1958–59 Stoke City F.C. season

March 2015 March 2015 Stoke City 1958–59 Frank Taylor Mr C. Salmon Victoria Ground Football League Second Division 5th (49 Points) FA Cup Fourth Round Dennis Wilshaw (15) Dennis Wilshaw (18) 30,083 vs Leyton Orient (27 December 1958) 6,855 vs Grimsby Town (25 April 1959) 17,249 1957–58 1959–60 _red_stripes _red_stripes _red_stripes _color_3_stripes_red FFFFFF FFFFFF The 1958–59 season was Stoke City's 52nd season in the Football League and the 19th in the Second Division. After failing to sign any new players in the summer of 1958, Stoke City manager Frank Taylor faced a difficult season ahead. His decision not to strengthen the squad was soon proven to be a mistake, as the team suffered a 6–1 defeat on the opening day of the season. Despite a difficult start to the season, Stoke City managed to turn their fortunes around with two solid unbeaten runs before the end of 1958. These strong performances put the team in contention for promotion, but they were unable to maintain their momentum in 1959. Six wins out of 23 matches left them 11 points behind second-placed Fulham. It was a disappointing end to a season that had shown some promise.Matthews Tony The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City 1994 Lion Press 0-9524151-0-0 Season review League During the summer of 1958, Stoke City completed the rebuilding of the main stand at the Victoria Ground, which cost £70,000. While the stand was an impressive addition to the ground, some fans worried that the cost would impact the team's ability to sign new players. For the 1958–59 season, Stoke's lack of major signings and the absence of key players such as Bobby Howitt and Tony Allen put the team at a disadvantage. They were badly missed as Stoke were hammered 6–1 by an impressive Fulham side led by Johnny Haynes. After a slow start to the season, Stoke went on a nine-game unbeaten run in the league, which helped them climb to third place in the table by December. The team's resurgence was a welcome turnaround after a disappointing start. In the new year, Stoke's form declined, and they were unable to keep up with Sheffield Wednesday and Fulham at the top of the table. Stoke ultimately finished the season in 5th place, having fallen away from the top two positions. While it was a creditable finish, it was a disappointing end to a season that had promised so much. The 1958–59 season was a transitional one for Stoke City, with the departure of Neville Coleman and the aging of some key players. Coleman had scored 52 goals in 126 appearances for the club before moving on to Crewe Alexandra. Veterans Frank Bowyer, John McCue, and Harry Oscroft were nearing the end of their careers. Despite these changes, there were reasons for optimism as the team continued to develop. Before the season was out, Oscroft was involved in a three-man swap, as he and Peter Ford move to Vale Park in exchange for John Cunliffe a left-winger who had a good career at Vale but failed to make an impression with Stoke. John Sellars who missed the season due to an eye injury decided to retire and Stoke decided to end their season with a trip to Morocco. FA Cup In the third round, Dennis Wilshaw bagged a hat trick as Oldham Athletic were well beaten 5–1 before Ipswich Town came and frustrated Stoke and in the fourth round before nicking a 1–0 win. Final league table Second Division y STK Results Stoke's score comes first Legend WinDrawLoss Football League Second Division 1958–59 Football League MatchDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers1 23 August 1958 FulhamA1–631,853Oscroft2 27 August 1958 Sheffield WednesdayH3–024,126King, Cairns (pen), Bullock3 30 August 1958 Lincoln CityH1–020,359Oscroft4 30 August 1958 Sheffield WednesdayA1–423,622Oscroft5 6 September 1958 SunderlandA1–331,894King (pen)6 10 September 1958 Scunthorpe UnitedH4–317,824King, Bullock, Wilshaw (2)7 13 September 1958 MiddlesbroughH3–124,867King, Oscroft, Ratcliffe8 18 September 1958 Scunthorpe UnitedA1–114,232Bullock9 20 September 1958 Swansea TownH3–020,196King, Wilshaw (2)10 27 September 1958 Ipswich TownA2–017,569King, Wilshaw11 4 October 1958 Bristol RoversH2–219,763Bowyer, Thomson12 13 October 1958 Charlton AthleticA2–117,959King, Howitt13 18 October 1958 Bristol CityH2–122,657King (pen), Thomson14 22 October 1958 Derby CountyH2–120,456Bowyer, Wilshaw15 25 October 1958 Cardiff CityA1–220,351King16 1 November 1958 LiverpoolH0–226,91917 8 November 1958 BarnsleyA1–212,080Oscroft18 15 November 1958 Rotherham UnitedH3–015,263Oscroft, Howitt (2)19 22 November 1958 Sheffield UnitedA1–218,636Anderson20 29 November 1958 Brighton & Hove AlbionH3–013,251Wilshaw (2), Howitt21 6 December 1958 Grimsby TownA2–29,255Howitt, Asprey22 13 December 1958 Huddersfield TownH5–112,761Howitt, Wilshaw (2), Bowyer, Ward23 20 December 1958 FulhamH4–118,457Howitt (2), Oscroft (2)24 26 December 1958 Leyton OrientA1–012,173Ward25 27 December 1958 Leyton OrientH3–230,083Asprey, Wilshaw (2)26 3 January 1959 Lincoln CityA1–38,813Bowyer27 31 January 1959 MiddlesbroughA0–018,86928 7 February 1959 Swansea TownA0–111,12329 16 February 1959 Ipswich TownH1–011,230King30 21 February 1959 Bristol RoversA0–116,34131 28 February 1959 BarnsleyH2–113,015Asprey, Wilshaw32 7 March 1959 Bristol CityA1–215,673Howitt33 14 March 1959 Cardiff CityH0–111,92934 20 March 1959 LiverpoolA4–335,507Asprey, Wilshaw (2), White (o.g.)35 28 March 1959 Charlton AthleticH2–114,115Howitt, King36 30 March 1959 Derby CountyA0–324,34237 4 April 1959 Rotherham UnitedA0–010,17238 6 April 1959 SunderlandH0–07,51339 11 April 1959 Sheffield UnitedH1–210,439Bullock40 18 April 1959 Brighton & Hove AlbionA2–219,501Bowyer, Bullock41 22 April 1959 Huddersfield TownA2–19,891Bowyer, Ward42 25 April 1959 Grimsby TownH4–06,855Ward, Asprey, King (2) FA Cup 1958–59 FA Cup RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersR34 January 1959 Oldham AthleticH5–122,035Howitt, Asprey, Wilshaw (3)R48 January 1959 Ipswich TownH0–127,062 Friendlies MatchOpponentVenueResult1Port ValeA1–22Port ValeA4–03Crewe AlexandraA5–14BilstonA8–05AirdrieoniansH3–16First ViennaH1–17Macclesfield TownA2–08WAC CasablancaA3–19Royal Moroccan ArmyA5–0 Squad statistics Pos.NameLeagueFA CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsGKENG Wilf Hall11020130GKENG Bill Robertson31000310DFENG Tony Allen36020380DFENG Ron Andrew200020DFENG Peter Ford700070DFENG John McCue42020440DFSCO Ken Thomson38220402MFENG Bill Asprey42521446MFSCO Bobby Cairns29120311FWAUS John Anderson610061FWENG Tony Bentley200020FWENG Frank Bowyer24620266FWENG Peter Bullock13500135FWENG Neville Coleman800080FWSCO Bobby Howitt2710212911FWENG Johnny King3313003313FWENG Harry Oscroft28820308FWENG Don Ratcliffe31100311FWENG Jimmy Wallace600060FWENG Derrick Ward15420174FWENG Dennis Wilshaw3115233318–Own goals–1–0–1 References Category:Stoke City F.C. seasons Stoke