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1903–04 Stoke F.C. season

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Stoke
1903–04 season
ChairmanMr W Cowlishaw
ManagerHorace Austerberry
StadiumVictoria Ground
Football League First Division16th (27 Points)
FA CupFirst Round
Top goalscorerLeague: Arthur Capes
(11)

All: Arthur Capes
(11)
Highest home attendance16,000 vs Bury
(1 September 1903)
Lowest home attendance4,000 vs West Brom
(28 November 1903)
Average home league attendance8,610

The 1903–04 season was Stoke's 15th season in the Football League.

Any hopes Stoke fans had that last season's achievement of finishing sixth would signal a change in the club's fortunes were short-lived as the 1903–04 season was another poor one for Stoke. The team was in a hard relegation battle again and for the third time in four seasons Stoke required a final day escape and again they survived. Stoke drew the final match 1–1 with Derby County giving Stoke one more point than relegated Liverpool.[1]

Season review

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League

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Off the pitch, Stoke's financial problems continued after spending £2000 on a roof for the Butler Street Stand meaning that the season's budget was spent before a ball was kicked.[1] Stoke did receive some support from the church who agreed to provide a 21-year lease on the Victoria Ground enabling Stoke to continue improving their ground.[1] Hopes for similar improvements on the pitch however were short-lived as the 1903–04 season was another poor one for Stoke and their supporters.[1] The team were in deep relegation trouble from Christmas onwards. Arthur Lockett such a key figure in the side last season signed for Aston Villa, and although one or two other players were drafted in few looked to have any real class.[1] Stoke's best signing was that of Fred Rouse from Grimsby Town who would eventually be sold for a profit.[1]

By January 1904 Mart Watkins had followed Lockett to Villa and at Easter time there was certainly an element of déjà vu about the position the club were in.[1] West Bromwich Albion were sitting bottom of the table with 21 points from 30 games whilst Stoke were above them with the same number of points and matches played, while Liverpool had 22 points and Derby 23.[1] Again it all came down to the final match of the season and yet again Stoke survived, a point against Derby was enough to keep Stoke up.[1]

FA Cup

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Stoke lost 3–2 at home to Aston Villa in the first round in front of 15,000 spectators with Stoke's goals coming from George Baddeley and Sam Higginson.[1]

Final league table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Relegation
14 Derby County 34 9 10 15 58 60 0.967 28
15 Blackburn Rovers 34 11 6 17 48 60 0.800 28
16 Stoke 34 10 7 17 54 57 0.947 27
17 Liverpool (R) 34 9 8 17 49 62 0.790 26 Relegation to the Second Division
18 West Bromwich Albion (R) 34 7 10 17 36 60 0.600 24
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(R) Relegated

Results

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Stoke's score comes first

Legend

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Win Draw Loss

Football League First Division

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Match Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
1 1 September 1903 Bury H 4–1 16,000 Davies, Higginson, Watkins, Capes
2 5 September 1903 Manchester City H 1–2 15,000 Whitehouse
3 12 September 1903 Notts County A 0–1 12,000
4 19 September 1903 Sheffield United H 3–4 12,000 Whitehouse, Higginson, Bradley
5 26 September 1903 Newcastle United A 0–1 15,000
6 3 October 1903 Aston Villa H 2–0 14,000 Watkins, Whitehouse
7 10 October 1903 Middlesbrough A 0–2 15,000
8 17 October 1903 Liverpool H 5–2 10,000 Whitehouse, Capes, Holford, Holdcroft (2)
9 24 October 1903 Bury A 2–2 5,000 Holford, Coxon
10 31 October 1903 Blackburn Rovers H 6–2 10,000 Holford, Coxon, Watkins, Whitehouse, Capes, Eastham (o.g.)
11 14 November 1903 The Wednesday H 3–1 12,000 Coxon, Watkins, Capes
12 21 November 1903 Sunderland A 0–3 10,000
13 25 November 1903 Nottingham Forest A 2–4 1,500 Baddeley, Capes
14 28 November 1903 West Bromwich Albion H 5–0 4,000 Watkins, Whitehouse, Davies (2), Higginson
15 5 December 1903 Small Heath A 0–1 5,000
16 12 December 1903 Everton H 2–3 7,000 Watkins, Coxon
17 19 December 1903 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 5–1 6,000 Watkins (2), Capes (3)
18 25 December 1903 Blackburn Rovers A 0–2 25,000
19 26 December 1903 Derby County A 0–5 18,000
20 28 December 1903 Middlesbrough H 0–0 10,000
21 2 January 1904 Manchester City A 2–2 16,000 Capes, Whitehouse
22 9 January 1904 Notts County H 0–2 8,000
23 16 January 1904 Sheffield United A 1–1 12,000 Gallimore
24 23 January 1904 Newcastle United H 2–3 6,000 Capes, Holford
25 30 January 1904 Aston Villa A 1–3 10,000 Capes
26 13 February 1904 Liverpool A 0–0 13,000
27 5 March 1904 Nottingham Forest H 2–3 7,000 Leonard (2)
28 12 March 1904 The Wednesday A 0–1 15,000
29 19 March 1904 Sunderland H 3–1 10,000 Leonard, Bradley, Haworth
30 26 March 1904 West Bromwich Albion A 0–3 8,107
31 2 April 1904 Small Heath H 1–0 5,000 Coxon
32 4 April 1904 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 0–0 6,000
33 9 April 1904 Everton A 1–0 12,000 Whitehouse
34 23 April 1904 Derby County H 1–1 5,000 Whitehouse

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
R1 6 February 1904 Aston Villa H 2–3 15,000 Higginson, Baddeley

Squad statistics

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Pos. Name League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK England Jack Benton 1 0 0 0 1 0
GK England Arthur Box 0 0 0 0 0 0
GK Wales Leigh Richmond Roose 32 0 1 0 33 0
GK Wales Horace Viner 1 0 0 0 1 0
FB England Harry Benson 13 0 0 0 13 0
FB England Charlie Burgess 22 0 0 0 22 0
FB England Arthur Hartshorne 26 0 1 0 27 0
FB Wales Sam Meredith 7 0 1 0 8 0
HB England George Baddeley 34 1 1 1 35 2
HB England James Bradley 29 2 1 0 30 2
HB England Tom Holford 34 3 1 0 35 3
HB England Albert Sturgess 3 0 0 0 3 0
FW England Arthur Capes 28 11 1 0 29 11
FW England Tom Coxon 21 5 1 0 22 5
FW Wales Lloyd Davies 7 3 0 0 7 3
FW England Ross Fielding 5 0 1 0 6 0
FW England George Gallimore 3 1 0 0 3 1
FW England Jack Haworth 4 1 0 0 4 1
FW England Sam Higginson 20 3 1 1 21 4
FW England Charlie Hinks 1 0 0 0 1 0
FW England Ted Holdcroft 17 3 0 0 17 3
FW England Arthur Leonard 10 3 0 0 10 3
FW England John Murphy 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW England Albert Pitt 4 0 0 0 4 0
FW England Fred Rouse 1 0 0 0 1 0
FW England Alf Smith 1 0 0 0 1 0
FW Wales Mart Watkins 19 8 0 0 19 8
FW England Frank Whitehouse 31 9 1 0 32 9
Own goals 1 0 1

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.