1935–36 Port Vale F.C. season

Port Vale

1935–36 season
Chairman	Frank Huntbach
Manager	Tom Holford (until September)
Stadium	Old Recreation Ground
Football League Second Division	21st (32 Points)
FA Cup	Fourth Round (knocked out by Grimsby Town)
Top goalscorer	League: Jack Roberts (12) All: Jack Roberts (12)
Highest home attendance	16,677 vs. Sunderland, 13 January 1936
Lowest home attendance	2,669 vs. Hull City, 2 March 1936
Average home league attendance	7,787
Biggest win	4–0 vs. Hull City, 2 March 1936
Biggest defeat	0–7 and 2–9
Home colours
← 1934–35 1936–37 →

The 1935–36 season was Port Vale's 30th season of football in the English Football League, and their sixth-successive season (29th overall) in the Second Division.^[1] Under manager Tom Holford (until his dismissal during the season), the Valiants endured a disastrous campaign, finishing 21st in the Second Division with just 32 points, and suffering relegation — their second in club history, ultimately ending a six-year stay in the second tier. A principal factor was defence: Vale conceded a league‑record 106 goals in 42 matches, marking the most goals ever allowed in a single season by the club. Away form was particularly poor, as the team picked up only five points on the road and endured a run of twelve defeats in sixteen games between September and January.

Individual highlights included centre‑forward Jack Roberts, who scored 12 goals in 21 appearances and finished as both league and season top scorer for Vale. In the FA Cup, the club achieved a celebrated upset by defeating reigning First Division champions Sunderland, before ultimately exiting in the Fourth Round. Off the field, financial woes were severe. A public appeal raised emergency funds—supporters were asked to raise over £2,000 to keep the club afloat—while manager Holford was relieved of his duties amid the crisis.

The season is remembered for its historic collapse: a record amount of goals conceded, relegation after years of stability, yet tempered by one memorable cup performance against top-flight opposition.

The pre-season began with the sale of top-scorer Tom Nolan to Bradford Park Avenue, whilst manager Tom Holford heralded a youth policy.^[1] Ten new faces replaced the 14 retained from the previous season, these included: free-scoring striker George Stabb (Notts County), centre-half Harry Griffiths (Everton), left-winger Arthur Caldwell (Winsford United), left-back Roderick Welsh (Portsmouth), and right-half Michael Curley (Manchester City).^[1]

The season started with what would ultimately turn out to be a relegation decider, Vale lost 4–2 to Barnsley at Oakwell, with the "Tykes" scoring twice in the last ten minutes.^[1] Still switching the team regularly to find a favourite eleven, the "Valiants" then picked up eight points from their next six games to move into eighth in the table.^[1] This run included wins over Plymouth Argyle, Charlton Athletic and Newcastle United at the Old Recreation Ground.^[1] On 28 September, the defence was ripped apart with a 5–2 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.^[1] A further four defeats and 13 goals conceded followed, resulting in manager Tom Holford being relieved of his management duties to revert to a scouting role.^[1] Relief for Vale came on 2 November, with a hard-pushed 3–2 win over Bradford Park Avenue.^[1]

Vale's poor form continued with five defeats and two draws in seven games.^[1] In November, Fred Mitcheson was sold to Plymouth to raise funds for new players. George Heywood was promptly signed from Altrincham for £250.^[1] Heywood made his debut on 23 November, as Vale suffered a 9–2 demolition at the City Ground to Nottingham Forest.^[1] Forest were only kept from double figures by 'many fine saves' from Potts.^[1] On 7 December, a 2–0 loss at Belle Vue from Doncaster Rovers sent Vale to the foot of the table.^[1] As a result of this, the club put in a large bid for Wigan Athletic's Jack Roberts, and consequently signed the highly promising forward.^[1] Meanwhile, injuries and constant rotation of the first XI worked against the team.^[1] A 4–0 defeat from West Ham United at Upton Park on 21 December was followed by the club's first away win in 16 attempts five days later.^[1] The win came over a poor Hull City side in ankle deep mud.^[1] Two days later, Barnsley beat Vale 4–0 at "The Rec", which would again have fatal consequences come May.^[1]

