1905–06 Burslem Port Vale F.C. season

March 2015 March 2015 Burslem Port Vale 1905–06 Tommy Clare Manager-secretary Robert Audley Athletic Ground Football League Second Division 17th (28 points) FA Cup First Round(eliminated by Gainsborough Trinity) Birmingham Senior Cup Semi-finals(eliminated by Birmingham) Staffordshire Senior Cup Semi-finals(eliminated by Burton United) Harry Mountford (15) Harry Mountford (15) 6,000 vs Chelsea, 30 October 1905 1,000 vs Chesterfield Town, 9 September 1905 3,200 5–0 vs. Stoke, 18 September 1905 0–7 (twice) _blue_stripes _bluestripes _blue_stripes 800000 800000 800000 ffffff 800000 1904–05 1906–07 The 1905–06 season was Burslem Port Vale's eighth consecutive season (12th overall) of football in the English Football League.Kent Jeff The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale Witan Books 1990 50–70 The Hopeless Struggle (1898-1907) 0-9508981-4-7 They finished 17th place in the Second Division, narrowly avoiding re‑election trouble by amassing 28 points from 38 matches (12 wins, 4 draws, 22 losses). Vale scored 49 goals, one of the lowest tallies in the league, and conceded 82, the worst defensive record in the division. On the pitch, the club continued to struggle for consistency under manager‑secretary Tommy Clare, and endured occasional heavy defeats, most notably a 7–0 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in March 1906. Despite that, they achieved a season-high 5–0 win over Stoke in September 1905. In cup competitions, Vale were knocked out in the First Round of the FA Cup by Gainsborough Trinity, and exited both the Birmingham Senior Cup and Staffordshire Senior Cup at the semi-final stage. Forward Harry Mountford stood out for the season, finishing as both league and overall top scorer with 15 goals. Attendances at the Athletic Ground fluctuated markedly: a season-high crowd of around 6,000 watched Vale take on Chelsea on 30 October 1905, while the lowest gate was approximately 1,000 for a September visit by Chesterfield Town, with the average attendance settling near 3,200. Off the field, poor financial performance mirrored results on the pitch. Despite support from long-time servants such as George Price and Bert Eardley, dwindling crowds raised concerns about the club's sustainability in League football. thumb|right|200px|Bert Eardley, was in his seventh season with Vale. thumb|right|160px|Club legend George Price was, as ever, a vital member of the first team. thumb|right|160px|Forward Adrian Capes was getting on in years. thumb|right|Ageing Lucien Boullemier made one comeback appearance. thumb|right|Half-back Harry Croxton. Overview Second Division An expanded league saw an extra four new clubs added to the division, in addition to the replacement for Doncaster Rovers, who failed to gain re-election the previous season. This put the Vale up against Chelsea, Hull City, Leeds City, and Clapton Orient for the first time. The season's first five games saw a tally of just three points collected, with the 2–1 reversal at home to Blackpool "was not calculated to inspire confidence". The losing run concluded with a 4–0 defeat at Barnsley. Yet "sparking footwork" inspired three successive wins and left Vale in sixth place by 14 October. They did, however, miss three penalty kicks until right-back Albert Cook converted from the spot against Clapton Orient in the club's fourth such attempt of the campaign. On 30 October, celebrated amateur international Samuel Ashworth made his debut for the club in a 3–2 victory over Chelsea and was appointed as captain, though he rarely played thereafter as he concentrated on his North Staffs Nomads amateur side. Starting from November, the team attained only one point in nine games – in six of these, the "Valeites" failed to score. It began with a 4–0 loss at the bottom-club Gainsborough Trinity. Former club stalwart turned international pottery artist Lucien