The 2009–10 season was Stoke City's second season in 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 ...

and the 54th in the top tier of English football. After a successful first season in the Premier League, Stoke were looking to establish themselves in the top tier and spent just over £20 million on Diego Arismendi,

Danny Collins Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to: People * Danny Altmann, British immunologist *Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer *Danny Baker (born 1957), English journal ...

Robert Huth Robert Huth (, ; born 18 August 1984) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is a three-time Premier League winner and has made the most Premier League appearances (322) by a German player. Huth was signed ...

Tuncay Tuncay (; ''toonj-eye'') is a Turkish given name for males and a surname. People named Tuncay include: Given name * Tuncay Güney (born 1972), Turkish spy * Tuncay Karakaya (born 1989), Turkish Paralympian goalball player * Tuncay Mataracı (b ...

and

Dean Whitehead Dean Whitehead (born 12 January 1982) is an English former professional footballer and coach. A midfielder who occasionally played at right-back, he made 622 league and cup appearances in a 19-year playing career, scoring 29 goals. Whitehead j ...

. Stoke began the season with victories over

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

, Sunderland, and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

, and a 1–0 win at

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

in October. Their form dropped off in December as they managed just a point and two goals in five matches. Stoke began 2010 in fine form going eleven matches unbeaten, which included wins against Fulham,

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, whilst draws were earned against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

and Manchester City. The run also included FA Cup wins against

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

, Arsenal and Manchester City before City lost to

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in the quarter final stage. Stoke had no relegation battle to be concerned with and finished the campaign in 11th position with 47 points.

Pre-season

Stoke began their preparation for the 2009–10 season with two Stoke XIs playing matches simultaneously against local non-league sides Newcastle Town and

Nantwich Town Nantwich Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1884 and is nicknamed ''The Dabbers'', a reference to the town's tanning industry. They currently compete in and pla ...

. Both matches were surprisingly lost, 2–1 at Newcastle and 2–0 at Nantwich. Stoke then spent a week at a training camp in Austria where they played twice. Firstly against German side St Pauli in

Irdning Irdning is a former municipality in the district of Liezen in the Austrian state of Styria. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform, it is part of the municipality Irdning-Donnersbachtal. Geography Irdning is located about southwest ...

Dave Kitson David Barry Kitson (born 21 January 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He made 420 appearances in the Premier League and Football League, including 135 for Reading. Kitson began his career with non-L ...

scoring in a 3–1 defeat. The other match was against Israeli side Hapoel Tel Aviv where Stoke had to play in a green strip due to a colour clash,

Salif Diao Salif Alassane Diao (born 10 February 1977) is a Senegalese former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Diao moved from Senegal to France when he was seventeen and started his career at Monaco with whom he helped with ...

scored Stoke's goal in a 1–1 draw, a lob from 40-yards. On their return to England, Stoke completed the signing of Sunderland midfielder

for a fee of £5 million. Two goals from Neil Mellor saw Preston North End beat Stoke 2–1 with Richard Cresswell scoring for the Potters against his former employers. Stoke then played back to back games against East Midlands opposition. Firstly they drew 1–1 at

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

on 29 July with

cancelling out a strike from

Nathan Tyson Nathan Tyson (born 4 May 1982) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Grantham Town. He represented the England under-20 team in February 2003. A pacey, left-footed forward, he began his career at Reading, where he ...

. Then against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

despite taking the lead twice via

Liam Lawrence Liam Lawrence (born 14 December 1981) is a former professional footballer who played as a winger or central midfielder. Lawrence started his career at his local club Mansfield Town, after impressing at the Field Mill he signed for Sunderland ...

and Ricardo Fuller goals from

Stephen Pearson Stephen Paul Pearson (born 2 October 1982) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He began his career at Motherwell and joined Celtic in 2004, where he won domestic honours including two Scottish Premier League ...

and Arnaud Mendy earned Derby a 2–2 draw. Stoke's final match of pre-season was against Spanish side

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system. The club c ...

at the

Britannia Stadium The Bet365 Stadium (stylised as ''bet365 Stadium'') is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Britannia Stadium but was ...

where they made a bright start scoring through

Abdoulaye Faye Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye (born 26 February 1978), known as Abdoulaye Faye, is a Senegalese former footballer who played as a defender. Faye began his career playing for ASEC Ndiambour and Jeanne d'Arc in his native Senegal before moving to Frenc ...

after two minutes before

converted a 32nd-minute penalty. However goals from Borja and Alberto Bueno saw that match end in a 2–2 draw and leave Stoke without a victory in pre-season. On 14 October 2009 a Stoke City XI lost 1–0 in a friendly against American sister club Austin Aztex at Nantwich Town's Weaver Stadium.

