1954–55 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale
1954–55 season
Chairman	Fred Burgess
Manager	Freddie Steele
Stadium	Vale Park
Football League Second Division	17th (35 Points)
FA Cup	Fourth Round; (knocked out by Tottenham Hotspur)
Top goalscorer	League: Cyril Done (13); All: Cyril Done (13)
Highest home attendance	40,066 vs. Stoke City, 25 April 1955
Lowest home attendance	11,963 vs. West Ham United, 10 January 1955
Average home league attendance	20,869
Biggest win	4–0 vs. Fulham, 27 December 1954
Biggest defeat	1–7 vs. Swansea Town, 16 September 1954
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1953–54 1955–56 →

The 1954–55 season was Port Vale's 43rd season of football in the English Football League and their first season (thirtieth overall) back in the Second Division following their promotion from the Third Division North.^[1] The club adapted well to their first second tier campaign since 1935–36, finishing in seventeenth place.

The season saw two club attendance records broken, with a highest average home attendance of 20,708 and the highest Football League attendance at Vale Park, when on 25 April 40,066 turned up for their encounter against Stoke City. It was the first season the two rival clubs met in the same league since 1932–33.

Overview

Second Division

The pre-season saw the players taken on a short outing to Ireland for their exploits the previous season.^[1] No major signings took place, and no players of note departed in the summer. Chairman Fred Burgess boasted of his team's loyalty.^[1]

The season opened with a 1–0 defeat at The Memorial Stadium to Bristol Rovers, though the team put in 'an encouraging display'.^[1] Two days later Vale Park welcomed a crowd of 26,805 for a 1–1 draw with Notts County.^[1] When they travelled to the Victoria Ground on 4 September, Stoke City had a 100% win record, but 46,777 locals witnessed a goalless draw between the Potteries clubs.^[1] Twelve days later Vale travelled to Vetch Field, where they lost 7–1 to Swansea Town, a team they had beaten 1–0 just ten days earlier.^[1] This occurred because Tommy Cheadle and Stan Turner had to leave the game before half-time with injuries.^[1] The heavy defeat seemed to have destroyed the reputation of 'the Steele Curtain', as the team would have to wait another fourteen matches before holding a clean sheet.^[1] During this time manager Freddie Steele switched tactics from a defensive set-up to 'a semi-continental style' in the hunt for goals.^[1] Five straight losses followed, as the players struggled to adapt.^[1] Also lost was their record of 42 home games without a loss when on 18 September 1954, Blackburn Rovers claimed a 3–0 victory.^[1] Basil Hayward dropped from the first XI, they failed to beat strugglers Ipswich Town as the club hovered above the relegation zone.^[1] A win at the City Ground sustained them until two home wins came in late-December. In December Cyril Done, an experienced striker was signed from Tranmere Rovers for a four-figure fee.^[1]

On 5 February, strugglers Derby County thrashed the Vale 6–1 at the Baseball Ground. However, Vale's poor away record failed to deter a strong contingent of Vale fans from following the club around the country dressed in fancy dress.^[1] The following month, aggressive young forward Len Stephenson was signed from Blackpool. He impressed with his performances.^[1] Three defeats left the Vale in a relegation dogfight, but seven points from the first five games in April proved very useful.^[1] On 8 April, Done put four past his former club Liverpool in a 4–3 win.^[1] Three days later he scored a penalty at Anfield to earn a 1–1 draw. On 25 April, more than 40,000 turned up to Vale Park to witness the "Potters" claim a 1–0 victory.^[1] Vale won their final two games, including a 1–0 win over Rotherham United that denied the "Millers" a place in the top flight.^[1]

They finished in seventeenth place, seven points clear of relegation but nineteen short of promotion. With 48 goals, only Hull City scored fewer goals. Cyril Done was the only consistent scorer and was the top scorer for both Vale and Tranmere, having scored twice as many league goals as the next-highest scorer at both clubs.^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a scant profit of £141 was recorded despite a club-record average home attendance of 20,708.^[1] The £6,850 spent to bolster the forward line had swallowed up most of the profits. The Supporters' Club therefore announced it would raise £5,000 – £1,500 of which would go towards the terracing on the Bycars End.^[1] Reserve team players Mick Hulligan and Len Barber were allowed to leave for Northwich Victoria on free transfers.^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, the "Valiants" drew 2–2 with West Ham United at Upton Park after going two goals behind.^[1] Vale won the replay 3–1 and were drawn against First Division Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane in the Fourth Round. A crowd of 50,684 saw an exciting game in which four "Spurs" goals wiped out a Ken Griffiths brace.^[1]

