List of Port Vale F.C. managers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Micky Adams watching his team defeat Aldershot Town 1–0 at Vale Park in September 2010.
Michael Brown found greater success in pundittry than management
Sam Bennion became the club chairman after his management spell.
Joe Schofield was manager throughout the 1920s.
Gordon Hodgson died in office.
The statue of Roy Sproson outside Vale Park.
The statue of Stanley Matthews in Hanley town centre.
Current imcumbent Darrell Clarke.

Port Vale Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent. It was founded in the late 1870s. When league football began, the first team – then playing under the name Burslem Port Vale – competed in the Midland League before being elected to the newly formed Second Division of the Football League in 1892. However it wasn't until 1896 that it was first recorded that newly appointed club secretary Sam Gleaves would take on what are now seen as managerial responsibilities.

There have been 37 full-time managers: the most recent appointment was that of John Askey, who was hired as the club's manager in February 2019. Tommy Clare was appointed in 1905 as Port Vale's first manager-secretary, though his role also included secretarial duties. The reported history and responsibilities of the club's management position remained sketchy and vague until Joe Schofield's appointment as secretary in March 1920. He picked the first-team right up until his death on 29 September 1929. His successor, long-time backroom staff member Tom Morgan, was the first appointment to be referred to solely as the club's manager. From then on the club employed a full-time manager, except for the 1935–36 season, when the club attempted to do without one and were relegated as a result. Morgan led the club to their best-ever league finish, fifth in the Second Division in 1930–31. John Rudge has had the longest tenure, of fifteen years and one month (749 matches) from 1983 to 1999. This was Rudge's only role in management and he now serves as club president. He led the club to promotions in 1985–86, 1988–89 and 1993–94, as well as the Football League Trophy title in 1993. Freddie Steele was one of four men to have had two spells as manager, and in his first tenure led the club to the Third Division North title and FA Cup semi-finals in 1953–54.

The following list details the statistical record of the managers and any honours or promotions they achieved. This chronological list comprises all those who have held the position of manager of the first team of Port Vale. Each manager's entry includes his dates of tenure and the club's overall competitive record (in terms of matches won, drawn and lost), honours won and significant achievements while under his care. Caretaker managers are included, where known, as well as those who have been in permanent charge.

History[]

See also: History of Port Vale F.C.

The first man recorded to hold managerial responsibilities at the club was Sam Gleaves, who was appointed as club secretary in 1896, a position he held for nine years.[1] He was succeeded by Tommy Clare, though it was Sam Bennion at the helm when the club left the Second Division and folded at the end of the 1906–07 season.[1] Port Vale reformed in the obscurity of the North Staffordshire Federation League and it was Harry Myatt who was next recorded as first-team manager in October 1913.[1] He was soon followed by Tom Holford and Jock Cameron.[1] Vale's first major success was with Tom Morgan, who managed the club to the Third Division North title in the 1929–30 season, though he had simply carried on the work of Joe Schofield, who died on 29 September 1929 after over nine years in the post.[1] Morgan was replaced by former manager Tom Holford in June 1932, who led the club to a record high finish of eighth in the Second Division in 1933–34.[1] He was however sacked in September 1935 and not replaced, as the club reverted to selection by committee.[1] Following relegation, the club appointed former England full-back Warney Cresswell as manager-coach in May 1936.[1] He lasted just one season and Tom Morgan was reinstated in December 1937, who tendered his resignation shortly before World War II in April 1939.[1]

Jack Diffin and David Pratt both had brief spells as manager, neither men managing to balance their duties in the Royal Air Force with their club responsibilities.[1] Instead it was Billy Frith who would be the club's first post-war manager, though Gordon Hodgson replaced him in October 1946.[1] He was in charge of the team as the club moved from the Old Recreation Ground to Vale Park but unfortunately became the second talented coach to die in office as Port Vale manager when he succumbed to throat cancer on 14 June 1951.[1] Ivor Powell would prove a less than worthy successor and was sacked in November 1951 after winning just two of his 19 games in charge.[1] Freddie Steele would be the man who unlocked the potential of the young squad at his disposal, leading them to the Third Division North title and the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 1953–54 with an "Iron Curtain" defence.[1] He would though tender his resignation in January 1957 and Norman Low was unable to prevent relegation at the end of the 1956–57 season.[1] Low's attacking style brought the club the Fourth Division title in 1958–59, though he resigned in October 1962 over a transfer policy disagreement with the board of directors.[1] Steele was reappointed but proved unable to replicate his earlier success and left by mutual consent in February 1965.[1] Jackie Mudie failed to prevent relegation at the end of the 1964–65 campaign and later resigned in May 1967, citing personal reasons.[1] Football and Potteries icon, Ballon d'Or winner Stanley Matthews was made Port Vale manager in May 1967.[1] A disastrous 1967–68 season and financial scandal involving players' pay led to his resignation in May 1968 and he vowed to never work in management again.[2]

