The
1913–14 season was
Stoke's fifth season in the
Southern Football League.
Stoke were now back in the poor quality
Southern League Division Two and expectations were to gain an instant return to Division One. Stoke started the season well winning nine games in a row, however the team ran into poor form in the new year and ended up finishing 5th, 11 points from promotion.
It was a bad performance and in April 1914 both chairman Mr Rev. A Hurst and manager
Alfred Barker stepped down.
Season review
League
Division Two of the Southern League for the 1913–14 season was made up of selection of poor Welsh clubs and a smattering of sides from around the London area, namely
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 ...
,
Brentford and
Croydon Common
Croydon Common Football Club was an amateur and, later on, professional football club based in Croydon.
History
The team formed in 1897 as an amateur church team competing in local leagues. They turned professional in 1907, joining the Southern L ...
.
There was no money available, meaning the club had to rely on free transfers.
There were still a number of new faces with the likes of former England international
Fred Pentland
Frederick Beaconsfield Pentland (29 July 1883 – 16 March 1962) was an English football player and coach.
Pentland played club football in the Football League for Blackpool, Blackburn Rovers and Middlesbrough, in the Southern Football League f ...
joining from Halifax,
James Bradley
James Bradley (1692–1762) was an English astronomer and priest who served as the third Astronomer Royal from 1742. He is best known for two fundamental discoveries in astronomy, the aberration of light (1725–1728), and the nutation of th ...
returning from Liverpool and
Billy Herbert from Glossop.
With Stoke doing well from the start of the season crowds were often good as Stoke embarked on a nine match winning run.
However long distance travelling eventually caused Stoke problems and they lost their form and ended up finishing in a poor position of fifth.
The directors, obviously disappointed as were the players and supporters, at not winning promotion, vowed to continue to build the team despite having little money available.
was now under pressure from supporters and indeed some directors who questioned his wisdom to employ part-time staff.
He and chairman A. Hurst both stepped down in April 1914.
It was a sad way to see such key figures, responsible for saving the club, leave in such circumstances.
FA Cup
After progressing past Shrewsbury Town and Barrow, Stoke lost to Aston Villa in the first round.
Final league table
Results
''Stoke's score comes first''
Legend
Southern Football League Division Two
FA Cup
Squad statistics
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1913-14 Stoke F.C. season
Stoke City F.C. seasons
Stoke