The 1896–97 season was Stoke's eighth season in the Football League.
| 1896–97 season | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Mr S. Barker | |
| Manager | Bill Rowley | |
| Stadium | Victoria Ground | |
| Football League First Division | 13th (25 Points) | |
| FA Cup | Second Round | |
| Top goalscorer | League: William Maxwell (13) All: William Maxwell (16) | |
| Highest home attendance | 8,000 vs Everton (2 January 1897) | |
| Lowest home attendance | 2,500 vs Bury (12 April 1897) | |
| Average home league attendance | 5,400 | |
|
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After last season's success of finishing in 6th position there was high hopes that it would signal a change in the club's fortunes. Alas it was a disappointing season for Stoke as little progress was made and they finished the season in 13th position with 25 points.[1]
Season review
editLeague
editAs the 1896–97 season beckoned there was a lot of talk of Stoke purchasing the football pitch at the cricket ground in the town, with a considerable amount of financial backing promised.[1] However this never materialised much to the disappointment of chairman Mr S. Barker.[1] During the campaign itself a total of 16 players made their senior debuts for the club including Zeke Johnston, Stoke's first Irishman signed from Burnley.[1] There was little progress in the league with a 13th-place finish.[1] The best result of the season saw Stoke beat Liverpool 6–1 in February 1897.[1] Long serving forward Billy Dickson retired as did half-back Davy Brodie.[1]
FA Cup
editAfter beating Glossop 5–2 in the first round Stoke lost 2–1 in the next to Preston North End.[1]
Final league table
edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Nottingham Forest | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 44 | 49 | 0.898 | 26 | |
| 12 | West Bromwich Albion | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 33 | 56 | 0.589 | 26 | |
| 13 | Stoke | 30 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 48 | 59 | 0.814 | 25 | |
| 14 | Blackburn Rovers | 30 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 35 | 62 | 0.565 | 25 | |
| 15 | Sunderland (O) | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 34 | 47 | 0.723 | 23 | Qualification for test matches |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(O) Play-off winners
Results
editStoke's score comes first
Legend
edit| Win | Draw | Loss |
Football League First Division
edit| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 September 1896 | Aston Villa | A | 1–2 | 5,000 | Schofield |
| 2 | 5 September 1896 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 2–1 | 7,000 | Johnson, Wood |
| 3 | 12 September 1896 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–4 | 3,500 | |
| 4 | 19 September 1896 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 2–3 | 4,000 | Schofield, Eccles |
| 5 | 26 September 1896 | The Wednesday | A | 3–4 | 6,000 | Schofield, Wood, Johnson |
| 6 | 10 October 1896 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 2–1 | 5,000 | W Maxwell, Wood |
| 7 | 17 October 1896 | Nottingham Forest | H | 3–0 | 5,000 | W Maxwell, Schofield, Johnson |
| 8 | 24 October 1896 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–4 | 4,000 | |
| 9 | 31 October 1896 | Aston Villa | H | 0–2 | 4,000 | |
| 10 | 7 November 1896 | Derby County | A | 1–5 | 3,000 | W Maxwell |
| 11 | 9 November 1896 | Preston North End | H | 2–1 | 4,000 | W Maxwell, Eardley |
| 12 | 14 November 1896 | Bury | A | 2–4 | 3,000 | A Maxwell, Wood |
| 13 | 21 November 1896 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 2–2 | 6,200 | W Maxwell (2) |
| 14 | 28 November 1896 | Preston North End | A | 0–3 | 5,000 | |
| 15 | 5 December 1896 | Derby County | H | 2–2 | 5,000 | W Maxwell (2) |
| 16 | 12 December 1896 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 2–1 | 1,105 | W Maxwell (2) |
| 17 | 19 December 1896 | Everton | A | 2–4 | 7,000 | W Maxwell, Schofield |
| 18 | 2 January 1897 | Everton | H | 2–3 | 8,000 | W Maxwell, Schofield |
| 19 | 9 January 1897 | Burnley | A | 3–1 | 3,000 | A Maxwell (2), Schofield |
| 20 | 16 January 1897 | Liverpool | A | 0–1 | 7,000 | |
| 21 | 23 January 1897 | The Wednesday | H | 0–0 | 5,000 | |
| 22 | 6 February 1897 | Liverpool | H | 6–1 | 7,000 | Schofield (2), W Maxwell, Hill (2), Hingerty |
| 23 | 20 February 1897 | Sunderland | A | 1–4 | 2,000 | Schofield |
| 24 | 27 February 1897 | Burnley | H | 3–2 | 8,000 | Hill (2), Hingerty |
| 25 | 20 March 1897 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1–2 | 8,000 | Hingerty |
| 26 | 27 March 1897 | Sheffield United | A | 0–1 | 2,000 | |
| 27 | 3 April 1897 | Sunderland | H | 0–1 | 5,000 | |
| 28 | 10 April 1897 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1–0 | 5,000 | Hill |
| 29 | 12 April 1897 | Bury | H | 3–0 | 2,500 | Hill, Schofield, Darroch (o.g.) |
| 30 | 15 April 1897 | Sheffield United | H | 2–0 | 3,000 | Hingerty, W Maxwell |
FA Cup
edit| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 30 January 1897 | Glossop | H | 5–2 | 2,000 | W Maxwell (2), Schofield, Hingerty (2) |
| R2 | 13 February 1897 | Preston North End | A | 1–2 | 6,000 | W Maxwell |
Squad statistics
edit| Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| GK |  Albert Boardman
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| GK |  Zeke Johnston
|
16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| GK | Fred Latham
|
5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| GK | Bill Rowley
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| GK | Fred Sheldon
|
5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| FB | Tommy Clare
|
30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| FB | Peter Durber
|
17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| FB | Jack Eccles
|
13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| HB | Lucien Boullemier
|
7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| HB |  Davy Brodie
|
17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| HB | Bill Fearns
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| HB | Jimmy Grewer
|
22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| HB | Ted McDonald
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| HB | Jim Peacock
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| HB | Harry Simpson
|
8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| HB | Arthur Rowley
|
25 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| HB | Alf Wood
|
12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 4 |
| FW | Billy Baird
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| FW | Arthur Bentley
|
5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| FW | Samuel Cole
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | Billy Dickson
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| FW | Billy Eardley
|
10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| FW | Billy Heames
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| FW | Jimmy Hill
|
10 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 6 |
| FW | Jim Hingerty
|
10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 6 |
| FW | Freddie Johnson
|
14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 3 |
| FW | Allan Maxwell
|
23 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 3 |
| FW | William Maxwell
|
29 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 31 | 16 |
| FW | Joe Schofield
|
29 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 31 | 13 |
| FW | Samuel Woods
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| – | Own goals | – | 1 | – | 0 | – | 1 |