1917–18 Port Vale F.C. season

March 2015 March 2015 Port Vale 1917–18 Tom Holford Frank Huntbach Old Recreation Ground Football League Lancashire Section 11th (26 points) Lancashire Section Subsidiary Tournament 4th (2 points) David Bowcock (7) David Bowcock (7) 10,000 vs. Stoke City, 29 September 1917 562 vs. Oldham Athletic, 1 December 1917 3,507 4–0 and 5–1 0–7 vs. Everton, 9 March 1918 1916–17 1918–19 The 1917–18 season was Port Vale's second season of football after going into abeyance during World War I.Kent Jeff The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale Witan Books 1990 71–97 The Hard Road Back (1907–1919) 0-9508981-4-7 It was a second wartime campaign in the Football League Lancashire Section (Principal Competition), under manager-secretary Tom Holford and chairman Frank Huntbach at the Old Recreation Ground. Improving on the previous year, Vale finished 11th in the 30-game league season, collecting 26 points from 9 wins, 8 draws and 13 losses, scoring 47 goals and conceding 55. Cup competition was confined to the Lancashire Section Subsidiary Tournament, where Vale placed 14th with 2 points. The campaign featured notable highs and lows, including 4–0 and 5–1 victories, but also a 7–0 loss to Everton on 9 March 1918. Forward David Bowcock led the team's attack, finishing as both league and season top scorer with seven goals. Attendance fluctuated markedly, with a season-high 10,000 spectators attending the match against Stoke City on 29 September 1917, and an average attendance of approximately 3,507. Overall, the 1917–18 season represented a gradual consolidation for Port Vale in wartime football — showing competitive improvement and a measure of stability amid the regionalised football structure imposed by World War I. Overview Port Vale had a difficult start to the season, losing key players to conscription and facing champions Liverpool home and away. They led 2–0 at half-time in the season opener, though they ended the match with a 3–2 defeat and then were beaten 4–0 at Anfield. They picked up a draw and win over Southport Central, but were beaten home and away by Potteries derby rivals Stoke; the home tie with Stoke saw a season-high crowd of 10,000. A 5–2 win over Burnley, in which David Bowcock scored a hat-trick, was the first of a five-match unbeaten run, though they did draw the other four matches. A 4–0 home defeat in which they were "outclassed" by Stockport County ruined this run before they put together another five-match unbeaten run. A 4–0 win over Blackpool on 26 January took Vale to seventh place. However, they then suffered poor form until the end of the campaign, picking up just three points from their remaining eight matches. This poor run of defeats included a heavy 7–0 loss at Everton, though they were comforted by their £60 share of the 15,000 crowd. They picked up an expected two points away with a 5–1 win at rock-bottom Blackburn Rovers but lost the final game of the season 2–0 at home to Rovers, which was only the away side's second victory of the season. Around this time, club nicknames were becoming popular, and The Staffordshire Sentinel reporter "The Wanderer" suggested "the Colliers" in reference to local coal mines. However, the nickname failed to catch on. They ended the season in a respectable 11th place; David Bowcock's seven goals made him top-scorer, as few attackers could play in half the club's matches. The six-game Subsidiary Tournament was used as an exercise to blood young players. They lost five of their games in a difficult group of Manchester City, Manchester United and Stoke. Despite low costs, the club announced