Meet the Managers

In the second of his series of articles with the Sentinel’s Port Vale correspondent CHRIS HARPER, Roy Sproson recalls the managers he has served in his 25 years with the club. This article first appeared in the Evening Sentinel on February 17th 1975.

Mr. Sproson started under the late Gordon Hodgson and finished his playing career when Gordon Lee was at Vale Park. Little did he know then, that Vale’s 10th post-war manager would be Roy Sproson himself.

In recognition of Mr. Sprosons services to Port Vale, a special testimonial evening is to be held at Jollees nightclub, Longton, on Tuesday, March 18th.

In my 22 years as a player at Vale Park, I served under seven managers. The first was Gordon Hodgson; the last was Gordon Lee. Of them all, I think Norman Low was probably the most memorable. The tragic death of Gordon Hodgson was, I recall, a shattering blow to the club and particularly the younger players whom he had signed. I had played for Trent Vale against Port Vale in the Sentinel shield. We won 5-0 and Gordon Hodgson came and presented us with a strip. I also played a couple of games for Stoke City “A” and was told that they would sign me when I came out of the forces. Instead, Vale were prepared to sign me there and then before I enlisted and I received £3 a week during my National Service.

On my Demob, I played for Vale as a part-timer for a spell. I began in the County League, progressed to the Cheshire League and then made my League debut at Gillingham on November 11th, 1950....all in the space of a couple of months.

I was part of Vale’s youth policy and Mr. Hodgson was responsible for blooding most of the team who later reached the F.A. Cup semi-finals and gained promotion.

Gordon Hodgson was a fair chap. He would give you a rollicking one minute and then it would be forgotten. Everybody liked him and his loss was so sad. He went into hospital at the end of the 1950-51 season and I never saw him again, although he left the Vale with a good staff and one destined to go places.

Knee injury

My second manager after Mr. Hodgson was Ivor Powell, who arrived as player-manager when getting over a knee injury sustained with Aston Villa. Ivor never seemed to regain full fitness and everything seemed to go wrong for him at Vale.

He was not particularly liked. He used to treat players like kids and I had the impression that the older pros, in particular, resented him. It was not a surprise that he did not last long.

One player-manager succeeded another when Freddie Steele took over on leaving Mansfield. The immediate effect was that the younger players went out of the side in favour of the more senior professionals. We had the occasional game, but generally Freddie looked to experience and did well as the club finished halfway in the old Third Division (South).

Runners-up

The next term (1952-53), we were transferred to the Third (North) and the youngsters had more of a look-in. I played in all 46 games and we finished runners-up to Oldham, missing promotion by a point. But things were beginning to happen. Freddie was a great psychologist. He was also a tremendous tactician and, looking back, was years ahead of his time.

We were playing 4-2-4 in 1953 before anyone ever labelled it as such and, as a left-half, I was operating then now what is known as a double centre-half.

Five Years

Those were the days of the so-called “iron curtain” defence and Freddie was like a Svengali to us. But he would get tensed up himself. There were times when, if we were winning or drawing a tight cup game, Freddie would disappear for the last five minutes and was to be found hiding in the toilet. Freddie had some five years at the Vale but, in 1957, the club paid the penalty for not strengthening the squad and we came down back to the Third (South).

So Freddie went and Norman Low arrived. He was a man who created a great impression on me and it was during Norman’s stay with the club that Port Vale played, to my mind, the best football known in my time. The reason was Norman’s insistence on attacking play. He is the only manager I have ever heard tell his team to go out and entertain the public. Norman would never discuss the opposition and he would rollick us for winning only 1-0 when the score should have been 6-5. Some of Norman’s beliefs would make today’s managers shudder. He would not tolerate defensive play at any price and would not hear of us going away for a point. As a result we used to win games 6-4, 5-3 and 5-0 and, for the first time since I became a pro, we were never in danger of any relegation.

Lean Spell

For a spell in Norman’s first season (1957-58), we lead the Third (South), but hit a lean spell and finished 15th. A season later, we romped away with the newly formed Fourth Division, cracking home 110 goals in the process. It was one of the biggest mysteries why Norman was sacked at a time when we were sixth from top of the third Division. He called me into his office and said: “I have just been fired. I have been let down by some of my players.” The news came as a tremendous surprise and a shock because, to me, Norman was the most likeable man with more contacts in football than anyone I have known.

The departure of Norman Low - he went to Liverpool as chief scout -heralded the return of Freddie Steele, who had been out of the game . He was working locally when recalled to Vale Park and the decision rather surprised us.

Cup epics

I felt that Fred had changed when he got back. He had not got the enthusiasm or drive as before, but he did have something, because the lads still responded to him and we enjoyed some Cup epics - against Liverpool and Birmingham for example.

Fred left again in the 1964-65 season and Jackie Mudie arrived as player-manager after we had been relegated to the Fourth Division. It was at this time that the whole club changed. Sir Stanley Mathews joined as General Manager with Jackie Mudie and the expensive policy of bringing “wonder boys” down from the North-East and all over began. To my mind, the club had their priorities wrong and, as a result, the first team suffered badly. Attempts to launch a youth policy were being made while the League team were being ignored and Stan, charming man that he was, suffered from being misinformed.

Club sliding

He trusted people who should never have been trusted and people took advantage of him. I am convinced a lot of people sponged off him and, all the while, the club were sliding. We just avoided having to seek re-election in 1967-68 but were expelled anyway for alleged illegal payments. The club really were in a sorry state. I was 38 and, as a player, I had had enough. It was only the arrival of the unknown Grdon Lee in 1968 that revived my career. I told him that I wanted to finish but he maintained that I could “still be useful” and persuaded me to carry on a little longer.

I was not in the side to start with but, after a few games, I came back to form a partnership with Johnny King. We had a strong defence and got what we could up front and at the end of the season (1968-69), had done well to finish halfway. We felt that we could achieve something and, sure enough, gained promotion the following season.

Gordon Lee was a great person to work for. He was as straight as a die but, if anything, rather cautious and predictable. If he took over a team in North Vietnam, I would know the way they play. Yet, he played according to the players he had at his disposal, even though he was often criticised for being negative. Without Gordon Lee, I do not know where Port Vale would be today. He was a brave man in taking the job and put life back into the club for others to reap the benefit in the more prosperous days of today.

This article reproduced courtesy of The Sentinel