List of Stoke City F.C. seasons

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 2019–20 season, the club has spent 62 seasons in the top tier of the English football league system, 43 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.[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

Season League FA Cup League
Cup
Europe / Other Top goalscorer(s)
DivisionPWDLGFGAPtsPosName(s)Goals
1883–84 R1 Edward Johnson 1
1884–85 R1
1885–86 R1 Jimmy Sayer & George Shutt 1
1886–87 R2 Alf Edge 6
1887–88 R5 Wally Owen 3
1888–89 The Football League[lower-alpha 1] 22 4 4 14 26 51 12 12th[lower-alpha 2] QR1 Bob McSkimming 6
1889–90 The Football League 22 3 4 15 27 69 10 12th[lower-alpha 3] QF Freddie Gee 5
1890–91 Football Alliance 22 13 7 2 57 39 33 1st[lower-alpha 4] QF Alf Edge 12
1891–92 The Football League 26 5 4 17 38 61 14 13th QF Joe Schofield 9
1892–93 First Division[lower-alpha 5] 30 12 5 13 58 48 29 7th R1 Joe Schofield 13
1893–94 First Division 30 13 3 14 65 79 29 11th[lower-alpha 6] R2 United Counties League[lower-alpha 7] GS Joe Schofield 15
1894–95 First Division 30 9 6 15 50 67 24 14th[lower-alpha 8] R2 Joe Schofield 13
1895–96 First Division 30 15 0 15 56 47 30 6th QF Tommy Hyslop 17
1896–97 First Division 30 11 3 16 48 59 25 13th R2 William Maxwell 13
1897–98 First Division 30 8 8 14 35 55 24 16th[lower-alpha 9] R2 William Maxwell 12
1898–99 First Division 34 13 7 14 47 52 33 12th SF William Maxwell 16
1899–1900 First Division 34 13 8 13 47 45 34 9th R1 William Maxwell 11
1900–01 First Division 34 11 5 18 46 57 27 16th R1 William Maxwell 16
1901–02 First Division 34 11 9 14 45 55 31 16th QF Mart Watkins 15
1902–03 First Division 34 15 7 12 46 38 37 6th QF Mart Watkins 12
1903–04 First Division 34 10 7 17 54 57 27 16th R1 Arthur Capes 11
1904–05 First Division 34 13 4 17 40 58 30 12th R2 Fred Rouse 12
1905–06 First Division 38 16 7 15 54 55 39 10th R2 Jack Hall 11
1906–07 First Division 38 8 10 20 41 64 26 20th R1 John Chalmers 11
1907–08 Second Division 38 16 5 17 57 52 37 10th[lower-alpha 10] QF Tom Holford 12
1908–09 Birmingham & District League 34 13 5 16 71 64 31 8th R1 William Davies 14
1909–10 Birmingham & District League 34 15 7 12 82 52 37 7th R1 Birmingham League Cup R3 Amos Baddeley 24
Southern League Division Two[lower-alpha 11] 10 10 0 0 48 9 20 1st[lower-alpha 12] Arthur Griffiths 36
1910–11 Birmingham & District League 34 24 2 8 95 48 50 1st[lower-alpha 13] R1 Jack Peart 31
Southern League Division Two 22 17 1 4 72 21 35 2nd Alf Smith 31
1911–12 Southern League Division One 38 13 10 15 51 63 36 10th QR5 William Smith 9
1912–13 Southern League Division One 38 10 4 24 39 75 24 20th R1 Alf Smith 9
1913–14 Southern League Division Two 30 19 2 9 71 34 40 5th R1 Alf Smith 16
1914–15 Southern League Division Two 24 17 4 3 62 15 38 1st[lower-alpha 14] QR3 Arthur Watkin 24
1915–19 No competitive football was played between 1915 and 1919 due to the First World War
1919–20 Second Division 42 18 6 18 60 54 42 10th R1 David Brown 13
1920–21 Second Division 42 12 11 19 46 56 35 20th R1 Arthur Watkin 15
1921–22 Second Division 42 18 16 8 60 44 52 2nd R3 Jimmy Broad 25
1922–23 First Division 42 10 10 22 47 67 30 21st R2 Jimmy Broad 23
1923–24 Second Division 42 14 18 10 44 42 46 6th R1 Jimmy Broad 14
