1997–98 Port Vale F.C. season

The 1997–98 season was Port Vale's 86th season of football in the English Football League, and fourth successive season in the First Division. John Rudge managed to mastermind a final day escape from relegation, as rivals Stoke City instead lost their second tier status, leaving Vale as the top club in the Potteries. In the FA Cup, Vale took Arsenal to a replay, before leaving at the Third Round stage having lost on penalties. In the League Cup Vale again exited at the First Round. Something of an end of an era for the club, Lee Mills and Jon McCarthy left the club on big money moves, whilst Dean Glover, Andy Porter, and Andy Hill also left the club. The club made its record signing however, in bringing Gareth Ainsworth in from Lincoln City for £500,000.

Port Vale

1997–98 season
Chairman	Bill Bell
Manager	John Rudge
Stadium	Vale Park
Football League First Division	19th (49 Points)
FA Cup	Third Round (knocked out by Arsenal)
League Cup	First Round (knocked out by York City)
Player of the Year	Gareth Ainsworth
Top goalscorer	League: Lee Mills (14) All: Lee Mills (16)
Highest home attendance	14,964 vs. Arsenal, 14 January 1998
Lowest home attendance	2,749 vs. York City, 12 August 1997
Average home league attendance	8,263
Biggest win	4–0 vs. Huddersfield Town, 3 May 1998
Biggest defeat	1–5 vs. Ipswich Town, 18 April 1998
Home colours Away colours
← 1996–97 1998–99 →

Overview

First Division

The pre-season saw the arrival of Swedish midfielder Jan Jansson from IFK Norrköping for a £200,000 fee. Dutch defender Mark Snijders also signed from AZ.

The Vale started the season in modest form, as they picked up fourteen points in the opening nine games. On 11 September, John Rudge made the club's record signing by paying Lincoln City £500,000 for the services of midfielder Gareth Ainsworth. To pay for this Jon McCarthy was sold to Birmingham City for £1.5m. Also heading away from Stoke-on-Trent was Arjan van Heusden, who joined Oxford United on loan. The next month Gareth Griffiths left for a loan spell at Shrewsbury Town. Disappointment came on 12 October, with a 2–1 defeat to rivals Stoke City at the newly opened Britannia Stadium. Vale's indifferent form continued, one highlight being a 3–2 win over Manchester City at Maine Road on 4 November. Later in the year Paul Beesley joined on loan from Man City, and played a handful of games. The club's indifferent form then turned to a terrible run of ten defeats in twelve games, which included a run of one goal scored in seven games. Their form picked up in February, though they were still inconsistent. On 1 March, Stoke, who were also in relegation danger, escaped from Vale Park with a goalless draw. Later in month Rudge signed young Tottenham Hotspur forward Paul Mahorn on non-contract terms. On 14 March, a 2–1 win over Manchester City was to prove crucial, though Vale were still in danger of the drop. Going into their final game with Huddersfield Town at the Alfred McAlpine Stadium Vale had lost three straight games, and were in need of a win to ensure their safety in the league.^[1] A brace from Jansson, and one each from Martin Foyle and Lee Mills earned Vale a 4–0 win.^[2]

They finished in nineteenth place, one point above Manchester City in the relegation zone.^[3] Stoke City were also relegated, and had Stoke beat Vale in Burslem then Vale would have taken Stoke's place in the relegation zone.^[1] Lee Mills was the club's top-scorer with sixteen goals, whilst Tony Naylor also hit double-figures.

At the end of the season, Lee Mills was signed by Premier League Bradford City, becoming Bradford's first million pound player. Twelve year club veteran Andy Porter signed for Wigan Athletic, as did Griffiths. Another major departure was nine-year club veteran defender Dean Glover, who joined non-league Kidderminster Harriers. Another older player, Andy Hill, retired outright. Other departures were Dave Barnett to Lincoln City, Dean Stokes to Third Division Rochdale, and Dutch keeper Arjan van Heusden also headed into the basement division with Cambridge United. Fellow Dutchman Jermaine Holwyn returned to the Netherlands to play for HFC Haarlem.

Finances

The club's shirt sponsors were Tunstall Assurance.

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale faced a trip to Highbury to face Arsenal. Rudge's "Valiants" battled to a goalless draw with Arsène Wenger's "Gunners", to take the Londoners back to Burslem. Again goalless, Dennis Bergkamp scored in the tenth minute of extra time, but Wayne Corden equalized eight minutes before the full-time whistle.^[4] Lee Dixon missed the first penalty of the shoot-out, but Arsenal recovered to win the game 4–3 on penalties, and later went on to lift the cup.^[5][6]

In the League Cup, Second Division York City eliminated the Vale with a 3–2 aggregate victory.

League table

Main article: 1997–98 Football League First Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
17	Bury	46	11	19	16	42	58	−16	52
18	Swindon Town	46	14	10	22	42	73	−31	52
19	Port Vale	46	13	10	23	56	66	−10	49
20	Portsmouth	46	13	10	23	51	63	−12	49
21	Queens Park Rangers	46	10	19	17	51	63	−12	49

Updated to match(es) played on 3 May 1998. Source: Statto.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) number of goal scored; 3) goal difference.

