1973–74 Port Vale F.C. season

The pre-season saw Sammy Morgan sold to Aston Villa for £22,222 (plus top-up fees).[1] Gordon Lee drafted in tall young players David Harris and John Ridley from the youth set-up, as well as versatile Keith Chadwick from Crewe Alexandra.[1] The club also erected a 2.5 feet high steel fence around the Bycars End to help combat hooliganism.[1]

The season opened with four games unbeaten, though Tommy McLaren soon damaged his ligaments, and the team suffered in his absence.[1] On 1 October, Vale beat Wrexham 1–0 in an 'ugly' game that saw five players booked and Colin Tartt and opposition player Arfon Griffiths separated by police following a scrap in the tunnel.[1] Later in the month Roy Cross badly injured his knee, and would later have to leave the professional game due to the injury.[1] Vale slipped down the league, and by Christmas they were sixth from bottom, with only John Woodward in good form.[1] Lee then took out striker Keith Leonard on loan from Aston Villa, and bought left-back Neil Griffiths from Chester for a £5,000 fee.[1] He also changed the formation from 4–4–2 to 4–3–3, hoping to give Brian Horton more room in the centre of the park.[1] After an upturn in form in the new year, Bill Summerscales broke his neck, and Lee departed for the management position at Blackburn Rovers.[1] Lee had been seen to have done an excellent job with little money.[1] In his place club legend Roy Sproson was appointed as caretaker manager, who advocated an 'entertaining' style of play as opposed to battling for every point.[1] Winning his first match 1–0 at Shrewsbury Town, he cracked his head on the concrete trainer's box after leaping up to celebrate McLaren's goal.[1] On 17 February, 8,505 turned up at Vale Park to witness a 3–1 win over high-flying Bristol Rovers in an experimental Sunday game.[1] Later Leonard returned to Villa Park at the end of his loan deal, and £5,000 was not enough to tempt Villa to part with his services permanently.[1] From mid-March Vale went eleven games without a win, and on 25 March they could have ended this run, but 'a shocking mistake' from Alan Boswell handed Walsall an equalizer as he palmed a header into his own net.[1] The team continued to rack up yellow cards, and following a warning from The Football Association, Sproson arranged for local referee Roy Capey to lecture the players on sportsmanship.[1] In the middle of April, Sproson was given the management job on a permanent basis, despite his team falling to fifth from bottom.[1] Sproson stated that he was 'calculated' and 'controlled', compared to Lee who 'fizzes like a bottle of pop'.[1] By the time they broke their poor run with a 2–1 home win over managerless Charlton Athletic, other results had already ensured their safety from the drop.[1]

They finished in twentieth position with 42 points, though this meant they were seven points clear of relegated Cambridge United in 21st place.[1]

On the financial side, an average home attendance of under 4,000 failed to prevent a profit of £17,831.[1] This profit came from the early sale of Morgan, and donations of £16,443 from the Sportsmen's Association and the Development Fund.[1] The club's total debt stood at £121,647, as Chairman Singer warned of more player sales to balance the books.[1] Two players leaving for free at the end of the season were Bobby Gough (Southport) and Alan Boswell (Oswestry Town) – Boswell was described as 'capable of brilliant saves and conceding soft goals'.[1]

In the FA Cup, Vale won away at Stockport County 1–0, before advancing past Northern Premier League Scarborough in the Second Round. After a 1–1 draw in Burslem with Second Division Luton Town, they lost the replay at Kenilworth Road 4–2.

In the League Cup, Vale exited at the first stage with a 2–0 defeat at Edgeley Park to Fourth Division Stockport County.