Third Division

The pre-season saw Sammy Morgan sold to Aston Villa for £22,222 (plus top-up fees).^[1] Gordon Lee drafted in tall young players David Harris and John Ridley from the youth set-up, as well as versatile Keith Chadwick from Crewe Alexandra.^[1] The club also erected a 2.5 feet (0.76 m) high steel fence around the Bycars End to help combat hooliganism.^[1]

The season opened with four games unbeaten, though Tommy McLaren soon damaged his ligaments, and the team suffered in his absence.^[1] On 1 October, Vale beat Wrexham 1–0 in an 'ugly' game that saw five players booked and Colin Tartt and opposition player Arfon Griffiths separated by police following a scrap in the tunnel.^[1] Later in the month Roy Cross badly injured his knee, and would later have to leave the professional game due to the injury.^[1] Vale slipped down the league, and by Christmas they were sixth from bottom, with only John Woodward in good form.^[1] Lee then took out striker Keith Leonard on loan from Aston Villa, and bought left-back Neil Griffiths from Chester for a £5,000 fee.^[1] He also changed the formation from 4–4–2 to 4–3–3, hoping to give Brian Horton more room in the centre of the park.^[1] After an upturn in form in the new year, Bill Summerscales broke his neck, and Lee departed for the management position at Blackburn Rovers.^[1] Lee had been seen to have done an excellent job with little money.^[1]

Club legend Roy Sproson was appointed as caretaker manager, who advocated an 'entertaining' style of play as opposed to battling for every point.^[1] Winning his first match 1–0 at Shrewsbury Town, he cracked his head on the concrete trainer's box after leaping up to celebrate McLaren's goal.^[1] On 17 February, 8,505 turned up at Vale Park to witness a 3–1 win over high-flying Bristol Rovers in an experimental Sunday game.^[1] Later Leonard returned to Villa Park at the end of his loan deal, and £5,000 was not enough to tempt Villa to part with his services permanently.^[1] From mid-March Vale went eleven games without a win, and on 25 March they could have ended this run, but 'a shocking mistake' from Alan Boswell handed Walsall an equaliser as he palmed a header into his own net.^[1] The team continued to rack up yellow cards, and following a warning from The Football Association, Sproson arranged for local referee Roy Capey to lecture the players on sportsmanship.^[1] In the middle of April, Sproson was given the management job on a permanent basis, despite his team falling to fifth from bottom.^[1] Sproson stated that he was 'calculated' and 'controlled', compared to Lee who 'fizzes like a bottle of pop'.^[1] By the time they broke their poor run with a 2–1 home win over managerless Charlton Athletic, other results had already ensured their safety from the drop.^[1]

They finished in twentieth position with 42 points, though this meant they were seven points clear of relegated Cambridge United in 21st place.^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, an average home attendance of under 4,000 failed to prevent a profit of £17,831.^[1] This profit came from the early sale of Morgan, and donations of £16,443 from the Sportsmen's Association and the Development Fund.^[1] The club's total debt stood at £121,647, as Chairman Singer warned of more player sales to balance the books.^[1] Two players leaving for free at the end of the season were Bobby Gough (Southport) and Alan Boswell (Oswestry Town) – Boswell was described as 'capable of brilliant saves and conceding soft goals'.^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale won away at Stockport County 1–0, before advancing past Northern Premier League Scarborough in the Second Round. After a 1–1 draw in Burslem with Second Division Luton Town, they lost the replay at Kenilworth Road 4–2.

In the League Cup, Vale exited at the first stage with a 2–0 defeat at Edgeley Park to Fourth Division Stockport County.

Football League Third 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	Alan Boswell	42	0	4	0	0	0	46	0
GK	Reg Edwards	4	0	0	0	1	0	5	0
DF	Bill Summerscales	22	0	4	1	1	0	27	1
DF	Roy Cross	11	0	0	0	1	0	12	0
DF	John Brodie	45	1	3	0	1	0	49	1
DF	Tony Loska	9	0	1	0	0	0	10	0
DF	Neil Griffiths	24	0	2	0	0	0	26	0
DF	Andy Carr	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
DF	David Harris	32	3	4	2	0	0	36	5
MF	Tommy McLaren	42	4	4	0	1	0	47	4
MF	Brian Horton	41	4	4	0	1	0	46	4
MF	Tony Lacey	44	3	4	0	1	0	49	3
MF	Colin Tartt	42	0	2	0	1	0	45	0
MF	John Ridley	10	1	0	0	0	0	10	1
MF	Keith Chadwick	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
MF	Ron Pountney	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW	Bobby Gough	24	2	1	0	1	0	26	2
FW	Bob Mountford	38	4	4	1	1	0	43	5
FW	John Woodward	43	16	4	2	1	0	48	18
FW	Ray Williams	39	9	4	0	0	0	43	9
FW	Keith Leonard	13	1	0	0	0	0	13	1

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Top scorers

More information Place, Position ...

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Third Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW	England	John Woodward	16	2	0	18
2	FW	England	Ray Williams	9	0	0	9
3	FW	England	Bob Mountford	4	1	0	5
–	DF	England	David Harris	3	2	0	5
5	MF	Scotland	Tommy McLaren	4	0	0	4
–	MF	England	Brian Horton	4	0	0	4
7	MF	England	Tony Lacey	3	0	0	3
8	FW	England	Bobby Gough	2	0	0	2
9	MF	England	John Ridley	1	0	0	1
–	DF	England	John Brodie	1	0	0	1
–	FW	England	Keith Leonard	1	0	0	1
–	DF	England	Bill Summerscales	0	1	0	1
–	–	–	Own goals	4	0	0	4
			TOTALS	52	6	0	58

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Transfers in

More information Date from, Position ...

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
July 1973	MF		Keith Chadwick	Crewe Alexandra	Free transfer	[3]
December 1973	DF		Neil Griffiths	Chester	Exchange	[3]

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Transfers out

More information Date from, Position ...

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
August 1973	FW		Sammy Morgan	Aston Villa	£22,222	[3]
December 1973	DF		Tony Loska	Chester	Exchange	[3]
May 1974	GK		Alan Boswell	Oswestry Town	Free transfer	[3]
May 1974	FW		Bobby Gough	Southport	Free transfer	[3]

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Loans out

More information Date from, Position ...

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
November 1973	FW		Keith Leonard	Aston Villa	February 1974	[3]

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