Port Vale

1991–92 season
Chairman	Bill Bell
Manager	John Rudge
Stadium	Vale Park
Football League Second Division	24th (45 Points)
FA Cup	Third Round (knocked out bySunderland)
League Cup	Third Round (knocked out byLiverpool)
Full Members Cup	Second Round (knocked out byLeicester City)
Player of the Year	Mark Grew
Top goalscorer	League:Martin Foyle (11) All: Martin Foyle (16)
Highest home attendance	18,725 vs. Liverpool, 20 November 1991
Lowest home attendance	4,722 vs.Notts County, 24 September 1991
Average home league attendance	7,382
Biggest win	2–0 (twice)
Biggest defeat	0–4 vs. Leicester City, 23 October 1991
Home colours Away colours
← 1990–91 1992–93 →

The1991–92 season wasPort Vale's 80th season of football in theEnglish Football League, and third successive (35th overall) season in theSecond Division. For only the third time intheir history, they competed in a division aboverivalsStoke City. Under managerJohn Rudge and chairmanBill Bell, the club endured a dismal campaign and finished bottom of the table with 45 points, falling five points short of safety and suffering relegation.

In response to the departures of star forwardsDarren Beckford andRobbie Earle — sold for a combined £1.7 million — Rudge reinvested £375,000 inMartin Foyle, who swiftly proved his worth by becoming the season's top scorer with 11 league goals and 16 in all competitions. The reliable goalkeeperMark Grew earned thePlayer of the Year award for his consistently solid performances between the posts. Cup runs offered little solace: in theFA Cup, Vale bowed out in the Third Round, eliminated bySunderland; in theLeague Cup, they earned a memorable 2–2 draw atAnfield withLiverpool, only to suffer defeat in the replay; and theirFull Members' Cup campaign ended in the Second Round againstLeicester City.

Attendance figures reflected the season's inconsistent fortunes: the highest home crowd peaked at 18,725 against Liverpool on 20 November 1991, while the lowest was just 4,722 againstNotts County on 24 September, culminating in an average home league attendance of 7,382. Vale's biggest wins were slim – 2–0 victories recorded twice – while their most significant loss came in a heavy 4–0 defeat to Leicester City on 23 October 1991.

Vale's third-tier survival proved elusive, as the loss of key players and mounting inconsistency culminated in relegation despite Foyle's goals and Grew's heroic displays.

The pre-season sawJohn Rudge sign aged strikerKeith Houchen fromHibernian for£100,000. He also spent £300,000 onHull City defenderPeter Swan. This money was raised through the sale of top-scorerDarren Beckford toNorwich City for £925,000 after a Football League tribunal (Vale had wanted £1.5 million). As well as losing his star striker, Rudge had to deal with the departure of his midfield dynamo,Robbie Earle having been sold toWimbledon for £775,000. To replace Beckford, Rudge signedMartin Foyle fromOxford United for a fee of £375,000. Thetransfers of both Beckford and Foyle wereclub-records.

The season started positively, with new man Foyle getting both goals in a 2–1 win over his former employers Oxford. In September, Houchen suffered atear in hishamstring and struggled to regain his place upon his recovery. To replace him,Jason Beckford, younger brother of Darren, was brought in onloan fromManchester City. He proved somewhat less prolific than his sibling. The Vale only picked up one victory in nine league games, Houchen bagging a brace in a 2–0 victory overWolverhampton Wanderers atMolineux. Heading into December, they had lost just three games in a sequence of ten league matches. Yet from 7 December to 21 March, they went on aclub-record 17 games without a win (recording ten defeats). During this spell,Andy Williams played a handful of games after arriving on a loan deal fromLeeds United.Colin West then joined the club on loan fromWest Bromwich Albion. In February, Rudge took forwardJoe Allon on loan fromChelsea. The next month, wingerDavid Lowe arrived on loan fromIpswich Town. Out wentRyan Kidd, signing forPreston North End on afree transfer. At the end of March, victories overPlymouth Argyle andBlackburn Rovers raised hopes of a last-minute escape. Picking up five points in the first four games of April, their fate rested in their hands. They failed to escape the drop, however, losing both toCambridge United at theAbbey Stadium and toGrimsby Town atVale Park. The final day defeat to Grimsby proved inconsequential asOxford United picked up a result to leave them five points clear of the Vale at the final whistle.^[1]

They finished at the bottom of the table with 45 points, five points short of the safety of Oxford United. With 42 goals scored, Vale had the lowest tally in the division, along with Plymouth, although their 59 goals conceded were a respectable total. Foyle was the top scorer with eleven league goals and 16 in all competitions. At the end of the season, young right-backPaul West was permitted to joinBradford City on a free transfer. The team were judged to have a strong core of players regardless of relegation.^[1]

The club's shirt sponsors were Kalamazoo.

