The 1993–94 season was Port Vale's 82nd season of football in the English Football League and fifth-successive (37th overall) season in the Second Division. Under the guidance of manager John Rudge and chairman Bill Bell, Vale secured promotion to the First Division by finishing as runners-up, narrowly missing the title by just a single point behind Reading, amassing 88 points in total

A memorable moment in the FA Cup saw Vale cause an upset by eliminating top-flight Southampton before being knocked out in the Fourth Round, while their League Cup run ended at the First Round and their Football League Trophy journey concluded at the Area Quarter-finals. Martin Foyle led the line with distinction, finishing as both league (17) and season top scorer with 18 goals across all competitions, while Neil Aspin earned the Player of the Year award. Support from the terraces was solid, with a highest home attendance of 12,042 (versus Southampton), a low of 5,175 (against Lincoln City), and a league average of 8,377 spectators. Port Vale's most emphatic league victory came in a 6–0 win over Hartlepool United, while their heaviest defeat was a 4–0 loss to Reading.

A season of resurgence, Vale played well in the FA Cup, its explosive front‑line and solid support to earned a return to the First Division.

Overview

Second Division The pre-season saw John Rudge sign left-back Allen Tankard from Wigan Athletic for £87,500. Experienced forward Keith Houchen was allowed to join Hartlepool United on a free transfer, and Paul Kerr signed with Leicester City.

The season opened with a 2–1 defeat to Burnley at Turf Moor, a result which belied their tag as favourites for promotion. Though the season got going for the Vale with their opening home game, as they recorded a 6–0 win over Barnet despite an early sending off for Peter Billing, both Martin Foyle and Bernie Slaven bagging hat-tricks. The Association of Football Statisticians reported that it was the first time a Football LEageu club had scored six goals after receiving a red card. This, however, would be the only victory in the first seven league games. In September, Steve Livingstone joined the club on loan from Chelsea. Then, in October, Canadian Ollie Heald signed from Norvan, having impressed whilst on trial. On 2 October, Vale recorded a 3–0 home victory over Wrexham after scoring three goals in the first three minutes of the second half.

Vale shot up the table with eight victories in ten games. In January, Aidan Newhouse arrived on loan from Wimbledon but only played two games. Rudge made enquiries after Andy Saville, but the club could not afford the £350,000 expected by Birmingham City. On 5 February, Vale beat Reading 2–1 to record the first away league win for a club at Elm Park in 12 months. Bernie Slaven left the club in February for Darlington. The next month, Rudge brought Joe Allon to the club after Allon had left Brentford. He also signed winger David Lowe on loan from Leicester City. Vale picked up four clean sheets in the first five games of March but ended the month with two defeats.

Vale had a solid April, winning six of their eight games, with Foyle scoring a hat-trick past Leyton Orient at Brisbane Road on 4 April. On 26 April, the team won 1–0 away at Swansea City as opposition manager Frank Burrows admitted that "they battered us and nobody has dominated here so much this season". Four days later, Vale defeated Exeter City by three goals to one, two of which were scored by Foyle – including a diving header for his 20th of the season; a Vale Park pitch invasion ensued on the final whistle. Two victories from their final two games of the season ensured promotion. A 3–1 victory at Brighton & Hove Albion was witnessed by 15,423 people – the biggest crowd at the Goldstone Ground for six years. Glover opened the scoring and a brace from Foyle confirmed the victory despite the home side pulling a goal back from a Dean Wilkins free kick.

They finished second with 88 points, despite having finished third the previous season with 89 points. The top scorer was Martin Foyle with 18 goals, though Ian Taylor and Nicky Cross also hit double figures.

At the end of the season, star midfielder Ian Taylor was sold to Sheffield Wednesday for £1 million (plus add-ons). The club also sold Peter Swan to Plymouth Argyle for £300,000. Also leaving the club were Nicky Cross and Trevor Wood, who joined Hereford United and Walsall respectively.

Finances The club's shirt sponsors were Tunstall Assurance.

Cup competitions In the FA Cup, Vale brushed aside Blackpool (2–0) and Huddersfield Town (1–0). Drawn against Premier League Southampton in the third round, the "Valiants" earned a 1–1 draw at The Dell with an Andy Porter goal from a free kick, which helped to put more pressure on struggling opposition manager Ian Branfoot, which would have been worse still without Iain Dowie's equaliser. Back at Burslem, Vale achieved a giantkilling with a Bernie Slaven goal on a mud-filled Vale Park pitch; a clean sheet was achieved as Neil Aspin kept Matt Le Tissier quiet. In the fourth round they faced First Division Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux, and were defeated 2–0.

In the League Cup, Vale exited in the first round to Third Division Lincoln City on away goals, having drawn 2–2 at Vale Park and 0–0 at Sincil Bank.

In the Football League Trophy, Vale reached the Area Quarter-finalists. They would not enter the competition again until 2000–01.

Results Pre-season

Football League Second Division

League table

Results by matchday

Matches

FA Cup

League Cup

Football League Trophy

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward

|colspan="14"|Players who featured but departed the club during the season:

Top scorers PlacePositionNationNameSecond DivisionFA CupLeague CupFootball League TrophyTotal1FWMartin Foyle17102202MFIan Taylor13012163FWNicky Cross12001134FWBernie Slaven711095MFPaul Kerr410166FWDavid Lowe50005–MFRobin van der Laan500058MFKevin Kent400049DFDean Glover3000310FWJoe Allon20002–DFGareth Griffiths2000212DFNeil Aspin10001–MFJohn Jeffers10001–DFAllen Tankard01001–MFAndy Porter01001––Own goals30003TOTALS7952692

Transfers

Transfers in Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. January 1993 DF Dean Stokes Halesowen Town Free transfer February 1993 DF Gareth Griffiths Rhyl £1,000 May 1993 DF Peter Billing Coventry City £35,000 July 1993 DF Allen Tankard Wigan Athletic £87,500 September 1993 MF Ollie Heald Norvan Free transfer March 1994 FW Joe Allon Brentford Free transfer

Transfers out Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. September 1993 FW Brian Mills Released February 1994 FW Bernie Slaven Darlington Free transfer May 1994 FW Nicky Cross Hereford United Free transfer May 1994 DF Simon Mills Boston United Free transfer May 1994 GK Trevor Wood Walsall Free transfer 1 July 1994 MF Ian Taylor Sheffield Wednesday £1,000,000 23 July 1994 DF Peter Swan Plymouth Argyle £300,000 Summer 1994 MF Paul Kerr Wycombe Wanderers Free transfer

Loans in Date from Position Nationality Name From Date to Ref. September 1993 FW Steve Livingstone Chelsea September 1993 January 1994 FW Aidan Newhouse Wimbledon January 1994 February 1994 MF David Lowe Leicester City End of season

Loans out Date from Position Nationality Name To Date to Ref. March 1994 MF Paul Kerr Leicester City End of season

References Specific

General Soccerbase