Port Vale

1985–86 season
Chairman	Jim Lloyd
Manager	John Rudge
Stadium	Vale Park
Football League Fourth Division	4th (79 Points)
FA Cup	Second Round (knocked out byWalsall)
League Cup	Second Round (knocked out byWest Bromwich Albion)
Associate Members' Cup	Northern Section Semi-finalists (knocked out byWigan Athletic)
Player of the Year	Jim Arnold
Top goalscorer	League:Robbie Earle (15) All:Andy Jones (18)
Highest home attendance	11,736 vs. Walsall, 8 December 1985
Lowest home attendance	1,584 vs.Blackpool, 10 February 1986
Average home league attendance	3,581
Biggest win	4–0 (three games)
Biggest defeat	1–4 vs.Chester City, 1 January 1986
Home colours Away colours
← 1984–85 1986–87 →

The1985–86 season wasPort Vale's 74th season of football in theEnglish Football League, and second-successive (13th overall) season in theFourth Division.^[1]John Rudge managed a Vale to aclub record low of only one home league defeat all season, contributing to a fourth-place finish with 79 points and a return to theThird Division via promotion.

Building the team shrewdly, Rudge leaned on rookie strikerAndy Jones — signed for just a few thousand pounds — to lead the scoring charts with 18 goals, whileRobbie Earle added 15 strikes in the league, andJim Arnold marshalled a resolute defence that earned himPlayer of the Year honors. In cup competitions, the team reached the Second Round in both theFA Cup andLeague Cup, and progressed to the Northern Section Semi-finals of theAssociate Members' Cup.

A season of calculated recruitment, defensive consistency, and rising young stars such as Andy Jones and Robbie Earle culminated in a well-earned return to the Third Division — the first taste of Rudge’s managerial success.

The pre-season sawJohn Rudge sign big defenderJohn Williams fromTranmere Rovers for £12,000, and powerful Welsh strikerAndy Jones fromNorthern Premier League sideRhyl for £3,000.^[1] He also signed 35-year-old goalkeeperJim Arnold (Everton); midfielderPaul Maguire (Tacoma Stars); hard-working midfielderJeff Johnson (Gillingham); andWayne Ebanks (who had played on loan fromWest Bromwich Albion the previous season).^[1] Meanwhile, new safety regulations reducedVale Park's capacity down to 16,800, and later again to 16,300.^[1] The club set a £10 bonus for clean sheets and also set bonuses forpromotion. Another late addition wasJon Bowden fromOldham Athletic for £5,000.^[1]

The season opened with a 1–0 defeat toExeter City atSt James Park on 17 August.^[1] They did, though, manage to win 2–1 atBurnley on 26 August, avenging the 7–0 defeat they had suffered atTurf Moor two seasons prior.^[2] Bowden made his debut in a 4–1 home win overCambridge United on 14 September, though had his elbow dislocated in a sending off incident from opposition defenderGeoff Scott. Vale continued in indifferent form, and three days later they played out a goalless draw withAldershot at theRecreation Ground's lowest recorded Football League attendance of 1,027.^[1] At the end of the month, Vale went nine league games without a loss to fire the club into the promotion race, their run including three 4–0 wins inBurslem as they went clear at the top of the table.^[1] With John Williams sidelined with an ankle injury, Vale's form suffered with just two wins in the following eleven games, and Vale fell to fifth place.^[1] Williams picked up his injury on 26 October as Vale won 3–0 at home toLou Macari'sSwindon Town.^[3]

On 2 November, Vale went to the top of the table with a 1–0 victory atPreston North End after being gifted a dubious penalty.^[1] Their form suffered, though they did pick up a 3–0 home win overCrewe Alexandra on Boxing Day, with Ally Brown scoring a "spectacular overhead kick".^[1] Rudge looked at bringing inNiall Quinn as loan cover, but was denied afterArsenal had an injury to strikerTony Woodcock and needed Quin to stay as cover for their own team.^[4] Vale fell to a 4–1 defeat at second-placedChester City on New Year's Day. They were also beaten on a snow-covered Vale Park pitch by one goal to nil byPreston North End three days later.