In theFA Cup, Vale were easily dispatched bySunderland, who recorded a 3–0 victory at Roker Park.

In theLeague Cup, Vale advanced pastNotts County on away goals with a 2–1 win at Vale Park and a 3–2 defeat atMeadow Lane. FacingFirst DivisionLiverpool in the third round, the "Valiants" achieved a 2–2 draw atAnfield against afirst XI of eight internationals.^[2]Robin van der Laan put the Vale ahead on seven minutes after heading pastBruce Grobbelaar from aSimon Millscorner.^[2]Steve McManaman equalized three minutes later from aMark Waltersassist, and Liverpool took the lead on 65 minutes afterIan Rushheaded in a McManaman flick on. Vale earned areplay on 73 minutes, whenMartin Foyle hit the net from aPeter Swan header.^[2] Rudge said: "It was a night on which to be proud to be a Port Vale supporter and I am proud to be the manager".^[3] Yet they were knocked out of the competition as the "Reds" recorded a 4–1 win inBurslem in front of an 18,725 strong crowd.^[2]

In the short-livedFull Members Cup, Vale progressed pastBlackburn Rovers with a 1–0 win through a Foyle goal. They were then eliminated in the next round with a 4–0 defeat toLeicester City atFilbert Street.

Port Vale vOxford United

17 August 19911	Port Vale	2–1	Oxford United	Burslem
	Foyle	Report	Magilton	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 6,984

Ipswich Town v Port Vale

20 August 19912	Ipswich Town	2–1	Port Vale	Ipswich
	Kiwomya Thompson	Report	Walker (pen.)	Stadium:Portman Road Attendance: 8,646

Portsmouth v Port Vale

24 August 19913	Portsmouth	1–0	Port Vale	Portsmouth
	Clarke	Report		Stadium:Fratton Park Attendance: 8,033

Port Vale vBristol City

31 August 19915	Port Vale	1–1	Bristol City	Burslem
	S.Mills	Report	Morgan	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 7,057

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Port Vale

3 September 19916	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0–2	Port Vale	Wolverhampton
		Report	Houchen 60' Madden 77' (o.g.)	Stadium:Molineux Stadium Attendance: 16,115 Referee: R. Lewis

Port Vale vSwindon Town

7 September 19917	Port Vale	2–2	Swindon Town	Burslem
	Foyle 69',88'	Report	White 54' MacLaren 82'	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 7,168 Referee: R. Dilkes

Blackburn Rovers v Port Vale

14 September 19918	Blackburn Rovers	1–0	Port Vale	Blackburn
	Speedie	Report		Stadium:Ewood Park Attendance: 10,225

Brighton & Hove Albion v Port Vale

18 September 19919	Brighton & Hove Albion	3–1	Port Vale	Hove
	Byrne Meade Robinson	Report	Houchen	Stadium:Goldstone Ground Attendance: 5,790

Charlton Athletic v Port Vale

28 September 199111	Charlton Athletic	2–0	Port Vale	Charlton, London
	Nelson Leaburn	Report		Stadium:The Valley Attendance: 4,049

Port Vale vCambridge United

5 October 199112	Port Vale	1–0	Cambridge United	Burslem
	Porter	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 5,991

Grimsby Town v Port Vale

12 October 199113	Grimsby Town	1–2	Port Vale	Cleethorpes
		Report	S.Mills Beckford	Stadium:Blundell Park Attendance: 8,218

Port Vale vSunderland

19 October 199114	Port Vale	3–3	Sunderland	Burslem
	Swan 2' Foyle 52' van der Laan 56'	Report	Brady 59',71' Ball 71'	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 7,525 Referee: Vic Callow

Middlesbrough v Port Vale

26 October 199115	Middlesbrough	1–0	Port Vale	Middlesbrough
		Report	Kernaghan	Stadium:Ayresome Park Attendance: 11,403

Bristol Rovers v Port Vale

2 November 199116	Bristol Rovers	3–3	Port Vale	Bath, Somerset
		Report	Foyle van der Laan	Stadium:Twerton Park Attendance: 3,547

Port Vale vDerby County

6 November 199117	Port Vale	1–0	Derby County	Burslem
	Jalink	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 8,589

Port Vale vMillwall

9 November 199118	Port Vale	0–2	Millwall	Burslem
		Report	Falco	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 8,944

Plymouth Argyle v Port Vale

16 November 199119	Plymouth Argyle	1–0	Port Vale	Plymouth
	Marshall	Report	Marshall	Stadium:Home Park Attendance: 4,363

Leicester City v Port Vale

23 November 199120	Leicester City	0–1	Port Vale	Leicester
		Report	Jeffers	Stadium:Filbert Street Attendance: 11,450

Port Vale vWatford

30 November 199121	Port Vale	2–1	Watford	Burslem
	Foyle van der Laan	Report	Porter	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 5,777