1924–25 Second Division 42 12 11 19 34 46 35 20th R1 Harry Davies 8
1925–26 Second Division 42 12 8 22 54 77 32 21st R4 Bobby Archibald 10
1926–27 Third Division North 42 27 9 6 92 40 63 1st R1 Charlie Wilson 25
1927–28 Second Division 42 22 8 12 78 59 52 5th QF Charlie Wilson 32
1928–29 Second Division 42 17 12 13 74 51 46 6th R3 Charlie Wilson 22
1929–30 Second Division 42 16 8 18 74 72 40 11th R3 Charlie Wilson 20
1930–31 Second Division 42 17 10 15 64 71 44 11th R3 Wilf Kirkham 14
1931–32 Second Division 42 19 14 9 69 48 52 3rd R5 Joe Mawson 20
1932–33 Second Division 42 25 6 11 78 39 56 1st R4 Joe Mawson 16
1933–34 First Division 42 15 11 16 58 71 41 12th QF Tommy Sale 15
1934–35 First Division 42 18 6 18 71 70 42 10th R3 Tommy Sale 24
1935–36 First Division 42 20 7 15 57 57 47 4th R5 Tommy Sale 14
1936–37 First Division 42 15 12 15 72 57 42 10th R4 Freddie Steele 33
1937–38 First Division 42 13 12 17 58 59 38 17th R4 Freddie Steele 15
1938–39 First Division 42 17 12 13 71 68 46 7th R3 Freddie Steele 26
1939–40 First Division 3 1 1 1 7 4 4 8th[lower-alpha 15] Tommy Sale 3
1939–46 No competitive football was played between 1939 and 1946 due to the Second World War
1945–46 QF[lower-alpha 16] Freddie Steele 7
1946–47 First Division 42 24 7 11 90 53 55 4th R5 Freddie Steele 29
1947–48 First Division 42 14 10 18 41 55 38 15th R4 Freddie Steele 10
1948–49 First Division 42 16 9 17 66 68 41 11th R5 Frank Bowyer 21
1949–50 First Division 42 11 12 19 45 75 34 19th R3 Frank Bowyer 15
1950–51 First Division 42 13 14 15 50 59 40 13th R5 Frank Bowyer 16
1951–52 First Division 42 12 7 23 49 88 31 20th R4 Sammy Smyth 12
1952–53 First Division 42 12 10 20 53 66 34 21st R4 Harry Oscroft 10
1953–54 Second Division 42 12 17 13 71 60 41 11th R4 Frank Bowyer 14
1954–55 Second Division 42 21 10 11 69 46 52 5th R4 Harry Oscroft 21
1955–56 Second Division 42 20 4 18 71 62 44 13th R5 Frank Bowyer, Johnny King 16
1956–57 Second Division 42 20 8 14 83 58 48 5th R3 Tim Coleman 26
1957–58 Second Division 42 18 6 18 75 73 42 11th R5 George Kelly 22
1958–59 Second Division 42 21 7 14 72 58 49 5th R4 Dennis Wilshaw 18
1959–60 Second Division 42 14 7 21 66 83 35 17th R3 Frank Bowyer 14
1960–61 Second Division 42 12 12 18 51 59 36 18th R5 R2 Johnny King 12
1961–62 Second Division 42 17 8 17 55 57 42 8th R4 R2 Tommy Thompson 16
1962–63 Second Division 42 20 13 9 73 50 52 1st R3 R3 Dennis Viollet 23
1963–64 First Division 42 14 10 18 77 78 38 17th R5 RU[lower-alpha 17] John Ritchie 18
1964–65 First Division 42 16 10 16 67 66 42 11th R4 R4 John Ritchie 25
1965–66 First Division 42 15 12 15 65 64 42 10th R3 R4 John Ritchie 13
1966–67 First Division 42 17 7 18 63 58 41 12th R3 R2 Peter Dobing 19
1967–68 First Division 42 14 7 21 50 73 35 18th R4 QF Harry Burrows, Peter Dobing 15
1968–69 First Division 42 9 15 18 40 63 33 19th R5 R2 David Herd 9
1969–70 First Division 42 15 15 12 56 52 45 9th R4 R2 John Ritchie, Harry Burrows 14
1970–71 First Division 42 12 13 17 44 48 37 13th SF R2 Anglo-Italian Cup
Texaco Cup
GS
R1
John Ritchie 19
1971–72 First Division 42 10 15 17 39 56 35 17th SF W[lower-alpha 18] Anglo-Italian Cup
Texaco Cup
GS
R2
John Ritchie 18
1972–73 First Division 42 14 10 18 61 56 38 15th R3 R4 UEFA Cup[lower-alpha 19] R1 Jimmy Greenhoff 20
