The 1890–91 season was Burslem Port Vale's first season in the newly formed Midland League. The club competed at their Athletic Ground in Cobridge. Under the amateur committee's direction, Vale finished eighth in the league with 16 points, demonstrating modest success in their first complete organised league venture. In cup competitions, they exited the FA Cup in the Second Qualifying Round at the hands of Walsall Town Swifts, and suffered a record 12–0 defeat to Aston Villa in the Second Round of the Staffordshire Senior Cup. However, they salvaged silverware by sharing the North Staffordshire Challenge Cup with Stoke after a final draw. The team's leading goalscorer was Frank McGinnes, who netted 15 league goals and 41 in total across all competitions. Attendances peaked at approximately 3,000 for the fixture against Preston North End on 6 October 1890, with an average crowd of around 1,429 throughout the season.

Overview Midland League Burslem Port Vale became founder members of the Midland League along with 11 other clubs, including future Football League sides Gainsborough Trinity, Lincoln City, Rotherham Town and Sheffield United. The club's directors first had to deal with some legal issues, successfully defending themselves from a claim for lost wages by former player Jack Shields. To prepare for the new league the club signed three new players: 23-year-old Welsh winger Charlie Davies, 22-year-old inside-forward James Bryden from Hamilton Academicals and 21-year-old Scottish forward David Mackie; however, they lost both George Bateman and Lewis Ballham to Stoke.

They opened the league campaign with three games at the Athletic Ground, beating Staveley and Long Eaton Rangers 2–1 and 7–2 respectively (Frank McGinnes scoring a hat-trick against Long Eaton Rangers), then coming to a disappointing 2–2 draw with Kidderminster. The Kidderminster draw was described as "one of the poorest displays of football ever witnessed on their enclosure" and criticism was made of the players' fitness levels, whilst McGinnes was said to be shooting as soon as he entered the opposition half. Two away defeats followed, with full-backs being described as the weak link, as Long Eaton Rangers avenged their earlier heavy defeat with a 5–2 victory at the Recreation Ground. Vale managed a highly respectable 1–1 draw with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane despite goalkeeper John Davies missing the train; however, the team would fail to avoid defeat on the road again until 28 February.

Having beaten Derby Junction by three goals to one, the match was ordered to be replayed as the official referee failed to appear and Derby complained to The Football Association. Vale won the replayed fixture by three goals to none. Late December proved a disaster as they fell to 5–0 and 11–0 defeats at Lincoln City and Gainsborough Trinity; it was suggested the scoreline of the Boxing Day defeat to Gainsborough was such due to excessive drinking on Christmas Day. New members were assigned to the club's committee. They resolved to sign better players, telling the current squad to "train or take the consequences". They lost the return fixture at Derby Junction on 17 January, but appealed the result as Junction's home secretary officiated as the official referee failed to appear; the appeal was denied.

Vale recorded home and away victories over Warwick County – winning 8–0 at home. McGinnes scored his second hat-trick of the season – but gained no points as County withdrew from the league. Their games were struck from the record. Home defeats to Gainsborough and Burton Wanderers followed, with the 3–1 defeat by Gainsborough being Vale's first defeat at home in the league, whilst the Burton Wanderers loss saw the referee having to be protected by the Vale players as angry youths accosted him. Still, Vale ended the league campaign in good form, beating Sheffield United and Staveley whilst taking a point from their visit to Lincoln. They finished the table in eighth place from the ten that completed the league programme, though they finished just five points off second-place Long Eaton Rangers. McGinnes finished as the club's top scorer with 15 league goals. The club's directors embarked on a locally based strategy, signing promising local players to five-year contracts. Charlie Davies was transferred to Newton and Joe Barr was allowed to sign with Accrington.

Cup competitions Starting the FA Cup at the first qualification round, they progressed past Warwick County with a 3–1 away win but lost out 3–2 to Football Alliance side Walsall Town Swifts at the next stage. They faced disaster in the Staffordshire Senior Cup, being "completely outclassed" in a 12–0 defeat to Aston Villa at Wellington Road; the result remains the club's biggest ever margin of defeat. They fared much better in the North Staffordshire Challenge Cup, thrashing Burton Wanderers 7–0 in the semi-final to book their place in the final against Stoke; they drew the final 1–1, and the two teams shared the trophy after failing to arrange a replay.

Results WinDrawLoss

Midland League

FA Cup

Staffordshire Senior Cup

North Staffordshire Challenge Cup

Friendlies

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 PlacePositionNationNameMidland LeagueFA CupOtherTotal1FWFrank McGinnes15026412FWJimmy Ditchfield11010213HBBob McCrindle32384FWCharlie Davies5005–FWMeshach Dean10456FWJ Keeling3014–HBW. Jones20248HBBilly Elson21039FWDavid Mackie2002–FWJames Bryden2002–FWH Curwen1012–FWBilly Draycott1012–FWJ Davies002214FWJohn Nash0011–FBB Coyle0101–FBC. McAlpine0011–FBMatthews0011–––Unknown3025–––Own goals2013–––Scrimmage1113TOTALS54557116

Transfers

Transfers in Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. 1890 FW H Curwen Free transfer 1890 FW Meshach Dean Free transfer 1890 GK Levi Higginson Free transfer 1890 FW J Keeling Free transfer Summer 1890 FW James Bryden Hamilton Academical Free transfer Summer 1890 FW Billy Draycott Free transfer Summer 1890 FB Fred Jones West Manchester Free transfer Summer 1890 FW W. Jones Free transfer Summer 1890 FW David Mackie Free transfer Autumn 1890 FW John Nash Free transfer December 1890 FB C. McAlpine Free transfer 1891 GK Nixon Free transfer

Transfers out Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. September 1890 FB Fred Jones Newton Heath Free transfer November 1890 FW James Bryden Released March 1891 FB B Coyle Released June 1891 FW Billy Draycott Stoke Free transfer Summer 1891 HB Billy Poulson Released 1891 FB Joe Barr Accrington Free transfer 1891 FW H Curwen Released 1891 FW David Mackie Released 1891 FW Fred Stokes Released 1891 FB G Martin Released 1891 FB Matthews Released

References Specific

General