The 1902–03 season was Burslem Port Vale's fifth consecutive season (ninth overall) of football in the English Football League. Under secretary-manager Sam Gleaves and chairman Robert Audley, the club finished a respectable 9th‑place, amassing 34 points from 34 matches (13 wins, 8 draws, 13 losses), scoring 57 goals and conceding 62.

Adrian Capes continued his prolific form to lead the scoring charts with 16 league goals (18 in all competitions) for a third consecutive season. In cup competitions, Vale were knocked out in the Fourth Qualifying Round of the FA Cup by St. Helens Recreation, and exited both the Birmingham Senior Cup and Staffordshire Senior Cup at the First Round stage, falling to Stoke in each case; their campaign in the Bass Charity Vase also ended at first hurdle with a defeat to Burton United.

Attendance figures peaked at approximately 5,000 for the home fixture against Manchester City on 18 October 1902, while the lowest recorded crowd was just 500 for the match against Burton United on 28 March 1903, with an average attendance of around 2,250. The campaign also saw Vale suffer their heaviest league defeat, a 7–1 loss at Manchester City on 14 February 1903, while achieving dominant victories including 5–1 and 4–0 results at home.

Overview

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. 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.

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.

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. 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.

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.

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

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. 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. 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.

Results

Football League Second Division

League table

Results by matchday

Matches

FA Cup

Birmingham Senior Cup

Staffordshire Senior Cup

Bass Charity Vase

Squad statistics Appearances and goals Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward

|colspan="14"|Players who featured but departed the club during the season:

Top scorers PlacePositionNationNameSecond DivisionFA CupOtherTotal1FWAdrian Capes1620182FWGeorge Price910103FWBert Eardley71194FWWilliam Loverseed50055FBArthur Hartshorne30036FWBilly Heames2002–HBHarry Croxton2002–HBArthur Rowley2002–FWGeorge Rushton200210FWAlbert Cook1001–FWTom Coxon0011–FWTed Holdcroft1001–FBErnest Mullineux1001–HBW. Perkins1001–FWDanny Simpson1001–FWTom Simpson1001–––Unknown2022–––Own goals1001TOTALS574263

Transfers

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

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

References Specific

General