1971–72 Stoke City F.C. season

Stoke City
1971–72 season
ChairmanAlbert Henshall
ManagerTony Waddington
StadiumVictoria Ground
Football League First Division17th (35 points)
FA CupSemi-final
League CupWinners
Texaco CupSecond round
Anglo-Italian CupGroup Stage
Top goalscorerLeague: John Ritchie
(12)

All: John Ritchie
(21)
Highest home attendance43,007 vs Manchester City
(27 December 1971)
Lowest home attendance13,920 vs Nottingham Forest
(10 April 1972)
Average home league attendance24,204

The 1971–72 season was Stoke City's 65th season in the Football League and the 41st in the First Division.

After 109 years of trying Stoke City finally won their first major trophy in March 1972 beating Chelsea 2–1 in the League Cup final at Wembley. They also reached the semi-final of the FA Cup for the second season running and again lost out to Arsenal. Their league campaign obviously took a hit with all the cup matches being played, Stoke finished in 17th position with 35 points. In total Stoke played 71 matches during a very busy season.

Season review

League

The Stoke fans were confident of seeing more good exciting attacking football again as the 1971–72 season commenced but overall league performances were bitterly disappointing, however in the cup competitions Stoke did themselves proud. With the cup matches obviously taking priority Stoke had a back-log of fixtures to play (six games in 17 days) and they failed to win any of them as they finished in 17th position with 35 points.

FA Cup

Stoke had another run to the semi-final of the FA Cup after beating lower league sides, Chesterfield, Tranmere Rovers, Hull City and another two matches against Manchester United, Stoke faced Arsenal again. Villa Park hosted the tie and thanks to an own goal from Peter Simpson, Stoke scraped a 1–1 draw in a close match. The replay at Goodison Park was controversial. Stoke took an early lead through a penalty, but the "Gunners" won a controversial penalty of their own for a handball after a corner that was given despite Gordon Banks appearing to have been fouled beforehand. Arsenal converted the penalty. The "Gunners" then started controlling the match and scored a second goal, which nevertheless looked suspiciously offside, and that was how the match ended, as Stoke went down 2–1 and their hopes of achieving a Wembley double disappeared.

League Cup

In the League Cup Stoke ousted Southport and Oxford United and then in the fourth round Stoke visited Old Trafford and held Manchester United to a 1–1 draw with John Ritchie cancelling out a goal from Alan Gowling. The replay attracted almost 41,000 fans to the Victoria Ground but this time there was no goals and third game was required. This was again staged at Stoke and two late goals sealed a 2–1 victory and passage to the last eight. At this stage of the season matches were coming thick and fast and a 4–2 win over Bristol Rovers saw Stoke enter the semi-finals of the League Cup where they met West Ham United over two legs.

Not only was this to be a memorable cup tie for Stoke, the encounter has also been described as "epic". In the 1st leg Stoke's hopes of reaching the final seemed to have disappeared when they lost 2–1 to home. However at West Ham, Ritchie levelled the aggregated score with 20 minutes left, and with just three of those remaining West Ham were awarded a penalty, a decision which angered Gordon Banks immensely. The England 'keeper was so psyched up that he dived and saved Geoff Hurst's spot kick superbly, Banks says that it was his most significant save of his career. And so to a third match, a replay at Hillsborough, was a tense 0–0 draw. The fourth meeting was staged at Old Trafford and another bumper crowd turned out to see the two sides do battle in a match that seemed to have everything. Bobby Ferguson, the "Hammers" goalkeeper was accidentally kicked on the head by Terry Conroy and Bobby Moore went in goal. He saved a Mike Bernard penalty but was beaten on the rebound. Ferguson returned and the game ebbed and flowed, and either side could have won. In the end it was Stoke with Conroy scoring the winning goal to send City through to their first major final.

The final took place on 4 March 1972 at Wembley against Chelsea in front of a crowd 97,852. Stoke showed no big match nerves and took an early lead through Terry Conroy, this prompted a response by Chelsea and just before the interval a rare mistake from Alan Bloor allowed Peter Osgood to level the scores. Stoke were not to be denied and on 73 minutes the veteran George Eastham scored the winning goal to earn Stoke their first major trophy.

