1925–26 Stoke City F.C. season

Stoke City
1925–26 season
ChairmanMr A.McSherwin
ManagerTom Mather
StadiumVictoria Ground
Football League Second Division21st (32 Points)
FA CupFourth Round
Top goalscorerLeague: Harry Davies
& Bobby Archibald
(10)
All: Harry Davies
& Dick Johnson
(13)
Highest home attendance21,782 vs Port Vale
(7 September 1925)
Lowest home attendance6,670 vs Bradford City
(27 February 1926)
Average home league attendance12,144

The 1925–26 season was Stoke City's 26th season in the Football League and the seventh in the Second Division. It was also the first season under the name of Stoke City.

Stoke-on-Trent was granted city status in 1925 and so Stoke added the word 'City' to their name and have since been forever known as Stoke City. However, despite a change of name there was no change in fortunes on the pitch as Stoke failed to improve after last season's narrow escape and they were relegated to the Third Division North this time finishing one point from safety.[1]

Season review

League

The 1925–26 season was a season of change as Stoke F.C. became Stoke City F.C. and there was a new offside law introduced which allowed two opponents (not three as before) to be between the attacker and the goal.[1] This change prompted many high scoring matches throughout the county as teams struggled to adapt the changes with the traditional 2–3–5 formation, eventually teams started to use new formations and tactics.[1] But Stoke did not share the high scoring and they struggled all season with many disappointing displays.[1]

Injuries certainly hampered the team's efforts throughout the season and by the new year relegation looked inevitable and despite a late revival a failure to beat Southampton on the final day of the season sealed Stoke's fate and they dropped into the third tier for the first time.[1] However the signing of Huddersfield Town's Charlie Wilson in March 1926 proved to be a vital addition as he would be key in making sure Stoke's stay in the Third Division North would be a short one.[1]

FA Cup

With sides in the top two divisions now starting in the third round Stoke played Wigan Borough and beat them 5–2 however Stoke themselves were on the receiving end of a heavy cup defeat losing 6–3 to Swansea Town in the fourth round.[1]

Final league table

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Promotion or relegation
18 Barnsley 42 12 12 18 58 84 0.690 36
19 Fulham 42 11 12 19 46 77 0.597 34
20 Clapton Orient 42 12 9 21 50 65 0.769 33
21 Stoke City 42 12 8 22 54 77 0.701 32 Relegated
22 Stockport County 42 8 9 25 51 97 0.526 25
Source: [citation needed]

Results

Stoke's score comes first

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Football League Second Division

