1990–91 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale
1990–91 season
Chairman	Bill Bell
Manager	John Rudge
Stadium	Vale Park
Football League Second Division	15th (57 Points)
FA Cup	Fourth Round; (knocked out by Manchester City)
League Cup	Second Round; (knocked out by Oxford United)
Full Members' Cup	First Round; (knocked out by Notts County)
Player of the Year	Ray Walker
Top goalscorer	League: Darren Beckford (21); All: Darren Beckford (23)
Highest home attendance	19,132 vs. Manchester City, 26 January 1991
Lowest home attendance	5,265 vs. Oxford United, 24 September 1990
Average home league attendance	8,092
Biggest win	5–1 vs. Plymouth Argyle, 1 December 1990
Biggest defeat	0–4 vs. Middlesbrough, 9 April 1991
Home colours	Away colours
	← 1989–90 1991–92 →

The 1990–91 season was Port Vale's 79th season of football in the English Football League, and second-successive (34th overall) season in the Second Division.^[1] For the first time since 1926–27 they played in a league above rivals Stoke City. Vale finished in mid-table, exiting the FA Cup in the Fourth Round, the League Cup in the Second Round, and the Full Members' Cup in the First Round. John Rudge continued to uncover hidden 'gems', signing Dutchman Robin van der Laan for £80,000. Darren Beckford was the top-scorer once again, though the club's Player of the Year award went to Ray Walker.

Overview

Second Division

The pre-season saw John Rudge follow up a recommendation by signing young Irish forward Derek Swan from Bohemians for £15,000.^[1] Meanwhile, more than £250,000 was taken in by the club from season-ticket sales.^[1] Much of this went on improving Vale Park, with 3,750 yellow and white seats fitted in the Railway Paddock and 1,121 seats added to the upper tier of the Bycars End.^[1] The Bycars End roof was removed for safety reasons, whilst a police box was constructed between the Railway Paddock and the Hamil End.^[1] Admission rates increased to £5 for a terrace place, £6 for a seat in the Paddock and £7 in the stand.^[1] Season tickets ranged between £75 and £105. With police bills set to spiral upwards, a record five-figure shirt sponsorship deal was struck with Kalamazoo (a business systems company).^[1] A 25,000 seater stadium was planned for Festival Park; however, Chairman Bill Bell was 'frightened to death by the cost', and the plans were binned.^[1]

The season opened with two defeats, though a 2–0 win over Leicester City on 1 September kick-started the Vale's campaign. A week later they beat Portsmouth 4–2 at Fratton Park. However, their 3–2 win over Middlesbrough was followed by seven league games without a win. Left-back Colin Gibson scored on his debut, having arrived on loan from Manchester United; whilst future-Nigerian international Reuben Agboola also arrived on loan from Sunderland. On 17 November, Vale won 1–0 at home to an Oldham Athletic side who were unbeaten in their 16 league games.^[2] The streak ended when Ray Walker and Darren Beckford found their scoring form, firing the club to five victories in seven games, including a 5–1 home win over Plymouth Argyle which Rudge described as "the sort of game that, as a forward, you never want to end because there were so many chances".^[3] On 15 December, Vale beat Oxford United after Beckford scored the only goal of the game, with Rudge saying his "goal was that of a £1m player".^[4] The Vale lost their form around Christmastime however. They remained in indifferent form until the end of the season. Rudge took in Nick Platnauer on loan from Notts County, though results failed to pick up.

