Stoke City F.C.
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| Full name | Stoke City Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | The Potters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1863 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Britannia Stadium Stoke-on-Trent |
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| Capacity | 28,383 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman |  Peter Coates |
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| Manager |  Tony Pulis |
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| League | The Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005-06 | The Championship, 13th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Stoke City Football Club (known as Stoke Football Club until 1925) is a football club from Stoke-on-Trent in England. They play in the Championship. The club is reputedly the second-oldest football league club in the world, after Notts County F.C., and claims to have been formed in 1863 (disputed by some, who claim it to be 1868).
The club’s nickname is The Potters (after the pottery industry in Stoke-on-Trent at the time) and its home kit consists of a red & white vertical-striped shirt with white shorts and white socks.
The club was led to a 13th placed finish by Dutch manager Johan Boskamp in 2005/06. However, after a series of arguments with the club's owners he departed at the end of the season, leaving the club's manager's position vacant.
The club was owned by Stoke Holding, which was in turn owned by a consortium of Icelandic businessmen. When he became chairman in 1999, Gunnar Gislason was the youngest chairman in the Football League. The club logo was re-designed shortly after the Icelanders' arrival in the City.
Stoke Holding has since agreed to sell their 66% share in Stoke City Football Club to Peter Coates. The takeover by Peter Coates happened on May 22 2006. The new regime re-appointed former manager Tony Pulis on June 14th 2006.
Their only major trophy to date was the League Cup, which was won in 1972 under the management of Tony Waddington.
Stoke were relegated from the First Division with just 3 wins and 17 points from 42 games in 1985 and have not played at the highest level since. The closest they have come to regaining their top flight status was an appearance in the Division One playoffs in 1996.
Famous former managers of Stoke City include Alan Ball, Alan Durban, Tony Waddington, Lou Macari, Joe Jordan, Brian Little and Gary Megson. Famous former players include Stanley Matthews, Gordon Banks, Peter Shilton, Neil Franklin and Alan Hudson.
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[edit] History
- They played (and lost) their first game against West Bromwich Albion on 8 September 1888.
- Their controversial 0-0 draw with Burnley on April 30, 1898 led to the test match format of promotion & relegation being replace by automatic promotion/relegation.
- In 1967 they played in the United Soccer Association as the Cleveland Stokers.
- In 1997 the club moved from their traditional home at the Victoria Ground to their new home at the 28,383 all-seater Britannia Stadium. Maximum allocation for visiting supporters is 4,800.
- 1999 saw an Icelandic takeover by Stoke Holding.
- They finished the 2005-06 season in 13th place in The Championship.
- On May 22 2006, Peter Coates bought the club back from Stoke Holding for an estimated £1.7million. He then allegedly pumped £10m into the club.
[edit] Milestones
Stoke City's only major trophy to date is the League Cup, which they won in 1972 under the management of Tony Waddington. Until the 1980s they were regulars in the First Division, but were relegated at the end of the 1984-85 season with just three wins and 17 points from 42 fixtures, and have not been in the top division since. The 17 points gained in that season set the record for the lowest tally of points ever in English football under the 3 points for a win system introduced in 1981. However, this record was beaten at the end of the 2005/2006 season by Sunderland, who finished with 15 points from 38 fixtures in the English (Barclaycard) Premiership.
They went down to the Third Division at the end of the 1989-90 season, won the new Division Two title in 1992-93 season - only to slip back down in 1997-98 - their first season at the new 28,000-seat Britannia Stadium. Stoke's relegation was confirmed on the final day of the league season by a 5-2 home defeat against Manchester City, who were also relegated.
They were promoted again in 2001-02 thanks to a 2-0 victory in the Division Two playoff final against Brentford F.C. Stoke's only serious challenge for a return to the top flight came in 1995-96 when they finished fourth in Division One and lost to eventual winners Leicester City in the playoff semi-final.
[edit] Other Information
Despite having a relative lack of success for a club who played top-flight football for many years, the club has seen some famous names play for the club over the years, which can be seen below, including Sir Stanley Matthews, who played for the club in two terms from a youth player to his retirement at 50 years of age.
Stoke have a history of management casualties, few British clubs have seen a higher turnover of managers from the mid 80's till the mid 2000's. Leeds United are a notable exception.
It is rumored in local circles that the Britannia Stadium is built on old mine shafts and the Main Stand is drifiting away from the stadium at the rate of 1/2 centimetre per annum. These reports are unconfirmed and likely to be false, although the ground is built over mineshafts.
Stoke's record purchase is Sambegou Bangoura who cost the Potters £900,000. Their record sale was Mike Sheron to Queen's Park Rangers for the sum of £2.5m, a huge sum in 1997.
Peter Coates, chairman, is also a former shareholder of the catering company which supplies to the majority of Northern England's football grounds, Stadia Catering, as well as being the chairman of Bet 365, the betting company which provides services in many sporting venues, however, not the Britannia Stadium.
Stoke became the first Icelandic owned football club outside of Iceland in 2000, with a consortium purchasing the majority share of the club from Keith Humphries and Peter Coates.
Stan Clarke of horse racing and property development fame sat on the board of directors for a brief period, his highlight being the supervision of the move from the Victoria Ground to the Britannia Stadium.
Stoke have an unfortunate history of hooliganism, along with Cardiff City, Millwall and Leeds United, trouble is automatically expected when visiting fans with any history meet. This has, however, been significantly reduced since the introduction of an Away Travel ID scheme.
