1989–90 Stoke City F.C. season

The 1989–90 season was Stoke City's 83rd season in the Football League and 30th in the Second Division.

Stoke City
1989–90 season
ChairmanPeter Coates
ManagerMick Mills,
Alan Ball
StadiumVictoria Ground
Football League Second Division24th (37 Points)
FA CupThird Round
League CupSecond Round
Full Members' CupSecond Round
Top goalscorerLeague: Wayne Biggins
(10)

All: Wayne Biggins
(11)
Highest home attendance27,032 vs Port Vale
(23 September 1989)
Lowest home attendance8,139 vs Oxford United
(10 April 1990)
Average home league attendance12,499

The pressure was now on Mick Mills after four seasons without a serious promotion challenge and he spent big in the summer with £1 million worth of talent arriving at the Victoria Ground. However Stoke's overall performances left a lot to be desired and after failing to gain a victory until their 12th match Stoke hit the bottom of the table. With no improvement Mills paid the price and was sacked in November with former World Cup winner Alan Ball taking charge. Ball was unable to stop the slide into the third tier for only the second time in the club's history.[1]

Season review

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League

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After four seasons of mid-table finishes manager Mick Mills spent big to turn Stoke into a side capable of gaining promotion to the First Division.[1] He spent good money, breaking the club's record transfer of £480,000 for Sheffield Wednesday defender Ian Cranson, £75,000 on Derek Statham from West Bromwich Albion, £175,000 for Ian Scott and £250,000 for Wayne Biggins both from Manchester City.[1] All four started the first match of the season in a 1–1 draw at home to West Ham United in front of an expectant crowd of 16,058.[1] The teams's overall displays, however, left a lot to be desired and favourable results proved elusive, Stoke failing to win any of their first 11 matches.[1]

Injuries, refereeing decisions and a spate of draws saw Stoke hit bottom spot in November after collecting just two wins in 19.[1] With the club heading towards the third tier for the first time since 1927 Mills paid the price for his failure and was dismissed.[1] Into Mills' place came Alan Ball, a former World Cup winner with England, whose previous job was with Portsmouth. Ball was appointed as Mills' assistant two months earlier.[1] He made an instant impact as Stoke beat Newcastle United on Boxing Day.[1] But injury to Ian Cranson against Bournemouth in March put a dent in any hopes of a revival.[1] Ball chose to wheel and deal in the transfer market in an effort to halt the club's slide.[1] He had come to the conclusion that the squad he had inherited was simply not good enough and out went Chris Kamara, Dave Bamber, Leigh Palin, Carl Saunders, Gary Hackett and Nicky Morgan.[1] Into the side came Tony Ellis, Lee Sandford, Tony Kelly, Dave Kevan, Paul Barnes and Noel Blake.[1]

It was a big gamble by Ball to change the squad around so much so quickly and it did not pay off, Stoke staying rooted to the bottom of the table and they subsequently fell through the trap door into the Third Division for the first time since 1927.[1] Stoke won only six of their 46 matches and scored just 35 goals, Biggins getting 10.[1] With Stoke's fate already sealed over 3,000 fans travelled to Brighton & Hove Albion for the final away match to have a 'relegation party'.[2] There were few bright spots during a dismal season which saw the Potteries derby make a return, 27,032 saw Stoke and Vale draw 1–1 on 23 September and at Vale Park 22,075 saw a dull 0–0 on 3 February.[1]

FA Cup

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Former fan favourites Steve Bould and Lee Dixon returned to the Victoria Ground with Arsenal and a crowd of 23,827 saw David O'Leary score the only goal of the tie.[1]

League Cup

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After beating First Division Millwall 1–0 in the first leg Stoke lost the second leg 2–0 with some controversial referring decisions going against Stoke which led to Mick Mills having to be restrained on the touchline.[1]

Full Members' Cup

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Stoke entered the Full Members' Cup for the final time and went out in the second round losing on penalties to Leeds United.[1]

Final league table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
20 West Bromwich Albion 46 12 15 19 67 71 −4 51
21 Middlesbrough 46 13 11 22 52 63 −11 50
22 Bournemouth (R) 46 12 12 22 57 76 −19 48 Relegation to the Third Division
23 Bradford City (R) 46 9 14 23 44 68 −24 41
24 Stoke City (R) 46 6 19 21 35 63 −28 37
Source: Statto
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(R) Relegated


