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2007–08 Stoke City F.C. season

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Stoke City
2007–08 season
ChairmanPeter Coates
ManagerTony Pulis
StadiumBritannia Stadium
Championship2nd (79 Points)
FA CupThird Round
League CupFirst Round
Top goalscorerLeague: Ricardo Fuller (15)
All: Ricardo Fuller (15)
Highest home attendance26,309 vs Leicester City
(4 May 2008)
Lowest home attendance11,414 vs Queens Park Rangers
(27 November 2007)
Average home league attendance16,823

The 2007–08 season was Stoke City's 101st in the Football League, the 41st in the second tier and fourth in the Championship.

After last season's narrow miss on a play-off, the objective was to gain an automatic promotion position. But after a poor summer transfer wise supporters wondered what the ambition of the club was. New signings were unknown youngster Ryan Shawcross signed on loan from Manchester United and veteran forward Richard Cresswell, which hardly set the pulses racing but a 1–0 win on the opening match of the season at Cardiff City set the tone for a season to remember. Stoke didn't really perform well in the opening few months and by the middle of November they were in mid-table, but several key loan signings saw Stoke embark on a twelve match unbeaten run.

This pushed Stoke into the top two and after a narrow defeat at Charlton Athletic Stoke won five in a row. However Stoke then hit a poor run of form winning one in their next eight matches. Wins over Coventry City, Bristol City and Colchester United saw Stoke within one point of gaining a promotion, which they would achieve after drawing 0–0 with Leicester City to gain a return to the top flight of English football after a 23-year absence.[1]

Season review

League

The feeling around the club had improved after last season's success in finishing 8th. The supporters were hoping that the management would bring new quality players as well as making last season's successful loan players moves permanent.[1] But the club were left frustrated as most decided to seek employment elsewhere and by the time the start of the season had come around Stoke had only added Richard Cresswell, Jon Parkin and Ryan Shawcross to their squad.[2] Stoke's first match of the season saw them travel to notoriously hostile Ninian Park to take on Cardiff City. Debutante Ryan Shawcross made a perfect start to his Stoke career scoring the winning goal in a 1–0 win which saw Steve Simonsen save a last minute penalty.[3] A good win against promotion favourites Charlton Athletic followed but a 3–2 defeat at Southampton brought Stoke their first defeat of the season. Three draws against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Hull City and Barnsley failed to get the supporters excited and during the next match against Plymouth Argyle with Stoke 2–1 down, some fans started venting their frustrations at manager Tony Pulis but Stoke went on to win 3–2.[4]

Stoke began to struggle, with poor home defeats to Sheffield Wednesday and then Coventry City prompted Pulis to enter the loan market again and he brought in Leon Cort and Danny Pugh.[5] This enabled Stoke to field a more settled side and they began to display the form they showed from last season and they went twelve matches unbeaten from 24 November 2007 to 19 January 2008. During that run Stoke gained some impressive victories including a 3–0 at Sheffield United and a Ricardo Fuller hat trick against promotion rivals West Bromwich Albion.[1] In the January transfer window Stoke completed the permanent signings of Cort, Pugh and Shawcross whilst former players Andy Griffin and Paul Gallagher made a return and John Eustace joined Watford with Glenn Whelan joining as a replacement.[1]

Stoke City fans celebrate following promotion to the Premier League, 4 May 2008

Stoke's twelve match unbeaten run was ended with a 1–0 defeat away at Charlton Athletic. Stoke bounced back brilliantly beating Cardiff 2–1 and Wolverhampton Wanderers 4–2 away at Molineux.[1] Then they beat both Southampton and Scunthorpe United 3–2 and made it five wins in a row with a 1–0 win over Ipswich Town to earn Pulis manager of the month award for February.[6] But Stoke lost their form and managed just one win in their next eight matches until they won against Coventry City with three matches remaining.[1] A Mamady Sidibé double helped Stoke beat promotion rivals Bristol City and ended their efforts to gain automatic promotion leaving just Stoke and Hull fighting for 2nd place with West Bromwich Albion looking to have sealed top spot.[1] For the penultimate match of the season Stoke travelled to Colchester United who had already being relegated. However it was not an easy match as Colchester were playing their final match at Layer Road, Cresswell scored the only goal as Stoke almost secured promotion but for a late winner for Hull.[1] This took the promotion race to the final match of the season against relegation threatened Leicester City. In a tense and cagey 90 minutes the scored remained goalless and Stoke took the point they needed to gain promotion to the Premier League and a return to the top flight of English football for 23 years.[7]

FA Cup

Stoke drew struggling Premier League side Newcastle United in the third round, the match ended in a goalless draw with Stoke creating the better chances. In the replay Newcastle had appointed Kevin Keegan as manager and he inspired the "Magpies" to a 4–1 victory.[1]