For the first time in a long time, it is now considered that Stoke City has a united boardroom with its directors determined to achieve success.
[edit] Club Honours
- Football League Division Two champions 1933, 1963, 1993
- Third Division (North) champions 1927
- League Cup finalists 1963
- League Cup winners 1972
- Autoglass Trophy winners 1992
- Auto Windscreens Shield winners 2000
- FA Cup semi-finalists 1899, 1971 & 1972
- Watney Cup winners 1973
- Isle of Man Trophy winners 1988, 1992, 1993
[edit] Records
Attendance records:
- 51,380 (Victoria Ground) vs. Arsenal F.C. 29 March 1937
- Estimated 52,000 at the Centenary Game against Real Madrid 1963
- 28,218 (Britannia Stadium) vs. Everton F.C. 5 January 2002
Highest league position and record results:
- Highest league position at the end of season: 4th in Division 1 (1947)
- Record league victory: 10-3 v. West Bromwich Albion F.C. (1937)
- Record league defeat: 0-10 v. Preston North End F.C. (1889)
[edit] Current Squad
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[edit] Out on loan
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[edit] Past Managers
- Tony Pulis (June 2006 - )
- Johan Boskamp (June 2005 - May 2006)
- Tony Pulis (Nov 2002 - June 2005)
- Dave Kevan (October 2002) Caretaker Manager
- Steve Cotterill (May 2002 - October 2002)
- Gudjon Thordarson (November 1999 - May 2002)
- Gary Megson (July 1999 - November 1999)
- Brian Little (June 1998 - June 1999)
- Alan Durban (April 1998 - June 1998) Caretaker Manager
- Chris Kamara (Jan 1998 - April 1998)
- Chic Bates (July 1997 - Jan 1998)
- Lou Macari (October 1994 - July 1997)
- Asa Hartford (Sept 1994) Caretaker Manager
- Joe Jordan (Nov 1993 - Sep 1994)
- Lou Macari (May 1991 - Oct 1993)
- Graham Paddon (Feb 1991 - May 1991) Caretaker Manager
- Alan Ball (Nov 1989 - Feb 1991)
- Mick Mills (May 1985 - November 1989
- Tony Lacey (April 1985) - Caretaker
- Bill Asprey (Dec 1983 - April 1985)
- Richie Barker (June 1981 - Dec 1983)
- Alan Durban (Feb 1978 - June 1981)
- Alan A'Court (Jan 1978) - Caretaker
- George Eastham (Feb 1977 - Jan 1978)
- Tony Waddington (June 1960 - March 1977)
- Frank Taylor (June 1952 - June 1960)
- Bob McGrory (June 1935 - May 1952)
- Tom Mather (Oct 1923 - June 1935)
- John Rutherford (March 1923 - April 1923)
- Arthur Shallcross (Feb 1919 - March 1923)
- Joseph Schofield(April 1915 - Feb 1919)
- Peter Hodge (June 1914 - April 1915)
- Alfred Barker (May 1908 - June 1914)
- Horace Austerberry (Sept 1897 - March 1908)
- William Rowley (May 1895 - Sept 1897)
- Arthur Reeves (Jan 1892 - May 1895)
- Joseph Bradshaw (Aug 1890 - Jan 1892)
- Harry Lockett (April 1884 - Aug 1890)
- Walter Cox (Jun 1883 - April 1884)
- Thomas Slaney (August 1874 - June 1883)
[edit] Famous Players
- Sir Stanley Matthews
- Sir Geoff Hurst
- Gordon Banks (most capped player, 73)
- Peter Shilton
- Alan Hudson
- Jimmy Greenhoff
- John Ritchie (all-time top scorer, with 171 goals in league and cup)
- Eric Skeels (most appearances, 575)
- Neil Franklin
- Mike Pejic
- Leigh Richmond Roose (early 20th century goalkeeper)
- Frank Soo (first non-white person to play for England)
- Frank Bowyer
- Denis Smith
- Garth Crooks
- Mark Stein
[edit] Famous Fans
- Nick Hancock
- Stephen Foster (author)
- Dave Harold (snooker player - nicknamed the "The Stoke Potter")
- Ted Hankey (darts player)
- Dominic Cork (England Cricketer)
- Freddie Jones (Actor)
- Mark Holmes (Journalist)
- Kate Barker
- Stephen Fleming (NZ Cricket captain)
[edit] External links
General:
- The Stoke Blog - Daily events at the Britannia - blogged.
- Stoke City Mad - statistics and more
- Stoke City News
- Stoke City F.C. on BBC Sport: Club News - Recent results - Upcoming fixtures - Club stats
Chat and messageboards:
Regional and supporters:
- Merseyside Potters - Liverpool-based supporters
- Manchester and Northern - Stokies in the North
- Ninety Miles From Home - City supporters from Leeds
- Southern Stokies - Potters fans in the South
- Stoke City Wheels In Motion - Disabled supporters group
- Potters Trust - Official supporters club
- Danish Potters
Fanzines:
| Football League Championship, 2006-2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Barnsley | Birmingham City | Burnley | Cardiff City | Colchester United | Coventry City | Crystal Palace | Derby County | Hull City | Ipswich Town | Leeds United | Leicester City | Luton Town | Norwich City | Plymouth Argyle | Preston North End | Queens Park Rangers | Sheffield Wednesday | Southampton | Southend United | Stoke City | Sunderland | West Bromwich Albion | Wolverhampton Wanderers edit |
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