The 1992–93 season was Stoke City's 86th season in

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 ...

and 4th in the third tier now known as the Second Division following the formation of 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 ...

. After a successful 1991–92 season which saw Stoke win 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 ...

and reach the

play-offs 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 ...

the team went one better in 1992–93 as they claimed the Second Division title in fine style breaking the club's unbeaten record after going 25 league matches without defeat. Stoke collected 93 points from 138 on offer and racked up an impressive +39 goal difference as the club returned to the second tier.

Season review

League

With the formation of the

in 1992 Stoke found themselves playing in the Second Division, still the third tier of English football. Following their excellent season in the previous campaign everyone was excited for the 1992–93 season to start and no more so than

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 ...

who signed Kevin Russell from Leicester. Stoke began their league season away at

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

and things didn't go according to plan the "Tigers" winning 1–0. But then things started to improve,

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, ...

were beaten and draws were gained at tricky Exeter and Plymouth. Stoke then beat traditional rivals

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 ...

4–3 which sparked a record breaking run of results. Stoke began to score goals on a regular basis and come the end of October, after 14 matches Stoke were in second position and after a 3–1 win away at Blackpool on 21 November Stoke went top and they were to remain there until the end of the season taking the league title and with it a return to the second tier. A tremendous run of 25 league games without defeat from 5 September 1992 to 20 February 1993, creating a new club record,

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

ending that with a single goal victory at Brisbane Road. The average attendance had risen by 3,000 to 16,556 and Mark Stein ran away with the goalscoring hitting 33 goals with 26 coming in the league.

FA Cup

Stoke drew 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 ...

in the first round and after a 0–0 draw 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 ...

, Vale went on to win the replay 3–1 at a waterlogged

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, ...

which saw a shot from Dave Regis that was heading for goal get stuck in the mud.

League Cup

After easily beating Preston North End Stoke lost against

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...

League Trophy

Stoke went in the League trophy as holders and but for the second time this season Port Vale knocked Stoke out of a cup competition at the semi-final stage.

Final league table

Results

Legend

Football League Second Division

FA Cup

League Cup

League Trophy

Isle of Man Trophy

Friendlies

Squad statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1992-93 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 ...