1929–30 Port Vale F.C. season

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Port Vale
1929–30 season
ChairmanFrank Huntbach
ManagerJoe Schofield (until September)
Tom Morgan (October onwards)
StadiumThe Old Recreation Ground
Football League Third Division North1st (67 Points)
FA CupSecond Round
North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary CupRunners-up
Top goalscorerLeague: Sam Jennings (24)
All: Sam Jennings (27)
Highest home attendance15,346 vs. York City (18 April 1930)
Lowest home attendance4,519 vs. Halifax Town (28 December 1929)
Average home league attendance9,176

The 1929–30 season was Port Vale's 11th consecutive season of football (24th overall) in the Football League, and their first in the Third Division North.[1] They finished as champions and were thus promoted back to the Second Division. With 67 points they broke a division record.[1] After winning the North Staffordshire & District League in 1909–10 it was their first league title, as well as their first ever promotion in the Football League. They also racked up a still-standing club record Football League wins in a season, winning 30 of their 42 games. They were the most southerly team in the North Division.

Despite all the joys of the season there was some considerable solemnity at the season's start, with manager Joe Schofield dying following an illness, his team top of the table.[1]

Billy Briscoe played ten games.
Chairman Frank Huntbach.
Right-back Jack Maddock played only a cameo role.

Overview

Third Division North

The pre-season saw the directors spend some of the £2,600 they received in the sale of Wilf Kirkham.[1] In came Tom Baxter (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Frank Watkin (Stoke City), Sam Jennings (Nottingham Forest), Arthur Brown (Reading), and Bill Cope (Bolton Wanderers).[1] Jennings was a proven goalscorer, whilst Brown had kept goal for Wales.[1]

The season started well, continued at a high tempo, and finished in style.[1] Winning ten of their opening eleven games, Vale marked themselves as promotion favourites early on.[1] However during this sequence tragedy struck on 29 September with the death of manager Joe Schofield, aged 58, following a short illness.[1] The Sentinel described him as a man adept at developing young players, who remained close to his players in order to help them realize their full potential.[1] His funeral took place on 3 October, with Stoke City fans also mourning his death, as he had managed both clubs – the only man ever to do so.[1] Tom Morgan moved out of the backroom staff to take charge for the remainder of the season.[1]

In mid-October, the side suffered a mini-slump, drawing three games in a row.[1] To rectify things Bill Rawlings was signed from Manchester United for a four-figure fee, Ben Davies also arrived from Crewe Alexandra in a straight swap for Arthur Brown.[1] Five wins on the bounce followed.[1] Two defeats to Stockport County within two days (Christmas and Boxing day) left the race for the title open despite the "Valiants" excellent start.[1] Despite having nine players out injured the Vale marched on, winning nine and drawing two of their following eleven games.[1] This included a 4–0 win over Carlisle United and a 7–1 mauling over Rotherham United – Frank Watkin scoring five in the latter match.[1]

Just as Vale were looking unbeatable Jack Mandley was sold to Aston Villa for £5,000.[1] Protestations from the supporters were quelled slightly by the arrival of Harry Marshall from Wolves.[1] They slumped in March, winning two, losing two and drawing one.[1] Despite being top of the league a small minority of fans began protesting against the directors.[1] The final four games were all away, and Stockport were still breathing down the Vale's necks.[1] However all four games were won, with sixteen goals scored in the final five games of the season.[1] They took the title at Crewe Alexandra's Gresty Road, with 1,000 supporters cheering them on.[1]

They finished as champions with 67 points from 42 matches, then a division record.[1] This put them seventeen points clear of third-placed Darlington, and four points clear of Stockport.[1] The previous season County had finished one point off champions Bradford City. Vale were one of five teams in the Football League to score a century of league goals (the others Sheffield Wednesday, West Bromwich Albion, Stockport County, and Darlington).[1] Sam Jennings and Albert Pynegar scored nearly fifty goals combined. They conceded just 37 goals, less than any other team in the four divisions.[1] At a Burslem Town Hall reception 2,000 supporters congratulated the team on their achievement, amongst them Stoke's Wilf Kirkham.[1]

Finances

On the financial side, a profit of £363 was made.[1] Yet attendances were again a concern, a £725 drop in gate receipts saw an intake of just £13,302 on the gates.[1] Wages came to £8,079.[1] The directors again began talk of moving stadia to Cobridge.[1] Leaving the club were Robert Gillespie, Jack Prince, and Bill Rawlings; they left for Wrexham, Rochdale, and New Milton respectively.[1]

Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale progressed into the Second Round after beating Gainsborough Trinity 5–0 in a replay.[1] During the first encounter Bob Connelly made his 122nd consecutive appearance, but was injured during the rough match.[1] They then came up against league rivals Chesterfield at Saltergate. Chesterfield would win all but three of their home games in the league, and were equally stubborn opposition for the "Valiants", who they defeated 2–0.