Final league table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Qualification or relegation
15 Everton 42 9 18 15 37 48 0.771 36
16 West Bromwich Albion 42 12 11 19 42 54 0.778 35
17 Stoke City 42 10 15 17 39 56 0.696 35 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
18 Coventry City 42 9 15 18 44 67 0.657 33
19 Southampton 42 12 7 23 52 80 0.650 31
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored

Results

Stoke's score comes first

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Football League First Division

Match Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
1 14 August 1971 Coventry City A 1–1 20,739 Ritchie 46'
2 17 August 1971 Southampton A 1–3 18,382 Greenhoff 82'
3 21 August 1971 Crystal Palace H 3–1 18,756 Ritchie 20' (pen), Mahoney 44', Greenhoff 52'
4 25 August 1971 Leicester City H 3–1 21,678 Ritchie 64', Bernard 78', Dobing 80'
5 28 August 1971 Arsenal A 1–0 36,637 Ritchie 20'
6 31 August 1971 Nottingham Forest A 0–0 19,017
7 4 September 1971 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 0–1 20,021
8 11 September 1971 Derby County A 0–4 32,548
9 18 September 1971 Huddersfield Town H 1–0 16,463 Conroy 25'
10 25 September 1971 West Ham United A 1–2 19,193 Ritchie 58'
11 2 October 1971 Liverpool H 0–0 29,698
12 9 October 1971 Sheffield United A 3–2 35,371 Ritchie 15', Smith 51', Conroy 81'
13 16 October 1971 Coventry City H 1–0 20,040 Smith 82'
14 23 October 1971 Ipswich Town A 1–2 17,678 Bernard 33'
15 30 October 1971 Tottenham Hotspur H 2–0 28,348 Mahoney (2) 49', 55'
16 6 November 1971 West Bromwich Albion A 1–0 19,207 Greenhoff 42' (pen)
17 13 November 1971 Chelsea H 0–1 22,196
18 20 November 1971 Leeds United A 0–1 33,012
19 27 November 1971 Newcastle United H 3–3 16,815 Ritchie 22', Conroy (2) 65', 70'
20 4 December 1971 Everton A 0–0 35,469
21 11 December 1971 Manchester United H 1–1 33,807 Mahoney 27'
22 13 December 1971 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 0–2 25,619
23 27 December 1971 Manchester City H 1–3 43,007 Smith 90'
24 4 January 1972 Huddersfield Town A 0–0 12,665
25 8 January 1972 Arsenal H 0–0 18,965
26 22 January 1972 Southampton H 3–1 17,480 Ritchie 12', Greenhoff (2) 51', 82'
27 29 January 1972 Leicester City A 1–2 26,931 Greenhoff 13'
28 12 February 1972 Ipswich Town H 3–3 20,247 Ritchie 55', Greenhoff 75', Smith 87'
29 19 February 1972 Tottenham Hotspur A 0–2 32,841
30 11 March 1972 Sheffield United H 2–2 31,667 Smith 65', Ritchie 85'
31 25 March 1972 Derby County H 1–1 33,592 Greenhoff 48' (pen)
32 28 March 1972 Liverpool A 1–2 42,489 Ritchie 35'
33 1 April 1972 Manchester City A 2–1 49,392 Doyle 35 (o.g.), Ritchie 53'
34 4 April 1972 West Ham United H 0–0 24,688
35 8 April 1972 Leeds United H 0–3 35,123
35 10 April 1972 Nottingham Forest H 0–2 13,920
37 22 April 1972 Everton H 1–1 16,796 Lyons 30' (o.g.)
38 24 April 1972 Chelsea A 0–2 23,443
39 26 April 1972 Crystal Palace A 0–2 24,550
40 29 April 1972 Manchester United A 0–3 34,959
41 5 May 1972 West Bromwich Albion H 1–1 16,206 Burrows 68'
42 8 May 1972 Newcastle United A 0–0 21,350

FA Cup

Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
R3 15 January 1972 Chesterfield H 2–1 26,559 Conroy 15', Dobing 67'
R4 5 February 1972 Tranmere Rovers A 2–2 24,424 Conroy 68', Ritchie 75'
R4 Replay 9 February 1972 Tranmere Rovers H 2–0 35,352 Bernard 31', Greenhoff 70'
R5 26 February 1972 Hull City H 4–1 34,558 Greenhoff (2) 44', 45', Conroy 79', Ritchie 87'
Quarter-final 18 March 1972 Manchester United A 1–1 53,558 Greenhoff 58'
Quarter-final Replay 22 March 1972 Manchester United H 2–1 (aet) 49,091 Smith 74', Conroy 102'
Semi-final 15 April 1972 Arsenal N 1–1 56,570 Simpson 65' (o.g.)
Semi-final Replay 19 April 1972 Arsenal N 1–2 35,976 Greenhoff 19'
3rd Place play-off 5 August 1972 Birmingham City A 0–0 (3–4 pens) 23,841

