1994–95 Port Vale F.C. season


The 1994–95 season was Port Vale's 83rd season of football in the English Football League, and first ever season in the First Division following their promotion from the Second Division. John Rudge led his team to safety in the league, whilst reaching the Second Round of the FA Cup and League Cup. In the FA Cup they recorded a 6–0 victory over Hartlepool United, before suffering a shock defeat at Scarborough. Back in the same league as rivals Stoke City, they earned the season's bragging rights with a 1–1 draw at Vale Park and a 1–0 win at the Victoria Ground. Martin Foyle was the Player of the Year, having bagged twenty goals in all competitions. Club legend Ian Taylor had been sold before a ball was kicked, but new legends were born with the signatures of Tony Naylor, Steve Guppy, and Ian Bogie.

Overview

First Division

The pre-season saw John Rudge spend a small amount of the money received on the sales of Ian Taylor and Peter Swan to bring Tony Naylor to the club from Crewe Alexandra for a £150,000 fee. A further £200,000 was splashed out on Nottingham Forest forward Lee Glover. Another £4,500 was spent on Dutch goalkeeper Arjan van Heusden from VV Noordwijk. Arriving on free transfers were Craig Lawton and Stewart Talbot.
The season started modestly, with two wins in the four August games. In September only Lee Glover, Tony Naylor and Martin Foyle could find the net, but the Vale won six points from their five games. To help with his recovery from a serious injury, Ray Walker spent some time on loan at Cambridge United, and won back his first team place in the Vale starting eleven upon his return. Meanwhile, Tony Kelly arrived at the club from Bolton Wanderers, but after a brief spell moved on to Millwall. Vale's poor attack was highlighted in October, though the defence ensured three draws from five games. In November, Darren Hughes was allowed to leave the club for Northampton Town. Rudge decided to make another big signing, and bought winger Steve Guppy from Newcastle United for £225,000. On 5 November, Vale lost all their inhibitions in front of goal, beating Southend United 5–0 with five different scorers. However their draw with Swindon Town would prove to be the only point gained in December, as Vale were stuck in a relegation dogfight. John Jeffers spent January on loan at Shrewsbury Town. During this spell defender Kevin Scott arrived on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. The team gelled, forming a five-game unbeaten run based on just two goals conceded to shoot up the table. In March, midfielder Ian Bogie was signed from Leyton Orient for a £50,000 fee. Potteries derby day finally came on 14 March, and 19,510 turned up at Vale Park to witness a 1–1 draw with Stoke City, Naylor scoring the Vale's goal. Five defeats in seven games followed, raising concerns of the drop. However the Vale were unbeaten in their final five games to ensure safety. This included a 3–3 draw at Elm Park that saw the "Valiants" come from three goals down to claim a point. It also included a 1–0 win over Stoke at the Victoria Ground on 22 April, Foyle scoring the goal.
They finished in seventeenth place with 58 points, leaving them ten points clear of relegated Swindon Town. They were five points short of Stoke, who finished six places above the Vale. Player of the Year Martin Foyle bagged twenty goals, double that of his nearest rival Tony Naylor.
At the end of the season Ollie Heald, Peter Billing, Mark Burke and John Burndred were released, who signed with Scarborough, Hartlepool United, Fortuna Sittard and Stafford Rangers respectively. Joe Allon was also sold to Brentford for £42,500.

Finances

The club's shirt sponsors were Tunstall Assurance.

Cup competitions

As members of the second tier, Vale should have qualified for the Third Round of the FA Cup, but were forced to take part in the First Round to make up the numbers after Aldershot went bust and Maidstone United resigned from the league. Vale went on to easily beat Third Division side Hartlepool United 6–0 in Burslem, with Martin Foyle bagging a hat-trick. Remarkably, this would be the last hat-trick scored by a Vale player at Vale Park until April 2011. However a shock awaited in the Second Round, where Scarborough, also of the fourth tier, beat the Vale 1–0 at the McCain Stadium.
In the League Cup, Vale advanced past Second Division Bristol Rovers 4–2 on aggregate, having won 3–1 at the Memorial Stadium. In the Second Round they faced Premier League Manchester United. Alex Ferguson's "Red Devils" beat John Rudge's "Valiants" 2–1 at Vale Park in front of 18,605 supporters; Lee Glover scoring for Vale and Paul Scholes scoring a brace on his United debut. At the time Vale fans were disappointed to witness the then-unknown United reserves, though Scholes would go on to become a household name, as would teenage teammates Gary Neville, Nicky Butt, and David Beckham; the United first eleven would go on to win a combined total of more than 500 international caps over the course of their careers. For the second leg there were 31,615 fans at Old Trafford to witness a 2–0 United victory, David May and Brian McClair getting the goals.

