# 1931–32 Port Vale F.C. season

The 1931–32 season was Port Vale's 26th season of football in the English Football League and their second-successive season (25th overall) in the Second Division. Aiming to build on their fifth-place finish in 1930–31 and to win promotion, they finished in 20th place, only avoiding relegation on the last day thanks to their superior goal average – having a 0.048 better average than Barnsley. Their one highlight of the season was a 3–0 home win over rivals Stoke City that helped to deny Stoke a promotion place – however, City comfortably took revenge at the last end of season North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup match, beating Vale 7–0. Manager Tom Morgan was also let go at this time, replaced by former manager Tom Holford. The season was notable for the debut of Tom Nolan, whose goalscoring exploits at the club would be a point of pride in an otherwise miserable pre-war period.

## Overview
### Second Division

The pre-season saw the departure of Phil Griffiths to Second Division champions Everton for £6,000; whilst Jack Simms and Harry Anstiss departed for Swansea Town. In came Dicky York, Arthur Dorrell, Billy Easton, Tom Tippett, and George Poyser. Dorrell and York arrived from First Division runners-up Aston Villa, and the ageing wingers had England caps to their names. Easton had a proven goalscoring record at Swansea, and Tippett and Pyser arrived from Rochdale and Mansfield Town respectively. Big things were expected, and season ticket sales were up by 300% on the previous season.
The season began with a 3–1 win at Plymouth Argyle's Home Park, with Sam Jennings scoring a brace. The first home match took place in front of a new £10,351 stand, yet Leeds United took home the points. In September, Jennings was sold to Stockport County, and Stewart Littlewood took his place in the first XI. Two close run victories followed that saw eleven goals scored, however, performances tailed off until 26 September when Stoke City romped to a 4–0 victory at the Victoria Ground. "Inferior in all departments", the "Valiants" changed their line-up following the defeat, 'resting' Littlewood – this resulted in a four-match unbeaten streak. The next month saw the arrival of centre-forward Tom Nolan from Manchester Central. Harry Marshall was attracting praise for his performances in the half-back role. However, Tippett was criticized for his lack of goals. Due to the Great Depression, the bank refused to allow an extension to the club's £5,000 overdraft. So, the club controversially notified other clubs that it would consider offers for its players to raise the funds to buy new players.
On 21 November, they lost 9–3 to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. This twelve-goal match is still a club record. On 12 December, they suffered the division's biggest home defeat of the season, going down 7–1 to eventual free-scoring champions Wolverhampton Wanderers. Going into their Boxing Day win over Notts County they had lost seven of their previous nine games, conceding 33 goals. A holiday break in Llandudno seemed to raise the team's spirits, as two further 2–0 victories followed. In January, Wilf Kirkham was re-signed from Stoke to the delight of fans. On 6 February, he took part in a morale-boosting 3–0 home win over Stoke in front of 21,089 fans – an attendance that raised £1,350 of funds. The referee T.Crew also enjoyed the game, congratulating both sides on a sporting display that "was the most pleasurable game he had ever officiated". Vale followed this by picking just four points in their next thirteen games to almost certainly doom the club to relegation – crucially though were the two points they earned from a 3–0 win over Barnsley. With two games to go they were three points (and inferior goal average) behind the tykes. After a 2–1 win over Chesterfield matched by a 4–1 home defeat by Barnsley, they were just behind by a single point. Vale's final game of the season was against already promoted second place Leeds United – a 'convincing' 2–0 victory followed at Elland Road. Barnsley only managed a 2–2 draw, and so Vale leapfrogged Barnsley to reach the safety of 20th place.
They finished 20th due to their superior goal average. However, with 58 goals scored, their attack was the third worst in the division, whilst their 89 goals conceded made them the second leakiest defence in the division. Lacking a consistent goalscorer, top-scorers Nolan and Tippett failed to reach twenty goals between them. Losing half their games, their statistic of nine home defeats was particularly worrying.
Lucky to still be a second-tier club, a clear-out followed. Impressive Harry Marshall was sold to Tottenham Hotspur, whilst 323 league-game eleven-year club veteran Bob Connelly was handed a free transfer to Congleton Town. Joseph Chell and Clarence Spencer were also released, signing for Stoke City and Norwich City respectively. Arthur Dorrell and Dicky York's best days were well behind them, as Dorrell retired and York signed with Brierley Hill Alliance. Manager Tom Morgan meanwhile reverted to his old position as assistant secretary, replaced at the helm by former manager Tom Holford.

### Finances

On the financial side, gate receipts were at £12,170 – their lowest total since re-joining the Football League in 1919. However, 'rigid economy' ensured a profit of £873.

### Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, they travelled to Brighton & Hove Albion's Goldstone Ground of the Third Division South. They progressed with a 2–1 victory thanks to two strikes from Nolan. Coming up against First Division Leicester City in the Fourth Round, they were defeated 2–1 in front of 20,637 deafening supporters. On 9 May they lost the last North Staffordshire Infirmary Cup friendly with Stoke, losing 7–0 in a match they "scarcely tried" to win.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers (C, P) | 42 | 24 | 8 | 10 | 115 | 49 | 2.347 | 56 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 2 | Leeds United (P) | 42 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 78 | 54 | 1.444 | 54 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 3 | Stoke City | 42 | 19 | 14 | 9 | 69 | 48 | 1.438 | 52 | |
| 4 | Plymouth Argyle | 42 | 20 | 9 | 13 | 100 | 66 | 1.515 | 49 | |
| 5 | Bury | 42 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 70 | 58 | 1.207 | 49 | |
| 6 | Bradford Park Avenue | 42 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 72 | 63 | 1.143 | 49 | |
| 7 | Bradford City | 42 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 80 | 61 | 1.311 | 45 | |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 87 | 78 | 1.115 | 43 | |
| 9 | Millwall | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 61 | 61 | 1.000 | 43 | |
| 10 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 61 | 66 | 0.924 | 43 | |
| 11 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 77 | 72 | 1.069 | 42 | |
| 12 | Manchester United | 42 | 17 | 8 | 17 | 71 | 72 | 0.986 | 42 | |
| 13 | Preston North End | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 75 | 77 | 0.974 | 42 | |
| 14 | Southampton | 42 | 17 | 7 | 18 | 66 | 77 | 0.857 | 41 | |
| 15 | Swansea Town | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 73 | 75 | 0.973 | 39 | |
| 16 | Notts County | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 75 | 75 | 1.000 | 38 | |
| 17 | Chesterfield | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 64 | 86 | 0.744 | 37 | |
| 18 | Oldham Athletic | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 62 | 84 | 0.738 | 36 | |
| 19 | Burnley | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 59 | 87 | 0.678 | 35 | |
| 20 | Port Vale | 42 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 58 | 89 | 0.652 | 33 | |
| 21 | Barnsley (R) | 42 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 55 | 91 | 0.604 | 33 | Relegation to the Third Division North |
| 22 | Bristol City (R) | 42 | 6 | 11 | 25 | 39 | 78 | 0.500 | 23 | Relegation to the Third Division South |

## 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 | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | W | L | W | W | L | D | L | L | D | W | D | W | L | L | W | L | L | D | L | L | L | W | W | W | D | L | W | D | L | L | L | D | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | W | W |
| Position | 5 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 20 |

#### Matches

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 29 August 1931 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 3–1 | 21,749 | Jennings (2), Easton |
| 31 August 1931 | Leeds United | H | 1–2 | 16,864 | o.g. |
| 5 September 1931 | Bristol City | H | 4–2 | 10,770 | Littlewood (2), Round, Easton |
| 7 September 1931 | Swansea City | A | 3–2 | 9,927 | Dorrell, Easton, Littlewood |
| 12 September 1931 | Oldham Athletic | A | 0–3 | 10,323 | |
| 19 September 1931 | Bury | H | 1–1 | 12,600 | York |
| 21 September 1931 | Swansea City | H | 0–4 | 7,969 | |
| 26 September 1931 | Stoke City | A | 0–4 | 28,292 | |
| 3 October 1931 | Millwall | A | 2–2 | 16,766 | Jones (2) |
| 10 October 1931 | Bradford City | H | 2–0 | 9,304 | Round (pen), York |
| 17 October 1931 | Southampton | H | 0–0 | 11,990 | |
| 24 October 1931 | Preston North End | A | 4–1 | 8,936 | Nolan (2), Rowbotham, York |
| 31 October 1931 | Burnley | H | 1–3 | 9,468 | Tippett |
| 7 November 1931 | Charlton Athletic | A | 1–2 | 9,312 | Nolan |
| 14 November 1931 | Nottingham Forest | H | 2–0 | 7,055 | Henshall, York |
| 21 November 1931 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 3–9 | 22,226 | Tippett, Nolan, Henshall |
| 28 November 1931 | Manchester United | H | 1–2 | 6,955 | York |
| 5 December 1931 | Bradford Park Avenue | A | 2–2 | 10,281 | Dorrell, Tippett |
| 12 December 1931 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–7 | 11,133 | Easton |
| 19 December 1931 | Chesterfield | A | 0–4 | 7,966 | |
| 25 December 1931 | Notts County | A | 2–4 | 21,367 | Nolan, Marshall |
| 26 December 1931 | Notts County | H | 2–0 | 13,463 | Nolan, Tippett |
| 2 January 1932 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 2–0 | 7,731 | Henshall, Dorrell |
| 16 January 1932 | Bristol City | A | 2–0 | 8,690 | Dorrell, Nolan |
| 25 January 1932 | Oldham Athletic | H | 1–1 | 3,436 | Easton |
| 30 January 1932 | Bury | A | 0–2 | 9,099 | |
| 6 February 1932 | Stoke City | H | 3–0 | 21,089 | Marshall (2), Henshall |
| 13 February 1932 | Millwall | H | 2–2 | 7,311 | Kirkham, Tippett |
| 20 February 1932 | Bradford City | A | 0–4 | 15,553 | |
| 27 February 1932 | Southampton | A | 1–5 | 7,115 | o.g. |
| 5 March 1932 | Preston North End | H | 0–1 | 8,132 | |
| 12 March 1932 | Burnley | A | 2–2 | 6,869 | Easton, Round |
| 19 March 1932 | Charlton Athletic | H | 0–1 | 6,578 | |
| 25 March 1932 | Barnsley | H | 3–0 | 9,983 | Kirkham, Nolan, Tippett |
| 26 March 1932 | Nottingham Forest | A | 1–2 | 8,486 | Tippett |
| 28 March 1932 | Barnsley | A | 0–3 | 5,881 | |
| 2 April 1932 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 1–3 | 7,682 | Dorrell |
| 9 April 1932 | Manchester United | A | 0–2 | 10,916 | |
| 16 April 1932 | Bradford Park Avenue | H | 1–3 | 6,672 | Kirkham |
| 23 April 1932 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–2 | 28,744 | |
| 30 April 1932 | Chesterfield | H | 2–1 | 4,663 | Kirkham, Littlewood |
| 7 May 1932 | Leeds United | A | 2–0 | 9,588 | Littlewood, Tippett |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 9 January 1932 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 2–1 | 21,690 | Nolan (2) |
| R4 | 23 January 1932 | Leicester City | H | 1–2 | 20,637 | Nolan |

