List_of_Stoke_City_F.C._seasons

List of Stoke City F.C. seasons

List of Stoke City F.C. seasons

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Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. The club was formed in 1863 and played their first competitive match in November 1883 in the FA Cup. They were founder members of the Football League in 1888, in which they struggled finishing bottom in the first two seasons and failed to gain re-election for the 1890–91 meaning that they played in the Football Alliance.[1] They won the Alliance and re-joined the league. Stoke continued to struggle financially and in 1908 the club was liquidated and had to resign from the league. They re-branded as Stoke F.C. (1908) and joined the Birmingham & District League and Southern Football League before regaining their league status for the 1919–20 season.[1]

Graph showing Stoke City F.C.'s progress through the English football league system 1888 to the present

As a Football League team Stoke have won two divisional titles at the second and third levels of the English football league system. They have been promoted eight times and suffered relegation on seven occasions. They played in the 2011 FA Cup Final, losing to Manchester City and their best achievement is in the League Cup which they beat Chelsea in the 1972 Final.[1] As of the end of the 2022–23 season, the club has spent 62 seasons in the top tier of the English football league system, 46 in the second and 8 in the third.

History

Stoke were formed as Stoke Ramblers F.C. in 1863 they soon dropped the 'Ramblers' name and simply became known as Stoke F.C., and they played in friendlies against local and national sides as well as competing in the Staffordshire Senior Cup which was a prestigious competition at the time.[1] Stoke entered the FA Cup in the 1883–84 season and their first competitive fixture was against Manchester which they lost 2–1.[1] They continued with this type of fixture list until in 1888 the Football League was founded and Stoke became founder members.[1] In the first league season Stoke finished bottom of the table and again took bottom spot in the second season leading to the club being replaced by Sunderland. Stoke joined the Football Alliance and claimed the title and were re-elected back into the league.[1] Stoke continued to struggle and had a number of narrow escapes from relegation in the early 1900s. Eventually the club's fortunes ran out and they were relegated to the Second Division in the 1906–07.[1] The next season Stoke's finances dried up and the club was liquidated and they had to resign from the league. They were saved by a number of local business men and incredibly they were able to apply for re-election but they failed to gain enough votes and had to enter the Birmingham & District League and Southern Football League.[1]

Stoke re-entered the League after World War I and during the 1920s the club added 'City' to their name and had the highs of being promoted to the First Division and the lows of being relegated to the Third Division North.[1] Despite the divisional changes Stoke brought through a number of promising youth players most notably that of Stanley Matthews.[1] Stoke went on to gain promotion to the First Division in the 1932–33 season and went on to finished in 4th place in the 1935–36 season, their highest position until that point.[1] Immediately after World War II Stoke were involved in a title race and they had the chance to become champions of England for the first time on the final day of the 1946–47 season they needed to beat Sheffield United to claim the title, but they lost 2–1 and ended up finishing 4th for the second time.[1]

Relegation to the Second Division was suffered in the 1952–53 season and it took Stoke ten season to get back into the First Division with Tony Waddington helping Stoke to gain promotion.[1] He had a successful time at Stoke leading the club to their first major trophy in 1972, winning the Football League Cup as well as reaching the semi-final of the FA Cup and competed in European football on two occasions.[1] However Stoke's Victoria Ground was damaged by gale-force winds in January 1976 and the club had to sell their best players to cover the cost for the repairs.[1] This eventually led to Stoke being relegated the following 1976–77 season, Stoke soon made a return though gaining promotion in 1978–79 season. In the 1984–85 season Stoke experienced a terrible season finishing bottom after picking up a record low of 17 points. Five seasons of Second Division obscurity followed before the club slipped into the third tier for the second time.[1]

Lou Macari got Stoke out of the Third Division at the second time of asking and guided the club to the 1995–96 play-offs but lost out to Leicester City.[2] Stoke moved to the all-seater Britannia Stadium in 1997 but were relegated to the third tier in the first season at the new ground.[2] Four seasons in Division Two followed during which time the club had won their second Football League Trophy and entered the play-offs three times eventually gaining promotion at the third attempt. Tony Pulis became Stoke manager in November 2002 and lead the club to safety on the final day of the 2002–03 season. He was sacked at the end of the 2004–05 season but was re-appointed by returning chairman Peter Coates in July 2006.[2] He led the club to promotion to the Premier League in 2007–08 season and has since helped the club to establish themselves back in English football's top tier. Stoke reached the FA Cup Final for the first time in the 2010–11 season losing 1–0 to Manchester City. On reaching the final Stoke qualified for the UEFA Europa League where they reached the last 32, losing out to Valencia. Pulis was replaced by Mark Hughes in May 2013 and he guided the club to their highest Premier League position of 9th in three successive seasons 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16. Decline set in under Hughes in 2016–17 which led to relegation in 2017–18.

Key

Seasons

More information Season, League ...

