millwall Norwich City Plymouth Argyle Portsmouth Preston North End Queens Park Rangers Rotherham United

Third Division	Barrow Bournemouth Brighton & Hove Albion Bristol Rovers Bury Colchester United Gillingham Grimsby Town Leyton Orient Mansfield Town Northampton Town Oldham Athletic Oxford United Peterborough United Reading Scunthorpe United Shrewsbury Town Southport Stockport County Swindon Town Torquay United Tranmere Rovers Walsall Watford

Fourth Division	Aldershot Barnsley Bradford City Bradford Park Avenue Brentford Chester Chesterfield Crewe Alexandra Darlington Doncaster Rovers Exeter City Halifax Town Hartlepools United Lincoln City Luton Town Newport County Notts County Port Vale Rochdale Southend United Swansea Town Workington Wrexham York City

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