Premier League

August

For the season opener against Burnley Stoke gave new signing

his debut. Newly promoted Burnley started brightly and went close through

Robbie Blake Robert James Blake (born 4 March 1976) is an English former professional footballer and current coach at Bognor Regis Town. He began his career as a striker but was increasingly used as midfielder in the latter part of his career. He began his ...

. However City soon took control of the match and went in front after 19 minutes through

Ryan Shawcross Ryan James Shawcross (born 4 October 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is currently an assistant coach with MLS Next Pro club Inter Miami II. Shawcross began his career with Manchester Unite ...

, before a trademark Rory Delap long throw-in was glanced into his own net by defender Stephen Jordan to put Stoke into a 2–0 lead. The away side improved in the second half but failed to trouble Sorensen and Stoke could have added a third with

hitting the post and Richard Cresswell narrowly shooting wide. Stoke travelled to Liverpool for three away games back to back. Stoke line up in an unusual 4-5-1 formation in an attempt to stop the threat of Liverpool's attacking full-backs. The change in tactics backfired as Liverpool comfortably won the game 4–0 with the goals coming from

Fernando Torres Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Atlético Madrid Juvenil A. Due to his consistent goalscoring rate as a young player, ...

, Dirk Kuyt,

Glen Johnson Glen McLeod Cooper Johnson (''né'' Stephens; born 23 August 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played predominantly as a right back. Johnson began his career at West Ham United, spending time on loan at Millwall, and was ...

and

David N'Gog David Philippe Henri Ngog (born 1 April 1989), known as David N'Gog, is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for Greek Gamma Ethniki club Panionios. N'Gog started his career with French Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. He ...

. Another newly promoted side were next opponents for Stoke in the form of

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

at St Andrew's. Stoke suffered an early blow as James Beattie was forced to come off due to injury, meaning that

would have a chance to impress. There were few chances during the match with both sides cancelling each other out and the match finished 0–0. New signings from Middlesbrough

and

were on the bench for the visit of Steve Bruce's Sunderland at the end of August. Stoke opened the scoring just before half time through a goal mouth scramble which Kitson managed to put past Craig Gordon. Both sides continued to create chances in the second half but Stoke were the stronger of the two teams and were able to see out the win.

September

For the visit of Chelsea Pulis decided to play a 5-3-2 formation with new signing

making his debut. Stoke suffered an early setback as James Beattie again was forced to come off after falling awkwardly. Stoke took the lead after 32 minutes after a mix up in the Chelsea defence allowed captain Abdoulaye Faye to head into an empty net. Stoke were dealt another injury this time 'keeper Sorensen, who was replaced by Simonsen. Chelsea equalised in stoppage time in the first half through a goal by Drogba. Chelsea dominated the second half without troubling Simonsen and it looked that it would finish all level but Malouda gave Chelsea the three points deep into injury time to leave Stoke with a sense of deja vu as Chelsea beat in them in the same fashion last season. Stoke then made the trip to the

Reebok Stadium The University of Bolton Stadium is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C. in Horwich, Greater Manchester, England. Opening in 1997, it was named the Reebok Stadium, after club sponsors Reebok. In 2014, Bolton Wanderers signed a naming ri ...

looking to avenge last seasons 3–1 defeat in what was City's first game in the Premier League. Stoke were the better side in the first half as they dominated possession and created a number of half chances, Bolton on the other hand were awful and were booed off at half time. Stoke took the lead early in the second half through the improving Kitson, Wanderers then brought on Ricardo Gardner and

