1917–18 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale
1917–18 season
Chairman	Frank Huntbach
Manager	Tom Holford
Stadium	Old Recreation Ground
Football League Lancashire Section	11th (26 points)
Lancashire Section Subsidiary Tournament	4th (2 points)
Top goalscorer	League: David Bowcock (7); All: David Bowcock (7)
Highest home attendance	10,000 vs. Stoke City, 29 September 1917
Lowest home attendance	562 vs. Oldham Athletic, 1 December 1917
Average home league attendance	3,507
Biggest win	4–0 and 5–1
Biggest defeat	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.^[1] Improving on the previous season, they managed to finish in 11th-place. The team managed a run of just one defeat in 11 games, though ended the league campaign with a run of six defeats in eight games.

Overview[]

Port Vale had a difficult start to the season, losing key players to conscription and facing champions Liverpool home and away.^[1] They actually led 2–0 at half-time in the season opener, though ended the match with a 3–2 defeat and then were beaten 4–0 at Anfield.^[1] 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.^[1] 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.^[1] 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.^[1]

A 4–0 win over Blackpool on 26 January took Vale up 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.^[1] 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.^[1] 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.^[1] Around this time club nicknames were becoming popular, and The Staffordshire Sentinel reporter "The Wanderer" suggested "the Colliers", in reference to local coal mines, though the nickname failed to catch on.^[1] They ended the season in a respectable 11th-place; David Bowcock's seven goals were enough to make him top-scorer as few attackers could manage to play in half the club's matches.^[1] The six game Subsidiary Tournament was used as an exercise to blood young players, and they lost five of their games in a difficult group of Manchester City, Manchester United and Stoke.^[1] Despite low costs the club announced a loss of £33 and the total debt reached £4,000, leaving directors grumbling about their financial responsibilities.^[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
10	Preston North End	30	12	3	15	38	53	0.717	27
11	Port Vale	30	9	8	13	47	58	0.810	26
12	Blackpool	30	10	5	15	46	70	0.657	25

Source: Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

Matches[]

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
1 September 1917	Liverpool	H	2–3	4,000	Worthy (2)
8 September 1917	Liverpool	A	0–4	12,000
15 September 1917	Southport Central	H	1–1		Worthy
22 September 1917	Southport Central	A	4–2	1,000	Lyons, Bowcock, A.Pearson, Edgeley
29 September 1917	Stoke	H	0–2	10,000
6 October 1917	Stoke	A	1–4		Hill
13 October 1917	Burnley	H	5–2	poor	Bowcock (3), Spooner, A.Pearson
20 October 1917	Burnley	A	2–2		A.Pearson, Bowcock
27 October 1917	Manchester United	A	3–3	7,000	Whittaker (2), A.Pearson
3 November 1917	Manchester United	H	2–2	4,000	Edgeley, A.Pearson
10 November 1917	Stockport County	A	2–2	2,000	Whittaker, Edgeley
17 November 1917	Stockport County	H	0–4	3,000
24 November 1917	Oldham Athletic	A	1–1	1,203	Hill
1 December 1917	Oldham Athletic	H	2–0	562	Spooner, Malkin
8 December 1917	Bury	A	2–0	2,000	Spooner, Whittaker
15 December 1917	Bury	H	2–2	1,000	o.g., Whittaker
22 December 1917	Bolton Wanderers	A	2–0	1,000	Bowcock (2)
29 December 1917	Bolton Wanderers	H	1–2	few hundred	Daley
5 January 1918	Preston North End	A	0–1
12 January 1918	Preston North End	H	3–0		Brennan (2), H.Pearson
19 January 1918	Blackpool	A	1–0	7000	Rogers
26 January 1918	Blackpool	H	4–0		Brennan (2), Rogers (2)
2 February 1918	Manchester City	A	1–5	11,000	Hill
9 February 1918	Manchester City	H	0–2	1,000
16 February 1918	Rochdale	H	1–1		Brennan
23 February 1918	Rochdale	A	0–2	2,000
2 March 1918	Everton	H	0–1
9 March 1918	Everton	A	0–7	15,000
16 March 1918	Blackburn Rovers	A	5–1	100	Jolly (2), A.Pearson, Foster, J.Bennett
23 March 1918	Blackburn Rovers	H	0–2

Lancashire Section Subsidiary Tournament[]

League table[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
2	Manchester United	6	3	1	2	6	7	0.857	7
3	Stoke	6	2	2	2	10	5	2.000	6
4	Port Vale	6	1	0	5	4	15	0.267	2

Source: Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

Matches[]


Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
29 March 1918	Stoke	H	0–2
30 March 1918	Manchester City	H	1–4	8,000	Brennan
1 April 1918	Stoke	A	0–6
6 April 1918	Manchester City	A	0–1	1,000
13 April 1918	Manchester United	A	0–2	3,000
20 April 1918	Manchester United	H	3–0	4,000	Foster (2), Daley

Player statistics[]

Appearances[]

Pos.	Name	League		Subsidiary		Total
Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Teddy Bateup	5	0	0	0	5	0
GK	John Powell	5	0	0	0	5	0
GK	Jonathan Hammond	20	0	5	0	25	0
DF	Jim Bennett	15	1	4	0	19	1
DF	Jock Cameron	27	0	5	0	32	0
DF	Ted Collins	2	0	0	0	2	0
DF	John Griffiths	2	0	0	0	2	0
DF	George Holmes	13	0	4	0	17	0
DF	Willie Hawley	0	0	1	0	1	0
DF	Tom Lyons	30	1	4	0	34	1
DF	Harry Pearson	24	1	2	0	26	1
DF	B Phillips	14	0	0	0	14	0
DF	Bill Taylor	0	0	1	0	1	0
MF	G Arrowsmith	23	0	5	0	28	0
MF	Tom Holford	2	0	0	0	2	0
MF	George Shelton	2	0	0	0	2	0
MF	Billy Spooner	26	3	1	0	27	3
MF	Joe Daley	3	1	2	1	5	2
MF	Harold Edgeley	14	3	0	0	14	3
MF	James Hill	15	3	0	0	15	3
MF	J Lawton	3	0	0	0	3	0
MF	W Malkin	1	1	2	0	3	1
MF	W Pepper	1	0	1	0	2	0
MF	Herbert Bennett	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Joe Brough	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Jack Shelton	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW	David Bowcock	10	7	0	0	10	7
FW	Tom Brennan	11	5	5	1	16	6
FW	Billy Briscoe	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Jack Foster	5	1	4	2	9	3
FW	Jack Jolly	7	2	1	0	8	2
FW	A MacKenzie	0	0	1	0	1	0
FW	G Maddock	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Albert Pearson	28	6	5	0	33	6
FW	Arthur Rogers	6	3	3	0	6	3
FW	J Wellings	0	0	1	0	1	0
FW	Sam Whittaker	6	5	0	0	6	5
FW	S Worthy	5	3	0	0	5	3

Top scorers[]

Place	Position	Nation	Name	League	Subsidiary	Total
1	FW	England	David Bowcock	7	0	7
2	FW	England	Albert Pearson	6	0	6
–	FW	England	Tom Brennan	5	1	6
4	FW	England	Sam Whittaker	5	0	5
5	FW	England	S Worthy	3	0	3
–	MF	England	Billy Spooner	3	0	3
–	MF	England	Harold Edgeley	3	0	3
–	MF	England	James Hill	3	0	3
–	FW	England	Arthur Rogers	3	0	3
–	FW	England	Jack Foster	1	2	3
11	FW	England	Jack Jolly	2	0	2
–	MF	England	Joe Daley	1	1	2
13	DF	England	Jim Bennett	1	0	1
–	DF	England	Tom Lyons	1	0	1
–	DF	England	Harry Pearson	1	0	1
–	MF	England	W Malkin	1	0	1
–	–	–	Own goals	1	0	1
			TOTALS	47	4	51

Transfers[]

Transfers in[]

Date from	Position	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1917	MF	Joe Daley		Free transfer	^[2]
1917	MF	W Pepper		Free transfer	^[2]
1917	FW	Arthur Rogers		Free transfer	^[2]
Summer 1917	FW	David Bowcock		Free transfer	^[2]
Summer 1917	MF	James Hill		Free transfer	^[2]
Autumn 1917	MF	W Malkin		Free transfer	^[2]
September 1917	DF	Harry Pearson	Bury	Free transfer	^[2]
November 1917	FW	Jack Foster		Free transfer	^[2]
November 1917	MF	J Lawton		Free transfer	^[2]
January 1918	FW	Billy Briscoe	Leek United	Free transfer	^[2]
February 1918	FW	Jack Jolly		Free transfer	^[2]

Transfers out[]

Date from	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
1918	GK	Teddy Bateup	Retired		^[2]
1918	MF	J Lawton		Released	^[2]
1918	MF	W Pepper		Released	^[2]
1918	FW	S Worthy		Released	^[2]
April 1918	MF	W Malkin		Released	^[2]
Summer 1918	DF	Jim Bennett		Released	^[2]
Summer 1918	FW	Jack Jolly		Released	^[2]

References[]

Specific

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m 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 ^o ^p ^q ^r 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 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 ^o ^p ^q ^r 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