1916–17 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale
1916–17 season
Chairman	Frank Huntbach
Manager	Tom Holford
Stadium	Old Recreation Ground
Football League Lancashire Section	15th (21 points)
Lancashire Section Subsidiary Tournament	3rd (5 points)
Top goalscorer	League: Jack Needham (10); All: Jack Needham (12)
Highest home attendance	12,000 vs. Stoke, 7 April 1917
Lowest home attendance	2,017 vs. Oldham Athletic, 25 November 1917
Average home league attendance	5,386
Biggest win	11–1 vs. Blackpool, 18 November 1916
Biggest defeat	0–4 (twice), 1–5 and 2–6
	1917–18 →

The 1916–17 season was Port Vale's first season of football after going into abeyance during World War I.^[1] They were admitted into the Football League's Lancashire Region, going up against some of the country's biggest clubs after years of playing non-league football. Losing 16 of their 30 league games, they still managed a remarkable 11–1 victory over Blackpool.

Overview[]

Following a year in effective hibernation, the club reinstated first-team football after chairman Frank Huntbach "realised that the war workers needed recreation as much as ever and as long as the players were men working for the war effort, no harm could be done".^[1] The club were fortunate to gain admittance to the Football League's Lancashire Region, allowing them to compete with clubs such as Liverpool, Manchester City and Preston North End.^[1] Manager Tom Holford re-signed Teddy Bateup, Edgar Bentley, Jim Bennett, Jack Shelton, Joe Brough and Jock Cameron to give some continuation of the team that had competed well in The Central League.^[1] However attempts to re-sign former top-scorer Chris Young failed as he opted to stay with Grimsby Town.^[1]

Vale started the league campaign well with a 2–2 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford and a 0–0 draw with Liverpool at the Old Recreation Ground.^[1] The squad was boosted by the arrivals of Ted Collins and Jack Needham, who signed after their club Wolverhampton Wanderers shut down operations. The pair "showed their true regard for the game" by turning up to play Stockport County on 16 September despite working until 6 am earlier that day; however former Valeite Bob Suart inspired County to a 5–3 win.^[1] Two more draws followed, including a 0–0 draw at Stoke, though this was then followed by five defeats in six games.^[1] The 13th game of the campaign proved unlucky for visitors Blackpool, as Vale recorded their first victory by a remarkable 11–1 scoreline, with Jack Needham, Holford, James Wootton, Albert Broadhurst and George Shelton all claiming two goals each, supplemented by a single strike for Albert Groves.^[1] They then beat Oldham Athletic 4–0, before dropping into a losing streak of seven defeats in nine games to prove the Blackpool result as an anomaly as the club dropped to last place.^[1] They recovered to lose only three of their final eight games, though the final day victory over Manchester United proved "a farce" as the visitors only turned up with four players and had to loan the other seven to make up a full team.^[1] Vale finished in 15th-place with 21 points from 30 games, whilst Needham finished as top-scorer with ten goals.^[1]

A six-match Subsidiary Tournament concluded the season, with the Vale going unbeaten at home against Stoke, Manchester City and Manchester United.^[1] They recorded a 3–2 victory over Stoke and beat United 5–2 after being helped by guest player Billy Meredith.^[1] The club's annual meeting revealed a profit of £692 as the gate receipts of £2,582 were well above the playing wages of £649.^[1] Wartime football was profitable but had its unique challenges, with Holdford, Brough, Needham, Bentley and Jack Shelton all needing replacing at the end of the season as they were conscripted.^[1]

Results[]

Port Vale's score comes first

Legend[]

Win	Draw	Loss

Football League Lancashire Section[]

League table[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
14	Oldham Athletic	30	8	6	16	36	65	0.554	22
15	Port Vale	30	7	7	16	50	60	0.833	21
16	Blackpool	30	6	7	17	44	80	0.550	19

Source: Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

Matches[]

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
2 September 1916	Manchester United	A	2–2	5,000	Colclough, Brough
9 September 1916	Liverpool	H	0–0	6,000
16 September 1916	Stockport County	A	3–5	3,000	Needham, Brough, Bentley (pen)
23 September 1916	Bury	H	2–2	5,000	G.Shelton, Brough
30 September 1916	Stoke	A	0–0	very large
7 October 1916	Southport Central	H	1–3	4,000	Needham
14 October 1916	Blackburn Rovers	A	0–4	3,000
21 October 1916	Manchester City	H	0–1	6,000
28 October 1916	Everton	A	1–3		G.Shelton
4 November 1916	Rochdale	H	1–1		G.Shelton
11 November 1916	Bolton Wanderers	A	2–3	3,176	Colclough, Leese
18 November 1916	Blackpool	H	11–1		Needham (2), Holford (2), Wootton (2), Broadhurst (2), G.Shelton (2), Groves
25 November 1916	Oldham Athletic	H	4–0	2,017	G.Shelton (2), Wootton, Needham
2 December 1916	Preston North End	A	1–2		Groves
9 December 1916	Burnley	H	2–6	4,000	Colclough, Wootton
23 December 1916	Liverpool	A	1–5	2,000	Colclough
30 December 1916	Stockport County	H	1–2		Holford
6 January 1917	Bury	A	3–1	1,000	Griffiths (2), Needham
13 January 1917	Stoke	H	1–2	10,000	Griffiths
20 January 1917	Southport Central	A	1–3	500	Bentley (pen)
27 January 1917	Blackburn Rovers	H	3–1		Needham (3)
3 February 1917	Manchester City	A	0–2	6,000
10 February 1917	Everton	H	1–1		Lockett
17 February 1917	Rochdale	A	3–1	1,000	Lockett (2), Bentley (pen)
24 February 1917	Bolton Wanderers	H	2–0	5,000	Needham, Bentley (pen)
3 March 1917	Blackpool	A	0–4	2,000
10 March 1917	Oldham Athletic	A	0–3	1,572
17 March 1917	Preston North End	H	1–1	3,000	Lockett
24 March 1917	Burnley	A	0–1	1,000
6 April 1917	Manchester United	H	3–0	4,000	Brough (2), Broadhurst

