2003–04 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale
2003–04 season
Chairman Bill Bratt
Manager Brian Horton
(until February)
Martin Foyle
(February onwards)
Stadium Vale Park
Football League Second Division 7th (73 Points)
FA Cup Second Round
League Cup First Round
League Trophy First Round
Player of the Year Stephen McPhee
Top goalscorer League: Stephen McPhee (25)
All: Stephen McPhee (27)
Highest home attendance 7,958 vs. Sheffield Wednesday (7 February 2004)
Lowest home attendance 4,016 vs. Ford United (8 November 2003)
Average home league attendance 5,810
Home colours

The 2003–04 season was Port Vale's 92nd season of football in the Football League, and fourth successive season (41st overall) in the Second Division. Brian Horton resigned in February, and was replaced by Martin Foyle. Vale fought for promotion, but finished outside the play-off zone on goal difference. In the FA Cup, Vale narrowly avoided humiliation by beating non-league Ford United after the replay went to extra-time. However Vale exited at the Second Round with defeat to Conference club Scarborough, who also knocked the Vale out of the League Trophy at the First Round. Vale also left the League Cup at the First Round stage. Stephen McPhee was Player of the Year and top-scorer with 27 goals, but he left the club at the end of the season to play abroad. Financial problems still hounded the club, and Chairman Bill Bratt was desperate to attract investment from fans,[1] though he was unwilling to allow one person to have more than 50% of the club's shares.[2]

Overview

Second Division

The pre-season saw Brian Horton bring in three key players on free transfers: George Pilkington (Everton);[3] Jonny Brain (Newcastle United);[4] and Austrian Andreas Lipa (Skoda Xanthi).[5] Meanwhile, promising keeper Mark Goodlad began a lengthy period of time on the sidelines with injuries.[6] Optimism surrounded the club, after the rebuilding of the new squad appeared to had finished after the break-up of the club's previous team due to financial troubles.[7]

The season opened with seven wins in eleven games, earning Brian Horton the Manager of the Month award.[8] Though this was followed by a sequence of five defeats in eight games as the goals dried up, this run included a 5–1 thumping at home to Plymouth Argyle. In November, back-up keeper Dean Delany joined Macclesfield Town on a two-month loan. Vale then were in patchy form until March, though the side managed to do the double over Sheffield Wednesday. Brian Horton resigned in February, with the club in the play-offs.[9] His replacement was former Vale legend Martin Foyle, whose only previous experience was in the club's youth set-up.[10] As his assistant he appointed former teammate, Dean Glover, another club legend.[11] In March, Foyle made his first signing, bringing defender Craig James on loan from Sunderland,[12] and after a few weeks he signed him permanently.[13] Mark Boyd headed out of the club however, and was allowed to sign with Carlisle United. Vale lost just two of their final twelve games, and ran close to a play-off place, only losing out due to their inferior goal difference.

They finished in seventh place with 73 points. They were level on points with Hartlepool United and Swindon Town, but finished outside of the play-off zone due to their inferior goal difference. Stephen McPhee scored 27 goals to become the club's top-scorer, the highest tally since Andy Jones hit 37 in 1986–87. Other major contributions came from Billy Paynter (14), Steve Brooker (8), Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (7) and Adrian Littlejohn (7).

At the end of the season several players left the club: Neil Brisco (Rochdale); Liam Burns (Bristol Rovers); Adrian Littlejohn (Lincoln City); and Dean Delany (Shelbourne).[14] Stephen McPhee also decided to leave the club, and though Chairman Bill Bratt had rejected offers of £100,000 for the player,[15] McPhee exploited a loophole in his contract to join Portuguese side Beira-Mar.[16] Marc Bridge-Wilkinson also turned down a new lower-paying contract, and instead signed with Stockport County.[17] Player-coach Ian Brightwell also left Vale Park, having lost his assistant manager role to Glover,[18] and joined Horton at Macclesfield Town.[19] One boost was that Billy Paynter and George Pilkington put pen to paper on new long-term deals.[20]

Finances

Peter Walker was appointed as Chief Executive in August 2003, having volunteered to work for free for six months. One feature of the season proved to be the long-running courtroom battle between former chairman Bill Bell and owners Valiant2001 over unpaid rent on the club shop. The club's finances were still worrying for supporters, though the problem appeared to have eased by the end of the season.[21]

In December, a Peter Jackson led consortium put a £150,000 investment into the club, which Bratt said "...ensures the future of the club is safe".[22] The club also rejected other investment proposals from confidential sources.[23] Vice-chairman Charles Machin recommended the board sell the club to Italian businessman Gianni Paladini for £530,000, but the board disagreed.[24] In March 2004, Machin and director Geoff Wakefield were voted off the board, as the 'Jackson Five' clique elected Peter Jackson and Stan Meigh in their place.[24] Machin said that "I will not go away. I will haunt the corridors of power like Marley's ghost".[24] However he was never elected back onto the board.[24]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale risked humiliation in a 2–2 draw with non-league Ford United at Vale Park.[25] In the replay, Vale had led 1–0 before a last minute equalizer took the game into extra time. Despite having substitute Ian Armstrong's sent off, the "Valiants" escaped the lottery of the penalty shoot-out when on 114 minutes Ford scored an own goal.[26] However, in the Second Round they were still eliminated by a non-league club, when Scarborough's Ashley Sestanovich scored an 80th-minute winner at Vale Park.[27] This meant Scarborough knocked Vale out of the second competition of the season despite playing two leagues below the Vale.