1973–74 First Division 42 15 16 11 54 42 46 5th R3 R4 Texaco Cup
Watney Cup[lower-alpha 20]
John Ritchie 15
1974–75 First Division 42 17 15 10 64 48 49 5th R3 R4 UEFA Cup[lower-alpha 21] R1 Jimmy Greenhoff 15
1975–76 First Division 42 15 11 16 48 50 41 12th R5 R2 Jimmy Greenhoff 13
1976–77 First Division 42 10 14 18 28 51 34 21st R3 R3 Terry Conroy, Garth Crooks 6
1977–78 Second Division 42 16 10 16 53 49 42 7th R4 R2 Garth Crooks 19
1978–79 Second Division 42 20 16 6 58 31 56 3rd R3 QF Brendan O'Callaghan 16
1979–80 First Division 42 13 10 19 44 58 36 18th R3 R3 Garth Crooks 15
1980–81 First Division 42 12 18 12 51 60 42 11th R3 R2 Lee Chapman 17
1981–82 First Division 42 12 8 22 44 63 44 18th R3 R2 Lee Chapman 17
1982–83 First Division 42 16 9 17 53 64 57 13th R4 R2 Mickey Thomas 12
1983–84 First Division 42 13 11 18 44 63 50 18th R3 R4 Paul Maguire 10
1984–85 First Division 42 3 8 31 24 91 17 22nd R3 R2 Ian Painter 9
1985–86 Second Division 42 14 15 13 48 50 57 10th R3 R3 Full Members' Cup R3 Keith Bertschin 21
1986–87 Second Division 42 16 10 16 63 53 58 8th R5 R2 Full Members' Cup R1 Carl Saunders 19
1987–88 Second Division 44 17 11 16 50 57 62 11th R3 R4 Full Members' Cup R4 Phil Heath, Graham Shaw 8
1988–89 Second Division 46 15 14 17 57 72 59 13th R4 R2 Full Members' Cup R1 Peter Beagrie, Dave Bamber 9
1989–90 Second Division 46 6 19 21 35 63 37 24th R3 R2 Full Members' Cup R3 Wayne Biggins 10
1990–91 Third Division 46 16 12 18 55 59 60 14th R2 R2 League Trophy R2 Wayne Biggins 12
1991–92 Third Division 46 21 14 11 69 49 77 4th[lower-alpha 22] R1 R2 League Trophy[lower-alpha 23] W Wayne Biggins 24
1992–93 Second Division[lower-alpha 24] 46 27 12 7 73 34 93 1st R1 R2 League Trophy SF Mark Stein 30
1993–94 First Division 46 18 13 15 57 59 67 10th R4 R2 Anglo-Italian Cup GS Dave Regis 13
1994–95 First Division 46 16 15 15 50 53 63 11th R3 R3 Anglo-Italian Cup SF Paul Peschisolido 15
1995–96 First Division 46 20 13 13 60 49 73 4th[lower-alpha 25] R3 R3 Anglo-Italian Cup GS Mike Sheron 15
1996–97 First Division 46 18 10 18 51 57 64 12th R3 R3 Mike Sheron 23
1997–98 First Division 46 11 13 22 44 74 46 23rd R3 R3 Peter Thorne 16
1998–99 Second Division 46 21 6 19 59 63 69 8th R2 R2 League Trophy R2 Graham Kavanagh 13
1999–2000 Second Division 46 23 13 10 68 42 82 6th[lower-alpha 26] R1 R2 League Trophy[lower-alpha 27] W Peter Thorne 30
2000–01 Second Division 46 21 14 11 74 49 77 5th[lower-alpha 28] R1 R4 League Trophy QF Peter Thorne 19
2001–02 Second Division 46 23 11 12 67 40 80 5th[lower-alpha 29] R3 R1 League Trophy R1 Chris Iwelumo 12
2002–03 First Division 46 12 14 20 45 69 50 21st R5 R1 Andy Cooke, Chris Iwelumo 7
2003–04 First Division 46 18 12 16 58 55 66 11th R3 R2 Ade Akinbiyi, Gifton Noel-Williams 10
2004–05 Championship[lower-alpha 30] 46 17 10 19 36 38 61 12th R3 R1 Gifton Noel-Williams 13
2005–06 Championship 46 17 7 22 54 63 58 13th R5 R1 Paul Gallagher 12
2006–07 Championship 46 19 16 11 62 41 73 8th R4 R1 Ricardo Fuller 11
2007–08 Championship 46 21 16 9 69 55 79 2nd R3 R1 Ricardo Fuller, Liam Lawrence 15
2008–09 Premier League 38 12 9 17 38 55 45 12th R3 QF Ricardo Fuller 11
2009–10 Premier League 38 11 14 13 34 48 47 11th QF R4 Ricardo Fuller 8
2010–11 Premier League 38 13 7 18 46 48 46 13th RU[lower-alpha 31] R4 Kenwyne Jones, Jonathan Walters 12
