Chairman Mr S. Barker FA Cup Second Round | Football League First Division 13th (25 Points) | |
Top goalscorer League: William Maxwell (13)All: William Maxwell (16) | ||
The 1896–97 season was Stoke's eighth season in the Football League.
Contents
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.
League
As 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. However this never materialised much to the disappointment of chairman Mr S. Barker. 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. There was little progress in the league with a 13th-place finish. The best result of the season saw Stoke beat Liverpool 6–1 in February 1897. Long serving forward Billy Dickson retired as did half-back Davy Brodie.
FA Cup
After beating Glossop North End 5–0 in the first round Stoke lost 2–1 in the next to Preston North End.
Final league table
Key: P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points
Results
Stoke's score comes first