Stoke City Football Club has its origins in Stoke Ramblers, a team formed by former pupils of the
Charterhouse School whilst they were apprentices at the
North Staffordshire Railway
The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire.
The company was based ...
. The club dropped the Ramblers from their name, becoming Stoke Football club and in 1888 they were founding members of
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
. In 1925, the club's name was changed for the final time to Stoke City Football Club when
Stoke-on-Trent was granted
city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose.
Historically, city status ...
.
The club moved in 1997 to the
Britannia Stadium
The Bet365 Stadium (stylised as ''bet365 Stadium'') is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Britannia Stadium but was ...
, a 28,383
all-seater stadium
An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football a ...
; having spent 119 years at the
Victoria Ground
The Victoria Ground was the home ground of Stoke City from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the Britannia Stadium after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was the oldest operational ground in the Football League.
History ...
. In the
2007–08 season, Stoke won promotion from the
Football League Championship, the second tier of
English football
Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...
, and as of
2008–09 are playing in the top flight (currently
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
) for the first time since the
1984–85 season, when they were relegated with a total of 17 points, a record low unsurpassed for 21 years. Stoke's only major trophy was the 1972
Football League Cup, won when they beat
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
2–1 in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
before a crowd of 97,852. The club have also won the
Football League Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...
twice, in
1992 and
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
. In terms of league achievement the closest Stoke have come to winning the title was in the
1946–47 season where a final day defeat cost Stoke top spot.
1863–1888: Early years
It is claimed that Stoke Ramblers was formed in 1863 when former pupils of
Charterhouse School formed a football club while they were apprentices at the
North Staffordshire Railway
The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire.
The company was based ...
works in
Stoke-on-Trent.
However, Stoke Ramblers' first documented match was five years later, on 17 October 1868, at the club's original home, the Victoria Cricket Club ground against E.W May's XV, the 15-a-side match ended in a 1–1 draw. In the game, the club's first goal was scored by
Henry Almond, Stoke's founder and
captain. Stoke played four further fixtures in 1868, recording their first victory with a 2–0 win against Newcastle-under-Lyme. In 1875, to cope with rising attendances, the club switched to a ground at Sweetings Field, not far from the Victoria Cricket Ground.
At this time, the only fixtures were friendly matches; this changed in 1877 when the Staffordshire Football Association was formed and created a new competition, the County Cup, which Stoke won in the inaugural season, beating Talke Rangers 1–0 in the final. In an earlier round, Stoke had recorded what is still the club's record victory, a 26–0 triumph over Mow Cop. Stoke retained the County Cup in the following season with a 2–1 win over Cobridge and established themselves as the largest club in the area.
![Stoke city fc 1877-78](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Stoke_city_fc_1877-78.jpg)
In 1878, the club merged with Stoke Victoria Athletic Club
and became known as Stoke Football Club. They moved from Sweetings Field to the Athletic Club ground, which soon became known as the
Victoria Ground
The Victoria Ground was the home ground of Stoke City from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the Britannia Stadium after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was the oldest operational ground in the Football League.
History ...
.
It was around this time that the club adopted their red and white striped kit.
Stoke entered the newly formed Birmingham Association Cup in 1881, although they were beaten 8–0 by
Aston Villa in the first round. In the
1882–1883 season, Stoke reached the final of the
Staffordshire Senior Cup
The Staffordshire Senior Challenge Cup is a football cup tournament based in the county of Staffordshire in England first competed for in 1877–78. Organised by the Staffordshire Football Association, it is competed for by a mix of clubs from St ...
but were beaten 3–2 by
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
. The club decided to enter 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 competi ...
for the first time in the
1883–84 season;
the competition itself had been founded 12 years earlier. The threat of a rival football association, the
British FA, forced
the Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...
to legalise professionalism in 1885; Stoke subsequently turned professional in August of that year. The club were defeated again in the FA Cup in
1885–86 after a replay defeat to
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
. The club's first victory in the competition came in the
1886–87 season with a 10–0 win over Caernarfon Wanderers at the Victoria Ground.
1888–1900: Founder members of the Football League
Stoke became one of the twelve founding members of
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
in 1888. Stoke's manager, Harry Lockett, represented the club at a meeting in London, where the league's formation was discussed. Lockett played an instrumental role in its inception and became the league's first secretary; however he resigned from his role of manager in August 1890, in order to concentrate on his league responsibilities. Stoke struggled in their first two seasons in the league,
1888–89 and
1889–90, finishing in last place on both occasions. The club failed to secure re-election to the league at the end of its second season, instead being replaced by
Sunderland. As a consequence, Stoke started
1890–91 in the
Football Alliance
The Football Alliance was an association football league in England which ran for three seasons, from 1889–90 to 1891–92.
