1956–57 Port Vale F.C. season

The 1956–57 season was Port Vale's 45th season of football in the English Football League, and their third-successive season (thirty-second overall) in the Second Division.^[1] It proved to be a catastrophic year as Port Vale were relegated after finishing bottom (22nd) with just 22 points from 42 matches.

Manager Freddie Steele, the architect of the famed "Steele Curtain", resigned in January 1957 and was succeeded by Norman Low in February, though the change did little to reverse the club's fortunes. The season featured several still-standing, unwanted club records: a club‑worst 28 league defeats, a 22‑game run without a clean sheet (22 September 1956 to 23 February 1957), and a nine‑match losing streak (9 March to 20 April 1957). Cyril Done ended the campaign as both league and season top scorer, with just nine goals. Vale Park had an average attendance of 14,046, although the fixture against Potteries derby rivals Stoke City drew a season-high 22,395 on 29 April 1957 — just before relegation was confirmed. In the FA Cup, Vale were knocked out by Barnsley in the Third Round.

The pre-season saw the arrival of Harry Anders, a winger from Manchester City signed for 'a substantial fee'.^[1]

The season started with Anders and Baily up front, a combination which failed during a goalless draw with Barnsley.^[1] Two losses followed in which eight goals were conceded, with Colin Askey replacing Anders after a 4–0 defeat at Lincoln City. A 4–2 loss came at Bramall Lane despite them leading Sheffield United by two goals until the 53rd-minute. Harry Poole replaced Albert Leake at right-half in what was 'one of the few rays of sunlight in an otherwise gloomy beginning'.^[1] Vale then 'clicked into gear', picking up seven points out of a possible ten in September.^[1] This included a 4–2 win over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on 8 September, their last away win of the campaign.^[1] Injuries then ravaged the squad as Vale went on a sequence of eight straight defeats to take them from 14th to second from bottom.^[1] These included losses at the City Ground, Victoria Ground (in the first ever floodlit game in the Potteries^[1]), and Anfield. In October, Baily was sold to Nottingham Forest for £7,000 – exactly what Vale had paid for him earlier in the year.^[1] Baily had failed to fit in with the team and was seen as too individualistic, bringing confusion to his teammates.^[1] On 10 October, Vale were beaten 3–1 at Stoke City as a Potteries derby game was played under floodlights for the first time. On 27 October, Vale fell to a 2–1 home defeat to bottom club Notts County despite having a man advantage for an hour. They lost 4–1 to Liverpool the following week at Anfield.

In November, Steele bought experienced forward Billy Spurdle from Manchester City for £4,000.^[1] He scored on his debut in a 3–2 win over Bury on 24 November, and two weeks later he scored a brace in a 4–2 win over Doncaster Rovers.^[1] This temporarily took them away from relegation worries before a streak of seven games without victory.^[1] On 15 January, Steele resigned, saying "I am quite prepared to face the consequences".^[1] On 2 February, Nottingham Forest travelled to Vale Park with Eddie Baily, and demolished Vale 7–1 in a record defeat for the club at Vale Park.^[1] A week later, the "Valiants" put three past Fulham at Craven Cottage, but failed to pick up any points as Ray King conceded six goals despite a brilliant performance.^[1] On 18 February, 42-year-old Norman Low of Workington Town took the £2,000 a year job as Vale manager.^[1] Low had no interest in the tactics of the opposition, and simply told his players to 'entertain the public'.^[1] He was confident the players at his disposal could reach safety, despite the difficult situation they found themselves in.^[1] His second match in charge saw a 3–0 win over Grimsby Town which took them out of the relegation zone.^[1] Yet what followed was a club-record nine game losing streak that doomed their season, five of which were played in Burslem.^[1]

On 9 March, Vale were beaten 3–1 at bottom club Notts County. Low experimented with his team by dropping King and Roy Sproson (on a run of 128 consecutive appearances), but all that resulted was a 6–0 hammering from Sheffield United.^[1] However, it was their 1–0 defeat at Gigg Lane to struggling Bury that did more damage to their prospects of survival.^[1] During this spell, Reg Potts made his 166th consecutive appearance in a defeat to Bristol Rovers, though Low put young reserves into the fray after all seemed lost.^[1] After relegation was confirmed, Vale seemed to play better with the pressure lifted, and picked up five points in their last three games, including a 2–2 draw at home to rivals Stoke City.^[1] Low also announced his plans to rebuild the club, initiating a lengthy series of schoolboy trials.^[1]

They finished bottom of the table with 22 points, losing 18 of their 21 away games.^[1] They were eight points short of third-from-bottom Notts County.^[1] Their 57 goals scored was greater only than Lincoln City, whilst 'the Steele Curtain' was broken, conceding 101 goals, fewer than only two Football League clubs (Charlton Athletic and Crewe Alexandra).^[1] Top scorer Cyril Done only score nine goals, as no consistent scorer emerged all season long.^[1]

On the financial side, 105,000 spectators had been lost from the previous season to an average of only 14,046, leaving an income from gate receipts of £40,717.^[1] Despite this a profit of £1,268 was recorded.^[1] This occurred because of a wage budget cut of around £8,000 to £20,684 and a transfer credit of £625.^[1] The club's debts were worrying, however, causing the club's directors to funnel £2,500 of their own resources towards repaying this debt.^[1] A clear-out of players was initiated for the first time in a good while, those departing included: Cyril Done (Winsford United); Ray King (sold to Boston United for £2,500); Reg Potts and Stan Turner (Worcester City); Tommy Cheadle, Stan Smith, and Derek Mountford (Crewe Alexandra); Len Stephenson and Billy Spurdle (Oldham Athletic); and Harry Anders (Accrington Stanley).^[1] Though many of these were some of the club's best players, many had also reached retirement age.^[1] Low admitted that he would have to buy young players to fill the vacancies in the first-team.^[1]

In the FA Cup, Vale drew 3–3 with Barnsley at Oakwell, before losing the replay 1–0.^[1]

Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward

Specific

General

• Kent, Jeff (1993). The Port Vale Record 1879-1993. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9508981-9-8.