1967–68_Stoke_City_F.C._season
1967–68 Stoke City F.C. season
Stoke City 1967–68 football season
The 1967–68 season was Stoke City's 61st season in the Football League and the 37th in the First Division.
| 1967–68 season | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Albert Henshall | |
| Manager | Tony Waddington | |
| Stadium | Victoria Ground | |
| Football League First Division | 18th (35 points) | |
| FA Cup | Fourth round | |
| League Cup | Quarter-final | |
| Top goalscorer | League: Peter Dobing & Harry Burrows (15) All: Harry Burrows (16) | |
| Highest home attendance | 32,549 vs Manchester United (30 March 1967) | |
| Lowest home attendance | 15,785 vs Sheffield Wednesday (16 March 1968) | |
| Average home league attendance | 21,949 | |
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Since gaining promotion back to the First Division in 1963, Stoke had done well and managed to consistently finish in mid-table avoiding any fears of relegation. However, in 1967–68 Stoke did have a later than expected fight against relegation and after going seven straight matches without a win towards the end of the season it looked as if Stoke were heading back to the Second Division but a thrilling 3–2 win over Leeds set Stoke up to beat Liverpool on the final day ensuring survival by three points.[1]
League
Dennis Viollet left Stoke in May 1967 for Baltimore Bays in the United States, and Tony Waddington decided against signing a replacement, making just one transaction prior to the start of the 1967–68 season, purchasing Burnley left back Alex Elder for £50,000.[1] Elder had a fine career at Turf Moor but at Stoke after an early injury he never produced the form expected of him and is considered to be one of Waddington's worst signings.[1] After a decent enough start to the campaign by Christmas results did not go well at all and the side slipped down the table and into the relegation places.[1] Results continued to be poor and after a 3–0 defeat away at West Bromwich Albion on 13 March, Stoke went and lost the next six matches.[1]
Consequently, a lot of 'wheeling a dealing' was done in the transfer market with Alan Philpott leaving for Oldham, Maurice Setters to Coventry and the popular Calvin Palmer moving to Sunderland for £70,000. To fill the gap Waddington brought in Willie Stevenson from Liverpool for £30,000.[1] Thanks to three fine results late on in the season, including a thrilling 3–2 win over Don Revie's Leeds and a decisive 2–1 victory over Liverpool, Stoke managed to finish in 18th place three points away from the relegation places.[1]
FA Cup
After beating Welsh side Cardiff City in the third round Stoke were knocked out by West Ham United who won 3–0 at the Victoria Ground.[1]
League Cup
Stoke made it through to the quarter-final of the 1967–68 League Cup losing 2–0 to Leeds United at Elland Road after knocking out Watford, Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday.[1]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Southampton | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 66 | 83 | 0.795 | 37 |
| 17 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 66 | 75 | 0.880 | 36 |
| 18 | Stoke City | 42 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 50 | 73 | 0.685 | 35 |
| 19 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 51 | 63 | 0.810 | 34 |
| 20 | Coventry City | 42 | 9 | 15 | 18 | 51 | 71 | 0.718 | 33 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
Stoke's score comes first
Legend
| Win | Draw | Loss |
Football League First Division
| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 August 1967 | Arsenal | A | 0–2 | 27,048 | |
| 2 | 23 August 1967 | Sheffield United | H | 1–1 | 20,823 | Bloor |
| 3 | 26 August 1967 | Manchester City | H | 3–0 | 22,456 | Bloor, Palmer, Burrows (pen) |
| 4 | 29 August 1967 | Sheffield United | A | 0–1 | 17,099 | |
| 5 | 2 September 1967 | Newcastle United | A | 1–1 | 38,470 | Mahoney |
| 6 | 6 September 1967 | Leicester City | H | 3–2 | 19,032 | Palmer, Burrows (pen), Conroy |
| 7 | 9 September 1967 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 0–0 | 21,036 | |
| 8 | 16 September 1967 | Chelsea | A | 2–2 | 26,614 | Dobing, Burrows (pen) |
| 9 | 23 September 1967 | Southampton | H | 3–2 | 18,618 | Burrows (2) (1 pen), Vernon |
| 10 | 30 September 1967 | Liverpool | A | 1–2 | 50,120 | Dobing |
| 11 | 7 October 1967 | West Ham United | A | 4–3 | 24,471 | Dobing (2), Burrows (2) |
| 12 | 14 October 1967 | Burnley | H | 0–2 | 19,532 | |
| 13 | 23 October 1967 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–1 | 33,002 | Burrows |
| 14 | 28 October 1967 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 2–1 | 26,341 | Burrows (2) |
| 15 | 4 November 1967 | Manchester United | A | 0–1 | 51,041 | |
| 16 | 11 November 1967 | Sunderland | H | 2–1 | 19,554 | Dobing, Bloor |
| 17 | 18 November 1967 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 4–3 | 34,544 | Bloor, Mahoney, Burrows, Palmer |
