Fourth Division

The pre-season saw John McGrath make four new signings: defender Ray Deakin (Everton); midfielder Geoff Hunter (from Crewe Alexandra for £12,000); and forwards Ernie Moss (from Chesterfield for £12,000) and Jimmy Greenhoff (Toronto Blizzard).^[1] Attempts to re-sign Brian Horton failed. On 1 August, a heavy metal concert was held at Vale Park, headlined by local lad Lemmy's Motörhead.^[1] Some twenty thousand metal fans paid £7.50 admission each to boost club coffers.^[1] However, Vale failed to win any of their pre-season friendlies, and in fact were embarrassed to lose 6–1 at home to local rivals Stoke City.^[1]

The season opened with four draws, somewhat ironic considering that McGrath had stated that 'forwards are much more important now' after the Football League changed a win from earning two points to three points.^[1] On 12 September, their club-record run of six consecutive draws came to an end. Four victories in five games then put Vale into seventh place, and Colin Tartt was signed from Chesterfield for £15,000.^[1] A 2–0 home defeat to Sheffield United in front of the television cameras was the first of a run of four defeats in five games, and sent an injury-hit Vale down into mid-table.^[1] In November, Lee Harwood was forced to retire with a knee injury.^[1] Vale then went on a fifteen match unbeaten run in the league, and between 20 January and 6 March the team went on a club-record six consecutive home draws.^[1] Stoke City offered £100,000 plus incentives for Mark Chamberlain, but Chairman Don Ratcliffe called the offer 'an insult' and rejected it out of hand.^[1] Instead Tony Sealy arrived on loan, this time from Queens Park Rangers.^[1] On 6 February Mark Chamberlain scored a memorable goal at Field Mill when he stood off the pitch to avoid being caught offside, then returned to tackle a startled Rod Arnold and tap the ball into an empty net.^[1] Mansfield Town manager Stuart Boam was so enraged that the goal stood that he raced onto the pitch to verbally abuse the linesman.^[1] In March, Johnny Miller had to retire with a knee injury.^[1] On 20 March, Mark Harrison conceded 'a crazy goal' from Hull City left-back Dennis Booth at Boothferry Park, whose 50 yards (46 m) free kick hit the back of the net after several bounces.^[1] Injuries hit the Vale squad and the promotion campaign faded away.^[1] On 1 May, Vale Park witnessed its lowest ever Football League attendance when a mere 1,924 turned up against York City.^[1]

They finished in seventh place with seventy points, eighteen short of fourth-placed Bournemouth.^[1] With nine away victories and twelve home draws, McGrath stated that "we blew it at Burslem".^[1] Ernie Moss was the Player of the Year and top-scorer with seventeen goals, however, it was Mark Chamberlain who was selected in the PFA Fourth Division team and received a cheque for £250 when he was chosen as The Star's best player of the division.^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a loss of £65,000 was announced, despite donations of £136,070.^[1] The overdraft stood at £235,452.^[1] Good news was that the club lottery had raised £750,000 in less than five years.^[1] McGrath released eight players and retained eleven.^[1] The club's first ever shirt sponsors were NGR Copiers. Those departing included: Peter Farrell and Gerry Keenan (Rochdale); Paul Bowles (Stockport County); Trevor Brissett (Darlington); Andy Higgins (Hartlepool United); and Ray Deakin (Burnley).^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale drew with Third Division Lincoln City at Sincil Bank and again in Burslem, and so had to play a second replay, which they won 2–0.^[1] Their clash with Stockport County was postponed seven times due to snow and fog, before the "Valiants" finally recorded a 4–1 victory on 2 January.^[1] Facing Second Division Shrewsbury Town in the Third Round, they lost by the odd goal at Gay Meadow, the "Shrews" scoring with the last kick of the match.^[1]