Lancashire Section Subsidiary Tournament[]

League table[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
2	Stoke	6	3	0	3	11	6	1.833	6
3	Port Vale	6	2	1	3	9	12	0.750	5
4	Manchester City	6	1	2	3	3	11	0.273	4

Source: Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

Matches[]


Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
31 March 1917	Manchester City	A	0–1	7,000
7 April 1917	Stoke	H	3–2	12,000	Needham, Brough, Holford
9 April 1917	Manchester United	A	1–5	8,000	Brough
14 April 1917	Manchester City	H	0–0	5,000
21 April 1917	Stoke	A	0–2
28 April 1917	Manchester United	H	5–2	4,000	Bridgett (2), Groves, Needham, Holford

Player statistics[]

Appearances[]

Pos.	Name	League		Subsidiary		Total
Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Teddy Bateup	4	0	0	0	4	0
GK	John Powell	26	0	6	0	32	0
GK	William Connell	1	0	0	0	1	0
DF	Jim Bennett	10	0	0	0	10	0
DF	Edgar Bentley	28	4	0	0	28	4
DF	Jock Cameron	12	0	5	0	17	0
DF	Ted Collins	22	0	5	0	27	0
DF	Tom Davies	2	0	0	0	2	0
DF	Archie Dyke	1	0	0	0	1	0
DF	Eli Fletcher	0	0	1	0	1	0
DF	John Griffiths	3	3	0	0	3	3
DF	Albert Groves	18	2	5	1	23	3
DF	George Holmes	1	0	1	0	2	0
DF	Harry Leese	1	1	0	0	1	1
DF	Tom Lyons	2	0	0	0	2	0
MF	E Bourne	2	0	0	0	2	0
MF	G Arrowsmith	9	0	3	0	12	0
MF	Arthur Bridgett	0	0	1	2	1	2
MF	Albert Broadhurst	16	3	2	0	21	3
MF	Joe Butterworth	1	0	1	0	2	0
MF	S Colclough	11	4	0	0	11	4
MF	Clem Heath	2	0	0	0	2	0
MF	Tom Holford	22	3	6	2	28	5
MF	Bobby McNeal	3	0	0	0	3	0
MF	Jack Needham	22	10	5	2	27	12
MF	B Phillips	4	0	1	0	5	0
MF	Freddy Price	1	0	2	0	3	0
MF	George Shelton	24	7	6	0	30	7
MF	Billy Spooner	3	0	0	0	3	0
MF	James Wootton	17	4	0	0	17	4
FW	W Biddulph	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW	W Agar	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Joe Brough	12	5	4	2	16	7
FW	Jack Cockcroft	0	0	1	0	1	0
FW	Shirley Hubbard	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Aaron Lockett	10	4	1	0	11	4
FW	Billy Meredith	0	0	1	0	1	0
FW	Jack Shelton	30	0	6	0	36	0
FW	Joe Smith	6	0	0	0	6	0
FW	Chris Young	1	0	0	0	1	0

Top scorers[]

Place	Position	Nation	Name	League	Subsidiary	Total
1	MF	England	Jack Needham	10	2	12
2	MF	England	George Shelton	7	0	7
–	FW	England	Joe Brough	5	2	7
4	MF	England	Tom Holford	3	2	5
5	DF	England	Edgar Bentley	4	0	4
–	MF	England	S Colclough	4	0	4
–	MF	England	James Wootton	4	0	4
–	FW	England	Aaron Lockett	4	0	4
9	DF	England	John Griffiths	3	0	3
–	MF	England	Albert Broadhurst	3	0	3
–	DF	Wales	Albert Groves	2	1	3
12	MF	England	Arthur Bridgett	0	2	2
13	DF	England	Harry Leese	1	0	1
			TOTALS	50	9	59

Transfers[]

Transfers in[]

Date from	Position	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
August 1916	MF	G Arrowsmith	Shelton United	Free transfer	^[2]
August 1916	MF	S Colclough	Goldenhill Warriers	Free transfer	^[2]
August 1916	DF	George Holmes	Leek Alexandra	Free transfer	^[2]
August 1916	FW	Aaron Lockett	Audley	Free transfer	^[2]
August 1916	MF	B Phillips	Shelton United	Free transfer	^[2]
August 1916	MF	George Shelton	Wellington Town	Free transfer	^[2]
August 1916	MF	Billy Spooner	Brighton & Hove Albion	Free transfer	^[2]
Autumn 1916	MF	Albert Broadhurst		Free transfer	^[2]
January 1917	DF	Tom Lyons	Aston Villa	Free transfer	^[2]
March 1917	DF	Tom Davies		Free transfer	^[2]

Transfers out[]

Date from	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
1917	FW	W Biddulph		Released	^[2]
1917	MF	E Bourne		Released	^[2]
Summer 1917	MF	S Colclough		Released	^[2]
Summer 1917	FW	Aaron Lockett	Audley	Free transfer	^[2]

References[]

Specific

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p Kent, Jeff (1990). "The Hard Road Back (1907–1919)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 71–97. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ 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 Kent, Jeff (1990). "The Hard Road Back (1907–1919)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 71–97. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.

[transfers-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

[1]

[2]

v t Port Vale F.C. seasons
1880–81 1881–82 1882–83 1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90
1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–00
1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10
1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00
2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26 2026–27 2027–28 2028–29 2029–30