Ray Walker (footballer, born 1963): Difference between revisions

Walker was [[Loan (sports)|loan]]ed to [[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]] [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]] for two months at the start of the [[1984–85 Port Vale F.C. season|1984–85]] season. He played fifteen games for [[John Rudge]]'s side, scoring his first goal in professional football on 15 September, in a 3–1 win over [[Torquay United F.C.|Torquay United]] at [[Plainmoor]]. He returned to [[Villa Park]] but failed to established himself in the first-team. He returned to Port Vale (now in the [[Football League Third Division|Third Division]]) on a permanent basis in July 1986 for a fee of £12,000, plus 50% of any future sale above that amount (a fee settled by a tribunal).<ref>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Jeff|title=Port Vale Tales: A Collection Of Stories, Anecdotes And Memories|publisher=Witan Books|date=December 1991|pages=262|isbn=0-9508981-6-3}}</ref><ref name="Kent" /> Aston Villa had demanded £25,000, whist Port Vale could only afford to go to a maximum of £20,000.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Baggaley |first1=Mike |title=Trying to keep season-ticket holders in a huge summer |url=https://portvalethevaliant.substack.com/p/trying-to-keep-season-ticket-holders |access-date=14 May 2024 |work=Valiant's Substack |date=13 May 2024}}</ref> He played 54 games in [[1986–87 Port Vale F.C. season|1986–87]], scoring five goals. He was voted [[Port Vale F.C. Player of the Year|Player of the Year]] by the club's supporters in [[1987–88 Port Vale F.C. season|1987–88]],<ref name="poty"/> and was also selected by the [[Professional Footballers' Association|PFA]] for the Third Division [[PFA Team of the Year|Team of the Year]].<ref name="Kent">{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Jeff|title=Port Vale Personalities|publisher=Witan Books|page=300|year=1996|isbn=0-9529152-0-0}}</ref> These awards were handed to him for his performances during his 53-game season, with one of his seven goals coming from a long-range effort against [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]] in a celebrated [[FA Cup]] Fourth Round upset.<ref name="Eng" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Fielding |first1=Rob |title=Five great Port Vale goals |url=https://www.onevalefan.co.uk/2017/03/five-great-port-vale-goals/ |access-date=5 June 2020 |work=onevalefan.co.uk |date=4 March 2017}}</ref> He handed in a [[Transfer (association football)|transfer]] request in June 1988, following rumours that the club had turned down an offer of £150,000 from [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]]; his request was rejected – much to the disappointment of [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]] [[Manager (association football)|manager]] [[Mick Mills]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Jeff|title=Port Vale Promotion Chronicle 1988–1989: Back to Where We Once Belonged!|page=22|publisher=Witan Books|year=1989|isbn=0-9508981-3-9}}</ref>