In the League Cup, Vale faced First Division Nottingham Forest. They held Forest to a goalless draw, but were eliminated 3–2 in the subsequent penalty shoot-out.

In the League Trophy, Vale travelled to the McCain Stadium, where they were defeated 2–1 by Conference club Scarborough.[28]

Final league table

PWDLFAGDPts
C1Plymouth Argyle46261288541+4490
P2Queens Park Rangers46221778045+3583
 3Bristol City462313105837+2182
P4Brighton & Hove Albion462211136443+2177
 5Swindon Town462013137658+1873
 6Hartlepool United462013137661+1573
 7Port Vale462110157363+1073
 8Tranmere Rovers461716135956+367
 9A.F.C. Bournemouth461715145651+566
 10Luton Town461715146966+366
 11Colchester United461713165256-464
 12Barnsley461517145458-462
 13Wrexham46179205060-1060
 14Blackpool461611195865-759
 15Oldham Athletic461221136660+657
 16Sheffield Wednesday461314194864-1853
 17Brentford461411215269-1753
 18Peterborough United461216185858052
 19Stockport County461119166270-852
 20Chesterfield461215194971-2251
R21Grimsby Town461311225581-2650
R22Rushden & Diamonds46139246074-1448
R23Notts County461012245078-2842
R24Wycombe Wanderers46619215075-2537

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
GroundHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAAHAHAAHAHHHAHHAAAAHHAHHAHAHAHA
ResultWWWLWDWLWDWLLLWDLWLDDWDLWWLLWWLWLLDWDWDLWLDWWW
Position82141311111336347577578126499757579979767777777

Source: Statto[29]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Football League Second Division

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
9 August 2003A.F.C. BournemouthH2–16,465McPhee, Littlejohn
16 August 2003Grimsby TownA2–14,816McPhee, Paynter
23 August 2003Colchester UnitedH4–35,133Collins, Paynter, Armstrong, McPhee
25 August 2003Hartlepool UnitedA0–25,314
30 August 2003BrentfordH1–05,257Paynter
6 September 2003Stockport CountyA2–25,316Paynter, Collins
13 September 2003BarnsleyH3–17,809Lipa, Pilkington, Littlejohn
16 September 2003Luton TownA0–25,079
20 September 2003Bristol CityA1–011,369Paynter
27 September 2003Wycombe WanderersH1–16,822McPhee
30 September 2003Peterborough UnitedH3–05,495McPhee (2), Collins
4 October 2003WrexhamA1–25,822Paynter
11 October 2003Oldham AthleticA1–26,913Bridge-Wilkinson (pen)
18 October 2003Plymouth ArgyleH1–55,786McPhee
21 October 2003Queens Park RangersH2–05,243Paynter, McPhee
25 October 2003Swindon TownA0–05,313
1 November 2003ChesterfieldA0–14,088
15 November 2003Notts CountyH1–04,900McPhee
22 November 2003Tranmere RoversA0–17,081
29 November 2003Rushden & DiamondsH1–14,586Littlejohn
12 December 2003Brighton & Hove AlbionA1–15,811Littlejohn
26 December 2003Sheffield WednesdayA3–224,991Littlejohn, Paynter, Brooker
28 December 2003Stockport CountyH2–26,237McPhee (2)
10 January 2004A.F.C. BournemouthA1–25,926McPhee
14 January 2004BlackpoolH2–14,523Brooker, Bridge-Wilkinson
17 January 2004Grimsby TownH5–15,133Bridge-Wilkinson (2), Lipa, Collins, Paynter
27 January 2004Hartlepool UnitedH2–54,845Brooker, Cummins
31 January 2004BrentfordA2–34,306McPhee (2)
7 February 2004Sheffield WednesdayH3–07,958Littlejohn, McPhee, Brooker
14 February 2004Oldham AthleticH1–06,035McPhee
21 February 2004Plymouth ArgyleA1–211,330McPhee
24 February 2004Colchester UnitedA4–12,539Brooker, Brown (og), Cummins, Bridge-Wilkinson
2 March 2004Queens Park RangersA2–312,593Brooker, Littlejohn
6 March 2004BlackpoolA1–26,878Paynter
13 March 2004Brighton & Hove AlbionH1–15,646Paynter
16 March 2004Luton TownH1–05,048Cummins
20 March 2004BarnsleyA0–08,267
27 March 2004Bristol CityH2–16,724Brooker, Bridge-Wilkinson
30 March 2004Swindon TownH3–35,702McPhee (2), Paynter
3 April 2004Wycombe WanderersA1–24,738McPhee
10 April 2004WrexhamH1–05,892Cummins
12 April 2004Peterborough UnitedA1–34,988Bridge-Wilkinson
17 April 2004ChesterfieldH1–15,582Paynter
24 April 2004Notts CountyA2–15,834McPhee, Brooker
1 May 2004Tranmere RoversH2–16,806McPhee (2)
8 May 2004Rushden & DiamondsA2–05,240McPhee (2)