History
In 1888, the same year the Football League was founded, The Combination was established by clubs who had been ...
; they finished the season as champions. The Football League was expanded to include fourteen clubs in
1891–92, which ensured Stoke were re-elected to the league, where they remained for the rest of the decade.
In 1897, Stoke appointed
Horace Austerberry, who in
1898–99 became the first manager to lead the club to the semi-final of the FA Cup.
1900–1919: Financial problems and rebirth
Stoke suffered financial problems around 1900, which ultimately led to the loss of the club's Football League status in 1908.
"Historical Football Kits" says that, "In 1908, having finished in mid-table, Stoke went into liquidation and resigned from the League. Ironically this galvanised local businessmen, the clergy (the Victoria Ground was owned by the Church of England) and supporters to form a new limited company and purchase the old club's assets." The club moved to the
Birmingham & District League after its demotion. In 1909, the club opted to field teams in two league competitions, one in the
Birmingham & District League and the other in the
Southern League; Stoke won the latter in their first year in the competition.
Stoke continued to participate in both leagues until 1915, when their application for election back into the Football League was approved. However, the outbreak of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
meant the league was suspended for four years; it recommenced in August 1919. During this time, Stoke entered the
Lancashire Primary and Secondary leagues.
1919–1930: Yo-yo years
The club became owners of the
Victoria Ground
The Victoria Ground was the home ground of Stoke City from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the Britannia Stadium after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was the oldest operational ground in the Football League.
History ...
in 1919.
The Butler Street stand was constructed shortly afterward, increasing the overall capacity of the ground to 50,000.
Following the restart of the Football League, Stoke achieved 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 the
1921–22 season under the stewardship of Arthur Shallcross, although this was followed by relegation in the
1922–23 season. Unable to prevent the club's bad form, Shallcross resigned in March 1923.
Tom Mather
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
was appointed manager later in 1923, although Stoke were unable to mount another promotion challenge. They were instead relegated from the Second Division four years later in the
1925–26 season. The club's stay in
Third Division North
The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...
was brief, as Stoke won the championship during their first season in that league.
In 1925,
Stoke-on-Trent was granted
city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose.
Historically, city status ...
, and this led the club to change its name to Stoke City Football Club.
1930–1938: Emergence of The Wizard of Dribble
The 1930s saw the début of the club's most celebrated player,
Stanley Matthews
Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game, he is the only player to have been knighted while sti ...
. Matthews, who grew up in
Hanley, was an apprentice at the club and made his first appearance, aged 17,
in March 1932 against
Bury. By end of the decade, Matthews had established himself as an
England international
The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affilia ...
and one of the best footballers of his generation.
Matthews won his first England cap in 1934, making him the first Stoke player in 30 years to play for England. Stoke achieved 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 the
1932–33 season as champions, but Matthews only featured in 15 games, although he did score his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win against local rivals
Port Vale
Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...
.
By 1934, the club's average attendance had risen to over 23,000, which allowed the club manager, Tom Mather, more transfer funds. Despite this, the core of the side consisted of young local players, such as Matthews,
Tommy Sale and
Freddie Steele
Freddie Steele (December 18, 1912 – August 22, 1984) was a boxer and film actor born Frederick Earle Burgett in Seattle, Washington. He was recognized as the National Boxing Association (NBA) Middleweight Champion of the World between 1936 ...
.
Mathers resigned from his post in May 1935 to take the managerial job at
Newcastle United, ending his 12-year tenure.
Bob McGrory
Robert Gerald McGrory (17 October 1891 – 24 May 1954) was a Scottish footballer who played in the Football League for Burnley and Stoke City with whom he later had a long spell as manager.
McGrory played football with Dumbarton before joining ...
was appointed as the club's manager shortly afterward; he had previously played for the club for 14 years.
In the
1935–36 season, the club finished fourth in the
Football League First Division, nine points adrift of champions Sunderland. This was followed by two successive mid-table finishes, in
1936–37 and
1937–38. The club recorded its record league win, 10–3, over
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
in February 1937, in which Steele scored five goals.
In April of that year, the club achieved its largest league crowd—51,373 against
Arsenal. Steele's 33 league goals in the
1936–37 season remains a club record in 2007.
1938–1950: World War II and Title challenge
By 1938, rumours purported that Stanley Matthews wanted to leave Stoke to further his career. This led to a meeting at Kings Hall, attended by three thousand people with a further thousand outside. Matthews opted to stay with Stoke and helped the club to finish in seventh place in the
1938–39 season.
