Third Division The pre-season saw the club's management attempt to build a squad capable of
promotion, this meant recruiting former
Wales international inside-right
Noel Kinsey from
Birmingham City as a player-
coach, and 21-year-old outside-left
Dennis Fidler from the
Manchester City Reserves. Seven games without a win followed, ending with a 6–0 collapse to an impressive
Swindon Town side at
The County Ground on 1 October. Vale were much improved after this, recording six wins from eight games. The second game in the sequence saw Vale come from 3–1 down at
Bristol City with 16 minutes to go, to win the match 4–3. The following month,
Norman Low signed
Bert Llewellyn from
Crewe Alexandra for £7,000. Llewellyn scored past
Barnsley in his debut game on 12 November and scored a
hat-trick past
Hull City the next month. This win over the "Tigers" came a week after a 5–0 win over high-flying
Grimsby Town at
Blundell Park, in what
Roy Sproson later described as his 'greatest memory' and 'one of their finest hours'. The performance was so impressive they received 'a standing ovation' from the home crowd, as the "Valiants" finished the game 'rolling the ball about like a game of
chess'. They followed this up with a 4–1 win over
Hull City, where Llewellyn claimed a hat-trick. Up to sixth place in the table, a 6–2 hammering from Walsall at
Fellows Park on 17 December set them back. The goals continued, this time in Vale's favour, with a 5–0 win and 3–3 draw with
Tranmere Rovers, and a 4–1 victory over
Bury. In January,
Albert Leake was
transferred to
Macclesfield Town, leaving Sproson as the only survivor of the legendary
1953–54 club. Vale continued to entertain and win games, as
The Sentinel's Jon Abberley described
Harry Poole as "one of the best wing-halves ever produced in the
Potteries". On 21 January, Vale defeated
Southend United by four goals to nil. By 11 February, Vale were four points from second place, as Vale battled to a 1–1 draw with
Torquay United in 'a sea of mud' at
Plainmoor. A week later, Llewellyn scored a
hat-trick past Swindon Town. However, on 4 March QPR ended their promotion hopes with a 1–0 win at Loftus Road, the second of a streak of five games without a win for Vale. The next week
Notts County easily beat Vale 3–1, in a game for which
Stan Steele was rested after 195 consecutive appearances. Steele immediately handed in a transfer request and got picked up by
West Bromwich Albion for a £10,000 fee. Vale's season then petered out, ending with an attendance of only 4,088 for a 1–1 draw with
Bristol City at Vale Park, followed by two away draws. They finished in seventh place with 49 points, with their tally of 96 goals bettered only by the two promoted clubs. The season was a disappointment, and their away record of two wins in twelve games was put to blame for killing their promotion hopes.
Cliff Portwood scored an impressive 26 goals, followed closely by Bert Llewellyn on 20 (who had also scored 10 for Crewe).
Finances On the financial side, a disappointing home attendance average of 9,702 was a concern, though a profit of £4,253 was recorded. This was down to a £9,501 donation from the Sportsmen's Association and a slashing of the wage bill by around £4,000 to £29,915. The management decided to cut the playing staff and increase the wage budget. Eleven players were let go, crucially:
Harry Oscroft (
Brantham Athletic),
Ted Calland (
Lincoln City),
John Poole (Macclesfield Town), and
Peter Hall (
Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic).
Cup competitions In the
FA Cup, Vale were superior to
non-League side
Chelmsford City, winning 3–2 in the first round clash.
Fourth Division club
Carlisle United were Vale's second round opponents, who Vale dispatched 2–1 in an "exciting" game. Struggling
Second Division side
Swansea Town bettered Vale on a mud-filled and hole-ridden
Vetch Field. In the
League Cup, they bettered
Queens Park Rangers in a
replay following a 2–2 draw at
Loftus Road. The next round held
Tranmere Rovers, who eliminated Vale with a 2–0 win. In the Supporters' Clubs' Trophy, the two-leg game with
rivals Stoke City came to a 1–1 draw, and so a replay was held at the
Victoria Ground on 24 April, which Vale won 1–0 thanks to an
own goal. ==Results==