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

MatchDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersReport
115 July 2007Newcastle TownA5–11, 996Fuller 7', 25', Péricard 60', Lawrence 65', Garrett 80'Report
220 July 2007Macclesfield TownA1–1Parkin 35'Report
324 July 2007SV Bad AusseeA2–1Pulis 35', Péricard 37'Report
427 July 2007Real MadridN0–2Report
51 August 2007Aston VillaH0–27,503Report
65 August 2007Tranmere RoversA1–2Higginbotham 77'Report

Football League Championship

MatchDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersReport
111 August 2007Cardiff CityA1–018,840Shawcross 27'Report
218 August 2007Charlton AthleticH2–112,649Fuller 57', Parkin 78'Report
325 August 2007SouthamptonA2–320,300Fuller 10', Parkin 82'Report
41 September 2007Wolverhampton WanderersH0–017,135Report
515 September 2007Hull CityA1–119,642Delap 44'Report
618 September 2007BarnsleyH0–013,071Report
722 September 2007Plymouth ArgyleH3–212,533Seip (o.g.) 10', Fuller 66', Lawrence 73'Report
829 September 2007Leicester CityA1–123,654Fuller 15'Report
93 October 2007West Bromwich AlbionA1–120,048Shawcross 27'Report
106 October 2007Colchester UnitedH2–112,395Shawcross 8', Lawrence 73'Report
1120 October 2007Sheffield WednesdayH2–414,019Fuller (2) 12', 41'Report
1223 October 2007Crystal PalaceA3–114,237Cresswell (2) 49', 59', Shawcross 74'Report
1327 October 2007Bristol CityA0–115,012Report
143 November 2007Coventry CityH1–313,448Lawrence 72' (pen)Report
156 November 2007Scunthorpe UnitedA3–25,521Cresswell 26', Hayes (o.g.) 88', Lawrence 90'Report
1610 November 2007Sheffield UnitedH0–112,158Report
1724 November 2007BurnleyA0–011,758Report
1827 November 2007Queens Park RangersH3–111,147Cresswell 5', Lawrence 19', Cort 77'Report
191 December 2007Norwich CityH2–119,258Cort 46', Cresswell 89'Report
204 December 2007Sheffield UnitedA3–023,378Cresswell 2', Beattie (o.g.) 7', Shawcross 19'Report
219 December 2007WatfordH0–015,516Report
2215 December 2007BlackpoolA3–29,123Fuller (2) 37', 61', Cort 41'Report
2322 December 2007West Bromwich AlbionH3–118,420Fuller (3) 5', 38', 66'Report
2426 December 2007BarnsleyA3–312,398Lawrence (3) 31', 84', 90+8' (2 pen)Report
2528 December 2007Plymouth ArgyleA2–213,692Cresswell 8', Shawcross 57'Report
261 January 2008Hull CityH1–115,788Cort 33'Report
2712 January 2008Ipswich TownA1–120,346Fuller 33'Report
2819 January 2008Preston North EndH3–115,011Cort (2) 16', 72', Cresswell 28'Report
2929 January 2008Charlton AthleticA0–122,108Report
302 February 2008Cardiff CityH2–115,045Johnson (o.g.) 39', Fuller (pen) 57'Report
319 February 2008Wolverhampton WanderersA4–225,373Delap 4', Lawrence 49', Cort 74', Fuller 90'Report
3212 February 2008SouthamptonH3–219,481Powell (o.g.) 27', Shawcross 35', Sidibé 44'Report
3315 February 2008Scunthorpe UnitedH3–220,979Lawrence (2) 53', 63', Cresswell 67'Report
3423 February 2008Ipswich TownH1–023,563Lawrence 42'Report
3526 February 2008Preston North EndA0–212,789Report
362 March 2008Queens Park RangersA0–313,398Report
378 March 2008BurnleyH1–118,432Lawrence 90' (pen)Report
3811 March 2008Norwich CityA1–023,471Sidibé 58'Report
3915 March 2008WatfordA0–018,388Report
4022 March 2008BlackpoolH1–120,019Cort 47'Report
4129 March 2008Sheffield WednesdayA1–121,857Cresswell 21'Report
427 April 2008Crystal PalaceH1–215,756Whelan 85'Report
4312 April 2008Coventry CityA2–120,249Lawrence 55', Fuller 79' (pen)Report
4419 April 2008Bristol CityH2–124,475Sidibé (2) 14', 36'Report
4526 April 2008Colchester UnitedA1–06,300Cresswell 45'Report
464 May 2008Leicester CityH0–026,609Report