From 11 January to 26 April, the "Valiants" hit a run of 18 league games unbeaten (eight draws and ten wins), thus ensuring promotion.^[1] This run was built on the striking partnership ofRobbie Earle and Andy Jones, as well as a solid defence and consistent displays from keeper Arnold.^[1] During this spell Rudge failed to re-signBob Newton fromChesterfield, though was cheered by completing the double overDario Gradi's Crewe Alexandra atGresty Road.^[1] A 1–1 draw at fourth-placedHartlepool United in a "drab, lifeless" match was crucial. One low point was an attack by aStockport gang onRussell Bromage following a 2–1 win overStockport County atEdgeley Park.^[1] Vale broke into the top four for the first time with a 3–1 win overAldershot on what was described as "a paddy-field of a pitch".^[5] They demonstrated their steel by securing a 0–0 at league leadersSwindon Town in the next match. On 31 March, Vale won 1–0 away at Crewe despite Brown being sent off on 53 minutes, ending the hosts'club record-equalling run of seven consecutive victories and start a sequence of five successive Vale victories.^[6]

Promotion was ensured with a comfortable 1–0 win over bottom clubTorquay United atPlainmoor, in which the majority of the crowd were Vale fans.^[7] Promotion was celebrated with a dinner dance atKeele University.^[8] However, with two defeats and a draw in their final three games, Rudge accused his players of lacking professionalism as they lost the chance to head into the Third Division as runners-up.^[1]

They finished in fourth place with 79 points, seven points clear ofOrient.^[1]Preston North End were the only team to beat Vale on their ground in the league all season.^[1] Their 37 goals conceded was the lowest total in the division and a record excelled only byManchester United in the First Division.^[1] Their 67 goals scored tally was not particularly impressive, though Earle and Jones' partnership provided almost half of these goals.^[1]Phil Sproson was selected for thePFAFourth DivisionTeam of the Year.^[1]

On the financial side, the season lost a disastrous sum of £79,474.^[1] The promotion bonuses meant the wage bill totalled at £413,471.^[1] Vale's average home attendance of 3,581 was the third-highest in the division.^[1] The club's shirt sponsors were ECI. Three playerstransferred at the end of the season werePeter Griffiths (Salisbury United),Chris Pearce (Wrexham), andJeff Johnson (Barrow).^[1] Player of the YearJim Arnold andAlly Brown retired, whilstOshor Williams was sold toPreston North End for 'a small fee'.^[1]

In theFA Cup, Vale beatMansfield Town 1–0 in areplay following a 1–1 draw atField Mill two days previously.^[9]Vale Park saw a crowd of 11,736 for the second round goalless tie withWalsall, and were then eliminated following a 2–1 defeat at theBescot Stadium.^[1]

In theLeague Cup, Vale advanced pastThird Division sideWigan Athletic 3–2 onaggregate following at 2–0 win atSpringfield Park. They were then knocked out byFirst Division clubWest Bromwich Albion, losing 1–0 atThe Hawthorns, before giving an excellent account of themselves by battling back from 2–0 down atVale Park to draw 2–2.^[1]

In theAssociate Members' Cup, Vale advanced through the group stage with a 1–1 draw with Wrexham at theRacecourse Ground and a 2–0 home win overBlackpool. The next stage saw Vale triumph overScunthorpe United atGlanford Park with a 4–3 win on penalties following a 1–1 draw. In the Area Semi-finals, they were then defeated by holders Wigan Athletic, though they still earned £1,250 in prize money.^[1]

Burnley v Port Vale

26 August 19853	Burnley	1–2	Port Vale	Burnley
	Taylor 26'	Report	Sproson Griffiths	Stadium:Turf Moor Attendance: 3,995

Port Vale vRochdale

31 August 19854	Port Vale	1–1	Rochdale	Burslem
	Jones 65'	Report	Taylor 37'	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 3,043 Referee: K Cooper

Port Vale vCambridge United

14 September 19856	Port Vale	4–1	Cambridge United	Burslem
	Maguire (pen.) Earle Brown	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 2,674

