# 1978–79 Port Vale F.C. season

The 1978–79 season was Port Vale's 67th season of football in the Football League, and their first season (seventh overall) back in the Fourth Division following their relegation from the Third Division. Bernie Wright was highly impressive with his fifteen goals, though the rest of the team limped to a sixteenth-place finish, and exited both cup competitions at the first stage. This occurred with unrest in the boardroom behind the scenes, unrest amongst fans on the terraces, and annoyance from Butler towards the fans for abusing his players. Butler broke club transfer-records in both signing players and selling them.

## Overview
### Fourth Division

The pre-season saw new manager Dennis Butler sign big striker Bernie Wright from Bradford City for £9,000 and right-back Neil Wilkinson on a free transfer from Blackburn Rovers. Butler also took the team on a three match tour of Scotland. Just before the start of the season Ken Todd was signed for a club-record £37,000, despite Todd having only made a handful of appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers. In the summer former Valiant Tommy McLaren committed suicide, friend and teammate Ray Williams said 'leaving the club shattered him'. On 2 October a Memorial Fund match was played, raising £3,000.
The season opened with just two victories in eleven league games, as both Todd and keeper John Connaughton were sidelined with injuries. The two wins came away from home, 5–1 over rivals Crewe Alexandra at Gresty Road (Wright scoring a hat-trick) and 3–1 at Doncaster Rovers at the Keepmoat Stadium. Butler then threw himself into the transfer market, selling John Froggatt to Northampton Town for £8,000, and then Mick Moore and Terry Bailey to Wigan Athletic and Northwich Victoria respectively, both for £2,000. Another 'shrewd piece of business' came when star forward Ken Beamish was sold to Bury for £35,000, whilst Gerry Keenan moved the other way for £15,000. In October, Felix Healy was signed from Finn Harps for £8,000, and Neil Wilkinson and £3,000 were traded to Crewe in exchange for outside-right Kevin Tully. Winning five games in a sequence of eight, Todd was still a disappointment to fans, who began getting 'on his back'. Butler's signings did not stop however, and instead he sold John Ridley to Leicester City for a club-record £55,000. He then signed Andy Proudlove from Buxton for £1,000 – despite interest from Stafford Rangers. Then in came midfielder Peter Farrell from Bury for a new club-record £40,000. They ended their club-record streaks of 42 away games without keeping a clean sheet on 30 September, and of twelve home games without a win on 21 October.
Going into December four games unbeaten, Butler then splashed out £30,000 on Chester's Bob Delgado. Despite this, Vale were thumped 6–2 by Barnsley in front of 10,532 at Oakwell. In January, legendary England goalkeeper Gordon Banks was appointed as coach, and results began to pick up as Vale were lifted into eighth spot. Healy left the club in February, only to return two weeks later. Behind the scenes there was trouble when Arthur McPherson ruled that club shares could only be transferable to a male relation, in order 'to safeguard plans by the current directors'. More defeats came, and the big money signings were targeted by fans for abuse. Butler reacted by calling the fans 'a bunch of yobs'. From mid-March, Vale went seven games with only one victory and one goal scored. On 21 March violence returned to Vale Park, when Portsmouth keeper Peter Mellor saved a penalty, floored Peter Farrell and made an 'assortment of gestures' to the Bycars End – he found himself attacked by a Vale fan on the pitch for his efforts. On 13 April, Vale surrendered a three-goal lead at Springfield Park to lose 5–3 to Wigan Athletic. Danger of ending up in the re-election zone was ended with a late four game unbeaten spell, despite heavy defeats from Reading and York City.
They finished in sixteenth place with 42 points, with an awful defensive record of seventy goals conceded. Despite this, their scoring tally away from Burslem was the highest in the Football League, and they were given £2,125 as a reward. Player of the Year Bernie Wright secured fifteen goals in what was a poor season for the club.

### Finances

On the financial side, a record £52,000 loss was made despite a remarkable £225,000 income from the club's commercial department. Butler's transfer dealings had lost the club £36,000, whilst wages more than doubled from £113,000 to £259,000. The club's liabilities stood at £187,000. Despite all of this, the club made 'surprisingly sparing use of the pruning knife', letting go of just four players, most significantly David Harris (Halifax Town) and Andy Proudlove (Stafford Rangers). Behind the scenes, long-time club servant and president Mark Singer was fired. However, chairman Arthur McPherson did not comment to the press.

### Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, weeks of preparation in Blackpool failed to prevent Vale from exiting at the first stage with a 1–0 defeat to Bradford City at Valley Parade.
In the League Cup, Third Division Chester knocked the Vale out 4–1 on aggregate.

