# 1971–72 Port Vale F.C. season

The 1971–72 season was Port Vale's 60th season of football in the Football League, and their second-successive season (eighth overall) back in the Third Division. Roy Sproson's 22-year career at the club came to an end, in what was an otherwise unremarkable campaign.

## Overview
### Third Division

The pre-season saw the arrival of left-half John Flowers from Doncaster Rovers and full-back Tony Loska from Shrewsbury Town for 'a small fee'. Meanwhile, three players picked up injuries: John James (cartilage), Roy Sproson (ribs), and Stuart Sharratt (ankle); whilst Sammy Morgan threatened to quit altogether after falling out with manager Gordon Lee over his decision to remain resident in Great Yarmouth rather than moving nearer to Burslem. Violence broke out in pre-season games, as the sport was in the grip of hooliganism.
The season opened with a 1–1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion in front of just 4,384 fans, causing Lee to warn that such low attendances would require him to sell off the club's best players. By the end of September Vale were performing well on the pitch, and off it had sold the main car park to The Co-operative Group for £30,000. Goals were at a premium despite a 4–3 win over York City and 4–4 draw with Aston Villa at Vale Park. Sporadic violence continued to break out at many matches, as local businesses had their windows smashed, local residents were menaced and fights broke out. In November, Clint Boulton was sold to Torquay United for £10,000. The next month Lee brought Ray Harford from Mansfield Town for a £5,000 fee, as well as Keith Lindsey from Southend United for 'a small fee'. Vale comfortable in the league, Chairman Graham Bourne resigned in January, along with colleague and fellow director George Sanders. This left the board of directors with just two members, one of which, previous chairman Mark Singer, was re-elected as chairman. The Sentinel's Chris Harper stated that "Vale will never make progress while they are plagued by trouble at the top". The team continued with good home form, but invariably lost away from Vale Park. On 16 February, Sammy Morgan scored on his debut for Northern Ireland, and picked up six further caps whilst at the club. On 4 March, only 2,809 bothered to turn out for a 1–0 home win over Mansfield Town in strong wind and snow, whilst rivals Stoke City won the 1972 League Cup final in front of a crowd of nearly 100,000 at Wembley Stadium. Vale went on to go ten games without a win, also scoring just one goal in a run of seven games, to the frustration of their supporters. Despite this, the now annual 'Meet the Manager' evening 'warmed the heart' of Lee. A 1–0 win over Barnsley at the end of April ensured the club's safety from the drop. On 8 May, Sproson made his farewell competitive appearance for the club in front of only 2,743 supporters, in a 2–1 defeat to Rotherham United. Lee angrily declared that "the attendance was nothing short of a disgrace to mark the end of a legend". Four days later there was an even smaller turnout for a final day 1–1 draw with Rochdale.
They finished in fifteenth place with 41 points, 30 of which were won at home. With just 43 goals scored, they had the lowest goal tally outside the bottom four.

### Finances

On the financial side, a drop in average home attendance of over a thousand failed to prevent a profit of £596. This profit was due to a £10,000 transfer credit and £13,967 worth of donations from the Sportsmen's Association and the Development Fund. The club's total debt stood at £100,130. Four players were let go at the end of the campaign: Mick Morris (Stafford Rangers), Keith Ball (Stourport), Stuart Sharratt (retired), and John Flowers (Eastwood). Sproson also retired as a player, but stayed on as a scout and coach.

### Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale beat Blackburn Rovers 3–1 following a 1–1 draw at Ewood Park. A last-minute Sammy Morgan goal then defeated Fourth Division Darlington in the Second Round. Vale then were defeated 3–0 at St Andrew's by Second Division Birmingham City.
In the League Cup, Vale made 'their annual early exist', losing 2–0 at home to Shrewsbury Town.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 13 | Chesterfield | 46 | 18 | 8 | 20 | 57 | 57 | 1.000 | 44 | |
| 14 | Swansea City | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 46 | 59 | 0.780 | 44 | |
| 15 | Port Vale | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 43 | 59 | 0.729 | 41 | |
| 16 | Wrexham | 46 | 16 | 8 | 22 | 59 | 63 | 0.937 | 40 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 17 | Halifax Town | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 48 | 61 | 0.787 | 38 | |

## 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 | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | A | H | H | H |
| Result | D | W | L | L | W | D | D | W | D | L | D | D | L | W | L | D | W | L | W | W | L | W | L | L | D | W | L | W | L | W | L | L | W | D | D | D | D | L | D | D | L | L | L | W | L | D |
| Position | 13 | 4 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 15 |

