1927–28 Port Vale F.C. season

March 2015 March 2015 Port Vale 1927–28 Joe Schofield Frank Huntbach Old Recreation Ground Football League Second Division 9th (44 points) FA Cup Fifth Round(eliminated by Blackburn Rovers) Wilf Kirkham (13) Wilf Kirkham (14) 21,071 vs. Stoke City, 17 March 1928 5,371 vs. Blackpool, 14 April 1928 11,127 6–1 vs. Blackpool, 3 December 1927 0–4 (twice) _color_3_stripes_red ff0000 ff0000 ff0000 ffffff 000000 1926–27 1928–29 The 1927–28 season was Port Vale's ninth consecutive season of football (22nd overall) in the English Football League.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 Aiming to improve on the previous campaign's mid-table finish, manager Joe Schofield guided the club to 8th place with 45 points – a modest improvement in both league position and total points. However, Wilf Kirkham's goal tally fell sharply from 41 to 14 goals, though he still ended the season as the club's top scorer for the third year running. The team were notably more consistent at the Old Recreation Ground, but continued to struggle away from home. The season consisted of alternating streaks of good and poor form. In the FA Cup, Vale were knocked out in the Third Round, losing to Blackburn Rovers. Financial issues again loomed in the background, with the club needing to raise funds to balance the books despite a respectable level of support from the fanbase. 200px|thumb|right|For the third season running Billy Briscoe found himself battling against severe injury, this time he fractured a cheekbone but refused to leave the pitch for treatment. 200px|thumb|right|Chairman Frank Huntbach. 200px|thumb|right|Right-back Jack Maddock made 35 appearances and scored two penalties. Overview Second Division The pre-season saw the players enjoy an outing at Rhyl, where "music and mirth held sway". The trip helped new signings Alf Bennett (Nottingham Forest), David Rollo (Blackburn Rovers), Alex Trotter (South Shields), and Robert Gillespie (Luton Town) settle in. The season started terribly, with an opening day draw with Nottingham Forest and four consecutive defeats, including 4–0 losses at Bristol City and Preston North End. The team was changed around, with new signing Rollo dropped from the starting eleven; this helped the Vale to turn things around with convincing wins over Bristol City and Swansea. Billy Briscoe fractured his cheekbone against Bristol City, though he refused to leave the pitch for treatment. A third 4–0 away loss followed at Fulham, as did more injuries, along with cash offers from rival clubs for their best players. By mid-October, a settled side was formed, and the "Valiants" defeated derby rivals Stoke 2–0 in front of a record 31,493 crowd at the Victoria Ground. Going from strength to strength they travelled to Bloomfield Road and went from 1–0 down to 6–1 up within an amazing 25-minute spell. Three more victories followed until Christmas saw a downturn in form. Two runs of four straight wins were punctuated by a 3–0 defeat at Grimsby Town and a 1–1 draw with Chelsea. This run included a 6–1 win over Blackpool on 3 December when Vale scored all six goals in 25 minutes. A 4–1 win at home to West Bromwich Albion saw the team go into Christmas sixth in the table with three points to gain on the promotion places. Five consecutive post-Christmas defeats to four promotion candidates ended the Vale's promotion campaign. Consecutive defeats to Leeds United also saw the team lose goalkeeper Alf Bennett to a fractured knuckle. In February, Wilf Kirkham was eventually rested, and replacement Stewart Littlewood bagged five in two games to end the run of poor results, including a hat-trick in a 4–1 win over Fulham. Littlewood had previously scored 70 goals for the reserves in just over a season and brought the necessary firepower to help the club surge up the league. Manager Schofield had something of a headache in choosing either the out-of-form legend Kirkham or consistent Littlewood and only added to the conundrum by signing Blackpool forward Bert Fishwick. Nobody managed to score in the 0–0 draw with Stoke City on 17 March, denying their promotion-chasing rivals an important second point. Following defeats to doomed South Shields and to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, they finished the season with six consecutive clean sheets, though they only won three of these games. They finished in ninth place