On 19 January, Vale recorded a 3–2 home victory over Portsmouth to end a run of poor form. Guy Whittingham put the visitors ahead following a mistake from Trevor Wood, then Neil Aspin scored his first goal for the club to equalise. Former Valiant Mark Chamberlain assisted Whittingham for another goal before late goals from Dean Glover and Beckford won the game.^[5] In February, Ronnie Jepson was sold to Preston North End for £80,000, having previously been loaned out to Peterborough United. Gary West also spent much of the season away from Vale Park, spending time on loan at Gillingham and Lincoln City (signing permanently for Lincoln at the end of the season for a £25,000 fee). All of the money raised from Jepson's sale went on bringing Dutchman Robin van der Laan to Burslem from Wageningen. Right-back Paul West also arrived for a £3,800 fee from non-League Alcester Town. In March, Gary Ford and £80,000 were traded to Mansfield Town in exchange for Kevin Kent. Also of note during this spell was a hat-trick for Beckford in a 3–0 win over Blackburn Rovers on 9 March, and a run of four goals in the final four games for Robbie Earle.^[6] Striker Brian Mills made his debut in a final day win over Swindon Town, and would later be picked for the England squad for the 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship.

They finished in fifteenth place with 57 points, twelve points away from Middlesbrough in the play-offs, but nine points clear of relegated West Bromwich Albion. Beckford scored 23 goals in all competitions, whilst Earle contributed twelve goals.

Finances

The club's shirt sponsors were Kalamazoo.

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale advanced into the Fourth Round with a 2–1 victory over Fourth Division side Peterborough United amidst stormy conditions at Vale Park after Mick Halsall had put the visitors ahead on four minutes – Rudge said "it was a scrap, not a classic" as a Walker penalty and Beckford header secured the victory.^[7] In the next round, they lost at home to First Division Manchester City in front of a season-high crowd of 19,132.

In the League Cup, the "Valiants" faced Oxford United. A 2–0 defeat on the home leg meant they were eliminated after a goalless draw at the Manor Ground.

In the short-lived Full Members' Cup, Vale lost 1–0 to Notts County at Meadow Lane to exit the competition at the first stage.

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
13	Bristol Rovers	46	15	13	18	56	59	−3	58
14	Ipswich Town	46	13	18	15	60	68	−8	57
15	Port Vale	46	15	12	19	56	64	−8	57
16	Charlton Athletic	46	13	17	16	57	61	−4	56
17	Portsmouth	46	14	11	21	58	70	−12	53

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored

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	43	44	45	46
Ground	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	H
Result	L	L	W	W	L	W	D	L	L	D	L	D	L	W	W	L	W	D	W	W	L	L	D	L	D	W	L	L	W	L	L	W	D	D	L	W	D	W	L	L	W	L	D	D	D	W
Position	24	24	12	9	15	7	9	13	13	14	15	15	16	17	15	18	15	13	10	8	10	12	12	12	15	14	15	16	15	15	16	14	15	15	16	16	16	15	15	16	15	15	16	17	16	15

