1994–95 Port Vale F.C. season
Port Vale 1994–95 football season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1994–95 season was Port Vale's 83rd season of football in the English Football League, and first ever season in the First Division following their promotion from the Second Division. Under the stewardship of manager John Rudge and chairman Bill Bell, Vale secured survival, finishing safely above the relegation zone in 17th with 58 points.
| 1994–95 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Bill Bell | ||
| Manager | John Rudge | ||
| Stadium | Vale Park | ||
| Football League First Division | 17th (58 points) | ||
| FA Cup | Second Round (eliminated by Scarborough) | ||
| League Cup | Second Round (eliminated by Manchester United) | ||
| Player of the Year | Martin Foyle | ||
| Top goalscorer | League: Martin Foyle (16) All: Martin Foyle (20) | ||
| Highest home attendance | 19,510 vs. Stoke City, 14 March 1995 | ||
| Lowest home attendance | 4,728 vs. Bristol Rovers, 23 August 1994 | ||
| Average home league attendance | 9,218 | ||
| Biggest win | 6–0 vs. Hartlepool United, 12 November 1994 | ||
| Biggest defeat | 0–3 and 1–4 | ||
|
| |||
Cup competition brought mixed fortunes: in the FA Cup, Vale recorded a resounding 6–0 win over Hartlepool United before suffering a shock exit to Scarborough in the Second Round. In the League Cup, they reached the Second Round, where they were knocked out by Manchester United. Martin Foyle enjoyed another standout year — bagging 16 league goals and 20 in all competitions, earning him the Player of the Year award. Vale also marked their return to the same division as Potteries derby rivals Stoke City, claiming bragging rights with a 1–1 draw at Vale Park and a 1–0 win at the Victoria Ground.
Support from the terraces remained healthy: the highest home attendance was 19,510 for the derby against Stoke City, while the lowest was 4,728 against Bristol Rovers; the average home league attendance stood at 9,218. Their biggest win came in that 6–0 thrashing of Hartlepool, and their heaviest defeats were scorelines of 3–0 and 4–1. The season also saw the arrival of exciting new players Tony Naylor, Steve Guppy, and Ian Bogie, following the high‑profile sale of Ian Taylor before the campaign began.
Vale steadied themselves in the First Division with resilience and goals from Foyle, marked by new signings and derby pride, setting a solid foundation in the second tier.
Overview
First Division
The pre-season saw John Rudge spend a small amount of the money received on the sales of Ian Taylor and Peter Swan to bring Tony Naylor to the club from Crewe Alexandra for a £150,000 fee. A further £200,000 was splashed out on Nottingham Forest forward Lee Glover. Another £4,500 was spent on Dutch goalkeeper Arjan van Heusden from VV Noordwijk. Arriving on free transfers were Craig Lawton (Manchester United) and Stewart Talbot (Moor Green).
The season started modestly, with two wins in the four August games. In September, only Lee Glover, Tony Naylor and Martin Foyle could find the net, but the Vale won six points from their five games. To help with his recovery from a serious injury, Ray Walker spent some time on loan at Cambridge United, and won back his first-team place in the Vale starting eleven upon his return. Meanwhile, Tony Kelly arrived at the club from Bolton Wanderers, but after a brief spell, moved on to Millwall. On 17 September, Vale inflicted a 2–1 defeat on league leaders Middlesbrough player-manager Bryan Robson – his first loss in management.[1] Vale's attack was highlighted in October. However, the defence ensured three draws from five games.
In November, Darren Hughes was allowed to leave the club for Northampton Town. On 5 November, Vale lost all their inhibitions in front of goal, beating Southend United 5–0 with five different scorers.[2] Rudge decided to make another big signing and bought winger Steve Guppy from Newcastle United for £225,000. Two days later, on 26 November, Guppy made his debut in a 2–1 win over Millwall, where he collected assists for both goals.[3] However, their draw with Swindon Town would prove to be the only point gained in December, as Vale were stuck in a relegation dogfight. John Jeffers spent January on loan at Shrewsbury Town. During this spell, defender Kevin Scott arrived on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. The team gelled, forming a five-game unbeaten run based on just two goals conceded to shoot up the table. In March, midfielder Ian Bogie was signed from Leyton Orient for a £50,000 fee.
Potteries derby day finally came on 14 March, and 19,510 turned up at Vale Park to witness a 1–1 draw with Stoke City, Naylor scoring Vale's goal.[4] Five defeats in seven games followed, raising concerns about the drop. However, the Vale were unbeaten in their final five games to ensure safety. This included a 3–3 draw at Elm Park that saw the "Valiants" come from three goals down to claim a point. It also included a 1–0 win over Stoke at the Victoria Ground on 22 April, Foyle scoring the goal in what was Vale's first away win over Stoke in a league fixture since 1927.[4]
They finished in 17th place with 58 points, leaving them ten points clear of relegated Swindon Town. They were five points short of Stoke, who finished six places above the Vale. Player of the Year Martin Foyle bagged twenty goals, double that of his nearest rival, Tony Naylor.
