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Robert Stokoe (21 September 1930 – 1 February 2004) was an English footballer and manager who was able, almost uniquely, to transcend the traditional
north-east The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
animosity between the region's footballing rivals,
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East En ...
and
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
. As a player, he won an
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
winner's medal with Newcastle in 1955. As a manager, he guided
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...
to victory in the 1971
Anglo-Italian Cup The Anglo-Italian Cup ( it, Coppa Anglo-Italiana, also known as the Anglo-Italian Inter-League Clubs Competition and from 1976 to 1986 as the Alitalia Challenge Cup, Talbot Challenge Cup or Gigi Peronace Memorial) is a defunct European football c ...
final. Two years later, he led Sunderland to success in the
1973 FA Cup Final The 1973 FA Cup Final was the 92nd final of the FA Cup. It took place on 5 May 1973 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Leeds United, the previous season's winners and one of the dominant teams in English football at the time, and S ...
, and followed it up with promotion from the
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
in 1975–76.


Playing career

Born in Mickley, near Prudhoe, Northumberland, the son of a miner, Stokoe began his footballing career at Newcastle United, signing for them as an apprentice in 1947 and playing the first of 261 games, usually as centre-half, on Christmas Day 1950 against Middlesbrough, a game in which he also scored. The highlight of his 13 years at Newcastle was the 3–1
1955 FA Cup Final The 1955 FA Cup Final was the 74th final of the FA Cup. It took place on 7 May 1955 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Newcastle United and Manchester City. Newcastle won the match 3–1, thus winning the FA Cup for the third time i ...
victory over
Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. After leaving Newcastle and joining Bury in February 1961, Stokoe spent a short time as a player, leading the team in an undefeated run to promotion, before making the move into management with the same club as player-manager the following season.


Management career

Stokoe took the post of player-manager at Bury in December 1961 which, at 31 years of age, made him the second-youngest manager in the Football League. He led them to the semi-finals of the League Cup in 1962–63. He retired from playing in 1964, staying on as manager for another year after which he moved south to take charge at
Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...
from 1965 to 1967. He was manager of
Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Bor ...
from 1967 to 1968, followed by three separate spells at
Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Park s ...
(1968–1970, 1980–1985 and 1985–1986).


Blackpool

Between spells at Carlisle, Stokoe managed
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...
from 1970 to 1972. He was initially approached by the club in the summer of 1969, after the departure of
Stan Mortensen Stanley Harding Mortensen (26 May 1921 – 22 May 1991) was an English professional footballer, most famous for his part in the 1953 FA Cup Final (subsequently known as the "Matthews Final"), in which he became the only player ever to score a ha ...
. At the time, he declined, preferring to stay with Carlisle; just over eighteen months later, however, he became the ninth official manager in Blackpool's history. With Blackpool relegated to the
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
before he took over, Stokoe began to clear out the "deadwood" and rebuilt the side more to his liking. Stokoe agreed to sell Tony Green to his old club, Newcastle, bringing striker Keith Dyson in the opposite direction. Before the departure of Green, Blackpool enjoyed a successful venture into Europe, winning the
Anglo-Italian Cup The Anglo-Italian Cup ( it, Coppa Anglo-Italiana, also known as the Anglo-Italian Inter-League Clubs Competition and from 1976 to 1986 as the Alitalia Challenge Cup, Talbot Challenge Cup or Gigi Peronace Memorial) is a defunct European football c ...
in June 1971. In the league, meanwhile, the Seasiders finished in sixth place. This still was not good enough for the fans, however, who became disenchanted with life outside the top flight again, and the club's style of play under Stokoe was not to their liking. Another successful run in the Anglo-Italian Cup the following season, when Blackpool finished as runners-up to
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
, kept the critics at bay, but the feeling around
Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a single-tier football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the At ...
was that the 1972–73 campaign would be critical. Stokoe's third season at Blackpool started well enough when, with the team reasonably placed for a promotion push and having stated that he intended to remain at the club for five years, he left the club. He had been lured back to his native north-east by Sunderland.


