Fourth Division

On 8 June, the club's future was decided, as a vote of 39 to 9 allowed the club readmission to the Football League, despite the conclusion of an investigation earlier in the year which ruled that the club should be expelled from the League.^[1] New manager Gordon Lee thus began work on rebuilding his squad, announcing a team approach with an additional 'individual coaching plan' for players to improve their personal weaknesses.^[1] Lee was big on coaching, and replaced cross country running exercises with realistic match-day situations.^[1] Stanley Matthews would become more of a scout and would only visit Burslem on a weekly basis, he also agreed to allow the £9,000 owed to him in payments delayed until the club were on a sounder financial footing.^[1] His name removed from his office door, he 'gradually drifted out of the picture'.^[1] Three signings of note included: 'tenacious' wing-half John King (Tranmere Rovers); Wales international winger Graham Williams (Tranmere Rovers); and teenager Bobby Gough (Walsall).^[1]

The season opened with four Roy Chapman goals in four games, though only three points were won in the first six encounters. With Sharratt out injured, in came 'part-time, pipe-smoking civil servant' Geoff Hickson on loan from Crewe Alexandra.^[1] Lee quickly earned the respect of the Vale fans despite his team lying bottom of the table in mid-September.^[1] A new club mascot was unveiled at this time – 'Prince Val'.^[1] Some good home performances lifted the club off the bottom of the table, including a 4–1 thumping of Scunthorpe United and a stylish back-heeled goal from Roy Sproson in a 1–1 draw with Lincoln City.^[1] Chapman then developed sciatica and had to be rested until December.^[1] An excellent defence helped the club then to achieve a five-game unbeaten run in the league.^[1] In November, goalkeeper Keith Ball was signed from Walsall for 'a small fee' and Graham Newton joined on trial after leaving the Atlanta Chiefs.^[1] On Boxing day, Vale travelled to Sincil Bank, where they beat second-placed Lincoln 1–0 in front of 12,208 spectators.^[1] Soon after Bill Asprey retired as a player to coach at Sheffield Wednesday.^[1]

A 5–0 mauling of Newport County on 18 January sent the Vale into the top half of the table, though just one goal was scored and one point gained in the next four games.^[1] In March, Lee adopted a more 'hit and run' style, and saw his team achieve three straight wins.^[1] On the 29th, with the club seeming safe from re-election, 'hooliganism reared its ugly head' as Chester found their team bus smashed with bricks following a 2–1 loss at Burslem.^[1] On 21 April, Sproson made his 700th league appearance in a 1–0 win over struggling Grimsby Town.^[1] The final day was a 1–1 draw with wooden-spoon club Bradford Park Avenue, though the Vale had five goals disallowed.^[1] Nevertheless, this game was the first of a club-record nineteen league game streak without a loss that would end on 22 November 1969 the following season.

They finished in thirteenth place with 46 points from their 46 games, scoring 46 and conceding 46 goals.^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a £10,900 loss was made despite donations of £16,734 from the Sportsmen's Association and the Development Fund.^[1] This left the club's total debts standing at £178,277.^[1] The club needed an average home attendance of 6,000 to break even, and were almost two thousand short of this total.^[1] More stringent economies were thus imposed upon the club.^[1] Five professionals left on free transfers: Mick Cullerton (Chester); Mick Mahon (York City); Jimmy Goodfellow (Workington); Graham Williams (Runcorn); and Milija Aleksic (Eastwood).^[1] Lee claimed 'it was a hard decision, but I have had to create room for improvement'.^[1] Roy Chapman was offered a new contract, but opted instead to sign with Chester.^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, with Sharrat injured and Hickson re-called by Crewe, seventeen-year-old Milija Aleksic was roped in to play in the first-round clash with Third Division Shrewsbury Town.^[1] He also played in the replay following the 1–1 draw, and the club progressed with a 3–1 win over their 'lacklustre' opponents.^[1] The "Valiants" also required a replay to progress past Workington. Vale then exited at the third round with a 1–0 defeat at Vicarage Road to Watford.

In the League Cup, defeat came in the first round to Wrexham at the Racecourse Ground. Stuart Sharratt cracked a kneecap in the game and later contracted a virus in his blood, which kept him out of action for the rest of the season.^[1]

Football League Fourth Division

FA Cup

League Cup

Appearances

More information Pos., Name ...

