# 1987–88 Port Vale F.C. season

The 1987–88 season was Port Vale's 76th season of football in the English Football League, and second-successive (17th overall) season in the Third Division. John Rudge's side started the season well, but then suffered following the sale of star striker Andy Jones. Just as Rudge seemed to be struggling, the Vale earned a memorable 2–1 victory over top-flight Tottenham Hotspur at Vale Park in the FA Cup Fourth Round. They exited the competition at the next stage at the hands of Watford, following a replay. Vale's league form also improved, as they finished in eleventh place, helped by midfielders Ray Walker and Robbie Earle, defenders Phil Sproson and Bob Hazell, and goalkeeper Mark Grew. Darren Beckford and David Riley were joint-top-scorers with ten goals each. Vale exited the League Cup and the Associate Members' Cup at the first round.

## Overview
### Third Division

The pre-season saw Russell Bromage traded to Bristol City in exchange for Lawrie Pearson and £25,000. Jon Bowden was also sold to Wrexham for £12,500. The club also announced a new sponsorship deal with ABC Minolta, whilst the English Football League announced that midweek games would be played on Monday nights instead of Tuesday nights. John Rudge bought Darren Beckford from Manchester City for £15,000.
The season began with Andy Jones scoring all four goals in his 100th appearance for the club to beat Aldershot 4–2. With Pearson performing poorly, Darren Hughes was signed from Brighton & Hove Albion for a £10,000 fee. Paul Smith was also offloaded to Lincoln City for £40,000. Vale then won three consecutive games to go top of the table. After goal machine Andy Jones was sold to First Division Charlton Athletic for £350,000 – a sale Rudge described as like 'cutting off my right arm' – Vale slid down the table. Alex Williams was also forced to retire with a back injury, leading to the return of a fit-again Mark Grew in goal. More injuries came as Chris Banks had his nose broken after a reserve team match at Barnsley when he was attacked by a gang of youths whilst waiting at a fish and chip shop. Alan Webb then suffered second-degree burns at Preston North End's plastic pitch at Deepdale. The next month Rudge tried to replace Jones when he signed David Riley from Nottingham Forest for £20,000. Despite a good start, Riley soon entered a goal drought, as Vale went twelve league games without a win (including eight defeats). Robbie Earle missed much of this period with a hernia injury. In November Kevin Steggles was signed from West Bromwich Albion for 'a small fee' to replace the still-injured Webb. More signings were made with former England international Peter Barnes arriving on loan from Manchester City, and 'hard-working' Simon Mills purchased from York City for £35,000.
Rumours of a Rudge exit from Vale Park came after Alan Oakes quit in protest after being demoted to youth coach, and 'taskmaster' Mike Pejic was promoted in his place. Nevertheless, he signed Gary Ford from Leicester City for £36,000, whilst Pearson had his contract cancelled by mutual consent. Michael Cole also arrived on loan from Ipswich Town. Rudge switched from a formation of 4–4–2 to 4–3–3 and only one defeat followed in the next thirteen league games. As Barnes returned to Manchester, Richard O'Kelly was transferred to Walsall. Cole was replaced by another loanee Dean Holdsworth (from Watford), who found greater success with Vale. However, Gary Hamson was forced to retire through injury. A 5–0 win over Doncaster Rovers on 2 April helped the Vale into tenth place, giving Vale a faint hope of reaching the play-offs. Vale ended the season poorly however, winning just two of their final nine games.
They finished in eleventh place with 65 points, ten points short of play-off contenders Bristol City. Top-scorers Beckford and Riley had managed ten goals each, just four more than Jones had done in his eight games. Ray Walker was honoured with the club's Player of the Year award and was selected for the PFA's Third Division Team of the Year.

### Finances

On the financial side, the cup run and sale of Jones had raised a record profit of £410,239. Match receipts had increased by 67% to £380,387, whilst advertising and broadcast revenues had more than doubled to £157,861. The club's shirt sponsors were ABC Minolta Copiers. The wage bill had also fallen to £367,836. Three players were given free transfers at the season's end: Kevin Steggles (Bury Town), Chris Banks (Exeter City), and Paul Maguire (Northwich Victoria).

### Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale put in their 'worst away performance of the season' in a 2–2 draw at Prenton Park. They managed to beat Tranmere Rovers 3–1 in the replay in Burslem. A 'splendid' performance then defeated Notts County 2–0. They overcame non-League Macclesfield Town with a lunging headed goal from Kevin Finney booking a Fourth Round home tie with Tottenham Hotspur after Macclesfield had come close to taking the lead when John Askey hit the post in the first half. Ground improvements increased Vale Park's capacity, though a watered-down pitch persuaded "Spurs" boss Terry Venables to leave star man Osvaldo Ardiles on the bench. Despite this, TV pundit Jimmy Greaves reckoned that "The only trouble Spurs will have at Port Vale, is finding the place." As it happened 20,045 turned up to witness a 'famous' 2–1 victory. The "Valiants" were in 'another gear' as Ray Walker nailed a 'stunning' 25 yards (23 m) strike and Phil Sproson scored the second vital goal. The club received £80,000 for the game from the BBC, with the match also broadcast on radio in Australia. The fourth round held Watford, and 22,483 turned up for the original goalless tie in Stoke-on-Trent (the highest Vale Park attendance since the visit of Liverpool in 1964). Grew received a lot of praise for his clean sheet performance. A further £87,699 was taken from the game. At the replay three days later at Vicarage Road Vale were eliminated 2–0, though Vale were delighted with their £175,000 winning cup run.
In the League Cup, 3,460 saw Vale's opening tie with Northampton Town fail 'to produce the passion of a schoolyard kickabout', though both sides had two players sent off in the 2–0 defeat. Vale were then thumped 4–0 at Sixfields to exit the tournament 6–0 on aggregate.
In the Associate Members' Cup, Fourth Division strugglers Newport County beat the Vale 2–0 at Somerton Park, though a 2–0 home win over Exeter City took the Vale through the group stage. They then were eliminated by Torquay United at Plainmoor with a 1–0 loss.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 9 | Fulham | 46 | 19 | 9 | 18 | 69 | 60 | +9 | 66 |
| 10 | Blackpool | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 71 | 62 | +9 | 65 |
| 11 | Port Vale | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 58 | 56 | +2 | 65 |
| 12 | Brentford | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 53 | 59 | −6 | 62 |
| 13 | Gillingham | 46 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 77 | 61 | +16 | 59 |

## Results

Port Vale's score comes first

### Football League Third Division
#### Results by matchday

| 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 | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H |
| Result | W | D | L | W | W | W | D | L | W | L | L | W | W | L | D | L | D | D | L | L | L | D | L | L | L | W | D | W | W | W | L | W | W | D | W | W | W | D | L | L | D | L | W | L | W | D |
| Position | 2 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 11 |