Sunderland

Stokoe took over as manager of Sunderland on 29 November 1972 when they were fourth from bottom of the Second Division table after a run of just four wins in 18 games. Although his first game in charge was lost 1–0 at home to Burnley, the following week seemingly liberated players won 3–2 away at Portsmouth, starting a run of 32 games, with only five defeats. Just six months later, on 5 May 1973, having already beaten Manchester City and
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...
on their way to the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
final, Stokoe took the Second Division club to
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
and defeated the cup holders
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
to secure Sunderland's first FA Cup title since 1937. Managed by
Don Revie Donald George Revie OBE (10 July 1927 – 26 May 1989) was an England international footballer and manager, best known for his successful spell with Leeds United from 1961 until 1974, which immediately preceded his appointment as England mana ...
, whom Stokoe had opposed when playing for Newcastle United in their
1955 FA Cup Final The 1955 FA Cup Final was the 74th final of the FA Cup. It took place on 7 May 1955 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Newcastle United and Manchester City. Newcastle won the match 3–1, thus winning the FA Cup for the third time i ...
victory over Manchester City, Leeds United were a team packed with international players and strong favourites to retain the trophy. However, Sunderland scored in the first half through
Ian Porterfield John Ian Porterfield (11 February 1946 – 11 September 2007) was a Scottish professional footballer, and an experienced football coach who worked at both club and international level for almost 30 years. At the time of his death, he was the coa ...
and with the help of a memorable second-half match-saving double save from goalkeeper Jim Montgomery, managed to win 1–0. The victory was the first time a Second Division team had won the Cup in 42 years. Stokoe is remembered for his impromptu jubilant run down the pitch at the end of the game, complete in Mackintosh and his trilby hat, to celebrate the victory with Montgomery. A statue of Stokoe with his arms held aloft in celebratory mid-run now stands outside Sunderland's Stadium of Light. None of the Sunderland players had been capped at the highest level when they lifted the cup, though some were capped later. Sunderland finished 6th in the Second Division that season and narrowly missed promotion in the following two seasons. In 1975–76, he guided the club to the Second Division title. He tendered his resignation the following season after they struggled in the First Division with a start of nine straight games without a victory.


Later years

In May 1978, Stokoe returned to Blackpool with the club in dire straits. Under the management of Allan Brown they had been relegated to the Third Division for the first time in their history and were looking for someone who could rebuild the club. He guided them to a mid-table finishing position, and then resigned again before the start of the 1979–80 season. There followed another spell with Rochdale (1979–1980) which ended with the club having to seek re-election to the League and spells with Carlisle United (1980–1985 and 1985–1986). He led Carlisle to promotion to the Second Division in 1982, and in the 1983–84 season they became promotion contenders before a poor run saw them finish 7th. He resigned in 1985, only to be reappointed and resign again seven months later. Towards the end of the 1986–87 season, he was appointed caretaker manager of Sunderland as they struggled in the Second Division. They narrowly lost on the away goals rule, in the end-of-season relegation-promotion playoffs and were relegated to the Third Division for the first time in their history. His contract was not renewed and he retired from football. During his whole career as a manager he was never sacked by any of his clubs.


Death

After being unwell for some time with
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...
, Stokoe was admitted to hospital in Hartlepool suffering from pneumonia and died on 1 February 2004 aged 73. The respect offered by both rival fan groups of Newcastle United and Sunderland was marked by their attendance at his funeral at the crematorium at Newcastle upon Tyne. The Reverend Neil Cockling, the Methodist Minister for Prudhoe, who conducted the service, told mourners: "He will be remembered by all as a real gentleman. Such was Bob's standing that we can see Sunderland and Newcastle here together today to celebrate his life."


Honours


As a player

Newcastle United *
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
winner:
1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijiangs ...


As manager

Blackpool *
Anglo-Italian Cup The Anglo-Italian Cup ( it, Coppa Anglo-Italiana, also known as the Anglo-Italian Inter-League Clubs Competition and from 1976 to 1986 as the Alitalia Challenge Cup, Talbot Challenge Cup or Gigi Peronace Memorial) is a defunct European football c ...
winners:
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events J ...
Sunderland *
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
winners: 1973 *
Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
championship: 1975–76


References


Further reading

* * *


External links


Stokoe's playing profile at SoccerbaseStokoe's managerial profile at Soccerbase
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stokoe, Bob 1930 births 2004 deaths English footballers Newcastle United F.C. players Bury F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Bury F.C. managers Charlton Athletic F.C. managers Carlisle United F.C. managers Blackpool F.C. managers Sunderland A.F.C. managers Rochdale A.F.C. managers English Football League managers Association football central defenders People from Mickley, Northumberland Footballers from Northumberland FA Cup Final players