The appointment of 34-year old Gordon Lee in May 1968 revitalized the club.[1] Lee guided the club to promotion out of the Fourth Division at the end of the 1969–70 season, before he left to manage Blackburn Rovers in January 1974.[1] Club legend and record appearance holder Roy Sproson took charge in January 1974, only to leave in acrimonious circumstances in October 1977.[1] Bobby Smith was appointed as manager the following month and despite overseeing a relegation at the Vale, was hired as Swindon Town's new boss in May 1978.[1] His assistant, Dennis Butler, stepped up to the head role as the Vale and spent big on transfers with very little success.[1] Butler left by mutual consent in August 1979 and Stoke City legend Alan Bloor took the reigns, only to resign four months later after finding that management was not for him.[1] With the club at a low ebb, John McGrath took over and his strict disciplinarian style won the club a promotion in 1982–83.[1] He was unable to build on this success and left in December 1983, with relegation almost guaranteed.[1] John Rudge was promoted from assistant to manager and over the next 15 years would prove himself to be the best manager in the club's history.[1] He led the "Valiants" to promotion in 1985–86 and again in 1988–89 after success in the play-off final.[1] Though relegation came in 1991–92, he rebuilt and led the club to the Football League Trophy in 1993 and promotion back into the second tier at the end of the 1993–94 season.[1]

Rudge was sacked in January 1999 and though club legend Brian Horton kept the club up that season, relegation followed in the year 2000.[3][4] He led the club to another Football League Trophy title in 2001 and steadied the ship following a period of administration but quit with the Vale in the play-offs of the third tier in February 2004.[5] Another club legend, Martin Foyle, spent the next three years as manager before departing by mutual consent in September 2007.[6] Lee Sinnott came in two months later, the first time in 28 years someone was appointed who had not previously played or coached at the club.[7] Vale were relegated at the end of the 2007–08 season and manager Dean Glover was given the job initially on a caretaker basis in September 2008.[8] Glover fared poorly however and was sacked at the end of the 2008–09 season.[9] Micky Adams took charge in June 2009, the first experienced manager since Horton.[10] He left Vale in the promotion places to manage boyhood club Sheffield United in December 2010, but a distrarous ten week spell under Jim Gannon ended all hopes of promotion, with Gannon overseeing the shortest reign in the club's history.[11] Adams returned for a second spell in May 2011 and despite the club again entering administration he took the team to promotion out of League Two at the end of the 2012–13 season.[12] He resigned in September 2014 and his assistant, Rob Page, then had close to two seasons in charge with moderate success.[13][14] Club chairman Norman Smurthwaite then opted for a Contentinel revolution and appointed Portuguese coach Bruno Ribeiro in June 2016, the first manager born outside of Britain to manage the club on a permanent basis.[15] Ribeiro struggled and his assistant Michael Brown took over after six months.[16] Brown failed to keep the club out of the relegation zone by the end of the 2016–17 season and was sacked in September 2017.[17] Smurthwaite turned to club legend Neil Aspin, who narrowly kept the club in the Football League before resigning in January 2019.[18] John Askey, son of yet another club legend Colin Askey, took charge in February 2019.[19] The club's current manager, Darrell Clarke, was appointed in February 2021.[20]

Key[]

  • All first-team matches in national competition are counted, except the abandoned 1939–40 Football League season and matches in wartime leagues and cups.
  •    caretaker Managers with this background and symbol in the "Name" column are italicised to denote caretaker appointments.
  • Managers with the later symbol initially were caretaker-managers made into permanent appointments.
  • P = matches played; W = matches won; D = matches drawn; L = matches lost; Win % = win percentage
  • Statistics are complete up to and including the match played on 8 May 2021.

