Port Vale

1989–90 season
Chairman	Bill Bell
Manager	John Rudge
Stadium	Vale Park
Football League Second Division	11th (61 Points)
FA Cup	Fourth Round (knocked out byAston Villa)
League Cup	Second Round (knocked out byWimbledon)
Full Members Cup	Second Round (knocked out byMiddlesbrough)
Player of the Year	Neil Aspin
Top goalscorer	League:Darren Beckford (17) All: Darren Beckford (21)
Highest home attendance	22,075 vs.Stoke City, 3 February 1990
Lowest home attendance	4,441 vs.Walsall, 28 August 1989
Average home league attendance	8,978
Biggest win	5–0 vs.Ipswich Town, 1 January 1990
Biggest defeat	0–6 vs. Aston Villa, 27 January 1990
Home colours Away colours
← 1988–89 1990–91 →

The1989–90 season wasPort Vale's 78th season of football in theEnglish Football League and first (33rd overall) season back in theSecond Division following theirpromotion from theThird Division.^[1] Under enduring managerJohn Rudge and chairmanBill Bell, the club achieved a respectable 11th‑place finish in their maiden second‑tier campaign — an impressive debut under the circumstances.

Darren Beckford spearheaded the attack and finished as top scorer, scoring 17 goals in the league and 21 across all competitions. He received strong support fromNicky Cross, who added 13 league goals (15 in all competitions), andRobbie Earle, who contributed 12 goals overall. Vale eliminatedFirst Division clubDerby County from the Third RoundFA Cup, before exiting the competition at the next round with a heavy defeat toAston Villa. They were knocked out of theLeague Cup andFull Members' Cup at the Second Round. The campaign also sawNeil Aspin emerge as a fan favourite: he was appointed club captain, featured in 51 matches, and earned thePlayer of the Year award for his consistency and leadership.

A solid first season in the second tier under Rudge saw Vale establish themselves mid-table, powered by Beckford's goals and Aspin's leadership.

The pre-season sawJohn Rudge sign solid 24-year-old defenderNeil Aspin fromLeeds United for£150,000; 28-year-old forwardNicky Cross fromLeicester City for £125,000; and 34-year-old wingerIan Miller on afree transfer fromBlackburn Rovers (as cover for an injuredGary Ford).^[1] TheBurslem club had never previously spent anything close to the £275,000 spent in summer 1989. Yet, other clubs in the division far outspent the Vale.^[1]Vale Park was also upgraded at £250,000, though grants helped to halve the cost for the club itself.^[1] Inspectors closed the Bycars End down despite this effort due to safety issues. They reduced the stadium's capacity to 12,000 after cutting the capacity of the Railway Paddock by two-thirds.^[1] Season ticket sales more than doubled to 2,231.^[1]Phil Sproson attempted to return to the game, and so the club accepted a £50,000transfer payment fromBirmingham City to compensate for their insurance payout.^[1] Meanwhile, the Vale were the bookmakers' favourites forrelegation, having started the season with six players out injured, includingRay Walker.^[1]

The season opened with a 2–2 draw withBradford City atValley Parade, Vale missing out on all three points due to a late equaliser fromBrian Tinnion.^[2] This was followed by a 2–1 home win overWest Bromwich Albion the following week.^[1] The club soon scrapped their all-ticket rule after poor attendances in the first games.^[1] Vale went seven games without a win in the league, though on 23 September managed a 1–1 draw with Stoke at theVictoria Ground, some 27,004 fans in attendance.^[1][3] Rudge commented after the match that "[the result] proves that we have closed the gap on Stoke and are now competing on equal terms"^[4]