Ivan Klasnić Ivan Klasnić (; born 29 January 1980) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He began his career with local side FC St. Pauli, and moved to Werder Bremen in 2001 after helping his previous team to promotion to th ...

to try and rescue a point for the home side. They did get a draw via the penalty spot after Danny Collins carelessly tripped

Sam Ricketts Samuel Derek Ricketts (born 11 October 1981) is a professional football coach and former player. As a player, his favoured position was at full back, where he was able to play either side as well as being able to operate at the centre of defe ...

in the final minute. Following the epic 4–3 League Cup win over Blackpool Stoke faced the league champions, Manchester United. Pulis decided to go with the same formation and system he used against Chelsea, however the change didn't work as the visitors were able to claim a comfortable 2–0 win.

October

Stoke reverted to their usual formation for trip to Everton and gave a surprise start to

after the midfielder's injury. Everton were the better team in the first 45 minutes without troubling Sorensen, Stoke improved in the second period and took the lead through

's powerful header, his first goal for the club. The lead didn't last long as

Leon Osman Leon Osman (born 17 May 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent almost all of his career at Everton, making 433 appearances and scoring 57 goals. Earlier in his career he spent time on loan at Fo ...

scored from long range and the match ended all square. The next match was against

Gianfranco Zola Gianfranco Zola (; born 5 July 1966) is an Italian football manager and former footballer who played predominantly as a forward. He was most recently the assistant manager of Chelsea. He spent the first decade of his playing career playing i ...

at the Britannia Stadium. James Beattie scored twice for Stoke in a 2–1 win. The first came via the penalty spot after Etherington had been brought down in the area by

Julien Faubert Julien Alex Thomas Faubert (born 1 August 1983) is a professional footballer who represented both France and Martinique internationally. He plays as a right winger or midfielder. Faubert started his footballing career in France with Cannes befo ...

. West Ham levelled though a

Matthew Upson Matthew James Upson (born 18 April 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Upson played for England at full international level including at the 2010 World Cup. Upson started his career with Bedfordshire ...

header before Beattie tapped in from close range following good work by Fuller. Huth was given a retrospective three-match ban by

the FA The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

after video footage showed him hitting Upson in the face. Stoke then made the trip to White Hart Lane to face Tottenham and were handed a blow before kick off with Thomas Sorensen unable to play meaning that number two Steve Simonsen started in goal. Tottenham were also hit by injuries with Jonathan Woodgate being forced off after 14 minutes. Tottenham dominated the match and had numerous chances to open the scoring but they were repeatedly denied by Simonsen. With the match looking to heading to a goalless draw, Stoke scored via a counter-attack with

Glenn Whelan Glenn David Whelan (born 13 January 1984) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Bristol Rovers. He has represented the Republic of Ireland national football team. Whelan started his career at Manchester Ci ...

curling a shot past

Heurelho Gomes Heurelho da Silva Gomes (born 15 February 1981) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played for Premier League clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Watford, having previously made a name for himself at Dutch club ...

to secure a 1–0 victory. In the match against local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers, Stoke dominated the first half and scored through Beattie and a volley by Matthew Etherington his first league goal for the club put Stoke 2–0 up before half time. In the second half Wolves were the dominant side and also scored twice with two identical goals from former City player

Jody Craddock Jody Darryl Craddock (born 25 July 1975) is an English former professional footballer and artist who played as a centre back in the Premier League for Sunderland and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Craddock broke into league football at Cambridge Uni ...

as the match ended in a 2–2 draw.

