1976–77 Port Vale F.C. season

The 1976–77 season was Port Vale's 65th season of football in the Football League, and their seventh successive season (13th overall) in the Third Division.^[1] Under the stewardship of Roy Sproson, the club endured a tense league campaign, finishing 19th with 38 points, just three points clear of relegation.

Vale found greater success in cup competitions, reaching the Fifth Round of the FA Cup for the first time since the 1961–62 season before being eliminated by Aston Villa at Villa Park in front of nearly 50,000 spectators. In the League Cup, they exited in the First Round, knocked out by Wrexham. The season also saw them reach the final of the Debenhams Cup, where they finished as runners-up after a narrow defeat to Chester. Ken Beamish was a shining light up front, finishing as both league top scorer with 12 goals and season top scorer with 18 across all competitions. The club's average home attendance was 4,356, with the highest gate recorded at 18,068 against Burnley on 29 January 1977, and the lowest at 2,984 versus Portsmouth on 2 April 1977. The Player of the Year, as recognised by the club, was David Harris.

Despite a precarious struggle in the Third Division, Port Vale delivered memorable cup runs — notably reaching the FA Cup Fifth Round and narrowly missing out in the Debenhams Cup final — buoyed by Ken Beamish's goal tally and sustained under Roy Sproson's guidance.

The pre-season saw manager Roy Sproson add two youngsters to his squad: 22-year-old forward Kevin Kennerley (Burnley) and 23-year-old defender Ian Osborne (Birmingham City).^[1] The battle with Stoke-on-Trent City Council continued over the legality of Vale's market trading operation.^[1] The club were also in trouble with The Football Association, who fined them £400 for the 47 bookings received in the previous campaign.^[1] Vale decided to crack down on player indiscipline by fining players £25 for dissent and £50 for violence.^[1] As 'a piece of good business' which 'could not be turned down', the club also sold star defender Terry Lees to Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam for £25,000.^[1] Another late signing was Geoff Davies, who had returned from a spell in the United States.^[1]

The season opened with a loss, a draw, and then a 2–0 win over Sheffield Wednesday on 28 August.^[1] Then only one point was gained in the next six matches.^[1] To bolster the side in came Stoke City's veteran defender Eric Skeels, who was also returning from a spell in the USA.^[1] Mick Cullerton then severed a cartilage in a 1–1 draw at reading on 18 September, which meant five months out of action for the star striker.^[1] To replace him, Sproson signed Blackburn Rovers forward Ken Beamish (£12,000) and Wigan Athletic's top-scorer John Rogers ('a small fee').^[1] The club also informed other clubs that they would listen to any player offers, but there was little interest.^[1] Rogers got off to a good start, scoring the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Northampton Town on 8 October. Later in the month, former England and Wolves defender Bobby Thomson was another player returning from the States.^[1] Signing with the Vale, he impressed so much that he was made club captain in his first week at Vale Park after impressing in a 3–2 defeat to Wrexham.^[1] Vale ended the month in seventh place.^[1]

On 6 November, Vale lost 1–0 at bottom club York City after a flu epidemic hit the squad. A club record run of 42 away games without a clean sheet began on 18 December and would last until 30 September 1978. The first of this run was a 1–1 draw with Rotherham United at Millmoor; after this match "Millers" boss Jimmy McGuigan stated that Vale showed 'the worst exhibition of football thuggery I have ever seen'.^[1] Even though the defence struggled away from home, Beamish did not, as he scored his first ten goals for the club away from Burslem.^[1] In a 4–2 win over Grimsby Town at Blundell Park on 3 January, Beamish scored a hat-trick.^[1] Later in the month Geoff Davies had his contract cancelled by mutual consent.^[1] The team were unbeaten throughout January, though only two of their five fixtures came in the league.^[1] Vale's form tailed off, though Terry Alcock returned briefly to play a handful of games.^[1] Thomson also returned to the US, Ray Williams was transferred to Northwich Victoria for 'a small fee', and Colin Tartt was sold to Chesterfield for £15,000.^[1] In their places were new signings Alan Lamb (£5,000 from Preston North End) and Peter Sutcliffe (£3,000 from Stockport County), whilst a fit again Cullerton was like a new signing.^[1]

