1916–17 Stoke F.C. season

Stoke
1916–17 season
ChairmanMr E.Reynish
ManagerJoe Schofield
StadiumVictoria Ground
Lancashire Section Primary Competition3rd
Lancashire Section Secondary Competition Group D2nd
Top goalscorerBob Whittingham
(22)
Highest home attendance14,500 vs Port Vale
(21 April 1917)
Lowest home attendance2,000 vs Various teams

The 1916–17 season was Stoke's second season in the non-competitive War League.[1]

With the start of World War I, all Football League football was cancelled.[1] In its place were formed War Leagues, based on geographical lines rather than based on previous league placement. Stoke contested the Lancashire Section in the Principal Tournament, and the Lancashire Section Secondary Competition Group D. However, none of these were considered to be competitive football, and thus their records are not recognised by the Football League.[1]

Season review

In the Primary Competition of the Lancashire League Stoke finished in 3rd place with 39 points whilst in the Secondary Competition they finished 2nd with 6 points.[1] During this season the lowest ever attendance was recorded for a Stoke first team match when 394 people saw Stoke play Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park in October 1916.[1] Stoke's best victory in the 1916–17 season was a 7–0 over Bolton Wanderers which was sweet revenge after they had beaten Stoke 9–2 earlier in the season.[1]

Final league table

Lancashire Section Primary Competition

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1 Liverpool 30 19 8 3 62 26 2.385 46
2 Stockport County 30 18 7 5 61 31 1.968 43
3 Stoke 30 16 7 7 64 36 1.778 39
4 Manchester City 30 14 9 7 49 29 1.690 37
5 Everton 30 15 7 8 62 41 1.512 37
6 Burnley 30 15 4 11 73 56 1.304 34
7 Manchester United 30 13 6 11 48 54 0.889 32
8 Rochdale 30 12 5 13 47 54 0.870 29
9 Southport Central 30 10 8 12 40 43 0.930 28
10 Bolton Wanderers 30 9 6 15 59 65 0.908 24
11 Blackburn Rovers 30 10 4 16 52 66 0.788 24
12 Preston North End 30 8 7 15 47 65 0.723 23
13 Bury 30 7 8 15 40 63 0.635 22
14 Oldham Athletic 30 8 6 16 36 65 0.554 22
15 Port Vale 30 7 7 16 50 60 0.833 21
16 Blackpool 30 6 7 17 44 80 0.550 19
Source: rsssf.com

Lancashire Section Secondary Competition Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1 Manchester United 6 4 0 2 15 9 1.667 8
2 Stoke 6 3 0 3 11 6 1.833 6
3 Port Vale 6 2 1 3 9 12 0.750 5
4 Manchester City 6 2 1 3 3 11 0.273 5
Source: rsssf.com

Results

Stoke's score comes first

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Lancashire Section Primary Competition

Match Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
1 2 September 1916 Manchester City H 1–0 6,000 Ellis
2 9 September 1916 Everton A 1–1 14,000 Bridgett
3 16 September 1916 Rochdale H 1–1 5,000 Turner
4 23 September 1916 Bolton Wanderers A 2–9 10,000 Bridgett (2)
5 30 September 1916 Port Vale H 0–0 10,000
6 7 October 1916 Oldham Athletic A 1–1 394 Herbert
7 14 October 1916 Preston North End H 2–0 3,000 Herbert (2)
8 21 October 1916 Burnley A 1–4 3,00 Herbert
9 28 October 1916 Manchester United H 3–0 5,000 Herbert, Bridgett, Jones
10 4 November 1916 Liverpool A 1–3 12,000 Turner
11 11 November 1916 Stockport County H 2–0 3,000 Bridgett, Humphries
12 18 November 1916 Bury A 3–0 2,000 Jones, Herbert, Howell
13 25 November 1916 Blackpool A 1–1 3,000 Humphries
14 2 December 1916 Southport Central H 2–1 2,000 Herbert, Bridgett
15 9 December 1916 Blackburn Rovers A 1–1 3,000 Howell
16 23 December 1916 Everton H 0–2 5,000
17 25 December 1916 Manchester City A 0–1 12,000
18 30 December 1916 Rochdale A 1–0 2,000 Bridgett
19 6 January 1917 Bolton Wanderers H 7–0 2,500 Whittingham (2), Howell (2), Herbert (2), Parker
20 13 January 1917 Port Vale A 2–1 10,000 Whittingham, Harrison
21 20 January 1917 Oldham Athletic H 4–0 2,000 Whittingham (2), Bridgett, Own Goal
22 27 January 1917 Preston North End A 1–1 3,000 Limer
23 3 February 1917 Burnley H 6–0 5,000 Whittingham (4), Herbert, Harrison
24 10 February 1917 Manchester United A 2–4 7,000 Howell (2)
25 17 February 1917 Liverpool H 1–0 12,000 Whittingham
26 24 February 1917 Stockport County A 1–2 4,500 Own Goal
27 3 March 1917 Bury H 5–2 5,000 Whittingham (2), Bridgett (2), Howell
28 10 March 1917 Blackpool H 6–0 6,000 Whittingham (2), Howell (2), Herbert, Harrison
29 17 March 1917 Southport Central A 2–0 2,500 Whittingham (2)
30 24 March 1917 Blackburn Rovers H 4–1 4,000 Whittingham (2), Harrison (2)

Lancashire Section Secondary Competition Group D

Match Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
1 31 March 1917 Manchester United H 2–1 7,000 Whittingham, Howell
2 6 April 1917 Manchester City A 0–1 12,000
3 7 April 1917 Port Vale A 2–3 12,000 Whittingham (2)
4 9 April 1917 Manchester City H 5–0 8,000 Whittingham, Bridgett, Howell (3)
5 14 April 1917 Manchester United A 0–1 9,000
6 21 April 1917 Port Vale H 2–0 14,000 Herbert, Howell

Squad statistics

Pos. Name Matches
Apps Goals
GK England Richard Herron 36 0
DF England Arthur Allman 25 0
DF England Alec Milne 5 0
DF England Jack Maddock 3 0
DF England George Turner 35 2
DF England Billy Twemlow 6 0
MF England Sammy Brooks 3 0
MF England George Dobson 23 0
MF Wales Joe Jones 34 2
MF England Tom Kinson 2 0
MF England George Limer 17 1
MF Scotland R. McCarthy 4 0
MF England A. Morris 1 0
MF England Charlie Parker 32 1
FW England J. Bridgett 25 11
FW England Albert Ellis 6 1
FW England Thomas Greaves 2 0
FW England Billy Harrison 31 5
FW England Billy Herbert 25 12
FW England Harry Howell 26 14
FW England Howard Humphries 6 2
FW England Dick Smith 5 0
FW England Billy Tempest 1 0
FW England Eli Turner 6 0
FW England Arthur Watkin 1 0
FW England Bob Whittingham 18 22

References

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