League Cup

Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
R2 8 September 1971 Southport A 2–1 10,225 Smith 10', Greenhoff 70'
R3 6 October 1971 Oxford United A 1–1 15,024 Greenhoff 13'
R3 Replay 18 October 1971 Oxford United H 2–0 11,757 Ritchie 30', Haslegrave 86'
R4 27 October 1971 Manchester United A 1–1 47,062 Ritchie 72'
R4 Replay 8 November 1971 Manchester United H 0–0 (aet) 40,829
R4 2nd Replay 15 November 1971 Manchester United H 2–1 42,233 Dobing 70', Ritchie 88'
Quarter-final 23 November 1971 Bristol Rovers A 4–2 33,626 Greenhoff 7', Smith 20', Bernard 61', Conroy 64'
Semi-final 1st Leg 8 December 1971 West Ham United H 1–2 36,407 Dobing 14'
Semi-final 2nd Leg 15 December 1971 West Ham United A 1–0 38,771 Ritchie 72'
Semi-final Replay 5 January 1972 West Ham United N 0–0 46,916
Semi-final 2nd Replay 26 January 1972 West Ham United N 3–2 49,247 Bernard 32', Dobing 45', Conroy 49'
Final 4 March 1972 Chelsea N 2–1 97,852 Conroy 5', Eastham 73'

Texaco Cup

Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
R1 1st Leg 15 September 1971 Motherwell A 1–0 8,213 Bernard
R1 2nd Leg 29 September 1971 Motherwell H 4–1 12,072 Ritchie (2), Greenhoff, Haslegrave
R2 1st Leg 20 October 1971 Derby County A 2–3 21,487 Mahoney, Smith
R2 2nd Leg 11 November 1971 Derby County H 1–1 23,461 Smith

Anglo-Italian Cup

Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
Group stage 1 June 1972 Catanzaro A 3–0 14,147 Greenhoff 60', Dobing 66', Marsh 75'
Group stage 5 June 1972 Roma A 0–2 19,960
Group stage 7 June 1972 Catanzaro H 2–0 8,345 Ritchie 43', Greenhoff 90'
Group stage 10 June 1972 Roma H 1–2 5,446 Ritchie 46'

Friendlies

Match Opponent Venue Result
1 Porthmadog A 5–2
2 Motherwell A 0–0
3 Southend United A 4–2
4 Olympiacos A 2–1
5 Olympiacos A 0–1

Squad statistics

Pos. Name League FA Cup League Cup Texaco Cup Anglo-Italian Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK England Gordon Banks 36 0 8 0 11 0 4 0 0 0 59 0
GK England John Farmer 6 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 12 0
DF England Alan Bloor 35 0 9 0 11 0 4 0 4 0 63 0
DF Northern Ireland Alex Elder 6 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 11 0
DF England Jackie Marsh 41 0 8 0 12 0 4 0 4 1 69 1
DF England Mike Pejic 32 0 4 0 12 0 3 0 1 0 52 0
DF England Denis Smith 28 5 9 1 9 2 4 2 4 0 54 10
DF England Eric Skeels 13(6) 0 5 0 1(1) 0 0 0 0(1) 0 19(8) 0
MF England Mike Bernard 36 2 8 1 12 2 4 1 0 0 60 6
MF Republic of Ireland Terry Conroy 27 4 6 4 11 3 2 0 0 0 46 11
MF England George Eastham 13(1) 0 8 0 6(2) 1 1 0 0 0 28(3) 1
MF England Sean Haslegrave 17(1) 0 0 0 2(1) 1 3 1 0 0 22(2) 2
MF England George Jackson 8 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 1(2) 0 9(3) 0
MF England Stewart Jump 17(2) 0 2 0 5 0 3 0 4 0 31(2) 0
MF England Terry Lees 3(2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 3(3) 0
MF Wales John Mahoney 25(4) 4 2 0 4(2) 0 3 1 0 0 34(6) 5
MF Scotland Jimmy Robertson 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MF Scotland Willie Stevenson 12(5) 0 0 0 1 0 3(1) 0 4 0 20(6) 0
FW England Harry Burrows 10 1 0(2) 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 14(2) 1
FW England Peter Dobing 27(1) 1 9 1 10 3 1(1) 0 4 1 51(2) 6
FW England Jimmy Greenhoff 35 8 7 5 12 3 2 1 3 2 59 19
FW England Geoff Hurst 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
FW England John Ritchie 32 12 9 2 12 4 3 2 4 2 60 22
FW England Terry Smith 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
FW England Tommy Walker 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Own goals 2 1 0 0 0 3

This page was last updated at 2023-10-07 04:48 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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