Port Vale vHalifax Town

21 September 19858	Port Vale	3–2	Halifax Town	Burslem
	Hunter Maguire	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 2,754

Colchester United v Port Vale

27 September 19859	Colchester United	1–0	Port Vale	Colchester
19:30BST	Bowen 32'	Report		Stadium:Layer Road Attendance: 3,110 Referee: Alan Gunn

Port Vale vHartlepool United

30 September 198510	Port Vale	4–0	Hartlepool United	Burslem
	O.Williams 10' J.Williams 23' Jones 49' Maguire 85'	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 3,015 Referee: Bob Nixon

Port Vale vWrexham

5 October 198511	Port Vale	4–0	Wrexham	Burslem
15:00BST	Maguire 1',85' (pen.) Johnson 50' Hooper 75' (og.)	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 3,351 Referee: R Guy Assistant referees: G K Roderick, A Streets

Tranmere Rovers v Port Vale

12 October 198512	Tranmere Rovers	1–2	Port Vale	Prenton
		Report	Earle Maguire	Stadium:Prenton Park Attendance: 2,338

Port Vale vSouthend United

19 October 198513	Port Vale	4–0	Southend United	Burslem
	Jones Webb Earle	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 4,736

Port Vale vSwindon Town

26 October 198515	Port Vale	3–0	Swindon Town	Burslem
	O.Williams 33' Earle 47' Brown 83'	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 5,073 Referee: D. Scott

Preston North End v Port Vale

2 November 198516	Preston North End	0–1	Port Vale	Preston, Lancashire
		Report	Maguire (pen.)	Stadium:Deepdale Attendance: 4,536

Hereford United v Port Vale

6 November 198517	Hereford United	1–1	Port Vale	Hereford
	Harvey 80' (pen.)	Report	Sproson 88'	Stadium:Edgar Street Attendance: 3,308

Port Vale vStockport County

9 November 198518	Port Vale	1–1	Stockport County	Burslem
15:00GMT	Bowden 9'	Report	Leonard 38'	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 5,248 Referee: Alan Seville

Peterborough United v Port Vale

23 November 198519	Peterborough United	1–0	Port Vale	Peterborough
	Worrall 6'	Report		Stadium:London Road Stadium Attendance: 2,852 Referee: D. Reeves

Northampton Town v Port Vale

14 December 198520	Northampton Town	2–2	Port Vale	Northampton
15:00GMT	Morley Chard	Report	Sproson Earle	Stadium:County Cricket Ground Attendance: 3,259

Port Vale vTorquay United

17 December 198521	Port Vale	1–0	Torquay United	Burslem
	Hunter	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 3,421

Mansfield Town v Port Vale

22 December 198522	Mansfield Town	2–1	Port Vale	Mansfield
	Kent Garner	Report	O. Williams	Stadium:Field Mill Attendance: 3,730

Port Vale vCrewe Alexandra

26 December 198523	Port Vale	3–0	Crewe Alexandra	Burslem
	Maguire Brown Earle	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 5,976

Chester City v Port Vale

1 January 198624	Chester City	4–1	Port Vale	Chester
	Houghton Richardson pen.' Bennett	Report	Earle	Stadium:Sealand Road Attendance: 5,323

Rochdale v Port Vale

11 January 198626	Rochdale	3–3	Port Vale	Rochdale
	Seasman 21' Gamble 43' Taylor 87' (pen.)	Report	Jones 50',83' Brown 75'	Stadium:Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2,445 Referee: KA Redfern

Cambridge United v Port Vale

25 January 198628	Cambridge United	1–3	Port Vale	Cambridge
		Report	J.Williams Hunter Earle	Stadium:Abbey Stadium Attendance: 2,437

Port Vale vOrient

1 February 198629	Port Vale	2–0	Orient	Burslem
	Earle	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 3,074

Port Vale vScunthorpe United

3 February 198630	Port Vale	3–1	Scunthorpe United	Burslem
	J.Williams Jones (pen.) Bromage	Report	Lawrence 86'	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 2,977

