2000–01 Stoke City F.C. season

Stoke City
2000–01 season
Chairman Gunnar Gíslason
Manager Gudjon Thordarson
Stadium Britannia Stadium
Football League Second Division 5th (77 Points)
FA Cup First Round
League Cup Fourth Round
League Trophy Semi final
Top goalscorer League: Peter Thorne (16)
All: Peter Thorne (19)
Highest home attendance 22,133 vs Port Vale (17 February 2001)
Lowest home attendance 9,350 vs Brentford (17 January 2001)
Average home league attendance 13,767
Home colours

The 2000–01 season was Stoke City's 94th season in the Football League and the seventh in the third tier.[1]

Manager Gudjon Thordarson again brought in some of his fellow countrymen as Stoke were looking to gain promotion to the First Division. The close season saw Stoke beat higher placed teams in the form of Birmingham City and Liverpool but a goalless draw with Wycombe Wanderers emphasized that pre-season results mean nothing. Stoke's form was steady if not spectacular but two terrible cup exists, defeat to Nuneaton Borough in the FA Cup and a shocking 8–0 loss at home to Liverpool in the League Cup threatened to derail Stoke's season. But Stoke responded by going 12 matches unbeaten and for the second season running Stoke entered the lottery of the play-offs. Walsall were the opponents and after a 0–0 draw the "Saddlers" proved to be too strong at the Bescot Stadium and won the match 4–2 leaving Stoke facing a fourth season in the third tier.[1]

Season review

League

The Icelandic invasion of Stoke-on-Trent was now in full flow with no less than ten Scandinavian players agreeing to join the club.[1] Amongst them were club record signing Brynjar Gunnarsson, the manager's son Bjarni Guðjónsson, Swedish full-back Mikael Hansson and new forwards Stefán Þórðarson and Ríkharður Daðason although Daðason took until October before he could complete his move from Norwegian football.[1] Stoke went on a pre-season tour of Iceland and then had two impressive results against Birmingham City and Liverpool.[1] Tony Dorigo and Wayne Thomas both joined the side before the season opener at home to Wycombe Wanderers with excitement rife after the good pre-season.[1] But a frustrating 0–0 followed and those it seemed that pre-season results are pretty pointless.[1]

Stoke soon started to get their act together and began to find the back of the net regularly with Peterborough United beaten 3–0 and Oxford United 4–0 and a 3–3 draw away at Reading.[1] The first Potteries derby ended 1–1 but in the next match against Rotherham United on-loan striker Marvin Robinson broke his leg in a nasty collision with the Rotherham goalkeeper.[1] A last minute victory over Millwall was a vital win against a promotion rival and with the arrival of Dadason it seemed that Stoke could continue their push for an automatic position but two truly awful defeats in the FA and League Cup saw the feeling around the club drop and after a 3–1 defeat at home to bottom of the table Luton Town there was a major danger that those results could affect their league form.[1] But City to their credit got their act together and went on a 13 match unbeaten run cementing their place in the play-offs.[1]

But Stoke not making life easy for themselves lost to several lowly placed sides increasing the risk of being caught but three wins at the end of the season saw Stoke finish in 5th position with 77 points and they come up against an impressive Walsall side. The first leg at the Britannia was a tense affair which saw Ben Petty 'sacrifice' himself to prevent a goal for Walsall and the match ended 0–0.[1] The second leg started well enough for Stoke with Graham Kavanagh putting City into the lead but a goalkeeping howler from Gavin Ward gifted the "Saddlers" an equaliser. In a mad 15 minute spell in the second half Walsall scored three without reply and despite Peter Thorne scoring it was too little to late and Stoke would have to try again to gain that promotion out of the third tier.[1]

FA Cup

Stoke were on the receiving end of a cup shock as after a 0–0 draw at home with non-league Nuneaton Borough, the replay was a stereotypical cup upset waiting to happen with heavy rain a muddy pitch and a hostile home crowd. And it all proved too scripted for Stoke as in the last minute Marc McGregor secured a famous win for Nuneaton.[1]

League Cup

Stoke had a decent run to the fourth round after beating York City 5–1, Premier League Charlton Athletic on away goals after a thrilling 5–5 aggregate score and a 3–2 over Barnsley saw Stoke earn a glamour tie against Liverpool. But it quickly turned into a nightmare for Stoke as Liverpool ran riot scoring with every shot they took and ended up with an 8–0 victory, Stoke's worst home defeat.[1]

League Trophy

As holders Stoke were looking to retain the Football League Trophy and they made it to the northern section semi final against local rivals Port Vale after beating Scarborough (3–1), Halifax Town (3–2) and Walsall (4–0). The tie was originally scheduled to be played at Vale Park but with several failed attempts to play the match due to a waterlogged pitch the match was moved to the Britannia Stadium. Vale won a dour match 2–1 after extra time and they went on to lift the trophy.[1]

