The 1933–34 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 34th season in the Football League and the 20th in the First Division. Now back in the First Division for the first time since the 1922–23 season Stoke were looking to establish themselves amongst the nation's elite. However, they struggled and by Christmas they were in the relegation places, but only three defeats in their last twelve matches saw Stoke survive comfortably and finished the season in 12th place with 41 points. In the FA Cup Stoke advanced to the quarter final and played

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 tw ...

where the largest attendance at an English football match was recorded with 84,569 packed into Maine Road.

Season review

League

After a decade out of the First Division, Stoke were back in the top-flight for the first time since 1922. The atmosphere around the club was first-class with the directors re-signing the entire first team squad for the 1933–34 season. Consolidation was the obvious aim, but playing in the First Division was a totally different challenge and the reality of taking on better sides soon hit home. Stoke struggled and by Christmas they found themselves in the relegation zone and looked to be heading back to the Second Division. It was at this juncture that Tom Mather made two vital decisions, firstly he signed

Arthur Tutin Arthur Tutin (3 April 1907 – 1961) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Aldershot and Stoke City. Career Tutin was born in Coundon and played for a good number of local non-league teams and after failed trials at S ...

a right-half from Aldershot for £500 and then he recalled

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 ...

from the reserves at the age of 40. McGrory's presence boosted the sides morale and Stoke climbed up the table, eventually finishing 12th place. During the second half of the season they picked up more points than any other team with the exception of the top two

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 mostly ...

and Huddersfield Town. Stanley Matthews, never regarded for his goal scoring scored 15 goals, his best tally of his famous career.

FA Cup

In the FA Cup Stoke advanced past

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

and Chelsea before meeting

at Maine Road in the quarter Final. Man City won the tie 1–0 thanks to a goal from legendary striker Eric Brook. An attendance of 84,569 packed into Maine Road, the largest attendance at an English football match.

Final league table

Results

''Stoke's score comes first''

Legend

Football League First Division

FA Cup

Squad statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1933-34 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 ...