1972–73 Port Vale F.C. season

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Port Vale
1972–73 season
Chairman Mark Singer
Manager Gordon Lee
Stadium Vale Park
Football League Third Division 6th (53 Points)
FA Cup Third Round
League Cup Second Round
Player of the Year Ray Williams
Top goalscorer League: Sammy Morgan/Ray Williams (11)
All: Sammy Morgan/Ray Williams (11)
Highest home attendance 20,619 vs. West Ham United (13 January 1973)
Lowest home attendance 3,468 vs. Bristol Rovers (2 September 1972)
Average home league attendance 5,429
Home colours
← 1971–72 1973–74 →

The 1972–73 season was Port Vale's 61st season of football in the Football League, and their third successive season (ninth overall) in the Third Division.[1] Their promotion efforts ended with a sixth place finish, whilst in the two cup competitions they lost out to Newcastle United and West Ham United. Opposition managers condemned the players as overly physical, whilst off the pitch there were sporadic scenes of violence as football hooliganism gripped the club, and the sport in general.

Overview

Third Division

The pre-season saw Gordon Lee make a number of big signings.[1] The most significant was the signing of Ray Williams from Stafford Rangers, who had scored 47 goals for the non-league club the previous season.[1] Williams cost Vale £3,000 and was on a wage of £40 a week (plus incentives).[1] Also arriving was midfielder Freddie Goodwin (Southport); 'controversial' goalkeeper Alan Boswell (Bolton Wanderers); young midfielder Colin Tartt (Alsager College); and trialist goalkeeper Reg Edwards (Nuneaton Borough).[1] Ticket prices were raised to between 40 and 60 pence, whilst season tickets were priced between £8 and £10.[1]

The season opened with six victories in eight league games, though the third match was a huge 7–0 defeat at Millmoor to Rotherham United – the defeat was blamed on Boswell.[1] After mid-September the "Valiants" struggled to score, and recorded six draws in eight games, though they remained in the top three.[1] The club spent £8,500 on new floodlights and a public address system, however attendances dropped off from the crucial 6,000 break-even number.[1] Lee complained about the lack of support, and said "the people here are not genuinely interested in league football".[1] Offered the management position at Shrewsbury Town, he rejected the offer as he believed the club 'lacked potential' and that he had a 'feeling of loyalty towards the [Vale] players'.[1] Going into the Christmas period Brian Horton was struck by injury, and the team struggled, heading down the league with inconsistent play.[1] In January, Lee sold John James to Chester for £5,000, Ray Harford to Colchester United for £1,750, and Keith Lindsey to Gillingham for £750.[1] To keep up the promotion bid, in February he spent £2,250 to bring 'pacey' striker John Woodward from Walsall.[1] Vale began to pick up wins, though their 2–1 win over Blackburn Rovers led to them being branded by Rovers manager Ken Furphy as 'a brutal and physical side'.[1] Vale lifted themselves into third place, though were out of the race after a 'shattering' 5–0 defeat to Southend United at Roots Hall.[1] Their final home game of the season was a 2–2 draw with champions Bolton Wanderers, in which 'frenzied scenes' included police dogs separating the two sets of fans at the Bycars End, two attempted pitch invasions, and the referee kicked to the ground at the final whistle.[1]

They finished in sixth spot with 53 points, four short of promoted Notts County. The 69 goals conceded tally was higher than that of all but the bottom two clubs.[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a £14,304 profit was made after donations of £16,029 from the Sportsmen's Association and the Development Fund.[1] Gate receipts had risen massively from £36,323 to £67,202.[1] The wage bill stood at £59,663, whilst the club's debt was at £44,721, along with £57,860 owed to the directors.[1] At the end of the season Freddie Goodwin was let go, and he joined Macclesfield Town.[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale progressed past Fourth Division Southport and then Third Division Wrexham with home victories. In the Third Round they faced Second Division West Ham United at Vale Park, where the "Hammers" won 'an epic battle' 1–0 in front of a season-best crowd of 20,619.[1] The match raised £8,600, but also the issue of violence, as two Londoners were stabbed, two policemen seriously assaulted, and thirty fans ejected from the stadium.[1] West Ham manager Ron Greenwood claimed that the Vale players attempted 'the most blatant calculated intimidation I have ever seen anywhere in the world'.[1]

In the League Cup, the club recorded their first ever away victory in the competition with a 1–0 win over Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park.[1] The Second Round held a home tie with First Division Newcastle United, and the "Magpies" left Stoke-on-Trent having won 3–1 in front of 10,370 spectators.

