1989–90 Stoke City F.C. season


The 1989–90 season was Stoke City's 83rd season in the Football League and 30th in the Second Division.
The pressure was now on Mick Mills after four seasons without a serious promotion challenge and he spent big in the summer with £1 million worth of talent arriving at the Victoria Ground. However Stoke's overall performances left a lot to be desired and after failing to gain a victory until their 12th match Stoke hit the bottom of the table. With no improvement Mills paid the price and was sacked in November with former World Cup winner Alan Ball taking charge. Ball was unable to stop the slide into the third tier for only the second time in the club's history.

Season review

League

After four seasons of mid-table finishes manager Mick Mills spent big to turn Stoke into a side capable of gaining promotion to the First Division. He spent good money, breaking the club's record transfer of £480,000 for Sheffield Wednesday defender Ian Cranson, £75,000 on Derek Statham from West Bromwich Albion, £175,000 for Ian Scott and £250,000 for Wayne Biggins both from Manchester City. All four started the first match of the season in a 1–1 draw at home to West Ham United in front of an expectant crowd of 16,058. The teams's overall displays, however, left a lot to be desired and favourable results proved elusive, Stoke failing to win any of their first 11 matches.
Injuries, refereeing decisions and a spate of draws saw Stoke hit bottom spot in November after collecting just two wins in 19. With the club heading towards the third tier for the first time since 1927 Mills paid the price for his failure and was dismissed. Into Mills' place came Alan Ball, a former World Cup winner with England, whose previous job was with Portsmouth. Ball was appointed as Mills' assistant two months earlier. He made an instant impact as Stoke beat Newcastle United on Boxing Day. But injury to Ian Cranson against Bournemouth in March put a dent in any hopes of a revival. Ball chose to wheel and deal in the transfer market in an effort to halt the club's slide. He had come to the conclusion that the squad he had inherited was simply not good enough and out went Chris Kamara, Dave Bamber, Leigh Palin, Carl Saunders, Gary Hackett and Nicky Morgan. Into the side came Tony Ellis, Lee Sandford, Tony Kelly, Dave Kevan, Paul Barnes and Noel Blake.
It was a big gamble by Ball to change the squad around so much so quickly and it did not pay off, Stoke staying rooted to the bottom of the table and they subsequently fell through the trap door into the Third Division for the first time since 1927. Stoke won only six of their 46 matches and scored just 35 goals, Biggins getting 10. With Stoke's fate already sealed over 3,000 fans travelled to Brighton & Hove Albion for the final away match to have a 'relegation party'. There were few bright spots during a dismal season which saw the Potteries derby make a return, 27,032 saw Stoke and Vale draw 1–1 on 23 September and at Vale Park 22,075 saw a dull 0–0 on 3 February.

FA Cup

Former fan favourites Steve Bould and Lee Dixon returned to the Victoria Ground with Arsenal and a crowd of 23,827 saw David O'Leary score the only goal of the tie.

League Cup

After beating First Division Millwall 1–0 in the first leg Stoke lost the second leg 2–0 with some controversial referring decisions going against Stoke which led to Mick Mills having to be restrained on the touchline.

Full Members' Cup

Stoke entered the Full Members' Cup for the final time and went out in the second round losing on penalties to Leeds United.

Final league table

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

Results

Legend

Football League Second Division

MatchDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
119 August 1989West Ham UnitedH1–116,058Biggins 81'
226 August 1989PortsmouthA0–07,433
32 September 1989Leeds UnitedH1–114,570Cranson 29'
45 September 1989BarnsleyA2–38,584Berry 19', Morgan 58'
59 September 1989Wolverhampton WanderersA0–015,659
616 September 1989Oldham AthleticH1–210,673Bamber 65'
723 September 1989Port ValeH1–127,037Palin 66'
826 September 1989Bradford CityH1–19,346Cranson 55'
930 September 1989Ipswich TownA2–210,389Palin 47', Saunders 50'
107 October 1989Plymouth ArgyleA0–36,940
1114 October 1989Hull CityH1–19,955Biggins 3'
1217 October 1989West Bromwich AlbionH2–111,911Hackett 8', Biggins 32'
1321 October 1989Sheffield UnitedA1–216,873Palin 67'
1428 October 1989SunderlandH0–212,480
151 November 1989Oxford UnitedA0–34,375
164 November 1989Swindon TownA0–67,825
1711 November 1989Brighton & Hove AlbionH3–210,346Beeston 1', Bamber 25', Kamara 30'
1818 November 1989BournemouthA1–26,412Hilarie 84'
1925 November 1989Leicester CityH0–112,261
202 December 1989West Ham UnitedA0–017,704
219 December 1989BarnsleyH0–110,163
2226 December 1989Newcastle UnitedH2–114,878Biggins 78', Beeston 90'
2330 December 1989WatfordH2–212,228Biggins 23', 26'
241 January 1990MiddlesbroughA1–016,238Ellis 61'
2513 January 1990PortsmouthH1–212,051Sandford 70'
2620 January 1990Leeds UnitedA0–229,318
2727 January 1990Blackburn RoversA0–39,132
283 February 1990Port ValeA0–022,075
2910 February 1990Oldham AthleticA0–210,028
3017 February 1990Wolverhampton WanderersH2–017,870Biggins 64', Hackett 75'
3122 February 1990Leicester CityA1–212,242Biggins 41'
323 March 1990BournemouthH0–010,998
336 March 1990Ipswich TownH0–010,815
3410 March 1990Bradford CityA0–19,269
3517 March 1990Plymouth ArgyleH0–09,452
3620 March 1990Hull CityA0–06,456
3724 March 1990West Bromwich AlbionA1–112,771Ellis 78'
3831 March 1990Sheffield UnitedH0–114,898
397 April 1990SunderlandA1–217,119Ellis 63'
4010 April 1990Oxford UnitedH1–28,139Sandford 42'
4114 April 1990MiddlesbroughH0–08,636
4216 April 1990Newcastle UnitedA0–326,190
4321 April 1990Blackburn RoversH0–19,305
4424 April 1990WatfordA1–18,073Biggins 30'
4528 April 1990Brighton & Hove AlbionA4–19,614Ellis 51', 76', Biggins 70', Scott 80'
465 May 1990Swindon TownH1–111,386Ellis 12'

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
R36 January 1990ArsenalH0–123,827

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
R2 1st Leg19 September 1989MillwallH1–08,030Morgan 32'
R2 2nd Leg3 October 1989MillwallA0–28,637

Full Members' Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
R128 November 1989Bradford CityH2–14,616Berry 21', Bamber 40'
R219 December 1989Leeds UnitedH2–2 5,792Kamara 32', Biggins 95'

Friendlies

Squad statistics