The outbreak of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
prevented further progress as the league was suspended for six years. After resumption of the FA Cup, 33 fans died and 520 were injured during a sixth round away game against
Bolton Wanderers when the crush barriers gave way on the terraces.
At this time, the side was predominantly composed of local players who had come through the club's youth system, including Matthews, Sale, Steele and
John McCue, all in their prime, as well as the newly discovered
Neil Franklin
Cornelius "Neil" Franklin (24 January 1922 – 9 February 1996) was an English footballer who played for Crewe Alexandra, Hull City, Stockport County and Stoke City as well as the England national team.
Career
Stoke City
Franklin was ...
,
regarded as the country's best
centre-half
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
. In the
1946–47 season, Stoke mounted a serious title challenge: the club needed a win in their final game of the season to win the First Division title, but a 2–1 defeat to
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
gave the title to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
. Stanley Matthews left the club three games before the end of the 1946–47 season to join
Blackpool at the age of 32 for a fee of £11,500.
The team subsequently failed to mount a title challenge in the following two seasons,
1947–48 and
1948–49, finishing 15th and 11th respectively.
1950–1960: Relegation and Second Division frustrations
The 1950s did not start well for the club; having avoided relegation in the
1950–51 and
1951–52 seasons, Stoke succumbed in
1952–53, finishing second from bottom. Bob McGrory resigned as the club's manager in February 1952 after 17 years in the role.
His successor, Frank Taylor, consolidated the club's position in the Second Division but was unable to mount a sustained challenge for promotion, although Stoke came close in the
1954–55 season, missing by two points. Taylor's failure to deliver promotion led to his dismissal in June 1960, after a 17th-place finish in the
1959–60 season.
1960–1977: The Waddington years
By 1960 Stoke were struggling to attract supporters to the Victoria Ground, with the average attendance dropping below 10,000 for the first time in 40 years.
Tony Waddington
Anthony Waddington (9 November 1924 – 21 January 1994) was an English football manager at both Crewe Alexandra and Stoke City.
Waddington had a seven-year playing career with Crewe Alexandra before becoming a coach at Stoke City. He progre ...
was appointed as the club's manager in June 1960. He joined the club in 1952 as a coach, before being promoted to assistant manager in 1957.
In his first season in charge,
1960–61, Stoke finished 18th in the Second Division.
Crowds were still low; a match against
Preston North End attracted 8,409 in 1961. However, Waddington pulled off a significant coup by enticing Stanley Matthews—now 46 years old—back to the club, 14 years after he had left. A crowd of 35,974 witnessed Matthews' return to the club, only a fortnight after the poor crowd against Preston. The return of Matthews helped Stoke to rise to eighth position in
1961–62. Promotion was achieved in the next season, when Stoke finished as champions.
In their first season back in the First Division,
1963–64, Waddington guided Stoke to a mid-table finish.
Matthews remained influential, as he helped the club to the
Football League Cup final in 1964, although this ended in a 4–3 defeat to
Leicester over
two legs.
Waddington relied upon experience;
Dennis Viollet
Dennis Sydney Viollet (20 September 1933 – 6 March 1999) was an English footballer who played for Manchester United and Stoke City as well as the England national team. He was famous as one of the Busby Babes and survived the Munich air disa ...
,
Jackie Mudie,
Roy Vernon,
Maurice Setters
Maurice Edgar Setters (16 December 1936 – 22 November 2020) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he made more than 400 appearances in the Football League for Exeter City, West Bromwich Albion, Manchester United, Stoke City, ...
and
Jimmy McIlroy
James McIlroy (25 October 1931 – 20 August 2018) was a Northern Ireland international footballer, who played for Glentoran, Burnley, Stoke City and Oldham Athletic. He was regarded as one of Burnley's greatest players, having played 497 matc ...
were players signed in the later stages of their careers. Matthews was awarded a
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
hood for services to football in the 1965 New Year's Honours list. This was followed by his final, league appearance for the club against
Fulham in February 1965, shortly after his 50th birthday. It ended a career spanning 33 years, including 19 years' service to his home town club.
Gordon Banks
Gordon Banks (30 December 1937 – 12 February 2019) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he made 679 appearances during a 20-year professional caree ...
,
England's 1966 World Cup
The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in the ...
winning
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
, joined Stoke from Leicester in 1967 for
£52,000. Regarded as the best goalkeeper in the world, Banks proved to be a shrewd signing for Waddington as he helped the club maintain stability in the First Division.
