The 1975–76 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 69th season in the Football League and the 45th in the First Division. After two very successful league campaigns there was high hopes for the 1975–76 season as Stoke looked to establish themselves amongst the best in the country. Their form was good and going into the new year Stoke were in the top half of the table and looking good. But disaster struck in January 1976 as winds of hurricane force battered

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

and the Victoria Ground was badly damaged. The roof of the Butler Street stand collapsed and Stoke had to play a league match against Middlesbrough at nearby Vale Park whilst repair work was carried out. Results declined thereafter and Stoke took 12th position.

Season review

League

There had been heavy transfer costs incurred in 1974–75 with the club recording a loss of £448,342 and therefore now in debt despite an increase in the average attendance. Geoff Hurst was sold to West Bromwich Albion for £20,000, the only outgoing transfer for cash in the summer of 1975, although two other notable departures were those of club record goalscorer John Ritchie who retired after finding the back of the net a record 176 times for the "Potters" and also goalkeeper John Farmer. Hopes were high again of a successful season, but Stoke stayed stubbornly in the middle of the division never threatening the top or bottom to the table. After some good and bad results come January 1976 Stoke experienced perhaps their greatest misfortune. In a powerful storm which hit the

area the Butler Street stand had its roof blown off by strong winds and the Victoria Ground was closed while repair work was carried out. Near neighbours

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 ...

offered Stoke the use of Vale Park and on the one occasion they used it Middlesbrough were beaten 1–0 with

Ian Moores Ian Richard Moores (5 October 1954 – 12 January 1998) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Barnsley, Bolton Wanderers, Orient, Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur. Playing career Moores was born in Chesterton, Sta ...

scoring in front of 21,009. Stoke were allowed back home for their next match against

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 ...

in the FA Cup on 4 February. Stoke lost the momentum they had and finished the season in 12th spot.

Eric Skeels Eric Thomas Skeels (born 27 October 1939) is an English former footballer. He played 512 games in the Football League, 507 for Stoke City. He is Stoke's record appearance holder having played in 597 matches in all competitions. Skeels joined S ...

left the club at the end of the season. Skeels is Stoke's all-time record appearance holder having made 592 appearances for the club in all competitions.

FA Cup

Stoke beat both Tottenham Hotspur and

before losing to

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 ...

in a replay.

League Cup

Fourth Division Lincoln City caused a shock as they beat Stoke 2–1 at Sincil Bank.

Final league table

Results

''Stoke's score comes first''

Legend

Football League First Division

FA Cup

League Cup

Friendlies

Squad statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1975-76 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 ...