Following their FA Cup heroics, the Vale recorded a 2–1 victory over Bradford City on 18 January.^[1] They then lost 5–1 at home to "Spurs", earned a point at St James' Park, and then were humiliated 7–2 at Old Trafford.^[1] Three home wins followed, the last of which was a 4–0 win over doomed Hull City in front of a mere 2,669 supporters.^[1] This removed them from the relegation zone.^[1] However, on 27 March an extraordinary shareholders meeting was called at the Grand Hotel (Hanley), in which the net weekly income was revealed to be just £181.^[1] The directors claimed they were no longer prepared to prop the club up financially, and demanded the supporters raise £2,000 to keep the club afloat.^[1] A subsequent public meeting launched a 40,000 Shilling Fund, and a benefit match with cross-city rivals Stoke City raised £528 – helping to ensure the survival of Port Vale.^[1]

Two points clear of relegation on 4 April despite losing 5–0 at Bury, it was expected that Vale would be safe.^[1] A win over Fulham and a draw with Sheffield United reinforced such expectations.^[1] However, on 13 April, they travelled to Craven Cottage, where they were beaten 7–0.^[1] Two further defeats meant victory on the final day encounter with Charlton Athletic at The Valley was needed – the "Addicks" needed a point themselves to ensure promotion.^[1] 27,778 spectators witnessed Charlton take the lead, a lead wiped out by a Caldwell equaliser on 83 minutes.^[1] The team's valiant efforts were futile in any case, as other results went against them.^[1]

They finished in 21st place with 32 points. Their 106 goals conceded gave them the fourth worst defensive record in the Football League.^[1] Jack Roberts' twelve goals in 21 games were impressive, but not enough to help the club beyond a tally of 56 goals scored.^[1]

On the financial side, a loss of £1,046 was made on the season.^[1] Income was supplemented by the £1,800 raised from the Shilling Fund.^[1] Gross gate receipts were down to just £9,226, whilst a strict control over wages saw a wage bill of just £6,937.^[1] The transfer credit stood at £1,640.^[1] 15 players were released, the most significant of which were George Shenton, John Potts, Jack Vickers, and James Baker.^[1]

In contrast to their league form, Vale performed well in the FA Cup. Pitted against eventual First Division champions Sunderland at Roker Park, their top player, Roberts cup-tied, a heavy defeat seemed likely.^[2] Vale were managerless and in poor form, and though took a half-time lead through Stabb, they had to rely on an 88th-minute equalizer from Caldwell to force a replay.^[3] The highest crowd of the season then witnessed a 2–0 victory at the "Rec" two days later as the "Valiants" "defended brilliantly". The Sentinel's Placer suggested it to be 'the greatest victory in the history of the club'. Stabb put the Vale ahead after five minutes as he connected to a Curley free-kick and the lead was doubled on 24 minutes when Trevor Rhodes capitalised on a miskicked clearance.^[3] Raich Carter struck the ball with such force that it knocked Griffiths unconscious as he blocked it on the goalline and late in the match Len Duns rolled an effort past the far post, whilst Vale almost added a third when Baker forced goalkeeper Jimmy Thorpe into making the save of the match.^[3] In the Fourth Round, First Division Grimsby Town would advance with a 4–0 victory in the snow. Before the match, the teams paid their respects to the recently deceased George V with Abide with Me, during which the "Mariners" wore overcoats as the Vale players shivered – this was the excuse used to justify their conceding four first-half goals.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Promotion or relegation
18	Doncaster Rovers	42	14	9	19	51	71	0.718	37
19	Nottingham Forest	42	12	11	19	69	76	0.908	35
20	Barnsley	42	12	9	21	54	80	0.675	33
21	Port Vale (R)	42	12	8	22	56	106	0.528	32	Relegation to the Third Division North
22	Hull City (R)	42	5	10	27	47	111	0.423	20