Final league table

PosClubPWDLFAGDPts
1Millwall4628998938+5193
2Rotherham United46271097955+2491
3Reading462511108652+3486
4Walsall462312117950+2981
5Stoke City462114117449+2577
6Wigan Athletic46191895342+1175
7Bournemouth462013137955+2273
8Notts County461912156266–469
9Bristol City461814147056+1468
10Wrexham461712176571–663
11Port Vale461614165549+662
12Peterborough United461514176166–559
13Wycombe Wanderers461514174653–759
14Brentford461417155670–1459
15Oldham Athletic461513185365–1258
16Bury461610204559–1458
17Colchester United461512195559–457
18Northampton Town461512194659–1357
19Cambridge United461411216177–1653
20Swindon Town461313204765–1852
21Bristol Rovers461215195357–451
22Luton Town46913245280–2840
23Swansea City46813254773–2637
24Oxford United46763353100–4727

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

Stoke's score comes first

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Pre-Season Friendlies

MatchDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
114 July 2000ÍA AkranesA1–1Lightbourne
216 July 2000KA AkureyriA1–1Þórðarson
317 July 2000VíkingurA2–2O'Connor, Guðjónsson
422 July 2000LiverpoolH1–016,101Þórðarson 29'
524 July 2000DarlingtonN3–1Heath, Lightbourne, Guðjónsson
626 July 2000BuryN1–2O'Connor
728 July 2000Isle of ManA5–1213Þórðarson, Thomas, Gunnarsson, Lightbourne (2)
81 August 2000Birmingham CityH2–15,148Þórðarson 20', Connor 89'
94 August 2000Newcastle TownA3–02,153Connor, Lightbourne, Georges Rossi

Football League Second Division

MatchDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersReport
1 12 August 2000 Wycombe WanderersH0–014,532Report
2 19 August 2000 Bristol CityA2–112,590Guðjónsson 76', O'Connor 87'Report
3 26 August 2000 Notts CountyH0–113,041Report
4 29 August 2000 ReadingA3–310,668Hunter (o.g.) 17', Þórðarson 22', Fenton 75'Report
5 9 September 2000 Peterborough UnitedH3–013,011Lightbourne 53', Þórðarson 87', Kavanagh 90'Report
6 13 September 2000 Oxford UnitedH4–09,600Þórðarson 22', Guðjónsson 32', O'Connor 45', Robinson 71'Report
7 13 September 2000 Port ValeA1–18,948Lightbourne 15'Report
8 23 September 2000 Rotherham UnitedH1–113,472Thorne 81'Report
9 30 September 2000 Colchester UnitedA1–03,758Thorne 14'Report
10 14 October 2000 Swansea CityA1–26,498Lightbourne 88'Report
11 17 October 2000 Cambridge UnitedA1–14,433Thorne 41'Report
12 21 October 2000 MillwallH3–213,752Thorne (2) 8', 13', Iwelumo 90'Report
13 24 October 2000 WalsallA0–36,996Report
14 28 October 2000 BournemouthH2–111,572Guðjónsson 9', O'Connor 13'Report
15 4 November 2000 WrexhamA2–16,447Thorne 16', Þórðarson 27' (pen)Report
16 7 November 2000 Northampton TownA2–25,475Kavanagh 10', O'Connor 24'Report
17 11 November 2000 Oldham AthleticH0–112,503Report
18 25 November 2000 Swindon TownA3–04,904Dryden 8' (o.g.), Lightbourne (2) 11', 78'Report
19 2 December 2000 Luton TownH1–312,389Mohan 35'Report
20 16 December 2000 Bristol RoversA3–06,338Thorne (3) 3', 19', 40'Report
21 23 December 2000 Wigan AthleticA1–18,957O'Connor 65'Report
22 26 December 2000 BuryH2–116,499Daðason 39', Gunnarsson 84'Report
23 30 December 2000 Bristol CityH1–014,629Guðjónsson 81'Report
24 1 January 2001 Notts CountyA2–29,125Guðjónsson 1', Cooke 80'Report
25 13 January 2001 ReadingH0–014,154Report
26 17 January 2001 BrentfordH1–09,350Daðason 22'Report
27 27 January 2001 Wigan AthleticH2–016,859Cooke 18', Thorne 60'Report
28 3 February 2001 Northampton TownH1–113,235Cooke 59'Report
29 10 February 2001 Peterborough UnitedA4–07,568Thorne 2', Guðjónsson 45', Daðason 72', O'Connor 89'Report
30 17 February 2001 Port ValeH1–122,133O'Connor 55'Report
31 20 February 2001 Oxford UnitedA1–14,856Cooke 69'Report
32 24 February 2001 Rotherham UnitedA1–28,211Thorne 53'Report
33 3 March 2001 Colchester UnitedH3–111,714Thorne (2) 9', 40', Kavanagh 88'Report
34 7 March 2001 Swansea CityH1–210,091O'Connor 81'Report
35 10 March 2001 BrentfordA2–25,518Cooke 17', Daðason 90'Report
36 13 March 2001 Wycombe WanderersA1–05,385Kavanagh 11' (pen)Report
37 17 March 2001 Cambridge UnitedH2–311,939Kavanagh 56', (pen), O'Connor 57'Report
38 27 March 2001 BuryA0–14,224Report
39 31 March 2001 Bristol RoversH4–112,274Hansson (2) 4', 15', Thorne (2) 71', 86'Report
40 3 April 2001 MillwallA0–211,639Report
41 7 April 2001 Luton TownA2–16,456Taylor (o.g.) 30', Kavanagh 40'Report
42 14 April 2001 WalsallH0–016,603Report
43 17 April 2001 BournemouthA0–15,373Report
44 21 April 2001 WrexhamH3–112,687Hardy (o.g) 6', Gunnarsson (2) 44', 56'Report
45 28 April 2001 Oldham AthleticA2–19,359Gunnarsson 73', Daðason 84'Report
46 5 May 2001 Swindon TownH4–120,591O'Halloran 1' (o.g.), Gunnarsson 12', Cooke 32', Kavanagh 45' (pen)Report