League Cup

For a fourth season in a row Stoke made a first round exit to League Two opposition this time to Rochdale, losing 4–2 on penalties after a 2–2 in normal and extra time.[1]

Final league table

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 West Bromwich Albion (C, P) 46 23 12 11 88 55 +33 81 Promotion to the Premier League
2 Stoke City (P) 46 21 16 9 69 55 +14 79
3 Hull City (O, P) 46 21 12 13 65 47 +18 75 Qualification for Championship play-offs
4 Bristol City 46 20 14 12 54 53 +1 74
5 Crystal Palace 46 18 17 11 58 42 +16 71
Updated to match(es) played on 4 May 2008. Source: The Football League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

Results

Stoke's score comes first

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Pre-season friendlies

Match Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers Report
1 15 July 2007 Newcastle Town A 5–1 1, 996 Fuller 7', 25', Péricard 60', Lawrence 65', Garrett 80' Report
2 20 July 2007 Macclesfield Town A 1–1 Parkin 35' Report
3 24 July 2007 SV Bad Aussee A 2–1 Pulis 35', Péricard 37' Report
4 27 July 2007 Real Madrid N 0–2 Report
5 1 August 2007 Aston Villa H 0–2 7,503 Report
6 5 August 2007 Tranmere Rovers A 1–2 Higginbotham 77' Report

Football League Championship

Main article: 2007–08 Football League Championship
Match Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers Report
1 11 August 2007 Cardiff City A 1–0 18,840 Shawcross 27' Report
2 18 August 2007 Charlton Athletic H 2–1 12,649 Fuller 57', Parkin 78' Report
3 25 August 2007 Southampton A 2–3 20,300 Fuller 10', Parkin 82' Report
4 1 September 2007 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 0–0 17,135 Report
5 15 September 2007 Hull City A 1–1 19,642 Delap 44' Report
6 18 September 2007 Barnsley H 0–0 13,071 Report
7 22 September 2007 Plymouth Argyle H 3–2 12,533 Seip (o.g.) 10', Fuller 66', Lawrence 73' Report
8 29 September 2007 Leicester City A 1–1 23,654 Fuller 15' Report
9 3 October 2007 West Bromwich Albion A 1–1 20,048 Shawcross 27' Report
10 6 October 2007 Colchester United H 2–1 12,395 Shawcross 8', Lawrence 73' Report
11 20 October 2007 Sheffield Wednesday H 2–4 14,019 Fuller (2) 12', 41' Report
12 23 October 2007 Crystal Palace A 3–1 14,237 Cresswell (2) 49', 59', Shawcross 74' Report
13 27 October 2007 Bristol City A 0–1 15,012 Report
14 3 November 2007 Coventry City H 1–3 13,448 Lawrence 72' (pen) Report
15 6 November 2007 Scunthorpe United A 3–2 5,521 Cresswell 26', Hayes (o.g.) 88', Lawrence 90' Report
16 10 November 2007 Sheffield United H 0–1 12,158 Report
17 24 November 2007 Burnley A 0–0 11,758 Report
18 27 November 2007 Queens Park Rangers H 3–1 11,147 Cresswell 5', Lawrence 19', Cort 77' Report
19 1 December 2007 Norwich City H 2–1 19,258 Cort 46', Cresswell 89' Report
20 4 December 2007 Sheffield United A 3–0 23,378 Cresswell 2', Beattie (o.g.) 7', Shawcross 19' Report
21 9 December 2007 Watford H 0–0 15,516 Report
22 15 December 2007 Blackpool A 3–2 9,123 Fuller (2) 37', 61', Cort 41' Report
23 22 December 2007 West Bromwich Albion H 3–1 18,420 Fuller (3) 5', 38', 66' Report
24 26 December 2007 Barnsley A 3–3 12,398 Lawrence (3) 31', 84', 90+8' (2 pen) Report
25 28 December 2007 Plymouth Argyle A 2–2 13,692 Cresswell 8', Shawcross 57' Report
26 1 January 2008 Hull City H 1–1 15,788 Cort 33' Report
27 12 January 2008 Ipswich Town A 1–1 20,346 Fuller 33' Report
28 19 January 2008 Preston North End H 3–1 15,011 Cort (2) 16', 72', Cresswell 28' Report
29 29 January 2008 Charlton Athletic A 0–1 22,108 Report
30 2 February 2008 Cardiff City H 2–1 15,045 Johnson (o.g.) 39', Fuller (pen) 57' Report
31 9 February 2008 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 4–2 25,373 Delap 4', Lawrence 49', Cort 74', Fuller 90' Report
32 12 February 2008 Southampton H 3–2 19,481 Powell (o.g.) 27', Shawcross 35', Sidibé 44' Report
33 15 February 2008 Scunthorpe United H 3–2 20,979 Lawrence (2) 53', 63', Cresswell 67' Report
34 23 February 2008 Ipswich Town H 1–0 23,563 Lawrence 42' Report
35 26 February 2008 Preston North End A 0–2 12,789 Report
36 2 March 2008 Queens Park Rangers A 0–3 13,398 Report
37 8 March 2008 Burnley H 1–1 18,432 Lawrence 90' (pen) Report
38 11 March 2008 Norwich City A 1–0 23,471 Sidibé 58' Report
39 15 March 2008 Watford A 0–0 18,388 Report
40 22 March 2008 Blackpool H 1–1 20,019 Cort 47' Report
41 29 March 2008 Sheffield Wednesday A 1–1 21,857 Cresswell 21' Report
42 7 April 2008 Crystal Palace H 1–2 15,756 Whelan 85' Report
43 12 April 2008 Coventry City A 2–1 20,249 Lawrence 55', Fuller 79' (pen) Report
44 19 April 2008 Bristol City H 2–1 24,475 Sidibé (2) 14', 36' Report
45 26 April 2008 Colchester United A 1–0 6,300 Cresswell 45' Report
46 4 May 2008 Leicester City H 0–0 26,609 Report

