1902–03 Burslem Port Vale F.C. season

Burslem Port Vale
1902–03 season
Chairman	Robert Audley
Secretary	Sam Gleaves
Stadium	Athletic Ground
Football League Second Division	9th (34 Points)
FA Cup	Fourth Qualification Round; (knocked out by St. Helens Recreation)
Birmingham Senior Cup	First Round; (knocked out by Stoke)
Staffordshire Senior Cup	First Round; (knocked out by Stoke)
Bass Charity Vase	First Round; (knocked out by Burton United)
Top goalscorer	League: Adrian Capes (16); All: Adrian Capes (18)
Highest home attendance	5,000 vs Manchester City, 18 October 1902
Lowest home attendance	500 vs Burton United, 28 March 1903
Average home league attendance	2,250+
Biggest win	4–0 and 5–1
Biggest defeat	1–7 vs. Manchester City, 14 February 1903
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1901–02 1903–04 →

The 1902–03 season was Burslem Port Vale's fifth consecutive season (ninth overall) of football in the English Football League.^[1] Finishing in ninth place for the second time in three years, it would take just over two decades for the club again to reach the heights of a top ten second-tier finish. Their success was down mainly due to their home form, and in fact, a club record 29 away games without a win began on 17 January 1903. Adrian Capes would become the club's top scorer for the third successive season.

Overview

Right-back Ernest Mullineux played 34 games for the club in all competitions.

Winger Billy Heames missed just one game in the league.

Right-half Lucien Boullemier retired in October 1902 to concentrate on his pottery; he enjoyed a benefit match.

Second Division

The pre-season saw tough-tackling left-back Arthur Hartshorne arrive from Wolverhampton Wanderers, whilst left-half W. Perkins and forward William Loverseed both arrived from Newark. The new kit was a claret and blue jersey with white knickers. The season opened at the Athletic Ground with a 1–1 draw with Blackpool, Vale missing a penalty. A 3–0 victory over Doncaster Rovers on 20 September was the team's only win in the opening ten games. In September, experienced right-half Arthur Rowley arrived from Bristol Rovers as management tried a variety of starting combinations.^[1] The 4–1 defeat at home to Manchester City saw The Staffordshire Sentinel report that "it would be difficult for Port Vale to give a worse exhibition of football". In particular, half-backs Lucien Boullemier and Danny Simpson were judged to be too old to contribute at the Second Division level, and Boullemier retired to concentrate on his career in pottery.^[1]

Changes were made for the trip to Burnley on 25 October, with the result being a creditable 3–3 draw despite the Turf Moor fans seemingly influencing a weak referee. A second league win came on 10 November, when second-from-bottom Stockport County were beaten by three goals to one in a turgid game. This was the first of an eight-game sequence which contained only one loss. Wins were secured over Gainsborough Trinity and third-placed Bristol City, though a loss came at Glossop. Management came upon the idea of playing two centre-forwards – Adrian Capes and William Loverseed – for the trip to Edgeley Park on 13 December, and a Capes hat-trick set up a 4–0 victory over Stockport County. A 5–2 win over Blackpool at Bloomfield Road on 3 January belied the team's dominance as ten-man Blackpool rarely troubled Vale goalkeeper Harry Cotton. Vale nearly defeated promotion-chasing Woolwich Arsenal seven days later, though had to be content with a 1–1 draw.^[1]

There were 33 goals in the next six games, though 21 of them went against Vale. Having beaten Lincoln City 5–1 on 24 January, they went on to lose to Small Heath by the same scoreline a week later, despite the play being quite even. Vale then beat Leicester Fosse by two clear goals, only to fall to heavy defeats on the road to "classy" eventual champions Manchester City and Preston North End. Inside-right George Price was held accountable for the Preston defeat, having been sent off, with the referee and Harry Cotton also facing criticism. Three wins and a draw followed in March, though low attendances of well under one thousand continued to be a concern. With this in mind, and safety from re-election no longer a concern, management decided to transfer Ted Holdcroft and Arthur Hartshorne to Stoke for just over £500.^[1] Despite having sold two key players, Vale ended the campaign with five points from five games, including a final day 2–0 victory over Barnsley that stretched the club's run of unbeaten home league games to 12, of which 10 had been won.^[1]

