1995–96 Port Vale F.C. season

The pre-season saw John Rudge make three key signings. He bought Lee Mills from Derby County with Robin van der Laan going in the opposite direction, with Vale receiving an additional £475,000; as well as Jon McCarthy from York City for a, still club record, £500,000; and defender Andy Hill from Manchester City for £200,000. He also signed Dutch defender Jermaine Holwyn from AFC Ajax for a £5,000 fee.

The season started terribly, as Vale won just one of their opening ten league games, failing to find the net in half of these fixtures. However, the one win during this time was against the most important of opponents, rivals Stoke City at the Victoria Ground. The derby took place on 27 August, and a crowd of 14,283 witnessed Ian Bogie score the game's only goal.^[1] Their win over Huddersfield Town at the Alfred McAlpine Stadium at the start of the October was also followed by a sequence of eight games without a win, leaving the club staring relegation in the face. In November, Canadian international defender Randy Samuel signed after impressing on trial but soon was sidelined with a serious knee injury. Meanwhile, John Jeffers left the club for Stockport County. On 9 December, Vale won 3–2 at home to Reading, their second win in a row, to move themselves off the foot of the league table.^[2]

The Vale turned a corner in December and would remain one of the division's form sides until April, losing just two league games in 19 games, picking up eleven wins. A six-game winning run concluded with a 3–0 win over Barnsley on 30 March, with captain Neil Aspin saying the team was the best he'd known during his seven years at the club.^[3] The Valiants achieved their first league double over Stoke in 71 years by winning the return fixture under the floodlights on 12 March, with Bogie again the only name on the scoresheet, this time scoring within just 12 seconds of the kick-off; BBC Radio Stoke commentator George Andrews excitedly reported that "Bogie's done the business! Five seconds into the game, the Bogie Boogie has set it alight here, and the Stokies are stunned".^[1] To Stoke, Bogie lived up to his name, as he scored his second league goal of the campaign in front of a Vale Park crowd of 16,737. Vale were facing the prospect of a promotion battle to reach the top-flight of English football, the Premier League, for the first time in their history. On 2 April, Vale came back from a two goal half-time deficit at Selhurst Park to record a 2–2 draw with Crystal Palace.^[4] However, just two wins came in the final ten games, leaving Vale to settle for a top-half finish.

They finished in twelfth place with sixty points, eleven points shy of Charlton Athletic in the play-off zone, and eight points clear of Millwall in the relegation zone. Tony Naylor was the top-scorer with twelve goals in all competitions, closely followed by Martin Foyle, Andy Porter, and Jon McCarthy.

At the end of the season, Kevin Kent retired and took up a coaching role at the club. Young winger Craig Lawton had not established himself at Vale, and so was transferred to non-League Colwyn Bay. Randy Samuel was also permitted to leave for Norwegian club Harstad IL. Bradley Sandeman was another departing player, as he was given a free transfer to Rotherham United, whilst Lee Glover also joined the "Millers" for a £150,000 fee.

The club's shirt sponsors were Tunstall Assurance. Season ticket sales hit the 5,000 mark for the first time in the club's history.^[5]

In the FA Cup, Vale faced a difficult tie against Crystal Palace. After a goalless draw at Selhurst Park, the Vale advanced with a 4–3 win thanks to a brace from Ray Walker. They then faced the cup holders Everton at Goodison Park.^[6] Foyle equalized after the "Toffees" scored the opener, and Ian Bogie saved the day with a deflected goal in injury time after Everton had again taken the lead through Duncan Ferguson.^[7] This goal saved the blushes of Foyle, who missed a sitter from 6 yards (5.5 m) earlier in the game, and Paul Musselwhite, who gifted Ferguson his goal when he spilt Anders Limpar's cross.^[7] Back at Vale Park, the "Valiants" added another scalp to their collection with goals from Bogie and McCarthy to win the match 2–1.^[8] The club also took in their highest ever gate receipt total, as the game saw Vale bank £170,349. They then faced another top side away in the fifth round, Leeds United at Elland Road. A goalless draw raised hopes of another cup upset, and hopes turned to expectations as Naylor put Vale ahead in the replay. However, two goals from Gary McAllister saved United's blushes, dumping Vale out of the cup. For their efforts, John Rudge's side were handed the FA's Giantkillers award for the season.