However, Banks was forced to quit top-level football in 1972, after losing an eye in a road accident.
The club won its first significant trophy on 4 March 1972, in the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
Final. Stoke beat favourites
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
2–1 in the final at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
before a crowd of 97,852 spectators.
Before this victory, Stoke had progressed through 11 games to reach the final. This included four games with
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
in the
semi-final; the
two-legged match
In sports (particularly association football), a two-legged tie is a contest between two teams which comprises two matches or "legs", with each team as the home team in one leg. The winning team is usually determined by aggregate score, the sum ...
was
played twice. Stoke fared well in 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 competi ...
; the club progressed to the semi-final stage in both the
1970–71 and
1971–72 seasons. However, on both occasions Stoke lost to Arsenal in a
replay.
Waddington was presented with a dilemma as both
George Eastham
George Edward Eastham, OBE (born 23 September 1936) is an English former footballer. He is known for playing for Newcastle United, Arsenal and Stoke City, as well as a member of England's 1966 World Cup-winning squad. However, he is also nota ...
and
Peter Dobing
Peter Dobing (born 1 December 1938) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and Stoke City.
Career
Dobing was born in Manchester and came from a sporting family, his father play ...
retired not long after the club's League Cup win. Waddington responded by paying £240,000 to Chelsea for the services of
Alan Hudson in early 1974. This was followed by Geoff Salmons' arrival from Sheffield United for £160,000, in the same year. Waddington later paid a world record fee for a goalkeeper, £325,000, to sign
Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton (born 18 September 1949) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
His 30-year career included spells at 11 clubs and he has the distinction of playing over 1,000 league games, including in ...
from Leicester City. The new personnel brought added impetus to Waddington's side, and Stoke were close to winning the League title in
1974–75, but an end of season slump led to a fifth-place finish, four points off the champions,
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...
.
The 1970s also saw Stoke compete at European Level for the first time in its history. Stoke qualified for the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
in
1972–73 as a result of their League Cup triumph. In the first round, Stoke played
Kaiserslautern of Germany: Stoke won the first leg 3–1 at the Victoria Ground, with a crowd of over 22,000. However, the club lost the second leg 4–0, therefore losing 5–3 on
aggregate. Stoke qualified for the UEFA Cup two years later, due to their fifth-place finish in the First Division in the
1973–74 season. In the
1974–75 competition, Stoke were again knocked out at the first stage. Stoke drew both legs against Dutch side
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
, 1–1 and 0–0 respectively, but went out due to the
away goals rule.
The Butler Stand roof was blown off in a storm in January 1976.
The ground damage meant the club's next home game against
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
had to be played at
Vale Park
Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950.
The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...
, the home of local rivals Port Vale. The repair bill, in the region of £250,000, put the club in financial trouble, which was eased by the sale of
Alan Hudson,
Mike Pejic and
Jimmy Greenhoff
James Greenhoff (born 19 June 1946) is an English former footballer. He was a skilful forward and although capped five times at under-23 level, once as an over-age player, he never played for the full side, and is labelled as the finest Englis ...
for a combined sum of £440,000.
With the team depleted, relegation proved inevitable in the
1976–77 season. Waddington, after a spell of 17 years in charge, left the club after a 1–0 home defeat in March 1977.
1977–1990: From First Division to Third
George Eastham
George Edward Eastham, OBE (born 23 September 1936) is an English former footballer. He is known for playing for Newcastle United, Arsenal and Stoke City, as well as a member of England's 1966 World Cup-winning squad. However, he is also nota ...
, who had previously been Waddington's assistant, was appointed as manager in March 1977, but the club's slide into the Second Division in
1976–77 season proved unstoppable. Eastham did not last long, leaving in January 1978 after only 10 months in charge. The club's misery was compounded by a defeat to
non-league
Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to d ...
Blyth Spartans
Blyth Spartans Association Football Club is a football club based in Blyth, Northumberland. They are currently members of and play at Croft Park.
They were founded in September 1899 by Fred Stoker, who was the club's first secretary before fo ...
in 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 competi ...
shortly afterwards.
Alan Durban
William Alan Durban (born 7 July 1941) is a Welsh former international footballer and manager, whose career was at its peak between the 1970s and 1990s. He played in the Football League for Cardiff City, Derby County and was player-manager of ...
, arriving from
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
, was selected as the club's new manager in February 1978.
Durban achieved promotion to the First Division in his first full season,
1978–79, with a third-place finish.
After consolidating the club's position in the First Division, Durban left for Sunderland in 1981.
Richie Barker, Durban's successor, was appointed manager in 1981.