a loss of £33 and the total debt reached £4,000, leaving directors grumbling about their financial responsibilities. Results WinDrawLoss Football League Lancashire Section League table main WDL Q 2 y y PTV 10 PNE Preston North End PTV Port Vale BLP Blackpool 12 3 15 38 53 9 8 13 47 58 10 5 15 46 70 complete Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation Matches 1 1 September 1917 Burslem Port Vale 2–3 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-liverpool-01-september-1917-292861/ Liverpool Worthy Bamber 80 Bennett 82 Old Recreation Ground Hanley 4,000 2 8 September 1917 Liverpool 4–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/liverpool-v-port-vale-08-september-1917-292862/ Burslem Port Vale Bennett 13 62 Lewis 67 Metcalf 87 Anfield Liverpool 12,000 3 15 September 1917 Burslem Port Vale 1–1 D Southport Central Worthy Old Recreation Ground Hanley 4 22 September 1917 Southport Central 2–4 W Burslem Port Vale Lyons Bowcock A.Pearson Edgeley Ash Lane Southport 1,000 5 29 September 1917 Burslem Port Vale 0–2 L Stoke Herbert Whittingham Old Recreation Ground Hanley 10,000 6 6 October 1917 Stoke 4–1 L Burslem Port Vale Herbert Whittingham Howell Hill Victoria Ground Stoke-upon-Trent 7 13 October 1917 Burslem Port Vale 5–2 W Burnley Bowcock Spooner A.Pearson Old Recreation Ground Hanley poor 8 20 October 1917 Burnley 2–2 D Burslem Port Vale A.Pearson Bowcock Turf Moor Burnley 9 27 October 1917 Manchester United 3–3 D Burslem Port Vale Anderson Connor Ellis Whittaker A.Pearson Old Trafford Old Trafford 7,000 10 3 November 1917 Burslem Port Vale 2–2 D Manchester United Edgeley A.Pearson Anderson Ellis Old Recreation Ground Hanley 4,000 11 10 November 1917 Stockport County 2–2 D Burslem Port Vale Whittaker Edgeley Edgeley Park Stockport 2,000 12 17 November 1917 Burslem Port Vale 0–4 L Stockport County Old Recreation Ground Hanley 3,000 13 24 November 1917 Oldham Athletic 1–1 D Burslem Port Vale Hill Boundary Park Oldham 1,203 14 1 December 1917 Burslem Port Vale 2–0 W Oldham Athletic Spooner Malkin Old Recreation Ground Hanley 562 15 8 December 1917 Bury 0–2 W Burslem Port Vale Spooner Whittaker Gigg Lane Bury, Greater Manchester 2,000 16 15 December 1917 Burslem Port Vale 2–2 D Bury og. Whittaker Old Recreation Ground Hanley 1,000 17 22 December 1917 Bolton Wanderers 0–2 W Burslem Port Vale Bowcock Burnden Park Bolton 1,000 18 29 December 1917 Burslem Port Vale 1–2 L Bolton Wanderers Daley Old Recreation Ground Hanley few hundred 19 5 January 1918 Preston North End 1–0 L Burslem Port Vale Deepdale Preston, Lancashire 20 12 January 1918 Burslem Port Vale 3–0 W Preston North End Brennan H.Pearson Old Recreation Ground Hanley 21 19 January 1918 Blackpool 0–1 W Burslem Port Vale Rogers Bloomfield Road Blackpool 7000 22 26 January 1918 Burslem Port Vale 4–0 W Blackpool Brennan Rogers Old Recreation Ground Hanley 23 2 February 1918 Manchester City 5–1 L Burslem Port Vale Broad Lomas Thompson Hill Hyde Road Gorton 11,000 24 9 February 1918 Burslem Port Vale 0–2 L Manchester City Lomas Cunningham Old Recreation Ground Hanley 1,000 25 16 February 1918 Burslem Port Vale 1–1 D Rochdale Brennan Page Old Recreation Ground Hanley 26 23 February 1918 Rochdale 2–0 L Burslem Port Vale Thomas Page Spotland Stadium Rochdale 2,000 27 2 March 1918 Burslem Port Vale 0–1 L Everton Old Recreation Ground Hanley 28 9 March 1918 Everton 7–0 L Burslem Port Vale Goodison Park Walton, Liverpool 15,000 29 16 March 1918 Blackburn Rovers 1–5 W Burslem Port Vale Jolly A.Pearson Foster J.Bennett Ewood Park Blackburn 100 30 23 March 1918 Burslem Port Vale 0–2 L Blackburn Rovers Old Recreation Ground Hanley