The 2002–03 season was Port Vale's 91st season of football in the English Football League and third-successive season (40th overall) in the Second Division. It proved another difficult year under manager Brian Horton, as the side endured an inconsistent league campaign before narrowly avoiding relegation with a 17th‑place finish on 53 points. In December, the club entered administration amid mounting financial pressure, and in March the Valiant 2001 supporters' group completed a takeover, ending the regime of chairman Bill Bell.

Port Vale's cup adventures were brief. Both the FA Cup and League Cup ended at the First Round, each time following defeats to local rivals Crewe Alexandra — the FA Cup exit came courtesy of a Dean Ashton goal, and Crewe also knocked Vale out of the League Cup by a 2–0 scoreline. The club fared slightly better in the Football League Trophy, reaching the Northern Section Area Quarter‑Finals before being eliminated by Shrewsbury Town.

On the field, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson led the scoring charts for Vale with nine goals in all competitions, despite injury setbacks earlier in the season. The team recorded a season‑highlight result in April with a 5–1 victory over Huddersfield Town, but overall results remained erratic, and average attendance dipped to around 4,436. While the club ultimately survived in mid‑table, off-field challenges around debt, administration, and ownership change loomed large as the campaign closed.

Overview

Second Division The pre-season saw Brian Horton make several free signings: Jon McCarthy (Birmingham City); Brett Angell (Rushden & Diamonds); Ian Brightwell (Walsall); Phil Charnock (Crewe Alexandra); Sam Collins (Bury); and Mark Boyd (Newcastle United). Midfielder Dean Keates had a trial at the club over the summer, but was not offered a contract.

The season started poorly, with four straight defeats. Only one goal scored from open play, causing fans to barrack Horton. Their form changed with a 1–0 win over Wigan Athletic at the JJB Stadium – the first in a sequence of five consecutive victories. Following this run, victories were sparse for the Vale, and they picked up just four league victories until the beginning of March. The club agreed to sell Stephen McPhee to Wigan Athletic for £300,000, though the deal fell through over personal terms. In October, Lee Ashcroft arrived on loan from Wigan Athletic. Meanwhile, Jon McCarthy was released, and signed with Doncaster Rovers. The next month Brett Angell also departed after rejecting a new deal with the club, and instead joined Queens Park Rangers.

A mini-revival began in the new year, as Vale were unbeaten in their three January league games. In February, defender Peter Clarke arrived on a three-month loan deal from Everton. Adrian Littlejohn also joined the club on a monthly contract, having left Lincoln City. On 1 March, Vale were beaten 4–1 away at Colchester United, with Gareth Williams scoring a hat-trick. There was a turnaround in form following a 1–0 win over Blackpool on 8 March, as 18 points from the final twelve games of the season were enough to see off the fan's fears of relegation. Horton remained unpopular with some sections of Vale's supporters. On 12 April, Vale came from behind to beat Northampton Town at home after Horton angrily remonstrated with a supporter in the crowd who demanded his resignation whilst the club were a goal down. The penultimate game of the season was a 5–1 home win over Huddersfield Town, with Ian Armstrong scoring a brace. They finished in 17th place with 53 points, just five points above Cheltenham Town in the relegation zone. They finished 33 points and 15 places behind Crewe, who were promoted as runners-up. The end-of-season table was unusual in that 15 points separated 7th and 8th, whilst 17 points separated 8th and 21st. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson was the club's top scorer with just nine goals in all competitions.

At the end of the season, several players left the club on free transfers: Matt Carragher (Macclesfield Town); Paul Byrne (Barry Town); Phil Charnock (Bury); Sean McClare (Rochdale); John Durnin (Accrington Stanley); and Rae Ingram (Bangor City).

Finances, administration & a change of ownership Talks of Bell selling the club circulated at the start of the season, as Staffordshire Police were forced to write off £100,000 worth of debt. Meanwhile, Marketing executive Terry Smith resigned after just six weeks in the job. Bell told the press that the Lorne Street stand would be open at the start of the season, though work never got going on the project. Director Jim Lloyd resigned in September, leaving the club with just Bell and two directors (only one of whom was allowed to vote; Bell had the casting vote in the event of a tie). The club's financial crisis came to a head in the season, with the club £2.4 million in debt and posting £500,000 a year in losses. On 25 November, Bell put his shares up for sale at £10 each.