Main article: 1925–26 Football League
Match Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
1 29 August 1925 Stockport County H 3–0 17,296 Clennell (2), Archibald
2 31 August 1925 Port Vale A 0–3 20,000
3 5 September 1925 Fulham A 4–2 10,000 Davies (2), Ralphs (2)
4 7 September 1925 Port Vale H 0–3 21,782
5 12 September 1925 South Shields H 0–1 13,334
6 14 September 1925 Oldham Athletic A 2–7 6,680 Sellars, Howe (pen)
7 19 September 1925 Preston North End A 0–2 10,000
8 26 September 1925 Middlesbrough H 4–0 9,617 Paterson (3), Archibald
9 3 October 1925 Portsmouth A 0–2 12,000
10 10 October 1925 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 0–0 15,609
11 17 October 1925 Bradford City H 1–0 8,377 Davies
12 24 October 1925 Derby County A 3–7 15,000 Davies (2), Paterson
13 31 October 1925 Clapton Orient H 0–0 9,106
14 7 November 1925 Barnsley A 1–2 10,000 D Johnson
15 14 November 1925 Blackpool H 1–3 8,529 Archibald
16 21 November 1925 Darlington A 2–1 8,529 D Johnson, Clennell
17 28 November 1925 Hull City H 3–1 7,155 D Johnson, Clennell, Archibald
18 5 December 1925 Chelsea A 1–1 15,000 Davies
19 12 December 1925 Nottingham Forest H 1–1 9,033 Archibald
20 19 December 1925 Southampton A 2–1 9,033 D Johnson, Clennell
21 25 December 1925 Swansea Town A 1–1 12,000 Davies
22 26 December 1925 Swansea Town H 1–1 19,814 Ralphs
23 2 January 1926 Stockport County A 1–2 6,600 Walker
24 16 January 1926 Fulham H 5–0 7,565 D Johnson (4), Archibald
25 23 January 1926 South Shields A 1–5 5,000 Davies
26 6 February 1926 Middlesbrough A 0–3 8,800
27 13 February 1926 Portsmouth H 2–1 11,724 Davies, Clifford (o.g.)
28 20 February 1926 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 1–5 15,000 Clennell
29 22 February 1926 Preston North End H 1–3 10,140 Archibald
30 27 February 1926 Bradford City A 1–2 6,140 Davies
31 6 March 1926 Derby County H 0–1 14,808
32 13 March 1926 Clapton Orient A 0–4 8,000
33 20 March 1926 Barnsley H 1–2 18,638 Archibald
34 27 March 1926 Blackpool A 0–0 7,500
35 3 April 1926 Darlington H 6–1 13,811 Clennell (2), Archibald, Wilson, Williams (2)
36 5 April 1926 The Wednesday H 0–1 18,138
37 6 April 1926 The Wednesday A 0–2 20,000
38 10 April 1926 Hull City A 0–1 6,000
39 17 April 1926 Chelsea H 1–3 10,219 Wilson
40 24 April 1926 Nottingham Forest A 2–1 12,000 Archibald, Sellars
41 26 April 1926 Oldham Athletic H 1–0 8,461 Wilson
42 1 May 1926 Southampton H 1–1 8,012 D Johnson

FA Cup

Main article: 1925–26 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
R3 9 January 1926 Wigan Borough A 5–2 3,992 D Johnson (3), Davies (2)
R4 30 January 1926 Swansea Town A 3–6 21,000 D Johnson, Davies, Beswick

Squad statistics

Pos. Name League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK Scotland Kenny Campbell 7 0 0 0 7 0
GK England Bob Dixon 34 0 2 0 36 0
GK England Percy Knott 1 0 0 0 1 0
DF England Tommy Howe 6 1 0 0 6 1
DF Scotland Bob McGrory 36 0 2 0 38 0
DF England Alec Milne 25 0 2 0 27 0
DF England Harold Robson 1 0 0 0 1 0
DF England Billy Spencer 16 0 0 0 16 0
MF England Ewart Beswick 23 0 1 1 24 1
MF England Harry Brough 5 0 0 0 5 0
MF England Tommy Dawson 8 0 0 0 8 0
MF Scotland George Dickie 1 0 0 0 1 0
MF England Reginald Hodgkins 2 0 0 0 2 0
MF England Peter Jackson 10 0 0 0 10 0
MF England Sam Johnson 30 0 2 0 32 0
MF England Alec McClure 4 0 2 0 6 0
MF England Harry Sellars 13 2 0 0 13 2
MF England John Walker 25 1 1 0 26 1
FW Scotland Bobby Archibald 42 10 2 0 44 10
FW England Len Armitage 14 0 0 0 14 0
FW England Walter Bussey 4 0 0 0 4 0
FW England Joe Clennell 24 8 2 0 26 8
FW England John Cull 3 0 0 0 3 0
FW England Harry Davies 30 10 2 3 32 13
FW England Jack Eyres 3 0 0 0 3 0
FW England Charles Hallam 6 0 0 0 6 0
FW England Dick Johnson 31 9 2 4 33 13
FW England Charles Kelly 1 0 0 0 1 0
FW Scotland James Maxwell 10 0 0 0 10 0
FW Scotland George Paterson 7 4 0 0 7 4
FW England Bert Ralphs 16 3 2 0 18 3
FW England Arthur Watkin 2 0 0 0 2 0
FW England Joey Williams 11 2 0 0 11 2
FW England Charlie Wilson 11 3 0 0 11 3
– Own goals – 1 – 0 – 1

References

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