1934–35 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale

1934–35 season
Chairman	Frank Huntbach
Manager	Tom Holford
Stadium	The Old Recreation Ground
Football League Second Division	18th (34 Points)
FA Cup	Third Round
Top goalscorer	League: Tom Nolan (16) All: Tom Nolan (16)
Highest home attendance	18,989 vs. West Bromwich Albion (12 January 1935)
Lowest home attendance	3,860 vs. Fulham (27 April 1935)
Average home league attendance	8,463
Home colours
← 1933–34 1935–36 →

The 1934–35 season was Port Vale's 29th season of football in the Football League, and their fifth successive season (28th overall) in the Second Division.^[1] A positive start to the season raised hope of promotion; however, from October onwards the club performed so poorly as to finish fifth-from-bottom. One event of note was a six-week discussion over a possible change of name; the names Stoke Central, Stoke United, Stoke North End, and Hanley Port Vale were considered – however none of these names attracted enough support to institute a change.

Manager Tom Holford.

Chairman Frank Huntbach declared "the prospects of this club are very bright" at the start of the campaign.^[1]

Overview

Second Division

The pre-season saw the arrival of eight new signings, the most significant of these were: 'safe as houses' goalkeeper John Potts (Leeds United), 'outstanding' outside-right John Friar (Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic), inside-left David Galloway (Preston North End), and centre-half Joe Craven (Swansea Town).^[1]

The season started with just one defeat in the opening eight games, leaving the club in fourth place by the end of September – mostly down to the goalscoring partnership of Friar and Nolan.^[1] Home victories over Sheffield United, Southampton, Manchester United, and Burnley nevertheless saw attendances of only 7,311 to 11,975.^[1] Following this they went on a run of twelve games without a win, with an over-reliance on Friar and Nolan in attack, whilst the defence lacked understanding.^[1] The team was changed around but to no avail, as they slipped down the league towards a relegation battle.^[1] In the middle of December Friar was sold on to Preston North End, having scored ten goals in eighteen games, with the 'more steady' Ted Critchley heading in the other direction.^[1] Their poor form was halted with a Christmas day victory over Bradford City.^[1] The team were then inconsistent until the end of the season.

The 2 February match programme (for a 2–1 victory over Swansea) recorded a discussion on whether or not the club should change its name.^[1] Coming to the conclusion that many people didn't know where Port Vale was, Stoke Central and Stoke United were put forward as possible new names.^[1] A discussion with the fans resulted, in which Stoke United was decided as the best alternative, despite calls from some for the name Hanley to be included.^[1] On 2 March (a 1–1 draw with Norwich City) each supporter was given a ballot slip upon entering The Old Recreation Ground, with the result of the poll being that 3,737 were in favour of a change of name, and 3,633 opposed a change.^[1] A shareholders' meeting on 18 March at the Grand Hotel (Hanley) saw the directors suggest the name of Stoke North End to the 100 members present.^[1] Finding little support, a resolution was instead passed for the new name of Hanley Port Vale.^[1] The Football League forced them to wait until the end of the season to implement a name change, having already printed countless papers with the original name.^[1] However the new name proved to be unpopular with the public, who criticized the club for being too parochial and 'lacking civic pride'.^[1] The change of name never took place.^[1]

Back on the pitch, the team were bobbing along, picking up enough points to avoid concerns over relegation – whereas Oldham Athletic and Notts County were rapidly drifting away from safety.^[1] On 9 March at St James' Park the Vale picked up a shock result by beating promotion hopefuls Newcastle United 2–1 – their first away win in 24 attempts, ending a run going back to January 1934.^[1] Nolan's stand-in James Baker bagged both of the goals.^[1] On 19 April a 5–3 beating of Notts County proved enough to all but guarantee safety, yet Vale still earned just two points from their final four games.^[1] On 20 April they lost a massive 8–0 to champions Brentford – the biggest defeat in the division that season.^[1]

They finished eighteenth with 34 points, eight points clear of relegation, and 22 points short of promotion.^[1] Away from home they recorded just the one win, whilst in front of goal their 55 goals scored was their lowest total since 1925 (after which the offside rule had been changed to make scoring easier).^[1] Tom Nolan's sixteen goals and the departed John Friar's ten goals were the only significant contributions.^[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a mere £11,120 was made on the gates, though a £3,775 credit on transfers ensured a profit of £2,415.^[1] Only fourteen players were retained, with those leaving including: James Baker (Barrow), Bob Morton (Throckley Welfare), Jack Blackwell (Boston United), Joe Craven (Newport County), David Galloway (Carlisle United), Ted Critchley (South Liverpool), and 128 game veteran Jack Round (also Carlisle).^[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale were defeated 2–1 by eventual runners-up West Bromwich Albion of the First Division at The Hawthorns.^[1] The 18,989 crowd saw £1,000 raised in gate receipts, and a comeback from the "Throstles" just six minutes from time.^[1] This meant they exited at the Third Round for the third consecutive season.