FA Cup

Main article: 2007–08 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers Report
R3 6 January 2008 Newcastle United H 0–0 22,861 Report
R3 Replay 16 January 2008 Newcastle United A 1–4 35,108 Lawrence 89' Report

League Cup

Main article: 2007–08 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers Report
R1 14 August 2007 Rochdale A 2–2 (2–4 pens) 2,369 Shawcross 4', Cresswell 120' Report

Squad statistics

No. Pos. Name League FA Cup League Cup Total Discipline
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK England Steve Simonsen 35(1) 0 2 0 0 0 37(1) 0 1 0
2 DF England Andy Griffin (c) 15 0 0 0 0 0 15 0 1 1
3 DF England Marlon Broomes 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 MF England John Eustace 20(6) 0 2 0 1 0 23(6) 0 4 0
5 DF England Leon Cort 33 8 2 0 0 0 35 8 0 0
6 DF England Clint Hill 4(1) 0 0 0 0 0 4(1) 0 1 0
6 MF Republic of Ireland Glenn Whelan 13(1) 1 0 0 0 0 13(1) 1 2 0
7 MF Republic of Ireland Liam Lawrence 40(1) 14 2 1 1 0 43(1) 15 12 0
8 FW England Jon Parkin 4(25) 2 1(1) 0 1 0 6(26) 2 1 0
9 FW England Richard Cresswell 42(1) 11 2 0 0(1) 1 44(2) 12 10 0
10 FW Jamaica Ricardo Fuller 39(3) 15 2 0 0 0 41(3) 15 10 0
11 FW Mali Mamady Sidibé 33(2) 4 1 0 1 0 35(2) 4 1 0
12 MF Scotland Peter Sweeney 0(5) 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0(6) 0 1 0
12 FW Nigeria Shola Ameobi 3(3) 0 0 0 0 0 3(3) 0 2 0
14 DF England Danny Higginbotham 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0
14 MF England Danny Pugh 27(3) 0 2 0 0 0 29(3) 0 5 0
15 FW France Vincent Péricard 2(3) 0 0(1) 0 0 0 2(4) 0 0 0
16 DF Scotland Dominic Matteo 14 0 0 0 0 0 14 0 2 0
17 DF England Ryan Shawcross 39(2) 7 2 0 1 1 42(2) 8 10 0
18 MF Senegal Salif Diao 8(3) 0 0(1) 0 0 0 8(4) 0 1 0
19 DF England Stephen Wright 14(2) 0 0 0 1 0 15(2) 0 3 0
19 FW Scotland Paul Gallagher 2(5) 0 0 0 0 0 2(5) 0 1 0
20 DF Belgium Ritchie De Laet 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
21 DF Democratic Republic of the Congo Gabriel Zakuani 11(8) 0 1 0 0 0 12(8) 0 1 0
22 DF England Lewis Buxton 0(4) 0 0 0 0 0 0(4) 0 1 0
23 DF England Jody Craddock 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
24 MF Republic of Ireland Rory Delap 44 2 1 0 1 0 46 2 7 0
25 GK England Russell Hoult 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 1
26 MF Wales Anthony Pulis 0(1) 0 0(2) 0 1 0 1(3) 0 0 0
27 MF Jamaica Demar Phillips 0(2) 0 0 0 0 0 0(2) 0 0 0
28 DF England Andy Wilkinson 16(7) 0 1 0 0(1) 0 17(8) 0 3 0
29 FW England Jay Bothroyd 1(3) 0 0 0 0 0 1(3) 0 0 0
30 DF England Ryan Shotton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 DF England Carl Dickinson 19(8) 0 1(1) 0 1 0 21(9) 0 3 0
32 DF England Chris Riggott 9 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 0
33 MF Scotland Stephen Pearson 3(1) 0 0 0 0 0 3(1) 0 0 0
34 FW Republic of Ireland Adam Rooney 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
35 MF Northern Ireland Robert Garrett 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
36 GK Hungary Márton Fülöp 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
36 GK England Carlo Nash 10 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 0
37 MF Northern Ireland Matthew Hazley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
39 MF England Nathaniel Wedderburn 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
– – Own goals – 5 – 0 – 0 – 5 – –