November

Stoke made the trip to Hull looking for a second consecutive away win; despite a slow start City took the lead through Etherington's powerful drive past Matt Duke. Stoke could have extended their lead through Shawcross but his header clipped the crossbar. Hull then equalised through former City player

Seyi Olofinjana Seyi George Olofinjana (born 30 June 1980) is a Nigerian former association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Olofinjana began his career with local sides Crown F.C., Crown and Kwara United F.C., Kwara United before moving to Eur ...

and Stoke were on the back foot even more when Abdoulaye Faye was sent off for two bookable offences meaning Tuncay who had just come on had to be replaced by Wilkinson in order to fill in the gap in defence. However

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink Johannes Vennegoor of Hesselink (; born 7 November 1978) is a Dutch former professional footballer. He formerly played for the Netherlands national team as a striker. He played for clubs such as the Dutch Eredivisie's FC Twente and PSV, the ...

scored in the final minute to condemn Stoke to a disappointing defeat. Paul Hart's relegation threatened side, Portsmouth were next to arrive in Staffordshire and had the chance to take the lead early on after Delap had fouled

Aruna Dindane Aruna Dindane (born 26 November 1980) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He has 62 caps and 17 goals for the Ivory Coast since his debut in 2000, and has played at four Africa Cup of Nations and two FIFA Wor ...

but

Kevin-Prince Boateng Kevin-Prince Boateng (; born 6 March 1987), also known as Prince, is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or forward for club Hertha BSC. Born in Germany, he represented the Ghana national team. Coming through the youth system, ...

's penalty was saved by Sorensen. It turned out to be a very poor game and Stoke scored the only goal through a well worked move resulting in Fuller scoring his first goal of the season. Stoke travelled to Blackburn and had a number of chances to win the match with Whitehead and Beattie both missing from just 5 yards, Blackburn were also guilty of poor finishing and the match ended in a 0–0 draw.

December

The first match in December came away against Arsenal; Stoke started the match brightly and looked comfortable but Delap again gave away a penalty after fouling Andrey Arshavin in the area but Sorensen saved Fabregas' spot kick. However Arsenal were not to be denied and went on to win the match 2–0 with goals from Arshavin and

Aaron Ramsey Aaron James Ramsey (born 26 December 1990) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Nice and the Wales national team. Ramsey mainly plays as a box-to-box midfielder, but has also been deployed on the left ...

. The results was however overshadowed by media reports of a dressing room argument between Pulis and Beattie. Stoke then faced Wigan Athletic in an early kick-off at the Britannia Stadium it what turned out to be an entertaining match. Wigan took the lead in confusing circumstances, Emmerson Boyce headed the ball past Sorensen taking out the keeper in the process and Salif Diao unavoidably kicked Boyce in the head and the referee belatedly awarded the goal. Stoke equalised through Tuncay's first goal for the club just before half time. Wigan went back in front through via a 50-yard strike by

Maynor Figueroa Maynor Alexis Figueroa Róchez (born 2 May 1983) is a Honduran professional footballer who plays as a centre-back. He is best known for his time at Wigan Athletic, where he made 179 Premier League appearances and won the 2013 FA Cup. Figueroa ...

but Stoke scored instantly through a Shawcross header. Wigan had the chance to win the match in the final minute when Huth was adjudged to have fouled Jordi Gomez despite the Wigan player being offside, however Sorensen saved

Hugo Rodallega Hugo Rodallega Martínez (born 25 July 1985) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bahia. Rodallega started his professional career with Deportes Quindío in 2004. An impressive first season with the club earned him ...

's spot kick. City travelled to Villa Park and thought they had taken the lead through Mama Sidibé out-jumped Stephen Warnock but referee

Lee Probert Lee William Probert (born 13 August 1972)
(

gave a free-kick to Villa. Stoke were the better side and created a number of chances to score but were unable to find the net. Villa claimed all three points when John Carew headed past Sorensen. The boxing day fixture saw Stoke make the trip to Manchester City where

Roberto Mancini Roberto Mancini (; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the Italy national team. As a player, Mancini operated as a deep-lying forward, and was best known for his time at Sa ...

was taking his first game in charge for the home side. His new side made a bright start and two goals from

Martin Petrov Martin Petyov Petrov ( bg, Мартин Петьов Петров; born 15 January 1979) is a Bulgarian former footballer who played as a winger. Club career Petrov began his career for Botev Vratsa. After a few good seasons, he signed with CS ...

and

Carlos Tevez Carlos Alberto Tevez (; born 5 February 1984) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player. A quick, tenacious, powerful, hard-working and dynamic forward in his prime, Tevez was capable of playing as a striker, as a wing ...

gave Man City a 2–0 win. City ended 2009 on a disappointing note as they were defeated 1–0 by Birmingham City at home. Stoke were the dominant team throughout the match and only some top class saves from

Joe Hart Charles Joseph John Hart (born 19 April 1987) known professionally simply as Joe Hart is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Celtic. He began his career at his hometown club Shrewsbury T ...

kept Stoke out. Birmingham took advantage through a scrappy goal from

Cameron Jerome Cameron Zishan Rana-Jerome (born 14 August 1986), known as Cameron Jerome, is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Luton Town. Jerome began his career as a trainee with Huddersfield Town, Grimsby Town, Sheffiel ...

