1920–21 Port Vale F.C. season explained

Club:Port Vale
Season:1920–21
Manager:Joe Schofield
Chairman:Frank Huntbach
Stadium:The Old Recreation Ground
League:Football League
League Result:17th (36 Points)
Cup1:FA Cup
Cup1 Result:Sixth Qualification Round
Cup2: Infirmary Cup
Cup2 Result:Runners-up
(knocked out by Stoke)
League Topscorer:Bobby Blood (20)
Season Topscorer:Bobby Blood (20)
Highest Attendance:20,000 vs Rotherham County, 11 September 1920
Stoke, 25 September 1920
Lowest Attendance:
Stockport County, 11 December 1920
Fulham, 16 April 1921
Birmingham, 7 May 1921
Average Attendance:14,143+
Largest Win:6–1 vs. Stockport County, 11 December 1920
Largest Loss:1–6 vs. South Shields, 23 October 1920
Pattern So1:_2 white stripes
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Body1:ffffff
Rightarm1:ffffff
Shorts1:000000
Socks1:000000
Prevseason:1919–20
Nextseason:1921–22

The 1920–21 season was Port Vale's second consecutive season of football (15th overall) in the English Football League.[1] The season peaked early with a double victory in the league over rivals Stoke, however, any sense of euphoria evaporated in February with the sale of star striker Bobby Blood. The club failed to find another reliable goalscorer until the arrival of Wilf Kirkham in 1923. The Vale finished at the bottom end of the table, though they did finish higher in the league than Stoke for the first time in their history.

Overview

Second Division

During the pre-season, manager-secretary Joe Schofield stated that: "the future policy of Port Vale is to go ahead". He duly signed experienced full-back Bob Pursell, brother of Peter, from Liverpool. The capacity of The Old Recreation Ground was increased to 30,000; mainly due to the fundraising activities of the Supporters' Club. Of the 1919–20 squad, only William Aitken was let go, for a fee of £2,500 to Newcastle United. That money helped to pay for £400 Tom Page from St Mirren, and right-half Freddy Price from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The season started positively enough; a 2–0 win over new club Leeds United helped to establish a start of six points from the opening six games. On 25 September, the "Valiants" delighted their fans by recording their first league victory over rivals Stoke in 'a stirring duel' which ended 2–1. The following week they achieved the double over Stoke by recording a 1–0 victory at the Victoria Ground. This encouraged fans to travel in their numbers to see the team beat Nottingham Forest 4–1 at the City Ground. Injuries to Price and Brough then saw the team slump, and this continued when new signing, Manchester City goalkeeper Walter Smith was arrested for assault on the day of his debut. The arrest is likely to account for a majority of the six goals he conceded that day at South Shields. The side recovered to record heavy victories over Hull City and Stockport County, with Bobby Blood scoring six of Vale's ten goals in the two games. Vale lost both their games to Bristol City, though Blood demonstrated his fearsome shooting power by blasting a penalty kick at City's keeper – the keeper saved the penalty to keep a clean sheet but broke his wrist in the process of saving the shot. Blood was sold to West Bromwich Albion for £4,000 in February – then a club record for both clubs. The effect on the pitch was telling, as Vale went on to record just two wins in their remaining sixteen games, with a meagre six goals scored. One of the victories was a 'flash in the pan' win over FA Cup semi-finalists Cardiff City. Cardiff fielded a weakened team and watched in bewilderment as Page scored the winning goal from the penalty spot, stubbing his foot in the process.

At the end of the season, Vale finished six points ahead of relegated Stockport County but 22 points behind the promotion places. Only a handful of teams had lost fewer away matches than Vale. However, Vale boasted fewer home wins than any other club in the league, and even with Blood in the side, the club struggled to find goals.

A core of six players formed the spine of the team: Peter and Bob Pursell, with Tom Lyons in defence; Joe Brough at half-back; with Billy Briscoe and Tom Page in forward positions. Page contributed to the goals tally, but Blood was the sole hope in front of goal, racking up 20 goals in 25 league games before his transfer. In addition to the Pursell brothers, Harry and John Johnstone also made sporadic appearances; in one match, both the Pursell brothers and the Johnstone brothers took to the field.

Finances

The issue of finance reared its head in September with an appeal for greater support from chairman Frank Huntbach. The chairman emphasised the club's potential and pleaded for the remaining £4,500 worth of shares to be snapped up. The Pursell brothers were so affected by the speech that they bought £5 worth of shares. The club later received a £70 boost when supporters bought copies of "The Port Vale War-Cry", though more significant was the elevated noise level as supporters sang the cry throughout matches. Vale's weather-conscious supporters would turn up in their number during sunshine but were somewhat unreliable during the winter. The club were desperate to increase ground capacity but was already facing worrying financial times despite the club debt falling to £800. Though the sale of Blood raised considerable funds, fans were outraged, especially as Schofield and the directors refused to comment. Blood was told by the club that either "[he] went or the club". At the end of the season, a £1,187 profit was recorded.

Cup competitions

The club failed to qualify for the FA Cup, losing their qualification match with league rivals Clapton Orient. The North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup went to Stoke, who claimed victory with a 5–3 win at The Old Recreation Ground.

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Football League Second Division

See main article: 1920–21 Football League.