Results

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Legend

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Win Draw Loss

Football League Second Division

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Match Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
1 19 August 1989 West Ham United H 1–1 16,058 Biggins 81'
2 26 August 1989 Portsmouth A 0–0 7,433
3 2 September 1989 Leeds United H 1–1 14,570 Cranson 29'
4 5 September 1989 Barnsley A 2–3 8,584 Berry 19' (pen), Morgan 58'
5 9 September 1989 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 0–0 15,659
6 16 September 1989 Oldham Athletic H 1–2 10,673 Bamber 65'
7 23 September 1989 Port Vale H 1–1 27,037 Palin 66'
8 26 September 1989 Bradford City H 1–1 9,346 Cranson 55'
9 30 September 1989 Ipswich Town A 2–2 10,389 Palin 47' (pen), Saunders 50'
10 7 October 1989 Plymouth Argyle A 0–3 6,940
11 14 October 1989 Hull City H 1–1 9,955 Biggins 3'
12 17 October 1989 West Bromwich Albion H 2–1 11,911 Hackett 8', Biggins 32'
13 21 October 1989 Sheffield United A 1–2 16,873 Palin 67' (pen)
14 28 October 1989 Sunderland H 0–2 12,480
15 1 November 1989 Oxford United A 0–3 4,375
16 4 November 1989 Swindon Town A 0–6 7,825
17 11 November 1989 Brighton & Hove Albion H 3–2 10,346 Beeston 1', Bamber 25', Kamara 30'
18 18 November 1989 Bournemouth A 1–2 6,412 Hilarie 84'
19 25 November 1989 Leicester City H 0–1 12,261
20 2 December 1989 West Ham United A 0–0 17,704
21 9 December 1989 Barnsley H 0–1 10,163
22 26 December 1989 Newcastle United H 2–1 14,878 Biggins 78', Beeston 90'
23 30 December 1989 Watford H 2–2 12,228 Biggins (2) 23', 26' (1 pen)
24 1 January 1990 Middlesbrough A 1–0 16,238 Ellis 61'
25 13 January 1990 Portsmouth H 1–2 12,051 Sandford 70'
26 20 January 1990 Leeds United A 0–2 29,318
27 27 January 1990 Blackburn Rovers A 0–3 9,132
28 3 February 1990 Port Vale A 0–0 22,075
29 10 February 1990 Oldham Athletic A 0–2 10,028
30 17 February 1990 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 2–0 17,870 Biggins 64', Hackett 75'
31 22 February 1990 Leicester City A 1–2 12,242 Biggins 41'
32 3 March 1990 Bournemouth H 0–0 10,998
33 6 March 1990 Ipswich Town H 0–0 10,815
34 10 March 1990 Bradford City A 0–1 9,269
35 17 March 1990 Plymouth Argyle H 0–0 9,452
36 20 March 1990 Hull City A 0–0 6,456
37 24 March 1990 West Bromwich Albion A 1–1 12,771 Ellis 78'
38 31 March 1990 Sheffield United H 0–1 14,898
39 7 April 1990 Sunderland A 1–2 17,119 Ellis 63'
40 10 April 1990 Oxford United H 1–2 8,139 Sandford 42'
41 14 April 1990 Middlesbrough H 0–0 8,636
42 16 April 1990 Newcastle United A 0–3 26,190
43 21 April 1990 Blackburn Rovers H 0–1 9,305
44 24 April 1990 Watford A 1–1 8,073 Biggins 30'
45 28 April 1990 Brighton & Hove Albion A 4–1 9,614 Ellis (2) 51', 76', Biggins 70', Scott 80'
46 5 May 1990 Swindon Town H 1–1 11,386 Ellis 12'

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
R3 6 January 1990 Arsenal H 0–1 23,827

League Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
R2 1st Leg 19 September 1989 Millwall H 1–0 8,030 Morgan 32'
R2 2nd Leg 3 October 1989 Millwall A 0–2 8,637

Full Members' Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
R1 28 November 1989 Bradford City H 2–1 4,616 Berry 21', Bamber 40'
R2 19 December 1989 Leeds United H 2–2 (4–5 pens) 5,792 Kamara 32', Biggins 95'

Friendlies

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Match Opponent Venue Result
1 Västra Frölunda IF A 9–0
2 Alnö IF A 3–1
3 Frösö IF A 4–0
4 Anundsjö IF A 1–0
5 Hamrånge GIF A 7–0
6 Västerhaninge IF A 8–0
7 Newcastle Town A 2–0
8 Derby County H 1–2
9 Everton H 2–4
10 Walsall H 2–0
11 Rocester A 1–2
12 Stafford Rangers A 3–0
13 Jersey Wanderers A 7–0

Squad statistics

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Pos. Name League FA Cup League Cup Full Members' Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK   Scott Barrett 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
GK   Peter Fox 38 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 43 0
GK   Dan Noble 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
DF   Noel Blake 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 0
DF   John Butler 44 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 49 0
DF   Cliff Carr 22 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 25 0
DF   Ian Cranson 17 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 19 2
DF   Lee Fowler 13(2) 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 15(2) 0
DF   Tony Gallimore 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0
DF   Andy Holmes 5(1) 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 7(1) 0
DF   Chris Kamara 22 1 1 0 2 0 2 1 27 2
DF   Lee Sandford 23 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 24 2
DF   Derek Statham 19 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 21 0
DF   Ian Wright 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MF   George Berry 15(1) 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 16(1) 2
MF   Carl Beeston 38 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 41 2
MF   Garry Brooke 6(2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6(2) 0
MF   Stephen Farrell 0(2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(2) 0
MF   Mark Higgins 4(2) 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 7(2) 0
MF   Dave Kevan 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 0
FW   Darren Hope 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF   Leigh Palin 17(2) 3 0 0 2 0 2 0 21(2) 3
MF   Ian Scott 14(5) 1 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 14(6) 1
MF   Mickey Thomas 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0
MF   Paul Ware 9(7) 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 12(7) 0
FW   Dave Bamber 20 2 0 0 2 0 1 1 23 3
FW   Paul Barnes 4(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4(1) 0
FW   Peter Beagrie 13 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 15 0
FW   Wayne Biggins 35 10 1 0 0 0 2 1 38 11
FW   Darren Boughey 4(3) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4(3) 0
FW   Tony Ellis 24 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 6
FW   Gary Hackett 18(8) 2 0(1) 0 1(1) 0 2 0 20(10) 2
FW   Vince Hilaire 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
FW   Tony Kelly 5(4) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5(4) 0
FW   Nicky Morgan 6(7) 1 0 0 1 1 0(1) 0 7(8) 2
FW   David Ritchie 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW   Mark Sale 0(2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(2) 0
FW   Carl Saunders 12(10) 1 1 0 0(1) 0 1 0 14(11) 1
FW   Mark Smith 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  2. ^ "How 3,000 Stoke fans launched incredible relegation party at Brighton". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 28 April 2017.