He signed
Mickey Thomas from
Brighton and Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football leag ...
and
Mark Chamberlain
Mark Valentine Chamberlain (born 19 November 1961) is an English former international footballer. He is the younger brother of Neville Chamberlain, and the father of Liverpool and England international player Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alde ...
from Port Vale, as he set about building a side for the
1982–83 season. Thomas was signed for £200,000 and made over 60 appearances for the club, but was sold to Chelsea for £75,000 in 1984.
Winger Chamberlain, a £135,00 signing, proved successful as he made eight appearances for England during his stay at Stoke. Barker's spell in charge was short-lived; he was sacked in his second season,
1983–84.
The club's new manager,
Bill Asprey
William Asprey (born 11 September 1936) is an English former football player and manager. A defender, he made 418 league appearances in a 15-year career in the Football League. He then had a 25-year career as a coach.
He spent 1953 to 1965 at ...
, decided to bring back veteran
Alan Hudson, and the decision paid off as Stoke improved during the second half of the
1983–84 season and avoided relegation on the final day.
The
next season, referred to as ''The Holocaust Season'' by fans, proved to be disastrous. Stoke finished the season with only 17 points and just three wins, which would be the lowest points total in the top flight of English football (under the "three points for a win" system) for 21 years until the record was broken by Sunderland in the
2005–06 season.
Mick Mills
Michael Dennis Mills MBE (born 4 January 1949) is an English former footballer who played for Ipswich Town, Southampton and Stoke City. He managed Stoke City, Colchester United and Birmingham City. During his career he achieved Ipswich To ...
was appointed
player-manager
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...
for the
1985–86 season, following Asprey's departure in April 1985 due to ill health.
His first task was to consolidate following the club's relegation in the previous season, which he achieved with a mid-table finish in the Second Division.
The team reached fourth place in
1986–87, his second season in charge, including a 7–2 win over
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 ...
, but the team's form tailed off towards the end of the season, culminating in an eighth-place finish. Mills was unable to sustain a challenge for promotion and was sacked in November 1989, following a poor start to the
1989–90 season after spending £1m on players. His successor,
Alan Ball, became the club's fifth manager in 10 years.
Peter Coates
Peter Coates (born 13 January 1938) is an English businessman, the co-founder of bet365, and the chairman of Stoke City Football Club. He has been listed as the 25th-richest person in British football. He founded Stadia Catering in the 1960s an ...
became the club's chairman in 1989, following numerous changes of chairmanship during the 1980s.
Ball struggled in his first season in charge,
1989–90, and his Stoke side were relegated to the third tier of English football after finishing bottom of the Second Division.
The start of the
1990–91
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...
season in the
Third Division marked the first time Stoke had played at this level in 63 years. Ball kept his job for the start of this campaign but departed in February 1991 in the midst of an indifferent season that saw Stoke finish in their lowest league position of 14th.
1990–1997: Two spells under Lou Macari
Ball's successor,
Lou Macari
Luigi Macari (born 7 June 1949) is a Scottish former footballer and manager. He began his playing career at Celtic where he was one of the Quality Street Gang, the outstanding reserve team that emerged in the late 1960s that also included Ken ...
, was appointed in May 1991,
prior to the start of the
1991–92 season. The improvement was immediate, as Stoke narrowly missed out on promotion in his first season in charge, finishing fourth in the Third Division.
He also clinched a cup for the club; the
Football League Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...
was won with a
1–0 victory against
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
at
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 ...
;
Mark Stein scored the only goal of the game. The following season,
1992–93
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...
, promotion was achieved from the third tier, with Stoke finishing as league champions. Stein, a £100,000 purchase from
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...
, scored 26 goals during the season as Stoke amassed a total of 93 points. Macari left in October 1993 to take over as manager of Scottish side
Celtic, and Stein also departed in a £1.5m move to Chelsea.
Joe Jordan's tenure in charge was short; he left the club less than a year after joining. Following Jordan's departure, Stoke opted to reappoint Lou Macari only 12 months after he had left.
Despite the optimism surrounding his return,
only a mid-table finish was attained in the
1994–95 season. The
1995–96 season started poorly, but the signing of striker
Mike Sheron
Michael Nigel Sheron (born 11 January 1972) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who is under-23's head coach at Blackburn Rovers.
As a player, he was a striker who notably played in the Premier League for Manchest ...
turned around the club's campaign.
Stoke eventually finished fourth but were defeated in the play-off semi-final by Leicester City. The following season,
1996–97, saw Mark Stein return from Chelsea on
loan
In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...
