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1945–46 Port Vale F.C. season

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Port Vale
1945–46 season
ChairmanTom Flint
ManagerBilly Frith
StadiumOld Recreation Ground
Third Division (South) North3rd (24 points)
FA CupThird Round
(knocked out by Bradford (Park Avenue))
Third Division (South) North Cup8th (14 points)
Top goalscorerLeague: Bill Pointon (9)
All: Bill Pointon (19)
Highest home attendance11,388 vs. Queens Park Rangers, 30 March 1946
Lowest home attendance2,632 vs. Notts County, 26 January 1946
Average home league attendance7,212
Biggest win4–0 (twice) and 5–1
Biggest defeat1–4 vs. Queens Park Rangers, 29 September 1945

The 1945–46 season was Port Vale's third and final season of football in the wartime league system of World War II.[1] Despite low expectations the club turned a profit in the Third Division (South) North, finishing third in the initial table. They reached the third round of the FA Cup, though they ended the season with a disappointing finish in the Third Division (South) North Cup. Overall, though, the club were in a healthy position to resume playing in the Football League the following season.

Overview

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The Port Vale management was concerned to learn that they were to compete in the Third Division (South) region for the 1945–46 season, which they felt would result in less revenue and greater expenditure than being in the North division, even though they were still somewhat confusingly placed in the North region of the South Division.[1] They appointed 33-year-old former Coventry City half-back Billy Frith as the club's new manager, as predecessor David Pratt was unable to gain release from the Royal Air Force.[1] Again, the playing squad was made up mainly of young players and guests, with Scottish inside-right Isaac McDowell being a regular guest.[1] They opened the campaign with three victories from three games, Ralph Gregory proving a revelation on leave from the Royal Marines, scoring a hat-trick in a 4–3 win at Norwich City.[1] However, seven games without a victory began with the return fixture with Norwich, before they were boosted by the return of the now demobilised goalkeeper Arthur Jepson.[1] They picked up six of a possible eight points in October. They continued their good form until the end of the New Year's Day league programme.[1] They finished in third place with 24 points in 20 games, eight points behind champions Queens Park Rangers.[1]

They progressed past Wellington Town and Liverpool County Combination amateurs Marine to reach the third round of the FA Cup, which was now being played over two legs.[1] They "put up a grand show" against Bradford (Park Avenue) at Park Avenue, losing 2–1.[1] They then had to settle for a 1–1 draw at home, being denied a penalty and then having a goal ruled out for offside late in the game.[1] A 16-game Third Division (South) North Cup series then began, with the top two teams entering the division's semi-finals.[1] Though they fared poorly, they were fortunate enough to have goalkeeper George Heppell demobilised in time to take the place of an injured Arthur Jepson.[1] Tommy Cheadle made his club debut in a 4–1 home victory over Ipswich Town on 2 March.[1] However, this was only one of two victories in the final ten games as Frith experimented with different line-ups to find a winning combination.[1] They ended the season in eighth place, picking up 14 points from 16 games. Bill Pointon was a consistent goalscorer, hitting 19 goals. The club made a profit of £1,265 on the season, having made a healthy £13,475 in gate receipt money.[1] The City Council agreed to extend the lease on the Old Recreation Ground until June 1950, leaving ample time for Vale Park to be constructed.[1]

Results

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Port Vale's score comes first

Legend

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Win Draw Loss

Third Division (South) North

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League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
2 Norwich City 20 11 4 5 54 31 1.742 26
3 Port Vale 20 9 6 5 34 25 1.360 24
4 Watford 20 10 2 8 42 47 0.894 22

