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.
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. 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. But Stoke did not share the high scoring and they struggled all season with many disappointing displays.
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. 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.
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.
Final league table
Results Stoke's score comes first
Legend WinDrawLoss
Football League Second Division
MatchDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers1 29 August 1925 Stockport CountyH3–017,296Clennell (2), Archibald2 31 August 1925 Port ValeA0–320,0003 5 September 1925 FulhamA4–210,000Davies (2), Ralphs (2)4 7 September 1925 Port ValeH0–321,7825 12 September 1925 South ShieldsH0–113,3346 14 September 1925 Oldham AthleticA2–76,680Sellars, Howe (pen)7 19 September 1925 Preston North EndA0–210,0008 26 September 1925 MiddlesbroughH4–09,617Paterson (3), Archibald9 3 October 1925 PortsmouthA0–212,00010 10 October 1925 Wolverhampton WanderersH0–015,60911 17 October 1925 Bradford CityH1–08,377Davies12 24 October 1925 Derby CountyA3–715,000Davies (2), Paterson13 31 October 1925 Clapton OrientH0–09,10614 7 November 1925 BarnsleyA1–210,000D Johnson15 14 November 1925 BlackpoolH1–38,529Archibald16 21 November 1925 DarlingtonA2–18,529D Johnson, Clennell17 28 November 1925 Hull CityH3–17,155D Johnson, Clennell, Archibald18 5 December 1925 ChelseaA1–115,000Davies19 12 December 1925 Nottingham ForestH1–19,033Archibald20 19 December 1925 SouthamptonA2–19,033D Johnson, Clennell21 25 December 1925 Swansea TownA1–112,000Davies22 26 December 1925 Swansea TownH1–119,814Ralphs23 2 January 1926 Stockport CountyA1–26,600Walker24 16 January 1926 FulhamH5–07,565D Johnson (4), Archibald25 23 January 1926 South ShieldsA1–55,000Davies26 6 February 1926 MiddlesbroughA0–38,80027 13 February 1926 PortsmouthH2–111,724Davies, Clifford (o.g.)28 20 February 1926 Wolverhampton WanderersA1–515,000Clennell29 22 February 1926 Preston North EndH1–310,140Archibald30 27 February 1926 Bradford CityA1–26,140Davies31 6 March 1926 Derby CountyH0–114,80832 13 March 1926 Clapton OrientA0–48,00033 20 March 1926 BarnsleyH1–218,638Archibald34 27 March 1926 BlackpoolA0–07,50035 3 April 1926 DarlingtonH6–113,811Clennell (2), Archibald, Wilson, Williams (2)36 5 April 1926 The WednesdayH0–118,13837 6 April 1926 The WednesdayA0–220,00038 10 April 1926 Hull CityA0–16,00039 17 April 1926 ChelseaH1–310,219Wilson40 24 April 1926 Nottingham ForestA2–112,000Archibald, Sellars41 26 April 1926 Oldham AthleticH1–08,461Wilson42 1 May 1926 SouthamptonH1–18,012D Johnson
FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersR39 January 1926 Wigan BoroughA5–23,992D Johnson (3), Davies (2)R430 January 1926 Swansea TownA3–621,000D Johnson, Davies, Beswick
Squad statistics Pos.NameLeagueFA CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsGK Kenny Campbell700070GK Bob Dixon34020360GK Percy Knott100010DF Tommy Howe610061DF Bob McGrory36020380DF Alec Milne25020270DF Harold Robson100010DF Billy Spencer16000160MF Ewart Beswick23011241MF Harry Brough500050MF Tommy Dawson800080MF George Dickie100010MF Reginald Hodgkins200020MF Peter Jackson10000100MF Sam Johnson30020320MF Alec McClure402060MF Harry Sellars13200132MF John Walker25110261FW Bobby Archibald4210204410FW Len Armitage14000140FW Walter Bussey400040FW Joe Clennell24820268FW John Cull300030FW Harry Davies3010233213FW Jack Eyres300030FW Charles Hallam600060FW Dick Johnson319243313FW Charles Kelly100010FW James Maxwell10000100FW George Paterson740074FW Bert Ralphs16320183FW Arthur Watkin200020FW Joey Williams11200112FW Charlie Wilson11300113–Own goals–1–0–1
References