1961–62 Stoke City F.C. season


The 1961–62 season was Stoke City's 55th season in the Football League and the 22nd in the Second Division.
Attendances were now at a worrying all-time low and so the Stoke board and manager Tony Waddington decided something needed to be done to bring the supporters back to the Victoria Ground. And Waddington pulled off a master stroke after paying £3,000 to Blackpool for the returning 46-year-old Stanley Matthews. Crowds instantly arrived in large numbers with Matthews first match back against Huddersfield Town more than 35,000 turned up a good 15,000 more than the last home match. Stoke could not sustain a push for promotion, but the feeling around the club had changed dramatically.

Season review

League

Attendances remained stubbornly poor as the 1961–62 season commenced, Stoke losing 2–1 at home to Rotherham United in front of 11,000 fans. The club's finances were seriously in question with the worrying decline in support. To regress the slide Stoke brought back Stanley Matthews at the age of 46 some 14 years after he left for Blackpool. It certainly had the desired effect as the crowds quickly returned and traffic jams stretched for miles on the day he made his second debut for Stoke City at the Victoria Ground against Huddersfield Town when 35,974 fans assembled to welcome back their hero and see him inspire Stoke to a 3–0 win, the attendance in Stoke's previous home match was just 8,409.
The resurgence was on as Stoke slowly but surely picked up some good results and climbed the table as they went on a seven match unbeaten run in December. Dennis Viollet a fine centre forward joined from Manchester United for a fee of £22,000. By March Stoke's form fell away and they ended the season in eighth spot but the feeling was that Stoke had renewed confidence for the future.

FA Cup

Stoke were drawn away at last season's winners Leicester City in the FA Cup. The match ended in a 1–1 draw but in the replay Stoke knocked out the "Foxes" 5–2 to set up a fourth round meeting with Blackburn Rovers. A crowd of 49,486 saw Rovers win 1–0 thanks to a controversial penalty, the referees decision enraged one Stoke supporter so much he started legal action against him.

League Cup

Stoke recorded their first victory in the League Cup at Roots Hall beating Southend United 1–0. In the next round they were easily beaten 4–1 at Charlton Athletic.

Final league table

Key: P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points

Results

Stoke's score comes first

Legend

Football League Second Division

MatchDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
119 August 1961Rotherham UnitedH1–211,071Thompson
222 August 1961Charlton AthleticA2–27,861G Matthews, Mudie
326 August 1961SunderlandA1–234,183Adam
428 August 1961Charlton AthleticH4–011,005G Matthews, Thompson, Bullock
52 September 1961Derby CountyH1–113,834Mudie
65 September 1961Brighton & Hove AlbionA1–212,515Skeels
79 September 1961Bristol RoversH2–19,075Thompson
816 September 1961Leeds UnitedA1–39,578Thompson
918 September 1961Brighton & Hove AlbionH0–19,135
1023 September 1961Norwich CityH3–18,646Thompson, Adam
1129 September 1961Scunthorpe UnitedA2–210,347Thompson, Asprey
127 October 1961Leyton OrientA0–310,621
1314 October 1961Preston North EndH1–18,409Adam
1421 October 1961Plymouth ArgyleA1–310,283Adam
1528 October 1961Huddersfield TownH3–035,974Adam, Thompson
164 November 1961Swansea TownA0–119,906
1711 November 1961WalsallH2–124,869Thompson, Bullock
1818 November 1961Luton TownA0–015,163
1925 November 1961Newcastle UnitedH3–122,009Thompson, Mudie, S Matthews
202 December 1961MiddlesbroughA2–220,809Thompson, Asprey
219 December 1961SouthamptonH3–218,353Thompson , Ratcliffe
2216 December 1961Rotherham UnitedA2–115,537Andrew, S Matthews
2323 December 1961SunderlandH1–024,682Asprey
2426 December 1961BuryA2–015,699Mudie, Ratcliffe
2513 January 1962Derby CountyA0–218,937
2620 January 1962Bristol RoversA2–08,852Pyle, Sykes
273 February 1962Leeds UnitedH2–121,921Mudie, Allen
2810 February 1962Norwich CityA0–131,304
2917 February 1962Scunthorpe UnitedH1–016,569Nibloe
3024 February 1962Leyton OrientH0–121,846
313 March 1962Preston North EndA2–119,091Viollet, Mudie
3210 March 1962Plymouth ArgyleH2–018,033Thompson, Asprey
3317 March 1962Huddersfield TownA0–320,261
3424 March 1962Swansea TownH0–014,752
3530 March 1962WalsallA1–316,570Nibloe
367 April 1962Luton TownH2–17,506Nibloe, Adam
3711 April 1962BuryH1–38,324Nibloe
3814 April 1962Newcastle UnitedA0–220,580
3921 April 1962MiddlesbroughH2–08,369Viollet
4023 April 1962LiverpoolA1–241,005Viollet
4124 April 1962LiverpoolH0–015,472
4228 April 1962SouthamptonA1–59,558Viollet

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
R310 January 1962Leicester CityA1–135,545Mudie
R3 Replay15 January 1962Leicester CityH5–238,515S Matthews, Allen, Bullock, Thompson, Nibloe
R427 January 1962Blackburn RoversH0–149,486

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
R113 September 1961Southend UnitedA1–07,389Bullock
R210 October 1961Charlton AthleticA1–46,119Bullock

Friendlies

Squad statistics