# 1930–31 Port Vale F.C. season

The 1930–31 season was Port Vale's 25th season of football in the English Football League, and their 34th in the Second Division following their promotion from the Third Division North the previous season. They finished fifth with 47 points, making it the most successful season in the club's history in terms of league position. They were seven points short of promotion to the top flight and seventeen points clear of relegation.

## Overview
### Second Division

The pre-season saw the arrival of goalscoring forward Harry Roberts from Lincoln City; big goalkeeper Arthur Slater from Clapton Orient; and young outside-left Clarence Spencer from Birmingham F.C.
The season started with a stylish 5–2 victory over Barnsley in front of a disappointingly low attendance of under 10,000. Two defeats followed, and Albert Pynegar put in a transfer request after being dropped from the first team. Bob Connelly picked up an injury and so Jack Round was signed from Bolton Wanderers. On 20 September they travelled to Goodison Park to triumph over previously undefeated league leaders Everton 3–2 in front of 27,142 spectators. Two days later, they tore Bradford Park Avenue apart 8–2, with a four-goal haul from Sam Jennings. On 4 October they travelled to Home Park, where they lost 2–1 to Plymouth Argyle; later in the day a horrific tragedy almost killed many of the Vale players – they had hired a speedboat at Devon resort which burst into flames whilst at sea, fortunately the pilot managed to extinguish the flames and returned them safely to harbour.
Pynegar left the club in October following rumours of a rift with teammate Jennings. He signed with Chesterfield of the Third Division North. Bert Fishwick was a more than able deputy. The defensive duo of Jimmy Oakes and Shino Shenton also proved formidable at the back. On 29 November promotion dreams took a knock at White Hart Lane, Spurs picking up a 5–0 win. Despite competing at the top end of the table The Old Recreation Ground rarely saw much more than 10,000 spectators. In December, reserve half-back George Whitcombe was sold to Notts County for 'a substantial amount', the money went towards ground improvements. The following month £10,000 worth of mortgage debenture bonds were released to the same ends. The Football Association would reject the club's ground improvement scheme without giving a reason.
As the season entered its final stretch, top scorer Jennings was dropped from the squad. No adequate replacement was found until Stewart Littlewood was re-signed from Oldham Athletic, with Fishwick sold to Tranmere Rovers to meet Oldham's demands. In early April, the "Valiants" beat high-flying West Bromwich Albion and Tottenham Hotspur, thereby keeping hopes of promotion high. West Brom won the return leg at The Hawthorns to put daylight between the two clubs. In late April, Vale travelled to the Netherlands for a short tour, beating Dutch Southern XI 5–1 and Zwaluwen 2–0.
They finished fifth with 47 points, making it the most successful season in the club's history regarding league position. They were seven points short of second placed West Bromwich Albion. Only 61 goals were conceded, a record bettered only by West Brom and Spurs. However, the 67 goals scored tally was almost half that of champions Everton. Sam Jennings finished with 17 goals, and Phil Griffiths and Harry Roberts were the only other major contributors. The ground improvements paid for were 3,500 seats on the Bryan Street stand, with a covered terrace.

### Finances

On the financial side, an £800 loss was made, with the weather blamed for an average gate figure of 10,537. Numerous players were released, including Billy Briscoe, Frank Watkin, and Jack Maddock. Harry Roberts was also sold to Millwall. Meanwhile, Stewart Littlewood was also selected by the FA for a summer tour of Canada.

### Cup competitions

In the FA Cup, Vale overcame amateur side Corinthians 3–1 in the Third Round but then found themselves eliminated by First Division Birmingham at St Andrew's in the Fourth Round. The 44,119 attendance raised £2,763 for the club.