The team's fine home form was offset by a terrible away record, though, and they ended the season with 34 points from as many games to finish in ninth place. Adrian Capes was the top scorer with 18 goals in 37 games, missing just one league game. Goalkeeper Harry Cotton played 36 games; Billy Heames, W. Perkins, Ernest Mullineux, Arthur Hartshorne, Bert Eardley, Arthur Rowley, George Price, and William Loverseed were all constant figures in the first XI. At the end of the campaign, all the major players were kept on, and no big signings were made.^[1]

Finances

Player sales gave the club a profit of £112 on the campaign.^[1] Poor attendance figures saw gate income fall by £200 from the previous season.^[1] The club's debt was totalled at £171,^[1] and subsequently the club's reserve team was moved from The Football Combination to the North Staffordshire League to save on travel costs.^[1]

Cup competitions

In cup competitions, Vale performed poorly, falling at the first hurdle in the Staffordshire Senior Cup, Birmingham Senior Cup, and Bass Charity Vase. Losing to rivals Stoke in the county cups: 2–0 at home in the Birmingham Cup and 5–3 away in the Staffordshire Cup replay following a 1–1 draw at home. In the Charity Vase, they were conquered by Second Division rivals Burton United 5–1 away in a replay, following a 1–1 draw at home. The club failed to qualify for the FA Cup, after losing 2–1 away on St. Helens Recreation's (Lancashire League) short, sloped, boggy pitch.^[1] Vale complained that the pitch markings were inadequate to the extent that they had scored an equalising goal but were instead awarded a throw-in.^[1] Entering the Bass Charity Vase had proved a mistake as it added to fixture congestion, and following a 1–1 draw it was decided to play the reserves and accepted a 5–1 defeat at Burton United.^[1]

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
7	Preston North End	34	13	10	11	56	40	1.400	36
8	Barnsley	34	13	8	13	55	51	1.078	34
9	Burslem Port Vale	34	13	8	13	57	62	0.919	34
10	Lincoln City	34	12	6	16	46	53	0.868	30
11	Glossop	34	11	7	16	43	57	0.754	29

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Results

Burslem 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
Ground	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A		H	H	A	A	H	A	H
Result	D	D	L	W	L	D	L	L	D	L	W	W	W	L	W	D	W	D	L	W	L	W	L	L	W	D	W	W	L	L	W	D	L	W
Position	8	8	13	9	13	12	13	15	13	14	12	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	9	8	9	8	10	12	10	9	9	9	9	9	8	9	9	9

Source: Statto^[2]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
6 September 1902	Blackpool	H	1–1	3,200	Capes
8 September 1902	Preston North End	H	0–0	2,000
13 September 1902	Woolwich Arsenal	A	0–3	12,000
20 September 1902	Doncaster Rovers	H	3–0	2,000	Cook, Loverseed, Capes
27 September 1902	Lincoln City	A	1–4	3,000	D.Simpson
4 October 1902	Small Heath	H	2–2	4,000	Perkins, Croxton
11 October 1902	Leicester Fosse	A	0–2	1,000
18 October 1902	Manchester City	H	1–4	5,000	Croxton
25 October 1902	Burnley	A	3–3	1,200	Eardley, Rowley, Holdcroft (pen)
8 November 1902	Chesterfield	A	0–3	2,000
10 November 1902	Stockport County	H	3–1	1,000	Heames, Hartshorne, Eardley
22 November 1902	Gainsborough Trinity	H	3–1		Capes (2), Eardley
6 December 1902	Bristol City	H	2–0	2,000	Eardley, Loverseed
9 December 1902	Glossop	A	1–2	3,000	Heames
13 December 1902	Stockport County	A	4–0		Capes (3), Price
20 December 1902	Manchester United	H	1–1	2,000	Price
3 January 1903	Blackpool	A	5–2	1,000	Loverseed (2), Capes, Hartshorne, Price
10 January 1903	Woolwich Arsenal	H	1–1	4,000	Price
17 January 1903	Doncaster Rovers	A	2–3	3,000	Capes, Eardley
24 January 1903	Lincoln City	H	5–1	2,000	Capes (3), Price (2)
31 January 1903	Small Heath	A	1–5	3,000	Price
7 February 1903	Leicester Fosse	H	2–0	1,000	Eardley, Capes
14 February 1903	Manchester City	A	1–7	12,000	Hartshorne
28 February 1903	Preston North End	A	1–5	3,000	Mullineux
7 March 1903	Chesterfield	H	2–1	800	Rowley, o.g.
21 March 1903	Gainsborough Trinity	A	1–1	3,000	Capes
28 March 1903	Burton United	H	4–2	500	Eardley, unknown, Capes, unknown
30 March 1903	Burnley	H	3–1		Loverseed, Price, T.Simpson
4 April 1903	Bristol City	A	0–3	2,000
10 April 1903	Barnsley	A	0–1	4,000
11 April 1903	Glossop	H	1–0	2,000	Price
13 April 1903	Burton United	A	0–0
18 April 1903	Manchester United	A	1–2	8,000	Rushton
20 April 1903	Barnsley	H	2–0		Rushton, Capes