Transfers

In

Date Pos. Name From Fee Ref.
20 June 2007 FW England Jon Parkin England Hull City £275,000 [8][9]
3 August 2007 FW England Richard Cresswell England Leeds United Undisclosed [8]
17 August 2007 DF Belgium Ritchie De Laet Belgium Royal Antwerp £100,000 [8]
31 August 2007 MF Jamaica Demar Phillips Jamaica Waterhouse Undisclosed [8]
10 December 2007 MF Senegal Salif Diao England Liverpool Free [8][10]
3 January 2008 MF England Danny Pugh England Preston North End £500,000 [8]
10 January 2008 DF England Andy Griffin England Derby County £300,000 [8]
14 January 2008 DF England Leon Cort England Crystal Palace £1.200,000 [8]
18 January 2008 DF England Ryan Shawcross England Manchester United £1.000,000 [8]
30 January 2008 MF Republic of Ireland Glenn Whelan England Sheffield Wednesday £500,000 [8][11]

Loan in

Date from Date to Pos. Name From Ref.
3 August 2007 30 June 2008 DF England Stephen Wright England Sunderland [8]
3 August 2007 1 January 2008 DF England Ryan Shawcross England Manchester United [8]
17 August 2007 19 September 2007 DF England Jody Craddock England Wolverhampton Wanderers [8][12]
31 August 2007 30 June 2008 DF Democratic Republic of the Congo Gabriel Zakuani England Fulham [8]
2 November 2007 1 January 2008 MF England Danny Pugh England Preston North End [8]
2 November 2007 1 January 2008 DF England Leon Cort England Crystal Palace [8]
31 January 2008 30 June 2008 MF Scotland Paul Gallagher England Blackburn Rovers [8][11]
22 February 2008 26 February 2008 GK Hungary Márton Fülöp England Sunderland [8]
29 February 2008 30 June 2008 DF England Chris Riggott England Middlesbrough [8][13]
4 March 2008 30 June 2008 GK England Carlo Nash England Wigan Athletic [8]
14 March 2008 30 June 2008 FW England Jay Bothroyd England Wolverhampton Wanderers [8]
27 March 2008 30 June 2008 FW Nigeria Shola Ameobi England Newcastle United [8]
28 March 2008 30 June 2008 MF Scotland Stephen Pearson England Derby County [8]

Out

Date Pos. Name To Fee Ref.
18 June 2007 MF Hungary Ádám Vass Italy Brescia Compensation [8]
4 July 2007 FW Northern Ireland Martin Paterson England Scunthorpe United Compensation [8]
9 July 200 FW Scotland Kevin Harper Scotland Dunfermline Athletic Free [8]
30 July 2007 MF England Darel Russell England Norwich City Free [8]
7 August 2007 DF Belgium Carl Hoefkens England West Bromwich Albion £750,000 [8]
14 August 2007 FW Guinea Sambégou Bangoura Portugal Boavista £200,000 [8]
10 January 2008 MF Scotland Peter Sweeney England Leeds United Undisclosed [8]
18 January 2008 DF England Clint Hill England Crystal Palace Undisclosed [8]
31 January 2008 MF England John Eustace England Watford £250,000 [8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Stoke City season review 2007-08 23 year exile brought to an end". The Sentinel. 28 May 2008.
  2. ^ "Stoke City sign Shawcross on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  3. ^ "Pulis praise for keeper Simonsen". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  4. ^ "Pulis delighted to silence jeers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  5. ^ "Stoke get Cort as Palace eye Hill". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  6. ^ "Pulis handed Championship honour". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  7. ^ "Coates 'relieved' as Stoke go up". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af "Stoke City Transfers". Soccerbase. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Potters sign Hull striker Parkin". BBC Sport. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Diao completes Stoke return". Sky Sports. 10 December 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Stoke sign Whelan and Gallagher". BBC Sport. 1 February 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Craddock returns to ease Wolves' woes". Business Live. 19 September 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Potters clinch Riggott loan deal". BBC Sport. 29 February 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
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