1933–34 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale

1933–34 season
Chairman	Frank Huntbach
Manager	Tom Holford
Stadium	The Old Recreation Ground
Football League Second Division	8th (45 Points)
FA Cup	Third Round
Welsh Cup	Semi-final
Top goalscorer	League: Tom Nolan (22) All: Tom Nolan (22)
Highest home attendance	14,216 vs. Blackpool (20 January 1934)
Lowest home attendance	2,990 vs. Nottingham Forest (5 May 1934)
Average home league attendance	10,051
Home colours
← 1932–33 1934–35 →

The 1933–34 season was Port Vale's 28th season of football in the Football League, and their fourth successive season (27th overall) in the Second Division.^[1] Finishing eighth in the second tier with 45 points, they would not reach such a peak again until 1996–97. It was their joint-second best ever finish after the 1930–31 season, along with the 1924–25, 1925–26, 1926–27, and 1996–97 campaigns.

A strong defence and two lengthy series of good results raised belief and expectation of promotion to the top-flight for the first time in the club's history. However two runs of poor results dashed such hopes, resulting in what would be a downward slide that would last until the end of World War II. After pushing for promotion, the club's directors were forced to initiate a cull of players at the season's end.

Manager Tom Holford.

Chairman Frank Huntbach stated that an average attendance of 12,000 was needed to bring the club forward, and also hit out against the Hanley traders.^[1]

Overview

Second Division

The pre-season saw the arrival of ten new professionals, six of which were forwards.^[1] The most significant newcomers were Trevor Rhodes (Bradford Park Avenue), Jack Vickers (Charlton Athletic), as well as Ken Gunn and Billy Tabram (both from Swansea Town).^[1]

The season started excellently with ten wins in the opening fifteen matches. At the end of this run Sydney Dickinson was brought in from Bradford Park Avenue, though the Vale then went on to lose five of their next six matches, conceding sixteen goals and scoring just three.^[1] The slide was halted with a 1–0 Boxing day victory over Lincoln City in which top-scorer Tom Nolan became one of only two Vale players sent off in the period between 1918 and 1947.^[1] The result nevertheless kept the club within a point of the promotion places.^[1] This was supplemented by seven of a possible eight points in their next four games, including victories at The Dell and Valley Parade.^[1]

Their run ended on 5 February at The Old Recreation Ground with a 1–0 defeat to eventual champions Grimsby Town.^[1] From this point the promotion campaign completely collapsed, with a 4–0 loss soon coming to Welsh strugglers Swansea.^[1] New signing Jack Blackwell from Charlton couldn't reverse the trend despite helping the side to their biggest win of the season with a 5–1 thrashing of Millwall the following week.^[1] A fortnight later and a 2–0 win over promotion chasing Preston North End meant promotion was back on the cards for the "Valiants".^[1] The Sentinel's "Placer" commented that Vale had the easiest remaining fixtures of the chasing pack and thus had a "great chance of ascending to the First Division for the first time in their career".^[1]

Their remaining eleven games yielded a return of merely seven points, lacking a reserve side, fatigue had set into the first team.^[1] One significant defeat came at Old Trafford, which helped Manchester United avoid relegation to the third tier for what would have been the only time in their history. Young Fred Mitcheson did make a name for himself however, scoring a hat-trick in his debut in a 4–0 win over Plymouth Argyle.^[1]