2011–12 Premier League 38 11 12 15 36 53 45 14th QF R4 UEFA Europa League[lower-alpha 32] R32 Peter Crouch 14
2012–13 Premier League 38 9 15 14 34 45 42 13th R4 R2 Jonathan Walters 11
2013–14 Premier League 38 13 11 14 45 52 50 9th R4 QF Peter Crouch 10
2014–15 Premier League 38 15 9 14 48 45 54 9th R5 R4 Mame Biram Diouf 12
2015–16 Premier League 38 14 9 15 41 55 51 9th R4 SF Marko Arnautović 12
2016–17 Premier League 38 11 11 16 41 56 44 13th R3 R3 Peter Crouch 10
2017–18 Premier League 38 7 12 19 35 68 33 19th R3 R3 Xherdan Shaqiri 8
2018–19 Championship 46 11 22 13 45 52 55 16th R3 R3 Benik Afobe 9
2019–20 Championship 46 16 8 22 62 68 56 15th R3 R4 Sam Clucas 11

Notelist

  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. When the Second World War began, the 1939–40 Football League season was abandoned with three matches played and Stoke in eighth position.[3]
  16. 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]
  17. Stoke reached their first major final in 1963–64, losing a two-legged tie 4–3 to Leicester City.[1]
  18. Won their first major trophy, beating Chelsea 2–1 at Wembley.[1]
  19. 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]
  20. Won the short-lived Watney Cup, beating Hull City in the 2–0 final.[1]
  21. 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]
  22. Competed in the Football League play-offs for the first time, losing 2–1 on aggregate to Stockport County.[1]
  23. Beat Stockport County 1–0 in front of 48,339 at Wembley.[1]
  24. Due to the Formation of the Premier League in 1992 the Third Division was renamed Second Division.[1]
  25. Lost First Division play-offs 1–0 on aggregate to Leicester City.
  26. Lost Second Division play-offs 5–3 on aggregate to Gillingham.[4]
  27. Beat Bristol City 2–1 in front of 75,057 at Wembley.[5]
  28. Lost Second Division play-offs 4–2 on aggregate to Walsall.[6]
  29. Promoted after beating Brentford 2–0 in the play-off final at the Millennium Stadium.[7]
  30. First Division was renamed the Championship from the 2004–05 season.[8]
  31. 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]
  32. 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. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  2. Lowe, Simon. Stoke City The Modern Era - A Complete Record. Desert Island Books. ISBN 1-874287-39-2.
  3. Felton, Paul. "Season 1939–40 (Abandoned)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF).
  4. "Gills crush nine-man Stoke". BBC Sport. 17 May 2000. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  5. "Wembley glory for Stoke City". BBC Sport. 29 June 2000. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  6. "Walsall too strong for Stoke City". BBC Sport. 16 May 2001. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  7. "Stoke seal promotion". BBC Sport. 11 May 2002. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  8. "League gets revamp". BBC Sport. 10 June 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
  9. "Bolton 0–5 Stoke". BBC Sport. 17 April 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  10. "Man City 1–0 Stoke". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  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.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.