1906–07 Burslem Port Vale F.C. season

Burslem Port Vale

1906–07 season
Chairman	Robert Audley
Manager	Sam Bennion
Stadium	Athletic Ground
Football League Second Division	16th (31 Points)
FA Cup	Second Round (knocked out by Notts County)
Staffordshire Senior Cup	Semi-final (knocked out by Aston Villa Reserves)
Top goalscorer	League: Billy Beats (13) All: Billy Beats (15)
Highest home attendance	10,000 vs Irthlingborough Town, 12 January 1906 Notts County, 2 February 1906
Lowest home attendance	1,500 vs Wolverhampton Wanderers, 16 March 1907
Average home league attendance	4,147+
Biggest win	7–0 vs. Burton United, 1 April 1907
Biggest defeat	0–6 vs. Burnley, 13 October 1906
Home colours
← 1905–06

The 1906–07 season was Burslem Port Vale's ninth consecutive season (13th overall) of football in the English Football League.^[1] They played home fixtures at the Athletic Ground under manager‑secretary Sam Bennion and chairman Robert Audley. The club finished 16th of 20, narrowly avoiding the bottom three with 31 points from 38 matches (12 wins, 7 draws, 19 losses), but endured a leaky defence, conceding 83 goals — the highest total in the division — and scoring 60.

Vale's cup campaigns included reaching the Second Round of the FA Cup, where they were eliminated by Notts County, and a semi-final exit in the Staffordshire Senior Cup, losing to Aston Villa Reserves. Forward Billy Beats led the scoring charts again, finishing as both league top scorer (13 goals) and season top scorer (15 goals in all competitions). Tom Coxon joined in summer 1906 and became a key contributor, scoring 12 goals in 41 appearances across league and cup before departing following the club's financial collapse. Vale also set club records: a 20‑game run from September to January without drawing (nine wins and eleven losses), and a record 7–1 FA Cup win over Irthlingborough Town in the First Round, their largest margin in the competition.

Financial turmoil intensified, with mounting debts and dwindling local support. On 14 June 1907, chairman Audley formally declared the club insolvent, and Vale resigned from the Football League — bringing this era of Burslem Port Vale football to an abrupt end.

Despite the club's ever-worsening financial situation, Vale managed to bring back former top scorer, and former England international, Billy Beats; he was appointed captain upon his return.^[1] Beats was made a tenant of the Bridge Inn in Hanley to supplement his wages. Gambling that big signings would attract big crowds, right-back Hughie Dunn was also brought in from Bristol Rovers; inside-right William Dodds signed from Southwick; with former player Tom Coxon returning from Middlesbrough.^[1] Sam Bennion took charge of team affairs after Tommy Clare's wages were too high to maintain.^[1] The team started the season well despite an opening day defeat to Leicester Fosse, with three wins in their opening six games; 6,000 turned up for that opening game.^[1] Some 5,000 returned to the Athletic Ground to Beats' "generalship" account for a 4–2 victory over Lincoln City. This was followed by four defeats on the bounce. Still, by winning five of their ten games in November and December the club put themselves in a decent position by Christmas.^[1] The club were two different sides at home and away, thumping Stockport County 5–0 at home and losing 6–0 at Burnley.^[1] Their first away win in ten months came at Blackpool on 22 December.^[1] At home they also managed to defeat second-placed Chelsea by two goals to nil on 3 November.^[1] There were 8,000 fans in attendance for the Boxing Day home defeat to Bradford City, which raised £155 in gate receipts.^[1]

On 5 January, Vale beat eventual champions Nottingham Forest 4–2. This was followed by five straight home draws and seven consecutive away defeats. They had league leaders Chelsea "completely tied up" at Stamford Bridge on 9 March, only losing because of a dubious late penalty and having a goal themselves disallowed. Vale recorded their first league win in close to three whole months on 30 March as they claimed victory over Gainsborough Trinity. Heavy defeats at Hull City and Stockport County followed, before Robert Carter scored a vital winning goal in the reverse fixture at home to Hull City. A 4–0 defeat at Glossop left them needing to beat Blackpool on the final day to avoid a re-election vote. In the event a draw would have been enough, though they made sure with a 3–0 win.^[1]