### North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| Final | 9 May 1932 | Stoke | A | 0–7 | | |

## Player statistics
### Appearances and goals

| Pos. | Name | Football League | Football League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Ben Davies | 34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
| GK | Arthur Slater | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| GK | Jock Leckie | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | Jimmy Oakes | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| DF | Billy Wootton | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| DF | George Shenton | 39 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 0 |
| DF | William Cope | 30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 0 |
| DF | William Allsop | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | Arnold Bliss | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| DF | George Poyser | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| MF | Bob Connelly | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| MF | Roger Jones | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 2 |
| MF | Albert Beech | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Dennis Izon | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| MF | Clarence Spencer | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| MF | Jack Round | 30 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 3 |
| MF | James Henshall | 14 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 4 |
| MF | Arthur Dorrell | 34 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 5 |
| MF | Jimmy McGrath | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Dicky York | 26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 5 |
| MF | Jack Sherlock | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| FW | Harry Marshall | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 3 |
| FW | Sam Jennings | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| FW | Harry Rowbotham | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| FW | Stewart Littlewood | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 5 |
| FW | Tom Tippett | 31 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 8 |
| FW | Tom Nolan | 19 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 11 |
| FW | Billy Easton | 22 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 6 |
| FW | Wilf Kirkham | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 4 |

### Top scorers

| Place | Position | Nation | Name | Second Division | FA Cup | Infirmary Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | England | Tom Nolan | 8 | 3 | 0 | 11 |
| 2 | FW | England | Tom Tippett | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 3 | FW | England | Billy Easton | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | MF | England | Arthur Dorrell | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| – | MF | England | Dicky York | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| – | FW | England | Stewart Littlewood | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | FW | England | Wilf Kirkham | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| – | MF | England | James Henshall | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | FW | England | Harry Marshall | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| – | MF | England | Jack Round | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 11 | FW | England | Sam Jennings | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| – | MF | England | Roger Jones | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | FW | England | Harry Rowbotham | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| – | – | – | Own goals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| | | | TOTALS | 58 | 3 | 0 | 61 |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| May 1931 | FW | Billy Easton | Swansea Town | Free transfer |
| May 1931 | DF | George Poyser | Mansfield Town | Free transfer |
| June 1931 | DF | William Allsop | Bolton Wanderers | Free transfer |
| June 1931 | MF | Arthur Dorrell | Aston Villa | Free transfer |
| June 1931 | FW | Tom Tippett | Rochdale | Free transfer |
| June 1931 | DF | Dicky York | Aston Villa | Free transfer |
| October 1931 | FW | Robert G. Davies | Stoke St.Peter's | Free transfer |
| October 1931 | FW | Tom Nolan | Manchester Central | Free transfer |
| January 1932 | FW | Wilf Kirkham | Stoke City | Free transfer |
| March 1932 | MF | Horace Baker | Longton Hall | Free transfer |
| March 1932 | GK | Jock Leckie | Bray Unknowns | Free transfer |
| April 1932 | MF | Fred Mills | Middleport | Free transfer |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| September 1931 | FW | Sam Jennings | Stockport County | Free transfer |
| March 1932 | FW | Harry Marshall | Tottenham Hotspur | Undisclosed |
| May 1932 | FW | Joseph Chell | Stoke City | Free transfer |
| May 1932 | MF | Bob Connelly | Congleton Town | Free transfer |
| May 1932 | MF | Arthur Dorrell | Retired | Retired |
| Summer 1932 | FW | Harry Rowbotham | Hyde United | Released |
| August 1932 | GK | Arthur Slater | Watford | Free transfer |
| August 1932 | DF | Billy Wootton | Southend United | Free transfer |
| August 1932 | DF | Dicky York | Brierley Hill Alliance | Free transfer |