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Birmingham City (C, P)	42	22	10	10	92	47	1.957	54	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup group stage and promotion to the First Division
2	Luton Town (P)	42	23	8	11	88	53	1.660	54	Promotion to the First Division
3	Rotherham United	42	25	4	13	94	64	1.469	54
4	Leeds United	42	23	7	12	70	53	1.321	53
5	Stoke City	42	21	10	11	69	46	1.500	52
6	Blackburn Rovers	42	22	6	14	114	79	1.443	50
7	Notts County	42	21	6	15	74	71	1.042	48
8	West Ham United	42	18	10	14	74	70	1.057	46
9	Bristol Rovers	42	19	7	16	75	70	1.071	45
10	Swansea Town	42	17	9	16	86	83	1.036	43
11	Liverpool	42	16	10	16	92	96	0.958	42
12	Middlesbrough	42	18	6	18	73	82	0.890	42
13	Bury	42	15	11	16	77	72	1.069	41
14	Fulham	42	14	11	17	76	79	0.962	39
15	Nottingham Forest	42	16	7	19	58	62	0.935	39
16	Lincoln City	42	13	10	19	68	79	0.861	36
17	Port Vale	42	12	11	19	48	71	0.676	35
18	Doncaster Rovers	42	14	7	21	58	95	0.611	35
19	Hull City	42	12	10	20	44	69	0.638	34
20	Plymouth Argyle	42	12	7	23	57	82	0.695	31
21	Ipswich Town (R)	42	11	6	25	57	92	0.620	28	Relegation to the Third Division South
22	Derby County (R)	42	7	9	26	53	82	0.646	23	Relegation to the Third Division North

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Football League Second Division

Results by matchday

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42
Ground	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A
Result	L	D	W	D	D	W	L	W	L	L	L	L	L	D	W	L	D	D	L	D	L	W	L	W	D	D	L	D	L	W	L	L	L	W	W	L	D	W	L	L	W	W
Position	20	15	10	10	12	6	14	13	16	16	18	18	18	17	17	17	18	17	19	19	19	19	19	18	18	18	18	19	19	19	19	20	20	20	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	17

Source: Statto^[2]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
21 August 1954	Bristol Rovers	A	0–1	32,367
23 August 1954	Notts County	H	1–1	26,805	Sproson
28 August 1954	Plymouth Argyle	H	1–0	25,038	Leake
2 September 1954	Notts County	A	1–1	17,723	Cunliffe
4 September 1954	Stoke City	A	0–0	46,777
6 September 1954	Swansea Town	H	1–0	18,603	Hayward
16 September 1954	Swansea Town	A	1–7	22,265	Leake
18 September 1954	Derby County	H	3–0	22,777	Askey, Cunliffe, Griffiths
25 September 1954	West Ham United	A	0–2	25,155
27 September 1954	Doncaster Rovers	A	0–1	12,818
2 October 1954	Blackburn Rovers	H	0–3	25,619
9 October 1954	Lincoln City	H	1–3	19,724	Cunliffe
16 October 1954	Hull City	A	1–2	23,892	Hayward
23 October 1954	Ipswich Town	H	3–3	14,532	Leake, Hayward, Smith
30 October 1954	Nottingham Forest	A	3–2	15,654	Leake, Hayward, Cunliffe
6 November 1954	Leeds United	H	0–1	16,062
13 November 1954	Bury	A	2–2	12,917	Smith, Hayward
20 November 1954	Middlesbrough	H	1–1	16,753	Askey
27 November 1954	Birmingham City	A	2–7	16,352	Hayward, Mullard (pen)
4 December 1954	Luton Town	H	1–1	14,052	o.g.
11 December 1954	Rotherham United	A	0–3	12,850
18 December 1954	Bristol Rovers	H	1–0	16,434	Griffiths
25 December 1954	Fulham	A	1–3	17,519	Askey
27 December 1954	Fulham	H	4–0	29,415	Smith (2), Leake, Cunliffe
1 January 1955	Plymouth Argyle	A	0–0	14,371
22 January 1955	Doncaster Rovers	H	1–1	16,323	Done
5 February 1955	Derby County	A	1–6	19,882	Done
12 February 1955	West Ham United	H	1–1	12,621	Done
19 February 1955	Blackburn Rovers	A	1–2	24,965	Done
5 March 1955	Hull City	H	3–0	16,658	Done (2), Griffiths
12 March 1955	Ipswich Town	A	0–1	12,970
19 March 1955	Nottingham Forest	H	1–2	17,586	Stephenson
26 March 1955	Leeds United	A	0–3	8,831
2 April 1955	Bury	H	1–0	14,228	Griffiths
8 April 1955	Liverpool	H	4–3	24,029	Done (4 [1 pen])
9 April 1955	Middlesbrough	A	0–2	17,795
11 April 1955	Liverpool	A	1–1	36,285	Done (pen)
16 April 1955	Birmingham City	H	2–0	24,036	Askey, Done
23 April 1955	Luton Town	A	2–4	16,704	Done, Griffiths
25 April 1955	Stoke City	H	0–1	40,066
30 April 1955	Rotherham United	H	1–0	25,271	Smith
4 May 1955	Lincoln City	A	1–0	7,044	Smith