Vale lost 1–0 at Crystal Palace on 1 February, leading Roy Chapman to remark "it's no good being today's heroes and tomorrow's fools". Six days later, they fell to a 2–0 defeat at second-from-bottom York City. The club had drifted into the bottom four, but a six-match unbeaten run with a prolific Cullerton took them to safety.^[1] In the background was an ongoing power struggle in the boardroom.^[1] In late-March they then received a 6–2 beating at Wrexham and then a 4–0 beating from Chesterfield at Saltergate.^[1] The club suffered an injury crisis in April, with both Keith Chadwick and John Brodie having been forced to retire through injury.^[1] Relegation was avoided however, with six points from the final five games, beginning with a 4–1 victory over fourth-placed Crystal Palace.^[1] The final game of the season was against Rotherham United, who needed a six-goal win margin to gain promotion.^[1] The match saw three penalties, three bookings and crowd trouble, though United were four goals ahead they failed to find the remaining two, and instead the "Valiants" scored a late goal.^[1]

They finished in 19th place with 38 points, three points above the drop.^[1] Their 47 goals scored tally only lower than Grimsby's.^[1] They only recorded two victories on their travels.^[1] At the end of the season was the short-lived Debenhams Cup competition, Vale lost 4–3 to Chester over two legs, but still received a runners-up prize of £5,000.^[1]

On the financial side, a loss of £5,959 was made despite a donation of £23,860 from the Development Fund.^[1] Gate receipts had risen to £60,115; however, wages and signing-on fees had risen to £139,012.^[1] The bank overdraft stood at £15,000, though the club's total debt stood at £123,863.^[1] On the coaching front, Roy Chapman was replaced by Colin Harper.^[1] Arthur McPherson replaced Mark Singer as chairman on 17 March. McPherson stated that "the guts were ripped out of the team when Brian Horton and Terry Lees were sold and they have not been replaced". Meanwhile, three players were handed free transfers: ten-year club veteran Tommy McLaren (Telford United), Eric Skeels (Leek Town), and Ian Osborne (Hillingdon Borough).^[1] Also John Rogers was sold to Altrincham for £2,000.^[1]

In the FA Cup, Vale advanced past Fourth Division side Southport with a John Rogers brace at Haig Avenue.^[2] A 3–0 win over Barnsley, also of the Fourth Division, then put Vale into the third round.^[2] The Barnsley fixture survived two pitch inspections and a half-time warning from referee Roger Kirkpatrick that if the frostbitten pitch worsened any further than he would call the game off.^[2] Vale were one goal ahead at this stage thanks to Ray Williams, and second half goals from Neil Griffiths and Ken Beamish secured the victory.^[2] In the third round, they faced Second Division club Hull City, with whom they played out a 1–1 draw at Boothferry Park after Beamish equalised in stoppage time.^[2] Trevor Dance played well on his home debut in the return fixture, though Beamish was required the level the score again at 1–1, this time in the 85th minute.^[2] In extra-time, goals from Kevin Kennerley and Beamish again secured victory over a hull side led by Billy Bremner.^[2] Another Second Division club, Burnley, awaited in the fourth round and 18,068 – the biggest crowd at Vale Park in four years – witnessed Vale secure a 2–1 victory as 38th-minute Colin Tartt and 56th-minute Derek Brownbill goals gave Vale what proved to be an unassailable lead as Brian Flynn's 88th-minute goal proved a mere consolation.^[2] The fifth round held First Division club Aston Villa. Villa won 3–0 in front of a crowd of 46,872 at Villa Park. The score was 'flattering' to the "Villans" as they scored two late goals. The match was shown on television.^[1]

The club's FA Cup run earned them a place in the Debenhams Cup final against Chester. A 2–0 home win in the first leg gave them a strong advantage heading to Sealand Road, but there they lost 4–1 and so had to be consoled with runners-up medals and £5,000 prize money.^[3]

In the League Cup, Welsh club Wrexham knocked the Vale out 2–1 on aggregate, following a 1–1 draw in Burslem and a 1–0 win at the Racecourse Ground.^[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.