Final league table

Main article: 1929–30 Football League
Pos Team Pld W D L F A W D L F A F A GA GD Pts
1 Port Vale 42 17 2 2 64 18 13 5 3 39 19 103 37 2.784 + 63 67
2 Stockport County 42 15 3 3 67 20 13 4 4 39 24 106 44 2.409 + 62 63
3 Darlington 42 14 2 5 71 29 8 4 9 37 44 108 73 1.479 + 35 50
4 Chesterfield 42 18 1 2 53 15 4 5 12 23 41 76 56 1.357 + 20 50
5 Lincoln City 42 12 8 1 54 23 5 6 10 29 38 83 61 1.361 + 22 48
6 York City 42 11 7 3 43 20 4 9 8 34 44 77 64 1.203 + 13 46
7 South Shields 42 11 6 4 49 32 7 4 10 28 42 77 74 1.041 + 3 46
8 Hartlepools United 42 13 4 4 50 24 4 7 10 31 50 81 74 1.095 + 7 45
9 Southport 42 11 5 5 49 31 4 8 9 32 43 81 74 1.095 + 7 43
10 Rochdale 42 14 3 4 57 30 4 4 13 32 61 89 91 0.978 – 2 43
11 Crewe Alexandra 42 12 5 4 55 28 5 3 13 27 43 82 71 1.155 + 11 42
12 Tranmere Rovers 42 12 4 5 57 35 4 5 12 26 51 83 86 0.965 – 3 41
13 New Brighton 42 13 4 4 48 22 3 4 14 21 57 69 79 0.873 – 10 40
14 Doncaster Rovers 42 13 5 3 39 22 2 4 15 23 47 62 69 0.899 – 7 39
15 Carlisle United 42 13 4 4 63 34 3 3 15 27 67 90 101 0.891 – 11 39
16 Accrington Stanley 42 11 4 6 55 30 3 5 13 29 51 84 81 1.037 + 3 37
17 Wrexham 42 10 5 6 42 28 3 3 15 25 60 67 88 0.761 – 21 34
18 Wigan Borough 42 12 4 5 44 26 1 3 17 16 62 60 88 0.682 – 28 33
19 Nelson 42 9 4 8 31 25 4 3 14 20 55 51 80 0.637 – 29 33
20 Rotherham United 42 9 4 8 46 40 2 4 15 21 73 67 113 0.593 – 46 30
21 Halifax Town 42 7 7 7 27 26 3 1 17 17 53 44 79 0.557 – 35 28
22 Barrow 42 9 4 8 31 28 2 1 18 10 70 41 98 0.418 – 57 27

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

Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142
GroundAAHHAAHHAHAAHAHAHHHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAAAA
ResultWWWWWLWWWWWDDDWWWWWLLWDWWWWWWDWWLLWDDWWWWW
Position621111111111111111111111111111111111111111
Source: Statto[2]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Football League Third Division North