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	8 January 1955	West Ham United	A	2–2	20,364	Smith, Cunliffe
R3 Replay	10 January 1955	West Ham United	H	3–1	11,963	Leake, Cunliffe, Smith
R4	29 January 1955	Tottenham Hotspur	A	2–4	50,684	Griffiths (2)

Player statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		Total
Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Ray King	41	0	3	0	44	0
GK	Ray Hancock	1	0	0	0	1	0
DF	Tommy Cheadle	26	0	0	0	26	0
DF	Reg Potts	42	0	3	0	45	0
DF	Stan Turner	42	0	3	0	45	0
DF	Roy Sproson	42	1	3	0	45	1
DF	Fred Donaldson	1	0	0	0	1	0
MF	Mick Hulligan	1	0	0	0	1	0
MF	Alan Bennett	4	0	0	0	4	0
MF	Albert Leake	27	5	3	1	30	6
MF	John Cunliffe	40	5	3	2	43	7
MF	Derek Mountford	2	0	0	0	2	0
MF	Albert Mullard	37	1	3	0	40	1
MF	Colin Askey	39	4	3	0	42	4
FW	Basil Hayward	30	6	3	0	33	6
FW	Ken Griffiths	30	5	3	2	33	7
FW	Derek Tomkinson	4	0	0	0	4	0
FW	Len Barber	2	0	0	0	2	0
FW	Len Stephenson	10	1	0	0	10	1
FW	Stan Smith	23	6	3	2	26	8
FW	Cyril Done	18	13	0	0	18	13
FW	Mike Moran	0	0	0	0	0	0

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Second Division	FA Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Cyril Done	13	0	13
2	FW	England	Stan Smith)	6	2	8
3	FW	England	Ken Griffiths	5	2	7
–	MF	England	John Cunliffe	5	2	7
5	FW	England	Basil Hayward	6	0	6
–	MF	England	Albert Leake	5	1	6
7	MF	England	Colin Askey	4	0	4
8	DF	England	Roy Sproson	1	0	1
–	MF	England	Albert Mullard	1	0	1
–	FW	England	Len Stephenson	1	0	1
–	–	–	Own goals	1	0	1
			TOTALS	48	7	55

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
December 1954	FW		Cyril Done	Tranmere Rovers	'four figure fee'	^[3]
10 March 1955	FW		Len Stephenson	Blackpool	£5,000	^[3]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
July 1955	FW	Len Barber	Northwich Victoria	Free transfer	^[3]
July 1955	MF	Mick Hulligan	Northwich Victoria	Free transfer	^[3]
Summer 1955	DF	Roy Brien		Released	^[3]
Summer 1955	DF	Jim Elsby	Wereton Queen's Park	Free transfer	^[3]
Summer 1955	FW	Derek Tomkinson	Crewe Alexandra	Free transfer	^[3]

References

Specific

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z Kent, Jeff (1990). "Fame and Fortune (1950–1959)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 171–196. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
^ Port Vale 1954–1955 : Results & Fixtures Archived 6 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

General

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

[Kent-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z Kent, Jeff (1990). "Fame and Fortune (1950–1959)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 171–196. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.

[2] Port Vale 1954–1955 : Results & Fixtures Archived 6 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.

[transfers-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Port Vale F.C. seasons
1880–81 1881–82 1882–83 1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90
1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–00
1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10
1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00
2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26 2026–27 2027–28 2028–29 2029–30