Lancashire Section Subsidiary Tournament League table main WDL Q 2 y y PTV 2 MU Manchester United STK Stoke PTV Port Vale 3 1 2 6 7 2 2 2 10 5 1 0 5 4 15 complete Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation Matches 1 29 March 1918 Burslem Port Vale 0–2 L Stoke Herbert P. Jones Old Recreation Ground Hanley 2 30 March 1918 Burslem Port Vale 1–4 L Manchester City Brennan Royle Thompson P. Fairclough Old Recreation Ground Hanley 8,000 3 1 April 1918 Stoke 6–0 L Burslem Port Vale Herbert Lockett Bassett Victoria Ground Stoke-upon-Trent 4 6 April 1918 Manchester City 1–0 L Burslem Port Vale Fletcher Hyde Road Gorton 1,000 5 13 April 1918 Manchester United 2–0 L Burslem Port Vale Bourne Old Trafford Old Trafford 3,000 6 20 April 1918 Burslem Port Vale 3–0 W Manchester United Foster Daley Old Recreation Ground Hanley 4,000 Squad statistics Appearances and goals Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward League Subsidiary GK ENG Jonathan Hammond 20 0 5 0 GK ENG John Powell 5 0 0 0 FB SCO Jock Cameron 27 0 5 0 FB ENG Ted Collins 2 0 0 0 FB ENG George Holmes 13 0 4 0 FB ENG Willie Hawley 0 0 1 0 FB ENG Tom Lyons 30 1 4 0 HB ENG G Arrowsmith 23 0 5 0 HB ENG Jim Bennett 15 1 4 0 HB ENG Tom Holford 2 0 0 0 HB ENG Harry Pearson 24 1 2 0 HB ENG B Phillips 14 0 0 0 HB ENG Bill Taylor 0 0 1 0 FW ENG Herbert Bennett 1 0 0 0 FW ENG David Bowcock 10 7 0 0 FW ENG Tom Brennan 11 5 5 1 FW ENG Billy Briscoe 1 0 0 0 FW ENG Joe Brough 1 0 0 0 FW ENG Joe Daley 3 1 2 1 FW ENG Harold Edgeley 14 3 0 0 FW ENG Jack Foster 5 1 4 2 FW ENG John Griffiths 2 0 0 0 FW ENG James Hill 15 3 0 0 FW ENG Jack Jolly 7 2 1 0 FW SCO A MacKenzie 0 0 1 0 FW ENG G Maddock 1 0 0 0 FW ENG Albert Pearson 28 6 5 0 FW ENG Arthur Rogers 6 3 3 0 FW ENG George Shelton 2 0 0 0 FW ENG Jack Shelton 1 0 0 0 FW ENG Billy Spooner 26 3 1 0 FW ENG J Wellings 0 0 1 0 FW ENG Sam Whittaker 6 5 0 0 |- |colspan="14"|Players who featured but departed the club during the season: GK ENG Teddy Bateup 5 0 0 0 HB ENG J Lawton 3 0 0 0 FW ENG W Malkin 1 1 2 0 FW ENG W Pepper 1 0 1 0 FW ENG S Worthy 5 3 0 0 |} Top scorers PlacePositionNationNameLeagueSubsidiaryTotal1FWEnglandDavid Bowcock7072FWEnglandAlbert Pearson606–FWEnglandTom Brennan5164FWEnglandSam Whittaker5055FWEnglandS Worthy303–FWEnglandBilly Spooner303–FWEnglandHarold Edgeley303–FWEnglandJames Hill303–FWEnglandArthur Rogers303–FWEnglandJack Foster12311FWEnglandJack Jolly202–FWEnglandJoe Daley11213HBEnglandJim Bennett101–FBEnglandTom Lyons101–HBEnglandHarry Pearson101–FWEnglandW Malkin101–––Own goals101TOTALS47451 Transfers Transfers in Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. 1917 FW ENG Joe Daley Free transfer Kent Jeff Port Vale Personalities Witan Books 1996 0-9529152-0-0 1917 FW ENG W Pepper Free transfer 1917 FW ENG Arthur Rogers Free transfer Summer 1917 FW ENG David Bowcock Free transfer Summer 1917 FW ENG James Hill Free transfer Autumn 1917 FW ENG W Malkin Free transfer September 1917 HB ENG Harry Pearson Bury Free transfer November 1917 FW ENG Jack Foster Free transfer November 1917 HB ENG J Lawton Free transfer January 1918 FW ENG Billy Briscoe Leek United Free transfer February 1918 FW ENG Jack Jolly Free transfer Transfers out Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. 1918 GK ENG Teddy Bateup Retired 1918 HB ENG J Lawton Released 1918 FW ENG W Pepper Released 1918 FW ENG S Worthy Released April 1918 FW ENG W Malkin Released Summer 1918 HB ENG Jim Bennett Released Summer 1918 FW ENG Jack Jolly Released References Specific General Kent Jeff The Port Vale Record 1879-1993 Witan Books 1993 0-9508981-9-8 Category:Port Vale F.C. seasons Port Vale