The 1911–12 season was Stoke's third season in the Southern Football League.

Stoke now having left the Birmingham & District League to concentrate on the Southern League Division One, which at the time was only second to the Football League. Stoke neither struggled or impressed and they finished in 10th position with 36 points.

Season review

League After leaving the Birmingham & District League Stoke concentrated on the Southern League Division One which was now a much more tougher league. The squad was strengthened by Alfred Barker who brought in a new half back line with the arrival of Jimmy McGillvray, Jock Grieve and George Smart. Stoke made a useful start to the season and held a position in the top half of the table, but four defeats either side of Christmas saw them plunge into the bottom five and prospects for the new year did not look too promising. Yet, things did manage to improve on the pitch. Goalkeeper Richard Herron and right-half Sam Baddeley were restored to the first team and forwards John Lenaghan and Tom Revill joined to add some much needed punch up front. Stoke sold both Arthur Cartlidge and Jock Grieve to South Shields for a decent price while Jack Peart joined Newcastle United for £600. Stoke ended the season with a 7–0 victory over Millwall Athletic.

Stoke had some good crowds at home in 1911–12 with 18,000 present to see the opening match against Brighton & Hove Albion. However Stoke fans developed a reputation following a near riot in December 1911 home defeat to Queens Park Rangers. The referee had no choice but to abandon the match with just two minutes remaining, although the league ordered the result to stand. Stoke had to pay £4,000 for the installation of fences around the ground which came as a bitter blow to the club's finances following the debacle in 1908.

FA Cup Stoke made an early exit to Walsall in the fifth qualifying round losing 2–1 at Fellows Park. Final league table

Results

Stoke's score comes first

Legend WinDrawLoss

Southern Football League Division One

MatchDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers1 2 September 1911 Brighton & Hove AlbionH2–118,000W Smith, A Smith2 9 September 1911 Luton TownA1–18,000W Smith3 16 September 1911 Coventry CityA2–39,000Peart, Grieve (pen)4 23 September 1911 LeytonH0–010,0005 30 September 1911 Norwich CityA1–22,500Jordan6 7 October 1911 Crystal PalaceH2–117,000Peart, Griffiths7 14 October 1911 SouthamptonA0–18,0008 21 October 1911 Plymouth ArgyleH2–18,000Griffiths, Dyke9 28 October 1911 ReadingA1–17,000W Smith10 4 November 1911 WatfordH1–012,000A Smith11 6 November 1911 Exeter CityH1–37,000Peart12 11 November 1911 New BromptonA1–14,000Peart13 25 November 1911 BrentfordA1–05,000Peart14 2 December 1911 Queens Park RangersH0–213,00015 9 December 1911 Millwall AthleticA1–54,000Hardman16 16 December 1911 West Ham UnitedH4–310,000Hardman, Lenaghan (3)17 25 December 1911 Swindon TownA0–318,00018 26 December 1911 Swindon TownH1–410,000Leese19 30 December 1911 Brighton & Hove AlbionA0–43,00020 20 January 1912 Coventry CityH3–14,000Baddeley, Jordan, Lenaghan21 27 January 1912 LeytonA0–23,00022 3 February 1912 Norwich CityH1–15,000Peart23 10 February 1912 Crystal PalaceA2–18,000Peart, Hardman 24 17 February 1912 SouthamptonH0–310,000 25 24 February 1912 Plymouth ArgyleA0–37,000 26 28 February 1912 Bristol RoversA2–22,000W Smith (2) 27 2 March 1912 ReadingH0–010,000 28 9 March 1912 WatfordA2–43,000W Smith (2) 29 16 March 1912 New BromptonH2–04,000Baddeley, Jones30 18 March 1912 Luton TownH4–35,000Jones, W Smith, Lenaghan, Revill31 23 March 1912 Exeter CityA1–13,000Revill32 30 March 1912 BrentfordH1–15,000W Smith33 6 April 1912 Queens Park RangersA0–130,00034 8 April 1912 Northampton TownH1–07,000Revill35 9 April 1912 Northampton TownA1–33,000Hodkin36 13 April 1912 Millwall AthleticH7–07,000Lenaghan (3), A Smith (2), Revill (2)37 20 April 1912 West Ham UnitedA0–06,00038 27 April 1912 Bristol RoversH3–15,000Revill, Turner (pen), Dyke

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers5QR18 November 1911 WalsallA1–26,569W Smith

Squad statistics Pos.NameLeagueFA CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsGK Arthur Cartlidge22010230GK Richard Herron16000160DF James Hay800080DF Ernest Mullineux23010240DF George Smart29010300DF George Turner13100131MF Sam Baddeley20200202MF Archie Dyke24200242MF Jock Grieve23110241MF Harold Hardman27310283MF Ernest Hodkin510051MF Joe Jones31210322MF Jimmy McGillvray24010250MF Jack Robinson800080FW Amos Baddeley100010FW Arthur Griffiths11210122FW Frank Jordan10200102FW Harry Leese14100141FW John Lenaghan18800188FW Bill Nixon200020FW Jack Peart23710247FW Tom Revill14600146FW Alf Smith23410244FW William Smith299113010

References