The 1909–10 season was

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 ...

's second in the Birmingham & District League and the first in the Southern Football League. Stoke decided to enter two league competitions this season with the directors feeling that the Southern Football League represented a better chance to be re-elected into the Football League. Stoke won the Southern Football League Division Two A with ease winning all ten of their matches and the Division Two championship play-off. They scored 48 goals conceding only 9, but promotion was not gained due to a league reorganization. The Birmingham & District League was a lot harder and Stoke finished in 7th place.

Season review

League

Stoke played in two league competitions during the 1909–10 season, in the Birmingham & District League and in the Southern League Division Two. This meant a total of 44 league fixtures would be played during the season. The standard of football in the Southern League was of a poor quality and Stoke took the championship with ease, winning all of their 10 matches with a goal-average of 48-9. They started off with an 11–0 home victory over

Merthyr Town Merthyr Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Merthyr) is a Welsh semi-professional association football, football club based in Merthyr Tydfil, currently playing in the , in the seventh tier of the English football league system. The ...

and never looked back. On 25 April 1910, Stoke met Hastings & St Leonards United (winners of Division Two B) in a 'championship decider' and Stoke easily won 6–0 to claim the title. The Birmingham league was considerably tougher and it was dominated by Aston Villa's reserve side. Stoke finished in 7th place, never threatening to challenge the leaders throughout the campaign. Arthur Griffiths, who had returned to the club from

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

, top scored this season amassing 38 goals in all competitions.

FA Cup

The biggest crowd of the season 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 ...

(18,000) came in the FA Cup first round against Newcastle United. Stoke having progressed past

Ilkeston Ilkeston is a town in the Borough of Erewash, Derbyshire, England, on the River Erewash, from which the borough takes its name, with a population at the 2011 census of 38,640. Its major industries, coal mining, iron working and lace making/texti ...

and

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

in the qualifying rounds. Stoke held the Geordies to a 1–1 draw but lost 2–1 in the replay up in the north east and Newcastle went on to lift the cup. Stoke also played in the Birmingham League Cup for the one and only time losing to Aston Villa's second string in the third round. The directors decided that the Birmingham League Cup was not a worthwhile competition to enter.

Season review

League

FA Cup

Final league table

Birmingham & District League

Southern Football League Division Two A

Results

Legend

Birmingham & District League

Southern Football League Division Two A

Division Two championship play-off

FA Cup

Birmingham League Cup

Squad statistics

References