League table

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Football League First Division

Results by matchday

Matches

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
14 August 1994Swindon TownA0–210,431
20 August 1994Oldham AthleticH3–110,051Foyle, Kenny, Naylor
27 August 1994Bristol CityA0–08,588
30 August 1994BarnsleyH2–17,228Burke, L.Glover
3 September 1994Luton TownH0–18,541
10 September 1994PortsmouthA2–08,989L.Glover, Naylor
13 September 1994Grimsby TownA1–43,216Foyle
17 September 1994MiddlesbroughH2–110,313L.Glover, Naylor
24 September 1994Sheffield UnitedH0–29,324
1 October 1994Wolverhampton WanderersA1–227,649Allon
8 October 1994Notts CountyA2–26,903Foyle, Kelly
15 October 1994Charlton AthleticH0–27,707
22 October 1994Bolton WanderersH1–110,003Allon
29 October 1994Tranmere RoversA1–16,972Jeffers
2 November 1994West Bromwich AlbionA0–014,513
5 November 1994Southend UnitedH5–07,141Allon, Foyle, Porter, Walker, van der Laan
19 November 1994Derby CountyA0–213,357
26 November 1994MillwallH2–18,016Allon, Burke
29 November 1994SunderlandH0–08,121
6 December 1994Bolton WanderersA0–110,324
10 December 1994Oldham AthleticA2–37,712Guppy, van der Laan
17 December 1994Swindon TownH2–27,747Foyle
28 December 1994ReadingH0–27,891
31 December 1994WatfordA2–37,794Foyle
15 January 1995Tranmere RoversH2–07,944Foyle, Tankard
28 January 1995Southend UnitedA2–13,619Foyle, van der Laan
4 February 1995SunderlandA1–113,377Naylor
11 February 1995West Bromwich AlbionH1–010,751Guppy
21 February 1995Derby CountyH1–09,387Kent
25 February 1995Wolverhampton WanderersH2–413,676Kent, Naylor
4 March 1995Sheffield UnitedA1–113,647L.Glover
7 March 1995Luton TownA1–25,947Porter
11 March 1995Bristol CityH2–17,646Naylor, Scott
14 March 1995Stoke CityH1–119,510Naylor
18 March 1995BarnsleyA1–36,878Allon
21 March 1995PortsmouthH1–07,388Allon
26 March 1995MiddlesbroughA0–317,401
28 March 1995BurnleyA3–410,058Foyle, Allon
1 April 1995Grimsby TownH1–27,150Naylor
5 April 1995MillwallA3–15,260Bogie, Foyle, van der Laan
8 April 1995WatfordH0–17,276
15 April 1995ReadingA3–38,635Bogie, Naylor, Porter
17 April 1995BurnleyH1–09,663van der Laan
22 April 1995Stoke CityA1–020,429Foyle
29 April 1995Charlton AthleticA1–112,596Foyle
7 May 1995Notts CountyH1–19,542Foyle

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R112 November 1994Hartlepool UnitedH6–06,199Foyle, Allon, D.Glover, Griffiths
R23 December 1994ScarboroughA0–12,382

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R1 1st Leg17 August 1994Bristol RoversA3–13,307Foyle, L.Glover, Naylor
R1 2nd Leg23 August 1994Bristol RoversH1–14,728L.Glover
R2 1st Leg21 September 1994Manchester UnitedH1–218,605L.Glover
R2 2nd Leg5 October 1994Manchester UnitedA0–231,615

Player statistics

Appearances

Top scorers

Transfers

Transfers in

Transfers out

Loans in

Loans out