At the end of the season Ollie Heald, Peter Billing, Mark Burke and John Burndred were released, who signed with Scarborough, Hartlepool United, Fortuna Sittard and Stafford Rangers respectively. Joe Allon was also sold to Brentford for £42,500.
Finances
The club's shirt sponsors were Tunstall Assurance.
Cup competitions
As members of the second tier, Vale should have qualified for the third round of the FA Cup, but were forced to take part in the first round to make up the numbers after Aldershot went bust and Maidstone United resigned from the league.[5] Vale went on to easily beat Third Division side Hartlepool United 6–0 in Burslem, with Martin Foyle bagging a hat-trick.[5] Remarkably, this would be the last hat-trick scored by a Vale player at Vale Park until April 2011.[6] However, a shock awaited in the second round, where Scarborough, also of the fourth tier, beat the Vale 1–0 at the McCain Stadium.
In the League Cup, Vale advanced past Second Division Bristol Rovers 4–2 on aggregate, having won 3–1 at the Memorial Stadium. They faced Premier League Manchester United in the second round.[7] Alex Ferguson's "Red Devils" beat John Rudge's "Valiants" 2–1 at Vale Park in front of 18,605 supporters; Lee Glover scored for Vale, and Paul Scholes scored a brace on his United debut. Vale fans were disappointed to witness the then-unknown United reserves at the time.[8] However, Scholes would go on to become a household name, as would teenage teammates Gary Neville, Nicky Butt, and David Beckham; the United first XI would go on to win a combined total of more than 500 international caps throughout their careers.[9] For the second leg there were 31,615 fans at Old Trafford to witness a 2–0 United victory, David May and Brian McClair getting the goals.
Results
Football League First Division
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Charlton Athletic | 46 | 16 | 11 | 19 | 58 | 66 | −8 | 59 |
| 16 | Luton Town | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 61 | 64 | −3 | 58 |
| 17 | Port Vale | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 58 | 64 | −6 | 58 |
| 18 | Portsmouth | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 53 | 63 | −10 | 58 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 51 | 57 | −6 | 58 |
Results by matchday
Matches
| 14 August 1994 1 | Swindon Town | 2–0 | Port Vale | Swindon |
Fjørtoft  22' Scott 80' |
Report | Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 10,431 Referee: M. Pierce |
| 20 August 1994 2 | Port Vale | 3–1 | Oldham Athletic | Burslem |
| Foyle Kenny (og.) Naylor |
Report | Sharp |
Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 10,051 |
| 27 August 1994 3 | Bristol City | 0–0 | Port Vale | Ashton Gate, Bristol |
| Report | Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 8,588 |
| 30 August 1994 4 | Port Vale | 2–1 | Barnsley | Burslem |
| Burke L.Glover |
Report | O'Connell |
Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 7,228 |
| 3 September 1994 5 | Port Vale | 0–1 | Luton Town | Burslem |
| Report | Marshall |
Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 8,541 |
| 10 September 1994 6 | Portsmouth | 0–2 | Port Vale | Portsmouth |
| Report | L.Glover Naylor |
Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 8,989 |
| 13 September 1994 7 | Grimsby Town | 4–1 | Port Vale | Cleethorpes |
| Gilbert Woods Mendonca |
Report | Foyle |
Stadium: Blundell Park Attendance: 3,216 |
| 17 September 1994 8 | Port Vale | 2–1 | Middlesbrough | Burslem |
| L.Glover Naylor |
Report | Pollock |
Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 10,313 |
| 24 September 1994 9 | Port Vale | 0–2 | Sheffield United | Burslem |
| Report | Blake Whitehouse (pen.) |
Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 9,324 |
| 1 October 1994 10 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2–1 | Port Vale | Wolverhampton |
| Thompson 51' (pen.), 79' (pen.) |
Report | Allon 82' |
Stadium: Molineux Stadium Attendance: 27,649 Referee: Eddie Wolstenholme |
| 8 October 1994 11 | Notts County | 2–2 | Port Vale | Nottingham |
| Agana Williams |
Report | Foyle Kelly |
Stadium: Meadow Lane Attendance: 6,903 |
| 15 October 1994 12 | Port Vale | 0–2 | Charlton Athletic | Burslem |
| Report | Whyte Chapple |
Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 7,707 |
| 22 October 1994 13 | Port Vale | 1–1 | Bolton Wanderers | Burslem |
| Allon |
Report | Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 10,003 |
| 29 October 1994 14 | Tranmere Rovers | 1–1 | Port Vale | Prenton |
| Morrissey |
Report | Jeffers |
Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 6,972 |
| 2 November 1994 15 | West Bromwich Albion | 0–0 | Port Vale | West Bromwich |
| Report | Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 14,513 |
| 5 November 1994 16 | Port Vale | 5–0 | Southend United | Burslem |
| Allon Foyle Porter Walker van der Laan |
Report | Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 7,141 |
| 19 November 1994 17 | Derby County | 2–0 | Port Vale | Derby |
