Английская Википедия:2003–04 Port Vale F.C. season
Шаблон:Use dmy dates Шаблон:Use British English Шаблон:Infobox football club season The 2003–04 season was Port Vale's 92nd season of football in the English Football League, and fourth-successive season (41st overall) in the Second Division. Brian Horton resigned in February, and was replaced by Martin Foyle. Vale fought for promotion, but finished outside the play-off zone on goal difference. In the FA Cup, Vale narrowly avoided humiliation by beating non-League Ford United after the replay went to extra time. However, Vale exited at the Second Round with defeat to Conference club Scarborough, who also knocked the Vale out of the Football League Trophy at the First Round. Vale also left the League Cup at the First Round stage. Stephen McPhee was Player of the Year and top-scorer with 27 goals, but he left the club at the end of the season to play abroad. Financial problems still hounded the club, and Chairman Bill Bratt was desperate to attract investment from fans,[1] though he was unwilling to allow one person to have more than 50% of the club's shares.[2]
Overview
Second Division
The pre-season saw Brian Horton bring in three key players on free transfers: George Pilkington (Everton);[3] Jonny Brain (Newcastle United);[4] and Austrian Andreas Lipa (Skoda Xanthi).[5] Meanwhile, promising keeper Mark Goodlad began a lengthy period of time on the sidelines with injuries.[6] Optimism surrounded the club, after the rebuilding of the new squad appeared to had finished after the break-up of the club's previous team due to financial troubles.[7]
The season opened with seven wins in eleven games, earning Brian Horton the Manager of the Month award.[8] Though this was followed by a sequence of five defeats in eight games as the goals dried up, this run included a 5–1 thumping at home to Plymouth Argyle. In November, back-up keeper Dean Delany joined Macclesfield Town on a two-month loan. Vale then were in patchy form until March, though the side managed to do the double over Sheffield Wednesday. Brian Horton resigned in February, with the club in the play-offs.[9] His replacement was former Vale legend Martin Foyle, whose only previous experience was in the club's youth set-up.[10] As his assistant he appointed former teammate, Dean Glover, another club legend.[11] In March, Foyle made his first signing, bringing defender Craig James on loan from Sunderland,[12] and after a few weeks he signed him permanently.[13] Mark Boyd headed out of the club however, and was allowed to sign with Carlisle United. Vale lost just two of their final twelve games, and ran close to a play-off place, only losing out due to their inferior goal difference.
They finished in seventh place with 73 points. They were level on points with Hartlepool United and Swindon Town, but finished outside of the play-off zone due to their inferior goal difference. Stephen McPhee scored 27 goals to become the club's top-scorer, the highest tally since Andy Jones hit 37 in 1986–87. Other major contributions came from Billy Paynter (14), Steve Brooker (8), Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (7) and Adrian Littlejohn (7).
At the end of the season several players left the club: Neil Brisco (Rochdale); Liam Burns (Bristol Rovers); Adrian Littlejohn (Lincoln City); and Dean Delany (Shelbourne).[14] Stephen McPhee also decided to leave the club, and though Chairman Bill Bratt had rejected offers of £100,000 for the player,[15] McPhee exploited a loophole in his contract to join Portuguese side Beira-Mar.[16] Marc Bridge-Wilkinson also turned down a new lower-paying contract, and instead signed with Stockport County.[17] Player-coach Ian Brightwell also left Vale Park, having lost his assistant manager role to Glover,[18] and joined Horton at Macclesfield Town.[19] One boost was that Billy Paynter and George Pilkington put pen to paper on new long-term deals.[20]
Finances
Peter Walker was appointed as Chief Executive in August 2003, having volunteered to work for free for six months. One feature of the season proved to be the long-running courtroom battle between former chairman Bill Bell and owners Valiant2001 over unpaid rent on the club shop. The club's finances were still worrying for supporters, though the problem appeared to have eased by the end of the season.[21]
In December, a Peter Jackson led consortium put a £150,000 investment into the club, which Bratt said "...ensures the future of the club is safe".[22] The club also rejected other investment proposals from confidential sources.[23] Vice-chairman Charles Machin recommended the board sell the club to Italian businessman Gianni Paladini for £530,000, but the board disagreed.[24] In March 2004, Machin and director Geoff Wakefield were voted off the board, as the 'Jackson Five' clique elected Peter Jackson and Stan Meigh in their place.[24] Machin said that "I will not go away. I will haunt the corridors of power like Marley's ghost".[24] However, he was never elected back onto the board.[24]
Cup competitions
In the FA Cup, Vale risked humiliation in a 2–2 draw with non-League Ford United at Vale Park.[25] In the replay, Vale had led 1–0 before a last minute equaliser took the game into extra time. Despite having substitute Ian Armstrong's sent off, the "Valiants" escaped the lottery of the penalty shoot-out when on 114 minutes Ford scored an own goal.[26] However, in the Second Round they were still eliminated by a non-League club, when Scarborough's Ashley Sestanovich scored an 80th-minute winner at Vale Park.[27] This was the first time ever a League side had been beaten twice in the same season by the same non-League opponents.[28]
In the League Cup, Vale faced First Division Nottingham Forest. They held Forest to a goalless draw, but were eliminated 3–2 in the subsequent penalty shoot-out.