## League table

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 14 | Hereford United | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 53 | 53 | 0 | 43 |
| 15 | Bradford City | 46 | 17 | 9 | 20 | 62 | 68 | −6 | 43 |
| 16 | Port Vale | 46 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 57 | 70 | −13 | 42 |
| 17 | Stockport County | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 58 | 60 | −2 | 40 |
| 18 | AFC Bournemouth | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 47 | 48 | −1 | 39 |

## Results

Port Vale's score comes first

### Football League Fourth 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 | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A |
| Result | D | L | W | D | D | W | L | L | D | L | D | W | W | L | L | W | W | D | W | L | L | W | W | D | L | L | L | D | W | L | D | W | L | D | L | D | L | W | L | D | W | D | D | L | L | W |
| Position | 9 | 17 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 16 |

#### Matches

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 19 August 1978 | Scunthorpe United | H | 2–2 | 3,027 | Wright, Bromage |
| 22 August 1978 | Wimbledon | A | 0–1 | 2,638 | |
| 25 August 1978 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 5–1 | 4,413 | Wright (3), Bloor, Beamish |
| 2 September 1978 | Rochdale | H | 1–1 | 3,222 | Beamish |
| 9 September 1978 | Aldershot | H | 1–1 | 3,045 | Beamish |
| 12 September 1978 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 3–1 | 3,405 | Bromage, Todd, Beamish |
| 16 September 1978 | Portsmouth | A | 0–2 | 9,937 | |
| 23 September 1978 | Bournemouth | H | 1–2 | 3,140 | Griffiths (pen) |
| 26 September 1978 | Northampton Town | H | 2–2 | 3,245 | N.Chamberlain (2) |
| 30 September 1978 | Hereford United | A | 0–1 | 3,963 | |
| 7 October 1978 | Grimsby Town | H | 1–1 | 3,433 | N.Chamberlain |
| 14 October 1978 | Halifax Town | A | 3–0 | 1,591 | Wright (2), Tully |
| 18 October 1978 | Bradford City | A | 3–2 | 4,136 | Sutcliffe, Wright, Healy |
| 21 October 1978 | Torquay United | H | 1–2 | 4,108 | Todd |
| 28 October 1978 | Darlington | A | 0–4 | 1,793 | |
| 4 November 1978 | Hartlepool United | H | 2–0 | 3,195 | N.Chamberlain, Beech |
| 11 November 1978 | Rochdale | A | 1–0 | 1,882 | Keenan |
| 18 November 1978 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 2–2 | 4,607 | Farrell (pen), Healy |
| 9 December 1978 | Stockport County | H | 2–1 | 3,689 | Wright, Farrell (pen) |
| 26 December 1978 | Barnsley | A | 2–6 | 10,532 | Todd, Keenan |
| 30 December 1978 | Newport County | A | 0–1 | 4,075 | |
| 1 January 1979 | Huddersfield Town | H | 1–0 | 4,021 | Wright |
| 9 January 1979 | Wigan Athletic | H | 2–1 | 3,746 | Wright, Todd |
| 13 January 1979 | Aldershot | A | 1–1 | 3,708 | Sinclair |
| 16 January 1979 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 1–3 | 3,381 | o.g. |
| 6 February 1979 | Bournemouth | A | 1–3 | 3,416 | o.g. |
| 24 February 1979 | Halifax Town | H | 0–1 | 3,117 | |
| 3 March 1979 | Torquay United | A | 2–2 | 1,711 | Todd, Wright |
| 10 March 1979 | Darlington | H | 2–1 | 2,566 | Hawkins, Beech |
| 13 March 1979 | Northampton Town | A | 0–1 | 1,572 | |
| 21 March 1979 | Portsmouth | H | 0–0 | 2,738 | |
| 24 March 1979 | Wimbledon | H | 1–0 | 2,906 | Beech |
| 27 March 1979 | Scunthorpe United | A | 0–2 | 1,580 | |
| 31 March 1979 | Reading | A | 0–0 | 6,704 | |
| 3 April 1979 | Grimsby Town | A | 0–1 | 8,072 | |
| 7 April 1979 | York City | H | 0–0 | 2,712 | |
| 13 April 1979 | Wigan Athletic | A | 3–5 | 8,452 | Todd (2), Wright |
| 14 April 1979 | Barnsley | H | 3–2 | 5,226 | N.Chamberlain, Wright, Todd |
| 16 April 1979 | Huddersfield Town | A | 2–3 | 3,236 | M.Chamberlain, Beech |
| 21 April 1979 | Newport County | H | 1–1 | 2,444 | Wright |
| 24 April 1979 | Bradford City | H | 2–1 | 2,264 | Farrell, N.Chamberlain |
| 27 April 1979 | Stockport County | A | 0–0 | 3,345 | |
| 1 May 1979 | Hereford United | H | 1–1 | 2,160 | Hawkins |
| 5 May 1979 | Reading | H | 0–3 | 3,603 | |
| 7 May 1979 | York City | A | 0–4 | 2,344 | |
| 10 May 1979 | Hartlepool United | A | 2–1 | 2,007 | Sinclair, Farrell |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 25 November 1978 | Bradford City | A | 0–1 | 5,625 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 1st Leg | 12 August 1978 | Chester | H | 0–3 | 2,819 | |
| R1 2nd Leg | 16 August 1978 | Chester | A | 1–1 | 3,741 | Wright |