January

The first league match of 2010 was the re-arranged fixture against Fulham; the match went ahead despite heavy snow. Sorensen failed to recover from an injury he picked up in the win over York City at the weekend, meaning that Simonsen started and youngster Danzelle St Louis-Hamilton appeared on the bench. Stoke controlled the first half and Fulham the second. Stoke opened the scoring 13 minutes when Tuncay met Robert Huth's flick on from Etherington's corner and powered the ball beyond Mark Schwarzer from 3-yards to put the hosts into the lead. A rampant City side didn't have to wait long to double their advantage though as skipper Faye was on hand to tap the ball into an empty net after Etherington's deep corner evaded a packed out 6-yard box. The majority of the Britannia Stadium had barely recovered from their celebrations by the time Sidibé had fired the Potters into a three-goal lead just three minutes later. The Malian international striker latched onto Higginbotham's clever flick on, as the Potters laid siege to the Fulham penalty area, and smashed the ball into the roof of the net with a clinically taken half volley to put Stoke into a 3–0 lead. In the second half Fulham scored twice through

Damien Duff Damien Anthony Duff (born 2 March 1979) is an Irish professional football manager and former player who played predominantly as a winger. He has been the manager of League of Ireland club Shelbourne F.C. since November 2021. He began his pro ...

and

Clint Dempsey Clinton Drew Dempsey (; born March 9, 1983) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward and midfielder. During his career, he played in the Premier League for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur and in Major League Soccer ...

. A weak Liverpool side were next to arrive at the Britannia and were content to sit back and play for a draw. Stoke suffered an early injury problems with both Abdoualye Faye and Rory Delap being forced to come off. Liverpool took a surprise lead through Greek defender

Sotirios Kyrgiakos Sotirios Kyrgiakos ( el, Σωτήριος Κυργιάκος, born 23 July 1979) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Club career Kyrgiakos made his first football steps with a local team, Thyella Megaloc ...

in the second half, Stoke then applied intense pressure on the Liverpool goal and in the 90th minute Robert Huth scrambled in the equaliser.

February

After five home games in a row City finally had an away game at Sunderland. However the match was a very disappointing affair and finished in a poor 0–0 draw. Stoke were back at home for the visit of Blackburn Rovers on a day dedicated to Sir

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game, he is the only player to have been knighted while sti ...

. Stoke produced a fitting performance to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of the wizard of dribble by producing arguably City's best performance in the top flight since winning promotion in May 2008. Stoke opened their account through Danny Higginbotham after eight minutes with the left back volleying an Etherington corner. City made it two just before half time after Mama Sidibé tapped in from close range and Etherington finished of a man of the match outing by skilfully beating Robinson to make the score line 3–0, Stoke's largest Premier League win and biggest top flight win since 1984. After the match it was reported that a visiting Blackburn Rovers supporter had died at the match. His death was later ruled as 'misadventure' by the coroner after eyewitnesses stated that he had 'headed' a 25lb bin. In the next away game at the DW Stadium Wigan made a bright start and took the lead through Paul Scharner after 14 minutes. Stoke improved greatly in the second half and equalised via a header from Tuncay and the match finished one apiece. Following the FA Cup draw against Man City at the weekend, they were again the opposition this time at the Britannia Stadium in the League. Stoke made a confident start dominating the match and should have opened the scoring in the first half but the scores were level at half time. Stoke were reduced to ten men early in the second half when Abdoulaye Faye brought down Adebayor, Man City then took control but Stoke surprisingly took the lead through a volley from Glenn Whelan. Man City drew level via a scrappy goal from Gareth Barry, City thought they won the match with seconds left when Shawcross headed in a Delap throw in but Alan Wiley wrongly disallowed the goal. Stoke then made the long trip south to face relegation bound

at Fratton Park. Pompey were the better side in the first half and took the lead through the