In the Football League Trophy, Vale travelled to the McCain Stadium, where they were defeated 2–1 by Conference club Scarborough.[29]
League table
Шаблон:Main 2003–04 Football League
Results
Port Vale's score comes first
Football League Second Division
Results by matchday
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Matches
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 August 2003 | A.F.C. Bournemouth | H | 2–1 | 6,465 | McPhee, Littlejohn |
| 16 August 2003 | Grimsby Town | A | 2–1 | 4,816 | McPhee, Paynter |
| 23 August 2003 | Colchester United | H | 4–3 | 5,133 | Collins, Paynter, Armstrong, McPhee |
| 25 August 2003 | Hartlepool United | A | 0–2 | 5,314 | |
| 30 August 2003 | Brentford | H | 1–0 | 5,257 | Paynter |
| 6 September 2003 | Stockport County | A | 2–2 | 5,316 | Paynter, Collins |
| 13 September 2003 | Barnsley | H | 3–1 | 7,809 | Lipa, Pilkington, Littlejohn |
| 16 September 2003 | Luton Town | A | 0–2 | 5,079 | |
| 20 September 2003 | Bristol City | A | 1–0 | 11,369 | Paynter |
| 27 September 2003 | Wycombe Wanderers | H | 1–1 | 6,822 | McPhee |
| 30 September 2003 | Peterborough United | H | 3–0 | 5,495 | McPhee (2), Collins |
| 4 October 2003 | Wrexham | A | 1–2 | 5,822 | Paynter |
| 11 October 2003 | Oldham Athletic | A | 1–2 | 6,913 | Bridge-Wilkinson (pen) |
| 18 October 2003 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 1–5 | 5,786 | McPhee |
| 21 October 2003 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 2–0 | 5,243 | Paynter, McPhee |
| 25 October 2003 | Swindon Town | A | 0–0 | 5,313 | |
| 1 November 2003 | Chesterfield | A | 0–1 | 4,088 | |
| 15 November 2003 | Notts County | H | 1–0 | 4,900 | McPhee |
| 22 November 2003 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 0–1 | 7,081 | |
| 29 November 2003 | Rushden & Diamonds | H | 1–1 | 4,586 | Littlejohn |
| 12 December 2003 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 1–1 | 5,811 | Littlejohn |
| 26 December 2003 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 3–2 | 24,991 | Littlejohn, Paynter, Brooker |
| 28 December 2003 | Stockport County | H | 2–2 | 6,237 | McPhee (2) |
| 10 January 2004 | A.F.C. Bournemouth | A | 1–2 | 5,926 | McPhee |
| 14 January 2004 | Blackpool | H | 2–1 | 4,523 | Brooker, Bridge-Wilkinson |
| 17 January 2004 | Grimsby Town | H | 5–1 | 5,133 | Bridge-Wilkinson (2), Lipa, Collins, Paynter |
| 27 January 2004 | Hartlepool United | H | 2–5 | 4,845 | Brooker, Cummins |
| 31 January 2004 | Brentford | A | 2–3 | 4,306 | McPhee (2) |
| 7 February 2004 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 3–0 | 7,958 | Littlejohn, McPhee, Brooker |
| 14 February 2004 | Oldham Athletic | H | 1–0 | 6,035 | McPhee |
| 21 February 2004 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 1–2 | 11,330 | McPhee |
| 24 February 2004 | Colchester United | A | 4–1 | 2,539 | Brooker, Brown (og), Cummins, Bridge-Wilkinson |
| 2 March 2004 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 2–3 | 12,593 | Brooker, Littlejohn |
| 6 March 2004 | Blackpool | A | 1–2 | 6,878 | Paynter |
| 13 March 2004 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 1–1 | 5,646 | Paynter |
| 16 March 2004 | Luton Town | H | 1–0 | 5,048 | Cummins |
| 20 March 2004 | Barnsley | A | 0–0 | 8,267 | |
| 27 March 2004 | Bristol City | H | 2–1 | 6,724 | Brooker, Bridge-Wilkinson |
| 30 March 2004 | Swindon Town | H | 3–3 | 5,702 | McPhee (2), Paynter |
| 3 April 2004 | Wycombe Wanderers | A | 1–2 | 4,738 | McPhee |
| 10 April 2004 | Wrexham | H | 1–0 | 5,892 | Cummins |
| 12 April 2004 | Peterborough United | A | 1–3 | 4,988 | Bridge-Wilkinson |
