Famous Players – The 1990’s

Tony Naylor

Striker Tony Naylor joined the Vale from neighbours Crewe Alex in July 1994 for a fee of £150,000.  Tony was one of several signings made by manager John Rudge that summer to strengthen his squad as Vale moved up to the second tier.

He quickly developed an effective strike partnership with Martin Foyle contributing 10 goals in his first season with the Valiants. In total, he managed to notch 90 goals in his seven years at the club, finishing as top scorer in each of the 1995-96, 1996–97 and 2000-01 seasons with 12, 20 and 21 goals respectively.

When Vale dropped down a division he was left out of the team but once re-instated by new manager Brian Horton he formed a formidable partnership with fellow striker Steve Brooker and finished his last season at the Vale with 20 goals.

Tony then moved to Cheltenham where he helped them to win promotion to the third tier before returning to the Vale briefly in 2004 to join manager and former teammate Martin Foyle. However, he failed to make any further appearances for the Valiants.

In May 2019 Tony was voted into the “Ultimate Port Vale XI” by members of the OneValeFan supporter website.