1955–56 Port Vale F.C. season

March 2015 March 2015 Port Vale 1955–56 Freddie Steele Fred Burgess Vale Park Football League Second Division 12th (45 points) FA Cup Fourth Round(eliminated by Everton) Cyril Done, Len Stephenson (12 each) Len Stephenson (14) 44,278 vs. Everton, 28 January 1956 11,781 vs. Middlesbrough, 28 April 1956 18,985 3–0 and 4–1 1–7 vs. Blackburn Rovers, 12 November 1955 _collarblack _white_hoops_color ffffff ffffff ffffff 000000 000000 1954–55 1956–57 The 1955–56 season was Port Vale's 44th season of football in the English Football League, and their second-successive season (thirty-first overall) in the Second Division.Kent Jeff The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale Witan Books 1990 171–196 Fame and Fortune (1950–1959) 0-9508981-4-7 Under manager Freddie Steele, the club struggled for consistency and finished in 17th place with 36 points from 42 league matches, avoiding relegation but failing to challenge for promotion. In the FA Cup, Vale reached the Fourth Round before being eliminated by Everton. Len Stephenson was the club's leading scorer with 14 goals in all competitions, continuing to provide a vital attacking outlet throughout the season. Support at Vale Park remained solid, with an average attendance of approximately 18,500, reflecting sustained local interest despite mixed on-field results. A crowd of 44,278 attended the FA Cup defeat to Everton. Though the season was relatively uneventful, it solidified the foundations laid by Steele's management, as the club looked ahead to improving their league standing in future campaigns. Overview Second Division The pre-season saw Stan Turner and Ken Griffiths undergo operations, keeping them out of action for the start of the campaign. The season began with just one loss in the opening eleven games, including victories over West Ham United at Upton Park and second-placed Fulham at Craven Cottage, and a 1–0 home win over Potteries derby rivals Stoke City in front of a crowd of 37,261. Nevertheless, injuries began to affect the first XI, leaving room for reserves like Derek Mountford, Stan Smith, and Tom Conway to make an impression. The 'Steele Curtain' defence was still in operation, picking up five clean sheets in these eleven games. Journalist Bernard Jones compared 'the Vale Plan' to the Brazilian method of defence, defending the penalty area at all costs as that was from where 95% of all goals were scored. However, manager Freddie Steele responded by claiming there was no such plan, and that the main objective was simply 'to beat the opposition'. On 22 October, Sheffield Wednesday went away from Vale Park with a 1–0 win, this was followed with a 4–1 defeat at Filbert Street where Cyril Done cracked his kneecap. Steele began to initiate a modern pre-match ritual of having the players warm up in their tracksuits 15 minutes before kick-off, though on 12 November this did them no favours at Ewood Park, as Blackburn Rovers romped to a 7–1 victory. Steele tried moving Basil Hayward from left-back to centre-forward for the fixture with second-from-bottom Hull City, though the result was a 1–0 defeat. Steele made eight changes following the defeat, which made little difference as Vale extended their run without a win to nine games. This left them in 15th place by mid-December, with a host of players out with injuries. Done's return to match fitness was marked with a 2–1 win over Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium, beginning a sequence of one defeat in ten games. This left them in seventh place by February, with a shot of promotion. In January, Eddie Baily was signed from Tottenham Hotspur for a club-record £7,000. Signing an inside-forward who was part of England's 1950 FIFA World Cup squad was a sign of the club's ambitions for top-flight football. He scored on his debut, a 3–1 win over Notts County on 14 January. On 18 February, Vale were beaten 2–1 by bottom club Hull City during a blizzard at Boothferry Park, with the winning goal coming from Hull's own half. Outclassed by Wednesday on 3 March, they lost 4–0 at Hillsborough, but