Source: Statto^[8]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
25 August 1990	Oxford United	A	2–5	4,837	Jeffers, Earle
28 August 1990	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	1–2	12,746	Beckford (pen)
1 September 1990	Leicester City	H	2–0	8,837	Earle, Beckford
8 September 1990	Portsmouth	A	4–2	8,835	Beckford (2), Cross, Earle
15 September 1990	Newcastle United	H	0–1	10,040
17 September 1990	Middlesbrough	H	3–1	7,880	Beckford (2), Earle
22 September 1990	Barnsley	A	1–1	8,533	Beckford
29 September 1990	Hull City	A	2–3	5,185	Gibson, Cross
1 October 1990	Notts County	H	0–1	7,723
6 October 1990	Charlton Athletic	H	1–1	6,706	Beckford
13 October 1990	Ipswich Town	A	0–3	10,438
20 October 1990	Sheffield Wednesday	A	1–1	24,527	Gibson
22 October 1990	West Bromwich Albion	H	1–2	8,824	Walker (pen)
27 October 1990	Bristol City	H	3–2	7,451	Walker (2 [1 pen]), Beckford
3 November 1990	Swindon Town	A	2–1	8,364	Ford, Beckford
10 November 1990	Bristol Rovers	A	0–2	5,661
17 November 1990	Oldham Athletic	H	1–0	11,384	Cross
23 November 1990	Blackburn Rovers	A	1–1	8,061	Walker (pen)
1 December 1990	Plymouth Argyle	H	5–1	6,717	Beckford (2), Jeffers, Ford, Walker
15 December 1990	Oxford United	H	1–0	5,953	Beckford
22 December 1990	Brighton & Hove Albion	H	0–1	6,750
26 December 1990	Watford	A	1–2	8,084	Earle
29 December 1990	West Ham United	A	0–0	23,603
1 January 1991	Millwall	H	0–2	8,418
12 January 1991	Leicester City	A	1–1	9,307	Earle
19 January 1991	Portsmouth	H	3–2	6,314	Aspin, Glover, Beckford
2 February 1991	Newcastle United	A	0–2	14,480
16 February 1991	Oldham Athletic	A	0–2	12,907
23 February 1991	Bristol Rovers	H	3–2	7,166	Millar, Beckford, Walker (pen)
26 February 1991	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	1–3	15,919	Earle
2 March 1991	Plymouth Argyle	A	0–2	5,145
9 March 1991	Blackburn Rovers	H	3–0	7,004	Beckford (3)
12 March 1991	Notts County	A	1–1	6,305	Beckford
16 March 1991	Hull City	H	0–0	6,103
18 March 1991	Ipswich Town	H	1–2	5,820	van der Laan
23 March 1991	Charlton Athletic	A	1–0	5,225	van der Laan
30 March 1991	Watford	H	0–0	6,661
3 April 1991	Brighton & Hove Albion	A	2–1	9,733	Beckford, van der Laan
6 April 1991	West Ham United	H	0–1	9,658
9 April 1991	Middlesbrough	A	0–4	15,063
13 April 1991	Millwall	A	2–1	10,860	van der Laan, Beckford
15 April 1991	Barnsley	H	0–1	6,939
27 April 1991	West Bromwich Albion	A	1–1	13,650	Earle
4 May 1991	Bristol City	A	1–1	11,555	Earle
6 May 1991	Sheffield Wednesday	H	1–1	13,317	Earle
11 May 1991	Swindon Town	H	3–1	7,713	Mills (2), Earle

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	5 January 1991	Peterborough United	H	2–1	7,490	Walker (pen), Beckford
R4	26 January 1991	Manchester City	H	1–2	19,132	Beckford

League Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R2 1st Leg	24 September 1990	Oxford United	H	0–2	5,265
R2 2nd Leg	10 October 1990	Oxford United	A	0–0	2,333

Full Members' Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	20 November 1990	Notts County	A	0–1	2,320

Player statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		League Cup		Full Members' Cup		Total
Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Mark Grew	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
GK	Trevor Wood	32	0	2	0	2	0	1	0	37	0
DF	Alan Webb	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	6	0
DF	Simon Mills	41	0	1	0	2	0	1	0	45	0
DF	Darren Hughes	17	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	18	0
DF	Dean Glover	41	1	2	0	2	0	1	0	46	1
DF	Tim Parkin	29	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	32	0
DF	Neil Aspin	41	1	2	0	2	0	1	0	46	1
DF	Reuben Agboola	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
DF	Paul West	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
DF	Gary West	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
DF	Matt Booth	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
DF	Wayne Simpson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
MF	Robbie Earle	35	11	2	0	0	0	0	0	37	11
MF	Andy Porter	40	0	1	0	2	0	1	0	44	0
MF	Ray Walker	45	6	2	1	2	0	1	0	50	7
MF	Kevin Finney	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
MF	John Jeffers	31	2	2	0	2	0	1	0	36	2
MF	Paul Millar	17	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	18	1
MF	Robin van der Laan	18	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	18	4
MF	Nick Platnauer	14	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	15	0
MF	Gary Ford	30	2	2	0	2	0	1	0	35	2
MF	Colin Gibson	6	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	2
MF	Kevin Kent	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
MF	Glen Shepherd	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW	Darren Beckford	43	21	2	2	2	0	0	0	47	23
FW	Ronnie Jepson	15	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	19	0
FW	Nicky Cross	19	3	0	0	2	0	1	0	22	3
FW	Brian Mills	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2
FW	Gary McKinstrey	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Second Division	FA Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Darren Beckford	21	2	23
2	MF	Jamaica	Robbie Earle	11	0	11
3	MF	England	Ray Walker	6	1	7
4	MF	Netherlands	Robin van der Laan	4	0	4
5	FW	England	Nicky Cross	3	0	3
6	MF	England	Colin Gibson	2	0	2
–	MF	England	Gary Ford	2	0	2
–	FW	England	Brian Mills	2	0	2
–	MF	England	John Jeffers	2	0	2
10	MF	Northern Ireland	Paul Millar	1	0	1
–	DF	England	Neil Aspin	1	0	1
–	DF	England	Dean Glover	1	0	1
			TOTALS	56	3	59

