# 1969–70 Port Vale F.C. season

The 1969–70 season was Port Vale's 58th season of football in the English Football League and their fifth-successive season (sixth overall) in the Fourth Division. They achieved promotion with a fourth-place finish, taking them back into the Third Division. They started the season with an eighteen-match unbeaten run in the league and finished with nine games unbeaten following a dip in form around January. Manager Gordon Lee credited the teamwork and fitness of an extremely settled side for the promotion campaign, as ten players made at least 35 league appearances.

## Overview
### Fourth Division

In the pre-season, there were talks of bringing speedway to Vale Park, introducing a new team to the British League Division Two. However, many were opposed to the idea, and a 2,600 strong petition was given to local MP John Forrester. The idea was killed when the council failed to grant planning permission, despite a 3,000 strong petition in favour of the proposal. The club had hoped to profit from the venture; however, many locals were concerned about noise pollution. Gordon Lee meanwhile had little in the way of funds when it came to signing new players, and so he was only able to bring in three new attackers on free transfers: Ken Wookey (Newport County); Stuart Shaw (Southport); and Eric Magee (Oldham Athletic).
They continued from their unbeaten result at the end of the previous season to make a club-record unbeaten sequence of ten away games and nineteen games home and away {5 May to 8 November}. Five of these results were goalless draws, as the defence proved stronger than the attack following the departure of top-scorer Roy Chapman at the end of the previous season. Nevertheless, the run put them at the top of the table. Lee credited his team's hard work and fitness. John James played on despite an injured ankle, Mick Morris found himself a permanent fixture as an energetic utility man, whilst Tommy McLaren also worked his way into the first XI. The defence conceded just six goals in the opening fifteen league games. The run included a 1–0 win over Chesterfield at Saltergate, a 2–0 win over nearby Crewe Alexandra in front of a season-best Burslem crowd of 12,538, and a 'war of attrition' in a 1–1 draw 'full of ugly incidents' with Wrexham at the Racecourse Ground in front of a crowd of 19,946. Some 5,000 Vale supporters had travelled to Wrexham on a British Rail 'Soccer Special' to witness the top-of-the-table clash, and saw two red cards as Wrexham's Steve Ingle and Vale's John James were both sent off. Their 22 November fixture at the Old Showground with Scunthorpe United could have seen the Vale equal the best start to an English League season in the twentieth century. After a Wookey goal put them ahead they lost after a disputed penalty and a bizarre own goal from Roy Sproson. Meanwhile, Vale could not afford the £500 registration fee for Ian Buxton following the player's departure from Notts County. So the club could only sign him for an initial three-month period.
Injuries and suspensions helped to dent the Vale's form, as they lost their status as league leaders. On 17 January, Sproson made his 800th senior appearance in a 2–0 victory over Exeter City. In an attempt to lift the club, Lee signed wing-half Tony Lacey on loan from Stoke City, and also bought Bill Summerscales from Leek Town for £400. Heading into a six-game unbeaten run, Lee signed Buxton permanently despite the player's decision to retire at the end of the season. On 21 February, Vale defeated Bradford (Park Avenue) in "wretched conditions" by four goals to one, with James scoring a hat-trick. In March, Chairman Arthur McPherson pleaded guilty to receiving stolen goods and was sentenced to an eighteen-month suspended sentence and fined £1,500. Resigning his position at the club, he was replaced by Mark Singer. On 9 March, the match against Hartlepool had to be suspended for five minutes after Vale fans continually pelted the opposition keeper with snowballs. Signing Lacey permanently for £2,500, and Sammy Morgan on a free from Gorleston, Vale were in a close battle for promotion . Unbeaten in their final nine games, they secured promotion with what The Sentinel's Peter Hewitt called a 'blockade formula' – they conceded just four goals in this run.
They finished in fourth place with 59 points, three points clear of fifth place. His side promoted, Lee said that 'no team could have deserved reward as much for their hard work and strength of character'. With 33 goals conceded, only Chesterfield conceded fewer. Only seventeen players were used all season, whilst eight barely missed a game between them. On 31 May, they played a Potteries derby friendly with First Division Stoke and won 3–2 at the Victoria Ground.

### Finances

On the financial side, a loss of £3,003 was made despite fundraising donations of £17,925. Gate receipts were up by over £13,000 as home attendances were encouraging. However, expenditure had increased, and there was a transfer deficit of £2,900. Six players were let go at the season's end, including Ken Wookey (Workington); Stuart Shaw (Morecambe); Eric Magee (Linfield); Stuart Chapman (Stafford Rangers); and Gordon Logan (Kettering Town).

### Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, they had to overcome Northern Premier League Wigan Athletic at Springfield Park, but could only manage a 1–1 draw. After a 2–2 draw back in Stoke-on-Trent, the second replay was held at Old Trafford, Manchester. James scored two minutes from the end of extra time to kill off the non-leaguers finally. After a 3–1 defeat at Prenton Park to Tranmere Rovers in a replay, the Vale were out of the competition with a profit of £5,000 from their five games.
In the League Cup, a First Round exit came courtesy of Third Division Tranmere Rovers at Vale Park.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 2 | Wrexham | 46 | 26 | 9 | 11 | 84 | 49 | 1.714 | 61 | Promoted |
| 3 | Swansea City | 46 | 21 | 18 | 7 | 66 | 45 | 1.467 | 60 | Promoted |
| 4 | Port Vale | 46 | 20 | 19 | 7 | 61 | 33 | 1.848 | 59 | Promoted |
| 5 | Brentford | 46 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 58 | 39 | 1.487 | 56 | |
| 6 | Aldershot | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 78 | 65 | 1.200 | 53 | Qualified for 1970 Watney Cup |
* ↑ The two teams who scored the most goals in each division, and did not qualify for Europe and were not promoted, qualified for the Watney Cup.

## 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 | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H |
| Result | D | W | W | D | D | W | W | W | W | W | D | D | D | W | D | D | W | W | L | W | W | D | L | L | W | L | L | D | W | W | D | W | W | L | D | W | L | W | D | W | D | W | D | D | D | D |
| Position | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 |

#### Matches

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 9 August 1969 | Peterborough United | H | 0–0 | 5,453 | |
| 16 August 1969 | Chesterfield | A | 1–0 | 5,062 | Sproson |
| 23 August 1969 | Northampton Town | H | 4–1 | 4,809 | Green, Wookey, Gough, Magee |
| 27 August 1969 | Lincoln City | A | 0–0 | 6,865 | |
| 30 August 1969 | Colchester United | A | 0–0 | 6,323 | |
| 6 September 1969 | Chester | H | 3–0 | 6,874 | James, Wookey, Green |
| 13 September 1969 | Oldham Athletic | A | 3–2 | 5,777 | Gough, Logan, James |
| 15 September 1969 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 2–0 | 12,538 | James, Morris |
| 20 September 1969 | Grimsby Town | H | 1–0 | 8,787 | James (pen) |
| 27 September 1969 | Exeter City | A | 2–1 | 5,503 | Green, McLaren |
| 29 September 1969 | Southend United | A | 1–1 | 7,704 | James |
| 4 October 1969 | Aldershot | H | 0–0 | 8,858 | |
| 6 October 1969 | Chesterfield | H | 1–1 | 9,506 | Wookey |
| 11 October 1969 | York City | A | 1–0 | 7,195 | Gough |
| 18 October 1969 | Swansea City | H | 0–0 | 7,195 | |
| 25 October 1969 | Wrexham | A | 1–1 | 19,946 | McLaren |
| 1 November 1969 | Newport County | H | 3–1 | 7,477 | Sproson (2), Boulton |
| 8 November 1969 | Bradford Park Avenue | A | 2–1 | 3,498 | o.g., Boulton |
| 22 November 1969 | Scunthorpe United | A | 1–2 | 5,750 | Wookey |
| 29 November 1969 | Workington | H | 3–1 | 4,891 | James (2), Sproson |
| 13 December 1969 | Oldham Athletic | H | 1–0 | 5,387 | Buxton |
| 20 December 1969 | Chester | A | 1–1 | 5,235 | McLaren |
| 26 December 1969 | Northampton Town | A | 0–2 | 7,522 | |
| 10 January 1970 | Grimsby Town | A | 0–2 | 4,654 | |
| 17 January 1970 | Exeter City | H | 2–0 | 4,633 | o.g., James |
| 24 January 1970 | Brentford | A | 0–1 | 8,661 | |
| 31 January 1970 | Aldershot | A | 0–2 | 6,858 | |
| 7 February 1970 | York City | H | 1–1 | 3,955 | Gough |
| 21 February 1970 | Bradford Park Avenue | H | 4–1 | 4,416 | James (3), Boulton |
| 23 February 1970 | Southend United | H | 3–0 | 6,333 | Gough (2), James |
| 28 February 1970 | Swansea City | A | 0–0 | 6,576 | |
| 2 March 1970 | Darlington | A | 2–2 | 2,152 | Boulton, James |
| 9 March 1970 | Hartlepool | H | 3–0 | 5,456 | Boulton (2), Lacey |
| 14 March 1970 | Workington | A | 2–3 | 2,047 | Buxton, Gough |
| 16 March 1970 | Brentford | H | 0–0 | 7,944 | |
| 21 March 1970 | Darlington | H | 4–0 | 4,717 | Buxton (2), Green, Gough |
| 23 March 1970 | Scunthorpe United | H | 1–2 | 6,394 | Gough |
| 28 March 1970 | Hartlepool | A | 2–0 | 2,227 | Morris, Buxton |
| 30 March 1970 | Newport County | A | 1–1 | 2,218 | Morgan |
| 1 April 1970 | Wrexham | H | 1–0 | 10,954 | James (pen) |
| 4 April 1970 | Lincoln City | H | 0–0 | 7,414 | |
| 8 April 1970 | Notts County | A | 2–1 | 5,010 | Sproson, Buxton |
| 15 April 1970 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 0–0 | 7,155 | |
| 18 April 1970 | Notts County | H | 1–1 | 8,042 | Morris |
| 22 April 1970 | Peterborough United | A | 0–0 | 3,844 | |
| 25 April 1970 | Colchester United | H | 1–1 | 5,626 | McLaren |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 15 November 1969 | Wigan Athletic | A | 1–1 | 12,622 | James |
| R1 Replay | 18 November 1969 | Wigan Athletic | H | 2–2 | 9,703 | McLaren, Sproson |
| R1 Replay | 24 November 1969 | Wigan Athletic | N | 1–0 | 16,453 | James |
| R2 | 6 December 1969 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 2–2 | 6,883 | James, Green |
| R2 Replay | 8 December 1969 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1–3 | 7,156 | Magee |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 13 August 1969 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 0–1 | 4,955 | |