Managers[]

Table of managers, including tenure, record and honours
Name Nationality From To Record Honours Ref
P W D L Win %
Sam Gleaves  England August 1896 May 1905 262 96 60 106 36.6 [21]
Tommy Clare  England July 1905 July 1906 40 13 4 23 32.5 [21]
Sam Bennion  England July 1906 May 1907 – – – – – [22]
Harry Myatt  England October 1913 May 1914 – – – – – [23]
Tom Holford (first spell)  England May 1914 1918 – – – – – [24]
Jock Cameron  Scotland August 1918 January 1919 – – – – – [25]
Joe Schofield  England March 1920 29 September 1929 407 147 86 174 36.1 [21]
Tom Morgan (first spell)  England September 1929 May 1932 132 66 20 46 50.0 Third Division North champions: 1929–30 [21]
Tom Holford (second spell)  England June 1932 September 1935 137 47 31 59 34.3 [21]
Warneford Cresswell  England May 1936 May 1937 47 20 10 17 42.6 [21]
Tom Morgan (second spell)  England December 1937 April 1939 17 5 6 6 29.4 [21]
Jack Diffin  Ireland October 1944 December 1944 0 0 0 0 – [26]
David Pratt  Scotland December 1944 August 1945 0 0 0 0 – [26]
Billy Frith  England August 1945 October 1946 13 5 5 3 38.5 [27]
Gordon Hodgson  England October 1946 14 June 1951 222 84 54 84 37.8 [28]
Ivor Powell  Wales July 1951 November 1951 19 2 8 9 10.5 [29]
Ken Fish caretaker  South Africa November 1951 24 December 1951 4 1 2 1 25.0 [30]
Freddie Steele (first spell)  England 24 December 1951 15 January 1957 246 100 73 73 40.7 Third Division North champions: 1953–54 [31][32]
Norman Low  Scotland February 1957 October 1962 285 116 65 104 40.7 Fourth Division champions: 1958–59 [33]
Freddie Steele (second spell)  England October 1962 February 1965 123 43 32 48 40.0 [31]
Jackie Mudie  Scotland 14 March 1965 31 May 1967 114 37 30 47 32.5 [21]
Stanley Matthews  England May 1967 April 1968 49 13 15 21 26.5 [21]
Gordon Lee  England May 1968 14 January 1974 258 94 80 84 36.4 Fourth Division promotion: 1969–70 [34]
Roy Sproson later  England 14 January 1974 31 October 1977 173 54 59 60 29.9 [21]
Colin Harper caretaker  England 31 October 1977 17 November 1977 3 0 2 1 0.0 [21]
Bobby Smith  England 17 November 1977 17 May 1978 33 6 14 13 18.2 [21]
Dennis Butler  England 17 May 1978 30 August 1979 49 14 14 21 28.6 [35]
Alan Bloor later  England 30 August 1979 1 December 1979 18 5 4 9 27.8 [36]
Bill Bentley caretaker  England 1 December 1979 December 1979 1 0 0 1 0.0 [21]
John McGrath  England December 1979 5 December 1983 203 73 57 73 36.0 Fourth Division promotion: 1982–83 [21]
John Rudge later  England 5 December 1983 18 January 1999 749 278 213 258 37.1 Third Division promotion: 1985–86
Third Division play-offs: 1989
Second Division promotion: 1993–94
Football League Trophy winners: 1993 		[37][38]
Brian Horton  England 22 January 1999 12 February 2004 262 84 67 111 32.1 Football League Trophy winners: 2001 [39][40]
Martin Foyle  England 13 February 2004 26 September 2007 184 68 34 82 37.0 [41]
Dean Glover caretaker  England 26 September 2007 5 November 2007 8 2 1 5 25.0 [42]
Lee Sinnott  England 5 November 2007 22 September 2008 44 9 11 24 20.5 [43]
Dean Glover caretaker
Andy Porter caretaker 		 England
 England 		23 September 2008 6 October 2008 2 0 0 2 0.0 [42]
Dean Glover later  England 6 October 2008 2 May 2009 39 12 8 19 30.8 [42]
Micky Adams (first spell)  England 5 June 2009 30 December 2010 81 35 27 19 43.2 [44]
Mark Grew caretaker
Geoff Horsfield caretaker 		 England
 England 		30 December 2010 6 January 2011 2 1 0 1 50.0 [45][46]
Jim Gannon  Republic of Ireland 6 January 2011 21 March 2011 15 4 4 7 26.7 [47]
Mark Grew caretaker  England 21 March 2011 8 May 2011 10 2 4 4 20.0 [45]
Micky Adams (second spell)  England 13 May 2011 18 September 2014 166 67 37 62 40.4 League Two promotion: 2012–13 [44]
Rob Page later  Wales 18 September 2014 19 May 2016 93 35 20 38 37.6 [48]
Bruno Ribeiro  Portugal 20 June 2016 26 December 2016 29 10 6 13 34.5 [49]
Michael Brown later  England 26 December 2016 16 September 2017 34 6 9 19 17.6 [50]
David Kelly caretaker
Chris Morgan caretaker 		 Republic of Ireland
 England 		16 September 2017 4 October 2017 4 1 1 2 25.0 [51]
Neil Aspin  England 4 October 2017 30 January 2019 78 24 23 31 30.8 [52]
John Askey  England 4 February 2019 4 January 2021 91 34 25 32 37.4 [53]
Danny Pugh caretaker  England 4 January 2021 15 February 2021 7 2 1 4 28.6
Darrell Clarke  England 15 February 2021 Present 18 8 4 6 44.4 [54]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad Kent, Jeff (1990). The Valiants' years : the story of Port Vale. Witan. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
  2. ^ Matthews, Stanley; Scott, Les (2000), The Way It Was, Headline, p. 555, ISBN 0-7472-6427-9
  3. ^ "John Rudge – the "quiet man"". BBC Stoke & Staffordshire. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
  4. ^ "Vale slide into Division Two". BBC Sport. 28 June 2000. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
  5. ^ "Horton leaves Port Vale". BBC Sport. 12 February 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  6. ^ "Foyle and Port Vale part company". BBC Sport. 26 September 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  7. ^ "Sinnott named new Port Vale boss". BBC Sport. 5 November 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