| 18 | 25 November 1967 | Fulham | H | 0–1 | 18,344 | |
| 19 | 2 December 1967 | Leeds United | A | 0–2 | 29,958 | |
| 20 | 9 December 1967 | Everton | H | 1–0 | 17,154 | Dobing |
| 21 | 16 December 1967 | Arsenal | H | 0–1 | 16,110 | |
| 22 | 23 December 1967 | Manchester City | A | 2–4 | 40,121 | Dobing, Burrows |
| 23 | 26 December 1967 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–3 | 37,577 | |
| 24 | 30 December 1967 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–3 | 20,948 | Mahoney |
| 25 | 6 January 1968 | Newcastle United | H | 2–1 | 17,623 | Burrows (2) |
| 26 | 20 January 1968 | Chelsea | H | 0–1 | 21,751 | |
| 27 | 3 February 1968 | Southampton | A | 2–1 | 20,880 | Burrows, Palmer |
| 28 | 26 February 1968 | West Ham United | H | 2–0 | 16,092 | Dobing, Mahoney |
| 29 | 13 March 1968 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–3 | 20,500 | |
| 30 | 16 March 1968 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 0–1 | 15,785 | |
| 31 | 23 March 1968 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–3 | 29,530 | |
| 32 | 30 March 1968 | Manchester United | H | 2–4 | 32,549 | Eastham, Dobing |
| 33 | 6 April 1968 | Sunderland | A | 1–3 | 27,813 | Harris (o.g.) |
| 34 | 13 April 1968 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 0–2 | 26,290 | |
| 35 | 15 April 1968 | Coventry City | A | 0–2 | 31,380 | |
| 36 | 16 April 1968 | Coventry City | H | 3–3 | 20,170 | Bentley, Dobing, Mahoney |
| 37 | 20 April 1968 | Burnley | A | 0–4 | 13,188 | |
| 38 | 23 April 1968 | Leeds United | H | 3–2 | 24,518 | Dobing (3) |
| 39 | 1 May 1968 | Fulham | A | 2–0 | 12,523 | Dobing, Vernon |
| 40 | 4 May 1968 | Everton | A | 0–3 | 43,302 | |
| 41 | 11 May 1968 | Leicester City | A | 0–0 | 23,852 | |
| 42 | 15 May 1968 | Liverpool | H | 2–1 | 27,693 | Dobing, Mahoney |
FA Cup
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R3 | 27 January 1968 | Cardiff City | H | 2–1 | 23,563 | Stevenson, Vernon |
| R4 | 17 February 1968 | West Ham United | H | 0–3 | 36,704 |
League Cup
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R2 | 13 September 1967 | Watford | H | 2–0 | 10,126 | Allen, Palmer |
| R3 | 11 October 1967 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–1 | 14,815 | Burrows, Bridgwood |
| R4 | 1 November 1967 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–0 | 26,001 | |
| R4 Replay | 15 November 1967 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 2–1 | 21,185 | Bentley, Palmer |
| Quarter-final | 13 December 1967 | Leeds United | A | 0–2 | 24,558 |
Friendlies
| Match | Opponent | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stockport County | A | 2–2 |
| 2 | Asante Kotoko | H | 1–3 |
| 3 | Portsmouth | A | 1–2 |
| Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| GK |  Gordon Banks |
39 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 45 | 0 |
| GK | John Farmer |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| GK | Paul Shardlow |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | Tony Allen |
38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 45 | 1 |
| DF | Bill Bentley |
30(2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 35(2) | 2 |
| DF | Alan Bloor |
37 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 4 |
| DF |  Micky Bloor |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DF |  Alex Elder |
24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| DF | Tony Lacey |
0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 |
| DF | Jackie Marsh |
2(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3(2) | 0 |
| DF | John Moore |
12(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12(1) | 0 |
| DF | Calvin Palmer |
23 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 30 | 6 |
| DF | Eric Skeels |
34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
| MF | Mike Bernard |
11(6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13(6) | 0 |
| MF | Gerry Bridgwood |
14(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 15(1) | 1 |
| MF |  Terry Conroy |
8(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10(1) | 1 |
| MF | George Eastham |
38(1) | 1 | 0(1) | 0 | 5 | 0 | 43(2) | 1 |
| MF | John Mahoney |
27(1) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 31(1) | 6 |
| MF | Geoff Nulty |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Alan Philpott |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 |
| MF | Maurice Setters |
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| MF |  Willie Stevenson |
18 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 |
| FW | Harry Burrows |
42 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 49 | 16 |
| FW | Peter Dobing |
37 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 43 | 15 |
| FW | Bob Hulse |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | Roy Vernon |
19 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 3 |
| – | Own goals | – | 1 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 1 |
- Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.