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R18 November 2003Ford UnitedH2–24,016McPhee, Burns
R1 Replay19 November 2003Ford UnitedA2–1?Paynter, Chandler (og)
R27 December 2003ScarboroughH0–14,651

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R112 October 2003Nottingham ForestH(2)0–0(3)4,950

League Trophy

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R114 October 2003ScarboroughA1–21,003McPhee

Player statistics

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref.
June 2003DFAustriaAndreas LipaGreece Skoda XanthiFree transfer[30]
June 2003DFEnglandGeorge PilkingtonEvertonFree transfer[30]
August 2003GKEnglandJonny BrainCarlisle UnitedFree transfer[30]
March 2004DFEnglandCraig JamesSunderlandFree transfer[30]

Transfers out

Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref.
March 2004MFEnglandMark BoydCarlisle UnitedFree transfer[30]
May 2004DFEnglandIan BrightwellMacclesfield TownFree transfer[30]
May 2004DFNorthern IrelandLiam BurnsBristol RoversReleased[30]
May 2004GKRepublic of IrelandDean DelanyRepublic of Ireland ShelbourneFree transfer[30]
June 2004MFEnglandMarc Bridge-WilkinsonStockport CountyRejected contract[30]
June 2004MFEnglandNeil BriscoRochdaleFree transfer[30]
June 2004FWScotlandStephen McPheePortugal Beira-MarBosman transfer[30]
August 2004MFEnglandAdrian LittlejohnLincoln CityFree transfer[30]

Loans out

Date from Position Nationality Name To Date to Ref.
27 November 2003GKRepublic of IrelandDean DelanyMacclesfield Town14 January 2004[30]

References

Specific
  1. ↑ "Axe hovers over Valiants". BBC Sport. 10 December 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  2. ↑ "Vale fans fail to buy club". BBC Sport. 22 December 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  3. ↑ "Vale land Pilkington". BBC Sport. 24 June 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  4. ↑ "Vale sign young keeper". BBC Sport. 22 August 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  5. ↑ "Vale net Lipa". BBC Sport. 9 June 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  6. ↑ "Goodlad blow for Vale". BBC Sport. 24 July 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  7. ↑ "Port Vale season preview". BBC Sport. 5 August 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  8. ↑ "Valiant Horton Picks Up Prize". LMA. Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  9. ↑ "Horton leaves Port Vale". BBC Sport. 12 February 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  10. ↑ "Port Vale appoint Foyle". BBC Sport. 13 February 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  11. ↑ "Glover back at Vale". BBC Sport. 16 February 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  12. ↑ "James joins Vale on loan". BBC Sport. 19 March 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  13. ↑ "James signs Vale contract". BBC Sport. 2 April 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  14. ↑ "Foyle releases Vale trio". BBC Sport. 11 May 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  15. ↑ "Vale reject McPhee offer". BBC Sport. 4 June 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  16. ↑ "McPhee moving to Portugal". BBC Sport. 17 June 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  17. ↑ "Bridge-Wilkinson makes move". BBC Sport. 8 June 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  18. ↑ "Vale search for new coach". BBC Sport. 26 May 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  19. ↑ "Brightwell leaves Vale". BBC Sport. 25 May 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  20. ↑ "Duo boost Port Vale". BBC Sport. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  21. ↑ "Financial boost for Vale". BBC Sport. 14 May 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  22. ↑ "Consortium saves Port Vale". BBC Sport. 30 December 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  23. ↑ "Vale set for takeover talks". BBC Sport. 15 December 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  24. 1 2 3 4 What If There Had Been No Port In The Vale?: Startling Port Vale Stories! p.179 (Witan Books, 2011, ISBN 978-0-9529152-8-7)
  25. ↑ "Port Vale 2-2 Ford Utd". BBC Sport. 8 November 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  26. ↑ "Ford Utd 1-2 Port Vale (aet)". BBC Sport. 19 November 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  27. ↑ "Port Vale 0-1 Scarborough". BBC Sport. 7 December 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  28. ↑ "Scarborough 2-1 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 14 October 2003. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  29. ↑ Port Vale 2003–2004 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  30. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Port Vale FC Club Details | Transfers | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
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