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Football League First 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	43	44	45	46
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	L	L	W	D	W	L	W	D	W	L	L	D	W	L	D	W	W	L	D	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	W	L	L	D	D	L	W	L	D	L	W	W	D	L	W	D	L	L	L	W
Position	20	22	14	17	11	14	9	11	8	8	11	14	8	13	14	10	7	11	9	11	13	14	17	18	18	20	18	19	21	20	21	21	21	21	24	24	23	19	20	20	18	17	19	20	20	19

Source: Statto^[7]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
9 August 1997	Nottingham Forest	H	0–1	12,533
16 August 1997	Portsmouth	A	1–3	10,605	Talbot
23 August 1997	Sunderland	H	3–1	8,290	Naylor (2), Mills
3 September 1997	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	1–1	21,524	Foyle
9 September 1997	Stockport County	H	2–1	6,615	Mills (2)
13 September 1997	Norwich City	A	0–1	11,269
16 September 1997	Crewe Alexandra	A	1–0	5,519	Mills
20 September 1997	Bury	H	1–1	6,781	Ainsworth
27 September 1997	Queens Park Rangers	H	2–0	7,197	Snijders, Naylor
4 October 1997	Swindon Town	A	2–4	8,048	Glover, Foyle
12 October 1997	Stoke City	A	1–2	20,125	Naylor
18 October 1997	Bradford City	H	0–0	7,148
21 October 1997	Huddersfield Town	H	4–1	5,244	Own goal, Talbot, Ainsworth, Naylor
25 October 1997	Middlesbrough	A	1–2	30,096	Foyle
1 November 1997	Reading	H	0–0	6,569
4 November 1997	Manchester City	A	3–2	24,554	Snijders, Talbot, Naylor
8 November 1997	Tranmere Rovers	A	2–1	7,063	Naylor (2)
15 November 1997	West Bromwich Albion	H	1–2	11,124	Mills
22 November 1997	Sheffield United	H	0–0	8,017
29 November 1997	Oxford United	A	0–2	5,762
6 December 1997	Birmingham City	H	0–1	7,509
13 December 1997	Charlton Athletic	A	0–1	11,077
20 December 1997	Ipswich Town	H	1–3	5,784	Foyle
26 December 1997	Stockport County	A	0–3	10,003
28 December 1997	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	0–2	10,898
10 January 1998	Nottingham Forest	A	0–2	17,639
17 January 1998	Portsmouth	H	2–1	6,028	Talbot, Mills
24 January 1998	Crewe Alexandra	H	2–3	6,683	Naylor, Porter (pen)
31 January 1998	Sunderland	A	2–4	39,258	Talbot, Jansson
7 February 1998	Bury	A	2–2	5,285	Mills, Bogie
14 February 1998	Norwich City	H	2–2	6,664	Mills (2)
17 February 1998	Swindon Town	H	0–1	5,925
21 February 1998	Queens Park Rangers	A	1–0	14,198	Mills
24 February 1998	Bradford City	A	1–2	13,293	Foyle
1 March 1998	Stoke City	H	0–0	13,853
4 March 1998	Tranmere Rovers	H	0–1	5,465
7 March 1998	Reading	A	3–0	7,139	Mills, Talbot, Jansson
14 March 1998	Manchester City	H	2–1	13,122	Foyle, Ainsworth
21 March 1998	West Bromwich Albion	A	2–2	14,242	Jansson, Foyle
28 March 1998	Sheffield United	A	1–2	15,860	Corden
4 April 1998	Oxford United	H	3–0	6,524	Mills, Naylor, Ainsworth
11 April 1998	Birmingham City	A	1–1	17,193	Ainsworth
13 April 1998	Charlton Athletic	H	0–1	9,973
18 April 1998	Ipswich Town	A	1–5	16,205	Barnett
24 April 1998	Middlesbrough	H	0–1	12,096
3 May 1998	Huddersfield Town	A	4–0	15,610	Jansson (2), Foyle, Mills

FA Cup

Main article: 1997–98 FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	3 January 1998	Arsenal	A	0–0	37,471
R3 Replay	14 January 1998	Arsenal	H	(3)1–1(4)	14,964	Corden

League Cup

Main article: 1997–98 Football League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1 1st Leg	12 August 1997	York City	H	1–1	2,749	Mills
R1 2nd Leg	26 August 1997	York City	A	1–2	3,195	Mills

