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Port Vale
1922–23 season
Chairman	Sampson Walker
Manager	Joe Schofield
Stadium	The Old Recreation Ground
Football League Second Division	17th (37 Points)
FA Cup	Fifth Qualification Round; (knocked out by Wrexham)
North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup	Runners-up; (knocked out by Stoke)
Top goalscorer	League: Tom Butler (9); All: Tom Butler (9)
Highest home attendance	16,022 vs Manchester United, 14 October 1922
Lowest home attendance	5,000 vs Derby County, 26 February 1923
Average home league attendance	10,204+
Biggest win	3–0 vs. South Shields, 25 December 1922
Biggest defeat	0–3 (three games)
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1921–22 1923–24 →

The 1922–23 season was Port Vale's fourth consecutive season of football (17th overall) in the English Football League.^[1] For the third-successive the season the club finished just out of the relegation zones, and for the second successive season were unable to find a regular goalscorer following the sale of Bobby Blood. Financial issues continued to be a concern, especially when a former trainer reported the club for making illegal payments.

Overview

Second Division

The releasing of numerous experienced players in pre-season necessitated the signing of numerous new attacking players, namely Millwall winger Patrick Donoghue; 'robust' inside-right Jack Gordon from Queen's Park; James Smith from Plymouth Argyle; and Tom Reid from Ayr United.^[1]

The season opened with two defeats in August, and though things soon turned around, it became clear that goals were at a premium.^[1] To solve this problem experienced winger Billy Harrison was signed from Manchester United.^[1] The "Valiants" duly did the double over the "Red Devils" with a 2–1 win at Old Trafford, and a 1–0 win at home thanks to a Harrison strike.^[1] Following an injury to the player, the club suffered something of a blip in November.^[1] The following month, the club spent £100 to bring Tom Butler from Darlaston.^[1] By the end of the calendar year the club were at the top end of the table, however, a loss of form in January caused them to slip back down the table.^[1] In February, young Arthur Prince was promoted from the reserves and helped the club go four games unbeaten.^[1] The Vale finished out the season on hot and cold spells and ended up narrowly avoiding relegation.

At the end of the season, Vale had made slight progress, having finished on 37 points, improving their tally of the previous two seasons by a single point. Their shocking home record was better only than bottom-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers. Vale secured the fewest home wins and had the second-lowest goals scored tally at home – remarkably second place West Ham United had scored just two fewer than Vale at home. Their six wins away from home helped them avoid the drop.

Top scorer Tom Butler bagged nine goals in his 26 games, but no other player managed more than four goals. Six players were rarely out of the first XI: goalkeeper Teddy Peers; defenders Peter Pursell and Len Birks; midfielders Ernest Collinge and Jack Hampson; and forward Billy Briscoe. At the end of the season, Billy Harrison joined Welsh club Wrexham, Jack Gordon went back to Scotland to sign with Greenock Morton, Teddy Peers retired, and Billy Briscoe refused a pay-cut and instead signed with nearby Congleton Town.^[1]

Finances

Finances were poor as attendances were disappointing, with The Sentinel's "Spectator" commenting that "Port Vale is respected everywhere, except in its own district".^[1] The ongoing Shilling Fund was useful for raising revenue, whilst £1,100 was written off by creditors in a remarkably charitable fashion.^[1] Yet in June 1923, the club was in trouble when former trainer Billy Barr reported Port Vale to the English Football League, accusing the club of having made illegal payments to its players throughout the season.^[1] The club was found guilty and was fined £100, with manager Joe Schofield also picking up a £25 fine.^[1] Three other officials were fined £150 in total, whilst seventeen players were each fined £1 each.^[1] This helped the club to report a loss of £2,400 on the season despite their tight spending.^[1] Gate receipts stood at just over £10,000, down almost 50% on 1920–21.^[1]

Cup competitions

Vale left the FA Cup at the Fifth Round of Qualifying after a disappointing 2–0 defeat by Third Division North Wrexham at The Old Recreation Ground.^[1] The end of season North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup Potteries derby bragging rights went to Stoke, which was scant consolation for a club who had just suffered relegation from the First Division.^[1] The match raised £250 for the local hospital.^[2]

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
15	Bradford City	42	12	13	17	41	45	0.911	37
16	Crystal Palace	42	13	11	18	54	62	0.871	37
17	Port Vale	42	14	9	19	39	51	0.765	37
18	Coventry City	42	15	7	20	46	63	0.730	37
19	Clapton Orient	42	12	12	18	40	50	0.800	36

