signings included Ipswich Town's reserve goalkeeper Mark Grew on a free, Aston Villa midfielder Ray Walker for £12,000, Sheffield United winger Paul Smith for £10,000 and Walsall striker Richard O'Kelly for £6,000. Rudge also turned down the management position at Preston North End. He also made an attempt to bring a young Steve Bull to Vale Park. After an unconvincing start to 1986–87, Rudge sold John Williams to Bournemouth for £30,000 and brought in Bob Hazell from Reading on a free. This helped transform the club's defence, while Andy Jones' fantastic record of 37 goals helped win the Vale a twelfth-place finish. The only worrying sign was a £53,373 loss, increasing the club's debt to £363,878. A major change occurred before the start of the 1987–88 season, as chairman Jim Lloyd stood down and was replaced by hard nosed businessman Bill Bell. Ten year man Russell Bromage went to Bristol City in exchange for £25,000 and Lawrie Pearson, also Jon Bowden went to Wrexham for £12,500. Coming in was striker Darren Beckford for £15,000. Going into the season, Paul Smith went to Lincoln City for £40,000, before Andy Jones was sold for a then-club-record fee of £350,000 to Charlton Athletic. £35,000 of this went towards new full-back Simon Mills. The campaign was boosted by a 'famous' 2–1 victory over top-flight Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round of the FA Cup. The cup run and sale of Jones had helped to pull in a record £410,239 profit. A boost for 1988–89 came with the sale of an unused training ground at Cobridge for £164,800. Halfway through the season, veteran Phil Sproson was advised to retire following a serious knee injury; to replace him, defender Dean Glover was signed from Middlesbrough for a club-record £200,000. The club finished third, failing to gain automatic promotion because of their worse goal difference. However they found success in the play-offs, defeating Bristol Rovers in the play-offs 2–1 on aggregate. Back in the Second Division for the first time in over twenty years, Rudge strengthened the side with £150,000 signing Neil Aspin from Leeds United, £125,000 striker Nicky Cross from Leicester City and veteran campaigner Ian Miller on a free. The 1989–90 saw many improvements being made to Vale Park, as on the pitch the team did well to establish themselves in the division. They also triumphed in the FA Cup, putting three past Derby County's