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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; (knocked out by Charlton Athletic)
Welsh Cup	Semi-final; (knocked out by Bristol City)
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
Biggest win	4–0 and 5–1
Biggest defeat	1–6 vs. Nottingham Forest, 23 December 1933
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1932–33 1934–35 →

The 1933–34 season was Port Vale's 28th season of football in the English 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 a downward slide lasting 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.

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. However, 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 team, 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.

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Grimsby Town (C, P)	42	27	5	10	103	59	1.746	59	Promotion to the First Division
2	Preston North End (P)	42	23	6	13	71	52	1.365	52	Promotion to the First Division
3	Bolton Wanderers	42	21	9	12	79	55	1.436	51
4	Brentford	42	22	7	13	85	60	1.417	51
5	Bradford Park Avenue	42	23	3	16	86	67	1.284	49
6	Bradford City	42	20	6	16	73	67	1.090	46
7	West Ham United	42	17	11	14	78	70	1.114	45
8	Port Vale	42	19	7	16	60	55	1.091	45
9	Oldham Athletic	42	17	10	15	72	60	1.200	44
10	Plymouth Argyle	42	15	13	14	69	70	0.986	43
11	Blackpool	42	15	13	14	62	64	0.969	43
12	Bury	42	17	9	16	70	73	0.959	43
13	Burnley	42	18	6	18	60	72	0.833	42
14	Southampton	42	15	8	19	54	58	0.931	38
15	Hull City	42	13	12	17	52	68	0.765	38
16	Fulham	42	15	7	20	48	67	0.716	37
17	Nottingham Forest	42	13	9	20	73	74	0.986	35
18	Notts County	42	12	11	19	53	62	0.855	35
19	Swansea Town	42	10	15	17	51	60	0.850	35
20	Manchester United	42	14	6	22	59	85	0.694	34
21	Millwall (R)	42	11	11	20	39	68	0.574	33	Relegation to the Third Division South
22	Lincoln City (R)	42	9	8	25	44	75	0.587	26	Relegation to the Third Division North

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results

Port Vale's score comes first

Football League Second Division

Results by matchday

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

Source: Statto^[3]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

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 and goals

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		Total
Pos.	Name	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
MF	Billy Webster	0	0	0	0	0	0
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

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Second Division	Total
1	FW	England	Tom Nolan	22	22
2	DF	England	Trevor Rhodes	11	11
3	MF	Scotland	Ken Gunn	8	8
4	MF	England	Bob Morton	5	5
5	MF	England	Jimmy McGrath	3	3
–	FW	England	Fred Mitcheson	3	3
–	FW	England	Jack Blackwell	3	3
8	MF	England	Fred Mills	2	2
–	MF	England	Sydney Dickinson	2	2
10	MF	Wales	Billy Tabram	1	1
			TOTALS	60	60

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	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	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

^ ^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 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.
^ Sherwin, Phil (2010). The Port Vale Miscellany. Brimscombe Port: The History Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7524-5777-2.
^ Port Vale 1933–1934 : Results & Fixtures Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.