with 44 points, almost in the same spot they had finished in the past two seasons. The defence had tightened up, but the attack, especially top-scorer Kirkham, had been somewhat off the boil. This led to Jack Lowe, Sidney Blunt, and Alex Trotter all being handed free transfers; they left for Oldham Athletic, Shrewsbury Town, and Manchester Central respectively. Meanwhile, back-up keepers Matthews and Holdcroft were also released, the former went to Halifax Town; however, the latter would eventually find himself an England international and FA Cup winner at Preston North End. Finances On the financial side, the directors wished to leave the Old Recreation Ground for new and bigger stadia. However, attempts to move to the greyhound track at Sun Street were blocked by Stoke City, who claimed the Vale would be too close to them. Overall the club lost £1,051 on the season, with their income £1,155 lower than the previous campaign. FA Cup In the FA Cup, Vale breezed past league rivals Barnsley and Third Division North New Brighton with two 3–0 home victories. Yet they came unstuck at Ewood Park, First Division Blackburn Rovers won 2–1 and would go on to win the final. Results Football League Second Division 1927–28 Football League League table Second Division y PTV Results by matchday table b Round Ground H/A/A/H/A/H/H/A/H/A/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/H/A/H/A/A/H/H/A/H/H/A/H/A/H/H/A/A/H/A/A/H/A Result D/L/L/L/L/W/W/L/W/L/W/W/W/W/L/D/W/W/W/W/L/L/L/L/L/W/W/L/D/W/W/D/L/D/L/L/W/W/D/W/D/D Position 6/17/18/18/21/18/16/18/16/17/16/13/12/12/13/13/11/9/7/6/8/8/11/13/13/12/9/10/11/10/8/8/9/9/12/12/12/10/9/9/9/9 Points 1p/1p/1p/1p/1p/3p/5p/5p/7p/7p/9p/11p/13p/15p/15p/16p/18p/20p/22p/24p/24p/24p/24p/24p/24p/26p/28p/28p/29p/31p/33p/34p/34p/35p/35p/35p/37p/39p/40p/42p/43p/44p Home Away green2 Win yellow2 Draw red2 Loss gold green1 red1 StattoPort Vale 1927–1928 : Results & Fixtures https://web.archive.org/web/20150906043941/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/port-vale/1927-1928/results 6 September 2015 . Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012. Matches 1 27 August 1927 15:00 BST Port Vale 2–2 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-nottingham-forest-27-august-1927-98126/ Nottingham Forest Lowe Briscoe Wadsworth 14 Stocks 59 Old Recreation Ground Hanley AW Scholey 14,524 2 31 August 1927 Bristol City 4–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/bristol-city-v-port-vale-31-august-1927-98137/ Port Vale Ashton Gate Ashton Gate, Bristol 20,305 3 3 September 1927 Manchester City 1–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/manchester-city-v-port-vale-03-september-1927-98144/ Port Vale Johnson Maine Road Manchester 37,583 4 10 September 1927 15:15 BST Port Vale 1–2 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-hull-city-10-september-1927-98165/ Hull City Kirkham Scott 47 75 Old Recreation Ground Hanley 12,169 5 17 September 1927 Preston North End 4–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/preston-north-end-v-port-vale-17-september-1927-98177/ Port Vale Deepdale Preston, Lancashire 18,127 6 19 September 1927 Port Vale 5–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-bristol-city-19-september-1927-98182/ Bristol City Kirkham Page Briscoe Old Recreation Ground Hanley 11,319 7 24 September 1927 Port Vale 2–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-swansea-town-24-september-1927-98191/ Swansea City Kirkham Old Recreation Ground Hanley 10,197 8 1 October 1927 Fulham 4–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/fulham-v-port-vale-01-october-1927-98197/ Port Vale Craven Cottage Fulham, West London 10,560 9 8 October 1927 Port Vale 2–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-barnsley-08-october-1927-98215/ Barnsley Simms Old Recreation Ground Hanley 10,070 10 15 October 1927 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/wolverhampton-wanderers-v-port-vale-15-october-1927-98228/ Port Vale Cock 6 Weaver 33 Gillespie 58 G Watson 18,026 11 22 October 1927 Notts County 2–4 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/notts-county-v-port-vale-22-october-1927-98234/ Port Vale Kirkham Anstiss Trotter Meadow Lane Nottingham 9,053 12 29 October 1927 Port Vale 4–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-southampton-29-october-1927-98247/ Southampton Gillespie Trotter Kirkham Old Recreation Ground Hanley 10,679 