Player statistics

Appearances

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Matthew Boswell	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
GK	Paul Musselwhite	40	0	2	0	2	0	44	0
GK	Arjan van Heusden	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
DF	Dean Glover	25	1	0	0	1	0	26	1
DF	Neil Aspin	25	0	2	0	2	0	29	0
DF	Allen Tankard	38	0	2	0	2	0	42	0
DF	Dean Stokes	8	0	0	0	1	0	9	0
DF	Jon McCarthy	4	0	0	0	2	0	6	0
DF	Andy Hill	27	0	2	0	2	0	31	0
DF	Matt Carragher	25	0	0	0	0	0	25	0
DF	Paul Beesley	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
DF	Dave Barnett	9	1	0	0	0	0	9	1
DF	Liam Burns	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
DF	Mark Snijders	23	2	0	2	0	0	25	2
DF	Gareth Griffiths	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
MF	Andy Porter	40	1	2	0	1	0	43	1
MF	Ian Bogie	38	1	2	0	1	0	41	1
MF	Wayne Corden	31	1	2	1	2	0	35	2
MF	Stewart Talbot	41	6	2	0	2	0	45	6
MF	Rogier Koordes	9	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
MF	Jan Jansson	32	5	0	0	2	0	34	5
MF	Gareth Ainsworth	39	5	2	0	0	0	41	5
MF	Richard Eyre	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
MF	Scott Ruscoe	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW	Dean Cunningham	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW	Martin Foyle	38	8	2	0	2	0	42	8
FW	Lee Mills	42	14	1	0	2	2	45	16
FW	Justin O'Reilly	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW	Tony Naylor	37	10	2	0	2	0	41	10
FW	Simon Armstrong	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW	Steve Williams	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Name	First Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Lee Mills	14	0	2	16
2	FW	England	Tony Naylor	10	0	0	10
3	FW	England	Martin Foyle	8	0	0	8
4	MF	England	Stewart Talbot	6	0	0	6
5	MF	Sweden	Jan Jansson	5	0	0	5
–	MF	England	Gareth Ainsworth	5	0	0	5
7	MF	England	Wayne Corden	1	1	0	2
–	DF	Netherlands	Mark Snijders	2	0	0	2
9	DF	England	Dean Glover	1	0	0	1
–	DF	England	Dave Barnett	1	0	0	1
–	MF	England	Ian Bogie	1	0	0	1
–	MF	England	Andy Porter	1	0	0	1
–		–	Own goals	1	0	0	1
			TOTALS	56	1	2	59

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1997	DF		Matt Carragher	Wigan Athletic	Free transfer	^[8]
Summer 1997	MF		Jan Jansson	IFK Norrköping	£200,000	^[8]
Summer 1997	DF		Mark Snijders	AZ Alkmaar	Free transfer	^[8]
12 September 1997	MF		Gareth Ainsworth	Lincoln City	£500,000	^[8]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
11 September 1997	MF		Jon McCarthy	Birmingham City	£1.5 million	^[8]
1998	DF		Jermaine Holwyn	HFC Haarlem	Free transfer	^[8]
26 March 1998	FW		Justin O'Reilly	Southport	Free transfer	^[9]
July 1998	MF		Andy Porter	Wigan Athletic	Free transfer	^[8]
June 1998	DF		Gareth Griffiths	Wigan Athletic	Free transfer	^[8]
Summer 1998	DF		Dean Glover	Kidderminster Harriers	Free transfer	^[8]
Summer 1998	DF		Andy Hill	Retired		^[8]
7 August 1998	FW		Lee Mills	Bradford City	£1,000,000	^[8]
Summer 1998	DF		Dean Stokes	Rochdale	Free transfer	^[8]
August 1998	GK		Arjan van Heusden	Cambridge United	Free transfer	^[8]

Loans in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Date to	Ref.
24 December 1997	DF		Paul Beesley	Manchester City	December 1997	^[8]
March 1998	DF		Dave Barnett	Dunfermline Athletic	May 1998	^[8]

Loans out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
8 August 1997	GK		Matthew Boswell	Witton Albion	199?	^[9]
26 September 1997	GK		Arjan van Heusden	Oxford United	October 1997	^[8]
31 October 1997	DF		Gareth Griffiths	Shrewsbury Town	November 1997	^[8]
23 December 1997	FW		Simon Armstrong	Boston United	End of season	^[9]
30 January 1998	FW		Steve Williams	Witton Albion	1998	^[9]
25 March 1998	GK		Matthew Boswell	Barnet	End of season	^[9]

References

Specific

1. Baggaley, Michael (3 May 2020). "Last day drama when Port Vale stayed up but Man City and Stoke City went down". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
2. Baggaley, Mike (20 February 2016). "Were these Vale's five greatest games ever?". The Sentinel. Retrieved 20 February 2016.^{[permanent dead link]}
3. Baggaley, Mike (5 January 2017). "Huddersfield v Port Vale archives: When Vale stayed up in style". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
4. Shaw, Phil (15 January 1998). "Football: Arsenal let off the hook by Tankard". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
5. "Sports photographs from our archives". The Sentinel. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
6. Baggaley, Michael (14 January 2018). "When Port Vale gave Arsenal an almighty FA Cup scare". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
7. Port Vale 1997–1998 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
8. "Port Vale FC Club Details | Transfers | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
9. Rothmans football yearbook 1998-99. London : Headline Book. 1998. ISBN 978-0-7472-7652-4. Retrieved 30 November 2022.

General

• Soccerbase