Vale ended a six-season stay in the Third Division with relegation at the end of the 1964–65 campaign. In 1967, former Ballon d'Or winner Stanley Matthews succeeded Jackie Mudie as manager, though he resigned a year later after Vale were expelled from the Football League for allegedly making illegal payments to players in contravention of FA rules – this punishment was reduced on appeal to a re-election vote, which the club won. Gordon Lee took the helm following this punishment, and steered the club to promotion at the end of the 1969–70 campaign. However, the 1970s did not prove a successful period for the Valiants, as the club languished in the bottom half of the Third Division for much of the decade. Lee left in 1974, and a succession of managers failed to prevent relegation in 1977–1978. The 1979–80 season saw Port Vale finish 20th in the Fourth Division (88th overall), the club's worst ever finish. Despite this poor finish in John McGrath's first season, they eventually achieved their first success for thirteen years in 1982–83 by winning promotion out of the Fourth Division in third place.