Port Vale just evaded a place in the re-election zones, finishing in 16th, two points above the (potential) drop. For the second successive season, the "Valeites" had the weakest defence in the league, conceding 83 goals.^[1] They were poor on their travels, losing 16 of their 19 games away from home. Back at the Athletic Ground, they lost just three games. Billy Beats was top scorer with 15 goals in all competitions; he was ably assisted by William Dodds, Tom Coxon, Robert Carter, and Harry Mountford, who all hit double figures.^[1]

The club had a good campaign in the FA Cup, showing they "meant business" with a 2–1 victory away at Swindon Town of the Southern League. They achieved their biggest ever win in the competition with a 7–1 trouncing of Northamptonshire League Irthlingborough Town, witnessed by 10,000 home fans. They took First Division Notts County to a replay in the second round, with 10,000 fans turning up when double that figure were expected. Vale lost the replay comprehensively 5–0 at Trent Bridge as they "never had a look in". Nevertheless, both rounds attracted 10,000 supporters at Vale, which greatly boosted the club's ailing finances.^[1]

In the Staffordshire Senior Cup, the club almost exclusively used their reserve team players but managed to reach the semi-finals, where they were knocked out by Aston Villa Reserves.^[1] To reach they semi-final they had to overcome struggling league rivals Burton United. However, this took two replays – a 7–0 romp preceded by 3–3 and 1–1 draws.^[1]

On 18 May 1907, Robert Audley and Sam Gleaves appealed to the directors to pump more money into the club and appealed in The Sentinel for local supporters to donate.^[1] This appeal was met with resounding indifference, and so the club resigned from the Football League on 14 June 1907.^[1] The Football Association had already issued their fixture list (which had pitted Port Vale against relegated Stoke for the first time) and were furious with the club for quitting so suddenly at such a late stage.^[1]

Robert Audley justified the decision to quit the league by pointing out that the season's £200 loss was as good a figure as could be expected in the future, with the past seven campaigns taking in an average of £1,500, supplemented by an average of £400 in transfer takings.^[1] He claimed "this total could not be expected to pay the expenses of a league club", especially with creditors closing in, the bank refusing an overdraft, and summer wages to be paid.^[1] That so few came forward to help the club in its time of need came to be the final straw for Audley.^[1]

"To the few hundreds of loyal supporters, I tender my best thanks for their support, and I join in their regrets that sufficient financial support could not be found to continue the club."

Many of the players joined Stoke and newly elected Oldham Athletic, and Burslem Port Vale was finished.^[1]

Port Vale's history would have ended at this point had it not been for an unexpected twist. North Staffordshire Church League champions Cobridge Church were accepted into the North Staffordshire Federation League, which was still a very minor league.^[2] Joint-secretaries Millward and E.C.Brundrett had very big ambitions however. They sought permission from the Football Association to change the club's name to Port Vale and bought the old club's ground.^[2] To signify their roots, they renamed their reserve side to Cobridge Church.^[2] Technically, the Port Vale of before 1907 was a separate entity to the Port Vale of after 1907, however, spiritually the club continued its existence from its 1876 founding onwards. In December 1908, a group of ex-directors, led by Sam Bennion, bought into the club, meaning that the new club played at the same ground, had similar owners, a similar name, and played continuously from 1906–07 to 1907–08 and beyond.^[3]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Promotion or relegation
14	Gainsborough Trinity	38	14	5	19	45	72	0.625	33
15	Glossop	38	13	6	19	53	79	0.671	32
16	Burslem Port Vale (R)	38	12	7	19	60	83	0.723	31	Resigned from the league
17	Clapton Orient	38	11	8	19	45	67	0.672	30
18	Chesterfield Town	38	11	7	20	50	66	0.758	29	Re-elected

Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward

Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	Arthur Box	12	0	0	0	0	0	12	0
GK	Howard Matthews	26	0	4	0	0	0	30	0
GK	Philip Sampher	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
FB	Ernest Chappell	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
FB	James Hamilton	33	0	4	0	1	0	38	0
FB	William Cope	17	0	0	0	0	0	17	0
FB	Hughie Dunn	27	0	4	0	0	0	31	0
HB	William Bradbury	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
HB	Joseph Holyhead	35	2	4	0	0	0	39	2
HB	Vic Horrocks	10	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
HB	Sam Baddeley	30	0	4	0	1	0	35	0
HB	Walter Rogers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW	Robert Carter	34	10	4	1	1	0	39	11
FW	Hugh Walley	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
FW	Tom Coxon	37	9	4	3	1	0	42	12
FW	Bert Eardley	26	1	4	0	0	0	30	1
FW	George Price	7	2	0	0	0	0	7	2
FW	Harry Mountford	32	8	4	2	1	1	37	11
FW	John Paddock	8	3	1	0	0	0	9	3
FW	Billy Beats	33	13	4	2	1	0	38	15
FW	Joe Brough	11	1	0	0	1	0	12	1
FW	William Dodds	38	11	3	3	1	0	42	14
FW	Andy McGuigan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW	William Weston	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Second Division	FA Cup	Staffs Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Billy Beats	13	2	0	15
2	FW	England	William Dodds	11	3	0	14
3	FW	England	Tom Coxon	9	3	0	12
4	FW	England	Robert Carter	10	1	0	11
–	FW	England	Harry Mountford	8	2	1	11
6	FW	England	John Paddock	3	0	0	3
7	HB	England	Joseph Holyhead	2	0	0	2
–	FW	England	George Price	2	0	0	2
9	FW	England	Joe Brough	1	0	0	1
–	FW	England	Bert Eardley	1	0	0	1
–	–	–	Unknown	0	0	4	4
			TOTALS	60	11	5	76

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
Summer 1906	FW		Joe Brough	Smallthorne	Free transfer	[5]
May 1906	FW		Tom Coxon	Middlesbrough	Free transfer	[5]
May 1906	GK		Howard Matthews	Langley St. Michael's	Free transfer	[5]
June 1906	FW		William Dodds	Southwick	Free transfer	[5]
August 1906	FW		Billy Beats	Bristol Rovers	Free transfer	[5]
August 1906	FB		Hughie Dunn	Bristol Rovers	Free transfer	[5]
August 1906	FW		John Paddock	Wellington Town	Free transfer	[5]

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
June 1907	HB		Sam Baddeley	Stoke	Released	[5]
June 1907	FW		Billy Beats	Reading	Released	[5]
June 1907	GK		Arthur Box	Stoke	Released	[5]
June 1907	HB		William Bradbury	Fegg Hayes	Released	[5]
June 1907	FW		Joe Brough	Stoke	Released	[5]
June 1907	FW		Robert Carter	Stockport County	Released	[5]
June 1907	FB		William Cope	Stoke	Released	[5]
June 1907	FW		Tom Coxon	Stoke	Released	[5]
June 1907	FW		William Dodds	Oldham Athletic	Released	[5]
June 1907	FB		Hughie Dunn		Released	[5]
June 1907	FW		Bert Eardley		Released	[5]
June 1907	FW		Ebenezer Grant		Released	[5]
June 1907	FB		James Hamilton	Burslem Town	Released	[5]
June 1907	HB		Joseph Holyhead	Wednesbury Old Athletic	Released	[5]
June 1907	HB		Vic Horrocks	Goldenhill United	Released	[5]
June 1907	GK		Howard Matthews	Burton United	Released	[5]
June 1907	FW		Harry Mountford	Hanley Swifts	Released	[5]
June 1907	FW		John Paddock	Wellington Town	Released	[5]
June 1907	FW		George Price		Released	[5]
June 1907	HB		Arthur Shelley		Released	[5]
June 1907	FW		Hugh Walley	Burton Swifts	Released	[5]

Specific

General

• Kent, Jeff (1993). The Port Vale Record 1879-1993. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9508981-9-8.