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Stuart Sharratt	4	0	0	0	1	0	5	0
GK	Geoff Hickson	17	0	0	0	0	0	17	0
GK	Milija Aleksic	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0
GK	Keith Ball	25	0	3	0	0	0	28	0
DF	Roy Sproson	42	7	5	0	0	0	49	7
DF	Clint Boulton	41	0	4	0	1	0	46	0
DF	Ron Wilson	46	2	5	0	1	0	52	2
DF	Gordon Logan	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
DF	Bill Asprey	9	0	1	0	1	0	11	0
DF	Keith Broomhall	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
MF	Mick Mahon	33	5	3	1	1	0	37	6
MF	Stuart Chapman	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
MF	Jimmy Goodfellow	31	2	5	0	0	0	36	2
MF	Tommy McLaren	18	2	0	0	1	0	19	2
MF	John Green	12	2	0	0	0	0	12	2
MF	Graham Williams	23	1	1	0	1	0	25	1
MF	John King	40	0	5	0	1	0	46	0
MF	Malcolm Bailey	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
FW	John James	34	4	4	1	1	0	39	5
FW	Mick Cullerton	23	1	5	0	0	0	28	1
FW	Roy Chapman	30	11	3	1	1	0	34	12
FW	Mick Morris	32	4	5	1	1	0	38	5
FW	Graham Newton	4	1	1	0	0	0	5	1
FW	Bob Mountford	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Bobby Gough	36	2	5	2	1	0	42	4
FW	David Carrick	16	1	0	0	0	0	16	1

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Top scorers

More information Place, Position ...

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Fourth Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Roy Chapman	11	1	0	12
2	DF	England	Roy Sproson	7	0	0	7
3	MF	England	Mick Mahon	5	1	0	6
4	MF	England	John James	4	1	0	5
–	FW	England	Mick Morris	4	1	0	5
6	FW	England	Bobby Gough	2	2	0	4
7	MF	England	Jimmy Goodfellow	2	0	0	2
–	MF	Scotland	Tommy McLaren	2	0	0	2
–	FW	England	John Green	2	0	0	2
–	DF	Scotland	Ron Wilson	2	0	0	2
11	FW	England	Graham Newton	1	0	0	1
–	FW	England	David Carrick	1	0	0	1
–	MF	Wales	Graham Williams	1	0	0	1
–	FW	Scotland	Mick Cullerton	1	0	0	1
–	–	–	Own goals	1	0	0	1
			TOTALS	46	6	0	52

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Transfers in

More information Date from, Position ...

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
June 1968	FW		Bobby Gough	Walsall	Free transfer	[3]
June 1968	MF		John King	Tranmere Rovers	Free transfer	[3]
July 1968	MF		Graham Williams	Tranmere Rovers	Free transfer	[3]
November 1968	GK		Keith Ball	Walsall	'small'	[3]
November 1968	FW		Graham Newton	Atlanta Chiefs	Trial	[3]
January 1969	FW		David Carrick	Altrincham	Free transfer	[3]

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Transfers out

More information Date from, Position ...

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
October 1968	MF		Malcolm Gibbon	Aston Villa	Free transfer	[3]
December 1968	DF		Bill Asprey	Retired		[3]
January 1969	FW		Graham Newton	Atlanta Chiefs	Trial ended	[3]
May 1969	GK		Milija Aleksic	Eastwood	Free transfer	[3]
May 1969	DF		Keith Broomhall	Eastwood	Free transfer	[3]
May 1969	FW		Roy Chapman	Chester	Free transfer	[3]
May 1969	FW		Mick Cullerton	Chester	Free transfer	[3]
May 1969	MF		Jimmy Goodfellow	Workington	Free transfer	[3]
May 1969	MF		Graham Williams	Runcorn	Free transfer	[3]
Summer 1969	FW		David Carrick	Stalybridge Celtic	Released	[3]

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Loans in

More information Date from, Position ...

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Date to	Ref.
August 1968	GK		Geoff Hickson	Crewe Alexandra	November 1968	[3]

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Loans out

More information Date from, Position ...

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
May 1968	MF		John Green	Vancouver Royals	October 1968	[3]

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