| 1976–77 season | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Albert Henshall | |
| Manager | Tony Waddington, George Eastham | |
| Stadium | Victoria Ground | |
| Football League First Division | 21st (34 Points) | |
| FA Cup | Third Round | |
| League Cup | Third Round | |
| Top goalscorer | League:Garth Crooks (6) All:Garth Crooks (6) | |
| Highest home attendance | 29,905 vsLiverpool (11 April 1977) | |
| Lowest home attendance | 12,225 vsCoventry City (16 February 1977) | |
| Average home league attendance | 19,027 | |
The1976–77 season wasStoke City's 70th season inthe Football League and the 46th in theFirst Division.
The roof of the Butler Street Stand was rebuilt at a massive cost of £250,000 and with the club unable to pay off the insurers they turned to the playing staff to generate the required funds and with the likes ofJimmy Greenhoff,Alan Hudson andMike Pejic being sold offTony Waddington had a threadbare squad and he left the club in March 1977. Former playerGeorge Eastham took over but was unable to prevent Stoke losing their First Division status, going down by a single point.[1]
The 1976–77 season opened with a new all steel Butler Street roof in place which would cost the sum of £250,000.[1] With the club struggling to pay the cost they had to begin a fire sale of their best players. Those who left the club includedSean Haslegrave toNottingham Forest for £35,000,Ian Moores toTottenham Hotspur for £75,000,Jimmy Greenhoff toManchester United for £100,000,Alan Hudson toArsenal for £200,000 andMike Pejic toEverton for £140,000.[1] These were indeed, body blows none more so than Jimmy Greenhoff leaving after he scored just over 100 goals for the club and was idolised by the supporters.[1]
The Stoke fans were totally confused at what was happening to their team and looked for someone to blame.[1] Goals were again in short supply, Stoke failed to find the back of the net for five successive league matches from late November to early January and in fact they managed just 28 goals all season, 21 at home and seven away.[1] Waddington's gambles on experienced player likeJohn Tudor andAlan Suddick were not successful and after an awful defeat at home toLeicester City on 19 March 1977 Waddington's time at Stoke City was up.[1] He had spent 25 years at theVictoria Ground as manager, assistant and coach and is considered to be the club's greatest manager having helped them win their first major trophy in1972.[1] He remained an avid supporter of the club until his death in 1994.[1]
Waddington's assistantGeorge Eastham was put in temporary charge with coachAlan A'Court his assistant.[1] With the transfer deadline passed with no new players arrived, so Eastham turned towards the youth team to try to advert the drop, all to no avail and on a Monday evening atVilla Park in front of 29,000 fans, Stoke needing a win to stay up, lost 1–0 and were duly relegated to the second tier.[1]
Everton beat Stoke 2–0 in the third round on their way to the semi-final.[1]
Stoke beatLeeds United 2–1 and then lost badly 3–0 toNewcastle United.[1]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Bristol City | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 38 | 48 | −10 | 35 | |
| 19 | Coventry City | 42 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 48 | 59 | −11 | 35 | |
| 20 | Sunderland(R) | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 46 | 54 | −8 | 34 | Relegation to theSecond Division |
| 21 | Stoke City(R) | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 28 | 51 | −23 | 34 | |
| 22 | Tottenham Hotspur(R) | 42 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 48 | 72 | −24 | 33 |
Stoke's score comes first
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 August 1976 | Sunderland | H | 0–0 | 27,244 | |
| 2 | 24 August 1976 | Bristol City | A | 1–1 | 25,316 | Smith 86' |
| 3 | 28 August 1976 | Manchester City | A | 0–0 | 39,875 | |
| 4 | 4 September 1976 | West Ham United | H | 2–1 | 19,131 | Crooks 32',Conroy 52' |
| 5 | 11 September 1976 | Everton | A | 0–3 | 22,277 | |
| 6 | 18 September 1976 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–1 | 20,171 | Tudor (2) 2', 19' |
| 7 | 25 September 1976 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 0–2 | 21,621 | |
| 8 | 29 September 1976 | Leicester City | A | 0–1 | 15,391 | |
| 9 | 2 October 1976 | Aston Villa | H | 1–0 | 26,652 | Conroy 37' |
| 10 | 16 October 1976 | Arsenal | A | 0–2 | 28,507 | |
| 11 | 23 October 1976 | Derby County | H | 1–0 | 20,916 | Tudor 70' |
| 12 | 30 October 1976 | Newcastle United | A | 0–1 | 28,251 | |
| 13 | 6 November 1976 | Middlesbrough | H | 3–1 | 16,068 | Waddington 20',Greenhoff (2) 47', 54' |
