He scored on his debut in a 5–1 win over Nottingham Forest on the opening day of the 1928–29 season however he did not fully establish himself in Tom Mather's side until the next campaign.
[1] He scored a career best of 15 in 1930–31 as he finished joined top scorer with Wilf Kirkham.
The emergence of Mawson and Tommy Sale as natural goalscorers in 1931–32 gave Liddle his right wing position back and targets for which to aim his crosses which worked well as Stoke gained promotion in 1932–33.
When a young up and coming Stanley Matthews burst onto the scene and took Liddle's number 7 position, McGrory took offence.
[1] McGrory became manager in 1935 and Liddle remained out of position but he regained his place during World War II with Matthews spending most of his time away with the RAF and making guest appearances.