followed this with wins over Blackburn Rovers and Bristol City. On 31 March they came to a 'hard-fought' 1–1 draw at Stoke's Victoria Ground, which left the "Valiants" in fifth place, level on points with second-placed Liverpool. In with a great chance of promotion by April, defeats at home to Nottingham Forest and Leicester City, and a 4–1 loss to Liverpool at Anfield ruined their chances. Harry Poole made his debut on the last day of the season, as Vale recorded a 3–2 win over Middlesbrough. They finished in twelfth position with 45 points, one point and one position above rivals Stoke. The Steele Curtain boasted the best defensive record in the division, though only the bottom five scored fewer goals. Finances On the financial side, a loss was made of £4,974, blamed upon a 'crippling burden' of £12,422 in entertainment tax. Home attendances were down by around 2,000 a game to 18,985, leaving gate receipts at £60,784. Steele retained thirty professionals, releasing Albert Mullard and Ray Hancock (Northwich Victoria), and Tom Conway (Leek Town). FA Cup In the FA Cup, Vale narrowly defeated Third Division South side Walsall 1–0 in front of a 21,836 record-high crowd at Fellows Park to win a fourth round tie with First Division Everton. A crowd of 44,278 saw 'a match that had everything', as the "Toffees" escaped with a 3–2 victory, Vale having had two goals disallowed. Results Football League Second Division 1955–56 Football League League table Second Division y PTV Results by matchday table b Round Ground H/H/A/A/H/A/H/A/H/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/A/H/H/A/A/A/H/A/H/A/A/H/A/H/A/H/H/A/A/H/A/H/H Result D/W/L/W/W/D/W/W/D/W/D/L/L/D/L/L/D/D/L/W/W/L/W/D/D/W/D/W/D/L/W/L/W/L/W/W/D/D/L/L/L/W Position 10/4/11/4/3/7/7/4/5/3/2/6/8/8/10/13/12/12/14/12/11/12/11/11/10/8/9/8/7/7/6/8/6/7/6/4/5/4/7/9/10/12 Points 1p/3p/3p/5p/7p/8p/10p/12p/13p/15p/16p/16p/16p/17p/17p/17p/18p/19p/19p/21p/23p/23p/25p/26p/27p/29p/30p/32p/33p/33p/35p/35p/37p/37p/39p/41p/42p/43p/43p/43p/43p/45p Home Away green2 Win yellow2 Draw red2 Loss green1 red1 StattoPort Vale 1955–1956 : Results & Fixtures https://web.archive.org/web/20160304003706/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/port-vale/1955-1956/results 4 March 2016 . Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012. Matches 1 20 August 1955 Port Vale 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-bristol-rovers-20-august-1955-107829/ Bristol Rovers Cunliffe Vale Park Burslem 21,270 2 22 August 1955 Port Vale 2–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-west-ham-united-22-august-1955-107836/ West Ham United Stephenson Leake Allison Vale Park Burslem 19,259 3 27 August 1955 Rotherham United 1–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/rotherham-united-v-port-vale-27-august-1955-107851/ Port Vale Millmoor Rotherham 11,994 4 29 August 1955 West Ham United 0–2 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/west-ham-united-v-port-vale-29-august-1955-107857/ Port Vale Smith Done Boleyn Ground Upton Park, London 13,052 5 3 September 1955 Port Vale 3–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-swansea-town-03-september-1955-107873/ Swansea Town Cunliffe Conway Done Vale Park Burslem 21,769 6 10 September 1955 Notts County 0–0 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/notts-county-v-port-vale-10-september-1955-107892/ Port Vale Meadow Lane Nottingham 14,733 7 17 September 1955 Port Vale 2–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-leeds-united-17-september-1955-107907/ Leeds United Sproson Done Vale Park Burslem 21,348 8 24 September 1955 Fulham 1–4 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/fulham-v-port-vale-24-september-1955-107916/ Port Vale Conway Smith Done Craven Cottage Fulham, West London 25,363 9 1 October 1955 Port Vale 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-bury-01-october-1955-107930/ Bury Leake Vale Park Burslem 20,691 10 8 October 1955 Port Vale 1–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-stoke-city-08-october-1955-107941/ Stoke City Done Vale Park Burslem 37,261 11 15 October 1955 Plymouth Argyle 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/plymouth-argyle-v-port-vale-15-october-1955-107953/ Port Vale Rowley Cunliffe Home Park Plymouth R. E. Smith 17,124 12 22 October 1955 Port Vale 0–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-sheffield-wednesday-22-october-1955-107963/ Sheffield Wednesday Quixall Vale Park Burslem 23,139 13 29 October 1955 Leicester City 4–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/leicester-city-v-port-vale-29-october-1955-107971/ Port Vale Gardiner Stephenson Filbert Street Leicester 26,496 14 5 November 1955 Port Vale 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-lincoln-city-05-november-1955-107985/ Lincoln City Stephenson Vale Park Burslem 16,561 15 12 November 1955 Blackburn Rovers 7–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/blackburn-rovers-v-port-vale-12-november-1955-107989/ Port Vale Leake Ewood Park Blackburn 25,464 16 19 November 1955 14:30 GMT Port Vale 0–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-hull-city-19-november-1955-108007/ Hull City Mortensen 68 Vale Park Burslem 17,778 17 26 November 1955 15:00 GMT Nottingham Forest 2–2 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/nottingham-forest-v-port-vale-26-november-1955-108018/ Port Vale Higham 56 Barrett 74 pen. Conway Cunliffe City Ground West Bridgford E Crawford 9,533 18 3 December 1955 Port Vale 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-liverpool-03-december-1955-108029/ Liverpool Stephenson Liddell 40 Vale Park Burslem 16,919 19 10 December 1955 Doncaster Rovers 3–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/doncaster-rovers-v-port-vale-10-december-1955-108035/ Port Vale Belle Vue Doncaster 7,351 20 17 December 1955 Bristol Rovers 1–2 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/bristol-rovers-v-port-vale-17-december-1955-108044/ Port Vale Cunliffe Stephenson Eastville Stadium Bristol 19,144 21 24 December 1955 Port Vale 4–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-rotherham-united-24-december-1955-108063/ Rotherham United Stephenson Done Vale Park Burslem 13,023 22 26 December 1955 Port Vale 1–2 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-barnsley-26-december-1955-108075/ Barnsley Done Vale Park Burslem 19,130 23 27 December 1955 Barnsley 1–2 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/barnsley-v-port-vale-27-december-1955-108077/ Port Vale Stephenson Oakwell Barnsley 22,067 24 31 December 1955 Swansea Town 0–0 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/swansea-town-v-port-vale-31-december-1955-108098/ Port Vale Vetch Field Swansea 24,661 25 2 January 1956 Middlesbrough 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/middlesbrough-v-port-vale-02-january-1956-108100/ Port Vale Fitzsimons 9 Mullard 72 Ayresome Park Middlesbrough 21,664 26 14 January 1956 Port Vale 3–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-notts-county-14-january-1956-108106/ Notts County Cunliffe Done pen. Baily Vale Park Burslem 17,370 27 21 January 1956 Leeds United 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/leeds-united-v-port-vale-21-january-1956-108114/ Port Vale Brook Griffiths Elland Road Beeston, Leeds 23,680 28 4 February 1956 Port Vale 2–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-fulham-04-february-1956-108125/ Fulham Baily Griffiths Vale Park Burslem 13,234 29 11 February 1956 Bury 2–2 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/bury-v-port-vale-11-february-1956-108129/ Port Vale Griffiths Stephenson Gigg Lane Bury, Greater Manchester 10,881 30 18 February 1956 15:00 GMT Hull City 2–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/hull-city-v-port-vale-18-february-1956-108139/ Port Vale Bradbury 58 Berry 80 Baily Boothferry Park Kingston upon Hull 6,884 31 25 February 1956 Port Vale 3–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-plymouth-argyle-25-february-1956-108149/ Plymouth Argyle Griffiths Langman Vale Park Burslem 14,336 32 3 March 1956 Sheffield Wednesday 4–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/sheffield-wednesday-v-port-vale-03-march-1956-108161/ Port Vale Finney O'Donnell Quixall Shiner Hillsborough Stadium Owlerton 29,789 33 10 March 1956 Port Vale 2–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-doncaster-rovers-10-march-1956-108170/ Doncaster Rovers Baily Cunliffe Vale Park Burslem 16,389 34 17 March 1956 Lincoln City 1–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/lincoln-city-v-port-vale-17-march-1956-108179/ Port Vale Sincil Bank Lincoln 10,635 35 24 March 1956 Port Vale 4–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-blackburn-rovers-24-march-1956-108193/ Blackburn Rovers Stephenson Leake Smith Vale Park Burslem 15,217 36 30 March 1956 Port Vale 2–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-bristol-city-30-march-1956-108203/ Bristol City Smith Vale Park Burslem 24,900 37 31 March 1956 Stoke City 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/stoke-city-v-port-vale-31-march-1956-108215/ Port Vale Oscroft Griffiths Victoria Ground Stoke-upon-Trent 37,928 38 2 April 1956 Bristol City 0–0 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/bristol-city-v-port-vale-02-april-1956-108217/ Port Vale Ashton Gate Ashton Gate, Bristol 24,348 39 7 April 1956 15:00 BST Port Vale 0–2 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-nottingham-forest-07-april-1956-108236/ Nottingham Forest Scott 24 Lishman 75 Vale Park Burslem E Crawford 23,018 40 14 April 1956 Liverpool 4–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/liverpool-v-port-vale-14-april-1956-108247/ Port Vale Rowley 29 76 89 Twentyman Baily Anfield Anfield 29,413 41 21 April 1956 Port Vale 2–3 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-leicester-city-21-april-1956-108262/ Leicester City Done pen. Baily Froggatt Gardiner Vale Park Burslem RP Hartley 14,302 42 28 April 1956 Port Vale 3–2 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-middlesbrough-28-april-1956-108272/ Middlesbrough Done 11 70 Baily 88 Wayman 34 McLean 85 Vale Park Burslem 11,781 FA Cup 1955–56 FA Cup R3 7 January 1956 Walsall 0–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/walsall-v-port-vale-07-january-1956-210805/ Port Vale Stephenson Fellows Park Walsall 21,836 R4 28 January 1956 14:45 GMT Port Vale 2–3 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-everton-28-january-1956-210826/ Everton Stephenson 50 Sproson 88 Eglington 12 B. Harris 40 Wainwright 81 Vale Park Burslem G McCabe 44,278 Squad statistics Appearances and goals Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward Second Division FA Cup GK ENG Ray Hancock 2 0 0 0 GK ENG Ray King 39 0 2 0 GK ENG John Poole 1 0 0 0 FB ENG Reg Potts 42 0 2 0 FB ENG Stan Turner 26 0 2 0 HB ENG Tommy Cheadle 19 0 0 0 HB ENG Albert Leake 36 4 2 0 HB ENG Derek Mountford 15 0 0 0 HB ENG Roy Sproson 42 1 2 1 FW ENG Colin Askey 24 0 2 0 FW ENG Eddie Baily 17 7 1 0 FW ENG Alan Bennett 7 0 0 0 FW ENG Tom Conway 15 4 0 0 FW ENG John Cunliffe 39 7 2 0 FW ENG Cyril Done 18 12 0 0 FW ENG Ken Griffiths 19 7 2 0 FW ENG Basil Hayward 41 0 2 0 FW ENG Albert Mullard 6 1 1 0 FW ENG Harry Poole 1 0 0 0 FW ENG Stan Smith 20 5 0 0 FW ENG Len Stephenson 31 12 2 2 FW ENG Pat Willdigg 2 0 0 0 |} Top scorers PlacePositionNationNameSecond DivisionFA CupTotal1FWEnglandCyril Done120142FWEnglandLen Stephenson122123FWEnglandKen Griffiths707–FWEnglandEddie Baily707–FWEnglandJohn Cunliffe7076FWEnglandStan Smith5057FWEnglandTom Conway404–HBEnglandAlbert Leake4049HBEnglandRoy Sproson11210FWEnglandAlbert Mullard101TOTALS60363 Transfers Transfers in Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. January 1956 FW ENG Eddie Baily Tottenham Hotspur £7,000 Kent Jeff Port Vale Personalities Witan Books 1996 0-9529152-0-0 Transfers out Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. Summer 1956 FW ENG Tom Conway Leek Town Free transfer Summer 1956 GK ENG Ray Hancock Northwich Victoria Free transfer Summer 1956 FW ENG Albert Mullard Northwich Victoria Released Summer 1956 FW ENG Pat Willdigg Northwich Victoria Free transfer References Sources Kent Jeff The Port Vale Record 1879-1993 Witan Books 1993 0-9508981-9-8 Category:Port Vale F.C. seasons Port Vale