1920–21 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale
1920–21 season
Chairman	Frank Huntbach
Manager	Joe Schofield
Stadium	The Old Recreation Ground
Football League Second Division	17th (36 Points)
FA Cup	Sixth Qualification Round; (knocked out by Clapton Orient)
North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup	Runners-up; (knocked out by Stoke)
Top goalscorer	League: Bobby Blood (20); All: Bobby Blood (20)
Highest home attendance	20,000 vs Rotherham County, 11 September 1920; Stoke, 25 September 1920
Lowest home attendance	10,000 vs Wolverhampton Wanderers, 27 November 1920; Stockport County, 11 December 1920; Fulham, 16 April 1921; Birmingham, 7 May 1921
Average home league attendance	14,143+
Biggest win	6–1 vs. Stockport County, 11 December 1920
Biggest defeat	1–6 vs. South Shields, 23 October 1920
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1919–20 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".^[1] He duly signed experienced full-back Bob Pursell, brother of Peter, from Liverpool.^[1] The capacity of The Old Recreation Ground was increased to 30,000; mainly due to the fundraising activities of the Supporters' Club.^[1] Of the 1919–20 squad, only William Aitken was let go, for a fee of £2,500 to Newcastle United.^[1] That money helped to pay for £400 Tom Page from St Mirren, and right-half Freddy Price from Wolverhampton Wanderers.^[1]

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.^[1] 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.^[1] The following week they achieved the double over Stoke by recording a 1–0 victory at the Victoria Ground.^[1] This encouraged fans to travel in their numbers to see the team beat Nottingham Forest 4–1 at the City Ground.^[1] 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.^[1] The arrest is likely to account for a majority of the six goals he conceded that day at South Shields.^[1] 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.^[1] 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.^[1] Blood was sold to West Bromwich Albion for £4,000 in February – then a club record for both clubs.^[1] 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.^[1] 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.^[1]

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.^[1]

Finances

The issue of finance reared its head in September with an appeal for greater support from chairman Frank Huntbach.^[1] The chairman emphasised the club's potential and pleaded for the remaining £4,500 worth of shares to be snapped up.^[1] The Pursell brothers were so affected by the speech that they bought £5 worth of shares.^[1] 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.^[1] Vale's weather-conscious supporters would turn up in their number during sunshine but were somewhat unreliable during the winter.^[1] The club were desperate to increase ground capacity but was already facing worrying financial times despite the club debt falling to £800.^[1] 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".^[1] At the end of the season, a £1,187 profit was recorded.^[1]

Cup competitions

The club failed to qualify for the FA Cup, losing their qualification match with league rivals Clapton Orient.^[1] The North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup went to Stoke, who claimed victory with a 5–3 win at The Old Recreation Ground.^[1]

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
15	Wolverhampton Wanderers	42	16	6	20	49	66	0.742	38
16	Barnsley	42	10	16	16	48	50	0.960	36
17	Port Vale	42	11	14	17	43	49	0.878	36
18	Nottingham Forest	42	12	12	18	48	55	0.873	36
19	Rotherham County	42	12	12	18	37	53	0.698	36

Source: ^[2]

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Football League Second Division

Results by matchday

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42
Ground	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H
Result	W	D	L	D	D	D	W	W	W	L	L	L	D	W	D	L	D	W	L	L	W	W	L	L	W	L	W	L	L	D	D	D	W	L	D	L	D	D	D	L	L	L
Position	1	3	10	10	8	11	10	5	4	5	10	13	15	11	10	10	12	9	12	15	14	11	13	13	12	15	12	14	15	15	15	16	11	13	12	13	17	15	14	15	15	17