13 5 November 1927 Stoke City 0–2 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/stoke-city-v-port-vale-05-november-1927-98260/ Port Vale Anstiss Kirkham Victoria Ground Stoke-upon-Trent 31,493 14 12 November 1927 Port Vale 1–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-oldham-athletic-12-november-1927-98269/ Oldham Athletic Briscoe Old Recreation Ground Hanley 10,000 15 19 November 1927 Grimsby Town 3–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/grimsby-town-v-port-vale-19-november-1927-98276/ Port Vale Blundell Park Cleethorpes 10,119 16 26 November 1927 14:35 GMT Port Vale 1–1 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-chelsea-26-november-1927-98291/ Chelsea Gillespie 35 Crawford 10 Old Recreation Ground Hanley E.C. Sambrook 14,115 17 3 December 1927 Blackpool 1–6 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/blackpool-v-port-vale-03-december-1927-98295/ Port Vale Briscoe Page Anstiss Gillespie og. Kirkham Bloomfield Road Blackpool 7,662 18 10 December 1927 Port Vale 3–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-reading-10-december-1927-98313/ Reading Briscoe Page Kirkham Old Recreation Ground Hanley 8,556 19 17 December 1927 Clapton Orient 0–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/leyton-orient-v-port-vale-17-december-1927-98321/ Port Vale Gillespie Lea Bridge Stadium Leyton, East London 9,287 20 24 December 1927 Port Vale 4–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-west-bromwich-albion-24-december-1927-98335/ West Bromwich Albion Simms Gillespie Old Recreation Ground Hanley 8,216 21 26 December 1927 Port Vale 1–2 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-leeds-united-26-december-1927-98344/ Leeds United Simms White Wainscoat Old Recreation Ground Hanley 18,869 22 27 December 1927 Leeds United 3–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/leeds-united-v-port-vale-27-december-1927-98348/ Port Vale Jennings Wainscoat Elland Road Beeston, Leeds 32,275 23 7 January 1928 Port Vale 1–2 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-manchester-city-07-january-1928-98376/ Manchester City Gillespie Roberts Hicks Old Recreation Ground Hanley 14,310 24 21 January 1928 14:45 GMT Hull City 1–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/hull-city-v-port-vale-21-january-1928-98382/ Port Vale Nelson 68 Anlaby Road Kingston upon Hull 7,106 25 4 February 1928 Swansea City 2–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/swansea-town-v-port-vale-04-february-1928-98405/ Port Vale Vetch Field Swansea 6,745 26 6 February 1928 Port Vale 2–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-preston-north-end-06-february-1928-98407/ Preston North End Littlewood Old Recreation Ground Hanley 9,492 27 11 February 1928 Port Vale 4–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-fulham-11-february-1928-98416/ Fulham Littlewood Page Old Recreation Ground Hanley 7,530 28 20 February 1928 Barnsley 4–2 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/barnsley-v-port-vale-20-february-1928-98427/ Port Vale Gillespie Oakwell Barnsley 5,423 29 25 February 1928 Port Vale 2–2 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-wolverhampton-wanderers-25-february-1928-98439/ Wolverhampton Wanderers Page 3 Littlewood 71 Chadwick 65 Weaver 73 Old Recreation Ground Hanley G Watson 11,358 30 3 March 1928 Port Vale 3–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-notts-county-03-march-1928-98447/ Notts County Maddock pen. Gillespie Littlewood Old Recreation Ground Hanley 9,664 31 10 March 1928 Southampton 1–3 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/southampton-v-port-vale-10-march-1928-98461/ Port Vale S Taylor Kirkham Trotter Jones The Dell Southampton 9,874 32 17 March 1928 Port Vale 0–0 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-stoke-city-17-march-1928-98472/ Stoke City Old Recreation Ground Hanley 21,071 33 24 March 1928 Oldham Athletic 4–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/oldham-athletic-v-port-vale-24-march-1928-98483/ Port Vale Simms Boundary Park Oldham 11,809 34 31 March 1928 Port Vale 2–2 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-grimsby-town-31-march-1928-98497/ Grimsby Town og. Simms Old Recreation Ground Hanley 9,125 35 6 April 1928 Port Vale 2–3 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-south-shields-afc-06-april-1928-98507/ South Shields Page Simms Old Recreation