An extremely poor defence saw some embarrassing scorelines away from home, and the lack of a consistent goalscorer was also a cause for concern.

A rather quiet pre-season saw no signings of note, however, past player, outside-right Dick Evans re-signed from Southampton in September.

[1] This return was ended in his second game of the season – a Staffordshire Senior Cup defeat to Wolves – when he suffered a career-ending injury.

However, in defensive terms the season was awful, their 72 conceded would always guarantee a battle against dropping into the lottery of the re-election zones.

[1] The financial outlook was as grim as ever, as directors were forced to sell Ernest Mullineux and Tom Simpson to Bury for £600 and £200 respectively.

[1] They found rather more success in the Birmingham Senior Cup, where Vale defeated rivals Stoke with a Tom Simpson hat-trick at home, following a goalless draw at the Victoria Ground.