| Johnson |
Report | Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 13,357 |
| 26 November 1994 18 | Port Vale | 2–1 | Millwall | Burslem |
| Allon Burke |
Report | Kennedy |
Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 8,016 |
| 29 November 1994 19 | Port Vale | 0–0 | Sunderland | Burslem |
| Report | Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 8,121 Referee: John Brandwood |
| 6 December 1994 20 | Bolton Wanderers | 1–0 | Port Vale | Bolton |
| Patterson |
Report | Stadium: Burnden Park Attendance: 10,324 |
| 10 December 1994 21 | Oldham Athletic | 3–2 | Port Vale | Oldham |
| Ritchie |
Report | Guppy van der Laan |
Stadium: Boundary Park Attendance: 7,712 |
| 17 December 1994 22 | Port Vale | 2–2 | Swindon Town | Burslem |
| Foyle 11', 59' |
Report | Taylor 26' Fjørtoft 51' |
Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 7,747 Referee: Eddie Wolstenholme |
| 28 December 1994 23 | Port Vale | 0–2 | Reading | Burslem |
| Report | Taylor Quinn |
Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 7,891 |
| 31 December 1994 24 | Watford | 3–2 | Port Vale | Watford |
| Foster Ramage Musselwhite (og.) |
Report | Foyle |
Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 7,794 |
| 15 January 1995 25 | Port Vale | 2–0 | Tranmere Rovers | Burslem |
| Foyle Tankard |
Report | Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 7,944 |
| 28 January 1995 26 | Southend United | 1–2 | Port Vale | Southend-on-Sea |
| Thomson |
Report | Foyle van der Laan |
Stadium: Roots Hall Attendance: 3,619 |
| 4 February 1995 27 | Sunderland | 1–1 | Port Vale | Sunderland |
| Ball 24' |
Report | Naylor 36' |
Stadium: Roker Park Attendance: 13,377 Referee: Alan Flood |
| 11 February 1995 28 | Port Vale | 1–0 | West Bromwich Albion | Burslem |
| Guppy |
Report | Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 10,751 |
| 21 February 1995 29 | Port Vale | 1–0 | Derby County | Burslem |
| Kent |
Report | Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 9,387 |
| 25 February 1995 30 | Port Vale | 2–4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Burslem |
| Naylor 18' Kent 56' |
Report | de Wolf 2', 42' (pen.), 68' Bull 45' |
Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 13,676 Referee: J Lloyd |
| 4 March 1995 31 | Sheffield United | 1–1 | Port Vale | Sheffield |
| Veart |
Report | L.Glover |
Stadium: Bramall Lane Attendance: 13,647 |
| 7 March 1995 32 | Luton Town | 2–1 | Port Vale | Luton |
| Dixon Telfer |
Report | Porter |
Stadium: Kenilworth Road Attendance: 5,947 |
| 11 March 1995 33 | Port Vale | 2–1 | Bristol City | Burslem |
| Naylor Scott |
Report | Owers |
Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 7,646 |
| 14 March 1995 34 | Port Vale | 1–1 | Stoke City | Burslem |
| Naylor |
Report | Sandford 33' |
Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 19,510 |
| 18 March 1995 35 | Barnsley | 3–1 | Port Vale | Barnsley |
| Sheridan Liddell |
Report | Allon |
Stadium: Oakwell Attendance: 6,878 |
| 21 March 1995 36 | Port Vale | 1–0 | Portsmouth | Burslem |
| Allon |
Report | Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 7,388 |
| 26 March 1995 37 | Middlesbrough | 3–0 | Port Vale | Middlesbrough |
| Fuchs Vickers Robson |
Report | Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 17,401 |
| 28 March 1995 38 | Burnley | 4–3 | Port Vale | Burnley |
| Nogan 45' Randall 60' Shaw 64' Sandeman 64' (og.) |
Report | Foyle Allon |
Stadium: Turf Moor Attendance: 10,058 |
| 1 April 1995 39 | Port Vale | 1–2 | Grimsby Town | Burslem |
| Naylor |
Report | Laws Livingstone |
Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 7,150 |
| 5 April 1995 40 | Millwall | 1–3 | Port Vale | Bermondsey, Southwark |
| Oldfield |
Report | Bogie Foyle van der Laan |
Stadium: The Den Attendance: 5,260 |
| 15 April 1995 42 | Reading | 3–3 | Port Vale | Reading, Berkshire |
| Nogan |
Report | Bogie Naylor Porter |
Stadium: Elm Park Attendance: 8,635 |
| 17 April 1995 43 | Port Vale | 1–0 | Burnley | Burslem |
| van der Laan 40' |
Report | Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 9,663 |
| 22 April 1995 44 | Stoke City | 0–1 | Port Vale | Stoke-upon-Trent |
| Report | Foyle |
Stadium: Victoria Ground Attendance: 20,429 |
| 29 April 1995 45 | Charlton Athletic | 1–1 | Port Vale | Charlton, London |
| Brown |
Report | Foyle |
Stadium: The Valley Attendance: 12,596 |
| 7 May 1995 46 | Port Vale | 1–1 | Notts County | Burslem |
| Foyle |
Report | McSwegan |
Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 9,542 |
FA Cup
| 12 November 1994 R1 | Port Vale | 6–0 | Hartlepool United | Burslem |
| Allon 38' D.Glover 69' Griffiths Foyle 44', 68', 80' |
Report | Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 6,199 Referee: Steve Lodge |
| 3 December 1994 R2 | Scarborough | 1–0 | Port Vale | Scarborough, North Yorkshire |
| Swann |
Report | Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 2,382 |
League Cup
| 17 August 1994 R1 1st Leg | Bristol Rovers | 1–3 | Port Vale | Bath, Somerset |
| Tillson |
