The
1986–87 season was
Stoke City
Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
's 80th season in
the Football League and 27th in the
Second Division.
Peter Coates became Stoke's new chairman in September 1986 which helped Mills to make a number of useful signings. After a slow start to the season Stoke hit form in November and went on an eleven-match unbeaten run which lasted until the start of February. During this run Stoke beat
Leeds United 7–2 and
Sheffield United 5–2 which lifted Stoke up the table and in to contention for a place in newly formed
Football League play-offs. However, Stoke could not keep up the good results, winning only four of their last 16 matches, finishing in 8th position.
Season review
League
With Mills wanting to bring in new players for the 1986–87 season he had to sell before he could buy, with
Ian Painter
Ian John Painter (born 28 December 1964) is an English former professional footballer who played for Stoke City and Coventry City. He made 116 appearances in the Football League.
Career
Painter was born in Wombourne, Staffordshire, England, b ...
joining
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
for £75,000 and youth team product
Neil Adams joined
Everton for £150,000, a move which angered the Stoke fans.
Into the camp came right back
Lee Dixon from
Bury
Bury may refer to:
*The burial of human remains
*-bury, a suffix in English placenames
Places England
* Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village
* Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire
** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
for £50,000 and winger
Tony Ford from
Grimsby Town for £35,000.
Stoke again participated in the annual Isle of Man Trophy, but they failed to make it out of the group stage.
There was a familiar problem as the season got under way - a lack of goals.
In September 1986 local businessman
Peter Coates assumed the role of chairman and a full-strength board backed manager Mills with money for players.
In came Mills' former
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
teammate
Brian Talbot
Brian Ernest Talbot (born 21 July 1953) is an English former football player and manager. He was capped six times for the England national team.
Talbot played in midfield for Ipswich Town, Arsenal, Watford, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, ...
from
Watford.
After 10 matches Stoke were bottom of the table with performances leaving a lot to be desired but the arrival of ex-England international Talbot boosted morale and after striker
Nicky Morgan arrived from
Portsmouth a remarkable transformation took place.
Stoke began to climb the table, going eleven matches without defeat which included a famous 7–2 victory over
Leeds United and a 5–2 victory over
Sheffield United.
As well as Morgan, youngster
Carl Saunders started to hit form as Stoke leapt into 4th place and there was great excitement that Stoke could make a return to the First Division.
Alas it turned out to be a false dawn as just four wins and five draws in a row in their remaining 16 matches meant Stoke finished the season in 8th spot with 58 points, six away from a play-off spot.
FA Cup
Stoke beat
Grimsby Town 6–0 in a second replay and then a victory over
Cardiff City
Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
saw Stoke drawn against
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
in the fifth round.
A near full house of 31,255 saw the "Sky Blues" narrowly beat Stoke 1–0 and they went on to lift the cup.
League Cup
Shrewsbury Town who were becoming something of a bogey side for Stoke were able to grind out a 2–1 victory.
Full Members' Cup
Stoke made a quick exit in this season's Full Members' Cup losing at home to
Sheffield United 2–1.
Final league table
Results
Legend
Football League Second Division
FA Cup
League Cup
Full Members' Cup
Isle of Man Trophy
Friendlies
Squad statistics
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1986-87 Stoke City F.C. season
Stoke City F.C. seasons
Stoke
Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom.
Stoke may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below.
Berkshire
* Stoke Row, Berkshire
Bristol
* Stoke Bishop
* Stok ...