## 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 | Keith Ball | 46 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 0 |
| DF | Roy Sproson | 46 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 6 |
| DF | Clint Boulton | 46 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 6 |
| DF | Ron Wilson | 46 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 0 |
| DF | Gordon Logan | 9 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| DF | Bill Summerscales | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| MF | Stuart Chapman | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | Tommy McLaren | 35 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 5 |
| MF | John Green | 46 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 5 |
| MF | John King | 35 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 0 |
| MF | Tony Lacey | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 |
| MF | Stuart Shaw | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| MF | Howard Moore | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | John James | 43 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 17 |
| FW | Mick Morris | 45 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 3 |
| FW | Bobby Gough | 45 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 9 |
| FW | Ian Buxton | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 6 |
| FW | Ken Wookey | 24 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 4 |
| FW | Sammy Morgan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| FW | Eric Magee | 18 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 2 |

### Top scorers

| Place | Position | Nation | Name | Fourth Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | England | John James | 14 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
| 2 | FW | England | Bobby Gough | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 3 | FW | England | Ian Buxton | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| – | DF | England | Clint Boulton | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| – | DF | England | Roy Sproson | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 6 | MF | England | John Green | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| – | MF | Scotland | Tommy McLaren | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | FW | Wales | Ken Wookey | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | FW | England | Mick Morris | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 | FW | Northern Ireland | Eric Magee | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | FW | Northern Ireland | Sammy Morgan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | MF | England | Tony Lacey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | DF | Scotland | Gordon Logan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | – | – | Own goals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| | | | TOTALS | 61 | 7 | 0 | 68 |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| July 1969 | MF | Stuart Shaw | Southport | Free transfer |
| July 1969 | FW | Eric Magee | Oldham Athletic | Free transfer |
| July 1969 | FW | Ken Wookey | Newport County | Free transfer |
| December 1969 | FW | Ian Buxton | Notts County | £500 |
| January 1970 | FW | Sammy Morgan | Gorleston | Free transfer |
| February 1970 | DF | Bill Summerscales | Leek Town | £400 |
| April 1970 | MF | Tony Lacey | Stoke City | £2,500 |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| May 1970 | MF | Malcolm Bailey | Northwich Victoria | Free transfer |
| May 1970 | DF | Gordon Logan | Kettering Town | Free transfer |
| May 1970 | FW | Eric Magee | Linfield | Free transfer |
| May 1970 | MF | Stuart Shaw | Morecambe | Free transfer |
| May 1970 | FW | Ken Wookey | Workington | Free transfer |
| Summer 1970 | FW | Ian Buxton | Ilkeston Town | Retired |
| Summer 1970 | MF | Stuart Chapman | Stafford Rangers | Free transfer |

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | From | Date to | Ref. |
| February 1970 | MF | | Tony Lacey | Stoke City | April 1970 | |