1999–2000 Stoke City F.C. season

March 2015 March 2015 Stoke City 1999–2000 Gary Megson, Gudjon Thordarson Keith Humphries, Gunnar Gíslason Britannia Stadium Football League Second Division 6th (82 Points) Play-offs Semi-final FA Cup First Round League Cup Second Round League Trophy Winner Peter Thorne (24) Peter Thorne (30) 15,354 vs Burnley (29 January 2000) 7,054 vs Millwall (22 August 1999) 11,246 1998–99 2000–01 _red_stripes _red_stripes _red_stripes _band_red FFFFFF FFFFFF The 1999–2000 season was Stoke City's 93rd season in the Football League and sixth in the third tier. For the third pre-season Stoke were looking for a new manager but the directors were finding it difficult with first choice Tony Pulis joining Bristol City openly admitting that he felt the board lacked ambition. Second choice was Gary Megson and he accepted the job offer as did John Rudge who became director of football. Stoke slowly built up some decent results but there were still tensions between fans and the board and so when news spread that an Icelandic business consortium wanted to take over it became a no-brainer. Unfortunately for Megson new chairman Gunnar Gíslason appointed his own man, former Iceland national manager Gudjon Thordarson. In came a number of Icelandic players and the side did well winning the Football League Trophy and reached the play-offs against Gillingham. After beating the "Gills" 3–2 in the first leg, two controversial refereeing decisions cost Stoke dearly and they lost the second leg 3–0.Lowe Simon Stoke City The Modern Era - A Complete Record 2000 Desert Island Books 1-874287-39-2 Season review League For the third consecutive summer, Stoke were hunting for a new manager, this time they had a clear favourite, Tony Pulis. However Pulis decided to join Bristol City after openly admitting that he felt the board lacked ambition. Second choice was Gary Megson, hard working and honest manager in the same mould as Pulis and he accepted Stoke's job offer. He appointed Nigel Pearson as his assistant and surprisingly John Rudge was made director of football after spending a long time at Port Vale. There was little expectation as the season began with some steady if unspectacular results and by the end of August Lárus Sigurðsson was sold to West Bromwich Albion for £350,000. Peter Thorne was proving to be a top player in the Second Division he scored the first few of his 30 goals. Stoke then went on a nine match unbeaten run and lifted themselves into the play-offs. In October news spread that a group of Icelandic businessmen were interested in taking control of the club and by mid November Stoke fans had their wishes granted and Gunnar Gíslason completed the Icelandic takeover under the name of Stoke Holding. Gary Megson through no fault of his own was replaced by Gudjon Thordarson and in came a number of Icelandic players and the new era began well with Stoke beating Wycombe Wanderers 4–0 away.It's just like watching Iceland! Stoke City fans celebrate new era at Wycombe on this day in 1999 https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/it-s-just-like-watching-iceland-stoke-city-fans-celebrate-new-era-at-wycombe-on-this-day-in-1999/story-29929019-detail/story.html https://web.archive.org/web/20161124090945/https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/it-s-just-like-watching-iceland-stoke-city-fans-celebrate-new-era-at-wycombe-on-this-day-in-1999/story-29929019-detail/story.html dead 24 November 2016 Stoke Sentinel 23 November 2016 There was now a much better feeling about the club with the injection of new money and players but this was knocked back greatly in early 2000. On 23 February 2000 arguably one of the greatest footballers the world has ever seen Stanley Matthews died at the age of 85. Matthews was not just a club legend but also to Stoke-on-Trent as a whole. He was remembered in a perfect way with Stoke beating Chesterfield 5–1 with Thorne scoring four goals.The day Peter Thorne scored FOUR (and shouldn't have even been in the team) https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/stoke-city-peter-thorne-chesterfield-1296345 