History of Port Vale F.C. - 1983–1999: The Rudge Era

1983–1999: The Rudge Era

John Rudge took over the management reins at Vale Park in December 1983, after the sacking of John McGrath following the club's form upon Vale's promotion to the Third Division. Rudge said that 'we cannot change things overnight', though did spark 'an amazing transformation of form' to oversee four consecutive home wins. The gap from safety was closed from nine to four points and by March he had 'achieved mission impossible' as the club escaped the relegation zone. However a poor end to the season saw the club relegation in 23rd place. Positive signs for the future included a £50,601 profit and the rise to prominence of young striker Mark Bright. Yet Bright left in the summer, moving to Leicester City for £33,000. Top scorer Eamonn O'Keefe also requested a transfer, but did not get one.

Rudge steadied the ship, slashing the wage bill by £20,000. A young Robbie Earle began to show his promise, though it was veteran Alistair Brown who was the season's top scorer, with 21 strikes. A mid–table finish was acceptable considering the rebuilding effort Rudge made with the squad. In May 1985, young Welshman Andy Jones was purchased from Rhyl for £3,000. He was soon joined by £12,000 defender John Williams and numerous others.

Vale were promoted back to the third tier in 1985–86, finishing in fourth place, losing just once at Vale Park. During the season, they went on an eighteen-match unbeaten run, building their record largely on a solid defence. Jones and Earle scored eighteen and seventeen goals respectively. The only downside was the finances, as a loss of £79,474 was recorded, partly due to promotion bonus payouts.

In the summer of 1986, new signings included Ipswich Town's reserve goalkeeper Mark Grew on a free, Aston Villa midfielder Ray Walker for £12,000, Sheffield United winger Paul Smith for £10,000 and Walsall striker Richard O'Kelly for £6,000. Rudge also turned down the management position at Preston North End. He also made an attempt to bring a young Steve Bull to Vale Park. After an unconvincing start to 1986–87, Rudge sold John Williams to Bournemouth for £30,000 and brought in Bob Hazell from Reading on a free. This helped transform the club's defence, while Andy Jones' fantastic record of 37 goals helped win the Vale a twelfth place finish. The only worrying sign was a £53,373 loss, increasing the club's debt to £363,878.

A major change occurred before the start of the 1987–88 season, as chairman Jim Lloyd stood down and was replaced by hard nosed businessman Bill Bell. Ten year man Russell Bromage went to Bristol City in exchange for £25,000 and Lawrie Pearson, also Jon Bowden went to Wrexham for £12,500. Coming in was striker Darren Beckford for £15,000. Going into the season, Paul Smith went to Lincoln City for £40,000, before Andy Jones was sold for a then–club–record fee of £350,000 to Charlton Athletic. £35,000 of this went towards new full–back Simon Mills. The campaign was boosted by a 'famous' 2–1 victory over top-flight Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round of the FA Cup. The cup run and sale of Jones had helped to pull in a record £410,239 profit.

A boost for 1988–89 came with the sale of an unused training ground at Cobridge for £164,800. Half way through the season, veteran Phil Sproson was advised to retire following a serious knee injury; to replace him, defender Dean Glover was signed from Middlesbrough for a club–record £200,000. The club finished third, failing to gain automatic promotion because of their worse goal difference. However they found success in the play–offs, defeating Bristol Rovers in the play–offs 2–1 on aggregate.

Back in the Second Division for the first time in over twenty years, Rudge strengthened the side with £150,000 signing Neil Aspin from Leeds United, £125,000 striker Nicky Cross from Leicester City and veteran campaigner Ian Miller on a free. The 1989–90 saw many improvements being made to Vale Park, as on the pitch the team did well to establish themselves in the division. They also triumphed in the FA Cup, putting three past Derby County's Peter Shilton in a third round replay victory. However, in the next round 'Villa went on a rampage', as they 'outclassed' the Vale with a 6–0 victory. They finished eleventh in the league and the supporters were given much to cheer about as rivals Stoke City were relegated to the third tier, leaving Vale as 'the top team in the Potteries' for only the second time in their history.

Only one change was made to the squad in preparation for the 1990–91 campaign: Irishman Derek Swan coming in from Bohemians for £15,000 on a recommendation. The club considered building a new ground at Festival Park, but Bill Bell was 'frightened to death by the cost' and the idea was scrapped. The club finished in fifteenth place, Darren Beckford once again the top scorer with 23 goals.

They then went into a slump which led to their relegation on the final day of the 1991–92 league campaign.

In 1992–93, Vale narrowly missed out on promotion as runners–up to Reading when Bolton Wanderers pipped them on the final day. Vale then lost in the play–off final to West Bromwich Albion.

Vale were able to bounce back with Rudge's next two bargain buys becoming important players. Ian Taylor, whom Vale had signed for £15,000 from non–League Moor Green, and Dutch import Robin van der Laan (signed for £80,000) came to the fore. With Martin Foyle back fit and experienced Bernie Slaven up front, Vale surged to second place, confirming promotion on the final day with a 3–1 win at Brighton's Goldstone Ground in front of 6,000 travelling fans. Vale also notched another FA Cup scalp beating then–Premiership side Southampton 1–0 at Vale Park in a third–round replay.

