1908–09 Stoke F.C. season

Stoke
1908–09 season
ChairmanMr Rev. A Hurst
ManagerAlfred Barker
StadiumVictoria Ground
Birmingham & District League8th (31 Points)
FA CupFirst Round
Top goalscorerLeague: William Davies
(14)
All: William Davies
(14)
Highest home attendance12,000 vs Crewe Alexandra
(23 January 1909)
Lowest home attendance2,500 vs Halesowen
(20 March 1909)
Average home league attendance5,117

The 1908–09 season was Stoke's first season in the Birmingham & District League.

With Stoke now out of the Football League they entered the Birmingham & District League for the 1908–09 season. With a new board, chairman, manager and squad Stoke used the season as a rebuilding one and the crowds began to return to the Victoria Ground. Stoke finished in eight place with 31 Points.[1]

Season review

League

Stoke now playing in the Birmingham & District League, which included the reserve teams of Aston Villa, Birmingham, West Brom and Wolves plus some other useful opposition.[1] With Alfred Barker now the manager the team itself was made up of an mixture of ex-professionals and amateurs.[1] Of those which remained with the club were William Davies, Ernest Mullineux, Fred Rathbone and Sam Baddeley.[1] Barker used 32 players during the season and eighth place was secured in the final league table.[1]

Crowds were often good and there were turnouts of 7,000+ for a few league matches which confirmed that the club still had its local support.[1] Wins of 7–0 over Wellington Town 5–0 over Walsall and 5–3 over Villa's second string were among the best performances while the nadir was an 8–1 defeat to West Brom reserves.[1] Stoke's goalkeeper against Albion was Harry Cotton who after the match was sacked by Barker.[1]

FA Cup

Stoke made a poor exit in the first round being well beaten 5–0 at Sheffield Wednesday.[1]

Final league table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1 Aston Villa Reserves 34 24 6 4 118 36 3.278 54
2 Crewe Alexandra 34 24 4 6 99 42 2.357 52
3 Wolverhampton Wanderers Reserves 34 21 6 7 71 46 1.543 48
4 West Bromwich Albion Reserves 34 18 6 10 85 43 1.977 42
5 Brierley Hill Alliance 34 14 8 12 57 54 1.056 36
6 Shrewsbury Town 34 11 13 10 51 48 1.063 35
7 Kidderminster Harriers 34 13 6 15 58 85 0.682 32
8 Stoke 34 13 5 16 71 64 1.109 31
9 Worcester City 34 14 3 17 71 70 1.014 31
10 Stafford Rangers 34 11 9 14 51 63 0.810 31
11 Wrexham 34 14 3 17 60 76 0.789 31
12 Birmingham Reserves 34 11 7 16 53 73 0.726 29
13 Burton United 34 13 3 18 48 75 0.640 29
14 Stourbridge 34 9 10 15 49 57 0.860 28
15 Walsall 34 10 8 16 47 56 0.839 28
16 Wellington Town 34 11 5 18 60 86 0.698 27
17 Halesowen 34 11 4 19 42 83 0.506 26
18 Dudley Town 34 10 2 22 55 89 0.618 22
Source: [citation needed]

Results

Stoke's score comes first

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Birmingham & District League