The club entered administration on 16 December, with £600,000 owed to Inland Revenue and the Customs & Excise; Birmingham-based administration firm Poppleton & Appleby took control. Assistant manager Mark Grew and Ray Williams were both laid off to save money. The club approached millionaire pop star and Vale fan Robbie Williams, who rejected the opportunity to invest in the club. Rumours circulated of a possible merger with rivals Stoke City and a ground-share at the Britannia Stadium, fuelled by the belief that a 'mystery bidder' was the Icelandic owners of Stoke City. Stoke Holdings, the Icelandic company which owned Stoke City, offered Bill Bell £50,000 to buy his debt and thereby take control of the club by bypassing the administrators; however, Bell rejected the offer. Valiant2001 eventually agreed to rent the club shop off Bell as an incitement for him to accept their offer (his vote was needed as he was the club's biggest creditor). The administrators received a number of bids for the club, and received interest from Mo Chaudry (owner of WaterWorld), Summerbank Management (Tunstall based consultancy firm), and property developing duo Steve Ball and Iain McIntosh. A late bid from Gianni Paladini seemed likely to succeed, however, Bill Bratt's 'Valiant 2001' fan-based consortium's bid was accepted in March, and the group took control the following month. The group had had a £1 million bid rejected by Bell the previous year. The total cost of administration was £255,000, and Bratt said "It has been a ride of terror".

In May, the club announced a new two-year £200,000 shirt sponsorship deal with local mobile phone company Tricell, ending ten years of sponsorship from Tunstall Assurance. The new board also appointed former player Andy Porter as youth coach, and got the club's transfer embargo lifted in July.

Cup competitions In the FA Cup, Vale were knocked out by nearby Crewe Alexandra with a Dean Ashton goal.

In the League Cup, Crewe made the first of their three visits to Vale Park (all of which they won) and advanced with a 2–0 victory, both goals scored by Rodney Jack.

In the Football League Trophy, Vale advanced through the opening rounds with home wins over Hull City and Chesterfield (after a penalty shoot-out). In the Northern Section Quarter-Finals, they faced Shrewsbury Town at Gay Meadow and lost 2–1.

Results 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 PlacePositionNationNumberNameSecond DivisionFA CupLeague CupFootball League TrophyTotal1MF11Marc Bridge-Wilkinson900092MF15Ian Armstrong710083FW22Brett Angell520074DF6Sam Collins50005–FW18Billy Paynter50005–FW9Steve Brooker500057MF8Micky Cummins40004–MF14Mark Boyd310049FW10Stephen McPhee30003–MF27Adrian Littlejohn3000311DF5Michael Walsh10001–DF24Peter Clarke10001–MF7Neil Brisco10001–MF20John Durnin10001–MF19Phil Charnock10001–DF2Matt Carragher01001TOTALS5450059

Transfers

Transfers in Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. May 2002 MF Mark Boyd Newcastle United Free transfer June 2002 DF Sam Collins Bury Free transfer August 2002 FW Brett Angell Rushden & Diamonds Free transfer August 2002 DF Ian Brightwell Stoke City Free transfer August 2002 MF Phil Charnock Crewe Alexandra Free transfer August 2002 MF Jon McCarthy Birmingham City Free transfer February 2003 MF Adrian Littlejohn Sheffield United Free transfer

Transfers out Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. October 2002 MF Jon McCarthy Doncaster Rovers Released November 2002 FW Brett Angell Queens Park Rangers Free transfer May 2003 DF Matt Carragher Stafford Rangers Released May 2003 MF John Durnin Accrington Stanley Released May 2003 DF Rae Ingram Bangor City Released May 2003 MF Sean McClare Rochdale Released July 2003 MF Paul Byrne Barry Town Free transfer August 2003 MF Phil Charnock Bury Free transfer

Loans in Date from Position Nationality Name From Date to Ref. 11 October 2002 FW Lee Ashcroft Wigan Athletic 27 October 2002 20 February 2003 DF Peter Clarke Everton 29 April 2003

References Specific

General Soccerbase