Stoke City F.C.

Stoke City Football Club (known as Stoke Football Club until 1925) is a football club from Stoke-on-Trent in England. The club is reputedly the second-oldest football league club in the world, after Notts County F.C., and claims to have been formed in 1863 (disputed by some, who claim it to be 1868).

Milestones

Stoke City's only major trophy to date is the League Cup, which it won in 1972 under the management of Tony Waddington. Until the 1980s it was a regular competitor in the First Division, but was relegated at the end of the 1984-85 season with just three wins and 17 points from 42 fixtures, and has not been in the top division since.

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It went down to the Third Division at the end of the 1989-90 season, won the new Division Two title in 1992-93 season - only to slip back down in 1997-98 - its first season at the new 28,000-seat Britannia Stadium. Stoke's relegation was confirmed on the final day of the league season by a 5-2 home defeat against Manchester City, who were also relegated.

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It was promoted again in 2001-02 thanks to a 2-1 victory in the Division Two playoff final against Brentford F.C. Stoke's only serious challenge for a return to the top flight came in 1995-96 when it finished fourth in Division One and lost to eventual winners Leicester City in the playoff semi-final.

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Despite having a relative lack of success for a club who played top-flight football for many years, the club has seen some names play for the club over the years, which can be seen below, including Sir Stanley Matthews, who played for the club in two terms from a youth player to his retirement at 50 years of age.

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