The 1905–06 season was Burslem Port Vale's eighth consecutive season (12th overall) of football in the English Football League. They finished 17th place in the Second Division, narrowly avoiding re‑election trouble by amassing 28 points from 38 matches (12 wins, 4 draws, 22 losses). Vale scored 49 goals, one of the lowest tallies in the league, and conceded 82, the worst defensive record in the division.

On the pitch, the club continued to struggle for consistency under manager‑secretary Tommy Clare, and endured occasional heavy defeats, most notably a 7–0 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in March 1906. Despite that, they achieved a season-high 5–0 win over Stoke in September 1905. In cup competitions, Vale were knocked out in the First Round of the FA Cup by Gainsborough Trinity, and exited both the Birmingham Senior Cup and Staffordshire Senior Cup at the semi-final stage.

Forward Harry Mountford stood out for the season, finishing as both league and overall top scorer with 15 goals. Attendances at the Athletic Ground fluctuated markedly: a season-high crowd of around 6,000 watched Vale take on Chelsea on 30 October 1905, while the lowest gate was approximately 1,000 for a September visit by Chesterfield Town, with the average attendance settling near 3,200. Off the field, poor financial performance mirrored results on the pitch. Despite support from long-time servants such as George Price and Bert Eardley, dwindling crowds raised concerns about the club's sustainability in League football.

Overview

Second Division An expanded league saw an extra four new clubs added to the division, in addition to the replacement for Doncaster Rovers, who failed to gain re-election the previous season. This put the Vale up against Chelsea, Hull City, Leeds City, and Clapton Orient for the first time. The season's first five games saw a tally of just three points collected, with the 2–1 reversal at home to Blackpool "was not calculated to inspire confidence". The losing run concluded with a 4–0 defeat at Barnsley. Yet "sparking footwork" inspired three successive wins and left Vale in sixth place by 14 October. They did, however, miss three penalty kicks until right-back Albert Cook converted from the spot against Clapton Orient in the club's fourth such attempt of the campaign. On 30 October, celebrated amateur international Samuel Ashworth made his debut for the club in a 3–2 victory over Chelsea and was appointed as captain, though he rarely played thereafter as he concentrated on his North Staffs Nomads amateur side.

Starting from November, the team attained only one point in nine games – in six of these, the "Valeites" failed to score. It began with a 4–0 loss at the bottom-club Gainsborough Trinity. Former club stalwart turned international pottery artist Lucien Boullemier returned from the United States to feature in a 1–0 defeat to Bristol City, though he had completely lost his athleticism and was not played in a professional game. The club's directors acted upon appalling attendance figures and decided to sell right-half Harry Croxton and inspirational striker Adrian Capes to Stoke in November. A rare win came on 30 December, with Harry Mountford scoring a hat-trick past Lincoln City – the first hat-trick a Vale player had scored in close to three years. However, the side then proceeded to lose all their matches in January, including a 5–0 thrashing at Grimsby Town that left the club second-from-bottom. They gained some measure of relief with a 3–1 victory at an ageing Clapton Orient on 3 February.

The last three months saw a revival, and the club won six of their last 15 games. This included seven matches at the Athletic Ground without defeat. Remarkably, one of the victories came against Manchester United after goalkeeper Arthur Box scored the game's only goal from the penalty spot. Heavy defeats were sustained on the road, though, the worst of which was a 7–0 humbling at Chelsea. Of more concern was a 3–2 at fellow strugglers Glossop when William Cope was hit on the head with a stone after the Glossop players were altogether too rough and physical in coming down from an initial two goal deficit. Arthur Box decided to get his retaliation in first by kicking a Glossop player before taking his goalkick and was duly sent off. Victory was needed in the final home game against Bradford City to secure safety, and a "businesslike" performance ensured the necessary 2–1 victory. They still needed to avoid a four-goal defeat at West Bromwich Albion to be sure, though, with centre-half Joseph Holyhead scoring the crucial consolation goal.

Port Vale finished just in 17th place, outside the re-election zone on goal average. Vale lost 17 of their 19 away games, never drawing a match away from home, and conceded more on their travels than any other side in the league. Overall, the defence was the leakiest in the division, conceding 82 goals in 38 games. Harry Mountford was the club's top scorer with 15 goals, with no other player reaching double figures. The club parted company with manager-secretary Tommy Clare to save money and Sam Gleaves returned to the secretary role and Sam Bennion was put in charge of selection.

Finances The financial outlook was bleak, and poor runs of results saw low attendance figures plummet. There were rumours of the club winding up at the end of the season, though the club would continue in its current form for one more season. Despite selling players and spending frugally, the club lost a whopping £451, with gate receipts falling by £280 on the previous campaign. Sam Gleaves warned that if supporters failed to turn up for matches, then the club would "inevitably cease to exist".

Cup competitions In the FA Cup, Vale defeated amateur club Oxford City after Oxford failed to make the most of their shooting chances. The second round saw Vale eliminated by Gainsborough Trinity at home, despite having organised special training sessions beforehand. In the County cups, Vale knocked out local rivals Stoke (Reserves) at home by 5–0 and 3–0 scorelines in the opening rounds as new competition rules meant clubs were no longer obliged to field a strong team. Vale "did not seem to exert themselves" as they were thumped 7–0 at Birmingham in the semi-finals of the Birmingham Senior Cup. They also faced a 5–1 defeat at Burton United in the semi-final of the Staffordshire Senior Cup after being forced to play a reserve side as it clashed with a league fixture.

Results

Football League Second Division

League table

Results by matchday

Matches

FA Cup

Birmingham Senior Cup

Staffordshire Senior Cup

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 CupOtherTotal1FWHarry Mountford1500152FWRobert Carter8019–FWPhilip Smith80194FWGeorge Price31265HBAlbert Cook30036FWAdrian Capes2002–HBJoseph Holyhead2002–FWAlex Crombie1012–HBHarry Croxton101210FWHugh Walley1001–GKArthur Box1001–FWBert Eardley1001–FWEbenezer Grant1001–––Own goals2002–––Unknown0011TOTALS491757

Transfers

Transfers in Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. July 1905 HB George Aytoun Clydebank Juniors Free transfer July 1905 FW Alex Crombie Reading Free transfer July 1905 HB Arthur Shelley Chesterton Free transfer August 1905 FW Philip Smith Knutton Free transfer October 1905 HB Samuel Ashworth Everton Free transfer October 1905 HB Sam Baddeley Norton Free transfer November 1905 GK George Boote Silverdale Town Free transfer November 1905 FB Lucien Boullemier Northampton Town Free transfer January 1906 FW Ebenezer Grant Tunstall Park Free transfer

Transfers out Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. November 1905 FB Lucien Boullemier Northern Nomads Free transfer November 1905 FW Adrian Capes Stoke Free transfer November 1905 HB Harry Croxton Stoke unknown February 1906 HB Albert Cook Stoke Free transfer Summer 1906 HB Samuel Ashworth North Staffs Nomads Released Summer 1906 HB George Aytoun Released Summer 1906 GK George Boote Knutton Rovers Released Summer 1906 FW Alex Crombie Released Summer 1906 FW W. Edwards Crewe Alexandra Released Summer 1906 FW Alfred Hall Released Summer 1906 HB Ben Jones Alsagers Bank Church Free transfer Summer 1906 FW William Jones Released Summer 1906 FW Philip Smith Crewe Alexandra Released Summer 1906 FW William Thomas Everton Free transfer Summer 1906 HB Sam Whittingham Crewe Alexandra Free transfer

References Specific

General