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersReport
R36 January 2008Newcastle UnitedH0–022,861Report
R3 Replay16 January 2008Newcastle UnitedA1–435,108Lawrence 89'Report

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersReport
R114 August 2007RochdaleA2–2 (2–4 pens)2,369Shawcross 4', Cresswell 120'Report

Squad statistics

No. Pos. Name League FA Cup League Cup Total Discipline
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
1GKEngland Steve Simonsen 35(1)0200037(1)010
2DFEngland Andy Griffin (c) 150000015011
3DFEngland Marlon Broomes 0000000000
4MFEngland John Eustace 20(6)0201023(6)040
5DFEngland Leon Cort 338200035800
6DFEngland Clint Hill 4(1)000004(1)010
6MFRepublic of Ireland Glenn Whelan 13(1)1000013(1)120
7MFRepublic of Ireland Liam Lawrence 40(1)14211043(1)15120
8FWEngland Jon Parkin 4(25)21(1)0106(26)210
9FWEngland Richard Cresswell 42(1)11200(1)144(2)12100
10FWJamaica Ricardo Fuller 39(3)15200041(3)15100
11FWMali Mamady Sidibé 33(2)4101035(2)410
12MFScotland Peter Sweeney 0(5)0000(1)00(6)010
12FWNigeria Shola Ameobi 3(3)000003(3)020
14DFEngland Danny Higginbotham 1000102000
14MFEngland Danny Pugh 27(3)0200029(3)050
15FWFrance Vincent Péricard 2(3)00(1)0002(4)000
16DFScotland Dominic Matteo 140000014020
17DFEngland Ryan Shawcross 39(2)7201142(2)8100
18MFSenegal Salif Diao 8(3)00(1)0008(4)010
19DFEngland Stephen Wright 14(2)0001015(2)030
19FWScotland Paul Gallagher 2(5)000002(5)010
20DFBelgium Ritchie De Laet 0000000000
21DFDemocratic Republic of the Congo Gabriel Zakuani 11(8)0100012(8)010
22DFEngland Lewis Buxton 0(4)000000(4)010
23DFEngland Jody Craddock 4000004000
24MFRepublic of Ireland Rory Delap 442101046270
25GKEngland Russell Hoult 1000102001
26MFWales Anthony Pulis 0(1)00(2)0101(3)000
27MFJamaica Demar Phillips 0(2)000000(2)000
28DFEngland Andy Wilkinson 16(7)0100(1)017(8)030
29FWEngland Jay Bothroyd 1(3)000001(3)000
30DFEngland Ryan Shotton 0000000000
31DFEngland Carl Dickinson 19(8)01(1)01021(9)030
32DFEngland Chris Riggott 9000009000
33MFScotland Stephen Pearson 3(1)000003(1)000
34FWRepublic of Ireland Adam Rooney 0000000000
35MFNorthern Ireland Robert Garrett 0000000000
36GKHungary Márton Fülöp 0000000000
36GKEngland Carlo Nash 100000010000
37MFNorthern Ireland Matthew Hazley 0000000000
39MFEngland Nathaniel Wedderburn 0000000000
––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]
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]
3 January 2008 MF England Danny Pugh England Preston North End £500,000 [8]
30 January 2008 MF Republic of Ireland Glenn Whelan England Sheffield Wednesday £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 £1.2 Million [8]
18 January 2008 DF England Ryan Shawcross England Manchester United £1 Million [8]

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 1 January 2008 DF England Jody Craddock England Wolverhampton Wanderers [8]
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]
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]
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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 "Stoke City Transfers". Soccerbase. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
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