| 17 April 2004 | Chesterfield | H | 1–1 | 5,582 | Paynter |
| 24 April 2004 | Notts County | A | 2–1 | 5,834 | McPhee, Brooker |
| 1 May 2004 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 2–1 | 6,806 | McPhee (2) |
| 8 May 2004 | Rushden & Diamonds | A | 2–0 | 5,240 | McPhee (2) |
FA Cup
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 8 November 2003 | Ford United | H | 2–2 | 4,016 | McPhee, Burns |
| R1 Replay | 19 November 2003 | Ford United | A | 2–1 | ? | Paynter, Chandler (og) |
| R2 | 7 December 2003 | Scarborough | H | 0–1 | 4,651 |
League Cup
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 12 October 2003 | Nottingham Forest | H | (2)0–0(3) | 4,950 |
Football League Trophy
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 14 October 2003 | Scarborough | A | 1–2 | 1,003 | McPhee |
Player statistics
Appearances
| Pos. | # | Name | Football League | FA Cup | League Cup | Football League Trophy | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
| GK | 1 | Шаблон:Flagicon Mark Goodlad | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| DF | 2 | Шаблон:Flagicon George Pilkington | 44 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 1 | |
| DF | 3 | Шаблон:Flagicon Ian Brightwell | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| DF | 4 | Шаблон:Flagicon Andreas Lipa | 30 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 2 | |
| DF | 5 | Шаблон:Flagicon Michael Walsh | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| DF | 6 | Шаблон:Flagicon Sam Collins | 43 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 4 | |
| MF | 7 | Шаблон:Flagicon Neil Brisco | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 0 | |
| MF | 8 | Шаблон:Flagicon Micky Cummins | 42 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 4 | |
| FW | 9 | Шаблон:Flagicon Steve Brooker | 32 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 8 | |
| FW | 10 | Шаблон:Flagicon Stephen McPhee | 46 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 51 | 27 | |
| MF | 11 | Шаблон:Flagicon Marc Bridge-Wilkinson | 32 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 7 | |
| GK | 12 | Шаблон:Flagicon Dean Delany | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| MF | 13 | Шаблон:Flagicon Levi Reid | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| MF | 15 | Шаблон:Flagicon Ian Armstrong | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 1 | |
| DF | 16 | Шаблон:Flagicon Steve Rowland | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 0 | |
| MF | 17 | Шаблон:Flagicon Chris Birchall | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| FW | 18 | Шаблон:Flagicon Billy Paynter | 44 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 14 | |
| FW | 19 | Шаблон:Flagicon Simon Eldershaw | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| MF | 20 | Шаблон:Flagicon Adrian Littlejohn | 36 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 7 | |
| DF | 21 | Шаблон:Flagicon Liam Burns | 27 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 1 | |
| DF | 22 | Шаблон:Flagicon Ryan Brown | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| GK | 23 | Шаблон:Flagicon Joe Molloy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| GK | 24 | Шаблон:Flagicon Jonny Brain | 32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 0 | |
| DF | 25 | Шаблон:Flagicon Craig James | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Players that left the club mid-season: | |||||||||||||
| MF | 14 | Шаблон:Flagicon Mark Boyd | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 0 | |