Stoke Sentinel 22 May 2020 Stoke maintained their form from this match and went unbeaten until the final match of the season but despite a 1–0 defeat at Reading Stoke finished two points above Bristol Rovers and entered the play-offs. Their opponents were Gillingham and in the first leg 22,124 saw Stoke make a great start going into a 2–0 lead thanks to Arnar Gunnlaugsson and Kyle Lightbourne Gillingham pulled one back but Thorne restored Stoke's two goal advantage. Andy Hessenthaler then scored in injury time meaning the second leg would be a very tough match. In the second leg at Priestfield Stadium referee Rob Styles sent off both Graham Kavanagh and Clive Clarke for minor offences and Gillingham went on to win 3–0. FA Cup Another early exit for Stoke this season, defeated 2–0 away at Blackpool. League Cup After beating last seasons opponents Macclesfield Town Stoke lost 3–1 to Premier League Sheffield Wednesday. League Trophy Stoke began their Football League Trophy campaign on a cold December night against Third Division Darlington at the Britannia Stadium. With the scores level after normal time Kyle Lightbourne scored a golden goal to send Stoke through. Away wins over Oldham Athletic, Blackpool and Chesterfield saw Stoke in the area final against Rochdale. A 3–1 win in the first leg was followed by a 1–0 win in the second earning a place in the final against Bristol City. A crowd of 75,057 at Wembley saw Graham Kavanagh opened the scoring for Stoke before Paul Holland equalised for the Robins. Peter Thorne scored a close range winner for Stoke after 82 minutes earning Stoke their second Football League Trophy win. Final league table Second Division y STO Football League One play-offs#2000 Play-off results Results Stoke's score comes first Legend WinDrawLoss Pre-season friendlies MatchDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers117 July 1999Bolton WanderersH2–12,921Crowe, Connor221 July 1999Newport CountyA2–1878Oldfield (2)324 July 1999Hereford UnitedA0–0634325 July 1999Newcastle TownA4–11,966Connor (2), MacKenzie, Crowe428 July 1999Newcastle UnitedH1–27,171Jacobsen531 July 1999Chester CityA0–01,249 Football League Second Division 1999–2000 Football League MatchDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers1 7 August 1999 Oxford UnitedH1–211,300Kavanagh 59'2 14 August 1999 Preston North EndA1–211,465Thorne 8'3 22 August 1999 MillwallH3–17,054Thorne 15', Connor 51', Kavanagh 84' (pen)4 28 August 1999 BurnleyA0–111,3285 30 August 1999 GillinghamH1–18,369Sigurðsson 87'6 4 September 1999 Cambridge UnitedA3–14,007Connor 19', Oldfield 81', Thorne 86'7 11 September 1999 ChesterfieldA2–04,285Lightbourne (2) 50', 90'8 18 September 1999 Wigan AthleticH1–111,195Lightbourne 48'9 25 September 1999 WrexhamA3–25,924Thorne 27', Lightbourne 50', Mohan 78'10 2 October 1999 Scunthorpe UnitedH1–013,068Connor 90'11 9 October 1999 ReadingH2–19,621Mohan 68', Jacobsen 89'12 16 October 1999 BournemouthA1–15,990Clarke 62'13 19 October 1999 Cardiff CityA2–16,146Thorne 23', O'Connor 58'14 23 October 1999 WrexhamH2–010,545O'Connor 58', Kavanagh 58'15 3 November 1999 Notts CountyH0–111,61916 6 November 1999 BuryA0–04,28017 14 November 1999 Bristol CityH1–110,775Mohan 66'18 23 November 1999 Wycombe WanderersA4–04,345Kavanagh 44', Daníelsson 45', Thorne 62', Mohan 71'19 27 November 1999 Colchester UnitedH1–114,183Lightbourne 82'20 4 December 1999 Oxford UnitedA1–15,700Thorne 79'21 18 December 1999 Bristol RoversH1–210,379Keen 52'22 26 December 1999 BlackpoolA2–15,274Robinson 21', Kavanagh 57'23 28 December 1999 Oldham AthleticH0–013,70924 3 January 2000 BrentfordA1–06,792Thorne 60'25 8 January 2000 Luton TownH2–110,016Connor 24', Lightbourne 87'26 14 January 2000 Preston North EndH2–110,285Kippe 3', O'Connor 87'27 22 January 2000 MillwallA0–111,54828 29 January 2000 BurnleyH2–215,354Thorne 68', Davis (o.g.) 71'29 5 February 2000 GillinghamA0–37,80130 8 February 2000 Luton TownA1–25,396O'Connor 33'31 12 February 2000 Cambridge UnitedH1–09,429Connor 31'32 19 February 2000 Colchester UnitedA0–14,36433 26 February 2000 