, partnering Sheron in attack. The season started well, with Stoke in fourth place at Christmas, but a poor second half of the season saw the club drop to an eventual 12th place.
Sheron was sold in 1997 for a club record fee of £2.5m. Macari left the club at the end of the season, his last game in charge the final league game at the
Victoria Ground
The Victoria Ground was the home ground of Stoke City from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the Britannia Stadium after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was the oldest operational ground in the Football League.
History ...
in a match against West Bromwich Albion.
1997–2008: The Britannia Stadium
![Stoke City FC V Arsenal 09](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Stoke_City_FC_V_Arsenal_09.jpg)
The
1997–98 season saw Stoke move to its new ground, the 28,000 all-seater
Britannia Stadium
The Bet365 Stadium (stylised as ''bet365 Stadium'') is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Britannia Stadium but was ...
, after 119 years at the Victoria Ground, the longest time spent at a ground by any team in Britain at that time.
[ Chic Bates, Macari's assistant, was appointed manager for the club's inaugural season in the new ground. Bates struggled as his side slipped from a play-off place towards the relegation zone, with the club's bad run culminating in a 7–0 home defeat to ]Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...
. Bates was replaced by Chris Kamara
Christopher Kamara (born 25 December 1957) is an English former professional football player and manager who worked as a presenter and football analyst at Sky Sports from 1992 to 2022.
As a player, he was known as a tough-tackling midfielder. H ...
in January 1998. Kamara could not improve the club's fortunes, and he left in April. Alan Durban
William Alan Durban (born 7 July 1941) is a Welsh former international footballer and manager, whose career was at its peak between the 1970s and 1990s. He played in the Football League for Cardiff City, Derby County and was player-manager of ...
, Stoke's manager two decades earlier, took charge for the remainder of season. Durban was unable to keep the club up, with a 23rd-place finish consigning Stoke to relegation from the First Division.
Brian Little, formerly manager of Aston Villa, took charge for the 1998–99 season, and Stoke began the season impressively, holding first place until December with six straight wins. The team's form tailed off in the latter stages of the season, leading to Little's departure at the end of the season. His successor, Gary Megson
Gary John Megson (born 2 May 1959) is an English former football player and manager.
He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers ...
, was only in the job for four months. Megson was forced to depart following a takeover by Stoke Holding, an Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
ic consortium that purchased a 66 percent share in Stoke City F.C. for £6.6m. The club's new owners appointed the club's first foreign manager, Icelander Gudjon Thordarson, in November 1999.
Stoke won the Football League Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...
in the 1999–2000 season with a 2–1 win over Bristol City
Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
in April 2000 before a crowd of 75,057 at 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 ...
. Disappointment followed a month later, as Stoke were defeated against Gillingham in the play-off
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
semi-finals, consigning themselves to another year in the third tier. They reached the play-offs again in the 2000–01 season with a fifth-place finish, but this time Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield.
Walsall is th ...
halted Stoke's progress at the semi-final stage. Thordarson achieved promotion at the third attempt in 2001–02; another fifth-place finish ensured a play-off spot. Cardiff City were defeated in the semi-final before a 2–0 win against Brentford at the Millennium Stadium secured promotion. Despite achieving the goal of promotion, Thordarson was sacked by Gunnar Gíslason, only five days after the club won the play-off final. A campaign calling for Thordarson's reinstatement was organised by fans, but it proved unsuccessful.
Steve Cotterill
Stephen John Cotterill (born 20 July 1964) is an English former footballer who played as a striker. He is currently the manager of side Shrewsbury Town.
Cotterill had a nine-year career as a footballer playing for Burton Albion, Wimbledon, ...
was drafted in as Thordarson's replacement before the start of the 2002–03 season. Cotterill quit in October 2002, after only four months in charge, to take the role of Howard Wilkinson's assistant at Sunderland. The club were close to unveiling George Burley
George Elder Burley (born 3 June 1956) is a Scottish former football player and manager. He had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player, making 628 league appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps. His most successful spell came whi ...
as their new manager after Cotterill's departure; however, a last minute charge of heart led the former Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...
manager to decline the club's offer. The club acted swiftly and Tony Pulis
Anthony Richard Pulis (; born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh football manager and former footballer who last managed Sheffield Wednesday.
Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at age 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 21 – making him on ...
was appointed as Stoke's new manager shortly afterwards. Pulis steered Stoke clear of relegation with a 1–0 win over Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
on the final day of the season that kept the club in the First Division. The club's position in the league was consolidated in 2003–04. Pulis was sacked at the end of the 2004–05 season, following a disagreement between himself and the club's owners. Dutch manager Johan Boskamp
Johannes "Johan/Jan" Boskamp (born 21 October 1948) is a Dutch former football player and manager.