Matches

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
25 August 1945 Ipswich Town H 3–2 6,080 Pointon, Bellis, Jones
30 August 1945 Norwich City A 4–3 7,507 Gregory (3), Allen
1 September 1945 Ipswich Town A 1–0 11,512 Gregory
3 September 1945 Norwich City H 2–2 7,426 Gregory, McDowell
8 September 1945 Northampton A 0–1 5,815
15 September 1945 Northampton H 0–0 6,534
19 September 1945 Notts County A 1–3 5,857 McDowell
22 September 1945 Queens Park Rangers H 0–0 8,382
29 September 1945 Queens Park Rangers A 1–4 13,797 Pointon
6 October 1945 Clapton Orient A 1–1 4,817 Cumner
13 October 1945 Clapton Orient H 4–0 7,791 Pointon (2), Bellis, Jones
20 October 1945 Watford H 2–1 7,607 Bellis, Pointon
27 October 1945 Watford A 2–2 5,528 Allen, Bellis
1 December 1945 Mansfield Town A 2–1 3,761 McDowell, o.g.
22 December 1945 Southend United A 0–2 2,544
24 December 1945 Mansfield Town H 2–0 6,000 Davies (2)
25 December 1945 Walsall A 5–1 5,804 Pointon (2), Shore, Davies, Bellis
26 December 1945 Walsall H 0–1 11,200
29 December 1945 Notts County H 3–0 8,200 Pointon (2), Bellis
1 January 1946 Southend United H 1–1 2,900 Shore

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
R1 Leg 1 17 November 1944 Wellington Town H 4–0 8,700 McDowell (2), Pointon, o.g.
R1 Leg 2 24 November 1944 Wellington Town A 2–0 5,056 Bellis, McDowell
R2 Leg 1 8 December 1944 Marine H 3–1 5,800 Allen (2), Gregory
R2 Leg 2 15 December 1944 Marine A 1–1 5,000 Gregory
R3 Leg 1 5 January 1945 Bradford (Park Avenue) A 1–2 13,000 Bellis
R3 Leg 2 7 January 1945 Bradford (Park Avenue) H 1–1 11,086 Bellis

Third Division (South) North Cup

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League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
7 Clapton Orient 16 6 3 7 22 31 0.710 15
8 Port Vale 16 5 4 7 21 25 0.840 14
9 Northampton Town 16 5 2 9 27 29 0.931 12

Matches

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
12 January 1946 Walsall A 1–3 5,523 Bellis
19 January 1946 Walsall H 1–0 3,229 Cooper
26 January 1946 Notts County H 2–1 2,632 Wootton, Pointon
2 February 1946 Notts County A 2–3 5,000 Pointon, Gardner
9 February 1946 Bristol Rovers A 2–4 9,500 Pointon (2)
16 February 1946 Bristol Rovers H 1–0 4,554 Pointon
23 February 1946 Ipswich Town A 0–1 7,500
2 March 1946 Ipswich Town H 4–1 3,200 Bellis (2), Pointon (2)
9 March 1946 Clapton Orient A 0–0 6,197
16 March 1946 Clapton Orient H 2–2 8,283 Pointon, Bellis
23 March 1946 Queens Park Rangers A 2–4 13,274 Shore, Pointon
30 March 1946 Queens Park Rangers H 0–2 11,388
6 April 1946 Mansfield Town A 1–2 5,777 Bellis
13 April 1946 Mansfield Town H 0–0 6,768
20 April 1946 Southend United H 2–1 7,016 Cheadle, Bellis
22 April 1946 Southend United A 1–1 8,500 Bellis