Boullemier returned from the United States to feature in a 1–0 defeat to Bristol City, though he had completely lost his athleticism and was not played in a professional game. The club's directors acted upon appalling attendance figures and decided to sell right-half Harry Croxton and inspirational striker Adrian Capes to Stoke in November. A rare win came on 30 December, with Harry Mountford scoring a hat-trick past Lincoln City – the first hat-trick a Vale player had scored in close to three years. However, the side then proceeded to lose all their matches in January, including a 5–0 thrashing at Grimsby Town that left the club second-from-bottom. They gained some measure of relief with a 3–1 victory at an ageing Clapton Orient on 3 February. The last three months saw a revival, and the club won six of their last 15 games. This included seven matches at the Athletic Ground without defeat. Remarkably, one of the victories came against Manchester United after goalkeeper Arthur Box scored the game's only goal from the penalty spot. Heavy defeats were sustained on the road, though, the worst of which was a 7–0 humbling at Chelsea. Of more concern was a 3–2 at fellow strugglers Glossop when William Cope was hit on the head with a stone after the Glossop players were altogether too rough and physical in coming down from an initial two goal deficit. Arthur Box decided to get his retaliation in first by kicking a Glossop player before taking his goalkick and was duly sent off. Victory was needed in the final home game against Bradford City to secure safety, and a "businesslike" performance ensured the necessary 2–1 victory. They still needed to avoid a four-goal defeat at West Bromwich Albion to be sure, though, with centre-half Joseph Holyhead scoring the crucial consolation goal. Port Vale finished just in 17th place, outside the re-election zone on goal average. Vale lost 17 of their 19 away games, never drawing a match away from home, and conceded more on their travels than any other side in the league. Overall, the defence was the leakiest in the division, conceding 82 goals in 38 games. Harry Mountford was the club's top scorer with 15 goals, with no other player reaching double figures. The club parted company with manager-secretary Tommy Clare to save money and Sam Gleaves returned to the secretary role and Sam Bennion was put in charge of selection. Finances The financial outlook was bleak, and poor runs of results saw low attendance figures plummet. There were rumours of the club winding up at the end of the season, though the club would continue in its current form for one more season. Despite selling players and spending frugally, the club lost a whopping £451, with gate receipts falling by £280 on the previous campaign. Sam Gleaves warned that if supporters failed to turn up for matches, then the club would "inevitably cease to exist". Cup competitions In the FA Cup, Vale defeated amateur club Oxford City after Oxford failed to make the most of their shooting chances. The second round saw Vale eliminated by Gainsborough Trinity at home, despite having organised special training sessions beforehand. In the County cups, Vale knocked out local rivals Stoke (Reserves) at home by 5–0 and 3–0 scorelines in the opening rounds as new competition rules meant clubs were no longer obliged to field a strong team. Vale "did not seem to exert themselves" as they were thumped 7–0 at Birmingham in the semi-finals of the Birmingham Senior Cup. They also faced a 5–1 defeat at Burton United in the semi-final of the Staffordshire Senior Cup after being forced to play a reserve side as it clashed with a league fixture. Results Football League Second Division 1905–06 Football League League table Second Division y BPV Results by matchday table b Round Ground A/H/H/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/A/H/H/A/H/A/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/H/A/A/H/A Result L/W/L/D/L/W/W/W/L/W/L/L/L/D/L/L/L/L/L/W/L/L/L/W/D/L/W/L/W/L/W/L/D/W/L/L/W/L Position 13/13/14/13/17/14/9/6/12/8/10/14/14/13/15/17/17/17/17/15/16/17/19/16/18/18/16/17/17/17/16/18/17/15/16/16/15/17 Points 0/2/2/3/3/5/7/9/9/11/11/11/11/12/12/12/12/12/12/14/14/14/14/16/17/17/19/19/21/21/23/23/24/26/26/26/28/28 Home Away green2 Win yellow2 Draw red2 Loss gold green1 red1 StattoPort Vale 1905–1906 : Results & Fixtures https://web.archive.org/web/20150906032942/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/port-vale/1905-1906/results 6 September 2015 . Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012. Matches 1 2 September 1905 Lincoln City 3–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/lincoln-city-v-port-vale-02-september-1905-203435/ Port Vale og. Sincil Bank Lincoln 3,000 2 9 September 1905 Port Vale 4–3 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-chesterfield-town-09-september-1905-201851/ Chesterfield Capes Smith Crombie Athletic Ground Cobridge 1,000 3 11 September 1905 Port Vale 1–2 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-blackpool-11-september-1905-200959/ Blackpool Carter Athletic Ground Cobridge 4 16 September 1905 Port Vale 2–2 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-grimsby-town-16-september-1905-202394/ Grimsby Town Smith Athletic Ground Cobridge 2,000 5 23 September 1905 Barnsley 4–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/barnsley-v-port-vale-23-september-1905-203528/ Port Vale Oakwell Barnsley 3,000 6 30 September 1905 Port Vale 2–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-leyton-orient-30-september-1905-202890/ Clapton Orient Mountford Cook pen. Athletic Ground Cobridge 7 7 October 1905 Burnley 1–3 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/burnley-v-port-vale-07-october-1905-203463/ Port Vale Mountford Price Turf Moor Burnley 3,000 8 14 October 1905 Port Vale 2–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-leeds-city-14-october-1905-202623/ Leeds City Mountford Carter Athletic Ground Cobridge 1,500 9 21 October 1905 Burton United 1–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/burton-united-v-port-vale-21-october-1905-203526/ Port Vale Peel Croft Burton upon Trent 3,000 10 30 October 1905 15:00 GMT Port Vale 3–2 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-chelsea-30-october-1905-201682/ Chelsea Price 9 Croxton 51 Carter 78 Moran Windridge 85 Athletic Ground Cobridge Jack Howcroft 6,000 11 4 November 1905 Gainsborough Trinity 4–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/gainsborough-trinity-v-port-vale-04-november-1905-203426/ Port Vale The Northolme Gainsborough, Lincolnshire 12 11 November 1905 Port Vale 0–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-bristol-city-11-november-1905-201352/ Bristol City Athletic Ground Cobridge 3,000 13 18 November 1905 Manchester United 3–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/manchester-united-v-port-vale-18-november-1905-203450/ Port Vale Beddow Peddie own goal Bank Street Clayton, Manchester 8,000 14 25 November 1905 Port Vale 3–3 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-glossop-north-end-25-november-1905-202254/ Glossop Mountford Cook Holyhead Athletic Ground Cobridge 15 2 December 1905 Stockport County 3–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/stockport-county-v-port-vale-02-december-1905-203522/ Port Vale Waters Suart Crump Edgeley Park Stockport 16 16 December 1905 Bradford City 2–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/bradford-city-v-port-vale-16-december-1905-203487/ Port Vale Valley Parade Bradford 9,000 17 23 December 1905 Port Vale 0–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-west-bromwich-albion-23-december-1905-203925/ West Bromwich Albion Athletic Ground Cobridge 3,500 18 25 December 1905 11:00 GMT Port Vale 1–3 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-hull-city-25-december-1905-202559/ Hull City Cook Gordon 15 Jones 45 Rushton 46 Athletic Ground Cobridge 4,000 19 26 December 1905 Leicester Fosse 2–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/leicester-city-v-port-vale-26-december-1905-203517/ Port Vale Moody Mountford Filbert Street Leicester 10,000 20 30 December 1905 Port Vale 3–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-lincoln-city-30-december-1905-202979/ Lincoln City Mountford Athletic Ground Cobridge 3,000 21 6 January 1906 Chesterfield 2–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/chesterfield-town-v-port-vale-06-january-1906-203460/ Port Vale Saltergate Chesterfield, Derbyshire 10,000 22 20 January 1906 Grimsby Town 5–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/grimsby-town-v-port-vale-20-january-1906-203424/ Port Vale Blundell Park Cleethorpes 3,000 23 27 January 1906 Port Vale 1–2 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-barnsley-27-january-1906-200817/ Barnsley Smith Athletic Ground Cobridge 24 3 February 1906 Clapton Orient 1–3 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/leyton-orient-v-port-vale-03-february-1906-203540/ Port Vale Smith Carter Clapton Stadium Clapton, London 25 10 February 1906 Port Vale 2–2 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-burnley-10-february-1906-201443/ Burnley Mountford Smith Athletic Ground Cobridge 26 17 February 1906 Leeds City 3–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/leeds-city-v-port-vale-17-february-1906-203549/ Port Vale Wilson Hargrave Parnell Mountford Elland Road Beeston, Leeds 9,000 27 24 February 1906 Port Vale 4–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-burton-united-24-february-1906-201636/ Burton United Carter Mountford Price Grant Athletic Ground Cobridge 28 3 March 1906 15:00 GMT Chelsea 7–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/chelsea-v-port-vale-03-march-1906-203419/ Port Vale Robertson 10 40 Pearson 32 McRoberts 30 pen. Moran 42 Kirwan 44 50 Stamford Bridge Fulham, West London Fred Heath 10,000 29 10 March 1906 Port Vale 1–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-gainsborough-trinity-10-march-1906-202130/ Gainsborough Trinity Eardley Athletic Ground Cobridge Fred Heath 30 17 March 1906 Bristol City 4–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/bristol-city-v-port-vale-17-march-1906-203496/ Port Vale Ashton Gate Bristol 10,000 31 24 March 1906 Port Vale 1–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-manchester-united-24-march-1906-203172/ Manchester United Box pen. Athletic Ground Cobridge 3,000 32 31 March 1906 Glossop 3–2 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/glossop-north-end-v-port-vale-31-march-1906-203434/ Port Vale og. Mountford North Road Glossop 3,000 33 7 April 1906 Port Vale 0–0 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-stockport-county-07-april-1906-203628/ Stockport County Athletic Ground Cobridge 34 13 April 1906 Port Vale 2–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-leicester-city-13-april-1906-202726/ Leicester Fosse Carter Mountford Athletic Ground Cobridge 5,000 35 14 April 1906 Blackpool 2–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/blackpool-v-port-vale-14-april-1906-203466/ Port Vale Carter Bloomfield Road Blackpool 2,000 36 16 April 1906 15:30 BST Hull City 3–2 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/hull-city-v-port-vale-16-april-1906-203518/ Port Vale Browell 50 Howe 62 85 Mountford Carter Anlaby Road Kingston upon Hull 7,000 38 21 April 1906 Port Vale 2–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-bradford-city-21-april-1906-201263/ Bradford City Walley Smith Athletic Ground Cobridge 38 28 April 1906 West Bromwich Albion 4–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/west-bromwich-albion-v-port-vale-28-april-1906-203445/ Port Vale Holyhead The Hawthorns West Bromwich 5,000 FA Cup 1905–06 FA Cup IR 9 