Top scorers
| Place | Position | Nation | Number | Name | Second Division | FA Cup | League Cup | Football League Trophy | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FW | Шаблон:Flagu | 10 | Stephen McPhee | 25 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 27 |
| 2 | FW | Шаблон:Flagu | 18 | Billy Paynter | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 3 | FW | Шаблон:Flagu | 9 | Steve Brooker | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 4 | MF | Шаблон:Flagu | 11 | Marc Bridge-Wilkinson | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| – | MF | Шаблон:Flagu | 20 | Adrian Littlejohn | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 6 | MF | Шаблон:Flagu | 8 | Micky Cummins | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| – | DF | Шаблон:Flagu | 6 | Sam Collins | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | DF | Шаблон:Flagu | 4 | Andreas Lipa | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | DF | Шаблон:Flagu | 2 | George Pilkington | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | MF | Шаблон:Flagu | 15 | Ian Armstrong | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | DF | Шаблон:Flagu | 21 | Liam Burns | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | – | – | Own goals | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| TOTALS | 73 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 78 | ||||
Transfers
Transfers in
| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | From | Fee | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2003 | DF | Шаблон:Flagicon | Andreas Lipa | Шаблон:Flagicon Skoda Xanthi | Free transfer | [31] |
| June 2003 | DF | Шаблон:Flagicon | George Pilkington | Everton | Free transfer | [31] |
| August 2003 | GK | Шаблон:Flagicon | Jonny Brain | Carlisle United | Free transfer | [31] |
| March 2004 | DF | Шаблон:Flagicon | Craig James | Sunderland | Free transfer | [31] |
Transfers out
| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | To | Fee | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2004 | MF | Шаблон:Flagicon | Mark Boyd | Carlisle United | Free transfer | [31] |
| May 2004 | DF | Шаблон:Flagicon | Ian Brightwell | Macclesfield Town | Free transfer | [31] |
| May 2004 | DF | Шаблон:Flagicon | Liam Burns | Bristol Rovers | Released | [31] |
| May 2004 | GK | Шаблон:Flagicon | Dean Delany | Шаблон:Flagicon Shelbourne | Free transfer | [31] |
| June 2004 | MF | Шаблон:Flagicon | Marc Bridge-Wilkinson | Stockport County | Rejected contract | [31] |
| June 2004 | MF | Шаблон:Flagicon | Neil Brisco | Rochdale | Free transfer | [31] |
| June 2004 | FW | Шаблон:Flagicon | Stephen McPhee | Шаблон:Flagicon Beira-Mar | Bosman transfer | [31] |
| August 2004 | MF | Шаблон:Flagicon | Adrian Littlejohn | Lincoln City | Free transfer | [31] |
Loans out
| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | To | Date to | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 November 2003 | GK | Шаблон:Flagicon | Dean Delany | Macclesfield Town | 14 January 2004 | [31] |
References
- Specific
- General
Шаблон:Port Vale F.C. seasons Шаблон:2003–04 in English football
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 24,0 24,1 24,2 24,3 What If There Had Been No Port In The Vale?: Startling Port Vale Stories! p.179 (Witan Books, 2011, Шаблон:ISBN)
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Port Vale 2003–2004 : Results & Fixtures Шаблон:Webarchive. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
- ↑ 31,00 31,01 31,02 31,03 31,04 31,05 31,06 31,07 31,08 31,09 31,10 31,11 31,12 Шаблон:Cite web