Source: Statto^[3]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
28 August 1920	Leeds United	H	2–0	15,000	Page, Blood
30 August 1920	Coventry City	A	0–0	20,000
4 September 1920	Leeds United	A	1–3	16,000	Blood
6 September 1920	Coventry City	H	0–0	12,000
11 September 1920	Rotherham County	H	1–1	20,000	Blood
18 September 1920	Rotherham County	A	1–1	12,000	Brough
25 September 1920	Stoke	H	2–1	20,000	Page, Briscoe
2 October 1920	Stoke	A	1–0	26,500	Blood
9 October 1920	Nottingham Forest	A	4–1	15,000	Blood (2), Page, Briscoe
16 October 1920	Nottingham Forest	H	0–1	17,000
23 October 1920	South Shields	A	1–6	18,000	Blood
30 October 1920	South Shields	H	0–2	15,000
6 November 1920	Hull City	A	1–1	12,000	Wootton
13 November 1920	Hull City	H	4–0	15,000	Blood (2 [1 pen]), Page, Price
20 November 1920	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	2–2	16,000	Blood (pen), Briscoe
27 November 1920	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	2–3	10,000	Fitchford, Blood (pen)
4 December 1920	Stockport County	A	0–0	8,000
11 December 1920	Stockport County	H	6–1	10,000	Blood (4 [1 pen]), Holford, Page
25 December 1920	Bristol City	H	0–2	16,000
27 December 1920	Bristol City	A	0–3	34,710
1 January 1921	Clapton Orient	H	4–0	12,000	Blood (2), Wootton, Page
15 January 1921	The Wednesday	H	1–0	12,000	Blood (pen)
22 January 1921	The Wednesday	A	0–1	20,000
29 January 1921	Bury	A	0–1	10,000
5 February 1921	Bury	H	3–0	12,000	Blood (2), Fitchford
12 February 1921	Notts County	H	1–2	16,000	Page
19 February 1921	Notts County	A	1–0	14,000	Page
26 February 1921	Blackpool	H	0–1	18,000
5 March 1921	Blackpool	A	0–1	7,000
12 March 1921	Leicester City	H	0–0	15,000
19 March 1921	Leicester City	A	0–0	15,000
25 March 1921	Barnsley	H	1–1	13,000	Fitchford
26 March 1921	Cardiff City	A	2–1	30,000	Cartledge, Page
28 March 1921	Barnsley	A	0–3	12,000
2 April 1921	Cardiff City	H	0–0	17,000
9 April 1921	Fulham	A	0–1	18,000
16 April 1921	Fulham	H	0–0	10,000
23 April 1921	West Ham United	A	1–1	20,000	Johnstone
25 April 1921	Clapton Orient	A	0–0	15,000
30 April 1921	West Ham United	H	1–2	12,000	Perry
2 May 1921	Birmingham	A	0–4	35,000
7 May 1921	Birmingham	H	0–2	10,000

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
6Q	18 December 1920	Clapton Orient	A	0–1	16,000

North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
Final	9 May 1921	Stoke	H	3–5	3,500	Briscoe (2), Hayes