Report | Foyle L.Glover Naylor |
Stadium: Twerton Park Attendance: 3,307 |
| 23 August 1994 R1 2nd Leg | Port Vale | 1–1 (4–2 agg.) | Bristol Rovers | Burslem |
| L.Glover |
Report | Stewart |
Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 4,728 |
| 21 September 1994 R2 1st Leg | Port Vale | 1–2 | Manchester United | Burslem |
| L.Glover |
Report | Scholes 36', 53' |
Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 18,605 |
| 5 October 1994 R2 2nd Leg | Manchester United | 2–0 (4–1 agg.) | Port Vale | Old Trafford |
| McClair 35' May 61' |
Report | Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 31,615 |
Squad statistics
Appearances and goals
- Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | First Division | FA Cup | Other | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||||
| GK |  ENG |
Paul Musselwhite | 50 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| GK |  NED |
Arjan van Heusden | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| DF | ENG |
Neil Aspin | 40 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| DF | ENG |
Peter Billing | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| DF | ENG |
Dean Glover | 35 | 1 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | |||
| DF | ENG |
Gareth Griffiths | 25 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |||
| DF | ENG |
John Morris | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| DF | ENG |
Bradley Sandeman | 41 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| DF | ENG |
Kevin Scott | 17 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| DF | ENG |
Dean Stokes | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| DF | ENG |
Allen Tankard | 45 | 1 | 39 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| MF | ENG |
Ian Bogie | 9 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| MF | ENG |
Mark Burke | 20 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
| MF | ENG |
Wayne Corden | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| MF | ENG |
Steve Guppy | 28 | 2 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| MF |  CAN |
Ollie Heald | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| MF | ENG |
John Jeffers | 11 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| MF | ENG |
Kevin Kent | 27 | 2 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| MF |  WAL |
Craig Lawton | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| MF | ENG |
Andy Porter | 50 | 3 | 44 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| MF | NED |
Robin van der Laan | 50 | 5 | 44 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| MF | ENG |
Ray Walker | 26 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| MF | ENG |
Stewart Talbot | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| FW | ENG |
Joe Allon | 22 | 8 | 19 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
| FW | ENG |
John Burndred | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| FW | ENG |
Martin Foyle | 48 | 20 | 42 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | |||
| FW |  SCO |
Lee Glover | 34 | 7 | 28 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | |||
| FW | ENG |
Tony Naylor | 36 | 10 | 33 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |||
| Players who featured but departed the club during the season: | |||||||||||||
| MF | ENG |
Tony Kelly | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
Top scorers
| Place | Position | Nation | Name | First Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FW | England | Martin Foyle | 16 | 3 | 1 | 20 |
| 2 | FW | England | Tony Naylor | 9 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 3 | FW | England | Joe Allon | 7 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 4 | FW | Scotland | Lee Glover | 4 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 5 | MF | Netherlands | Robin van der Laan | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 6 | MF | England | Andy Porter | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | FW | England | Mark Burke | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| – | MF | England | Ian Bogie | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| – | MF | England | Kevin Kent | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| – | MF | England | Steve Guppy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | MF | England | Tony Kelly | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | MF | England | John Jeffers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | DF | England | Allen Tankard | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | MF | England | Ray Walker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | DF | England | Kevin Scott | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | DF | England | Gareth Griffiths | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| – | DF | England | Dean Glover | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| – | – | Own goals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| TOTALS | 58 | 6 | 5 | 69 | |||
Transfers
Loans in
|
Loans out
|