Port Vale 2000-01

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A season of two halves, Vale were struggling at the bottom of the table when Isthmian League minnows Canvey Island knocked the Vale out of the FA Cup with a 2-1 victory at Vale Park in one of the great shocks in FA Cup history.

There were rumours of a merger with Stoke City, as the media reported the possible financial collapse of the club. Work on the Lorne Street stand ground to a halt, as the club ran out of money to complete the project.

Things turned round in the second half of the season, as a twelve-game unbeaten run in the league was complemented with a 2-1 Football League Trophy final win over Brentford – the second time the club lifted the trophy. Bridge-Wilkinson and Steve Brooker scored the goals on a rainy day in front of 25,654 spectators at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

Saddlers Ltd in Burslem were overtaken by market forces and went into receivership in 2000. Churchill China took over the brand name, design and archives.

James Sadler was founded in 1882 as Sadler and Co, and was operating in Reginald Street, Burslem – they became James Sadler and Sons in 1899. Around 1900 they moved to the Wellington Pottery and then also to the Central Pottery just off Market Place in Burslem town Centre.

They became one of the leading manufacturers of teapots in the UK. The first teapots were made using a red clay with a dark brown glazed surface. The Rockingham Brown, or ‘Brown Betty’ teapot as it is affectionately known, became a world-wide success.