Second Division play-offs

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersReport
Semi-final 1st Leg 13 May 2001 WalsallH0–021,482Report
Semi-final 2nd Leg 16 May 2001 WalsallA2–48,346Kavanagh 31', Thorne 87'Report

FA Cup

Main article: 2000–01 FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersReport
R118 November 2000 Nuneaton BoroughH0–08,437Report
R1 Replay21 November 2000 Nuneaton BoroughA0–14,477Report

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersReport
R1 1st Leg22 August 2000 York CityA5–12,035Heath 10', Connor (2) 47', 59', Iwelumo 70', O'Connor 80'Report
R1 2nd Leg6 September 2000 York CityH0–03,478Report
R2 1st Leg20 September 2000 Charlton AthleticH2–19,388Þórðarson 45' (pen), Goodfellow 86'Report
R2 2nd Leg26 September 2000 Charlton AthleticA3–4 (aet)10,037O'Connor 36', Gunnarsson 87', Þórðarson 107'Report
R31 November 2000 BarnsleyH3–210,480Guðjónsson (2) 8', 56', Daðason 90'Report
R4 29 November 2000 LiverpoolH0–827,109Report

League Trophy

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersReport
R16 December 2000 ScarboroughH3–12,336Thorne (2) 21', 57', Cooke 25'Report
R29 January 2001 Halifax TownA3–21,917Daðason 31', Guðjónsson (2) 35', 90'Report
QF7 February 2001 WalsallH4–05,624Clarke 3', Goodfellow 59', Petty 67', Þórðarson 81' (pen)Report
SF5 March 2001 Port ValeH1–2 (aet)11,323Mohan 87'Report

Squad statistics

No. Pos. Name League FA Cup League Cup League Trophy Play-offs Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
1GKEngland Gavin Ward 17000300020220
2DFSweden Mikael Hansson 36(2)220401(1)01044(3)2
3DFRepublic of Ireland Clive Clarke 12(9)01(1)05(1)0312023(11)1
4MFDenmark Henrik Risom 9(16)0102(2)0400016(18)0
5DFEngland Nicky Mohan 37120602110492
6MFIceland Brynjar Gunnarsson 46510611(1)02056(1)6
7MFIceland Bjarni Guðjónsson 41(1)620522(1)22052(2)10
8MFRepublic of Ireland Graham Kavanagh 42(1)7204(1)0202151(2)8
9FWEngland Peter Thorne 35(3)16203(1)02(1)21(1)143(6)19
10FWIceland Ríkharður Daðason 13(14)60(1)00(1)12(1)11(1)016(18)8
12FWBermuda Kyle Lightbourne 11(11)50(1)00(1)0000011(13)5
14GKEngland Carl Muggleton 11(1)02030000016(1)0
15MFAustralia Tony Dorigo 34(2)02030001040(2)0
16FWEngland Paul Connor 1(6)0001(1)200002(7)2
17MFRepublic of Ireland James O'Connor 4480(1)052202053(1)10
18DFEngland Ben Petty 10(12)0203(1)0410(1)019(14)1
19FWIceland Stefán Þórðarson 15(15)4204(2)22(1)10(1)023(19)7
20DFIceland Kristján Örn Sigurðsson 000000000000
21MFEngland Robert Heath 000011000011
22FWScotland Chris Iwelumo 0(2)1000(2)100000(4)2
23DFEngland Wayne Thomas 33(1)0103(1)0402043(2)0
24DFEngland Matthew Bullock 000000000000
25DFEngland Ashley Wooliscroft 000000000000
26FWEngland Steven Taaffe 000000000000
27DFNorway Frode Kippe 15(4)00000302020(4)0
28MFEngland Lewis Neal 0(1)000000(2)0000(3)0
29FWEngland Marc Goodfellow 0(7)00(1)00(2)121002(10)2
31MFEngland Graham Fenton 2(3)1002000004(3)1
32FWEngland Marvin Robinson 310000000031
33GKIceland Hjörvar Hafliðason 000000000000
34FWEngland Andy Cooke 21(1)600002(1)11(1)024(3)7
35DFEngland Lee Collins 00000(1)000000(1)0
36GKIceland Birkir Kristinsson 18000004000220
37MFEngland Karl Henry 0000000(1)0000(1)0
Own goals 500005

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Stoke City season review 2000-01 play-off hardache again for City". The Sentinel. 22 May 2001.
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