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

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	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H
Result	L	L	D	W	W	L	D	W	W	W	D	L	W	L	L	D	W	W	L	W	L	L	L	L	L	D	W	W	D	L	L	L	L	W	W	L	L	D	W	D	L	D
Position	19	21	19	15	14	15	16	11	10	8	8	10	8	10	13	10	10	9	12	10	12	12	14	15	15	15	15	13	13	13	14	15	17	15	14	15	16	16	16	15	17	17

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

Matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
26 August 1922	Fulham	H	0–1	14,136
28 August 1922	Hull City	A	0–3	6,000
2 September 1922	Fulham	A	1–1	23,000	Smith
4 September 1922	Hull City	H	1–0	10,000	Gordon
9 September 1922	Coventry City	A	2–1	17,000	Smith, Agnew
16 September 1922	Coventry City	H	0–1	12,733
23 September 1922	Clapton Orient	A	0–0	10,000
30 September 1922	Clapton Orient	H	3–1	10,200	Harrison, Gordon, Connelly
7 October 1922	Manchester United	A	2–1	20,000	Hampson, Collinge
14 October 1922	Manchester United	H	1–0	16,022	Harrison
21 October 1922	Notts County	H	0–0	15,055
28 October 1922	Notts County	A	0–1	12,000
4 November 1922	Bury	H	2–0	8,822	Connelly, Gordon
11 November 1922	Bury	A	0–2	11,000
18 November 1922	Rotherham County	A	1–3	10,000	Collinge (pen)
25 November 1922	Rotherham County	H	0–0	7,503
9 December 1922	Stockport County	A	2–0	10,000	Orpe, Hampson
16 December 1922	Crystal Palace	H	2–0	10,000	Butler, Orpe
23 December 1922	Crystal Palace	A	0–2	9,000
25 December 1922	South Shields	H	3–0	9,254	Butler (2), Davies
30 December 1922	Leeds United	H	1–2	10,000	Hampson
1 January 1922	South Shields	A	1–3	9,000	Briscoe
6 January 1923	Leeds United	A	1–2	15,000	Butler
13 January 1923	Stockport County	H	0–2	9,500
20 January 1923	West Ham United	H	1–3	10,000	Connelly
27 January 1923	West Ham United	A	0–0	18,000
3 February 1923	Blackpool	H	2–0	9,885	Thompson, Collinge
10 February 1923	Derby County	A	2–1	10,000	Butler (2)
17 February 1923	Southampton	H	0–0	12,275
26 February 1923	Derby County	H	2–3	5,000	Thompson, Butler
3 March 1923	Bradford City	H	1–2	6,000	Prince
5 March 1923	Southampton	A	1–3	5,000	Thompson
10 March 1923	Bradford City	A	0–2	9,000
17 March 1923	Blackpool	A	2–0	10,000	Briscoe, Butler
30 March 1923	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	1–0	15,000	Page
31 March 1923	Leicester City	A	0–3	20,000
2 April 1923	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	0–3	15,000
7 April 1923	Leicester City	H	0–0	8,660
14 April 1923	Barnsley	A	1–0	8,000	Reid
21 April 1923	Barnsley	H	1–1	7,799	Briscoe
28 April 1923	The Wednesday	A	0–2	12,000
5 May 1923	The Wednesday	H	2–2	6,000	Hampson (pen), Butler

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
5Q	2 December 1922	Wrexham	H	0–2	7,200

North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
Final	7 May 1923	Stoke	A	1–3		Thompson

Player statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		Other		Total
Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Daniel Smith	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
GK	Teddy Peers	41	0	1	0	0	0	43	0
DF	Peter Pursell	40	0	1	0	1	0	42	0
DF	Len Birks	41	0	0	0	0	0	41	0
DF	William Lavery	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
DF	Billy Twemlow	3	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
DF	David Richards	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
MF	Billy Fitchford	19	0	1	0	0	0	20	0
MF	Ernest Collinge	42	3	1	0	1	0	44	3
MF	Bob Connelly	29	3	0	0	0	0	30	3
MF	Jack Hampson	38	4	1	0	0	0	39	4
MF	Tom Orpe	8	2	0	0	0	0	8	2
MF	Arthur Prince	16	1	0	0	1	0	17	1
MF	Patrick Donoghue	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
MF	Tom Holford	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW	Billy Briscoe	39	3	0	0	1	0	40	3
FW	Tom Page	25	1	1	0	0	0	26	1
FW	Billy Agnew	11	1	1	0	0	0	12	1
FW	Jimmy Thompson	8	3	0	0	1	1	9	4
FW	Albert Spencer	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
FW	James Smith	7	2	0	0	0	0	7	2
FW	Tom Reid	6	1	0	0	1	0	7	1
FW	Jack Gordon	22	3	1	0	1	0	24	3
FW	Charles Hallam	1	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
FW	Billy Harrison	21	2	0	0	1	0	22	2
FW	Harry Davies	12	1	0	0	0	0	12	1
FW	Tom Butler	25	9	0	0	1	0	26	9

