memries of Port Vale

[Russ]

There have been some significant games between Sheffield United and Port Vale. Many of us will remember the night match against them where we lost 1-3 and were a shambles. Only around 8,500 fans went to that game, although for some reason nearly every Blade you speak to will tell you they were there! Not sure why that is, anyone? I was there, LOL, I think I stayed awake the whole match too. One significant memory I have of that is when Kozluk had no one near him but he sliced a cross into row zed of the kop, which led to a chorus of boos!

However our first ever match against Port Vale was the best. It was away from home and finished Burslem Port Vale 0 Sheffield United 10 which is still the record for a league away win as at today. I remember reading a story which said the port vale goalkeeper lost his spectacles during the match!

As per wiki:

The 1892–93 season was Burslem Port Vale's first season of football in the Football League. The club were founding members of the Football League Second Division, the First Division having been in operation for four seasons prior to 1892–93. A learning curve for the club, it marked the first of four seasons of struggle in what was rapidly becoming the second tier of the strongest league in the world. This learning curve was punctuated by the biggest league defeat in the club's history, a 10–0 humiliation in a snowstorm at home to Sheffield United on 10 December 1892, still a Football League record for a home defeat.[1]
Other than the record defeat (which saw right-half Billy Delves play in goal[1]), and two away performances where five goals were conceded, the Vale were competitive in most matches, winning three of their games by at least a three goal margin. If not for the capitulation to Sheffield United then the club would have had one of the better defensive records in the league.

History of results between the two I have found;

http://www.sunderland-mad.co.uk/head_to_head/sheffield_united/vs/port_vale/index.shtml

Lets just hope for a simple 2 - 0 tomorrow and three points!

 

[Billyblade]

Three words
Gareth, Ainsworth, twat
Last one censored in case Darren's "Women" thread fetched some out of the woodwork.

 

[Grecian2000]

Remember going there for the first time in Div 4, and Edwards scoring a cracker as we won 2-0 (or was it 2-1?). There was fighting all over the place that day, inside the ground and out.

My personal favourite though was in the 88-89 promotion from the third tier.
We were vying for top spot with Vale when we visited Burslem on a Monday night. The lead changed hands a couple of times with both sets of fans singing "top of the league" when they went in front. Ended 3-3 and pretty sure Deano scored to equalise. Top game.

 

[Darren]

Remember going there for the first time in Div 4, and Edwards scoring a cracker as we won 2-0 (or was it 2-1?). There was fighting all over the place that day, inside the ground and out.

My personal favourite though was in the 88-89 promotion from the third tier.
We were vying for top spot with Vale when we visited Burslem on a Monday night. The lead changed hands a couple of times with both sets of fans singing "top of the league" when they went in front. Ended 3-3 and pretty sure Deano scored to equalise. Top game.

The 4th division game was 10th October 1981 and we did indeed win 2-0. Edwards scored a long range opener and Paul Richardson got the 2nd in a goal mouth scramble. The game was on ITV.

The 88-89 one was on 24/10/88. Francis Joseph put us 1-0 up, then Vale took a 3-1 lead. Duffield got one back immediately from the kick off after Vale's 3rd, then a bit later one, Deane latched onto a dodgy back pass and lobbed the keeper from about 30 yards.

 

[axel smeets]

The Heath game was around 23rd Nov 99 and I'm sure the attendance was 8965. As mentioned before, the number of Blades who claim they were there means we must have had a ground the size of Old Trafford that night.

 

[Kendal]

Remember going there for the first time in Div 4, and Edwards scoring a cracker as we won 2-0 (or was it 2-1?). There was fighting all over the place that day, inside the ground and out.

That was my one & only game in the 'posh' south stand. Can't for the life of me remember why my dad paid all that extra money - Short arms & deep pockets was never more apt. ;-) My dodgy memory had it down as an easy win with a pitch invasion - obviously the passage of time effects the little grey cells.

Just realised you're all talking about away...

 

[Blade for Sale]

The 4th division game was 10th October 1981 and we did indeed win 2-0. Edwards scored a long range opener and Paul Richardson got the 2nd in a goal mouth scramble. The game was on ITV.