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
3Q	1 November 1902	Stalybridge Rovers	H	3–1		Eardley, Price, Capes
4Q	15 November 1902	St. Helens Recreation	A	1–2	8,000	Capes

Birmingham Senior Cup


1	29 September 1902	Stoke	H	0–2	3,000

Staffordshire Senior Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
1	22 September 1902	Stoke	H	1–1		unknown
2	6 October 1902	Stoke	A	3–5		unknown

Bass Charity Vase


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
1	9 March 1902	Burton United	H	1–1	poor	Eardley
Replay	18 March 1902	Burton United	A	1–5		Coxon

Player statistics

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Name	Second Division	FA Cup	Other	Total
1	FW	England	Adrian Capes	16	2	0	18
2	FW	England	George Price	9	1	0	10
3	MF	England	Bert Eardley	7	1	1	9
4	FW	England	William Loverseed	5	0	0	5
5	DF	England	Arthur Hartshorne	3	0	0	3
6	FW	England	Billy Heames	2	0	0	2
–	MF	England	Harry Croxton	2	0	0	2
–	MF	England	Arthur Rowley	2	0	0	2
–	MF	England	George Rushton	2	0	0	2
10	FW	England	Albert Cook	1	0	0	1
–	FW	England	Tom Coxon	0	0	1	1
–	FW	England	Ted Holdcroft	1	0	0	1
–	DF	England	Ernest Mullineux	1	0	0	1
–	MF		W. Perkins	1	0	0	1
–	FW	England	Danny Simpson	1	0	0	1
–	FW		Tom Simpson	1	0	0	1
–	–	–	Unknown	2	0	2	2
–	–	–	Own goals	1	0	0	1
			TOTALS	57	4	2	63

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
May 1902	MF	W. Perkins	Newark	Free transfer	^[3]
June 1902	DF	Arthur Hartshorne	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Free transfer	^[3]
June 1902	FW	William Loverseed	Newark	Free transfer	^[3]
September 1902	MF	Arthur Rowley	Bristol Rovers	Free transfer	^[3]
January 1903	MF	George Rushton	Barrow	Free transfer	^[3]
February 1903	FW	Edward Williams	East Vale	Free transfer	^[3]
March 1903	DF	James Hamilton	Burslem Town	Free transfer	^[3]
April 1903	FW	Dick Allman	Burslem Higherhave	Free transfer	^[3]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
September 1902	DF	Lucien Boullemier	Philadelphia Hibernian	Released	^[3]
March 1903	DF	Ted Holdcroft	Stoke	£500	^[3]
April 1903	DF	Arthur Hartshorne	Stoke	Unknown	^[3]
Summer 1903	MF	Arthur Bourne		Released	^[3]
Summer 1903	DF	Duncan Cooper		Released	^[3]
Summer 1903	DF	Tom Davies		Released	^[3]
Summer 1903	FW	Leonard Jones		Released	^[3]
Summer 1903	MF	George Rushton	Brighton & Hove Albion	Free transfer	^[3]
Summer 1903	FW	Danny Simpson		Released	^[3]

References

Specific

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Kent, Jeff (1990). "The Hopeless Struggle (1898-1907)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 50–70. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
^ Port Vale 1902–1903 : Results & Fixtures Archived 19 April 2010 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 Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

General

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

[Kent-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Kent, Jeff (1990). "The Hopeless Struggle (1898-1907)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 50–70. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.

[2] Port Vale 1902–1903 : Results & Fixtures Archived 19 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.

[transfers-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Port Vale F.C. seasons
1880–81 1881–82 1882–83 1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90
1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–00
1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10
1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00
2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26 2026–27 2027–28 2028–29 2029–30