1968–69 Port Vale F.C. season

The 1968–69 season was Port Vale's 57th season of football in the English Football League, and their fourth-successive season (fifth overall) in the Fourth Division.^[1] Under newly-appointed manager Gordon Lee and chairman Arthur McPherson, Vale consolidated their league status with a 13th‑place finish, earning 46 points from 46 matches, and achieving an exactly balanced record of 46 goals scored and conceded.

Roy Chapman led the scoring charts with 11 league goals (12 in all competitions), while left-back Ron Wilson was voted Player of the Year for his consistent performances. Attendance figures saw a high of 8,800 for the fixture against Shrewsbury Town on 18 November 1968, a low of 2,679 against Grimsby Town on 21 April 1969, and an overall average league attendance of 4,361 fans. The club's most emphatic victory came with a 5–0 home win over Newport County on 18 January 1969, while their heaviest defeat was a 3–0 loss at Aldershot on 5 March 1969.

Vale exited the FA Cup in the Third Round, knocked out by Watford, and suffered a First Round exit in the League Cup at the hands of Wrexham. Off the field, financial problems persisted: the club recorded another seasonal loss, pushing total debt higher, despite Lee laying the groundwork for a more stable future.

On 8 June, the club's future was decided, as a vote of 39 to 9 allowed the club readmission to the Football League, despite the conclusion of an investigation earlier in the year which ruled that the club should be expelled from the League.^[1] New manager Gordon Lee thus began work on rebuilding his squad, announcing a team approach with an additional 'individual coaching plan' for players to improve their weaknesses.^[1] Lee was big on coaching, and replaced cross country running exercises with realistic match-day situations.^[1] Stanley Matthews would become more of a scout and would only visit Burslem weekly; he also agreed to allow the £9,000 owed to him in payments delayed until the club were on a sounder financial footing.^[1] His name was removed from his office door, and he 'gradually drifted out of the picture'.^[1] Three signings of note included: 'tenacious, tough-tackling' wing-half John King (Tranmere Rovers); former Wales international winger Graham Williams (Tranmere Rovers); and teenager Bobby Gough (Walsall).^[1]

The season opened with a 3–1 defeat at Chesterfield. Roy Chapman scored goals in four games, though only three points were won in the first six encounters. With Sharratt out injured, in came 'part-time, pipe-smoking civil servant' Geoff Hickson on loan from Crewe Alexandra.^[1] Lee quickly earned the respect of the Vale fans despite his team lying bottom of the table in mid-September.^[1] A new club mascot was unveiled at this time – 'Prince Val'.^[1] Some good home performances lifted the club off the bottom of the table, starting with a 3–0 victory over York City. Other games of note included a 4–1 thumping of Scunthorpe United and a stylish back-heeled goal from Roy Sproson in a 1–1 draw with Lincoln City.^[1] Chapman then developed sciatica and had to be rested until December.^[1] An excellent defence helped the club then to achieve a five-game unbeaten run in the league.^[1] In November, goalkeeper Keith Ball was signed from Walsall for 'a small fee' and Graham Newton joined on trial after leaving the Atlanta Chiefs.^[1] On Boxing Day, Vale travelled to Sincil Bank, where they beat second-placed Lincoln 1–0 in front of 12,208 spectators.^[1] Soon after Bill Asprey retired as a player to coach at Sheffield Wednesday.^[1]

A 5–0 mauling of Newport County on 18 January sent the Vale into the top half of the table, though just one goal was scored and one point gained in the next four games.^[1] In March, Lee adopted a more 'hit and run' style and saw his team achieve three straight wins.^[1] On 10 March, Vale won 1–0 away at Darlington. Five days later, they beat Brentford 4–1. On the 29th, with the club seeming safe from re-election, 'hooliganism reared its ugly head' as Chester found their team bus smashed with bricks following a 2–1 loss at Burslem.^[1] On 21 April, Sproson made his 700th league appearance in a 1–0 win over struggling Grimsby Town.^[1] The final day was a 1–1 draw with wooden-spoon club Bradford Park Avenue. However, the Vale had five goals disallowed.^[1] Nevertheless, this game was the first of a club-record 19 league game streak without a loss that would end on 22 November 1969, the following season.

They finished in 13th place with 46 points from their 46 games, scoring 46 and conceding 46 goals.^[1]

On the financial side, a £10,900 loss was made despite donations of £16,734 from the Sportsmen's Association and the Development Fund.^[1] This left the club's total debts at £178,277.^[1] The club needed an average home attendance of 6,000 to break even and was almost two thousand short of this total.^[1] More stringent economies were thus imposed upon the club.^[1] Five professionals left on free transfers: Mick Cullerton (Chester); Mick Mahon (York City); Jimmy Goodfellow (Workington); Graham Williams (Runcorn); and Milija Aleksic (Eastwood).^[1] Lee claimed 'it was a hard decision, but I have had to create room for improvement'.^[1] Roy Chapman was offered a new contract, but opted instead to sign with Chester.^[1]

In the FA Cup, with Sharrat injured and Hickson re-called by Crewe, 17-year-old Milija Aleksic was roped in to play in the first round clash with Third Division Shrewsbury Town.^[1] He also played in the replay following the 1–1 draw, and the club progressed with a 3–1 win over their 'lacklustre' opponents.^[1] The "Valiants" also required a replay to progress past Workington. Vale then exited in the third round with a 1–0 defeat at Vicarage Road to Watford.^[1]

In the League Cup, defeat came in the first round to Wrexham at the Racecourse Ground. Stuart Sharratt cracked a kneecap in the game and later contracted a virus in his blood, which kept him out of action for the rest of the season.^[1]

Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward

Specific

General

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