He played the majority of his career for hometown club Feyenoord and Belgian side RWDM and managed primarily in the Belgian leagues. Currently he ...
was named as Pulis' successor on 29 June 2005, only a day after Pulis was sacked. Boskamp broke the club's transfer record in signing Sambegou Bangoura for a fee in the region of £1m. Another significant addition was the signing of Belgium international Carl Hoefkens
Carl Hoefkens (; born 6 October 1978) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is the manager of Belgian Pro League club Club Brugge.
Club career
Early career
Born in Lier, Belgium, Hoefkens started his career ...
, who subsequently won the Fans' Player of the Year Award for the 2005–06 season. Despite his spending on new players, Boskamp's side was inconsistent and only a mid-table finish was achieved. The season was marred by a feud between Boskamp and the club's director of football
A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...
, John Rudge
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
, which escalated to the point where Boskamp threatened to quit. Boskamp left at the end of the 2005–06 season, amidst a takeover by former chairman Peter Coates
Peter Coates (born 13 January 1938) is an English businessman, the co-founder of bet365, and the chairman of Stoke City Football Club. He has been listed as the 25th-richest person in British football. He founded Stadia Catering in the 1960s an ...
.
On 23 May 2006, Coates completed his takeover of Stoke City, marking the end of Gunnar Gíslason's chairmanship of the club. Coates chose former manager Tony Pulis
Anthony Richard Pulis (; born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh football manager and former footballer who last managed Sheffield Wednesday.
Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at age 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 21 – making him on ...
as Boskamp's successor in June 2006. Pulis took Stoke close to a play-off place, however an eventual eighth-place finish was achieved in the 2006–07 season. In June 2007, chairman Peter Coates purchased the Britannia Stadium
The Bet365 Stadium (stylised as ''bet365 Stadium'') is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Britannia Stadium but was ...
outright from the City Council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
for a fee in the region of £6m.
2008–2018: Ten years in the Premier League
Stoke won automatic promotion to the Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
on the final day of the 2007–08 season, finishing in second place in the Championship. On 18 July 2008, the club broke their transfer record to purchase striker Dave Kitson
David Barry Kitson (born 21 January 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He made 420 appearances in the Premier League and Football League, including 135 for Reading.
Kitson began his career with non-L ...
for £5.5 million from Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
. A 3–1 defeat to Bolton Wanderers on the opening day of the 2008–09 season saw Stoke written off by many media outlets as relegation certainties. The following weekend, the Britannia Stadium hosted its first ever top-flight game, against Aston Villa, with a home win courtesy of Mamady Sidibe's injury-time goal from a Rory Delap throw-in, giving Stoke City their first ever Premier League points. The club went on to record a 12th-place finish in their first season back in the Premier League. A much cited aspect of the team's style of play has been the utilisation of Delap's long throw to create goal-scoring opportunities. Pulis signed Robert Huth
Robert Huth (, ; born 18 August 1984) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is a three-time Premier League winner and has made the most Premier League appearances (322) by a German player.
Huth was signed ...
and Tuncay Şanlı
Tuncay Şanlı (; born 16 January 1982), known as Tuncay, is a Turkish former footballer and currently the manager of the Turkish club Sakaryaspor.
He naturally played as a striker, but was also positioned as an attacking midfielder and on eit ...
from Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
for a combined fee in the region of £10 million, in a bid to establish the club in the Premier League prior to the 2009–10 season. This feat was achieved comfortably as the club finished in 11th place, thereby securing a third season in the Premier League. Pulis bolstered his squad for 2010–11 season with the club record £8 million signing of Kenwyne Jones
Kenwyne Joel Jones CM (born 5 October 1984) is a Trinidadian football manager and retired professional player who played as a forward. He currently manages the Trinidad and Tobago women's national team. He began his football career with Joe ...
.
A 3–0 win over West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
in the 2010–11 season gave Stoke two new records: The largest away win in the Premier League and largest top division away win since 1982 and also the first time since the 1983–84 season Stoke have won three top-flight matches in a row. Manager Pulis hailed the new records as ''"A Fantastic Achievement"''. For the second season running Stoke made it to the quarter final of 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 competi ...
after overcoming Cardiff City, Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
and Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
. They met West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
in the quarters and won 2–1 thus earning a place in the FA Cup Semi-final
The FA Cup semi-finals are played to determine which teams will contest the FA Cup Final. They are the penultimate phase of the FA Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world.