Wigan AthleticA2–19,429Kavanagh 28', O'Connor 77'34 4 March 2000 ChesterfieldH5–111,968Thorne (4) 8', 18', 41', 61', Jacobsen 90'35 11 March 2000 Notts CountyA0–09,67736 18 March 2000 Wycombe WanderersH1–19,738Gunnlaugsson 54' (pen)37 25 March 2000 BlackpoolH3–010,002Gunnarsson 62', Mohan 69', Guðjónsson 71'38 28 March 2000 Bristol CityA2–28,103Lightbourne 26', Kavanagh 39'39 1 April 2000 Bristol RoversA3–39,312Thorne (3) 10', 62', 79'40 4 April 2000 Oldham AthleticA1–04,474Thorne 23'41 8 April 2000 BrentfordH1–09,955Thorne 8'42 22 April 2000 BournemouthH1–015,022Thorne 81'43 24 April 2000 Scunthorpe UnitedA2–05,435Thorne (2) 24', 39'44 30 April 2000 Cardiff CityH2–114,192Gunnlaugsson 3', O'Connor 69'45 3 May 2000 BuryH3–014,792Thorne (3) 11', 55', 81'46 6 May 2000 ReadingA0–113,146 Second Division play-offs 2000 Football League play-offs RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersSemi-final 1st Leg 13 May 2000 GillinghamH3–222,124Gunnlaugsson 1', Lightbourne 8', Thorne 67'Semi-final 2nd Leg17 May 2000 GillinghamA0–3 (aet)10,386 FA Cup 1999–2000 FA Cup RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersR130 October 1999 BlackpoolA0–24,721 League Cup 1999–2000 Football League Cup RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersR1 1st Leg10 August 1999 Macclesfield TownA1–12,551Keen 8'R1 2nd Leg25 August 1999 Macclesfield TownH3–05,003Connor 59', Thorne 69', O'Connor 75'R2 1st Leg14 September 1999 Sheffield WednesdayH0–09,313R2 2nd Leg22 September 1999 Sheffield WednesdayA1–310,993Kavanagh 74' League Trophy 1999–2000 Football League Trophy 2000 Football League Trophy Final RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersR18 December 1999 DarlingtonH3–2 (aet)3,341Lightbourne (2) 25', 93', Reed 40' (o.g.)R218 January 2000 Oldham AthleticA1–0 (aet)4,682O'Connor 116'Quarter final25 January 2000 BlackpoolA2–14,943Gunnarsson 19', Kavanagh 79'Semi final15 February 2000 ChesterfieldA1–03,825O'Connor 82'Area final 1st Leg14 March 2000 RochdaleA3–14,241Hansson 4', Thorne (2) 21', 27'Area final 2nd Leg22 March 2000 RochdaleH1–016,876Thorne 86'Final16 April 2000 Bristol CityN2–175,057Kavanagh 32', Thorne 82' Squad statistics No.Pos.NameLeagueFA CupLeague CupLeague TrophyPlay-offsTotalDisciplineAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals13px13px1GKENG Gavin Ward46010407020600102DFENG Jason Kavanagh000010000010002MFISL Brynjar Gunnarsson21(1)10000612029(1)2303MFENG Bryan Small5(3)0001000006(3)0004DFENG Phil Robinson14(8)110201(1)00018(9)1005DFENG Nicky Mohan40500306020515916DFISL Lárus Sigurðsson510020000071306DFISL Sigursteinn Gíslason4(4)000002(2)0006(6)0007DFENG Chris Short140102(1)0000017(1)0308MFIRE Graham Kavanagh44(1)71041722058(1)10919FWENG Peter Thorne41(4)2410314(1)41150(5)303010FWENG Dean Crowe0(6)0000(2)010001(8)00011MFAUS David Oldfield7(12)1002(1)00(1)0009(14)10012FWBER Kyle Lightbourne35(5)710304(2)22145(7)107114GKENG Carl Muggleton0000000000000015MFENG Neil MacKenzie0(2)0000000000(2)00015DFSWE Mikael Hansson24(3)00000712033(3)11016FWENG Paul Connor15(11)50(1)02(2)12(1)01(1)020(16)63017MFIRE James O'Connor4251031722055814018DFENG Ben Petty7(6)000102(3)00010(9)01019DFENG Lee Collins0000000000000020FWENG Steven Taaffe2000100000300021MFENG Robert Heath0(3)00(1)00(1)000000(5)00022DFIRE Clive Clarke39(3)1103(1)0602051(4)17123DFENG Ashley Wooliscroft0010000000100024DFENG Matthew Bullock4(3)00(1)00000004(4)00025MFISL Bjarni Guðjónsson7(1)100001(2)01(1)09(4)12026MFENG Jamie Cartwright0000000000000027GKENG Stuart Fraser0000000000000028DFENG Jamie Godbold0000000000000029DFENG Richard Burgess0000000000000030MFENG Kevin Keen20(3)1103(1)1000024(4)23031FWSCO Chris Iwelumo0(3)000000(1)0000(4)00032DFNOR Anders Jacobsen29(4)21030501(1)039(5)25133MFISL Einar Daníelsson3(5)1000010004(5)10034MFENG Richard Dryden11(2)000000(1)01012(3)00034DFNOR Frode Kippe151000050002011035DFENG Sam Aiston2(4)0001000003(4)00036FWISL Arnar Gunnlaugsson10(3)20000302115(3)33037GKENG Calvin Dixon0000000000000038DFENG Steve Melton0(5)000000(1)00(1)00(7)000––Own goals–1–0–0–1–0–2–– References Category:Stoke City F.C. seasons Stoke City