On 7 October, Vale came from behind to beatLeicester City by two goals to one.^[5] The police bills for Vale games reached as much as £1.50 a head for some games, though the police went some way to justify this cost by arresting 85 people on the day of thePotteries derby.^[1] Rudge switched from a 4–4–2formation to 4–3–3 so as to include Miller, and a mini-revival followed, ending with a 3–0 win overBarnsley atOakwell.^[1] Six games without a win followed, andAlan Webbbroke his leg during a 2–2 draw withNewcastle United atSt James' Park.^[1] In November, Vale Park opened a new 48 seat disabled stand at a cost of £100,000.^[1]Ron Futcher was then sold toFourth DivisionBurnley for £60,000, though an injury crisis in defence exposed the club's lack of squad depth.^[1] WithGary West out with damaged ligaments, big defenderTim Parkin was bought fromSwindon Town for £60,000.^[1] The next month the Hamil End was reopened after £175,000 worth of renewal work.^[1] On 9 December, Vale fell to a 2–1 defeat away atHull City. Rudge switched back to 4–4–2, utilisingAndy Porter in midfield.^[1]

Vale went six games unbeaten over the new year, beating fifth-placedIpswich Town 5–0 (their biggest win in the division since1932) and fighting to a goalless home draw with Stoke in the process.^[1] Ipswich had been unbeaten in 13 games.^[6] The Stoke game was a disappointment as City were adrift at the foot of the table, and thepitch was 'as lumpy as porridge' for what finished as a goalless draw.^[1] The Bycars End reopened after a £90,000 investment, 22,075 fans turned up for the game – the biggest gate for a league game since the visit ofGrimsby Town in1960.^[1] On 10 February, Vale recorded a 1–0 home win overWatford asPaul Millar put in an excellent performance after having to replaceDarren Beckford, who had been taken ill overnight.^[7] This moved Vale to within three points of theplay-offs.^[1] They went on to win 3–0 againstPlymouth Argyle during a hailstorm at Vale Park on 24 February. The team went on to beat sixth-placedWolverhampton Wanderers by three goals to one on 24 March. Seven days later, Vale came away from theBoleyn Ground with a 2–2 draw, thanks toMark Grew, who saved penalties from bothJulian Dicks andJimmy Quinn;West Ham United managerBilly Bonds stated that Vale were "a fair side who play some good, neat football".^[8] A poor March dragged them down the table, though, as the stadium's capacity was again reduced and the police bill spiralled.^[1]

In April, Rudge soldDavid Riley toPeterborough United for £40,000, whilst £20,000 was spent bringing in left-sided forward Gary McKinstrey fromPortadown.^[1] On 11 April, Vale came from two goals down to win 3–2 atMiddlesbrough with Beckford scoring a brace.^[9] The club's play-off dreams were killed off by a 2–1 defeat from fourth-placedNewcastle United, after which only two points were won from the final four games.^[1] Despite this the supporters held popular playerNeil Aspin aloft following the team's final home game (a 2–1 defeat toSunderland).^[1] The final game was a goalless draw withOxford United at theManor Ground, which was enough to ensure a top-half finish.^[1] The team were taken on a trip to Spain for their efforts, whilst rivals Stoke were relegated.^[1]

They finished in eleventh place with 61 points, their highest finish since1933–34.^[1]Darren Beckford was top-scorer with 21 goals in all competitions, withNicky Cross andRobbie Earle bagged 15 and 12 goals respectively.^[1] The average home attendance of 8,978 was the highest since1963–64.^[1] The players were taken on a holiday toSpain as a reward for their efforts.^[1] Rudge retained the entire playing staff at the end of the season.^[1]

The club's shirt sponsors were ABC Minolta Copiers.

In theFA Cup, Vale were drawn against top-flightDerby County in the third round and progressed 3–2 in thereplay atThe Baseball Ground having 'gave as good as they received' as they drew the original tie 1–1.^[1] The win was 'another famous cup victory' for the club, as three goals were put pastPeter Shilton.^[1] Another difficult fixture awaited in the fourth round. On 27 January,Aston Villa inflictedVale's biggest ever cup defeat with a 6–0 win in front of 36,532 fans atVilla Park. Nevertheless, the cup run raised £150,000.^[1]

In theLeague Cup, Vale overcameThird DivisionWalsall 3–1 onaggregate, having won 1–0 at home and 2–1 atFellows Park. They then came unstuck againstFirst DivisionWimbledon, losing 2–1 at home before getting beaten 3–0 atPlough Lane.^[1]