Taylor became Rudge's first £1,000,000 sale, when Sheffield Wednesday invested in the midfielder. The money was spent on bringing Steve Guppy and Gareth Griffiths to the club during the 1994–95 campaign.

Vale finished seventeenth in 1994–95, avoiding relegation by ten points, and again in spite of the pre–season sale of van der Laan, who Derby bought for £475,000. Jon McCarthy and Lee Mills also joined before the 1995–96 season began.

During the 1995–96 season, Vale struggled to find their form. Ten games into the league season, they had recorded only one win (in the local derby against Stoke) and were struggling near the bottom of the table. Early home form was also the worst for years, and it took the Valiants until 2 December to finally notch a win at Vale Park, when Martin Foyle scored to beat Huddersfield Town 1–0. A 5–1 defeat at Ipswich on New Year's Day, saw Vale slip to second from bottom, with just five wins all season, but the FA Cup was again to prove the tonic.

The draw had done Vale no favours, with a trip to promotion–chasing Crystal Palace, but a goalless draw brought the tie back to Vale Park. Vale eventually won the tie, on a freezing January night, with Ray Walker scoring the winner in extra time to seal a 4–3 win, and set up a trip to cup–holders Everton in the fourth round.

In the tie with Everton, Vale twice came from behind at Goodison Park to draw 2–2, with Ian Bogie scoring from virtually the last kick of the match. The replay saw Vale Park full to capacity to witness Vale win 2–1 with Jon McCarthy netting the winner.

The victory saw Vale go into the fifth round, in which they would play Leeds United away. Leeds were then a top–ten Premiership side. The match at Elland Road took place on a Tuesday, thanks to various cancellations due to inclement weather. The game finished goalless, and the tie went to a replay in Burslem. The Valiants' cup exploits were to come to an end as Leeds won the replay 2–1 with Gary McAllister scoring twice in the closing stages despite Vale leading 1–0 at half time through Tony Naylor. However Vale's cup exploits were to earn them the FA's Giantkillers award for the 1995–96 season.

The cup run seemed to inspire Vale onto better things in the league, with a run of five wins in a row pushing them up to twelfth as the season drew to a close. Vale also had some success in the Anglo-Italian Cup, as they qualified for the final at Wembley, in the competition's final season. Vale secured a 5–3 win at Italian side Perugia in which Lee Mills netted a hat-trick. The English semi–final draw pitted Vale away to Ipswich Town, who they had already lost to 5–1. Tony Naylor scored a hat–trick as Vale recorded a 4–2 win at Portman Road, the first victory in their history at the ground.

A 3–1 victory in the second leg of the English final at Vale Park, against West Brom, confirmed a 4–2 aggregate success, and a game against Italian winners Genoa in the final. The Italians ran out 5–2 winners, with Martin Foyle netting both Vale goals.

Again, Vale made a slow start to the 1996–97 campaign, with only two wins from their opening ten league games. They enjoyed some success in the League Cup, however, beating local rivals Crewe Alexandra 5–1 at their Gresty Road home. A protest against chairman Bill Bell after a poor home defeat to Crystal Palace seemed to see an upturn in the Valiants' performances. A second win at Wolves' Molineux ground (1–0), in two seasons, was followed by a mixed period. In December they achieved three wins on the bounce, against ex–Premiership sides Charlton 3–1 at The Valley, 6–1 at home to Norwich City and concluding in a single–goal Boxing Day success at Manchester City in front of more than 30,000. Despite the sale of Steve Guppy to Leicester City for £800,000, Vale's form remained steady from then on, until five wins from six, from mid–March to mid–April, put them in with a chance of making the play–offs and, ultimately, a place in the Premiership. However, with three games remaining, Vale were to lose to Stoke City, before Wolves came away from Vale Park with a 2–1 victory to end their hopes. Vale's final finishing position of eighth was their highest in the pyramid since 1931, when they had finished fifth in the old Second Division.

The eighth–placed finish was to be the height of Vale's powers under John Rudge, and the following season, 1997–98, saw a more familiar mid–table and, eventually, relegation battle. Another FA Cup tie was Vale hold eventual winners Arsenal to a goalless draw at Highbury and 1–1 at Vale Park (Wayne Corden equalising a Dennis Bergkamp goal) before the Gunners eventually prevailed 4–3 on penalties, despite Lee Dixon missing their opening kick. Vale found themselves in deep relegation trouble going into the final match at Huddersfield after three straight defeats. Goals from Martin Foyle, Jan Jansson (two) and Lee Mills saw Vale claim a 4–0 win and an escape at the expense of Manchester City and Stoke City.

1998–99 saw Port Vale fare little better, with an early League Cup defeat to Chester City setting the tone. After sixteen years as Port Vale manager, John Rudge was sacked in January 1999 after one of Vale's most successful eras.