Wembley Red
gifts like stoke city fc
In 1863 a number of employees from the North Staffordshire Railway works based in Stoke-on-Trent put together a football team going by the name of Stoke Ramblers. Their first recorded game was in October 1868 against E.W.May club at the Ramblers first ground; the Victoria Cricket Club. Stokes only goal came by the football gifts and team captain, Henry Almond who played a vital role in the clubs creation. The game ended a 1-1 draw. Stoke Ramblers first documented win was a 2-0 victory when they met close neighbours Newcastle-under-Lyme. The popularity of the Ramblers soon grew within Stoke-on-Trent with more people turning out to see their games so a larger venue was needed to cope with demand and in 1875 the club moved to a more substantial ground, the chosen place was Sweetings Field. Up until now Stoke Ramblers had only played in friendlies but this changed in 1877 when Staffordshire Football Association was created and with it the County Cup. Stoke excelled in this competition, winning it in the opening season, beating Talke Rangers 1-0. A record was produced by the club in this competition, one which still stands today; their 26-0 win over a humiliated Mow Cop. The football gifts of Stoke Ramblers had become the largest club in the area and this was enforced further by defending the County Cup successfully the following season. By now Stoke had also out grown Sweetings Field ground and a larger site was required. Stoke Victoria Athletic Club was the ideal place and future games would be held there. Later this became known as the Victoria Ground and in addition Stoke Ramblers changed their name to Stoke Football Club. During this period the famous red and white striped kit of Stoke was also adopted. To try out their skills further afield they entered the Birmingham Association Cup which formed in 1881. Unfortunately they received a thrashing at the hands of Aston Villa in the opening round with end score a depressing 8-0. However, the following year the club reached the final of the Staffordshire Senior Cup but missed out on cup victory to West Bromwich Albion 3-2. The main competition that the club felt they weren’t ready for was the FA Cup which had been running for over a decade at this time but in 1883 the club entered but were soon knocked out. 1885 saw football turn professional and in August of that year so did Stoke. The clubs luck in the FA Cup had been zero that was until 1886 when they triumphed for the first time and beat Caernarfon 10-0 at the Victoria Ground.
In 1888 saw the formation of the Football League with Stoke been one of the twelve founding members. Harry Lockett, Stokes manager during this episode had a crucial role in the setup and organization of the Football League. He felt his input and guidance was more fitting to the newly formed league that he resigned as manager of Stoke and took up the post of first secretary for the Football League in 1890. The opening couple of seasons for the club could not have got off to a worse start as they finished bottom of the tables. To add insult to injury Stoke didn’t get the support from the other members and were refused participation in the league’s third season. Their replacement came in the form of Sunderland a strong up and coming club whom the league contemplated would achieve greater results with their football gifts. However, Stokes relegation to the Football Alliance was short lived as they topped the tables and crowned champions. More so, the Football League added additional places making room for two more clubs. With this Stoke were re-elected to participate and kept their place secure for many years. In 1899 the club had their finest season to date, reaching the FA Cup semi-final under manager Horace Austerberry but the joys soon hit lows. The clubs many problems beneath the surface were showing their faces, one been money. Financially the club was in a sticky situation and became the major factor in 1908 when once again they lost their place in the Football League. They did manage to regain their status in 1915 and were approved to compete once more in the league.
In 1925 Stoke Football Club became Stoke City FC after Stoke-on-Trent was granted City status.
Stoke like every club up and down the land has their favourite players. When the football gifts of Stanley Matthews the local boy from the outskirts of Hanley town centre made his debut appearance for the club aged 17 in 1932, he had no idea how symbolic his name would come to be in Stoke and indeed football itself. Sir Stan, when knighted later is a football Prodigy in Stoke-on-Trent and his name will always be synonymous with the city. Ironically the first goal he scored for Stoke was against big local rivals Port Vale, a club he supported in his adolescent years. Sadly for the club, Stan departed for Blackpool in 1947.
Stoke had never found it difficult to attract large crowds to their games but by 1960 the attendances were dropping off. Many matches were been observed by less than 10,000 spectators. Tony Waddington a man who had served Stoke since 1952 as a coach was appointed manager. He is widely considered Stokes greatest manager and his power of persuasion was impressive as demonstrated when he lured football gifts like Stanley Matthews back to Stoke in 1961. Stan’s return caused an instant increase in the attendance numbers with over 35,000 turning out to see his first game back. Stoke seemed to be going in a new direction with fortune on their side. They escaped relegation and finished the tables in a comfortable 8th. The season after the club went one better by finishing top of the table and subsequently won promotion to Division 1. Their first season saw them finish with mediocre results, this was enough to see them finish middle of the table and safe from relegation as some expected. In 1964 they managed to reach the Football League Cup final which was played over 2 legs against Leicester but with the undesirable result Stoke City had wished for; loosing 3-2 in the second leg. 1965 saw Stanley Matthews hang up his boots and retire from football and leave Stoke City. He was 50 years old and in the 33 years of playing professional football he had never been shown a yellow card or sent off – astonishing.
1967 Stoke City signed World Cup legend and probably the best goal keeper in the world at the time Gordon Banks from Leicester for a massive £52,000 and just five years later Stoke won their biggest trophy to date. 1972 is the year the club will always be remembered for when they beat Chelsea FC 2-1 at Wembley and lifted the League Cup trophy. Chelsea were firm favourites to take the title after already winning the FA Cup and UEFA Cup Winners Cup. Football gifts like George Eastham had other ideas and scored the winning goal for Stoke. This would be Gordon Banks last trophy. October 1972 Banks lost control of his car and also the sight in his right eye in the accident and agonizingly had to take early retirement at the age of 34.
Waddington made other significant signings like Alan Hudson and Peter Shilton in the 70’s but disaster was looming when in 1976 the Butler Stand roof was blown off in heavy gales. This left the club with a huge repair bill in the region of £250,000, one that could only be met by selling off key players. Up until this calamity Stoke were in the best position they had ever seen. This misfortune had cost the club dearly and a deflated Waddington resigned after 17 years of service to the club.
Stokes decline was inevitable and they broke new records but for all the wrong reasons. In 1984/85 they only managed to win 3 games in the whole season which gave them the lowest points scored in the history of top flight football. It took 21 years for the record to be broken by Sunderland in 2005/06.
Worse was yet to come when in the 1989/90 season they finished bottom of Division 2 and were relegated to Division 3 under manager Alan Ball.
Improvement came in the football gifts and former ex Celtic player Lou Macari in May 1991. They almost gained promotion in his first season in charge but narrowly missed out when they finished 4th. Macari guided Stoke to their 1-0 Autoglass victory over Stockport County at Wembley. The next season Stoke finished champions in Division 3 and promotion was theirs. Celtic was always Lou’s first love and when offered the managers job in 1993 he accepted.
Stoke City had been playing their games at the Victoria Ground for 119 years, making this a record in itself. No club in Britain had played at one ground for as many years. In 1997 the clubs new ground would be the all new 28,000 seater Britannia Stadium. The following years Stoke missed out on top flight football a few times.
In 2006 Peter Coates, former chairman of the club brought Stoke City FC and reappointed ex manager Tony Pulis. May 4th 2008 was a massive day to remember for Stoke as the club won promotion to the Premier League. It had been a long 23 year wait and many thought their time in the Premiership would be a much shorter spell but Stoke surprised the sceptics and finished their opening season mid table.
About the Author
http://www.footyfrenzy.co.uk
Gary Moore – Red House (Hendrix Cover) – Wembley Arena 04
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