In the short-livedFull Members Cup, Vale made it past the first round with a 2–1 win over Sunderland atRoker Park, with Walker and Cross getting the goals. They were then eliminated byMiddlesbrough at the next stage, after losing 3–1 atAyresome Park despite Rudge playing a strong side and the Vale holding a one-goal lead at half-time.^[10]

Bradford City v Port Vale

19 August 19891	Bradford City	2–2	Port Vale	Bradford
		Report	Glover (pen.) Beckford	Stadium:Valley Parade Attendance: 10,242

Port Vale vWest Bromwich Albion

26 August 19892	Port Vale	2–1	West Bromwich Albion	Burslem
	Glover (pen.) Futcher	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 7,695

Port Vale vHull City

12 September 19895	Port Vale	1–1	Hull City	Burslem
19:30BST	Earle	Report	McParland 66'	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 6,168

Watford v Port Vale

16 September 19896	Watford	1–0	Port Vale	Watford
	Wilkinson	Report		Stadium:Vicarage Road Attendance: 8,445

Stoke City v Port Vale

23 September 19897	Stoke City	1–1	Port Vale	Stoke-upon-Trent
	Palin 66'	Report	Earle	Stadium:Victoria Ground Attendance: 27,004

Port Vale vLeicester City

7 October 198910	Port Vale	2–1	Leicester City	Burslem
	Beckford Cross	Report	Reid	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 7,268

Barnsley v Port Vale

14 October 198911	Barnsley	0–3	Port Vale	Barnsley
		Report	Cross Earle	Stadium:Oakwell Attendance: 6,475

Port Vale vWest Ham United

21 October 198913	Port Vale	2–2	West Ham United	Burslem
	(og.) Futcher	Report	Slater Keen	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 8,899

Newcastle United v Port Vale

28 October 198914	Newcastle United	2–2	Port Vale	Newcastle upon Tyne
	McGhee 10' Quinn 55'	Report	Earle 83' Futcher 90'	Stadium:St James' Park Attendance: 17,824

Port Vale vMiddlesbrough

30 October 198915	Port Vale	1–1	Middlesbrough	Burslem
	Glover (pen.)	Report	Kernaghan	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 7,708

Port Vale vOxford United

4 November 198916	Port Vale	1–2	Oxford United	Burslem
	Jeffers	Report	Ford Durnin	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 6,994

Portsmouth v Port Vale

11 November 198917	Portsmouth	2–0	Port Vale	Portsmouth
	Whittingham Black	Report		Stadium:Fratton Park Attendance: 7,708

Port Vale vSwindon Town

18 November 198918	Port Vale	2–0	Swindon Town	Burslem
	Beckford 21' Cross 41'	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 7,393 Referee: A. Buksh

Plymouth Argyle v Port Vale

25 November 198919	Plymouth Argyle	1–2	Port Vale	Plymouth
	Tynan	Report	Cross	Stadium:Home Park Attendance: 7,034

Port Vale vBradford City

2 December 198920	Port Vale	3–2	Bradford City	Burslem
	Earle Beckford	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 6,762

Hull City v Port Vale

9 December 198921	Hull City	2–1	Port Vale	Kingston upon Hull
15:00GMT	Payton 15' Doyle 25'	Report	Earle	Stadium:Boothferry Park Attendance: 4,207

Port Vale vSheffield United

16 December 198922	Port Vale	1–1	Sheffield United	Burslem
	Cross	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 9,813

Oldham Athletic v Port Vale

26 December 198923	Oldham Athletic	2–1	Port Vale	Oldham
	Adams 29' Barrett 59'	Report	Parkin 61'	Stadium:Boundary Park Attendance: 11,274 Referee: T Mills

Sunderland v Port Vale

30 December 198924	Sunderland	2–2	Port Vale	Sunderland
	Gabbiadini 82' Hauser 89'	Report	Kay 34' (og.) Millar 63'	Stadium:Roker Park Attendance: 21,377 Referee: David Phillips

Port Vale vIpswich Town

1 January 199025	Port Vale	5–0	Ipswich Town	Burslem
	Beckford Earle Cross Miller	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 8,617

