2000–01 Stoke City F.C. season

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

Stoke City
2000–01 season
ChairmanGunnar Gíslason
ManagerGudjon Thordarson
StadiumBritannia Stadium
Football League Second Division5th (77 Points)
Play-offsSemi-final
FA CupFirst Round
League CupFourth Round
League TrophySemi final
Top goalscorerLeague: Peter Thorne
(16)

All: Peter Thorne
(19)
Highest home attendance22,133 vs Port Vale
(17 February 2001)
Lowest home attendance9,350 vs Brentford
(17 January 2001)
Average home league attendance13,767

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

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League

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
3 Reading 46 25 11 10 86 52 +34 86 Qualification for the Second Division play-offs
4 Walsall (O, P) 46 23 12 11 79 50 +29 81
5 Stoke City 46 21 14 11 74 49 +25 77
6 Wigan Athletic 46 19 18 9 53 42 +11 75
7 Bournemouth 46 20 13 13 79 55 +24 73
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

Results

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Stoke's score comes first

Legend

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Win Draw Loss

Pre-Season Friendlies

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Match Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
1 14 July 2000 ÍA Akranes A 1–1 Lightbourne
2 16 July 2000 KA Akureyri A 1–1 Þórðarson
3 17 July 2000 Víkingur A 2–2 O'Connor, Guðjónsson
4 22 July 2000 Liverpool H 1–0 16,101 Þórðarson 29'
5 24 July 2000 Darlington N 3–1 Heath, Lightbourne, Guðjónsson
6 26 July 2000 Bury N 1–2 O'Connor
7 28 July 2000 Isle of Man A 5–1 213 Þórðarson, Thomas, Gunnarsson, Lightbourne (2)
8 1 August 2000 Birmingham City H 2–1 5,148 Þórðarson 20', Connor 89'
9 4 August 2000 Newcastle Town A 3–0 2,153 Connor, Lightbourne, Georges Rossi

Football League Second Division

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Match Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers Report
1 12 August 2000 Wycombe Wanderers H 0–0 14,532 Report
2 19 August 2000 Bristol City A 2–1 12,590 Guðjónsson 76', O'Connor 87' Report
3 26 August 2000 Notts County H 0–1 13,041 Report
4 29 August 2000 Reading A 3–3 10,668 Hunter (o.g.) 17', Þórðarson 22', Fenton 75' Report
5 9 September 2000 Peterborough United H 3–0 13,011 Lightbourne 53', Þórðarson 87', Kavanagh 90' Report
6 13 September 2000 Oxford United H 4–0 9,600 Þórðarson 22', Guðjónsson 32', O'Connor 45', Robinson 71' Report
7 13 September 2000 Port Vale A 1–1 8,948 Lightbourne 15' Report
8 23 September 2000 Rotherham United H 1–1 13,472 Thorne 81' Report
9 30 September 2000 Colchester United A 1–0 3,758 Thorne 14' Report
10 14 October 2000 Swansea City A 1–2 6,498 Lightbourne 88' Report
11 17 October 2000 Cambridge United A 1–1 4,433 Thorne 41' Report
12 21 October 2000 Millwall H 3–2 13,752 Thorne (2) 8', 13', Iwelumo 90' Report
13 24 October 2000 Walsall A 0–3 6,996 Report
14 28 October 2000 Bournemouth H 2–1 11,572 Guðjónsson 9', O'Connor 13' Report
15 4 November 2000 Wrexham A 2–1 6,447 Thorne 16', Þórðarson 27' (pen) Report
16 7 November 2000 Northampton Town A 2–2 5,475 Kavanagh 10', O'Connor 24' Report
17 11 November 2000 Oldham Athletic H 0–1 12,503 Report
18 25 November 2000 Swindon Town A 3–0 4,904 Dryden 8' (o.g.), Lightbourne (2) 11', 78' Report
19 2 December 2000 Luton Town H 1–3 12,389 Mohan 35' Report
20 16 December 2000 Bristol Rovers A 3–0 6,338 Thorne (3) 3', 19', 40' Report
21 23 December 2000 Wigan Athletic A 1–1 8,957 O'Connor 65' Report
22 26 December 2000 Bury H 2–1 16,499 Daðason 39', Gunnarsson 84' Report
23 30 December 2000 Bristol City H 1–0 14,629 Guðjónsson 81' Report
24 1 January 2001 Notts County A 2–2 9,125 Guðjónsson 1', Cooke 80' Report
25 13 January 2001 Reading H 0–0 14,154 Report
26 17 January 2001 Brentford H 1–0 9,350 Daðason 22' Report
27 27 January 2001 Wigan Athletic H 2–0 16,859 Cooke 18', Thorne 60' Report
28 3 February 2001 Northampton Town H 1–1 13,235 Cooke 59' Report
29 10 February 2001 Peterborough United A 4–0 7,568 Thorne 2', Guðjónsson 45', Daðason 72', O'Connor 89' Report
30 17 February 2001 Port Vale H 1–1 22,133 O'Connor 55' Report
31 20 February 2001 Oxford United A 1–1 4,856 Cooke 69' Report
32 24 February 2001 Rotherham United A 1–2 8,211 Thorne 53' Report
33 3 March 2001 Colchester United H 3–1 11,714 Thorne (2) 9', 40', Kavanagh 88' Report
34 7 March 2001 Swansea City H 1–2 10,091 O'Connor 81' Report
35 10 March 2001 Brentford A 2–2 5,518 Cooke 17', Daðason 90' Report
36 13 March 2001 Wycombe Wanderers A 1–0 5,385 Kavanagh 11' (pen) Report
37 17 March 2001 Cambridge United H 2–3 11,939 Kavanagh 56', (pen), O'Connor 57' Report
38 27 March 2001 Bury A 0–1 4,224 Report
39 31 March 2001 Bristol Rovers H 4–1 12,274 Hansson (2) 4', 15', Thorne (2) 71', 86' Report
40 3 April 2001 Millwall A 0–2 11,639 Report
41 7 April 2001 Luton Town A 2–1 6,456 Taylor (o.g.) 30', Kavanagh 40' Report
42 14 April 2001 Walsall H 0–0 16,603 Report
43 17 April 2001 Bournemouth A 0–1 5,373 Report
44 21 April 2001 Wrexham H 3–1 12,687 Hardy (o.g) 6', Gunnarsson (2) 44', 56' Report
45 28 April 2001 Oldham Athletic A 2–1 9,359 Gunnarsson 73', Daðason 84' Report
46 5 May 2001 Swindon Town H 4–1 20,591 O'Halloran 1' (o.g.), Gunnarsson 12', Cooke 32', Kavanagh 45' (pen) Report