They finished in eighth position, gaining 45 points from 42 games.^[1] Seven more points were required to match promoted Preston North End, though they finished twelve points clear of relegated Millwall. Billy Tabram had helped secure the Vale's defence, their 55 goals conceded the lowest in the division behind Preston.^[1] Attacking wise, their 60 goals were a poor return for a top-of-the-table club, with 33 of these coming from Tom Nolan (22) and Trevor Rhodes (11).^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a loss of £2,771 was announced despite strict economic budgeting.^[1] Gate receipts had risen slowly to £11,868, though a rare transfer deficit was made, and expenses had risen sharply.^[1] The club announced that it would consider offers for any of its players, blaming the fans for a lack of enthusiasm, exemplified by an attendance of 2,990 (raising just £136) for the end-of-season clash with Nottingham Forest, despite having recently built a stand with cover for 15,000 spectators.^[1] The upshot of this was the release of a massive fifteen players, a list which included: Bill Cope, Sydney Dickinson, Len Armitage, and Jimmy McGrath.^[1] Billy Tabram was also sold to Hull City for a large fee, whilst Fred Mills' transfer to Leeds United and George Poyser's move to Brentford also brought in some much needed cash.^[1] In the boardroom, Adrian Capes announced his retirement.^[1] It was, according to historian Jeff Kent, "the end of an era".^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, defeat came in the Third Round to Third Division South side Charlton Athletic at The Valley despite 'special training' measures beforehand.^[1]

For the first and only time the club also entered the Welsh Cup.^[2] Vale lost out to Bristol City at the semi-final stage.

Final league table

Pos	Team	Pld		W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A		F	A	GA	GD		Pts
1	Grimsby Town	42		15	3	3	62	28		12	2	7	41	31		103	59	1.746	+ 44		59
2	Preston North End	42		15	3	3	47	20		8	3	10	24	32		71	52	1.365	+ 19		52
3	Bolton Wanderers	42		14	2	5	45	22		7	7	7	34	33		79	55	1.436	+ 24		51
4	Brentford	42		15	2	4	52	24		7	5	9	33	36		85	60	1.417	+ 25		51
5	Bradford Park Avenue	42		16	2	3	63	27		7	1	13	23	40		86	67	1.284	+ 19		49
6	Bradford City	42		14	4	3	46	25		6	2	13	27	42		73	67	1.090	+ 6		46
7	West Ham United	42		13	3	5	51	28		4	8	9	27	42		78	70	1.114	+ 8		45
8	Port Vale	42		14	4	3	39	14		5	3	13	21	41		60	55	1.091	+ 5		45
9	Oldham Athletic	42		12	5	4	48	28		5	5	11	24	32		72	60	1.200	+ 12		44
10	Plymouth Argyle	42		12	7	2	43	20		3	6	12	26	50		69	70	0.986	– 1		43
11	Blackpool	42		10	8	3	39	27		5	5	11	23	37		62	64	0.969	– 2		43
12	Bury	42		12	4	5	43	31		5	5	11	27	42		70	73	0.959	– 3		43
13	Burnley	42		14	2	5	40	29		4	4	13	20	43		60	72	0.833	– 12		42
14	Southampton	42		15	2	4	40	21		0	6	15	14	37		54	58	0.931	– 4		38
15	Hull City	42		11	4	6	33	20		2	8	11	19	48		52	68	0.765	– 16		38
16	Fulham	42		13	3	5	29	17		2	4	15	19	50		48	67	0.716	– 19		37
17	Nottingham Forest	42		11	4	6	50	27		2	5	14	23	47		73	74	0.986	– 1		35
18	Notts County	42		9	7	5	32	22		3	4	14	21	40		53	62	0.855	– 9		35
19	Swansea Town	42		10	9	2	36	19		0	6	15	15	41		51	60	0.850	– 9		35
20	Manchester United	42		9	3	9	29	33		5	3	13	30	52		59	85	0.694	– 26		34
21	Millwall	42		8	8	5	21	17		3	3	15	18	51		39	68	0.574	– 29		33
22	Lincoln City	42		7	7	7	31	23		2	1	18	13	52		44	75	0.587	– 31		26

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against;
GA = Goal average; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42
Ground	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H
Result	L	W	W	L	W	W	W	L	W	W	W	D	W	D	W	L	L	L	D	L	L	W	D	W	W	W	L	D	L	W	D	W	L	L	W	L	L	D	L	W	L	W
Position	18	10	7	12	5	4	1	6	2	2	1	1	1	2	2	2	3	4	4	6	8	6	6	4	3	2	3	3	6	5	4	3	5	6	5	6	8	7	9	6	8	8