Port Vale vBurnley

24 February 198631	Port Vale	1–1	Burnley	Burslem
	Banks	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 3,030

Port Vale vColchester United

1 March 198632	Port Vale	1–1	Colchester United	Burslem
	Jones 77'	Report	Groves 68'	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 2,726 Referee:Peter Willis

Hartlepool United v Port Vale

5 March 198633	Hartlepool United	1–1	Port Vale	Hartlepool
	Sproson 20' (og.)	Report	Bowden 42'	Stadium:Victoria Park Attendance: 2,550 Referee: Norman Glover

Wrexham v Port Vale

8 March 198634	Wrexham	1–3	Port Vale	Wrexham
15:00GMT	Edwards 17'	Report	Shankland 43' Earle 84' Jones 87' (pen.)	Stadium:Racecourse Ground Attendance: 2,614 Referee: T Mills Assistant referees: E Lomas, J E Tong

Port Vale vAldershot

18 March 198636	Port Vale	3–1	Aldershot	Burslem
	Bowden Hunter Earle	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 2,461

Port Vale vChester City

29 March 198638	Port Vale	1–1	Chester City	Burslem
	Sproson	Report	Greenough	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 4,490

Crewe Alexandra v Port Vale

31 March 198639	Crewe Alexandra	0–1	Port Vale	Crewe
		Report	Earle	Stadium:Gresty Road Attendance: 4,986

Port Vale vHereford United

5 April 198640	Port Vale	1–0	Hereford United	Burslem
	Jones 23' (pen.)	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 3,344

Stockport County v Port Vale

11 April 198641	Stockport County	1–2	Port Vale	Stockport
19:30BST	Newton 2'	Report	Maguire 27' Brown 42'	Stadium:Edgeley Park Attendance: 4,691 Referee: Mark Scott

Port Vale vPeterborough United

19 April 198642	Port Vale	2–0	Peterborough United	Burslem
	Jones (pen.)	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 3,765 Referee: G. Tyson

Torquay United v Port Vale

26 April 198643	Torquay United	0–1	Port Vale	Torquay
		Report	Earle	Stadium:Plainmoor Attendance: 1,898

Southend United v Port Vale

5 May 198646	Southend United	2–1	Port Vale	Southend-on-Sea
		Report	Earle	Stadium:Roots Hall Attendance: 1,687

Mansfield Town v Port Vale

16 November 1985R1	Mansfield Town	1–1	Port Vale	Mansfield
	N. Chamberlain	Report	Earle	Stadium:Field Mill Attendance: 5,207

Port Vale vMansfield Town

18 November 1985Replay	Port Vale	1–0	Mansfield Town	Burslem
	Maguire (pen.)	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 6,749

Walsall v Port Vale

10 December 1985Replay	Walsall	2–1	Port Vale	Walsall
		Report	Brown	Stadium:Fellows Park Attendance: 5,671

Port Vale vWigan Athletic

20 August 1985R1 1st Leg	Port Vale	1–2	Wigan Athletic	Burslem
	Sproson	Report	Kelly	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 2,620

Wigan Athletic v Port Vale

2 September 1985R1 2nd Leg	Wigan Athletic	0–2 (2–3agg.)	Port Vale	Wigan
		Report	Jones Earle	Stadium:Springfield Park Attendance: 2,772

Port Vale vWest Bromwich Albion

7 October 1985R2 2nd Leg	Port Vale	2–2 (2–3agg.)	West Bromwich Albion	Burslem
	Jones Maguire	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 7,985

Wrexham v Port Vale

21 January 1986R1	Wrexham	1–1	Port Vale	Wrexham
19:30GMT	Steel 30'	Report	Jones 47' (pen.)	Stadium:Racecourse Ground Attendance: 992

Port Vale vBlackpool

10 February 1986R1	Port Vale	3–1	Blackpool	Burslem
	Maguire Hunter Jones	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 1,584

Scunthorpe United v Port Vale

10 March 1986Northern Area Quarter-final	Scunthorpe United	1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–4p)	Port Vale	Scunthorpe
		Report	Jones (pen.)	Stadium:Old Show Ground Attendance: 1,415