  8. ^ "Glover named new Port Vale boss". BBC Sport. 6 October 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
  9. ^ "Glover ends Port Vale love affair". BBC Sport. 21 May 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
  10. ^ "Adams to be named Port Vale boss". BBC Sport. 4 June 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2009.
  11. ^ "Port Vale: Gannon's exit brings end to turbulent spell in club's history". The Sentinel. 22 March 2011. Archived from the original on 25 March 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  12. ^ "It will be thrills all the way at Vale Park again". The Sentinel. 23 April 2013. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  13. ^ "Robert Page: Port Vale to give caretaker boss six-week chance". BBC Sport. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  14. ^ "Rob Page: Port Vale midfielder Anthony Grant 'not surprised' at interest in manager". BBC Sport. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  15. ^ Baggaley, Mike (20 June 2016). "Valiants confirm Bruno Ribeiro is new manager". The Sentinel. Retrieved 20 June 2016.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ "Bruno Ribeiro: Port Vale manager resigns after Walsall defeat". BBC Sport. 26 December 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  17. ^ "Michael Brown: Port Vale manager leaves with club bottom of League Two". BBC Sport. 16 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  18. ^ "Neil Aspin: Port Vale manager resigns after 15 months in charge". BBC Sport. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  19. ^ "John Askey: Port Vale appoint ex-Shrewsbury & Macclesfield boss as new manager". BBC Sport. 4 February 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  20. ^ "Clarke named Vale boss after Walsall exit". BBC Sport. 15 February 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  21. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n List of Port Vale F.C. managers at the English National Football Archive (subscription required) Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  22. ^ Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 26. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  23. ^ Harry Myatt management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  24. ^ Tom Holford management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  25. ^ Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 51. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  26. ^ Jump up to: a b Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 239. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  27. ^ Billy Frith management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  28. ^ Gordon Hodgson management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  29. ^ Ivor Powell management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  30. ^ "Cult Hero 48: Ken Fish". onevalefan.co.uk. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  31. ^ Jump up to: a b Freddie Steele management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  32. ^ Sherwin, Phil; Askey, Steve (2013), Men of Steele: The story of Port Vale's stunning 1953/54 season, Pass Publishing, ISBN 978-0-9926579-1-8
  33. ^ Norman Low management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  34. ^ Gordon Lee management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  35. ^ Dennis Butler management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  36. ^ Alan Bloor management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  37. ^ John Rudge management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  38. ^ Kent, Jeff (1993). The Port Vale Record 1879–1993. Witan Books. p. 236. ISBN 0-9508981-9-8.
  39. ^ Brian Horton management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  40. ^ "Vale vault Brentford to lift Vans trophy". BBC Sport. 22 April 2001. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  41. ^ Martin Foyle management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  42. ^ Jump up to: a b c Dean Glover management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  43. ^ Lee Sinnott management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  44. ^ Jump up to: a b Micky Adams management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  45. ^ Jump up to: a b Mark Grew management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  46. ^ Geoff Horsfield management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  47. ^ Jim Gannon management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  48. ^ Robert Page management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  49. ^ Bruno Ribeiro management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  50. ^ Michael Brown management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  51. ^ Chris Morgan management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  52. ^ Neil Aspin management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  53. ^ John Aksey management career statistics at Soccerbase Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  54. ^ Darrell Clarke management career statistics at Soccerbase
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