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Second Division	Infirmary Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Tom Butler	9	0	9
2	MF	Wales	Jack Hampson	4	0	4
–	FW	England	Jimmy Thompson	3	1	4
4	MF	England	Ernest Collinge	3	0	3
–	MF	Scotland	Bob Connelly	3	0	3
–	FW	Scotland	Jack Gordon	3	0	3
–	FW	England	Billy Briscoe	3	0	3
8	MF	England	Tom Orpe	2	0	2
–	FW	England	Billy Harrison	2	0	2
–	FW	Scotland	James Smith	2	0	2
11	MF	England	Arthur Prince	1	0	1
–	FW	England	Tom Page	1	0	1
–	FW	England	Harry Davies	1	0	1
–	FW	Scotland	Billy Agnew	1	0	1
–	FW	Scotland	Tom Reid	1	0	1
			TOTALS	39	1	40

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
May 1922	FW	James Smith	Plymouth Argyle	Free transfer	^[4]
June 1922	FW	Harry Davies	Chorley	Free transfer	^[4]
August 1922	MF	Patrick Donoghue	Millwall Athletic	Free transfer	^[4]
August 1922	FW	Jack Gordon	Queen's Park	Free transfer	^[4]
August 1922	FW	Tom Reid	Ayr United	Free transfer	^[4]
August 1922	DF	David Richards	Larkhall Thistle	Free transfer	^[4]
September 1922	FW	Charles Hallam	Sandford Hill Primitives	Free transfer	^[4]
September 1922	FW	Billy Harrison	Manchester United	Free transfer	^[4]
October 1922	MF	Arthur Prince	Bucknall	Free transfer	^[4]
November 1922	MF	Tom Orpe	Hanley	Free transfer	^[4]
January 1923	FW	Tom Butler	Darlaston	£100	^[4]
January 1923	FW	Jimmy Thompson	Ashton National Gas	Free transfer	^[4]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
October 1922	FW	James Smith	Fulham	Mutual consent	^[4]
May 1923	GK	Teddy Peers	Retired		^[4]
June 1923	FW	Billy Harrison	Wrexham	£300	^[4]
June 1923	FW	Albert Spencer	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Free transfer	^[4]
Summer 1923	FW	Billy Agnew	Arthurlie	Released	^[4]
Summer 1923	GK	Ernest Blackham		Released	^[4]
Summer 1923	FW	Billy Briscoe	Congleton Town	Free transfer	^[4]
Summer 1923	FW	Harry Davies	Chorley	Released	^[4]
Summer 1923	MF	Patrick Donoghue		Released	^[4]
Summer 1923	FW	Jack Gordon	Greenock Morton	Released	^[4]
Summer 1923	DF	William Lavery		Released	^[4]
Summer 1923	MF	Billy Fitchford	Glossop	Released	^[4]
Summer 1923	MF	Harry Johnstone		Released	^[4]
Summer 1923	MF	Tom Orpe	Cheadle New Haden	Released	^[4]
Summer 1923	DF	David Richards	Dundee United	Released	^[4]
Summer 1923	GK	Daniel Smith		Released	^[4]
Summer 1923	FW	Jimmy Thompson	Blackpool	Released	^[4]
Summer 1923	DF	Billy Twemlow	Macclesfield	Released	^[4]
August 1923	FW	Charles Hallam	Sandbach Ramblers	Released	^[4]

References

Specific

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s Kent, Jeff (1990). "Keeping in Good Company (1919-1929)". The Valiants' Years The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 98–123. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
^ Kent, Jeff (November 1998). The Potteries Derbies. Witan Books. p. 118. ISBN 0-9529152-3-5.
^ Port Vale 1922–1923 : Results & Fixtures Archived 6 September 2015 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 ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.