Frédéric Piquionne Frédéric Michel Piquionne (born 8 December 1978) is a Martiniquais former professional footballer who played as a forward. Piquionne's former clubs are Golden Star of Martinique, Nîmes, Rennes, Saint-Étienne, Monaco, Lyon, Portsmouth, ...

after 35 minutes. Stoke were better in the second half and Robert Huth levelled just after the half time break before Andy Wilkinson was sent off for a second bookable offence. With Pompey looking for a vital winner City snatched the win right at the death with

scoring his first goal in seven years. Following Stoke's FA Cup replay win over Man City at the Britannia, Arsenal were next to arrive and City took the lead through

Danny Pugh Daniel Adam Pugh (born 19 October 1982) is an English professional football coach and former player. A versatile player, he could play in midfield or at left-back. He began his career with Manchester United, and made a handful of first team ...

via another Delap throw in, however

Nicklas Bendtner Nicklas Bendtner (; born 16 January 1988) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a forward. His preferred position was centre-forward, but he has also played on the right side of attack, and occasionally on the left. A large, ...

equalised just before half time. In the second half Shawcross was sent-off for a tackle on

, which left the Arsenal midfielder with a broken leg. Arsenal made full used of their numerical advantage with goals from

Cesc Fàbregas Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (; ; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie B club Como. Fàbregas came through ''La Masia'', Barcelona's youth academy, leaving at 16 when ...

and

Thomas Vermaelen Thomas Vermaelen (born 14 November 1985) is a retired Belgian professional footballer who is currently an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Being left-footed, he usually played as a left-sided centre-back and could play at left-bac ...

March

After their FA Cup exit at Chelsea, Stoke faced struggling Burnley in the re-arranged match at Turf Moor. The match was a keenly contested affair and the result was a fair 1–1 draw with goals from Tuncay and Dave Nugent. Stoke then had a hard-fought goalless draw with Aston Villa at the Britannia Stadium and both sides could have easily won the match. Following a lethargic opening 45 minutes against Tottenham Hotspur the second half exploded into action as

Eiður Guðjohnsen Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen (transliterated as Eidur Smari Gudjohnsen; born 15 September 1978) is an Icelandic professional football coach and former player who played as a forward. Eiður saw his greatest success in England and Spain with Chels ...

fired the visitors ahead just 30 seconds after the interval, before

was dismissed by referee Mike Dean three minutes later for an innocuous looking challenge on

Luka Modrić Luka Modrić (; born 9 September 1985) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid and captains the Croatia national team. He plays mainly as a central midfielder, but can also play as an a ...

. The Potters had to stand firm to soak up some heavy Spurs' pressure, but managed to pull themselves back into the game on the hour mark when Etherington calmly converted from the penalty spot, after David Kitson had been dragged to the ground by Benoît Assou-Ekotto. Ricardo Fuller then spurned a glorious opportunity to turn the game on its head as he blazed over from 6-yards, before the Londoners ensured all three points would be theirs with little over ten minutes remaining as Croatian international Niko Kranjčar lashed home after Assou-Ekotto teed him up. Stoke then made the trip to West Ham and came away with all three points thanks to a piece of individual piece of brilliance from substitute Ricardo Fuller. He had only been on the pitch two minutes by the time he beat two men and rifled the ball beyond

Robert Green Robert Paul Green (born 18 January 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played in the Premier League and Football League and for the England national team. Green made his first-team debut for Norw ...

with little over twenty minutes of the game remaining. Prior to his introduction chances had been few and far between for both sides, with Egyptian Mido going closest for the Hammers, whilst Liam Lawrence had spurned the visitors best chance early on after blazing over from 12-yards. The Potters had to soak up a late onslaught from the desperate hosts, but they managed to hold on for all three points and elevate themselves up to tenth place in the league table; moving to within one point of the magic '40-point target'.

