Fourth Division

The pre-season saw general manager Stanley Matthews injured in a car accident with a National Coal Board lorry on 29 July, Jackie Mudie was also in the car but remained relatively unharmed.^[1] As Matthews recovered in came four new forwards, the most significant of which was Crystal Palace's Ian Lawson.^[1] Lawson cost £1,000 with an additional £1,000 signing on fee.^[1] Other new faces included winger Mick Mahon (Loughborough United); inside-forward Jimmy Goodfellow (Bishop Auckland); and Billy McCartney (Rangers).^[1] There was a kit change to an all-white strip, upon the suggestion of Stanley Matthews.^[1]

The season opened with a 2–1 home win over Southport using an optimistic 4–2–4 formation.^[1] Following Roy Sproson's winning goal there was a pitch invasion – by then a disturbingly common occurrence.^[1] Six games without a loss followed, leaving the club in fourth position.^[1] Goals were still rare however, and so Lawson was dropped from the first XI, despite the departure of in-form forward John Rowland to Mansfield Town for £6,500.^[1] Financial difficulties made the atmosphere around Burslem quite gloomy, not helped by the news that former Valiant John Nicholson had been killed in a car crash.^[1] Vale's form suffered, though the defence remained quite strong.^[1] Young Scot Mick Cullerton was a ray of sunshine for the club in front of goal.^[1]

Good form in the Christmas period continued into an unbeaten January in the league, as the club climbed to within five points of the promotion places.^[1] In came forward Mel Charles from Porthmadog for a £1,250 fee.^[1] A 1–0 defeat at Gresty Road to Crewe Alexandra in front of an unruly crowd marked the first of a crucial seven game sequence against the promotion hopefuls.^[1] A win over Barrow and a draw at Stockport County were succeeded by five straight defeats, killing Vale's promotion hopes dead.^[1] They reversed the decline by doing the double over Rochdale within two days, including a 5–0 victory witnessed by 3,004 fans at Vale Park.^[1] In April, popular player John Ritchie was sold to Preston North End for £17,500.^[1] Mel Charles sidelined with a knee injury, Vale limped to the season's end without a win in their final five games.^[1] On 3 May, Stuart Chapman made his debut at the age of fifteen in a 2–2 draw with Lincoln City.^[1] Five days later, manager Jackie Mudie tendered his resignation as player-manager, citing 'personal reasons'.^[1]

They finished in thirteenth place with 43 points, marking a slight improvement on the previous campaign.^[1] Mick Cullerton's twelve goals in all competitions were enough to make him the top-scorer.^[1] In the club's first ever Player of the Year ceremony, veteran defender Roy Sproson was bestowed with the honour.^[1] Meanwhile, the club's youth team performed brilliantly, reaching the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup, where they were eliminated 3–0 by Scunthorpe United.^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, there was a loss of £7,925 despite a transfer credit of £20,425 and a donation of £19,381 from the Sportsmen's Association and the Development Pool.^[1] Gate receipts were just £30,298, whilst the club's overdraft stood at £82,373.^[1] Nine players were released at the end of the season, most notably: Mel Charles (Oswestry Town); Ian Lawson and Brian Taylor (Barnsley); and untested reserve Ray Kennedy – who would take a break from football before returning to the game to play for Liverpool and England.^[1] Roddy Georgeson was also released at his own request to work in a bank,^[1] though he soon turned out for Dundee before beginning a long career in Scottish football.

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, a 4–3–3 formation was used to defeat Bradford City 2–1 at Valley Parade with a 40 yards (37 m) 'goal of a lifetime' from John Ritchie.^[1] Vale drew Barnsley in the Second Round, and earned a replay with a 1–1 draw at Oakwell. The replay attracted 12,784 supporters, but "Tykes" ran out 3–1 winners.

In the League Cup, Third Division Walsall knocked out the Vale at the first stage with a 3–1 win.

Football League Fourth Division

FA Cup

League Cup

Appearances

More information Pos., Name ...