#### Matches

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 14 August 1971 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 1–1 | 4,384 | Horton (pen) |
| 21 August 1971 | Swansea City | A | 1–0 | 6,457 | Morris |
| 28 August 1971 | Chesterfield | H | 0–2 | 4,416 | |
| 30 August 1971 | Notts County | H | 0–3 | 5,298 | |
| 4 September 1971 | Wrexham | A | 2–1 | 7,407 | Brodie, Horton |
| 11 September 1971 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 0–0 | 3,707 | |
| 18 September 1971 | Shrewsbury Town | A | 0–0 | 5,443 | |
| 25 September 1971 | Halifax Town | H | 1–0 | 3,724 | Gough |
| 27 September 1971 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 0–0 | 4,963 | |
| 2 October 1971 | Walsall | A | 0–2 | 4,642 | |
| 9 October 1971 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1–1 | 6,394 | Horton (pen) |
| 16 October 1971 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 1–1 | 9,007 | Mountford |
| 19 October 1971 | Bournemouth | A | 2–3 | 10,404 | Morgan, Gough |
| 23 October 1971 | York City | H | 4–3 | 4,484 | McLaren (2), Gough, Morgan |
| 30 October 1971 | Oldham Athletic | A | 0–1 | 8,140 | |
| 6 November 1971 | Aston Villa | H | 4–4 | 11,118 | McLaren, Mountford, Morgan, Loska |
| 13 November 1971 | Mansfield Town | A | 1–0 | 5,996 | Mountford |
| 27 November 1971 | Torquay United | A | 0–3 | 3,710 | |
| 4 December 1971 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 2–1 | 3,701 | Morgan, McLaren |
| 18 December 1971 | Wrexham | H | 1–0 | 4,310 | Summerscales |
| 27 December 1971 | Bristol Rovers | A | 1–2 | 12,073 | McLaren |
| 1 January 1972 | Shrewsbury Town | H | 2–1 | 5,056 | Gough, Horton |
| 8 January 1972 | Chesterfield | A | 1–2 | 6,532 | Gough |
| 22 January 1972 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1–3 | 8,495 | Loska |
| 29 January 1972 | Bournemouth | H | 1–1 | 4,937 | Gough |
| 5 February 1972 | Bradford City | H | 1–0 | 3,715 | Lacey |
| 12 February 1972 | York City | A | 1–2 | 4,319 | Gough |
| 19 February 1972 | Oldham Athletic | H | 1–0 | 4,506 | Morgan |
| 26 February 1972 | Aston Villa | A | 0–2 | 32,806 | |
| 4 March 1972 | Mansfield Town | H | 1–0 | 2,809 | Morgan |
| 11 March 1972 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–3 | 6,240 | |
| 13 March 1972 | Rochdale | A | 2–3 | 3,157 | James, o.g. |
| 18 March 1972 | Swansea City | H | 3–0 | 3,257 | Gough (2), Harford |
| 21 March 1972 | Barnsley | A | 0–0 | 4,048 | |
| 25 March 1972 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 0–0 | 8,801 | |
| 1 April 1972 | Bristol Rovers | H | 0–0 | 3,823 | |
| 3 April 1972 | Walsall | H | 1–1 | 5,250 | Gough |
| 4 April 1972 | Halifax Town | A | 0–2 | 3,319 | |
| 8 April 1972 | Bradford City | A | 0–0 | 2,969 | |
| 15 April 1972 | Torquay United | H | 0–0 | 2,737 | |
| 18 April 1972 | Rotherham United | A | 0–3 | 4,161 | |
| 21 April 1972 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 2–3 | 3,544 | McLaren, o.g. |
| 26 April 1972 | Notts County | A | 1–2 | 9,033 | Morgan |
| 29 April 1972 | Barnsley | H | 1–0 | 2,614 | Morris |
| 8 May 1972 | Rotherham United | H | 1–2 | 2,743 | Morris |
| 12 May 1972 | Rochdale | H | 1–1 | 2,475 | Horton (pen) |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 20 November 1971 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1–1 | 6,947 | Horton |
| R1 Replay | 22 November 1971 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 3–1 | 5,717 | Horton (2 [1 pen]), Morgan |
| R2 | 11 December 1971 | Darlington | H | 1–0 | 5,402 | Morgan |
| R3 | 15 January 1972 | Birmingham City | A | 0–3 | 32,937 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 18 August 1971 | Shrewsbury Town | H | 0–2 | 4,638 | |

## 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 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| GK | Stuart Sharratt | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| DF | Roy Sproson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | Clint Boulton | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| DF | Bill Summerscales | 24 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 1 |
| DF | Roy Cross | 46 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 0 |
| DF | John Brodie | 37 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 1 |
| DF | Keith Lindsey | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| DF | Tony Loska | 30 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 2 |
| MF | Tommy McLaren | 45 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 6 |
| MF | Brian Horton | 42 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 8 |
| MF | Tony Lacey | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 1 |
| MF | Bob Peyton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | John Flowers | 34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
| MF | Ray Harford | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| FW | John James | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| FW | Mick Morris | 31 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 3 |
| FW | Bobby Gough | 42 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 10 |
| FW | Sammy Morgan | 36 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 9 |
| FW | Bob Mountford | 21 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 3 |

### Top scorers

| Place | Position | Nation | Name | Third Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | England | Bobby Gough | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | FW | Northern Ireland | Sammy Morgan | 7 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| – | MF | Scotland | Tommy McLaren | 6 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 4 | MF | England | Brian Horton | 5 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 | FW | England | Mick Morris | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | FW | England | Bob Mountford | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | DF | England | Tony Loska | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| – | MF | Scotland | Ray Harford | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | DF | England | John Brodie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | DF | England | Bill Summerscales | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | MF | England | Tony Lacey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | FW | England | John James | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | – | – | Own goals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| | | | TOTALS | 43 | 5 | 0 | 48 |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| July 1971 | DF | Tony Loska | Southend United | Free transfer |
| August 1971 | MF | John Flowers | Doncaster Rovers | 'small' |
| December 1971 | DF | Ray Harford | Mansfield Town | £5,000 |
| December 1971 | DF | Keith Lindsey | Southend United | 'small' |
| January 1972 | MF | Bob Peyton | Chelmsley Town | Free transfer |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| November 1971 | DF | Clint Boulton | Torquay United | £10,000 |
| May 1972 | GK | Keith Ball | Stourport | Free transfer |
| May 1972 | MF | John Flowers | Eastwood | Free transfer |
| May 1972 | FW | Mick Morris | Stafford Rangers | Free transfer |
| May 1972 | DF | Roy Sproson | Retired | Retired |
| May 1972 | GK | Stuart Sharratt | | Released |