1920–21 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale

1920–21 season
Chairman	Frank Huntbach
Secretary-manager	Joe Schofield
Stadium	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
← 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] Having finished a respectable 13th the previous year, the club hoped to push on under the guidance of manager Joe Schofield. The Vale opened the season with four wins from their opening six games and sat third in the table in early September, raising hopes of a promotion push. However, inconsistent results through the autumn saw them fall away from the top of the table, though they remained clear of relegation danger.

The club made headlines in February when top-scorer Bobby Blood was sold to West Bromwich Albion for a club record £4,000 fee, a decision that caused anger among supporters. Blood had already scored 18 goals by that point in the season, and his departure preceded a poor run of form which saw Vale lose seven of their next eight league games. Fan unrest grew, and a group of directors resigned in protest over the sale, accusing the board of placing financial concerns above footballing ambition.

Despite the disruption, the club narrowly avoided relegation, finishing 17th in the 22-team Second Division with 36 points, three points above the drop zone. Blood remained the club's top scorer with 20 goals in all competitions, highlighting the impact of his mid-season departure. In his absence, the likes of Tom Page and Billy Briscoe were unable to provide the same goal threat, and the team managed only six wins from their final 22 league games.

Port Vale also had little success in cup competitions. They failed to qualify for the FA Cup, losing 1–0 away at Clapton Orient. In the North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup, they were beaten 3–1 by Potteries derby rivals Stoke at the Old Recreation Ground. Though the season ended in frustration, the board defended their decisions by pointing to financial necessity, and the club looked to regroup for the following year.

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 Frank Vallis, who 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 16 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]

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]

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]

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

Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		Other		Total
		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
FB	Peter Pursell	34	0	1	0	0	0	35	0
FB	Bob Pursell	38	0	1	0	0	0	39	0
FB	Tom Lyons	31	0	1	0	1	0	32	0
FB	Len Birks	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
HB	Arthur McGarry	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
HB	Ernest Perry	18	1	0	0	1	0	19	1
HB	Tom Holford	23	1	1	0	1	0	25	1
HB	Joe Brough	31	1	1	0	1	0	33	1
HB	Frank Simon	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
HB	Freddy Price	19	1	0	0	0	0	19	1
HB	Arthur Poole	9	0	1	0	0	0	10	0
HB	Jack Mellor	9	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
HB	Ernest Collinge	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
FW	James Wootton	24	2	1	0	0	0	25	2
FW	Billy Fitchford	25	3	0	0	0	0	25	3
FW	James Hill	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
FW	Frank Newman	20	0	0	0	0	0	20	0
FW	Harry Johnstone	8	1	0	0	0	0	8	1
FW	F. Crook	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
FW	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

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

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
May 1920	FB		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	HB		Frank Simon	Crewe Alexandra	Free transfer	[4]
August 1920	HB		Freddy Price	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Free transfer	[4]
September 1920	HB		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	FW		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]

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

Specific

General

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