Matches

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
28 August 1920 Leeds UnitedH2–015,000Page, Blood
30 August 1920 Coventry CityA0–020,000
4 September 1920 Leeds UnitedA1–316,000Blood
6 September 1920 Coventry CityH0–012,000
11 September 1920 Rotherham CountyH1–120,000Blood
18 September 1920 Rotherham CountyA1–112,000Brough
25 September 1920 StokeH2–120,000Page, Briscoe
2 October 1920 StokeA1–026,500Blood
9 October 1920 Nottingham ForestA4–115,000Blood (2), Page, Briscoe
16 October 1920 Nottingham ForestH0–117,000
23 October 1920 South ShieldsA1–618,000Blood
30 October 1920 South ShieldsH0–215,000
6 November 1920 Hull CityA1–112,000Wootton
13 November 1920 Hull CityH4–015,000Blood (2 [1 pen]), Page, Price
20 November 1920 Wolverhampton WanderersA2–216,000Blood (pen), Briscoe
27 November 1920 Wolverhampton WanderersH2–310,000Fitchford, Blood (pen)
4 December 1920 Stockport CountyA0–08,000
11 December 1920 Stockport CountyH6–110,000Blood (4 [1 pen]), Holford, Page
25 December 1920 Bristol CityH0–216,000
27 December 1920 Bristol CityA0–334,710
1 January 1921 Clapton OrientH4–012,000Blood (2), Wootton, Page
15 January 1921 The WednesdayH1–012,000Blood (pen)
22 January 1921 The WednesdayA0–120,000
29 January 1921 BuryA0–110,000
5 February 1921 BuryH3–012,000Blood (2), Fitchford
12 February 1921 Notts CountyH1–216,000Page
19 February 1921 Notts CountyA1–014,000Page
26 February 1921 BlackpoolH0–118,000
5 March 1921 BlackpoolA0–17,000
12 March 1921 Leicester CityH0–015,000
19 March 1921 Leicester CityA0–015,000
25 March 1921 BarnsleyH1–113,000Fitchford
26 March 1921 Cardiff CityA2–130,000Cartledge, Page
28 March 1921 BarnsleyA0–312,000
2 April 1921 Cardiff CityH0–017,000
9 April 1921 FulhamA0–118,000
16 April 1921 FulhamH0–010,000
23 April 1921 West Ham UnitedA1–120,000Johnstone
25 April 1921 Clapton OrientA0–015,000
30 April 1921 West Ham UnitedH1–212,000Perry
2 May 1921 BirminghamA0–435,000
7 May 1921 BirminghamH0–210,000

FA Cup

See main article: 1920–21 FA Cup.

!Round!!Date!!Opponent!!Venue!!Result!!Attendance!!Goalscorers
6Q18 December 1920 Clapton OrientA0–116,000

North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup

!Round!!Date!!Opponent!!Venue!!Result!!Attendance!!Goalscorers
Final9 May 1921StokeH3–53,500Briscoe (2), Hayes

Player statistics

Appearances

Pos.NameFootball LeagueFA CupOtherTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK Jonathan Hammond40000040
GK Walter Smith2801000290
GK Alfred Bourne1000010110
DF Peter Pursell3401000350
DF Bob Pursell3801000390
DF Tom Lyons3101010320
DF Len Birks10001020
MF James Wootton2421000252
MF Arthur McGarry30000030
MF Ernest Perry1810010191
MF Tom Holford2311010251
MF Joe Brough3111010331
MF Billy Fitchford2530000253
MF James Hill30000030
MF Frank Simon30000030
MF Freddy Price1910000191
MFArthur Poole901000100
MF Frank Newman2000000200
MF Jack Mellor90000090
MF Harry Johnstone81000081
MF Ernest Collinge00000010
MFF. Crook00000010
MFA.G.Evans00000010
FW Billy Briscoe3531012375
FW Bobby Blood252010002620
FW William Wilson20000020
FW Tom Page3991010419
FW Andrew Livingston10000010
FW John Johnstone30000030
FW Albert Hayes10001121
FWJohn Davis10000010
FW Frank Cartledge1410000141
FW Henry Johnston00000000
FW Alfred Jones00000000
FW Willie Page00000000

Top scorers

width=60Placewidth=60Positionwidth=180Nationwidth=150Namewidth=80Second Divisionwidth=80FA Cupwidth=80Infirmary Cupwidth=80Total
1FWBobby Blood200020
2FWTom Page9009
3FWBilly Briscoe3025
4MFBilly Fitchford3003
5MFJames Wootton2002
6MFErnest Perry1001
MFTom Holford1001
MFJoe Brough1001
MFFreddy Price1001
MFHarry Johnstone1001
FWAlbert Hayes0011
FWFrank Cartledge1001
Own goals0000
TOTALS430346

Transfers

Transfers in

Date fromPositionNationalityNameFromFeeRef.
May 1920 DF Butt Lane Star Free transfer [2]
June 1920 FW Liverpool Badgers Free transfer
June 1920 FW £400
July 1920 DF Free transfer
August 1920 MF Free transfer
September 1920 MF Free transfer
October 1920 GK 'modest'
November 1920 FW Ravensdale Mission Free transfer
December 1920 MF Free transfer
February 1921 FW Free transfer
March 1921 FW Free transfer

Transfers out

Date fromPositionNationalityNameToFeeRef.
February 1921 FW £4,000
May 1921 DF Released
Summer 1921 GK Released
Summer 1921 MF Released
Summer 1921 FW Released
Summer 1921 MF Released
Summer 1921 MF Released
Summer 1921 MF Free transfer
Summer 1921 MF Released
Summer 1921 MF Released
Summer 1921 FW Released

References

Specific
General

Notes and References

  1. Book: Kent, Jeff. The Valiants' Years The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. 1990. 98–123. Keeping in Good Company (1919-1929). 0-9508981-4-7.
  2. Book: Kent, Jeff. Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. 1996. 0-9529152-0-0.