West Bromwich Albion v Port Vale

13 January 199026	West Bromwich Albion	2–3	Port Vale	West Bromwich
		Report	Cross Beckford Porter	Stadium:The Hawthorns Attendance: 13,575

Port Vale vBrighton & Hove Albion

20 January 199027	Port Vale	2–1	Brighton & Hove Albion	Burslem
	Cross	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 8,666

Port Vale vWatford

10 February 199029	Port Vale	1–0	Watford	Burslem
	Earle	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 7,064

Port Vale vPlymouth Argyle

24 February 199031	Port Vale	3–0	Plymouth Argyle	Burslem
	Hughes Beckford Mills	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 7,254

Swindon Town v Port Vale

3 March 199032	Swindon Town	3–0	Port Vale	Swindon
	Calderwood 11' White 26' Shearer 41'	Report		Stadium:County Ground Attendance: 8,314 Referee: M.E. Pierce

Port Vale vAFC Bournemouth

10 March 199034	Port Vale	1–1	AFC Bournemouth	Burslem
	Millar	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 7,131

Leicester City v Port Vale

17 March 199035	Leicester City	2–0	Port Vale	Leicester
	North Walsh	Report		Stadium:Filbert Street Attendance: 10,076

Port Vale vBarnsley

19 March 199036	Port Vale	2–1	Barnsley	Burslem
	(og.) Beckford	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 7,036

Port Vale vWolverhampton Wanderers

24 March 199037	Port Vale	3–1	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Burslem
	Millar Beckford Earle	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 12,506

West Ham United v Port Vale

31 March 199038	West Ham United	2–2	Port Vale	Upton Park, London
	Gale Morley	Report	Beckford Cross	Stadium:Boleyn Ground Attendance: 20,507

Port Vale vNewcastle United

7 April 199039	Port Vale	1–2	Newcastle United	Burslem
15:00BST	Earle 82'	Report	McGhee 20' Quinn 28'	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 10,290 Referee: Rodger Gifford

Middlesbrough v Port Vale

11 April 199040	Middlesbrough	2–3	Port Vale	Middlesbrough
	Davenport Slaven	Report	Beckford Glover (pen.)	Stadium:Ayresome Park Attendance: 14,973

Ipswich Town v Port Vale

14 April 199041	Ipswich Town	3–2	Port Vale	Ipswich
		Report	Earle Cross (pen.)	Stadium:Portman Road Attendance: 10,652

Port Vale vOldham Athletic

16 April 199042	Port Vale	2–0	Oldham Athletic	Burslem
	Beckford 40',49'	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 11,451 Referee: RG Milford

Sheffield United v Port Vale

21 April 199043	Sheffield United	2–1	Port Vale	Sheffield
		Report	Beckford	Stadium:Bramall Lane Attendance: 16,809

Port Vale vPortsmouth

28 April 199044	Port Vale	1–1	Portsmouth	Burslem
	Beckford	Report	Kuhl	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 7,492

Port Vale vSunderland

1 May 199045	Port Vale	1–2	Sunderland	Burslem
	Millar 18'	Report	Hardyman 12' Owers 19'	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 9,447 Referee: Paul Danson

Port Vale vDerby County

7 January 1990R3	Port Vale	1–1	Derby County	Burslem
	Beckford	Report	Hebberd	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 17,478

Derby County v Port Vale

10 January 1990Replay	Derby County	2–3	Port Vale	Derby
	Ramage Francis	Report	(og.) Walker Cross	Stadium:Baseball Ground Attendance: 21,389

Aston Villa v Port Vale

27 January 1990R4	Aston Villa	6–0	Port Vale	Birmingham
	Platt 8' Birch 25',79' Olney 52' Gray 65',84'	Report		Stadium:Villa Park Attendance: 36,532 Referee:George Courtney

Walsall v Port Vale

22 August 1989R1 1st Leg	Walsall	1–2	Port Vale	Walsall
		Report	Beckford	Stadium:Fellows Park Attendance: 4,774

Port Vale vWalsall

28 August 1989R1 2nd Leg	Port Vale	1–0 (3–1agg.)	Walsall	Burslem
	Beckford	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 4,441