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Stuart Sharratt	45	0	3	0	1	0	49	0
GK	Billy McNulty	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
DF	Roy Sproson	31	2	2	0	1	0	34	2
DF	Terry Alcock	41	0	3	0	1	0	45	0
DF	Clint Boulton	35	2	3	1	1	0	39	3
DF	Ron Wilson	33	2	3	0	0	0	36	2
DF	John Ritchie	28	2	3	1	1	0	32	3
DF	Gordon Logan	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
MF	Terry Miles	42	3	3	0	0	0	45	3
MF	Mick Mahon	26	7	1	0	1	0	28	7
MF	Jimmy Hill	36	6	3	1	0	0	39	7
MF	Alex Donald	23	0	1	0	0	0	24	0
MF	Stuart Chapman	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
MF	Malcolm Gibbon	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
MF	Jimmy Goodfellow	26	7	1	0	1	0	28	7
MF	Mel Charles	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
FW	Harry Poole	32	1	1	0	1	0	34	1
FW	John Rowland	7	3	0	0	1	1	8	4
FW	Jackie Mudie	5	0	2	0	0	0	7	0
FW	Brian Taylor	10	1	1	0	0	0	11	1
FW	John James	7	0	0	0	1	0	8	0
FW	Roddy Georgeson	22	5	0	0	0	0	22	5
FW	Mick Cullerton	28	12	3	0	0	0	30	12
FW	Billy McCartney	15	1	1	0	0	0	16	1
FW	Mel Lintern	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Ian Lawson	8	0	1	1	1	0	10	1

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Top scorers

More information Place, Position ...

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Fourth Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW	Scotland	Mick Cullerton	12	0	0	12
2	MF	England	Mick Mahon	7	0	0	7
–	MF	England	Jimmy Goodfellow	7	0	0	7
–	MF	Northern Ireland	Jimmy Hill	6	1	0	7
5	FW	Egypt	Roddy Georgeson	5	0	0	5
6	FW	England	John Rowland	3	0	1	4
7	MF	England	Terry Miles	3	0	0	3
–	DF	England	John Ritchie	2	1	0	3
–	DF	England	Clint Boulton	2	1	0	3
10	DF	Scotland	Ron Wilson	2	0	0	2
–	DF	England	Roy Sproson	2	0	0	2
12	FW	Scotland	Billy McCartney	1	0	0	1
–	FW	England	Harry Poole	1	0	0	1
–	FW	England	Brian Taylor	1	0	0	1
–	FW	England	Ian Lawson	0	1	0	1
–	–	–	Own goals	1	0	0	1
			TOTALS	55	4	1	60

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Transfers in

More information Date from, Position ...

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1966	MF		Jimmy Goodfellow	Bishop Auckland	Free transfer	[3]
June 1966	FW		Billy McCartney	Rangers	Free transfer	[3]
August 1966	FW		Ian Lawson	Crystal Palace	£1,000	[3]
December 1966	MF		Mel Charles	Porthmadog	£1,250	[3]

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Transfers out

More information Date from, Position ...

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
September 1966	FW		John Rowland	Mansfield Town	£6,500	[3]
November 1966	MF		Alan Johnson	Stafford Rangers	Free transfer	[3]
April 1967	DF		John Ritchie	Preston North End	£17,500	[3]
May 1967	MF		Mel Charles	Oswestry Town	Free transfer	[3]
May 1967	FW		Ian Lawson	Barnsley	Free transfer	[3]
May 1967	FW		Billy McCartney	Oswestry Town	Free transfer	[3]
May 1967	FW		Jackie Mudie	Oswestry Town	Retired	[3]
May 1967	GK		Jimmy O'Neill	Cork Celtic	Free transfer	[3]
May 1967	MF		Brian Taylor	Barnsley	Free transfer	[3]
July 1967	MF		Roddy Georgeson	Dundee	Released	[3]
August 1967	DF		Terry Alcock	Blackpool	£30,000	[3]

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Loans out

More information Date from, Position ...

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
December 1966	GK		Jimmy O'Neill	Cork Celtic	May 1967	[3]

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