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
| 1 | Everton (C, P) | 42 | 28 | 5 | 9 | 121 | 66 | 1.833 | 61 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 2 | West Bromwich Albion (P) | 42 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 83 | 49 | 1.694 | 54 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 22 | 7 | 13 | 88 | 55 | 1.600 | 51 | |
| 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 21 | 5 | 16 | 84 | 67 | 1.254 | 47 | |
| 5 | Port Vale | 42 | 21 | 5 | 16 | 67 | 61 | 1.098 | 47 | |
| 6 | Bradford Park Avenue | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 97 | 66 | 1.470 | 46 | |
| 7 | Preston North End | 42 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 83 | 64 | 1.297 | 45 | |
| 8 | Burnley | 42 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 81 | 77 | 1.052 | 45 | |
| 9 | Southampton | 42 | 19 | 6 | 17 | 74 | 62 | 1.194 | 44 | |
| 10 | Bradford City | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 61 | 63 | 0.968 | 44 | |
| 11 | Stoke City | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 64 | 71 | 0.901 | 44 | |
| 12 | Oldham Athletic | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 61 | 72 | 0.847 | 42 | |
| 13 | Bury | 42 | 19 | 3 | 20 | 75 | 82 | 0.915 | 41 | |
| 14 | Millwall | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 71 | 80 | 0.888 | 39 | |
| 15 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 59 | 86 | 0.686 | 39 | |
| 16 | Bristol City | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 54 | 82 | 0.659 | 38 | |
| 17 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 80 | 85 | 0.941 | 37 | |
| 18 | Plymouth Argyle | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 76 | 84 | 0.905 | 36 | |
| 19 | Barnsley | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 59 | 79 | 0.747 | 35 | |
| 20 | Swansea Town | 42 | 12 | 10 | 20 | 51 | 74 | 0.689 | 34 | |
| 21 | Reading (R) | 42 | 12 | 6 | 24 | 72 | 96 | 0.750 | 30 | Relegation to the Third Division South |
| 22 | Cardiff City (R) | 42 | 8 | 9 | 25 | 47 | 87 | 0.540 | 25 | 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 | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | L | D | L | W | W | W | L | L | W | W | L | D | W | W | W | L | W | L | W | D | L | L | W | L | L | W | W | L | W | W | L | L | D | W | W | W | L | L | D | W | W |
| Position | 7 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 |

#### Matches

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 30 August 1930 | Barnsley | H | 5–2 | 9,853 | Pynegar (2), Jennings (2), Griffiths |
| 3 September 1930 | Bradford City | A | 1–2 | 16,000 | Jennings |
| 6 September 1930 | Bristol City | A | 1–1 | 13,206 | Jennings |
| 8 September 1930 | Bradford Park Avenue | A | 1–5 | 10,296 | Anstiss |
| 13 September 1930 | Cardiff City | H | 2–0 | 9,693 | Griffiths, Baxter |
| 20 September 1930 | Everton | A | 3–2 | 27,142 | Baxter, Pynegar, Anstiss |
| 22 September 1930 | Bradford Park Avenue | H | 8–2 | 8,621 | Jennings (4), Anstiss (2), Griffiths, o.g. |
| 27 September 1930 | Bury | H | 0–1 | 12,906 | |
| 4 October 1930 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 1–2 | 20,243 | Griffiths |
| 11 October 1930 | Swansea Town | H | 2–0 | 10,970 | Jennings, Griffiths |
| 18 October 1930 | Reading | A | 3–0 | 10,927 | Anstiss, Spencer, Jones |
| 25 October 1930 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 0–1 | 9,578 | |
| 1 November 1930 | Oldham Athletic | A | 3–3 | 11,625 | Fishwick, Marshall, Griffiths |
| 8 November 1930 | Nottingham Forest | H | 3–2 | 9,753 | Jennings, Fishwick, Griffiths |
| 15 November 1930 | Burnley | A | 2–1 | 12,277 | Fishwick (2) |
| 22 November 1930 | Preston North End | H | 1–0 | 10,086 | Jennings |
| 29 November 1930 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–5 | 23,609 | |
| 6 December 1930 | Southampton | H | 1–0 | 8,828 | Jennings |
| 13 December 1930 | Stoke City | A | 0–1 | 26,609 | |
| 20 December 1930 | Millwall | H | 3–2 | 8,448 | Roberts, Jennings, Round (pen) |
| 25 December 1930 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–1 | 15,827 | Roberts |
| 26 December 1930 | Charlton Athletic | A | 1–3 | 4,768 | Anstiss |
| 27 December 1930 | Barnsley | A | 2–5 | 6,469 | Jennings, Roberts |
| 3 January 1931 | Bristol City | H | 1–0 | 7,411 | Griffiths |
| 17 January 1931 | Cardiff City | A | 1–2 | 10,455 | Roberts |
| 26 January 1931 | Everton | H | 1–3 | 9,028 | Roberts |
| 31 January 1931 | Bury | A | 3–0 | 3,430 | Jennings, Roberts, Henshall |
| 7 February 1931 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 2–1 | 10,236 | Jennings, Roberts |
| 14 February 1931 | Swansea Town | A | 1–2 | 8,602 | Henshall |
| 21 February 1931 | Reading | H | 2–1 | 8,474 | Roberts, Chell |
| 7 March 1931 | Oldham Athletic | H | 2–0 | 7,720 | Marshall, Oakes |
| 11 March 1931 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–3 | 4,243 | |
| 14 March 1931 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–1 | 9,281 | |
| 21 March 1931 | Burnley | H | 0–0 | 9,185 | |
| 28 March 1931 | Preston North End | A | 3–1 | 7,696 | Griffiths (2), Littlewood |
| 3 April 1931 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–0 | 18,043 | Littlewood |
| 4 April 1931 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 3–0 | 14,290 | Griffiths (2), Round (pen) |
| 6 April 1931 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–4 | 23,879 | Griffiths |
| 11 April 1931 | Southampton | A | 0–2 | 9,452 | |
| 18 April 1931 | Stoke City | H | 0–0 | 13,403 | |
| 25 April 1931 | Millwall | A | 1–0 | 8,188 | Roberts |
| 2 May 1931 | Bradford City | H | 1–0 | 5,570 | Rowbotham |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 10 January 1931 | Corinthians | A | 3–1 | 12,832 | Roberts (2), Jennings |
| R2 | 24 January 1931 | Birmingham | A | 0–2 | 44,119 | |

