Playing career

Poole played for Crewe Carriage Works before joining Burslem Port Vale

Port Vale F.C.

Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

 as an amateur in October 1897. His debut in a 1-0 home defeat by Barnsley St. Peter's

Barnsley F.C.

Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...

 in a Midland League

Midland Football League

There have been at least two different football competitions in England which used the name Midland Football League.One existed until 1982 before merging with the Yorkshire League to form the Northern Counties League....

 match on 9 October 1897. The goal conceded came as Poole managed to punch an indirect free kick

Indirect free kick

An indirect free kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football. Unlike a direct free kick, a goal may not be scored directly from the kick. The law was derived from the Sheffield Rules that stated that no goal could be scored from a free kick...

 into his own goal

Own goal

An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents....

, he constantly ran out of his area during the match and did not impress. Despite this he signed as a professional in 1898 and was utilized as a reserve until January 1900, at which point he became the first choice keeper. He lost his place in September 1900 though, and was released at the end of the 1900–01 season

1900–01 Burslem Port Vale F.C. season

The 1900–01 season was Burslem Port Vale's third consecutive season of football in the Football League. Finishing in ninth place for the second time in three years, the club would have to wait over two decades before they would better such a finish...

.