April

Relegation threatened Hull were next at the Britannia Stadium and Stoke came away with a comfortable 2–0 win. Fuller struck in the sixth minute to give the Potters a flying start against

Iain Dowie Iain Dowie (born 9 January 1965) is a football manager, former professional footballer and sports television pundit. He played as a striker from 1983 until 2001, notably in the Premier League for Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Ham Unit ...

's men before

slotted home the second in the final minute to ease his side to the three points. There was great excitement for highly awaited derby against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

at Molineux prior to the match, however the game was a total anti-climax and finished in a drab 0–0 draw. City's penultimate home match saw Bolton Wanderers make the short trip south. Stoke dominated the match for 80 minutes and took the lead through

after 13 minutes. However Matthew Taylor somehow managed to score twice in the final few minutes to condemn Stoke to a surprise defeat. In the next away match at Chelsea Stoke suffered early setbacks with both Faye and Sorensen being taken off injured. Everything seemed to go wrong for Stoke and Chelsea scored seven goals without reply.

May

In the final home match of the season Stoke picked up a well-earned point against in-form Everton. Neither side were able to find a breakthrough throughout the clash as Delap missed City's best opportunity in the second half whilst the Toffees thought they had won it through

Phil Jagielka Philip Nikodem Jagielka ( or ; born 17 August 1982) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Stoke City. Jagielka started his career with Sheffield United in 2000, where he played mainly as a central midfiel ...

, only for

Howard Webb Howard Melton Webb MBE (born 14 July 1971) is an English former professional football referee who officiated primarily in the Premier League from 2003 to 2014, as well as for FIFA as a FIFA international referee from 2005 to 2014. Webb is co ...

to chalk it off for an infringement by Victor Anichebe late on. Stoke's penultimate game of the season was against

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

finalists Fulham at

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against ...

. Stoke won the match 1–0 with

Matthew Etherington Matthew Etherington (born 14 August 1981) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of club Crawley Town. As a player, Etherington played as a winger, most notably in the Premier League for ...

scoring the only goal in the 83rd minute. Stoke finished off the 2009–10 season with a 4–0 loss against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Results

Final league table

FA Cup

Stoke were drawn at home to

Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-professi ...

side

at home in the third round of the FA Cup. The non-league side started the better side despite arriving late for kick-off and took a shock lead through Neil Barrett. However Stoke quickly turned the game around with two Rory Delap throws which led to

Daniel Parslow Daniel James Parslow (born 11 September 1985) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a centre-back in the English Football League for York City and Cheltenham Town. Parslow started his career with Cardiff City in their you ...

putting through his own net and Ricardo Fuller scoring a minute later. Stoke sealed their place in the fourth round when

curled in a free-kick just before the hour mark. Arsenal were the next opponents for City and they made the perfect start, another Rory Delap throw caused panic in the Arsenal penalty area and Fuller took advantage. Arsenal slowly came back into the game and equalised through a lucky deflected Denílson free-kick just before half-time. In the second half both sides were attacking and after 78 minutes Fuller got his second of the game heading in a Mamady Sidibé cross. Dean Whitehead then got his first goal for Stoke confirming a fifth round tie. Stoke were handed a tough test against Manchester City in round five. At a surprisingly sparse City of Manchester Stadium Man City took an early lead after

Shaun Wright-Phillips Shaun Cameron Wright-Phillips (born 25 October 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. He played in the Premier League and Football League for Manchester City, Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers, in Major L ...

took advantage of some awful Stoke defending. Stoke struggled in the first half and their cause was not helped by injuries to

and his replacement

. In the second half Stoke became more threatening and the equaliser came after 57 minutes after a Rory Delap thrown was headed in by Fuller. Both sides could have won afterwards but it finished 1–1 meaning that a replay would be needed. In the replay Man City made a flying start putting the Stoke defence under a considerable amount of pressure with

Emmanuel Adebayor Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor (; born 26 February 1984) is a Togolese professional footballer who plays as a striker for Togolese Championnat National club Semassi. He previously played for English clubs Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Ho ...