Newcastle United v Port Vale

7 December 199122	Newcastle United	2–2	Port Vale	Newcastle upon Tyne
	Makel 40' Peacock 61' (pen.)	Report	Hughes 43' Glover 66' (pen.)	Stadium:St James' Park Attendance: 18,386

Port Vale vTranmere Rovers

13 December 199123	Port Vale	1–1	Tranmere Rovers	Burslem
	West	Report	Cooper	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 6,426

Port Vale vWolverhampton Wanderers

21 December 199124	Port Vale	1–1	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Burslem
	van der Laan 87'	Report	Bull 13'	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 8,480 Referee: T West

Bristol City v Port Vale

28 December 199126	Bristol City	3–0	Port Vale	Ashton Gate, Bristol
	Allison Osman Bent	Report		Stadium:Ashton Gate Attendance: 9,235

Port Vale vIpswich Town

1 January 199227	Port Vale	1–2	Ipswich Town	Burslem
	Hughes	Report	Kiwomya	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 8,075

Port Vale vPortsmouth

11 January 199228	Port Vale	0–2	Portsmouth	Burslem
		Report	Powell Anderton	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 5,925

Oxford United v Port Vale

18 January 199229	Oxford United	2–2	Port Vale	Oxford
	Lewis Beauchamp	Report	Houchen Swan	Stadium:Manor Ground Attendance: 4,199

Sunderland v Port Vale

1 February 199230	Sunderland	1–1	Port Vale	Sunderland
	Armstrong 39'	Report	Foyle 1'	Stadium:Roker Park Attendance: 19,505 Referee: John Kirkby

Port Vale vMiddlesbrough

8 February 199231	Port Vale	1–2	Middlesbrough	Burslem
	(og.)	Report	Hendrie Mustoe	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 7,019

Port Vale vLeicester City

15 February 199232	Port Vale	1–2	Leicester City	Burslem
	Foyle	Report	Russell	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 8,084

Port Vale vNewcastle United

29 February 199234	Port Vale	0–1	Newcastle United	Burslem
	Watson 18'	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 10,321

Tranmere Rovers v Port Vale

6 March 199235	Tranmere Rovers	2–1	Port Vale	Prenton
	Harvey Aldridge	Report	Jeffers	Stadium:Prenton Park Attendance: 8,477

Derby County v Port Vale

11 March 199236	Derby County	3–1	Port Vale	Derby
	Gabbiadini Williams Simpson	Report	Jeffers	Stadium:Baseball Ground Attendance: 15,345

Millwall v Port Vale

21 March 199238	Millwall	1–0	Port Vale	New Cross,Lewisham
	Allen	Report		Stadium:The Den Attendance: 6,148

Port Vale vPlymouth Argyle

28 March 199239	Port Vale	1–0	Plymouth Argyle	Burslem
	Walker (pen.)	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 5,310

Port Vale vBlackburn Rovers

31 March 199240	Port Vale	2–0	Blackburn Rovers	Burslem
	van der Laan Foyle	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 10,384

Swindon Town v Port Vale

4 April 199241	Swindon Town	1–0	Port Vale	Swindon
	Jones 5'	Report		Stadium:County Ground Attendance: 8,567 Referee:Roger Milford

Port Vale vBrighton & Hove Albion

11 April 199242	Port Vale	2–1	Brighton & Hove Albion	Burslem
	Swan Lowe	Report	Gall	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 6,441

Port Vale vCharlton Athletic

21 April 199244	Port Vale	1–1	Charlton Athletic	Burslem
	B.Mills	Report	Gritt	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 8,461

Cambridge United v Port Vale

25 April 199245	Cambridge United	4–2	Port Vale	Cambridge
		Report	B.Mills Lowe	Stadium:Abbey Stadium Attendance: 7,599

Sunderland v Port Vale

4 January 1992R3	Sunderland	3–0	Port Vale	Sunderland
	Atkinson 10' Davenport 44' Byrne 72'	Report		Stadium:Roker Park Attendance: 15,564 Referee: Michael Peck

Port Vale vNotts County

24 September 1991R2 1st Leg	Port Vale	2–1	Notts County	Burslem
	Foyle B.Mills	Report	Johnson	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 4,722

Notts County v Port Vale

9 October 1991R2 2nd Leg	Notts County	3a–2 (a.e.t.) (4–3agg.)	Port Vale	Nottingham
	Bartlett Johnson (pen.)	Report	Foyle Houchen	Stadium:Meadow Lane Attendance: 4,419