Sourced from Statto.^[3]

Football League Second Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
26 August 1933	Fulham	A	0–3	21,070
28 August 1933	Bury	H	4–1	8,416	Nolan (3), McGrath
2 September 1933	Southampton	H	2–1	11,237	Gunn (2)
9 September 1933	Blackpool	A	0–1	16,988
11 September 1933	Bury	A	3–0	6,197	Rhodes, Gunn, Tabram
16 September 1933	Bradford City	H	3–1	11,453	Rhodes, Morton, Nolan
23 September 1933	Grimsby Town	A	2–1	10,505	Nolan, Morton
30 September 1933	Notts County	A	2–3	15,364	Nolan (2)
7 October 1933	Swansea Town	H	1–0	9,478	Rhodes
14 October 1933	Millwall	A	3–0	12,045	Gunn, Rhodes, Nolan
21 October 1933	Bradford Park Avenue	H	3–1	13,122	Nolan (2), Morton
28 October 1933	Preston North End	A	0–0	14,160
4 November 1933	Oldham Athletic	H	2–0	12,228	Nolan, Rhodes
11 November 1933	Burnley	A	0–0	13,445
18 November 1933	Brentford	H	1–0	11,349	Gunn
25 November 1933	Bolton Wanderers	A	0–3	14,925
2 December 1933	Manchester United	H	2–3	10,316	Nolan, Rhodes
9 December 1933	Plymouth Argyle	A	0–3	13,672
16 December 1933	West Ham United	H	0–0	6,610
23 December 1933	Nottingham Forest	A	1–6	9,239	Rhodes
25 December 1933	Lincoln City	A	0–1	11,584
26 December 1933	Lincoln City	H	1–0	13,910	Nolan
30 December 1933	Fulham	H	2–2	8,151	Gunn, Rhodes
6 January 1934	Southampton	A	4–1	9,987	Rhodes (3), Morton
20 January 1934	Blackpool	H	1–0	14,216	McGrath
27 January 1934	Bradford City	A	2–1	12,719	Dickinson, Mills
5 February 1934	Grimsby Town	H	0–1	12,662
10 February 1934	Notts County	H	0–0	10,645
22 February 1934	Swansea Town	A	0–4	5,764
24 February 1934	Millwall	H	5–1	8,578	Blackwell (2), Gunn, Mills, Nolan
3 March 1934	Bradford Park Avenue	A	2–2	11,548	Gunn, Dickinson
10 March 1934	Preston North End	H	2–0	12,972	Morton (2)
17 March 1934	Oldham Athletic	A	1–5	5,900	Nolan
24 March 1934	Burnley	H	0–2	7,367
30 March 1934	Hull City	H	3–0	10,502	Nolan (3)
31 March 1934	Brentford	A	0–2	19,758
2 April 1934	Hull City	A	1–2	13,333	Blackwell
7 April 1934	Bolton Wanderers	H	0–0	9,923
14 April 1934	Manchester United	A	0–2	14,777
21 April 1934	Plymouth Argyle	H	4–0	4,956	Mitcheson (3), Nolan
28 April 1934	West Ham United	A	0–1	9,893
5 May 1934	Nottingham Forest	H	3–1	2,990	Nolan (3)

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	13 January 1934	Charlton Athletic	A	0–2	18,821

