Port Vale 2004-05

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The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were renamed as the Championship, League One and League Two respectively. It was Martin Foyle’s first full season in charge, Vale survived a relegation dogfight to finish in eighteenth place, having struggled to compete with the departures of Stephen McPhee and Steve Brooker.

Chairman Bill Bratt announced there was a chance that an elderly American would put funds into the club though the investment did not come through. Bratt also went public with his idea of the Reginald Mitchell Stadium in honour of the Spitfire inventor, hopeful that 85-year-old American billionaire Sidney Frank would thus be encouraged to invest in the club.

In December, shareholders voted successfully to limit individual holdings in the club to ensure that no single shareholder can acquire undue influence or control. The club entered administration, worsening an already bleak financial picture.

One of Stoke-on-Trent’s most famous brands, Royal Doulton, eventually ceased production at the Nile Street Works on 30th September 2005, with operations moving to a new state-of-the-art facility in Indonesia. The factory was one of the few that produced both earthenware and bone china tableware.

Higher-quality items are still made in England at the home of parent company Waterford Wedgwood in Barlaston (now acquired by Fishers, a Finnish consumer goods company). Some of the most sought-after series and figures include: Early HN Series. The HN Series is the original line of Royal Doulton figurines that started in 1913, Pretty Ladies, Character Jugs, Nursery Rhymes and Storybook Characters, The Professionals, The Bunnykins Collection and The Brambly Hedge Collection.