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
31 August 1929 Halifax Town A 2–1 8,101 Jennings (2)
2 September 1929 New Brighton A 1–0 4,883 Jennings
7 September 1929 Barrow H 5–0 9,882 Griffiths (2), Pynegar, Baxter, Anstiss
9 September 1929 New Brighton H 5–1 8,260 Pynegar (3 [1 pen]), Griffiths, Anstiss
14 September 1929 Wrexham A 2–0 8,828 Watkin, Baxter
16 September 1929 Lincoln City A 2–3 5,842 Watkin (2)
21 September 1929 Wigan Borough H 4–0 7,915 Pynegar (2), Baxter, Jennings
23 September 1929 Crewe Alexandra H 2–0 10,674 Pynegar (2)
28 September 1929 Carlisle United A 4–1 8,784 Griffiths (2), Pynegar, Baxter
5 October 1929 Nelson H 3–1 7,746 Jennings (2), Pynegar
12 October 1929 Southport A 2–1 4,746 Watkin, Baxter
19 October 1929 Rotherham United A 2–2 6,583 Fishwick, Pynegar
26 October 1929 Rochdale H 3–3 8,902 Fishwick, Pynegar (pen), Griffiths
2 November 1929 South Shields A 0–0 5,984
9 November 1929 Accrington Stanley H 5–2 11,294 Pynegar (2), Anstiss, Rawlings, Baxter
16 November 1929 Darlington A 1–0 7,982 Griffiths
23 November 1929 Hartlepools United H 2–1 7,166 Anstiss, Rawlings
7 December 1929 Chesterfield H 4–1 5,682 Anstiss, Baxter, Griffiths, Jennings
21 December 1929 Tranmere Rovers H 1–0 6,852 Anstiss
25 December 1929 Stockport County H 1–2 14,494 Oakes
26 December 1929 Stockport County A 2–4 22,668 Stockton, Jennings
28 December 1929 Halifax Town H 3–0 4,519 Jennings (2), Stockton
4 January 1930 Barrow A 1–1 5,765 Mandley
18 January 1930 Wrexham H 3–0 10,519 Stockton (2), Jennings
25 January 1930 Wigan Borough A 3–0 6,567 Jennings (2), Fishwick
1 February 1930 Carlisle United H 4–0 9,279 Jennings (2), Anstiss (2)
8 February 1930 Nelson A 3–2 5,045 Anstiss, Jennings, Pynegar
15 February 1930 Southport H 1–0 8,338 Baxter
22 February 1930 Rotherham United H 7–1 7,989 Watkin (5), Jennings, Anstiss
1 March 1930 Rochdale A 0–0 7,177
8 March 1930 South Shields H 3–0 9,748 Jennings (3)
15 March 1930 Accrington Stanley A 2–0 4,431 Anstiss, Marshall
22 March 1930 Darlington H 0–2 10,543
29 March 1930 Hartlepools United A 0–2 7,473
5 April 1930 Doncaster Rovers H 2–1 9,905 Fishwick, Pynegar
12 April 1930 Chesterfield A 1–1 7,450 Griffiths
18 April 1930 York City H 1–1 15,346 Anstiss
19 April 1930 Lincoln City H 5–2 7,649 Jennings (2), Griffiths (2), Pynegar
21 April 1930 York City A 2–0 9,439 Griffiths (2)
26 April 1930 Tranmere Rovers A 5–1 3,784 Pynegar (2), Jennings (2), Griffiths
1 May 1930 Doncaster Rovers A 2–0 5,313 Baxter, Anstiss
3 May 1930 Crewe Alexandra A 2–0 7,014 Pynegar (2)

FA Cup

Main article: 1929–30 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 30 November 1929 Gainsborough Trinity A 0–0 4,000
R1 Replay 4 December 1929 Gainsborough Trinity H 5–0 6,253 Jennings (2), Anstiss (2), Pynegar
R2 14 December 1929 Chesterfield A 0–2 11,740

North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary Cup

Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
Final 5 May 1930 Stoke H 1–2 6,343 Jennings

Player statistics

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref.
May 1929 GK Wales Arthur Brown Reading Free transfer [3]
May 1929 FW England Sam Jennings Nottingham Forest Free transfer [3]
May 1929 DF England Jack Sherlock Hanley Y.M.C.A. Free transfer [3]
June 1929 DF England Frank Watkin Stoke City Free transfer [3]
July 1929 DF England Bill Cope Bolton Wanderers Free transfer [3]
October 1929 DF England Arnold Bliss Dartford Free transfer [3]
October 1929 GK England Ben Davies Crewe Alexandra Free transfer [3]
November 1929 MF England Cliff Birks Stoke City Free transfer [3]
November 1929 FW England Henry O'Grady Witton Albion Free transfer [3]
November 1929 FW England Bill Rawlings Manchester United 'four-figure' [3]
March 1930 FW England Harry Marshall Wolverhampton Wanderers 'sizeable outlay' [3]

Transfers out

Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref.
October 1929 GK Wales Arthur Brown Crewe Alexandra Free transfer [3]
March 1930 MF England Jack Mandley Aston Villa £7,000 [3]
May 1930 GK England Jack Prince Rochdale Released [3]
Summer 1930 FW England Bill Rawlings New Milton Free transfer [3]

References

Specific
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak 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. ^ Port Vale 1929–1930 : Results & Fixtures. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
General
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