Player statistics

Appearances Pos. Name Football League FA Cup Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals GK Allan Todd 28 0 1 0 29 0 GK Ormond Jones 14 0 0 0 14 0 DF George Shenton 10 0 0 0 10 0 DF William Cope 13 0 1 0 14 0 DF George Poyser 38 0 1 0 39 0 DF Len Armitage 1 0 1 0 2 0 DF Jack Vickers 32 0 1 0 33 0 DF Trevor Rhodes 30 11 1 0 31 11 DF Ernest Breeze 4 0 0 0 4 0 MF Roger Jones 28 0 1 0 29 0 MF Jack Round 3 0 0 0 3 0 MF Jimmy McGrath 38 3 1 0 39 3 MF Fred Mills 37 2 1 0 38 2 MF Bob Morton 33 5 0 0 33 5 MF Horace Baker 3 0 0 0 3 0 MF Cliff Birks 11 0 0 0 11 0 MF Billy Tabram 35 1 1 0 36 1 MF Richard Twiss 1 0 0 0 1 0 MF Albert Purcell 2 0 0 0 2 0 MF Sydney Dickinson 12 2 0 0 12 2 MF Ken Gunn 38 8 1 0 39 8 FW Tom Nolan 32 22 0 0 32 22 FW Robert G. Davies 2 0 0 0 2 0 FW Fred Mitcheson 3 3 0 0 3 3 FW Jack Blackwell 12 3 0 0 12 3 FW Peter Cunningham 2 0 0 0 2 0

Scorers All competitions Scorer Goals Tom Nolan 22 Trevor Rhodes 11 Ken Gunn 8 Bob Morton 5 Jimmy McGrath 3 Fred Mitcheson Jack Blackwell Fred Mills 2 Sydney Dickinson Billy Tabram 1 League Scorer Goals Tom Nolan 22 Trevor Rhodes 11 Ken Gunn 8 Bob Morton 5 Jimmy McGrath 3 Fred Mitcheson Jack Blackwell Fred Mills 2 Sydney Dickinson Billy Tabram 1

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
May 1933	FW		Peter Cunningham	Barnsley	Free transfer	[4]
May 1933	MF		Ken Gunn	Swansea Town	£400	[4]
May 1933	GK		Ormond Jones	Yeovil & Petters United	Free transfer	[4]
May 1933	DF		Jack Vickers	Charlton Athletic	£200	[4]
June 1933	MF		Trevor Rhodes	Bradford Park Avenue	Free transfer	[4]
July 1933	FW		Fred Mitcheson	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Free transfer	[4]
August 1933	MF		Richard Twiss	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Free transfer	[4]
November 1933	MF		Sydney Dickinson	Bradford Park Avenue	'Substantial'	[4]
November 1933	MF		Albert Purcell	Kidsgrove Liverpool Road	Free transfer	[4]
February 1934	FW		Jack Blackwell	Charlton Athletic	Free transfer	[4]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
November 1933	FW		Peter Cunningham	Crewe Alexandra	Free transfer	[4]
May 1934	DF		William Allsop	Halifax Town	Free transfer	[4]
May 1934	DF		Len Armitage	Tranmere Rovers	Free transfer	[4]
May 1934	MF		Horace Baker	Longton Hall	Free transfer	[4]
May 1934	FW		Robert G. Davies	Torquay United	Free transfer	[4]
May 1934	GK		Ormond Jones	Norwich City	Free transfer	[4]
May 1934	DF		Billy Tabram	Hull City	Free transfer	[4]
June 1934	MF		Jimmy McGrath	Notts County	Free transfer	[4]
June 1934	MF		Fred Mills	Leeds United	Undisclosed	[4]
June 1934	DF		George Poyser	Brentford	£1,550	[4]
Summer 1934	DF		Bill Cope		Released	[4]
Summer 1934	MF		Sydney Dickinson	Lincoln City	Released	[4]
Summer 1934	MF		Richard Twiss	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	Free transfer	[4]

References

Specific

1. Kent, Jeff (1990). "From Glory to Despair (1929–1939)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 124–150. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
2. Sherwin, Phil (2010). The Port Vale Miscellany. Brimscombe Port: The History Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7524-5777-2.
3. Port Vale 1933–1934 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
4. 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.