Port Vale vWigan Athletic

26 March 1986Northern Area Semi-final	Port Vale	1–2	Wigan Athletic	Burslem
	Jones (pen.)	Report	Barrow Aspinall	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 4,832

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

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		League Cup		Associate Members' Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Chris Pearce	5	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	6	0
GK	Jim Arnold	41	0	4	0	4	0	3	0	52	0
DF	Phil Sproson	44	4	4	0	3	1	3	0	54	5
DF	Alan Webb	39	1	4	0	4	0	1	0	48	1
DF	Wayne Ebanks	12	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	15	0
DF	Chris Banks	19	1	0	0	0	0	3	0	22	1
DF	John Williams	36	3	0	0	4	0	4	0	44	3
DF	Russell Bromage	40	1	4	0	4	0	3	0	51	1
MF	Geoff Hunter	45	5	4	0	4	0	4	1	57	6
MF	Robbie Earle	46	15	4	1	4	1	4	0	58	17
MF	Peter Griffiths	5	1	0	0	1	0	3	0	9	1
MF	Paul Maguire	45	10	4	1	4	1	4	1	57	13
MF	Jeff Johnson	10	1	0	0	4	0	2	0	16	1
MF	Oshor Williams	32	3	4	0	3	0	1	0	40	3
MF	Jon Bowden	36	3	4	0	1	0	3	0	44	3
MF	Eric Mountford	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW	Ally Brown	27	5	4	1	2	0	0	0	33	6
FW	Mick Perry	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
FW	Andy Shankland	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	1
FW	Andy Jones	41	12	3	0	4	2	4	4	52	18
FW	Steve Cammack	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
FW	Steve Biggins	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Fourth Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Associate Members' Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Andy Jones	12	0	2	4	18
2	MF	Jamaica	Robbie Earle	15	1	1	0	17
3	MF	Scotland	Paul Maguire	10	0	1	1	13
4	FW	Scotland	Ally Brown	5	1	0	0	6
–	MF	England	Geoff Hunter	5	0	0	1	6
6	DF	England	Phil Sproson	4	0	1	0	5
7	MF	England	Jon Bowden	3	0	0	0	3
–	DF	England	John Williams	3	0	0	0	3
–	MF	England	Oshor Williams	3	0	0	0	3
10	DF	England	Alan Webb	1	0	0	0	1
–	DF	England	Chris Banks	1	0	0	0	1
–	MF	England	Peter Griffiths	1	0	0	0	1
–	MF	Wales	Jeff Johnson	1	0	0	0	1
–	FW	England	Andy Shankland	1	0	0	0	1
–	DF	England	Russell Bromage	1	0	0	0	1
–		–	Own goals	1	0	0	0	1
			TOTALS	67	3	5	6	81

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
May 1985	FW		Andy Jones	Rhyl	£3,000	[11]
June 1985	DF		Wayne Ebanks	West Bromwich Albion	Free transfer	[11]
June 1985	MF		Jeff Johnson	Gillingham	Free transfer	[11]
June 1985	MF		Paul Maguire	Tacoma Stars	Free transfer	[11]
July 1985	DF		John Williams	Tranmere Rovers	£12,000	[11]
August 1985	GK		Jim Arnold	Everton	Free transfer	[11]
September 1985	MF		Jon Bowden	Oldham Athletic	£5,000	[11]
October 1985	FW		Mick Perry	Torquay United	Trial	[11]

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
February 1986	FW		Mick Perry	Stafford Rangers	Trial ended	[11]
May 1986	FW		Alistair Brown	Retired		[11]
May 1986	MF		Peter Griffiths	Salisbury United	Free transfer	[11]
May 1986	MF		Jeff Johnson	Barrow	Free transfer	[11]
May 1986	GK		Chris Pearce	Wrexham	Free transfer	[11]
May 1986	FW		Andy Shankland		Released	[11]
Summer 1986	MF		Oshor Williams	Preston North End	£2,000	[11]

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Date to	Ref.
December 1985	FW		Steve Cammack	Scunthorpe United	January 1986	[11]
1986	FW		Steve Biggins	Derby County	1986	[11]

Specific

General

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

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• English football clubs 1985–86 season

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