Final league table

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Main article: 1972–73 Football League
P W D L F A GA Pts
1 Bolton Wanderers 46 25 11 10 73 39 1.872 61
2 Notts County 46 23 11 12 67 47 1.426 57
3 Blackburn Rovers 46 20 15 11 57 47 1.213 55
4 Oldham Athletic 46 19 16 11 72 54 1.333 54
5 Bristol Rovers 46 20 13 13 77 56 1.375 53
6 Port Vale 46 21 11 14 56 69 0.812 53
7 Bournemouth 46 17 16 13 66 44 1.500 50
8 Plymouth Argyle 46 20 10 16 74 66 1.121 50
9 Grimsby Town 46 20 8 18 67 61 1.098 48
10 Tranmere Rovers 46 15 16 15 56 52 1.077 46
11 Charlton Athletic 46 17 11 18 69 67 1.030 45
12 Wrexham 46 14 17 15 55 54 1.019 45
13 Rochdale 46 14 17 15 48 54 0.889 45
14 Southend United 46 17 10 19 61 54 1.130 44
15 Shrewsbury Town 46 15 14 17 46 54 0.852 44
16 Chesterfield 46 17 9 20 57 61 0.934 43
17 Walsall 46 18 7 21 56 66 0.848 43
18 York City 46 13 15 18 42 46 0.913 41
19 Watford 46 12 17 17 43 48 0.896 41
20 Halifax Town 46 13 15 18 43 53 0.811 41
21 Rotherham United 46 17 7 22 51 65 0.785 41
22 Brentford 46 15 7 24 51 69 0.739 37
23 Swansea City 46 14 9 23 51 73 0.699 37
24 Scunthorpe United 46 10 10 26 33 72 0.458 30

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Legend

Win Draw Loss
Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46
Ground A H A H H A H H A A H H A A H H A H A H A H A H A H A H A A H A A H A H H A A H H A A H H A
Result D W L W W W W W L L W L D W D D   W D D L W L L D W L W L W W L W W L W D W L W D W L W D L
Position 10 4 15 6 5 1 1 1 2 4 3 5 4 3 3 2 3 2 3 3 3 3 5 7 6 10 10 9 10 10 9 9 9 5 9 7 8 4 6 6 4 4 5 4 5 6

Sourced from Statto.[2]

Football League Third Division

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
12 August 1972 Rochdale A 0–0 2,661
19 August 1972 York City H 2–1 4,112 Horton, Goodwin
26 August 1972 Rotherham United A 0–7 4,788
28 August 1972 Wrexham H 3–2 3,885 Mountford, James, Morgan
2 September 1972 Bristol Rovers H 2–1 3,468 Goodwin, Horton (pen)
9 September 1972 Chesterfield A 2–1 7,854 Loska, Horton (pen)
16 September 1972 Brentford H 1–0 4,663 Williams
18 September 1972 Halifax Town H 2–1 5,715 Morgan, Loska
23 September 1972 Walsall A 0–2 8,159
26 September 1972 Bournemouth A 0–4 12,145
30 September 1972 Southend United H 3–1 4,005 Gough, Morgan, Williams (pen)
7 October 1972 Oldham Athletic H 0–2 5,352
10 October 1972 Watford A 1–1 5,556 Morgan
14 October 1972 Blackburn Rovers A 1–0 6,500 Morgan
21 October 1972 Tranmere Rovers H 0–0 4,007
23 October 1972 Shrewsbury Town H 1–1 5,213 James
28 October 1972 Notts County A 1–1 8,544 Horton (pen)
4 November 1972 Bournemouth H 2–1 6,414 Morgan (2)
11 November 1972 Halifax Town A 2–2 2,026 Williams, Horton
25 November 1972 Plymouth Argyle H 1–1 3,881 McLaren
2 December 1972 Charlton Athletic A 0–2 4,391
16 December 1972 Scunthorpe United H 2–0 3,833 o.g., McLaren
23 December 1972 Bolton Wanderers A 0–2 12,643
26 December 1972 Walsall H 1–2 6,787 Mountford (pen)
30 December 1972 York City A 0–0 3,589
27 January 1973 Chesterfield H 2–1 3,806 James, McLaren
30 January 1973 Bristol Rovers A 1–4 10,009 Loska
3 February 1973 Watford H 1–0 3,987 Williams
10 February 1973 Brentford A 0–5 6,694
24 February 1973 Scunthorpe United A 1–0 2,734 Summerscales
26 February 1973 Rotherham United H 4–1 4,433 o.g., Gough, Woodward, Williams
3 March 1973 Oldham Athletic A 0–1 6,998
6 March 1973 Grimsby Town A 1–0 14,092 Williams
10 March 1973 Blackburn Rovers H 2–1 7,854 Woodward (2)
16 March 1973 Tranmere Rovers A 0–2 5,346
19 March 1973 Swansea City H 3–1 5,104 Morgan (2), Summerscales
24 March 1973 Notts County H 1–1 8,920 Williams
27 March 1973 Shrewsbury Town A 3–2 4,419 Woodward (2), Williams
31 March 1973 Plymouth Argyle A 1–2 9,416 Williams
7 April 1973 Charlton Athletic H 3–1 5,076 Williams, Morgan, Woodward
9 April 1973 Rochdale H 0–0 6,413
14 April 1973 Swansea City A 1–0 2,594 Morgan
20 April 1973 Southend United A 0–5 9,395
21 April 1973 Grimsby Town H 3–0 3,772 Woodward (2), Williams
23 April 1973 Bolton Wanderers H 2–2 14,168 Horton (pen), Woodward
27 April 1973 Wrexham A 0–5 3,543

FA Cup

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Main article: 1972–73 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 20 November 1972 Southport H 2–1 4,624 James, Horton
R2 9 December 1972 Wrexham H 1–0 5,980 Brodie
R3 13 January 1973 West Ham United H 0–1 20,619

League Cup

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Main article: 1972–73 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 16 August 1972 Tranmere Rovers A 1–0 4,003 o.g.
R2 5 September 1972 Newcastle United H 1–3 10,370 Summerscales

Player statistics

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Port Vale 1972–1973 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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