Phil Sproson

Phil Sproson
Personal information
Full name Phillip Jess Sproson[1]
Date of birth (1959-10-13) 13 October 1959[1]
Place of birth Trent Vale, Stoke-on-Trent, England[1]
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Playing position Central defender
Youth career
1975–1977 Port Vale
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1977–1989 Port Vale 426 (33)
1989–1990 Birmingham City 12 (0)
Stafford Rangers ? (?)
Northwich Victoria ? (?)
Total 438+ (33+)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Phillip Jess "Phil" Sproson (born 13 October 1959) is an English former footballer who played as a central defender. He played in 500 matches (426 in the league) for Port Vale and scored 41 goals (33 in the league), this places him second in the list of appearances for Port Vale. He was the nephew of legendary Vale defender Roy Sproson and son of Jess Sproson, who played for Vale between 1940 and 1947.

He helped Port Vale to win promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1982–83 and 1985–86, and was twice named on the PFA Team of the Year. Forced to retire in February 1989 due to a knee injury, he attempted a comeback with Birmingham City, and later represented Stafford Rangers and Northwich Victoria.

Playing career

Sproson was spotted by Port Vale coach Reg Berks after Berks visited Thistley Hough High School to see the team play.[3] After asking for the youngster's address, he paid him a visit later in the day to get him on a contract, at which point he discovered the youngster was the nephew of Vale's manager, Roy Sproson.[3] Berks asked the uncle why he had not told him he had a young family member who could play football, to which he responded "I didn't know I'd got one!".[3] In the Vale youth team, Sproson was a midfielder, though as he grew into a tall young man he was converted into a centre-half role.[4] Sproson was only initially a semi-pro at Vale as his father wished him to have a trade. He rejected an apprenticeship at Stoke City and instead became an apprentice electrician until new manager Bobby Smith offered him forms with Port Vale in December 1977.[5]

He featured in two Third Division games towards the end of the 1977–78 season.[1] With the "Valiants" relegated into the Fourth Division, Sproson found first team chances easier to come by at Vale Park as he played 25 games in the 1978–79 season under the stewardship of Dennis Butler.[1] He scored his first senior goal on 15 September 1979, in a 5–0 home win over Northampton Town.[1] He established himself in the first team under new boss John McGrath, and played 40 games in the 1979–80 season.[1] He went on to feature 50 times in the 1980–81 campaign, and missed just three games all season.[1] He scored five goals in 51 games in the 1981–82 season, after missing just four league matches.[1] The 1982–83 season proved highly successful for Sproson; he was a regular in the first team, claiming four goals in 45 games, and was included in the PFA select Fourth Division side as Vale were promoted in third place.[1] Stoke City manager Richie Barker had tried to sign Sproson earlier in the season, but was put off by Vale's high asking price, so instead signed Paul Dyson.[6]

The club suffered relegation in 1983–84, with Sproson scoring four goals in 44 appearances.[1] Sproson maintained his first team place in the 1984–85 campaign under the management of John Rudge, as he played 54 of the Vale's 56 games.[1] In the 1985–86 season, Sproson was appointed as club captain, and missed just two games as Port Vale were again promoted out of the Fourth Division; he was again selected in the PFA team of the year.[1] He scored four goals in 52 appearances in the 1986–87 season, as the only real constant presence in the Vale defence.[1] He missed just four of Vale's 56 games in the 1987–88 season, and claimed the winning goal in the FA Cup giant-killing of First Division Tottenham Hotspur.[1] The 1988–89 season saw Vale promoted from the Third Division; Sproson scored five goals in 29 games.[1] In January 1989, Sproson suffered a severe knee injury during training and retired the following month.[1] His testimonial match was held against rivals Stoke City on 21 March 1988, Vale drew the game 1–1, and Sproson collected £12,000 of the takings.[7]

Against medical advice, Sproson attempted a return to league football. In August 1989 he joined Dave Mackay's Birmingham City, who were obliged to pay Port Vale a "fee" of £50,000 in lieu of insurance money.[1] He played 12 Third Division and four League Cup games for the "Blues" in the 1989–90 season, but a re-occurrence of his knee injury meant he was unable to perform at the required fitness levels, and he retired again in September 1990.[8] He did though later play for Conference sides Stafford Rangers and Northwich Victoria.[1]

Post-retirement

Sproson worked as head of the PFA's Player Management Agency,[9] but stood down in March 2009 to work on his own account.[10] He set up Genesis Sports Management in 2009 and has worked as an agent to players such as Curtis Davies,[11] Marlon Harewood[12] and Liam Dickinson.[13]

Statistics

Club Season Division League FA Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Port Vale 1977–78 Third Division 20000020
1978–79 Fourth Division 2301010250
1979–80 Fourth Division 3931000403
1980–81 Fourth Division 4414020501
1981–82 Fourth Division 4265040516
1982–83 Fourth Division 4241020454
1983–84 Third Division 3820062444
1984–85 Fourth Division 4433070543
1985–86 Fourth Division 4444061545
1986–87 Third Division 4452060525
1987–88 Third Division 4437230545
1988–89 Third Division 2023162295
Total 4263331343550041
Birmingham City 1989–90 Third Division 1200041161
Career Total 4383331347651642

Honours

Individual
with Port Vale

References

  1. 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. p. 278. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  2. ↑ Rollin, Jack, ed. (1990). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1990–91 (21st ed.). Queen Anne Press. p. 84. ISBN 0-356-17911-7.
  3. 1 2 3 Kent, Jeff (December 1991). Port Vale Tales: A Collection Of Stories, Anecdotes And Memories. Witan Books. p. 45. ISBN 0-9508981-6-3.
  4. ↑ "Phil Sproson". sprosonfund.com. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
  5. ↑ Kent, Jeff (December 1991). Port Vale Tales: A Collection Of Stories, Anecdotes And Memories. Witan Books. p. 283. ISBN 0-9508981-6-3.
  6. ↑ Baggaley, Mike (2 December 2016). "When Stoke City tried to sign a Port Vale legend". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  7. ↑ Kent, Jeff (November 1998). The Potteries Derbies. Witan Books. p. 180. ISBN 0-9529152-3-5.
  8. ↑ Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 126. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  9. ↑ Shail, Mark (26 June 2006). "Phil Sproson: a Port Vale legend now doing great things for the PFA". Professional Footballers' Association. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  10. ↑ James, Stuart (24 March 2009). "PFA fears player drain after agent Phil Sproson decides to go it alone". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
  11. ↑ "O'Neill unhappy with Davies". Sky Sports. 8 October 2009. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  12. ↑ "Harewood keen on Pompey". Sky Sports. 9 June 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  13. ↑ "Cash-strapped Vale likely to miss out on striker". The Sentinel. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  14. 1 2 Kent, Jeff (1990). "From Rags to Riches (1979–1990)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 258–290. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
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