Final league table

Pos	Team	Pld		W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A		F	A	GA	GD		Pts
1	Brentford	42		19	2	0	59	14		7	7	7	34	34		93	48	1.938	+ 45		61
2	Bolton Wanderers	42		17	1	3	63	15		9	3	9	33	33		96	48	2.000	+ 48		56
3	West Ham United	42		18	1	2	46	17		8	3	10	34	46		80	63	1.270	+ 17		56
4	Blackpool	42		16	4	1	46	18		5	7	9	33	39		79	57	1.386	+ 22		53
5	Manchester United	42		16	2	3	50	21		7	2	12	26	34		76	55	1.382	+ 21		50
6	Newcastle United	42		14	2	5	55	25		8	2	11	34	43		89	68	1.309	+ 21		48
7	Fulham	42		15	3	3	62	26		2	9	10	14	30		76	56	1.357	+ 20		46
8	Plymouth Argyle	42		13	3	5	48	26		6	5	10	27	38		75	64	1.172	+ 11		46
9	Nottingham Forest	42		12	5	4	46	23		5	3	13	30	47		76	70	1.086	+ 6		42
10	Bury	42		14	1	6	38	26		5	3	13	24	47		62	73	0.849	– 11		42
11	Sheffield United	42		11	4	6	51	30		5	5	11	28	40		79	70	1.129	+ 9		41
12	Burnley	42		11	2	8	43	32		5	7	9	20	41		63	73	0.863	– 10		41
13	Hull City	42		9	6	6	32	22		7	2	12	31	52		63	74	0.851	– 11		40
14	Norwich City	42		11	6	4	51	23		3	5	13	20	38		71	61	1.164	+ 10		39
15	Bradford Park Avenue	42		7	8	6	32	28		4	8	9	23	35		55	63	0.873	– 8		38
16	Barnsley	42		8	10	3	32	22		5	2	14	28	61		60	83	0.723	– 23		38
17	Swansea Town	42		13	5	3	41	22		1	3	17	15	45		56	67	0.836	– 11		36
18	Port Vale	42		10	7	4	42	28		1	5	15	13	46		55	74	0.743	– 19		34
19	Southampton	42		9	8	4	28	19		2	4	15	18	56		46	75	0.613	– 29		34
20	Bradford City	42		10	7	4	34	20		2	1	18	16	48		50	68	0.735	– 18		32
21	Oldham Athletic	42		10	3	8	44	40		0	3	18	12	55		56	95	0.589	– 39		26
22	Notts County	42		8	3	10	29	33		1	4	16	17	64		46	97	0.474	– 51		25

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	H	A	A	H	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A
Result	W	D	L	W	D	W	D	W	L	L	D	L	L	D	L	L	L	D	L	D	W	L	L	W	L	W	L	D	W	L	D	W	D	L	L	L	W	W	L	L	D	D
Position	1	4	11	4	5	4	4	4	5	10	9	12	13	14	15	18	18	18	19	20	16	18	19	19	19	18	18	18	17	18	17	17	16	17	19	19	18	17	17	18	19	18

Sourced from Statto.^[2]

Football League Second Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
25 August 1934	Sheffield United	H	2–0	11,975	Nolan, Friar
27 August 1934	Southampton	A	0–0	6,977
1 September 1934	Barnsley	A	0–2	9,370
3 September 1934	Southampton	H	4–1	7,746	Friar (2), Nolan, Morton
8 September 1934	Plymouth Argyle	H	2–2	10,133	Nolan (2)
15 September 1934	Manchester United	H	3–2	9,037	Friar (2 [1 pen]), Nolan
22 September 1934	Swansea Town	A	1–1	5,698	Nolan
29 September 1934	Burnley	H	3–1	7,311	Friar (2), Nolan
6 October 1934	Oldham Athletic	A	0–2	6,069
13 October 1934	Bolton Wanderers	H	1–3	16,839	Nolan
20 October 1934	Norwich City	A	0–0	14,195
27 October 1934	Newcastle United	H	1–3	11,036	Rhodes
3 November 1934	West Ham United	A	1–3	19,391	Rhodes
10 November 1934	Blackpool	H	2–2	7,656	Gunn, Rhodes
17 November 1934	Bury	A	1–3	8,278	Friar
24 November 1934	Hull City	H	1–2	6,086	Friar
1 December 1934	Nottingham Forest	A	0–2	13,576
8 December 1934	Brentford	H	2–2	8,054	Friar, Nolan
15 December 1934	Fulham	A	0–2	8,138
22 December 1934	Bradford Park Avenue	H	1–1	6,251	Morton
25 December 1934	Bradford City	H	1–0	8,436	Nolan
26 December 1934	Bradford City	A	0–3	13,727
29 December 1934	Sheffield United	A	0–3	16,520
5 January 1935	Barnsley	H	4–0	6,074	Rhodes, Morton, Mitcheson, Blackwell
19 January 1935	Plymouth Argyle	A	1–2	14,051	Rhodes
2 February 1935	Swansea Town	H	2–1	7,081	Nolan (2)
6 February 1935	Manchester United	A	1–2	7,372	Rhodes
9 February 1935	Burnley	A	2–2	9,830	Dean (2)
16 February 1935	Oldham Athletic	H	2–0	5,473	Dean, Critchley
23 February 1935	Bolton Wanderers	A	0–2	18,897
2 March 1935	Norwich City	H	1–1	8,284	Morton
9 March 1935	Newcastle United	A	2–1	23,934	Baker (2)
16 March 1935	West Ham United	H	2–2	12,853	Baker, Mitcheson
23 March 1935	Blackpool	A	1–3	7,268	Baker
30 March 1935	Bury	H	0–1	7,869
6 April 1935	Hull City	A	0–1	3,569
13 April 1935	Nottingham Forest	H	2–0	6,389	Nolan (2)
19 April 1935	Notts County	H	5–3	9,010	Birks (2), Mitcheson (2), Nolan
20 April 1935	Brentford	A	0–8	18,194
22 April 1935	Notts County	A	2–3	6,765	Blackwell, Nolan
27 April 1935	Fulham	H	1–1	3,860	Birks
4 May 1935	Bradford Park Avenue	A	1–1	3,634	Birks

FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	12 January 1935	West Bromwich Albion	A	1–2	18,989	Morton

Player statistics

Appearances Pos. Name Football League FA Cup Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals GK John Potts 42 0 1 0 43 0 DF George Shenton 15 0 0 0 15 0 DF Jack Vickers 26 0 1 0 27 0 DF Trevor Rhodes 35 6 1 0 36 6 DF Ernest Breeze 25 0 1 0 26 0 DF Percy Thorpe 1 0 0 0 1 0 DF Jim Kelso 15 0 0 0 15 0 DF Eric Hayward 4 0 0 0 4 0 MF Roger Jones 29 0 1 0 30 0 MF Jack Round 26 0 1 0 27 0 MF Bob Morton 35 4 1 1 36 5 MF Cliff Birks 11 4 0 0 11 4 MF Albert Purcell 2 0 0 0 2 0 MF Ken Gunn 31 1 0 0 31 1 MF Albert Titley 4 0 0 0 4 0 MF John Friar 18 10 0 0 18 10 MF Arthur Caldwell 1 0 0 0 1 0 MF Joe Craven 11 0 0 0 11 0 FW Tom Nolan 39 16 1 0 40 16 FW Fred Mitcheson 31 4 1 0 32 4 FW Jack Blackwell 12 2 0 0 12 2 FW David Galloway 12 0 0 0 12 0 FW Ted Critchley 18 1 1 0 19 1 FW Luke Dean 10 3 0 0 10 3 FW James Baker 9 4 0 0 9 4

Scorers All competitions Scorer Goals Tom Nolan 16 John Friar 10 Trevor Rhodes 6 Bob Morton 5 Cliff Birks 4 Fred Mitcheson James Baker Luke Dean 3 Jack Blackwell 2 Ken Gunn 1 Ted Critchley League Scorer Goals Tom Nolan 16 John Friar 10 Trevor Rhodes 6 Cliff Birks 4 Fred Mitcheson Bob Morton James Baker Luke Dean 3 Jack Blackwell 2 Ken Gunn 1 Ted Critchley

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
May 1934	GK		John Potts	Leeds United	Free transfer	[3]
May 1934	MF		Albert Titley	West Bromwich Albion	Free transfer	[3]
June 1934	FW		James Baker	Charlton Athletic	Free transfer	[3]
June 1934	DF		Joe Craven	Swansea Town	Free transfer	[3]
June 1934	FW		David Galloway	Preston North End	Free transfer	[3]
June 1934	DF		Jim Kelso	Bradford Park Avenue	Free transfer	[3]
July 1934	MF		John Friar	Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic	Free transfer	[3]
July 1934	DF		Eric Hayward	Hanley and Wardle's	Free transfer	[3]
August 1934	FW		Luke Dean	Downing's Tileries	Free transfer	[3]
November 1934	DF		Percy Thorpe	Accrington Stanley	Free transfer	[3]
December 1934	FW		Ted Critchley	Preston North End	Exchange	[3]
May 1935	MF		Arthur Caldwell	Winsford United	Free transfer	[3]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
December 1934	MF		John Friar	Preston North End	Exchange	[3]
May 1935	FW		Jack Blackwell	Boston United	Released	[3]
May 1935	DF		Jim Kelso	Newport County	Free transfer	[3]
May 1935	MF		Albert Titley	Macclesfield Town	Free transfer	[3]
July 1935	FW		Tom Nolan	Bradford Park Avenue	Free transfer	[3]
Summer 1935	DF		Joe Craven	Newport County	Free transfer	[3]
Summer 1935	FW		Ted Critchley	South Liverpool	Released	[3]
Summer 1935	FW		David Galloway	Carlisle United	Free transfer	[3]
Summer 1935	MF		Bob Morton	Throckley Welfare	Free transfer	[3]
Summer 1935	MF		Albert Purcell		Released	[3]
Summer 1935	DF		Percy Thorpe		Released	[3]

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 978-0-9508981-4-8.
2. Port Vale 1934–1935 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
3. 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 978-0-9508981-9-3.