December 1905 Oxford City 0–1 W Port Vale Price Whitehouse Ground Marston, Oxford 3,000 1R 13 January 1906 Port Vale 0–3 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/burslem-port-vale-v-gainsborough-trinity-13-january-1906-205889/ Gainsborough Trinity Athletic Ground Cobridge 1,500 Birmingham Senior Cup 1R 18 September 1905 Port Vale 3–0 W Stoke Croxton unknown Athletic Ground Cobridge 2,500 Semi-final 1 November 1905 Birmingham 7–0 L Port Vale Muntz Street Small Heath 100 Staffordshire Senior Cup 1R 25 September 1905 Port Vale 5–0 W Stoke Price Crombie Smith Carter Athletic Ground Cobridge Semi-final 13 April 1906 Burton United 5–1 L Port Vale Peel Croft Burton upon Trent Squad statistics Appearances and goals Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward Second Division FA Cup Other GK ENG George Boote 3 0 0 0 0 0 GK ENG Arthur Box 35 1 2 0 3 0 FB ENG William Cope 34 0 2 0 2 0 FB ENG James Hamilton 34 0 2 0 2 0 HB ENG Samuel Ashworth 4 0 2 0 0 0 HB George Aytoun 4 0 0 0 0 0 HB ENG William Bradbury 4 0 0 0 1 0 HB ENG Joseph Holyhead 28 2 2 0 0 0 HB ENG Vic Horrocks 19 0 2 0 1 0 HB Arthur Shelley 1 0 0 0 0 0 HB ENG Sam Whittingham 31 0 0 0 2 0 FW ENG Robert Carter 35 8 2 0 3 1 FW ENG Alex Crombie 17 1 2 0 3 1 FW ENG Ebenezer Grant 5 1 0 0 0 0 FW ENG Billy Dorrell 0 0 0 0 0 0 FW ENG Bert Eardley 17 1 0 0 0 0 FW Alfred Hall 1 0 0 0 0 0 FW William Jones 4 0 0 0 2 0 FW ENG Harry Mountford 33 15 1 0 2 0 FW ENG George Price 34 3 1 1 3 2 FW ENG Philip Smith 25 8 1 0 3 1 FW ENG William Thomas 9 0 1 0 0 0 FW Hugh Walley 9 1 0 0 0 0 |- |colspan="14"|Players who featured but departed the club during the season: FB ENG Lucien Boullemier 1 0 0 0 0 0 HB ENG Albert Cook 8 3 2 0 0 0 HB ENG Harry Croxton 11 1 0 0 3 1 FW ENG Adrian Capes 12 2 0 0 2 0 |} Top scorers PlacePositionNationNameSecond DivisionFA CupOtherTotal1FWEnglandHarry Mountford1500152FWEnglandRobert Carter8019–FWEnglandPhilip Smith80194FWEnglandGeorge Price31265HBEnglandAlbert Cook30036FWEnglandAdrian Capes2002–HBEnglandJoseph Holyhead2002–FWEnglandAlex Crombie1012–HBEnglandHarry Croxton101210FWHugh Walley1001–GKEnglandArthur Box1001–FWEnglandBert Eardley1001–FWEnglandEbenezer Grant1001–––Own goals2002–––Unknown0011TOTALS491757 Transfers Transfers in Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. July 1905 HB George Aytoun SCO Clydebank Juniors Free transfer Kent Jeff Port Vale Personalities Witan Books 1996 0-9529152-0-0 July 1905 FW ENG Alex Crombie Reading Free transfer July 1905 HB Arthur Shelley Chesterton Free transfer August 1905 FW Philip Smith Knutton Free transfer October 1905 HB ENG Samuel Ashworth Everton Free transfer October 1905 HB ENG Sam Baddeley Norton Free transfer November 1905 GK ENG George Boote Silverdale Town Free transfer November 1905 FB ENG Lucien Boullemier Northampton Town Free transfer January 1906 FW ENG Ebenezer Grant Tunstall Park Free transfer Transfers out Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. November 1905 FB ENG Lucien Boullemier Northern Nomads Free transfer November 1905 FW ENG Adrian Capes Stoke Free transfer November 1905 HB ENG Harry Croxton Stoke unknown February 1906 HB ENG Albert Cook Stoke Free transfer Summer 1906 HB ENG Samuel Ashworth North Staffs Nomads Released Summer 1906 HB George Aytoun Released Summer 1906 GK ENG George Boote Knutton Rovers Released Summer 1906 FW ENG Alex Crombie Released Summer 1906 FW W. Edwards Crewe Alexandra Released Summer 1906 FW ENG Alfred Hall Released Summer 1906 HB ENG Ben Jones Alsagers Bank Church Free transfer Summer 1906 FW William Jones Released Summer 1906 FW Philip Smith Crewe Alexandra Released Summer 1906 FW ENG William Thomas Everton Free transfer Summer 1906 HB ENG Sam Whittingham Crewe Alexandra Free transfer References Specific General Kent, Jeff Jeff Kent (author) The Port Vale Record 1879-1993 Witan Books 1993 0-9508981-9-8 Category:Port Vale F.C. seasons Burslem Port Vale