The 88-89 one was on 24/10/88. Francis Joseph put us 1-0 up, then Vale took a 3-1 lead. Duffield got one back immediately from the kick off after Vale's 3rd, then a bit later one, Deane latched onto a dodgy back pass and lobbed the keeper from about 30 yards.

The footage of that match on the 100 years 100 goals video is the worst quality I have ever seen! All you can see are red blobs and white blobs, it's like a 1981 computer game.

 

[Racy]

Remember going there for the first time in Div 4, and Edwards scoring a cracker as we won 2-0 (or was it 2-1?). There was fighting all over the place that day, inside the ground and out.

My personal favourite though was in the 88-89 promotion from the third tier.
We were vying for top spot with Vale when we visited Burslem on a Monday night. The lead changed hands a couple of times with both sets of fans singing "top of the league" when they went in front. Ended 3-3 and pretty sure Deano scored to equalise. Top game.

Remember that one in Div4 spent allthe game in a mobile cell

Happy Days

 

[Bladesway]

Saunders and bouncing the ball off Keepers bum from a throw in. All you ever need to know.

 

[raul]

Being absolute shite for 90 mins and scoring twice in inj time to knock them out of the Cup last year. Poor quickfix.

Pot off the broken foot on the Thursday, hobbling round Sheffield on the Sat. Massive Blade. See you all tomorr....oh

Well, Bladesway anyway.

 

[Coily]

The two I remember most from home games, were in 1989 and 1990.

The 1989 game was a midweek game played in near monsoon conditions and despite plenty of tension was pretty much a non-event as a spectacle. I do remember the Flashing Blade description of Steve Thompson as being like a hippo in the cloying mud.

The 1990 game as featured on "United!" was for the most part a dire affair. Gannon was stretchered off, Vale scored early in the second half, and for much of the game we didn't look like getting back into it. But after bundling one home with 10 to go, Deano slammed home the winner in injury time to send everyone at the Lane barmy. Except Vale fans, but who gives a fuck about them.

 

[Pollingtonblade]

The two I remember most from home games, were in 1989 and 1990.

The 1989 game was a midweek game played in near monsoon conditions and despite plenty of tension was pretty much a non-event as a spectacle. I do remember the Flashing Blade description of Steve Thompson as being like a hippo in the cloying mud.

The 1990 game as featured on "United!" was for the most part a dire affair. Gannon was stretchered off, Vale scored early in the second half, and for much of the game we didn't look like getting back into it. But after bundling one home with 10 to go, Deano slammed home the winner in injury time to send everyone at the Lane barmy. Except Vale fans, but who gives a fuck about them.

I remember the away game in 1988, why was it played on a Monday night? Unusual in them days, yeah the home game was a drab 0-0 after we'd beat Blackpool the previous Saturday 4-1.

 

[Darren]

The two I remember most from home games, were in 1989 and 1990.

The 1989 game was a midweek game played in near monsoon conditions and despite plenty of tension was pretty much a non-event as a spectacle. I do remember the Flashing Blade description of Steve Thompson as being like a hippo in the cloying mud.

The 1990 game as featured on "United!" was for the most part a dire affair. Gannon was stretchered off, Vale scored early in the second half, and for much of the game we didn't look like getting back into it. But after bundling one home with 10 to go, Deano slammed home the winner in injury time to send everyone at the Lane barmy. Except Vale fans, but who gives a fuck about them.

That 1990 game was immensley important as, after being in the top 2 all season, we had lost 2nd place to Newcastle on Easter Monday after the whopping at Leeds. We played Vale the following Saturday and, as Newcastle only drew that day, that injury time winner put us back in 2nd with 3 games to play....

 

[Pollingtonblade]

That 1990 game was immensley important as, after being in the top 2 all season, we had lost 2nd place to Newcastle on Easter Monday after the whopping at Leeds. We played Vale the following Saturday and, as Newcastle only drew that day, that injury time winner put us back in 2nd with 3 games to play....

Mcabe would have sacked Bassett after Leeds game!!!!

 

[LardSardine]

I've read so many posts about the 1-3 Heath game and the Kozluk 'shot' over the years that it actually seems as if I was there. I can visualise the shot, even though I actually have no idea anymore whether I was there or not!
Maybe that accounts for why it seems like it should have been an attendance of 100,000!