Craig Bellamy Craig Douglas Bellamy (born 13 July 1979) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward and is current assistant manager at EFL Championship side Burnley. Born in Cardiff, Bellamy began his senior playing career with Norw ...

and

Pablo Zabaleta Pablo Javier Zabaleta Girod (; born 16 January 1985) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a right back. Zabaleta could operate on both sides of the pitch as a full-back and was known for his tenacious style of play, an ...

missing good chances. In the second half it was Stoke who began to take control of the match and took the lead through

ten minutes from full-time. However Bellamy equalized moments later sending the tie into extra time. Man City were reduced to ten men when Adebayor was shown a red card after an altercation With Shawcross. Stoke re-took the lead through a Shawcross header from a Delap thrown and then Tuncay finished the game with a fine solo goal. Stoke made into the Quarter Final of the FA Cup for the first time since 1971 and were drawn away at the holders and favourites

. Stoke made a good start almost taking the lead through Dean Whitehead after ten minutes. This was as good as it got for City as Chelsea produced a commanding display and took their place in the semi-final with goals from

Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...

and

John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea, the England national team and Aston Villa. He was most recently the a ...

League Cup

Stoke started their

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

campaign away to

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 ...

. It was the first time the two sides have met in the League Cup and the first time since 1993. Stoke made 11 changes to the side that drew 0–0 with Birmingham City as manager Tony Pulis kept with his normal League cup side.

Ryan Shotton Ryan Colin Shotton (born 30 October 1988) is an English professional footballer and manager who plays as a defender. He is currently player/manager of Midland League club Hanley Town. Shotton progressed through the Stoke City Academy and sig ...

made his first Stoke start and on the bench a number of youngsters such as Dave Parton and Matthew Lund appeared for the first time. In the first half Orient had the best chance when

Adrian Pătulea Adrian Marian Pătulea (born 10 November 1984) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a forward. He was a member of the Romanian beach soccer team. Career Early career Pătulea was born in Târgovişte. He played for Rapid Buch ...

should have scored but failed. Richard Cresswell should have done the same before

headed against the bar. With both teams failing to break the deadlock the match went into extra time. The winning goal came from Kitson a brilliant 35-yard strike his first in Stoke colours, sent City to the Third round to play Blackpool. In the Third round against Blackpool two of Stoke's summer signings Diego Arismendi and Tuncay made their first starts. Blackpool scored the game's opening goal just before half time when ex-Crewe player David Vaughan was allowed to run and shot to put the Tangerines in front. It got worse for City as after half-time Billy Clarke one of the smallest players on the pitch managed to out jump a static Stoke defence and but Blackpool 2–0 up. That goal seemed to lift Stoke as they went all out to get back in the game.

Alex Baptiste Alexander Aaron John Baptiste (born 31 January 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for League of Ireland First Division side Waterford. Club career Mansfield Town Born in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire ...

fouled Tuncay in the area and

took the spot kick which was easily save by

Matthew Gilks Matthew Gilks (born 4 June 1982) is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the goalkeeping coach for Bolton Wanderers, the last team he played for. He played for Blackpool, Burnley, Norwich City, Rochdale, Rangers, ...

. Higginbotham pulled one back before Etherington scored his first goal for Stoke. Fuller and Tuncay combined to put Stoke in front however minutes later

Ben Burgess Benjamin Kieron Burgess (born 9 November 1981) is an English-born Irish retired footballer best known for his time playing for Hull City and Blackpool. He was capped by the Republic of Ireland at U18 and U21 level. Club career Early career ...

made it 3–3 and it looked like it was going to extra time before Andy Griffin sealed a 4–3 win for Stoke. In the Fourth round Stoke were handed an unwanted trip to

. Stoke took the decision to fly to the South coast to avoid the long journey. It didn't have the desired effect, as Portsmouth with the help of some comic Stoke defending easily won the match 4–0. It didn't get any better as on the flight back the aircraft had to make an

emergency landing An emergency landing is a premature landing made by an aircraft in response to an emergency involving an imminent or ongoing threat to the safety and operation of the aircraft, or involving a sudden need for a passenger or crew on board to term ...