#### Matches

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 15 August 1987 | Aldershot | H | 4–2 | 3,160 | Jones (4 [1 pen]) |
| 29 August 1987 | Rotherham United | H | 0–0 | 2,895 | |
| 31 August 1987 | Bristol City | A | 0–1 | 8,716 | |
| 5 September 1987 | York City | H | 2–1 | 2,711 | Jones, Harper |
| 12 September 1987 | Chesterfield | A | 3–1 | 2,406 | Earle, Jones, O'Kelly |
| 14 September 1987 | Southend United | H | 4–1 | 3,670 | Maguire (2), Walker, Harper |
| 19 September 1987 | Fulham | H | 1–1 | 3,894 | Maguire (pen) |
| 26 September 1987 | Northampton Town | A | 0–1 | 5,072 | |
| 28 September 1987 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 2–0 | 3,789 | Beckford, Hughes |
| 3 October 1987 | Brentford | A | 0–1 | 4,007 | |
| 10 October 1987 | Preston North End | A | 2–3 | 6,375 | Walker (2) |
| 17 October 1987 | Bury | H | 1–0 | 3,235 | Beckford |
| 19 October 1987 | Bristol Rovers | H | 2–1 | 3,598 | Maguire (pen), Riley |
| 24 October 1987 | Walsall | A | 1–2 | 6,083 | Riley |
| 31 October 1987 | Gillingham | H | 0–0 | 3,495 | |
| 4 November 1987 | Chester City | A | 0–1 | 2,825 | |
| 7 November 1987 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 1–1 | 1,365 | Sproson |
| 22 November 1987 | Blackpool | H | 0–0 | 3,594 | |
| 28 November 1987 | Sunderland | A | 1–2 | 15,655 | Riley |
| 12 December 1987 | Notts County | H | 1–3 | 3,358 | Riley |
| 20 December 1987 | Mansfield Town | A | 0–4 | 3,173 | |
| 26 December 1987 | Northampton Town | H | 1–1 | 4,446 | Hamson (pen) |
| 28 December 1987 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–3 | 2,941 | Hamson |
| 1 January 1988 | Rotherham United | A | 0–1 | 3,911 | |
| 2 January 1988 | Chesterfield | H | 0–1 | 3,495 | |
| 16 January 1988 | Fulham | A | 2–1 | 3,792 | Mills, Riley |
| 22 January 1988 | Southend United | A | 3–3 | 3,038 | Riley, Ford, Mills |
| 6 February 1988 | York City | A | 3–2 | 2,420 | Cole, Sproson, Mills |
| 13 February 1988 | Grimsby Town | H | 2–0 | 3,417 | Earle (2) |
| 27 February 1988 | Brentford | H | 1–0 | 3,876 | Beckford |
| 2 March 1988 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 0–2 | 7,303 | |
| 5 March 1988 | Bury | A | 1–0 | 2,635 | Beckford |
| 12 March 1988 | Preston North End | H | 3–2 | 4,647 | Sproson, Walker, o.g. |
| 19 March 1988 | Gillingham | A | 0–0 | 3,367 | |
| 26 March 1988 | Walsall | H | 2–1 | 6,347 | Holdsworth, Riley |
| 2 April 1988 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 5–0 | 3,680 | Beckford (3 [1 pen]), Riley, Walker |
| 4 April 1988 | Blackpool | A | 2–1 | 5,516 | Ford, Beckford |
| 9 April 1988 | Chester City | H | 1–1 | 4,278 | Holdsworth |
| 12 April 1988 | Wigan Athletic | A | 0–2 | 4,438 | |
| 15 April 1988 | Aldershot | A | 0–3 | 2,257 | |
| 18 April 1988 | Bristol City | H | 1–1 | 2,671 | Mills |
| 23 April 1988 | Bristol Rovers | A | 0–1 | 3,280 | |
| 25 April 1988 | Wigan Athletic | H | 2–1 | 3,044 | Ford, Walker |
| 30 April 1988 | Sunderland | H | 0–1 | 7,569 | |
| 2 May 1988 | Notts County | A | 2–1 | 7,702 | Beckford, Earle |
| 7 May 1988 | Mansfield Town | H | 1–1 | 3,617 | Mills |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 14 November 1987 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 2–2 | 4,035 | Maguire, o.g. |
| R1 Replay | 16 November 1987 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 3–1 | 4,097 | O'Kelly, Hamson, Riley |
| R2 | 5 December 1987 | Notts County | H | 2–0 | 5,039 | Beckford, Sproson |
| R3 | 10 January 1988 | Macclesfield Town | H | 1–0 | 10,808 | Finney |
| R4 | 30 January 1988 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 2–1 | 20,045 | Walker, Sproson |
| R5 | 20 February 1988 | Watford | H | 0–0 | 22,483 | |
| R5 Replay | 23 February 1988 | Watford | A | 0–2 | 18,539 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 1st Leg | 17 August 1987 | Northampton Town | H | 0–1 | 3,460 | |
| R1 2nd Leg | 2 September 1987 | Northampton Town | A | 0–4 | 4,748 | |

### Associate Members' Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| P | 13 October 1987 | Newport County | A | 0–2 | 569 | |
| P | 26 October 1987 | Exeter City | H | 2–0 | 2,176 | O'Kelly, Riley |
| R1 | 19 January 1988 | Torquay United | A | 0–1 | 2,624 | |