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

Pos.	Name	Football League		FA Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK	John Potts	40	0	3	0	1	0
GK	Allan Todd	1	0	0	0	1	0
FB	George Shenton	14	0	0	0	14	0
FB	Jack Vickers	15	0	3	0	18	0
FB	Ernest Breeze	10	0	0	0	10	0
FB	Roderick Welsh	20	0	3	0	23	0
FB	George Heywood	21	0	0	0	21	0
HB	Trevor Rhodes	28	6	2	1	30	7
HB	Eric Hayward	13	0	0	0	13	0
HB	Harry Griffiths	27	0	3	0	30	0
HB	James Bewick	3	0	0	0	3	0
HB	Roger Jones	35	1	3	0	38	1
HB	Cliff Birks	15	3	0	0	15	3
HB	Ken Gunn	28	1	0	0	28	1
HB	Michael Curley	24	1	3	0	27	1
FW	Arthur Caldwell	39	9	3	1	42	10
FW	Frank Ryder	17	4	0	0	17	4
FW	Roy Burns	2	0	0	0	2	0
FW	Frank Baker	0	0	0	0	0	0
FW	Fred Mitcheson	15	1	0	0	15	1
FW	Luke Dean	9	2	0	0	9	2
FW	James Baker	9	4	3	0	12	4
FW	John Wilson	3	0	0	0	3	0
FW	Jack Roberts	21	12	0	0	21	12
FW	George Stabb	30	9	3	2	33	11
FW	Henry Pinkerton	3	0	0	0	3	0
FW	Cliff Johnson	5	0	3	0	8	0
FW	Gilbert Glidden	5	1	1	0	6	1
FW	Haydn Dackins	6	1	0	0	6	1

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Second Division	FA Cup	Total
1	FW	England	Jack Roberts	12	0	12
2	FW	England	George Stabb	9	2	11
3	FW	England	Arthur Caldwell	9	1	10
4	HB	England	Trevor Rhodes	6	1	7
5	FW	England	James Baker	4	0	4
–	FW	England	Frank Ryder	4	0	4
7	HB	England	Cliff Birks	3	0	3
8	FW	England	Luke Dean	2	0	2
9	HB	Scotland	Ken Gunn	1	0	1
–	HB	England	Roger Jones	1	0	1
–	FW	England	Gilbert Glidden	1	0	1
–	HB	England	Michael Curle	1	0	1
–	FW	England	Fred Mitcheson	1	0	1
–	FW	Wales	Haydn Dackins	1	0	1
–	–	–	Own goals	1	0	1
			TOTALS	56	4	60

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
May 1935	HB		James Bewick	Newcastle United	Free transfer	[5]
May 1935	HB		Michael Curley	Manchester City	Free transfer	[5]
May 1935	FW		Gilbert Glidden	Sunderland	Free transfer	[5]
May 1935	HB		Harry Griffiths	Everton	Free transfer	[5]
May 1935	FW		Henry Pinkerton	Hull City	Free transfer	[5]
May 1935	FB		Roderick Welsh	Portsmouth	Free transfer	[5]
May 1935	FW		John Wilson	West Bromwich Albion	Free transfer	[5]
July 1935	FW		Haydn Dackins	Swansea Town	Free transfer	[5]
July 1935	FW		George Stabb	Notts County	Free transfer	[5]
October 1935	FW		Roy Burns	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Free transfer	[5]
October 1935	FW		Cliff Johnson	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Free transfer	[5]
November 1935	FW		Frank Ryder	Altrincham	Free transfer	[5]
November 1935	FB		Roderick Welsh	Altrincham	£250	[5]
December 1935	FW		Jack Roberts	Wigan Athletic	'large'	[5]

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
November 1935	FW		Fred Mitcheson	Plymouth Argyle	Undisclosed	[5]
December 1935	FW		John Wilson	Wigan Athletic	Free transfer	[5]
January 1936	FW		Roy Burns	Bournemouth Trams	Contract cancelled	[5]
April 1936	FW		James Baker	Barrow	Released	[5]
April 1936	FB		Jack Vickers	Newport County	Released	[5]
May 1936	HB		James Bewick	Walsall	Released	[5]
May 1936	HB		Cliff Birks	Torquay United	Released	[5]
June 1936	FW		Cliff Johnson	Torquay United	Free transfer	[5]
June 1936	FB		George Shenton	Shelton Iron and Steel	Released	[5]
Summer 1936	FB		Ernest Breeze	Shrewsbury Town	Released	[5]
Summer 1936	FW		Haydn Dackins	Northwich Victoria	Released	[5]
Summer 1936	FW		Gilbert Glidden	Reading	Released	[5]
Summer 1936	FW		Henry Pinkerton	Burnley	Released	[5]
Summer 1936	GK		John Potts		Released	[5]

Specific

General

• Kent, Jeff (1993). The Port Vale Record 1879-1993. Witan Books. ISBN 978-0-9508981-9-3.