Liverpool v Port Vale

20 October 1991R3 1st Leg	Liverpool	2–2	Port Vale	Liverpool
	McManaman 8' Rush 65'	Report	van der Laan 5' Foyle 75'	Stadium:Anfield Attendance: 21,553

Port Vale vLiverpool

20 November 1991R3 2nd Leg	Port Vale	1–4 (3–6agg.)	Liverpool	Burslem
	Foyle 23'	Report	McManaman 21' Walters 29' Houghton 43' Saunders 62'	Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 18,725

Port Vale vBlackburn Rovers

1 October 1991R1	Port Vale	1–0	Blackburn Rovers	Burslem
	Foyle	Report		Stadium:Vale Park Attendance: 2,355

Leicester City v Port Vale

23 October 1991R2	Leicester City	4–0	Port Vale	Leicester
	Wright Kitson Gordon	Report		Stadium:Filbert Street Attendance: 4,858

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	46	0	1	0	4	0	2	0	53	0
DF	Alan Webb	3	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	5	0
DF	Simon Mills	33	2	1	0	4	0	2	0	40	2
DF	Darren Hughes	42	2	1	0	4	0	2	0	49	2
DF	Dean Glover	46	1	1	0	4	0	2	0	53	1
DF	Tim Parkin	7	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	8	0
DF	Neil Aspin	42	0	1	0	2	0	2	0	46	0
DF	Peter Swan	33	3	0	0	4	0	2	0	39	3
DF	Ryan Kidd	1	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	4	0
DF	Paul West	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
MF	Andy Porter	32	1	1	0	4	0	2	0	39	1
MF	Ray Walker	26	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	27	2
MF	John Jeffers	33	3	1	0	3	0	1	0	38	3
MF	Robin van der Laan	43	5	1	0	4	1	1	0	49	6
MF	Kevin Kent	22	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	25	0
MF	Andy Williams	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
MF	David Lowe	9	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	2
MF	Nico Jalink	28	1	1	0	2	0	1	0	32	1
MF	Dave Rushton	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
FW	Jason Beckford	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1
FW	Nicky Cross	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
FW	Brian Mills	21	2	1	0	3	1	2	0	27	3
FW	Martin Foyle	43	11	1	0	4	4	2	0	50	16
FW	Joe Allon	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
FW	Keith Houchen	21	4	1	0	2	1	0	0	24	5
FW	Colin West	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Second Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Full Members Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Martin Foyle	11	0	4	1	16
2	MF	Netherlands	Robin van der Laan	5	0	1	0	6
3	FW	England	Keith Houchen	4	0	1	0	5
4	DF	England	Peter Swan	3	0	0	0	3
–	MF	England	John Jeffers	3	0	0	0	3
–	DF	England	Darren Hughes	2	0	0	0	3
–	FW	England	Brian Mills	2	0	1	0	3
8	DF	England	Simon Mills	2	0	0	0	2
9	MF	England	Ray Walker	2	0	0	0	2
–	MF	England	David Lowe	2	0	0	0	2
11	FW	Netherlands	Nico Jalink	1	0	0	0	1
–	FW	England	Jason Beckford	1	0	0	0	1
–	FW	England	Colin West	1	0	0	0	1
–	DF	England	Dean Glover	1	0	0	0	1
–	MF	England	Andy Porter	1	0	0	0	1
–		–	Own goals	1	0	0	0	1
			TOTALS	42	0	7	1	50

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
25 June 1991	FW		Martin Foyle	Oxford United	£375,000	[5]
June 1991	MF		Nico Jalink	RKC Waalwijk	Free transfer	[5]
August 1991	FW		Keith Houchen	Hibernian	£100,000	[5]
August 1991	DF		Peter Swan	Hull City	£300,000	[5]

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
March 1992	MF		Nico Jalink	RKC Waalwijk	Released	[5]
May 1992	GK		Mark Grew	Cardiff City	Free transfer	[5]
May 1992	DF		Ryan Kidd	Preston North End	Free transfer	[5]
May 1992	DF		Tim Parkin	Darlington	Free transfer	[5]
May 1992	MF		Dave Rushton		Released	[5]
May 1992	DF		Paul West	Bradford City	£80,000	[5]
June 1992	DF		Alan Webb	Retired		[5]

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Date to	Ref.
November 1991	FW		Colin West	West Bromwich Albion	November 1991	[5]
December 1991	MF		Andy Williams	Leeds United	February 1992	[5]
February 1992	FW		Joe Allon	Chelsea	End of season	[5]
March 1992	MF		David Lowe	Ipswich Town	End of season	[5]

Specific

General

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

• Port Vale F.C. seasons
• 1991–92 Football League Second Division by team

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