Player statistics

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Appearances and goals

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Pos. Name League FA Cup Region Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK England Arthur Jepson 10 0 6 0 4 0 20 0
GK England Harry Prince 10 0 0 0 2 0 12 0
GK England George Heppell 0 0 0 0 10 0 10 0
DF England Harry Griffiths 18 0 6 0 8 0 32 0
DF Scotland Bob Pursell 15 0 3 0 10 0 28 0
DF England Jess Sproson 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
DF England Cyril Johnson 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
DF England Tommy Cheadle 0 0 0 0 9 1 9 1
DF England Roy Felton 7 0 5 0 3 0 15 0
DF England Stan Kelley 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
DF England Reg Potts 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
DF England Roger Whittle 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
MF England Wilf Smith 13 0 6 0 16 0 35 0
MF England Alf Bellis 15 6 6 3 12 7 33 16
MF Scotland Murdoch Dickie 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MF England Bob Allen 9 2 6 2 9 0 22 4
MF England Billy Buckley 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MF England Jack Clunn 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MF England Arthur Cooper 19 0 6 0 16 1 41 1
MF England Harold Jervis 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
MF England Frank Pointon 6 0 0 0 2 0 8 0
MF England Arthur Cumberlidge 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0
MF England George Gould 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
MF England Francis Jones 5 2 0 0 0 0 5 2
MF England Bill McGarry 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
MF England Ted Oldfield 2 0 2 0 11 0 15 0
MF England Ted Shore 10 2 5 0 9 1 24 3
MF England Dennis Simpson 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
MF England Frank Soo 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MF England Don Triner 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 0
MF England Ken Watkin 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
MF England Ernie Willett 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
FW England Ralph Gregory 6 5 2 2 2 0 10 7
FW Scotland Isaac McDowell 12 3 4 3 1 0 17 6
FW England Edward Nutting 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
FW England Bill Pointon 13 9 5 1 13 9 31 19
FW England Eric Prince 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
FW England Bert Wright 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
FW England Ellis Birchall 2 0 1 0 0 0 3 0
FW England Billy Byrne 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
FW Wales Horace Cumner 7 1 0 0 0 0 7 1
FW England Eddie Davies 5 3 2 0 3 0 10 3
FW England Ken Faulkner 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
FW England Fred Gardner 0 0 0 0 3 1 3 1
FW England Jimmy Hutchinson 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
FW England George James 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
FW England John Lowndes 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
FW England Colin Lyman 0 0 0 0 4 0 4 0
FW England George Willis 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
FW England Len Wootton 9 0 1 0 14 1 25 1

Top scorers

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Place Position Nation Name Third Division North FA Cup North Cup Total
1 FW  England Bill Pointon 9 1 9 19
2 MF  England Alf Bellis 6 3 7 16
3 FW  England Ralph Gregory 5 2 0 7
4 FW  Scotland Isaac McDowell 3 3 0 6
5 MF  England Bob Allen 2 2 0 4
6 MF  England Ted Shore 2 0 1 3
FW  England Eddie Davies 3 0 0 3
8 MF  England Francis Jones 2 0 0 2
9 FW  Wales Horace Cumner 1 0 0 1
DF  England Tommy Cheadle 0 0 1 1
MF  England Arthur Cooper 0 0 1 1
FW  England Fred Gardner 0 0 1 1
FW  England Len Wootton 0 0 1 1
Own goals 1 1 0 2
TOTALS 34 12 21 67

Transfers

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Transfers in

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Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref.
August 1945 DF England Francis Jones Free transfer [2]
August 1945 DF England Reg Potts Stoke City Free transfer [2]
August 1945 FW England Len Wootton Free transfer [2]
September 1945 MF England Ted Shore Free transfer [2]
December 1945 MF England Ted Oldfield Helsby Free transfer [2]
January 1946 FW England George James Free transfer [2]
March 1946 FW England Billy Byrne Free transfer [2]
March 1946 DF England Tommy Cheadle Free transfer [2]

Transfers out

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Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref.
Autumn 1945 MF Scotland Murdoch Dickie Guildford City Released [2]
1946 MF England Harold Jervis Royal Air Force Released [2]
1946 DF England Francis Jones Released [2]
January 1946 MF Scotland Isaac McDowell Scotland Cowdenbeath Released [2]
May 1946 FW England Edward Nutting Released [2]
Summer 1946 MF England Billy Buckley Released [2]
Summer 1946 MF England Jack Clunn Released [2]
Summer 1946 MF England Arthur Cumberlidge Northwich Victoria Released [2]
Summer 1946 DF England Roy Felton Crystal Palace Refused terms [2]
Summer 1946 FW England George James Released [2]
Summer 1946 FW England Cyril Johnson Released [2]
Summer 1946 DF England Roger Whittle Released [2]

References

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Specific
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Kent, Jeff (1990). "Creating Sunshine from the Shadows (1939–1950)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 151–171. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
General