Player statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		Other		Total
Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Jonathan Hammond	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
GK	Walter Smith	28	0	1	0	0	0	29	0
GK	Alfred Bourne	10	0	0	0	1	0	11	0
DF	Peter Pursell	34	0	1	0	0	0	35	0
DF	Bob Pursell	38	0	1	0	0	0	39	0
DF	Tom Lyons	31	0	1	0	1	0	32	0
DF	Len Birks	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
MF	James Wootton	24	2	1	0	0	0	25	2
MF	Arthur McGarry	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
MF	Ernest Perry	18	1	0	0	1	0	19	1
MF	Tom Holford	23	1	1	0	1	0	25	1
MF	Joe Brough	31	1	1	0	1	0	33	1
MF	Billy Fitchford	25	3	0	0	0	0	25	3
MF	James Hill	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
MF	Frank Simon	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
MF	Freddy Price	19	1	0	0	0	0	19	1
MF	Arthur Poole	9	0	1	0	0	0	10	0
MF	Frank Newman	20	0	0	0	0	0	20	0
MF	Jack Mellor	9	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
MF	Harry Johnstone	8	1	0	0	0	0	8	1
MF	Ernest Collinge	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
MF	F. Crook	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
MF	A.G.Evans	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Billy Briscoe	35	3	1	0	1	2	37	5
FW	Bobby Blood	25	20	1	0	0	0	26	20
FW	William Wilson	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
FW	Tom Page	39	9	1	0	1	0	41	9
FW	Andrew Livingston	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
FW	John Johnstone	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
FW	Albert Hayes	1	0	0	0	1	1	2	1
FW	John Davis	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Frank Cartledge	14	1	0	0	0	0	14	1
FW	Henry Johnston	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW	Alfred Jones	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW	Willie Page	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Second Division	Infirmary Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Bobby Blood	20	0	20
2	FW	England	Tom Page	9	0	9
3	FW	England	Billy Briscoe	3	2	5
4	MF	England	Billy Fitchford	3	0	3
5	MF	England	James Wootton	2	0	2
6	MF	England	Ernest Perry	1	0	1
–	MF	England	Tom Holford	1	0	1
–	MF	England	Joe Brough	1	0	1
–	MF	England	Freddy Price	1	0	1
–	MF	England	Harry Johnstone	1	0	1
–	FW	England	Albert Hayes	0	1	1
–	FW	England	Frank Cartledge	1	0	1
–	–	–	Own goals	0	0	0
			TOTALS	43	3	46

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
May 1920	DF	Len Birks	Butt Lane Star	Free transfer	^[4]
June 1920	FW	Albert Hayes	Liverpool Badgers	Free transfer	^[4]
June 1920	FW	Tom Page	St Mirren	£400	^[4]
July 1920	DF	Frank Simon	Crewe Alexandra	Free transfer	^[4]
August 1920	MF	Freddy Price	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Free transfer	^[4]
September 1920	MF	Arthur Poole	Mossley	Free transfer	^[4]
October 1920	GK	Walter Smith	Manchester City	'modest'	^[4]
November 1920	FW	Frank Cartledge	Ravensdale Mission	Free transfer	^[4]
December 1920	MF	Frank Newman	Aston Villa	Free transfer	^[4]
February 1921	FW	William Wilson	Portsmouth	Free transfer	^[4]
March 1921	FW	Andrew Livingston	Bathgate	Free transfer	^[4]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
February 1921	FW	Bobby Blood	West Bromwich Albion	£4,000	^[4]
May 1921	DF	Percy Ellis	Walsall	Released	^[4]
Summer 1921	GK	Jonathan Hammond		Released	^[4]
Summer 1921	MF	James Hill	Shrewsbury Town	Released	^[4]
Summer 1921	FW	Andrew Livingston	Vale of Leven	Released	^[4]
Summer 1921	MF	Arthur McGarry	Reading	Released	^[4]
Summer 1921	MF	Frank Newman	Exeter City	Released	^[4]
Summer 1921	MF	Ernest Perry	Bradford City	Free transfer	^[4]
Summer 1921	MF	Arthur Poole		Released	^[4]
Summer 1921	MF	Freddy Price	Newport County	Released	^[4]
Summer 1921	FW	William Wilson	Walsall	Released	^[4]

References

Specific

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab Kent, Jeff (1990). "Keeping in Good Company (1919-1929)". The Valiants' Years The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 98–123. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
^ "Season 1920–21". English Football League Tables. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
^ Port Vale 1920–1921 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

General

Kent, Jeff (1993). The Port Vale Record 1879-1993. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9508981-9-8.

[Kent-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab Kent, Jeff (1990). "Keeping in Good Company (1919-1929)". The Valiants' Years The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 98–123. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.

[2] "Season 1920–21". English Football League Tables. Retrieved 28 March 2019.

[3] Port Vale 1920–1921 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation.

[transfers-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

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