In the League Cup, a 1–1 draw at Edgar Street was followed by a 2–0 home win to knock Hereford United out 3–1 on aggregate.^[1] In the Second Round for the first time since 1972, they lost to Tranmere Rovers both at Prenton Park and Vale Park to exit the competition 4–1 on aggregate.^[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	Mark Harrison	46	0	5	0	4	0	55	0
DF	Phil Sproson	42	5	5	0	4	0	51	5
DF	Gerry Keenan	21	1	0	0	3	0	24	1
DF	Paul Bowles	44	2	5	0	4	0	53	2
DF	Trevor Brissett	14	0	0	0	1	0	15	0
DF	Andy Higgins	4	0	2	0	2	0	8	0
DF	Ray Deakin	23	6	0	0	4	1	27	7
DF	Russell Bromage	45	0	5	0	4	0	54	0
MF	Mark Chamberlain	46	8	5	1	4	0	55	8
MF	Peter Farrell	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
MF	Terry Armstrong	34	1	5	1	3	0	42	2
MF	Paul Bennett	4	0	0	0	1	0	5	0
MF	Colin Tartt	38	4	5	0	0	0	43	4
MF	Geoff Hunter	41	3	5	0	3	0	49	3
FW	Neville Chamberlain	30	4	5	4	2	1	37	9
FW	Tony Sealy	6	4	0	0	0	0	6	4
FW	Andy Shankland	12	1	0	0	1	0	13	1
FW	Ernie Moss	44	13	4	2	3	2	51	17
FW	Jimmy Greenhoff	33	3	4	0	2	0	38	3
FW	Mark Bright	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0

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Top scorers

More information Place, Position ...

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Fourth Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Ernie Moss	13	2	2	17
2	FW	England	Neville Chamberlain	4	4	1	9
–	MF	England	Mark Chamberlain	8	1	0	9
4	DF	England	Ray Deakin	6	0	1	7
5	DF	England	Phil Sproson	5	0	0	5
6	FW	England	Tony Sealy	4	0	0	4
–	MF	England	Colin Tartt	4	0	0	4
8	FW	England	Jimmy Greenhoff	3	0	0	3
–	MF	England	Geoff Hunter	3	0	0	3
10	DF	England	Paul Bowles	2	0	0	2
–	MF	England	Terry Armstrong	1	1	0	2
12	FW	England	Andy Shankland	1	0	0	1
–	DF	England	Gerry Keenan	1	0	0	1
–	–	–	Own goals	1	0	0	1
			TOTALS	56	8	4	68

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Transfers in

More information Date from, Position ...

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1981	DF		Ray Deakin	Everton	Free transfer	[3]
June 1981	FW		Ernie Moss	Chesterfield	£12,000	[3]
August 1981	FW		Jimmy Greenhoff	Toronto Blizzard	Free transfer	[3]
August 1981	MF		Geoff Hunter	Crewe Alexandra	£15,000	[3]
October 1981	FW		Mark Bright	Leek Town	Free transfer	[3]
November 1981	MF		Colin Tartt	Chesterfield	£15,000	[3]

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Transfers out

More information Date from, Position ...

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
November 1981	DF		Lee Harwood	Leatherhead	Retired	[3]
March 1982	MF		Johnny Miller	Oakham United	Retired	[3]
May 1982	MF		Paul Bennett	Northwich Victoria	Free transfer	[3]
May 1982	DF		Paul Bowles	Stockport County	Free transfer	[3]
May 1982	DF		Trevor Brissett	Darlington	Free transfer	[3]
May 1982	DF		Ray Deakin	Bolton Wanderers	Free transfer	[3]
May 1982	MF		Peter Farrell	Rochdale	Free transfer	[3]
May 1982	DF		Andy Higgins	Hartlepool United	Free transfer	[3]
May 1982	DF		Gerry Keenan	Rochdale	Free transfer	[3]
August 1982	MF		Mark Chamberlain	Stoke City	£180,000 (combined)	[3]
August 1982	GK		Mark Harrison	Stoke City	£180,000 (combined)	[3]

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Loans in

More information Date from, Position ...

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Date to	Ref.
October 1981	MF		Colin Tartt	Chesterfield	November 1981	[3]
February 1982	FW		Tony Sealy	Queens Park Rangers	March 1982	[3]

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Loans out

More information Date from, Position ...

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
Summer 1981	GK		Mark Harrison	Stoke City	Summer 1981	[3]
August 1981	MF		Peter Farrell	Doncaster Rovers	August 1981	[3]
October 1981	MF		Peter Farrell	Shrewsbury Town	October 1981	[3]

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