## Player statistics
### Appearances and goals

| Pos. | Name | Football League | Football League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Associate Members' Cup | Associate Members' Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Alex Williams | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| GK | Mark Grew | 41 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 50 | 0 |
| GK | Alan Simons | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | Phil Sproson | 44 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 5 |
| DF | Alan Webb | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| DF | Chris Banks | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| DF | Bob Hazell | 43 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 52 | 0 |
| DF | Simon Mills | 19 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 5 |
| DF | Lawrie Pearson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| DF | Kevin Steggles | 20 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| DF | Darren Hughes | 43 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 53 | 1 |
| MF | Robbie Earle | 25 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 4 |
| MF | Paul Maguire | 28 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 38 | 5 |
| MF | Andy Porter | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| MF | Paul Smith | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | Gary Hamson | 11 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 3 |
| MF | Ray Walker | 42 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 53 | 7 |
| MF | Steve Harper | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 2 |
| MF | Kevin Finney | 15 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 1 |
| MF | Gary Ford | 23 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 3 |
| MF | Steve Davies | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| FW | Andy Jones | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 6 |
| FW | Richard O'Kelly | 16 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 3 |
| FW | Darren Beckford | 40 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 10 |
| FW | Brian Palgrave | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | David Riley | 34 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 42 | 10 |
| FW | Dean Holdsworth | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| FW | Michael Cole | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| FW | Peter Barnes | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |

### Top scorers

| Place | Position | Nation | Name | Third Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Associate Members' Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | England | Darren Beckford | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| – | FW | England | David Riley | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 3 | MF | England | Ray Walker | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 4 | FW | Wales | Andy Jones | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | DF | England | Simon Mills | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| – | MF | Scotland | Paul Maguire | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| – | DF | England | Phil Sproson | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | MF | Jamaica | Robbie Earle | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | MF | England | Gary Ford | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| – | MF | England | Gary Hamson | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| – | FW | England | Richard O'Kelly | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 12 | MF | England | Steve Harper | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| – | FW | England | Dean Holdsworth | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 14 | FW | England | Michael Cole | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | DF | England | Darren Hughes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | MF | England | Kevin Finney | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | | – | Own goals | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| | | | TOTALS | 58 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 70 |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| August 1987 | DF | Lawrie Pearson | Bristol City | Exchange |
| September 1987 | DF | Darren Hughes | Brighton & Hove Albion | £5,000 |
| October 1987 | FW | Brian Palgrave | Walsall | Trial |
| 19 October 1987 | FW | David Riley | Nottingham Forest | £20,000 |
| 28 November 1987 | DF | Kevin Steggles | West Bromwich Albion | 'small' |
| December 1987 | MF | Steve Davies | Congleton Town | Free transfer |
| 24 December 1987 | DF | Simon Mills | York City | £35,000 |
| 31 December 1987 | MF | Gary Ford | Leicester City | £35,000 |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 26 September 1987 | FW | Andy Jones | Charlton Athletic | £175,000 |
| September 1987 | MF | Paul Smith | Lincoln City | £40,000 |
| September 1987 | GK | Alex Williams | Retired | Retired |
| January 1988 | FW | Richard O'Kelly | Walsall | Free transfer |
| January 1988 | FW | Brian Palgrave | Nuneaton Borough | Trial ended |
| January 1988 | DF | Lawrie Pearson | Whitley Bay | Mutual consent |
| March 1988 | MF | Gary Hamson | Retired | Retired |
| March 1988 | GK | Alan Simons | | Released |
| May 1988 | MF | Paul Maguire | Northwich Victoria | Free transfer |
| May 1988 | DF | Kevin Steggles | Bury Town | Free transfer |
| June 1988 | DF | Chris Banks | Exeter City | Free transfer |

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Date to |
| 2 September 1987 | DF | Darren Hughes | Brighton & Hove Albion | September 1987 |
| 19 December 1987 | MF | Peter Barnes | Manchester City | 1988 |
| 15 January 1988 | FW | Michael Cole | Ipswich Town | 29 January 1988 |
| 18 March 1988 | FW | Dean Holdsworth | Watford | End of season |