Match Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
1 5 September 1908 Aston Villa Reserves H 5–3 12,000 Myatt (2), Owen (2), Davies
2 12 September 1908 Walsall A 0–3 4,200
3 14 September 1908 Stourbridge A 2–2 2,000 Howshall (2)
4 19 September 1908 Crewe Alexandra A 2–3 4,000 Davies, Pitt
5 19 September 1908 Burton United H 0–1 4,000
6 26 September 1908 Kidderminster Harriers H 3–1 4,500 Greaves (2), Davies
7 3 October 1908 Brierley Hill Alliance A 4–3 3,000 Greaves (2), Davies, Pitt
8 10 October 1908 Wellington Town H 7–0 5,000 Millward (3), Horrocks (2), Pitt, Davies
9 17 October 1908 Worcester City A 1–5 2,500 Davies
10 24 October 1908 Dudley Town H 4–0 5,000 Davies, Greaves, Horrocks, Pitt
11 31 October 1908 West Bromwich Albion Reserves A 1–8 5,000 Davies
12 7 November 1908 Birmingham Reserves H 0–1 5,000
13 14 November 1908 Halesowen A 0–2 200
14 28 November 1908 Shrewsbury Town A 1–3 2,000 Gorman
15 5 December 1908 Stourbridge H 2–0 5,000 McAllister, Cook
16 12 December 1908 Stafford Rangers A 1–1 3,000 Davies (pen)
17 19 December 1908 Wolverhampton Wanderers Reserves H 3–1 4,000 McAllister, Millward (2)
18 26 December 1908 Burton United A 1–2 3,000 Davies
19 28 December 1908 Wrexham H 4–2 6,000 Davies (2), Hargraves (2)
20 2 January 1909 Aston Villa Reserves A 1–4 5,000 Hargraves
21 9 January 1909 Walsall H 5–0 3,000 Hargraves, Davies (2), Horrocks, Millward
22 23 January 1909 Crewe Alexandra H 3–4 12,000 Millward, Gorman (2)
23 30 January 1909 Kidderminster Harriers A 2–3 2,500 Hargraves, Horrocks
24 6 February 1909 Brierley Hill Alliance H 2–0 3,000 Millward, McAllister
25 13 February 1909 Wellington Town A 1–1 2,000 Baddeley
26 20 February 1909 Worcester City H 3–0 5,000 Millward, Hargraves, Gorman
27 27 February 1909 Dudley Town A 2–2 1,500 Hargraves, Gorman
28 13 March 1909 Birmingham Reserves A 1–0 3,000 Hargraves
29 20 March 1909 Halesowen H 0–1 2,500
30 27 March 1909 Wrexham A 1–2 3,000 Eardley
31 3 April 1909 Shrewsbury Town H 1–2 3,000 Bullock
32 17 April 1909 Stafford Rangers H 3–3 4,000 Eardley, Hargraves, Gorman
33 19 April 1909 West Bromwich Albion Reserves H 5–0 4,000 Hargraves (2), Gorman, Millward, Kelly
34 26 April 1909 Wolverhampton Wanderers Reserves A 0–1 3,000

FA Cup

Main article: 1908–09 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
R1 16 January 1909 The Wednesday A 0–5 8,000

Squad statistics

Pos. Name League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK England Jack Benton 1 0 1 0 2 0
GK England Harry Cotton 2 0 0 0 2 0
GK England Bert Miller 11 0 0 0 11 0
GK England Fred Rathbone 18 0 0 0 18 0
GK England Fred Wain 2 0 0 0 2 0
FB England Harry Hutsby 31 0 1 0 32 0
FB England Charles James 5 0 0 0 5 0
FB England Ernest Mullineux 29 0 1 0 30 0
FB England George Turner 15 0 0 0 15 0
FB England Jimmy Williams 2 0 0 0 2 0
HB England Sam Baddeley 32 1 1 0 33 1
HB England Albert Cook 11 1 0 0 11 1
HB England William Harding 5 0 0 0 5 0
HB England Dick Hawe 1 0 0 0 1 0
HB England Chris Kelly 19 1 1 0 20 1
HB England Albert Pitt 31 4 1 0 32 4
HB England Josuah Turner 1 0 0 0 1 0
FW England Albert Bullock 4 1 0 0 4 1
FW England William Davies 20 14 1 0 21 14
FW England Francis Eardley 3 2 0 0 3 2
FW England Arthur Fielding 3 0 0 0 3 0
FW England Thomas Greaves 10 5 0 0 10 5
FW England Edwin Griffiths 7 0 0 0 7 0
FW England James Gorman 17 7 0 0 17 7
FW England Ade Hamnett 9 0 0 0 9 0
FW England Fred Hargraves 14 11 1 0 15 11
FW England Vic Horrocks 18 6 1 0 19 6
FW England Sam Howshall 1 2 0 0 1 2
FW Scotland Sam McAllister 15 3 1 0 16 3
FW England Ernie Millward 29 9 1 0 30 9
FW England Herbert Myatt 4 2 0 0 4 2
FW England Syd Owen 4 2 0 0 4 2

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.