| 14 | 10 November 1976 | Leeds United | A | 1–1 | 29,199 | Dodd 86' |
| 15 | 20 November 1976 | Birmingham City | H | 1–0 | 21,486 | Crooks 70' |
| 16 | 27 November 1976 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–2 | 22,230 | |
| 17 | 18 December 1976 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 0–2 | 15,989 | |
| 18 | 27 December 1976 | Liverpool | A | 0–4 | 50,371 | |
| 19 | 1 January 1977 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–0 | 21,140 | |
| 20 | 22 January 1977 | Sunderland | A | 0–0 | 22,901 | |
| 21 | 29 January 1977 | Norwich City | A | 1–1 | 18,408 | Salmons 48' |
| 22 | 5 February 1977 | Manchester City | H | 0–2 | 27,139 | |
| 23 | 12 February 1977 | West Ham United | A | 0–1 | 20,106 | |
| 24 | 16 February 1977 | Coventry City | H | 2–0 | 12,255 | Conroy (2) 1', 55' (pen) |
| 25 | 19 February 1977 | Everton | H | 0–1 | 19,586 | |
| 26 | 26 February 1977 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–0 | 25,865 | Goodwin 37' |
| 27 | 5 March 1977 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 1–0 | 15,454 | Bowers 47' |
| 28 | 15 March 1977 | Newcastle United | H | 0–0 | 12,708 | |
| 29 | 19 March 1977 | Leicester City | H | 0–1 | 14,087 | |
| 30 | 23 March 1977 | Arsenal | H | 1–1 | 13,951 | Conroy 7' |
| 31 | 2 April 1977 | Derby County | A | 0–2 | 23,161 | |
| 32 | 9 April 1977 | Manchester United | A | 0–3 | 53,102 | |
| 33 | 11 April 1977 | Liverpool | H | 0–0 | 29,905 | |
| 34 | 12 April 1977 | Leeds United | H | 2–1 | 17,960 | Crooks (2) 67', 76' |
| 35 | 16 April 1977 | Birmingham City | A | 0–2 | 19,554 | |
| 36 | 20 April 1977 | Bristol City | H | 2–2 | 12,277 | Smith 56',Bloor 70' |
| 37 | 23 April 1977 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–0 | 15,641 | |
| 38 | 30 April 1977 | Coventry City | A | 2–5 | 15,720 | Ruggiero (2) 40', 66' (pen) |
| 39 | 7 May 1977 | Norwich City | H | 0–0 | 13,202 | |
| 40 | 11 May 1977 | Manchester United | H | 3–3 | 24,632 | Crooks (2) 40', 65',Bloor 49' |
| 41 | 14 May 1977 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–3 | 22,772 | Suddick 22' |
| 42 | 16 May 1977 | Aston Villa | A | 0–1 | 28,931 |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R3 | 8 January 1977 | Everton | A | 0–2 | 32,981 |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R2 | 1 September 1976 | Leeds United | H | 2–1 | 22,550 | Conroy 75',Greenhoff 89' |
| R3 | 22 September 1976 | Newcastle United | A | 0–3 | 25,126 |
| Match | Opponent | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Śląsk Wrocław | A | 1–0 |
| 2 | Indonesia XI | A | 1–1 |
| 3 | Persebaya Surabaya | A | 2–0 |
| 4 | Ajax | A | 1–2 |
| 5 | AS Cannes | A | 2–0 |
| 6 | AS Monaco | A | 0–1 |
| 7 | Olympique Lyonnais | A | 1–2 |
| 8 | FC Porto | A | 0–1 |
| 9 | Genoa | A | 0–0 |
| 10 | Chirk AAA | A | 6–0 |
| 11 | Hibernian | A | 1–0 |
| 12 | Blackpool | A | 4–2 |
| 13 | Hereford United | A | 0–1 |
| Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| GK | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| GK | 40 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 0 | |
| DF | 37 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 2 | |
| DF | 13(2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 15(3) | 1 | |
| DF | 42 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 1 | |
| DF | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| DF | 12(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12(1) | 0 | |
| DF | 16(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19(1) | 0 | |
| DF | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| DF | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 2 | |
| MF | 16(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17(1) | 0 | |
| MF | 34(2) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 36(2) | 6 | |
| MF | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| MF | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 0 | |
| MF | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| MF | 7(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7(2) | 0 | |
| MF | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | |
| MF | 28(2) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29(2) | 3 | |
| MF | 11(1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12(1) | 1 | |
| FW | 33(2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 36(2) | 1 | |
| FW | 20(3) | 6 | 0(1) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 21(5) | 6 | |
| FW | 12(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12(1) | 1 | |
| FW | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 3 | |
| FW | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | |
| FW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |