1978–79 Port Vale F.C. season

March 2015 March 2015 Port Vale 1978–79 Dennis Butler Arthur McPherson Vale Park Football League Fourth Division 16th (42 points) FA Cup First Round(eliminated by Bradford City) League Cup First Round(eliminated by Chester) Player of the Year Bernie Wright Bernie Wright (14) Bernie Wright (15) 5,226 vs. Barnsley, 14 April 1979 2,160 vs. Hereford United, 1 May 1979 3,287 5–1 vs. Crewe Alexandra, 25 August 1978 0–4 (twice) and 2–6 _blackflair _collarblack _blackflair _whitesides _color_3_stripes_white ffffff ffffff ffffff 000000 000000 1977–78 1979–80 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.Kent Jeff The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale Witan Books 1990 227–257 Surviving on a Shoestring (1969–1979) 0-9508981-4-7 Under manager Dennis Butler, who stepped up after Bobby Smith's departure and brought in Bernie Wright from Bradford City and the club-record signing Ken Todd from Wolverhampton Wanderers, the club aimed to rebuild. However, on the pitch, Vale finished 16th, securing just 42 points from 46 matches. Their cup runs were short-lived — with exits in the first round of both the FA Cup (losing to Bradford City) and the League Cup (eliminated by Chester). Bernie Wright was the standout performer, finishing as top scorer with 15 goals in all competitions (14 in the league), and earning the Player of the Year accolade. Off the pitch, the season was turbulent. There was unrest in the boardroom and among the fans, and Butler publicly expressed frustration at supporter abuse of the players. Financially, the club suffered a record loss of £52,000, despite generating significant commercial income and investing heavily in transfers (totalling well over £36,000 in net loss). In terms of support, Vale drew on average 3,287 fans to Vale Park, with the highest attendance being 5,226 against Barnsley on 14 April 1979, and the lowest just 2,160 against Hereford United on 1 May 1979. Their biggest win was an emphatic 5–1 away victory over Crewe Alexandra early in the season, and their heaviest defeats included two 4–0 drubbings and a 6–2 loss. A season of financial strain and boardroom unrest underpinned a mid-table Fourth Division finish, with Bernie Wright's goals offering a rare spark during an otherwise turbulent campaign. Overview Fourth Division Before the season began, Bobby Smith left to manage Swindon Town, with Vale being paid a compensation fee of £10,500. He denied "leaving a sinking ship". His assistant, Dennis Butler, turned down the chance to go as Smith's assistant to instead take over as Port Vale's new manager. Butler promoted Graham Hawkins to a first-team coach and then to assistant manager. Butler signed sign big striker Bernie Wright from Bradford City for £9,000 and right-back Neil Wilkinson on a free transfer from Blackburn Rovers. He 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 fee of £37,000, despite having only made a handful of appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers. On 23 July, 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 in the defeat at Wimbledon on 22 August. 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. On the pitch, Trevor Dance saved a penalty only to later gift a goal to Portsmouth in a 2–0 loss at Fratton Park on 16 September. 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. The 2–0 victory over Hartlepool United was the club's first win in 14 games at Vale Park. Butler defended his transfer activity by saying the team he had inherited was not good enough. 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 quit 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 switching to a 4–4–2 formation and 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 fifth-placed Wigan Athletic. Peter Houghton scored a ten-minute hat-trick for the visitors, who had been three goals down with 25 minutes to play.Baggaley Mike Crunch time at Northampton https://portvalethevaliant.substack.com/p/crunch-time-at-northampton 24 February 2026 Valiant's Substack 23 February 2026 Only 2,160 attended a 1–1 draw at home with Hereford United on 1 May. 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 16th 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 15 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 resigned from the board and was later sacked. However, club chairman Arthur McPherson did not comment to the press. Cup competitions In the FA Cup, a week of preparation in Blackpool failed to prevent Vale from exiting at the first round with a 1–0 defeat to Bradford City at Valley Parade. In the League Cup, Third Division side Chester knocked the Vale out 4–1 on aggregate. Teenage midfielder Ged Stenson was described as "the only glimmer of light" from the encounter. Results Football League Fourth Division 1978–79 Football League League table Fourth Division y PTV Results by matchday table b Round 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 Points 1p/1p/3p/4p/5p/7p/7p/7p/8p/8p/9p/11p/13p/13p/13p/15p/17p/18p/20p/20p/20p/22p/24p/25p/25p/25p/25p/26p/28p/28p/29p/31p/31p/32p/32p/33p/33p/35p/35p/36p/38p/39p/40p/40p/40p/42p Home Away green2 Win yellow2 Draw red2 Loss green1 red1 StattoPort Vale 1978–1979 : Results & Fixtures https://web.archive.org/web/20150906035143/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/port-vale/1978-1979/results 6 September 2015 . Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012. Matches 1 19 August 1978 Port Vale 2–2 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-scunthorpe-united-19-august-1978-44787/ Scunthorpe United Wright Bromage Vale Park Burslem 3,027 2 22 August 1978 Wimbledon 1–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/wimbledon-v-port-vale-22-august-1978-44796/ Port Vale Cork 11 Plough Lane Wimbledon, London 2,638 3 25 August 1978 Crewe Alexandra 1–5 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/crewe-alexandra-v-port-vale-25-august-1978-44803/ Port Vale Wright Bloor Beamish Gresty Road Crewe 4,413 4 2 September 1978 Port Vale 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-rochdale-02-september-1978-44824/ Rochdale Beamish 68 Owen 89 Vale Park Burslem 3,222 5 9 September 1978 Port Vale 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-aldershot-09-september-1978-44832/ Aldershot Beamish Vale Park Burslem 3,045 6 12 September 1978 Doncaster Rovers 1–3 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/doncaster-rovers-v-port-vale-12-september-1978-44843/ Port Vale Bromage Todd Beamish Belle Vue Doncaster 3,405 7 16 September 1978 Portsmouth 2–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/portsmouth-v-port-vale-16-september-1978-44859/ Port Vale Garwood Barnard Fratton Park Portsmouth 9,937 8 23 September 1978 Port Vale 1–2 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-afc-bournemouth-23-september-1978-44870/ Bournemouth Griffiths pen. Vale Park Burslem 3,140 9 26 September 1978 Port Vale 2–2 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-northampton-town-26-september-1978-44880/ Northampton Town N.Chamberlain Vale Park Burslem 3,245 10 30 September 1978 Hereford United 1–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/hereford-united-v-port-vale-30-september-1978-44893/ Port Vale Holmes 35 Edgar Street Hereford 3,963 11 7 October 1978 Port Vale 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-grimsby-town-07-october-1978-44905/ Grimsby Town N.Chamberlain Vale Park Burslem 3,433 12 14 October 1978 Halifax Town 0–3 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/halifax-town-v-port-vale-14-october-1978-44917/ Port Vale Wright Tully The Shay Halifax, West Yorkshire 1,591 13 18 October 1978 Bradford City 2–3 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/bradford-city-v-port-vale-18-october-1978-44934/ Port Vale Sutcliffe Wright Healy Valley Parade Bradford 4,136 14 21 October 1978 Port Vale 1–2 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-torquay-united-21-october-1978-44943/ Torquay United Todd Vale Park Burslem 4,108 15 28 October 1978 Darlington 4–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/darlington-v-port-vale-28-october-1978-44950/ Port Vale Feethams Darlington 1,793 16 4 November 1978 Port Vale 2–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-hartlepool-united-04-november-1978-44968/ Hartlepool United N.Chamberlain 22 Beech 88 Vale Park Burslem 3,195 17 11 November 1978 Rochdale 0–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/rochdale-v-port-vale-11-november-1978-44979/ Port Vale Keenan 74 Spotland Stadium Rochdale 1,882 18 18 November 1978 Port Vale 2–2 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-crewe-alexandra-18-november-1978-44993/ Crewe Alexandra Farrell pen. Healy Vale Park Burslem 4,607 19 9 December 1978 15:00 GMT Port Vale 2–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-stockport-county-09-december-1978-45011/ Stockport County Wright 1 Farrell 30 pen. Bradd 12 Vale Park Burslem Kevin McNally 3,689 20 26 December 1978 Barnsley 6–2 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/barnsley-v-port-vale-26-december-1978-45024/ Port Vale Todd Keenan Oakwell Barnsley 10,532 21 30 December 1978 Newport County 1–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/newport-county-v-port-vale-30-december-1978-45038/ Port Vale Goddard Somerton Park Newport, Wales 4,075 22 1 January 1979 Port Vale 1–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-huddersfield-town-01-january-1979-45042/ Huddersfield Town Wright Vale Park Burslem 4,021 23 9 January 1979 Port Vale 2–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-wigan-athletic-09-january-1979-45044/ Wigan Athletic Wright Todd Wright pen. Vale Park Burslem 3,746 24 13 January 1979 Aldershot 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/aldershot-v-port-vale-13-january-1979-45046/ Port Vale Sinclair Recreation Ground Aldershot 3,708 25 16 January 1979 Port Vale 1–3 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-doncaster-rovers-16-january-1979-45051/ Doncaster Rovers og. Vale Park Burslem 3,381 26 6 February 1979 Bournemouth 3–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/afc-bournemouth-v-port-vale-06-february-1979-45066/ Port Vale og. Dean Court Bournemouth 3,416 27 24 February 1979 Port Vale 0–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-halifax-town-24-february-1979-45088/ Halifax Town Vale Park Burslem 3,117 28 3 March 1979 Torquay United 2–2 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/torquay-united-v-port-vale-03-march-1979-45109/ Port Vale Todd Wright Plainmoor Torquay 1,711 29 10 March 1979 Port Vale 2–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-darlington-10-march-1979-45129/ Darlington Hawkins Beech Vale Park Burslem 2,566 30 13 March 1979 Northampton Town 1–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/northampton-town-v-port-vale-13-march-1979-45138/ Port Vale County Cricket Ground Northampton 1,572 31 21 March 1979 Port Vale 0–0 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-portsmouth-21-march-1979-45154/ Portsmouth Vale Park Burslem 2,738 32 24 March 1979 Port Vale 1–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-wimbledon-24-march-1979-45164/ Wimbledon Beech Vale Park Burslem 2,906 33 27 March 1979 Scunthorpe United 2–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/scunthorpe-united-v-port-vale-27-march-1979-45169/ Port Vale Old Show Ground Scunthorpe 1,580 34 31 March 1979 Reading 0–0 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/reading-v-port-vale-31-march-1979-45184/ Port Vale Elm Park Reading, Berkshire 6,704 35 3 April 1979 Grimsby Town 1–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/grimsby-town-v-port-vale-03-april-1979-45191/ Port Vale Blundell Park Cleethorpes 8,072 36 7 April 1979 Port Vale 0–0 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-york-city-07-april-1979-45207/ York City Vale Park Burslem 2,712 37 13 April 1979 Wigan Athletic 5–3 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/wigan-athletic-v-port-vale-13-april-1979-45220/ Port Vale Houghton Brownbill Moore Todd Wright Springfield Park Wigan 8,452 38 14 April 1979 Port Vale 3–2 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-barnsley-14-april-1979-45230/ Barnsley N.Chamberlain Wright Todd Vale Park Burslem 5,226 39 16 April 1979 Huddersfield Town 3–2 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/huddersfield-town-v-port-vale-16-april-1979-45237/ Port Vale Robins Fletcher Holmes M.Chamberlain Beech Leeds Road Huddersfield 3,236 40 21 April 1979 Port Vale 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-newport-county-21-april-1979-45258/ Newport County Wright Tynan Vale Park Burslem 2,444 41 24 April 1979 Port Vale 2–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-bradford-city-24-april-1979-45266/ Bradford City Farrell N.Chamberlain Vale Park Burslem 2,264 42 27 April 1979 19:30 BST Stockport County 0–0 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/stockport-county-v-port-vale-27-april-1979-45275/ Port Vale Edgeley Park Stockport David Richardson 3,345 43 1 May 1979 Port Vale 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-hereford-united-01-may-1979-45291/ Hereford United Hawkins 89 Gould 30 Vale Park Burslem 2,160 44 5 May 1979 Port Vale 0–3 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-reading-05-may-1979-45306/ Reading Vale Park Burslem 3,603 45 7 May 1979 York City 4–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/york-city-v-port-vale-07-may-1979-45314/ Port Vale Bootham Crescent York 2,344 46 10 May 1979 Hartlepool United 1–2 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/hartlepool-united-v-port-vale-10-may-1979-45319/ Port Vale Houchen Sinclair Farrell Victoria Park Hartlepool 2,007 FA Cup 1978–79 FA Cup R1 25 November 1978 Bradford City 1–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/bradford-city-v-port-vale-25-november-1978-214341/ Port Vale Valley Parade Bradford 5,625 League Cup 1978–79 Football League Cup R1 1st Leg 12 August 1978 Port Vale 0–3 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-chester-12-august-1978-30199/ Chester Edwards Phillips Vale Park Burslem 2,819 R1 2nd Leg 16 August 1978 Chester 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/chester-v-port-vale-16-august-1978-30238/ Port Vale Livermore pen. Wright Sealand Road Chester 3,741 4–1 Squad statistics Appearances and goals Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward Fourth Division FA Cup League Cup GK ENG John Connaughton 19 0 1 0 2 0 GK ENG Trevor Dance 27 0 0 0 0 0 DF ENG Bill Bentley 31 0 1 0 2 0 DF ENG Russell Bromage 20 2 0 0 1 0 DF WAL Bob Delgado 24 0 0 0 0 0 DF ENG Neil Griffiths 26 1 0 0 1 0 DF ENG Graham Hawkins 43 2 1 0 2 0 DF ENG David Harris 11 0 1 0 1 0 DF ENG Gerry Keenan 32 2 1 0 0 0 DF ENG Billy Leese 0 0 0 0 0 0 DF ENG Phil Sproson 23 0 1 0 1 0 MF ENG Kenny Beech 23 4 1 0 0 0 MF ENG Mark Chamberlain 8 1 0 0 0 0 MF ENG Ian Elsby 5 0 0 0 0 0 MF ENG Peter Farrell 28 4 1 0 0 0 MF NIR Felix Healy 23 2 1 0 0 0 MF ENG Andy Proudlove 5 0 0 0 0 0 MF ENG Ged Stenson 11 0 0 0 2 0 MF ENG Ken Todd 41 8 1 0 0 0 MF ENG Kevin Tully 8 1 1 0 0 0 FW ENG Neville Chamberlain 26 6 0 0 2 0 FW ENG Brian Sinclair 18 2 0 0 0 0 FW ENG Bernie Wright 46 14 1 0 1 1 |- |colspan="14"|Players who featured but departed the club during the season: DF ENG Neil Wilkinson 7 0 0 0 2 0 MF ENG Terry Bailey 0 0 0 0 1 0 MF ENG Alan Bloor 6 1 0 0 0 0 MF ENG John Ridley 7 0 0 0 0 0 MF ENG Peter Sutcliffe 8 1 0 0 0 0 FW ENG Ken Beamish 6 4 0 0 2 0 FW ENG John Froggatt 2 0 0 0 1 0 MF ENG Mick Moore 0 0 0 0 1 0 |} Top scorers PlacePositionNationNameFourth DivisionFA CupLeague CupTotal1FWEnglandBernie Wright1401152MFEnglandKen Todd80083FWEnglandNeville Chamberlain60064MFEnglandKenny Beech4004–MFEnglandPeter Farrell4004–FWEnglandKen Beamish40047DFEnglandGraham Hawkins2002–DFEnglandGerry Keenan2002–MFNorthern IrelandFelix Healy2002–FWEnglandBrian Sinclair2002–DFEnglandRussell Bromage200212MFEnglandKevin Tully1001–MFEnglandMark Chamberlain1001–MFEnglandAlan Bloor1001–MFEnglandPeter Sutcliffe1001–DFEnglandNeil Griffiths1001–––Own goals2002TOTALS570160 Transfers Transfers in Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. June 1978 DF ENG Neil Wilkinson Blackburn Rovers Free transfer Kent Jeff Port Vale Personalities Witan Books 1996 0-9529152-0-0 June 1978 FW ENG Bernie Wright Bradford City £9,000 August 1978 FW ENG Brian Sinclair Blackpool Free transfer August 1978 MF ENG Ken Todd Wolverhampton Wanderers £37,000 September 1978 MF ENG Paul Bennett Everton Free transfer September 1978 DF ENG Gerry Keenan Bury £15,000 October 1978 FW NIR Felix Healy IRL Finn Harps £8,000 October 1978 MF ENG Kevin Tully Crewe Alexandra Exchange November 1978 MF ENG Peter Farrell Bury £40,000 November 1978 MF ENG Andy Proudlove Buxton £1,000 December 1978 DF WAL Bob Delgado Chester £30,000 Transfers out Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. August 1978 MF ENG Terry Bailey Northwich Victoria £2,000 August 1978 MF ENG Mick Moore Wigan Athletic £2,000 Wigan snap up Moore https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000271/19780901/824/0030 Liverpool Echo 1 September 1978 30 British Newspaper Archive subscription September 1978 DF ENG Alan Bloor Retired September 1978 FW ENG John Froggatt Northampton Town £8,000 September 1978 FW ENG Ken Beamish Bury £35,000 October 1978 MF ENG John Ridley Leicester City £55,000 October 1978 DF ENG Neil Wilkinson Crewe Alexandra Exchange December 1978 MF ENG Peter Sutcliffe Chester City £15,000 May 1979 DF ENG David Harris Halifax Town Free transfer May 1979 MF ENG Andy Proudlove Stafford Rangers Free transfer Loans out Date from Position Nationality Name To Date to Ref. May 1978 GK ENG Trevor Dance Stoke City May 1978 May 1978 MF ENG Ian Elsby USA Cleveland Cobras August 1978 May 1978 DF ENG Neil Griffiths USA Cleveland Cobras August 1978 May 1978 DF ENG Billy Leese USA Cleveland Cobras July 1978 May 1978 MF ENG John Ridley USA Fort Lauderdale Strikers August 1978 August 1978 GK ENG Trevor Dance USA Cleveland Cobras August 1978 References Specific 30em General Kent Jeff The Port Vale Record 1879-1993 Witan Books 1993 0-9508981-9-8 Category:Port Vale F.C. seasons Port Vale