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
January 1991	DF	Paul West	Alcester Town	£8,000	^[9]
February 1991	MF	Robin van der Laan	FC Wageningen	£80,000	^[9]
March 1991	MF	Kevin Kent	Mansfield Town	£80,000	^[9]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
January 1991	MF	Paul Atkinson	Gateshead	Retired	^[9]
February 1991	FW	Ronnie Jepson	Preston North End	£80,000	^[9]
March 1991	MF	Gary Ford	Mansfield Town	Exchange	^[9]
May 1991	MF	Kevin Finney	Lincoln City	Free transfer	^[9]
June 1991	FW	Darren Beckford	Norwich City	£925,000	^[9]
July 1991	MF	Robbie Earle	Wimbledon	£775,000	^[9]
August 1991	FW	Paul Millar	Cardiff City	£60,000	^[9]
August 1991	GK	Gary West	Lincoln City	£25,000	^[9]

Loans in

Date from	Position	Name	From	Date to	Ref.
September 1990	MF	Colin Gibson	Manchester United	October 1990	^[9]
November 1990	DF	Reuben Agboola	Sunderland	December 1990	^[9]
January 1991	FW	Nick Platnauer	Notts County	April 1991	^[9]

Loans out

Date from	Position	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
October 1990	GK	Mark Grew	Blackburn Rovers	December 1990	^[9]
October 1990	FW	Paul Millar	Hereford United	November 1990	^[9]
November 1990	GK	Gary West	Gillingham	November 1990	^[9]
January 1991	GK	Gary West	Lincoln City	January 1991	^[9]

References

Specific

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Kent, Jeff (1990). "From Rags to Riches (1979–1990)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 258–290. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
^ Baggaley, Mike (17 November 2024). "Resilient Vale march on". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
^ Baggaley, Mike (3 December 2023). "Port Vale hold nerve to stay in the FA Cup as Steve Evans fumes". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
^ Baggaley, Mike (15 December 2024). "Vale foiled in dramatic draw". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
^ Baggaley, Mike (19 January 2025). "Resilient Vale back in the frame". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
^ Baggaley, Mike (10 March 2024). "Shrewsbury loss shoves Vale closer to the drop". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
^ Baggaley, Mike (5 January 2025). "Vale bounce back with Rovers win". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
^ Port Vale 1990–1991 : Results & Fixtures Archived 27 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r 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 Kent, Jeff (1990). "From Rags to Riches (1979–1990)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 258–290. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.

[2] Baggaley, Mike (17 November 2024). "Resilient Vale march on". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 17 November 2024.

[3] Baggaley, Mike (3 December 2023). "Port Vale hold nerve to stay in the FA Cup as Steve Evans fumes". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 3 December 2023.

[4] Baggaley, Mike (15 December 2024). "Vale foiled in dramatic draw". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 15 December 2024.

[5] Baggaley, Mike (19 January 2025). "Resilient Vale back in the frame". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 19 January 2025.

[6] Baggaley, Mike (10 March 2024). "Shrewsbury loss shoves Vale closer to the drop". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 10 March 2024.

[7] Baggaley, Mike (5 January 2025). "Vale bounce back with Rovers win". Valiant's Substack. Retrieved 5 January 2025.

[8] Port Vale 1990–1991 : Results & Fixtures Archived 27 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.

[transfers-9] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]