Greatest Games Part 2

Port Vale Manager Roy Sproson continues his recollection of memorable games in this, the fourth of his articles with the Sentinel’s Vale correspondent CHRIS HARPER.

Two league games that I particularly recall were Tranmere and Gateshead. At Gateshead they had been used to small gates; in fact, there were about 1,700 the week before we played there, but when Vale hit town 18,000 turned out to watch us. At Tranmere we were clapped onto the park because of what we had done for the Third Division in reaching the F.A. Cup semi-finals, yet after beating Tranmere 4-0 those same people threw bricks, bottles and anything they could get their hands on at us.

After the 1953-54 promotion season we went on a tour of Ireland and there we became involved in what I call the “Battle of Cork.” We had previously beaten a Representative XI. 4-0 in Dublin and animosity was stacked against us.

Nevertheless, Manager Freddie Steele instructed us to take it easy until the home side started to kick chunks out of us and led 1-0 at halftime. I had my eye split. Freddie then told us to “let ‘em have it” and they hardly knew what had hit them. They had bitten off more than they could chew and we won 4-1 in the end.

7-1 thrashing

During our Second Division days I was unfortunate enough to be part of one of the biggest trouncings Port Vale have suffered. Some fans will know the game I am referring to....a 7-1 thrashing by Nottingham Forest. Mastermind that day was Eddie Baily, who had moved from Vale to Forest that season. Stuart Imlach had a field day and I ran my legs off trying to mark a winger named Barrett. Forest were promoted that season and we were relegated. After that particular match, we all waited until it was dark before going home, and dared not set foot outside the house all day Sunday.

Another cup-tie I will long remember was at Sunderland, where we gained a goalless draw. On the Friday night we went to a local cinema to see a film “Town Without Pity,” and the papers told us the following day that that was how we would find Sunderland. The papers paired the players in direct opposition and gave their verdict. I was against Harry Hooper and was given “no chance” as were many of our lads but I talked Hooper out of the game. I knew that he was not particularly brave and told him that I was going to put him over the stand. He was frightened to death.

We had some luck in that game, like the moment when a shot by Herd beat Ken Hancock in goal only to hit me on the knee and go clear in the first minute. But Hancock was great that day, performing the best save I have ever seen in the dying moments. He broke his ankle in the first few minutes of the replay but stayed on as we won 3-1. Colin Grainger, once of Sunderland, took them apart that night.

Often in football eight or nine lads in the team will hit peak form together but seldom do all 11. I was proud to be part of a Vale team when every man struck gold. That was in a match at Grimsby where we won 5-0 and none of us wanted to hear the final whistle. We also had three goals disallowed.

We took a drubbing for the opening 20 minutes and then started to play. The referee was Jack Kelley and it was his last match. Afterwards he told us it was one of the best he had ever seen and I was fortunate to take part in the best constructed goal I can ever remember. Ten Vale players touched the ball before Dennis Fidler put it in the net. It was poetic, and we were cheered off by the home crowd.

Farcical match

I have mentioned one memorable experience on tour and another I will never forget occurred in Poland in the early 1960s. After drawing 1-1 with the Polish champions, Polonia, we were up against an army team before a 30,000 crowd. The match was farcical and ended some 20 minutes from time when the entire Port Vale team was sent off.

The referee was so biased that it was ridiculous and the flashpoint happened when Stan Steele became involved in an incident. Stan, short and stocky, could hardly be mistaken but the referee dismissed Peter Ford, who bore no resemblance to Stan whatsoever. Peter rightly refused to go and in an attempt to sort out the chaos an interpreter came onto the pitch with Norman Low. Norman Low told us to line up in our normal positions while the discussions went on and finally the referee pointed at each of us in turn and signalled to the dressing room. That was the only time I have ever been sent off.

During the later stages of my career the game I recall most was one at Scunthorpe in the 1969/70 promotion campaign. We had gone our first 18 games without defeat and one more would have given us a record. We lost 3-2 and I gave away a penalty and an own goal.

Not to blame

The game, which many still talk about, is the game that I did not play. That was League game number 765 which would have broken Jimmy Dickson’s record for appearances for a single club, in his case, Portsmouth. I have heard many people hold Gordon Lee to blame for this. Why did he not give me those extra few games? I was being asked.

The truth is that had it not been for Gordon Lee I would never have been anywhere near Dickinson’s achievement by the time I packed up. Also, had I not missed a chunk of the 1958/59 season with an ankle injury I would have reached the milestone. It should be remembered that for three seasons running Gordon Lee talked me out of retirement. I eventually played over 100 games for him, otherwise the record would have been out of the question. That I did not beat it, never bothered me at all.

This article reproduced courtesy of The Sentinel