The 1906–07 season was Stoke's 18th season in the Football League.

After flirting with relegation for quite a while, Stoke's luck run out in 1906–07 as they were relegated, finishing bottom of the First Division with 26 points, five away from safety. It was a bad season for Stoke and would be the start of a troubled period for the club.

Season review

League After a good 1905–06 season, the 1906–07 campaign ended in tears and sorrow for Stoke supporters, as the team finished bottom of the First Division and were relegated for the first time. They dropped to the foot of the table early in the new year and stayed there winning just 4 of the last 16 fixtures. Finance was bad and Fred Rouse left for Everton in a £600 deal in November much to the annoyance of the fans. Defence was a problem for Horace Austerberry and he used 28 players including 4 amateurs. Stoke scored just 41 goals in 38 matches and there was hardly a bright spot throughout the season and Stoke entered the Football League Second Division for the first time.

FA Cup Stoke's poor league form was not helped by three matches against West Bromwich Albion after drawing 1–1 and 2–2 West Brom won 2–0 in the second replay at Villa Park.

Final league table

Results Stoke's score comes first

Legend WinDrawLoss

Football League First Division

MatchDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers1 1 September 1906 LiverpoolA0–130,0002 3 September 1906 Aston VillaH0–212,0003 8 September 1906 Bristol CityH0–36,0004 10 September 1906 Aston VillaA0–120,0005 15 September 1906 Notts CountyA2–211,000Rouse, Fielding6 22 September 1906 Sheffield UnitedH1–15,000Rouse7 29 September 1906 Bolton WanderersA1–110,000Chalmers8 6 October 1906 Manchester UnitedH1–29,000Rouse9 13 October 1906 Derby CountyH2–16,000Arrowsmith (2)10 20 October 1906 Blackburn RoversA1–310,000Rouse11 27 October 1906 SunderlandH2–27,000Arrowsmith, Holford12 3 November 1906 BirminghamA1–28,000Holford13 10 November 1906 EvertonH2–06,000Arrowsmith, Capes14 12 November 1906 Blackburn RoversH1–15,000Fielding15 17 November 1906 Woolwich ArsenalA1–210,000Baddeley16 24 November 1906 The WednesdayH1–16,000Holford (pen)17 1 December 1906 BuryA0–27,00018 8 December 1906 Manchester CityH3–07,000Holford, Chalmers (2)19 15 December 1906 MiddlesbroughA0–512,00020 22 December 1906 Preston North EndH0–26,00021 24 December 1906 Bolton WanderersH3–05,000Chalmers (2), Sturgess22 26 December 1906 Newcastle UnitedH1–29,000Arrowsmith23 5 January 1907 Bristol CityA0–46,00024 19 January 1907 Notts CountyH1–13,000Capes25 26 January 1907 Sheffield UnitedA0–29,00026 9 February 1907 Manchester UnitedA1–47,000Holford (pen)27 16 February 1907 Derby CountyA1–210,000Gallimore28 2 March 1907 SunderlandA1–312,000Fielding29 9 March 1907 BirminghamH3–03,000Fielding, Baddeley, Chalmers30 11 March 1907 LiverpoolH1–13,000Chalmers31 16 March 1907 EvertonA0–38,00032 29 March 1907 Newcastle UnitedA0–130,00033 30 March 1907 The WednesdayA1–010,000Chalmers34 6 April 1907 BuryH3–13,000Chalmers, Gallimore, Arrowsmith35 13 April 1907 Manchester CityA2–210,000Arrowsmith, Baddeley (pen)36 15 April 1907 Woolwich ArsenalH2–04,000Chalmers, Sturgess37 20 April 1907 MiddlesbroughH0–23,00038 27 April 1907 Preston North EndA2–26,000Chalmers, Davies

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersR112 January 1907 West Bromwich AlbionA1–130,000BaddeleyR1 Replay17 January 1907 West Bromwich AlbionH2–214,000Arrowsmith, FieldingR1 Second Replay21 January 1907 West Bromwich AlbionN0–225,000

Squad statistics Pos.NameLeagueFA CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsGK Fred Rathbone100010GK Leigh Richmond Roose30020320GK Isaiah Turner701080FB Harry Benson600060FB Charlie Burgess36030390FB Albert Cook100010FB Lloyd Davies23030260FB Ernest Mullineux16030190HB George Baddeley32331354HB Harry Croxton600060HB Tom Holford35510365HB Albert Sturgess37230402HB John Whitehouse200020FW Arthur Arrowsmith34731378FW Charlie Axcell300030FW Amos Baddeley400040FW Freddie Brown400040FW Adrian Capes11220132FW Jackie Chalmers2611302911FW Billy Davies12110131FW Ross Fielding28431315FW George Gallimore21200212FW Arthur Griffiths400040FW John Love Jones200020FW Jack Miller23020250FW Ernie Millward000000FW Syd Owen100010FW Fred Rouse10400104FW Bill Williamson300030

References