## Player statistics
### Appearances and goals

| Pos. | Name | Football League | Football League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | John Connaughton | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| GK | Trevor Dance | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| DF | Neil Griffiths | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 1 |
| DF | David Harris | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| DF | Phil Sproson | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| DF | Graham Hawkins | 43 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 2 |
| DF | Bill Bentley | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| DF | Neil Wilkinson | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| DF | Gerry Keenan | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 2 |
| DF | Bob Delgado | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| DF | Billy Leese | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DF | Russell Bromage | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 2 |
| MF | John Ridley | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| MF | Terry Bailey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Kenny Beech | 23 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 4 |
| MF | Peter Sutcliffe | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| MF | Mick Moore | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Andy Proudlove | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| MF | Ged Stenson | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| MF | Ken Todd | 41 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 8 |
| MF | Kevin Tully | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| MF | Mark Chamberlain | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| MF | Peter Farrell | 28 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 4 |
| MF | Ian Elsby | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| MF | Alan Bloor | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| MF | Felix Healy | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2 |
| FW | Ken Beamish | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 4 |
| FW | John Froggatt | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| FW | Neville Chamberlain | 26 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 6 |
| FW | Bernie Wright | 46 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 48 | 15 |
| FW | Brian Sinclair | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 2 |

### Top scorers

| Place | Position | Nation | Name | Fourth Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | England | Bernie Wright | 14 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| 2 | MF | England | Ken Todd | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 3 | FW | England | Neville Chamberlain | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | MF | England | Kenny Beech | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| – | MF | England | Peter Farrell | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| – | FW | England | Ken Beamish | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | DF | England | Graham Hawkins | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| – | DF | England | Gerry Keenan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| – | MF | Northern Ireland | Felix Healy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| – | FW | England | Brian Sinclair | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| – | DF | England | Russell Bromage | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | MF | England | Kevin Tully | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | MF | England | Mark Chamberlain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | MF | England | Alan Bloor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | MF | England | Peter Sutcliffe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | DF | England | Neil Griffiths | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | – | – | Own goals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| | | | TOTALS | 57 | 0 | 1 | 60 |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| June 1978 | DF | Neil Wilkinson | Blackburn Rovers | Free transfer |
| June 1978 | FW | Bernie Wright | Bradford City | £9,000 |
| August 1978 | FW | Brian Sinclair | Blackpool | Free transfer |
| August 1978 | MF | Ken Todd | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £37,000 |
| September 1978 | MF | Paul Bennett | Everton | Free transfer |
| September 1978 | DF | Gerry Keenan | Bury | £15,000 |
| October 1978 | FW | Felix Healy | Finn Harps | £8,000 |
| October 1978 | MF | Kevin Tully | Crewe Alexandra | Exchange |
| November 1978 | MF | Peter Farrell | Bury | £40,000 |
| November 1978 | MF | Andy Proudlove | Buxton | £1,000 |
| December 1978 | DF | Bob Delgado | Chester | £30,000 |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| August 1978 | MF | Terry Bailey | Northwich Victoria | £2,000 |
| August 1978 | MF | Mick Moore | Wigan Athletic | £2,000 |
| September 1978 | DF | Alan Bloor | Retired | Retired |
| September 1978 | FW | John Froggatt | Northampton Town | £8,000 |
| September 1978 | FW | Ken Beamish | Bury | £35,000 |
| October 1978 | MF | John Ridley | Leicester City | £55,000 |
| October 1978 | DF | Neil Wilkinson | Crewe Alexandra | Exchange |
| December 1978 | MF | Peter Sutcliffe | Chester City | £15,000 |
| May 1979 | DF | David Harris | Halifax Town | Free transfer |
| May 1979 | MF | Andy Proudlove | Stafford Rangers | Free transfer |

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Date to |
| May 1978 | GK | Trevor Dance | Stoke City | May 1978 |
| May 1978 | MF | Ian Elsby | Cleveland Cobras | August 1978 |
| May 1978 | DF | Neil Griffiths | Cleveland Cobras | August 1978 |
| May 1978 | DF | Billy Leese | Cleveland Cobras | July 1978 |
| May 1978 | MF | John Ridley | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | August 1978 |
| August 1978 | GK | Trevor Dance | Cleveland Cobras | August 1978 |