First Division The pre-season saw
John Rudge make three key signings. He bought
Lee Mills from
Derby County with
Robin van der Laan going in the opposite direction, with Vale receiving an additional
£475,000; as well as
Jon McCarthy from
York City for a, still club record, £500,000; and defender
Andy Hill from
Manchester City for £200,000. He also signed Dutch defender
Jermaine Holwyn from
AFC Ajax for a £5,000 fee. The season started terribly, as Vale won just one of their opening ten league games, failing to find the net in half of these fixtures. However, the one win during this time was against the most important of opponents,
rivals Stoke City at the
Victoria Ground. The derby took place on 27 August, and a crowd of 14,283 witnessed
Ian Bogie score the game's only goal. Their win over
Huddersfield Town at the
Alfred McAlpine Stadium at the start of the October was also followed by a sequence of eight games without a win, leaving the club staring
relegation in the face. In November,
Canadian international defender
Randy Samuel signed after impressing on trial but soon was sidelined with a serious knee injury. Meanwhile,
John Jeffers left the club for
Stockport County. On 9 December, Vale won 3–2 at home to
Reading, their second win in a row, to move themselves off the foot of the league table. The Vale turned a corner in December and would remain one of the division's form sides until April, losing just two league games in 19 games, picking up eleven wins. A six-game winning run concluded with a 3–0 win over
Barnsley on 30 March, with captain Neil Aspin saying the team was the best he'd known during his seven years at the club. The Valiants achieved their first league double over Stoke in 71 years by winning the return fixture under the floodlights on 12 March, with Bogie again the only name on the scoresheet, this time scoring within just 12 seconds of the
kick-off;
BBC Radio Stoke commentator George Andrews excitedly reported that "Bogie's done the business! Five seconds into the game, the Bogie Boogie has set it alight here, and the Stokies are stunned". However, just two wins came in the final ten games, leaving Vale to settle for a top-half finish. They finished in twelfth place with sixty points, eleven points shy of
Charlton Athletic in the
play-off zone, and eight points clear of
Millwall in the relegation zone.
Tony Naylor was the top-scorer with twelve goals in all competitions, closely followed by
Martin Foyle,
Andy Porter, and Jon McCarthy. At the end of the season,
Kevin Kent retired and took up a coaching role at the club. Young winger
Craig Lawton had not established himself at Vale, and so was
transferred to
non-League Colwyn Bay. Randy Samuel was also permitted to leave for
Norwegian club
Harstad IL.
Bradley Sandeman was another departing player, as he was given a
free transfer to
Rotherham United, whilst
Lee Glover also joined the "Millers" for a £150,000 fee.
Finances The club's shirt sponsors were Tunstall Assurance. Season ticket sales hit the 5,000 mark for the first time in the
club's history.
Cup competitions In the
FA Cup, Vale faced a difficult tie against
Crystal Palace. After a goalless draw at
Selhurst Park, the Vale advanced with a 4–3 win thanks to a brace from
Ray Walker, despite having twice surrendered a two-goal lead. They then faced the
cup holders Everton at
Goodison Park. Foyle equalized after the "Toffees" scored the opener, and Ian Bogie saved the day with a deflected goal in injury time after Everton had again taken the lead through
Duncan Ferguson. This goal saved the blushes of Foyle, who missed a sitter from earlier in the game, and
Paul Musselwhite, who gifted Ferguson his goal when he spilt
Anders Limpar's
cross. The club also took in their
highest ever gate receipt total, as the game saw Vale bank £170,349. They then faced another top side away in the fifth round,
Leeds United at
Elland Road. A goalless draw raised hopes of another cup upset, and hopes turned to expectations as Naylor put Vale ahead in the
replay. However, two goals from
Gary McAllister saved United's blushes, dumping Vale out of the cup. For their efforts, John Rudge's side were handed the FA's Giantkillers award for the season. In the
League Cup, Vale faced league rivals Huddersfield Town. Despite a 2–1 victory at the Alfred McAlpine Stadium, the "Terriers" escaped from
Burslem with a 3–1 victory to knock Vale out of the competition. In the
Anglo-Italian Cup, Vale drew 2–2 with
Cesena, beat
Ancona 2–0, and drew 0–0 with
Genoa, before beating
Perugia 5–3. The draw with nine-time
Serie A champions and former
UEFA Cup semi-finalists Genoa was seen as particularly creditable, with Musselwhite praised for some excellent close-range saves to earn his
clean sheet. This took Vale through the group stage, along with
Birmingham City, as they finished ahead of both
Oldham Athletic and
Luton Town. Facing
Ipswich Town in the English semi-final, they progressed with a 4–2 win. To reach the final, they still had to beat
West Bromwich Albion in a two-legged affair. They beat the "Baggies" 3–1 to become the last English team in the competition and face Genoa again, this time to decide the tournament's winner. Despite a brace from Foyle, the
Serie B side were the 5–2 victors, former
Italian international Gennaro Ruotolo scoring a
hat-trick. ==Results==