In the League Cup, Vale faced league rivals Huddersfield Town. Despite a 2–1 victory at the Alfred McAlpine Stadium, the "Terriers" escaped from Burslem with a 3–1 victory to knock Vale out of the competition.

In the Anglo-Italian Cup, Vale drew 2–2 with Cesena, beat Ancona 2–0, and drew 0–0 with Genoa, before beating Perugia 5–3. The draw with nine-time Serie A champions and former UEFA Cup semi-finalists Genoa was seen as particularly creditable, with Musselwhite praised for some excellent close-range saves to earn his clean sheet.^[9] This took Vale through the group stage, along with Birmingham City, as they finished ahead of both Oldham Athletic and Luton Town. Facing Ipswich Town in the English semi-final, they progressed with a 4–2 win. To reach the final, they still had to beat West Bromwich Albion in a two-legged affair. They beat the "Baggies" 3–1 to become the last English team in the competition and face Genoa again, this time to decide the tournament's winner. Despite a brace from Foyle, the Serie B side were the 5–2 victors, former Italian international Gennaro Ruotolo scoring a hat-trick.

Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		League Cup / Anglo-Italian Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Paul Musselwhite	39	0	6	0	8	0	53	0
GK	Arjan van Heusden	7	0	0	0	2	0	9	0
DF	Dean Glover	29	0	2	0	4	0	35	0
DF	Neil Aspin	22	1	4	0	4	0	30	1
DF	Bradley Sandeman	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
DF	Gareth Griffiths	41	2	4	0	8	0	53	2
DF	Dean Stokes	18	0	0	0	8	0	26	0
DF	Allen Tankard	29	0	6	0	8	0	45	0
DF	Andy Hill	35	0	6	0	6	0	47	0
DF	Randy Samuel	9	1	0	0	1	0	10	1
MF	Andy Porter	45	10	6	1	10	1	61	12
MF	Ray Walker	35	0	5	2	6	0	46	2
MF	Kevin Kent	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
MF	Ian Bogie	32	3	6	2	10	0	48	5
MF	Wayne Corden	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
MF	Steve Guppy	44	4	6	0	10	1	60	5
MF	Craig Lawton	2	0	0	0	2	0	4	0
MF	Stewart Talbot	20	0	3	0	5	0	28	0
MF	Jon McCarthy	45	7	6	1	10	2	61	10
FW	Martin Foyle	25	8	4	2	5	4	34	14
FW	Lee Glover	24	3	0	0	8	3	32	6
FW	Tony Naylor	39	11	6	1	6	3	51	15
FW	Lee Mills	32	8	2	0	8	5	42	13

Place	Position	Nation	Name	First Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Anglo-Italian Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Tony Naylor	11	1	0	3	15
2	FW	England	Martin Foyle	8	2	0	4	14
3	FW	Northern Ireland	Jon McCarthy	7	1	0	2	11
–	MF	England	Andy Porter	10	1	0	1	11
–	FW	England	Lee Mills	8	0	0	5	11
6	MF	England	Ian Bogie	3	2	0	0	5
–	FW	Scotland	Lee Glover	3	0	1	2	6
–	MF	England	Steve Guppy	4	0	0	1	5
9	DF	England	Gareth Griffiths	2	0	0	0	2
–	MF	England	Ray Walker	0	2	0	0	2
11	DF	England	Neil Aspin	1	0	0	0	1
–	DF	Canada	Randy Samuel	1	0	0	0	1
–		–	Own goals	1	0	1	0	2
			TOTALS	59	9	2	18	88