Roy Sproson - Management Career

Management Career

After manager Gordon Lee left to join Blackburn Rovers in January 1974 he advised Vale's chairman Mark Singer to appoint Sproson as his successor. Singer took this advice and appointed him caretaker-manager, before handing him the job on a permanent basis in April of the same year. At the end of 1973–74 Vale finished twentieth, one place but seven points above the drop. His insisted that the players not call him 'boss' and in the spirit of Norman Low his footballing philosophy was to go out and 'entertain the public'.

For the 1974–75 season he signed midfielders Terry Bailey and Frank Sharp, defender Garry Dulson, and goalkeeper John Connaughton. The club finished in sixth place, just four points short of promotion. However due to the club's precarious financial situation a total of thirteen players were released. He made ambition plans for the 1975–76 season, though he failed to land Wales internationals Mike England and Wyn Davies. Instead he signed striker Mick Cullerton from Stafford Rangers for £4,000, and midfielders Terry Lees (a £3,000 signing from Stoke City) and Geoff Morris (a £200 signing from Bangor City). Cullerton hit 21 goals, but Vale could not repeat their efforts of the previous season and had to make do with a twelfth place finish.

For the 1976–77 season he was forced to sell Terry Lees to Sparta Rotterdam for £25,000 (representing a £22,000 profit in the space of twelve months). He added to his squad with youngsters Ian Osborne and Kevin Kennerley, and experienced midfielder Geoff Davies. After Cullerton suffered a cartilage injury he signed Ken Beamish for a £12,000 fee from Blackburn Rovers, as well as former Wigan Athletic forward John Rogers for 'a small fee'. His team struggled with poor discipline – Rotherham manager Jimmy McGuigan claimed Vale were 'the worst exhibition of football thuggery I have ever seen'. Mid-way through the season Sproson sold two more key players: striker Ray Williams went into non-league football for 'a small fee' and midfielder Colin Tartt joined Chesterfield for £15,000. Sproson brought in Alan Lamb from Preston North End and Peter Sutcliffe from Stockport County for a combined outlay of £8,000. Ultimately though, the loss of star midfielder Brian Horton to Brighton for £30,000 in March 1976 was something Sproson proved unable to remedy. Nevertheless relegation was narrowly avoided at the end of 1976–77, as his side finished nineteenth, three points above the drop.

There was unrest at Port Vale at the start of 1977–78, as Sammy Morgan and David Harris were so upset by the low wages they were offered that they refused to play for the club. Sproson brought in three players on free transfers: Jeff Hemmerman, Grahame McGifford, and Bill Bentley. However at a meeting on 28 June, Sproson was severely criticized for his supposed poor judgement of players and for seeming to place greater priority on his newsagent business than the club. The Sentinel reported that "there is disenchantment in the air", and there were rumours that former Stoke manager Tony Waddington would be brought in to replace Sproson. Sproson was sacked in October 1977 after a poor run of results. His replacement Bobby Smith failed to rescue Vale from relegation despite making numerous signings. England manager Don Revie had predicted such a fate when he said at a dinner that "English football suffers from the same complaint all the time. You've got two local lads here as your management team . I'll tell you now, you won't give them enough money to get out of this division, but eventually you'll give them both the sack and then you'll give the next manager the lot."

Sproson refused the club's offer of "an executive position dealing with the club's youth policy". Taking his name plate off his office door "to spare anyone else the bother", it was clear his sacking had upset him greatly. Leaving under a cloud, he refused to return to the club whilst those that had sacked him remained in the boardroom. The next month he promised to help the club "in any capacity", though never returned to Vale Park again.

"A manager can smell the end of his time. The whole club reeks of an imminent sacking. Not that they actually say: 'You're bloody fired!' It's all innuendo and muttering – 'Things aren't going well, are they?' But you know they're after your blood, and if truth were told you've already had your bags packed for weeks. —Sproson could feel the pressure from the boardroom long before he was sacked.