Port Vale vWimbledon

18 September 1989R2 1st Leg	Port Vale	1–2	Wimbledon	Burslem
	Futcher	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 5,827

Sunderland v Port Vale

14 November 1989R1	Sunderland	1–2	Port Vale	Sunderland
	Armstrong 35' (pen.)	Report	Walker 27' Cross 50'	Stadium:Roker Park Attendance: 7,031 Referee: Neil Midgley

Middlesbrough v Port Vale

29 November 1989R2	Middlesbrough	3–1	Port Vale	Middlesbrough
		Report	Jeffers	Stadium:Ayresome Park Attendance: 6,691

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

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		League Cup		Full Members Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Mark Grew	43	0	3	0	4	0	1	0	51	0
GK	Trevor Wood	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
DF	Alan Webb	14	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	18	0
DF	Simon Mills	45	1	3	0	4	0	2	0	54	1
DF	Darren Hughes	38	1	3	0	4	0	1	0	46	1
DF	Gary West	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
DF	Dean Glover	44	4	3	0	4	0	1	0	52	4
DF	Tim Parkin	12	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	12	1
DF	Neil Aspin	42	0	3	0	4	0	2	0	51	0
MF	Robbie Earle	43	12	3	0	4	0	2	0	52	12
MF	Andy Porter	36	1	3	0	3	0	2	0	44	1
MF	Ray Walker	40	0	3	1	2	0	2	1	47	1
MF	Kevin Finney	8	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	9	0
MF	John Jeffers	40	1	2	0	2	0	2	1	46	2
MF	Paul Millar	23	4	0	2	0	0	1	0	26	4
MF	Ian Miller	21	1	0	0	2	0	1	0	24	1
FW	Darren Beckford	42	17	3	1	4	3	2	0	51	21
FW	David Riley	2	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	5	0
FW	Ronnie Jepson	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
FW	Ron Futcher	11	3	0	0	4	1	0	0	15	4
FW	Nicky Cross	42	13	3	1	3	0	2	1	50	15

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Second Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Full Members Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Darren Beckford	17	1	3	0	21
2	FW	England	Nicky Cross	13	1	0	1	15
3	MF	Jamaica	Robbie Earle	12	0	0	0	12
4	MF	Northern Ireland	Paul Millar	4	0	0	0	4
–	DF	England	Dean Glover	4	0	0	0	4
–	FW	England	Ron Futcher	3	0	1	0	4
7	MF	England	John Jeffers	1	0	0	1	2
–	MF	England	Ray Walker	0	1	0	1	2
9	MF	England	Ian Miller	1	0	0	0	1
–	MF	England	Andy Porter	1	0	0	0	1
–	DF	England	Simon Mills	1	0	0	0	1
–	DF	England	Tim Parkin	1	0	0	0	1
–	FW	England	Darren Hughes	1	0	0	0	1
–		–	Own goals	3	1	0	0	4
			TOTALS	62	4	4	3	73

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
June 1989	FW		Nicky Cross	Leicester City	£125,000	[12]
June 1989	MF		Ian Miller	Blackburn Rovers	Free transfer	[12]
28 July 1989	DF		Neil Aspin	Leeds United	£150,000	[12]
8 December 1989	DF		Tim Parkin	Swindon Town	£60,000	[12]
3 April 1990	FW		Gary McKinstrey	Portadown

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
13 November 1989	FW		Ron Futcher	Burnley	£60,000	[12]
3 April 1990	FW		David Riley	Peterborough United	£40,000	[12]
August 1990	MF		Ian Miller	Scunthorpe United	Free transfer	[12]

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
25 January 1990	FW		Ronnie Jepson	Peterborough United	March 1990	[12]
1 March 1990	FW		David Riley	Peterborough United	April 1990	[12]
16 March 1990	MF		Paul Atkinson	Hartlepool United	End of season	[12]
22 March 1990	MF		Gary Ford	Walsall	End of season	[12]

Specific

General

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

• Port Vale F.C. seasons
• 1989–90 Football League Second Division by team

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