 

[Bert]

I've read so many posts about the 1-3 Heath game and the Kozluk 'shot' over the years that it actually seems as if I was there. I can visualise the shot, even though I actually have no idea anymore whether I was there or not!
Maybe that accounts for why it seems like it should have been an attendance of 100,000!

It was a "cross" from Kozluk, at least that's what it looked like from the BLUT. At that point Bert jumped to his feet and advised Kozluk where to go and what to do with himself when he got there. Bert never did like him.

 

[dublin 10 blade]

Mcabe would have sacked Bassett after Leeds game!!!!

Good old Bobby D. From villian to hero in such a short space of time .

 

[judge]

I wasnt there

 

[brownie4583]

The 4th division game was 10th October 1981 and we did indeed win 2-0. Edwards scored a long range opener and Paul Richardson got the 2nd in a goal mouth scramble. The game was on ITV.

The 88-89 one was on 24/10/88. Francis Joseph put us 1-0 up, then Vale took a 3-1 lead. Duffield got one back immediately from the kick off after Vale's 3rd, then a bit later one, Deane latched onto a dodgy back pass and lobbed the keeper from about 30 yards.

I went to the 2-0 game in 1981 on crutches as i had a broken leg due to a motorbike accident in the August of that year,i was 16 at the time!

 

[The Fox]

The itv big match on the Sunday showed me and a mate celebrating the Edwards goal so clearly we were were famous at school for all of 5 minutes.

As for the trouble , I remember a tranny van was attacked by vale fans only for a blade to emerge armed with a tin of paint and peruse his attackers . Possibly the most ridiculous weapon ever used in 80's football violence

 

[Bath Blade]

I remember a 3-2 win at Vale Park in about 1999. We'd been almost twelve months without an away win before winning at Oxford in the rain the week before. Andy Goram was in goal for both matches and I have a feeling Vale equalised late on before we got an even later winner (possibly Saunders). I'm sure one of you can confirm the details.

 

[Darren]

I remember a 3-2 win at Vale Park in about 1999. We'd been almost twelve months without an away win before winning at Oxford in the rain the week before. Andy Goram was in goal for both matches and I have a feeling Vale equalised late on before we got an even later winner (possibly Saunders). I'm sure one of you can confirm the details.

Correct. The Oxford game was on 24/10/98 and we won 2-0 with goals from Saunders and Katchuro and we won 3-2 at Vale the following week with goals from Stuart, Katchuro and Saunders with Saunders' winner coming in the last minute.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

I remember going there and losing , 1-0 I think. Utterly forgettable but for a son of a friend who went with us getting kicked by a police horse....we laughed!

 

[themaninblack]

I remember going there and losing , 1-0 I think. Utterly forgettable but for a son of a friend who went with us getting kicked by a police horse....we laughed!

Weren't Port Vale sponsored by PMT at the time?

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

The itv big match on the Sunday showed me and a mate celebrating the Edwards goal so clearly we were were famous at school for all of 5 minutes.

As for the trouble , I remember a tranny van was attacked by vale fans only for a blade to emerge armed with a tin of paint and peruse his attackers . Possibly the most ridiculous weapon ever used in 80's football violence

Not if it was blue, no one would want to be blue

 

[brownie4583]

I remember attending a Blades game at Vale Park and Robbie Williams was up in the stand...dunno what year though,maybe the 90's

 

[grafikhaus]

Weren't Port Vale sponsored by PMT at the time?

For younger viewers, that was Potteries Motor Traction (the kind of snazzy name that coach firms used back then, but not a patch on Sheffield United Tours).

 

[oldblade]

Around Christmas time during the 1983-4 season we were away at Port Vale. They hadn't won since the birth of Christ and we were well placed in the fight for promotion. An obvious three points for us we all thought.

What unfolded on the pitch had to be seen to be believed. We were far worse than dreadful and lost 2-0. However, Port Vale did even things up at the tail end of the season by beating Hull in an evening game. That was an absolutely critical result as far as we were concerned. Promotion had seemed lost until that result came in.