Ground Hanley E.C. Sambrook 11,081 36 7 April 1928 15:30 GMT Chelsea 1–0 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/chelsea-v-port-vale-07-april-1928-98511/ Port Vale Crawford 12 Stamford Bridge Fulham, West London E.C. Sambrook 39,278 37 9 April 1928 South Shields 0–1 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/south-shields-afc-v-port-vale-09-april-1928-98521/ Port Vale Fishwick Horsley Hill South Shields 4,444 38 14 April 1928 Port Vale 3–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-blackpool-14-april-1928-98540/ Blackpool Connelly Gillespie Griffiths Old Recreation Ground Hanley 5,371 39 21 April 1928 Reading 0–0 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/reading-v-port-vale-21-april-1928-98553/ Port Vale Elm Park Reading, Berkshire 7,664 40 26 April 1928 18:15 BST Nottingham Forest 0–2 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/nottingham-forest-v-port-vale-26-april-1928-98558/ Port Vale Page Kirkham City Ground West Bridgford HE Gray 3,713 41 28 April 1928 Port Vale 0–0 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-leyton-orient-28-april-1928-98565/ Clapton Orient Old Recreation Ground Hanley 8,966 42 5 May 1928 West Bromwich Albion 0–0 D https://www.11v11.com/matches/west-bromwich-albion-v-port-vale-05-may-1928-98580/ Port Vale The Hawthorns West Bromwich 9,217 FA Cup 1927–28 FA Cup R3 14 January 1928 Port Vale 3–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-barnsley-14-january-1928-207547/ Barnsley Simms Page Maddock pen. Old Recreation Ground Hanley 13,162 R4 28 January 1928 Port Vale 3–0 W https://www.11v11.com/matches/port-vale-v-new-brighton-28-january-1928-207569/ New Brighton Page Kirkham Anstiss Old Recreation Ground Hanley 10,867 R5 18 February 1928 Blackburn Rovers 2–1 L https://www.11v11.com/matches/blackburn-rovers-v-port-vale-18-february-1928-207582/ Port Vale Anstiss Ewood Park Blackburn 43,000 thumb|right|Club record goalscorer Wilf Kirkham. thumb|Scottish midfielder Bob Connelly. Squad statistics Appearances and goals Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward Second Division FA Cup GK ENG Alf Bennett 24 0 1 0 GK ENG George Holdcroft 4 0 0 0 GK ENG Howard Matthews 14 0 2 0 FB ENG Jack Maddock 32 1 3 1 FB ENG Jimmy Oakes 38 0 3 0 FB ENG Billy Wootton 12 0 0 0 HB SCO Bob Connelly 42 1 3 0 HB ENG Roger Jones 8 1 0 0 HB IRE David Rollo 2 0 0 0 HB ENG Vic Rouse 38 0 3 0 HB ENG Herbert Smith 15 0 1 0 HB WAL 1807 George Whitcombe 14 0 0 0 FW ENG Harry Anstiss 29 3 3 2 FW ENG Billy Briscoe 20 5 2 0 FW ENG Bert Fishwick 9 1 0 0 FW ENG Robert Gillespie 23 12 2 0 FW WAL 1807 Phil Griffiths 11 1 0 0 FW SCO James Harkins 0 0 0 0 FW ENG Charles Heinemann 0 0 0 0 FW ENG Wilf Kirkham 37 13 3 1 FW ENG Stewart Littlewood 6 7 1 0 FW ENG Jack Lowe 9 1 0 0 FW ENG Tom Page 33 8 3 2 FW ENG Jack Simms 22 9 2 1 FW ENG Sam Smith 4 0 0 0 FW ENG Alex Trotter 16 3 1 0 |} Top scorers PlacePositionNationNameSecond DivisionFA CupTotal1FWEnglandWilf Kirkham131142FWEnglandRobert Gillespie120123FWEnglandTom Page8210–FWEnglandJack Simms91105FWEnglandStewart Littlewood7076FWEnglandBilly Briscoe505–FWEnglandHarry Anstiss3258FWEnglandAlex Trotter3039FWEnglandJack Lowe202–FBEnglandJack Maddock11211HBScotlandBob Connelly101–FWEnglandBert Fishwick101–FWWales 1807Phil Griffiths101–HBEnglandRoger Jones001–––Own goals202TOTALS68775 Transfers Transfers in Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. May 1927 GK ENG Alf Bennett Nottingham Forest Free transfer Kent Jeff Port Vale Personalities Witan Books 1996 0-9529152-0-0 May 1927 FW ENG Robert Gillespie Luton Town Free transfer May 1927 FW ENG Sam Smith Cardiff City Free transfer May 1927 FW ENG Alex Trotter South Shields Free transfer June 1927 FB ENG George Shenton Blythe Bridge Free transfer August 1927 HB IRE 1783 David Rollo Blackburn Rovers Free transfer March 1928 FW ENG Bert Fishwick Blackpool Free transfer March 1928 FW WAL 1807 Frank Williams Preston North End Free transfer Transfers out Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. May 1928 FW ENG Arthur Ecclestone Released May 1928 GK ENG George Holdcroft Darlington Free transfer May 1928 FW ENG Jack Lowe Oldham Athletic Free transfer May 1928 GK ENG Howard Matthews Halifax Town Free transfer May 1928 FW ENG Sam Smith Hull City Free transfer May 1928 FW ENG Alex Trotter Manchester Central Free transfer 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