Notes

  1. Stoke joined the Football League as inaugural members along with eleven other clubs.[1]
  2. Finished bottom of the Football League and are re-elected.[1]
  3. Finished bottom of the Football League and failed to be re-elected.[1]
  4. Re-elected back to the Football League after winning the Football Alliance.[1]
  5. The Football League is expanded into two Divisions, the First Division and Second Division.[1]
  6. Re-elected after beating Sheffield United by one vote.[1]
  7. Competed in the short-lived United Counties League which was scrapped after one season.[1]
  8. Retained place in the First Division after beating Newton Heath 3–0 in a Test Match.[1]
  9. Retained place in the First Division after success in the Test Matches. However it was in controversial circumstances as in the final match against Burnley both sides knew a draw would see them play in the First Division, unsurprisingly the game ended 0–0 with neither side attempting to score a goal. The Football League decided to expand the First Division to 18 teams and scrap the Test Match system in favor of automatic promotion and relegation.[1]
  10. Placed into liquidation at the end of the season and resigned from the Football League. This prompted swift action from a group of local business men who bought the club and re-incorporated it. These impressive efforts lead to the club applying for re-election but they lost out to Tottenham Hotspur and had to take their reserve teams' place in the Birmingham & District League.[1]
  11. Joined the Southern League as the board believed that would present a better chance of being re-elected to the Football League.[1]
  12. Despite winning all of their ten matches in Division Two promotion to Division One was not achieved due to a league re-organisation.[1]
  13. First Team leave the Birmingham & District League to concentrate on the Southern League, the reserve side take their place.[1]
  14. Re-elected to the Football League.[1]
  15. Highest League finish.
  16. When the Second World War began, the 1939–40 Football League season was abandoned with three matches played and Stoke in eighth position.[3]
  17. With the war reaching its conclusion the FA Cup made a return in 1945–46 with rounds played over two-legs. Attendances were very large and when Stoke played at Bolton Wanderers over 65,000 crammed into Burnden Park, and unfortunately two barriers collapsed killing 33 people.[1]
  18. Highest League finish.
  19. Stoke reached their first major final in 1963–64, losing a two-legged tie 4–3 to Leicester City.[1]
  20. Won their first major trophy, beating Chelsea 2–1 at Wembley.[1]
  21. First match in a European competition was against German side 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Despite a 3–1 first leg lead Stoke lost the return leg 4–0 and were eliminated 5–3 on aggregate.[1]
  22. Won the short-lived Watney Cup, beating Hull City in the 2–0 final.[1]
  23. Played Dutch side Ajax in the UEFA Cup first round. Both legs were drawn 1–1 at home and 0–0 away meaning Stoke were eliminated on the away goals rule.[1]
  24. Lowest League finish.
  25. Competed in the Football League play-offs for the first time, losing 2–1 on aggregate to Stockport County.[1]
  26. Beat Stockport County 1–0 in front of 48,339 at Wembley.[1]
  27. Due to the Formation of the Premier League in 1992 the Third Division was renamed Second Division.[1]
  28. Lost First Division play-offs 1–0 on aggregate to Leicester City.
  29. Lost Second Division play-offs 5–3 on aggregate to Gillingham.[4]
  30. Beat Bristol City 2–1 in front of 75,057 at Wembley.[5]
  31. Lost Second Division play-offs 4–2 on aggregate to Walsall.[6]
  32. Promoted after beating Brentford 2–0 in the play-off final at the Millennium Stadium.[7]
  33. First Division was renamed the Championship from the 2004–05 season.[8]
  34. Reached their first FA Cup Final and lost 1–0 to Manchester City. Stoke had previously beaten Bolton Wanderers 5–0 in the semi-final.[9][10]
  35. Competing in European football for the third time Stoke were eliminated by Valencia at the round of 32 stage. Stoke had previously beaten Hajduk Split, FC Thun in qualifying rounds and progressed through a group containing Beşiktaş, Dynamo Kyiv and Maccabi Tel Aviv.[11]

References

  1. [1]
    Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  2. [2]
    Lowe, Simon. Stoke City The Modern Era - A Complete Record. Desert Island Books. ISBN 1-874287-39-2.
  3. [3]
    Felton, Paul. "Season 1939–40 (Abandoned)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF).
  4. [4]
    "Gills crush nine-man Stoke". BBC Sport. 17 May 2000. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  5. [5]
    "Wembley glory for Stoke City". BBC Sport. 29 June 2000. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  6. [6]
    "Walsall too strong for Stoke City". BBC Sport. 16 May 2001. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  7. [7]
    "Stoke seal promotion". BBC Sport. 11 May 2002. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  8. [8]
    "League gets revamp". BBC Sport. 10 June 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
  9. [9]
    "Bolton 0–5 Stoke". BBC Sport. 17 April 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  10. [10]
    "Man City 1–0 Stoke". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  11. [11]
    "Valencia 1–0 Stoke". BBC Sport. 23 February 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  • "Stoke". Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  • "Stoke City". Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
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