Stoke City

Stoke City Club Profile

Stoke City are the second oldest football club in the Football League and were founded in 1863. And they have boasted some famous names over the years with legendary Stoke City players Stanley Matthews and World Cup winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks going down in history. But it took them over 100 years to win their first major trophy when they beat Chelsea 2-1 in the 1972 League Cup Final under City's most celebrated manager Tony Waddington.

Stoke City were an established side in the old First Division, bouncing back from their 1977 relegation, until they went down in 1985 with what was then a record low tally of 17 points. After slipping into the third tier of the game, they won promotion back to the top flight last season under Tony Pulis to reach the Premier League for the first time.

The Potters play their home fixtures at the Britannia Stadium which is a 28,000 all-seater stadium. Their new home was opened in 1997 and before that Stoke had played at the Victoria Ground. The club's current chairman is Peter Coates but until 2006, the club was owned by a consortium of Icelandic businessmen.

The 1930s saw the debut of club's most famous player, the wizard of the dribble Matthews, who grew locally in Hanley. By end of the decade, Matthews had established himself as an England international and as one of the best footballers of his generation. Although he went on to play for Blackpool, Matthews finished his career at Stoke City in 1965.

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