The 1955–56 season was Port Vale's 44th season of football in the English Football League, and their second-successive season (thirty-first overall) in the Second Division. Under manager Freddie Steele, the club struggled for consistency and finished in 17th place with 36 points from 42 league matches, avoiding relegation but failing to challenge for promotion.

In the FA Cup, Vale reached the Fourth Round before being eliminated by Everton. Len Stephenson was the club's leading scorer with 14 goals in all competitions, continuing to provide a vital attacking outlet throughout the season. Support at Vale Park remained solid, with an average attendance of approximately 18,500, reflecting sustained local interest despite mixed on-field results. A crowd of 44,278 attended the FA Cup defeat to Everton.

Though the season was relatively uneventful, it solidified the foundations laid by Steele's management, as the club looked ahead to improving their league standing in future campaigns.

Overview Second Division The pre-season saw Stan Turner and Ken Griffiths undergo operations, keeping them out of action for the start of the campaign.

The season began with just one loss in the opening eleven games, including victories over West Ham United at Upton Park and second-placed Fulham at Craven Cottage, and a 1–0 home win over Potteries derby rivals Stoke City in front of a crowd of 37,261. Nevertheless, injuries began to affect the first XI, leaving room for reserves like Derek Mountford, Stan Smith, and Tom Conway to make an impression. The 'Steele Curtain' defence was still in operation, picking up five clean sheets in these eleven games. Journalist Bernard Jones compared 'the Vale Plan' to the Brazilian method of defence, defending the penalty area at all costs as that was from where 95% of all goals were scored. However, manager Freddie Steele responded by claiming there was no such plan, and that the main objective was simply 'to beat the opposition'. On 22 October, Sheffield Wednesday went away from Vale Park with a 1–0 win, this was followed with a 4–1 defeat at Filbert Street where Cyril Done cracked his kneecap. Steele began to initiate a modern pre-match ritual of having the players warm up in their tracksuits 15 minutes before kick-off, though on 12 November this did them no favours at Ewood Park, as Blackburn Rovers romped to a 7–1 victory. Steele tried moving Basil Hayward from left-back to centre-forward for the fixture with second-from-bottom Hull City, though the result was a 1–0 defeat. Steele made eight changes following the defeat, which made little difference as Vale extended their run without a win to nine games. This left them in 15th place by mid-December, with a host of players out with injuries.

Done's return to match fitness was marked with a 2–1 win over Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium, beginning a sequence of one defeat in ten games. This left them in seventh place by February, with a shot of promotion. In January, Eddie Baily was signed from Tottenham Hotspur for a club-record £7,000. Signing an inside-forward who was part of England's 1950 FIFA World Cup squad was a sign of the club's ambitions for top-flight football. He scored on his debut, a 3–1 win over Notts County on 14 January. On 18 February, Vale were beaten 2–1 by bottom club Hull City during a blizzard at Boothferry Park, with the winning goal coming from Hull's own half. Outclassed by Wednesday on 3 March, they lost 4–0 at Hillsborough, but followed this with wins over Blackburn Rovers and Bristol City. On 31 March they came to a 'hard-fought' 1–1 draw at Stoke's Victoria Ground, which left the "Valiants" in fifth place, level on points with second-placed Liverpool. In with a great chance of promotion by April, defeats at home to Nottingham Forest and Leicester City, and a 4–1 loss to Liverpool at Anfield ruined their chances. Harry Poole made his debut on the last day of the season, as Vale recorded a 3–2 win over Middlesbrough.

They finished in twelfth position with 45 points, one point and one position above rivals Stoke. The Steele Curtain boasted the best defensive record in the division, though only the bottom five scored fewer goals.

Finances On the financial side, a loss was made of £4,974, blamed upon a 'crippling burden' of £12,422 in entertainment tax. Home attendances were down by around 2,000 a game to 18,985, leaving gate receipts at £60,784. Steele retained thirty professionals, releasing Albert Mullard and Ray Hancock (Northwich Victoria), and Tom Conway (Leek Town).

FA Cup In the FA Cup, Vale narrowly defeated Third Division South side Walsall 1–0 in front of a 21,836 record-high crowd at Fellows Park to win a fourth round tie with First Division Everton. A crowd of 44,278 saw 'a match that had everything', as the "Toffees" escaped with a 3–2 victory, Vale having had two goals disallowed.

Results Football League Second Division

League table

Results by matchday

Matches

FA Cup

Squad statistics Appearances and goals Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward

Top scorers PlacePositionNationNameSecond DivisionFA CupTotal1FWCyril Done120142FWLen Stephenson122123FWKen Griffiths707–FWEddie Baily707–FWJohn Cunliffe7076FWStan Smith5057FWTom Conway404–HBAlbert Leake4049HBRoy Sproson11210FWAlbert Mullard101TOTALS60363

Transfers

Transfers in Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. January 1956 FW Eddie Baily Tottenham Hotspur £7,000

Transfers out Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. Summer 1956 FW Tom Conway Leek Town Free transfer Summer 1956 GK Ray Hancock Northwich Victoria Free transfer Summer 1956 FW Albert Mullard Northwich Victoria Released Summer 1956 FW Pat Willdigg Northwich Victoria Free transfer

References

Sources