## Player statistics
### Appearances and goals

| Pos. | Name | Football League | Football League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Ben Davies | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
| GK | Arthur Slater | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| DF | Jimmy Oakes | 39 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 1 |
| DF | Jack Maddock | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| DF | Billy Wootton | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| DF | George Shenton | 40 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| DF | William Cope | 35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
| MF | Bob Connelly | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Roger Jones | 40 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 1 |
| MF | Jack Simms | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Phil Griffiths | 37 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 13 |
| MF | Bert Fishwick | 11 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 4 |
| MF | Tom Baxter | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 2 |
| MF | Dennis Izon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Clarence Spencer | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| MF | Jack Round | 38 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 2 |
| MF | James Henshall | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 2 |
| MF | George Whitcombe | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | Jack Sherlock | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| FW | Harry Anstiss | 15 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 6 |
| FW | Albert Pynegar | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 |
| FW | Harry Marshall | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2 |
| FW | Sam Jennings | 31 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 17 |
| FW | Harry Roberts | 24 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 11 |
| FW | Harry Rowbotham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| FW | Joseph Chell | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| FW | Stewart Littlewood | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 |

### Top scorers

| Place | Position | Nation | Name | Second Division | FA Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | England | Sam Jennings | 16 | 1 | 17 |
| 2 | MF | Wales | Phil Griffiths | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| 3 | FW | England | Harry Roberts | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| 4 | FW | England | Harry Anstiss | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | MF | England | Bert Fishwick | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 6 | FW | England | Albert Pynegar | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | MF | England | Tom Baxter | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| – | FW | England | Harry Marshall | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| – | MF | England | Jack Round | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| – | FW | England | Stewart Littlewood | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| – | MF | England | James Henshall | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | DF | England | Jimmy Oakes | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| – | MF | England | Roger Jones | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| – | MF | England | Clarence Spencer | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| – | FW | England | Harry Rowbotham | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| – | FW | England | Joseph Chell | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| – | – | – | Own goals | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| | | | TOTALS | 67 | 3 | 70 |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| June 1930 | FW | Harry Roberts | Lincoln City | £100 |
| June 1930 | GK | Arthur Slater | Clapton Orient | Free transfer |
| March 1931 | FW | Stewart Littlewood | Oldham Athletic | Undisclosed club record |
| April 1931 | FW | Harry Rowbotham | Cheddleton Mental Hospital | Free transfer |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| October 1930 | FW | Albert Pynegar | Chesterfield | £200 |
| December 1930 | MF | George Whitcombe | Notts County | 'Substantial' |
| March 1931 | FW | Bert Fishwick | Tranmere Rovers | Undisclosed |
| April 1931 | FW | Harry Roberts | Millwall | Undisclosed |
| April 1931 | DF | Frank Watkin | Congleton Town | Free transfer |
| May 1931 | FW | Harry Anstiss | Swansea Town | Free transfer |
| May 1931 | FW | Billy Briscoe | Congleton Town | Free transfer |
| May 1931 | MF | Phil Griffiths | Everton | £6,000 |
| May 1931 | MF | Jack Simms | Swansea Town | Free transfer |
| July 1931 | DF | Jack Maddock | Crewe Alexandra | Free transfer |
| August 1931 | FW | Henry O'Grady | Southampton | Free transfer |