Location
The semi-finals have always been contested at neutr ...
for only the fourth time in their history. It was also their first trip to the New Wembley Stadium when they took on Bolton Wanderers for a place in the final. Stoke comfortably beat Bolton 5–0 clinching a first FA Cup Final
The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...
appearance in their 148-year history. However, they lost the final 1–0 to Manchester City. By reaching the final, Stoke qualified for the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League
The 2011–12 UEFA Europa League was the third season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 41st edition overall including its predecessor, the UEFA Cup. It began on 30 June 2011 with t ...
. Despite a strong season, with an 8th-place finish in sight, defeat at home to Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
in the final game meant that Stoke finished 13th in the 2010–11 season.
On 28 July 2011, Stoke beat Hadjuk Split 2–0 over two legs in the third qualifying round of the Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
. It was Stoke's first appearance in Europe in 37 years. Stoke would go on progress past FC Thun
Fussballclub Thun 1898 is a Swiss football team from the Bernese Oberland town of Thun. The club plays in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of the Swiss football league system, following relegation from the Swiss Super League in the ...
in the Play-off round gaining entrance into the group stage where Stoke were handed a tough draw against Besiktas, Dynamo Kyiv
Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society, the club as a separate business entity was officia ...
and Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...
. Stoke finished second in the group and were handed a glamour tie against Spanish giants Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
in the round of 32, following the draw manager Pulis stated that he is relishing the prospect of taking on one of Europe's top clubs. Stoke lost both legs 1–0 to end their European campaign. Pulis received criticism from some supporters after he fielded a weakened team in the second leg. Stoke ended the 2011–12 season in 14th position in what was perceived to be a disappointing season. The 2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
season saw Stoke make little progress, finishing in 13th position. Pulis subsequently left the club by mutual consent on 21 May 2013.
He was replaced by another Welsh manager, Mark Hughes
Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City.
During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, an ...
. Hughes led Stoke to a ninth-place finish in 2013–14, their highest position in the Premier League and best finish since 1974–75. Stoke again finished in ninth position in 2014–15, which ended with a 6–1 victory against Liverpool. Despite breaking their transfer record twice (on Xherdan Shaqiri
Xherdan Shaqiri (; born 10 October 1991) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire and the Switzerland national team.
Shaqiri began his career at FC Basel, winning honours including ...
and then Giannelli Imbula
Gilbert Imbula Wanga (born 12 September 1992) is a professional footballer who last played as a defensive midfielder for Portuguese club Portimonense. Born in Belgium, Imbula played youth football for France, before changing international allegi ...
), in 2015–16, Stoke did not make any progression and finished in ninth position for a third season running. Stoke declined in 2016–17, finishing in 13th position. The decline continued in 2017–18 under Mark Hughes and he was sacked in January 2018 with the club in the relegation zone. The board chose Paul Lambert
Paul Lambert (born 7 August 1969) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Ipswich Town.
Lambert played as a midfielder and won the Scottish Cup in 1987 with St Mirren as a 17-year-ol ...
to try and keep Stoke up but he managed just two wins in 15, ending Stoke's ten-year spell in the Premier League.
2018–present: Return to the Championship
The board appointed Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
manager Gary Rowett
Gary Rowett (born 6 March 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is currently manager of Championship club Millwall.
As a player, he was a defender, and played in the Premier League for Everton, Derby County, ...
for the 2018–19 season with his task to mount a quick return to the Premier League. However despite spending over £30 million on new players, performances were very underwhelming and Rowett lost his job in January 2019. They then decided to appoint a manager from the lower leagues, Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
's Welsh manager Nathan Jones. Jones only won three of the remaining matches of the season, drawing eleven of them including four consecutive 0–0 draws as Stoke ended in 16th position.
Jones was allowed to bring in ten new players for the 2019–20 season in order to fit his preferred 'diamond' formation. These changes failed to improve the team and they went on to have their worst start to a league campaign not winning any of their first ten matches. Jones was sacked in November 2019 with the side bottom of the Championship table and he was replaced by Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill. Results began to improve under O'Neill and the side began to pull away from danger until the season was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. Stoke won four of the remaining nine matches to avoid relegation and finish in 15th position, finishing eight points clear of the relegation zone. Due to the pandemic the entire 2020–21 season was played without supporters and Stoke finished in 14th position. In 2021–22 Stoke made a positive start to the season but a poor second half of the campaign saw the team fall out of play-off contention and they again finished in 14th. A slow start to the 2022–23 season marked the end for O'Neill's time in charge and he was dismissed in August 2022, with Sunderland boss Alex Neil replacing him.
References
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Stoke City
History of Stoke-on-Trent
History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...