Second Division play-offs

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers Report
Semi-final 1st Leg 13 May 2001 Walsall H 0–0 21,482 Report
Semi-final 2nd Leg 16 May 2001 Walsall A 2–4 8,346 Kavanagh 31', Thorne 87' Report

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers Report
R1 18 November 2000 Nuneaton Borough H 0–0 8,437 Report
R1 Replay 21 November 2000 Nuneaton Borough A 0–1 4,477 Report

League Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers Report
R1 1st Leg 22 August 2000 York City A 5–1 2,035 Heath 10', Connor (2) 47', 59', Iwelumo 70', O'Connor 80' Report
R1 2nd Leg 6 September 2000 York City H 0–0 3,478 Report
R2 1st Leg 20 September 2000 Charlton Athletic H 2–1 9,388 Þórðarson 45' (pen), Goodfellow 86' Report
R2 2nd Leg 26 September 2000 Charlton Athletic A 3–4 (aet) 10,037 O'Connor 36', Gunnarsson 87', Þórðarson 107' Report
R3 1 November 2000 Barnsley H 3–2 10,480 Guðjónsson (2) 8', 56', Daðason 90' Report
R4 29 November 2000 Liverpool H 0–8 27,109 Report

League Trophy

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers Report
R1 6 December 2000 Scarborough H 3–1 2,336 Thorne (2) 21', 57', Cooke 25' Report
R2 9 January 2001 Halifax Town A 3–2 1,917 Daðason 31', Guðjónsson (2) 35', 90' Report
QF 7 February 2001 Walsall H 4–0 5,624 Clarke 3', Goodfellow 59', Petty 67', Þórðarson 81' (pen) Report
SF 5 March 2001 Port Vale H 1–2 (aet) 11,323 Mohan 87' Report

Squad statistics

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No. Pos. Name League FA Cup League Cup League Trophy Play-offs Total Discipline
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals    
1 GK   Gavin Ward 17 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 22 0 0 0
2 DF   Mikael Hansson 36(2) 2 2 0 4 0 1(1) 0 1 0 44(3) 2 0 0
3 DF   Clive Clarke 12(9) 0 1(1) 0 5(1) 0 3 1 2 0 23(11) 1 3 0
4 MF   Henrik Risom 9(16) 0 1 0 2(2) 0 4 0 0 0 16(18) 0 1 0
5 DF   Nicky Mohan 37 1 2 0 6 0 2 1 1 0 49 2 8 1
6 MF   Brynjar Gunnarsson 46 5 1 0 6 1 1(1) 0 2 0 56(1) 6 11 1
7 MF   Bjarni Guðjónsson 41(1) 6 2 0 5 2 2(1) 2 2 0 52(2) 10 10 0
8 MF   Graham Kavanagh 42(1) 7 2 0 4(1) 0 2 0 2 1 52(2) 8 7 0
9 FW   Peter Thorne 35(3) 16 2 0 3(1) 0 2(1) 2 1(1) 1 43(6) 19 3 0
10 FW   Ríkharður Daðason 13(14) 6 0(1) 0 0(1) 1 2(1) 1 1(1) 0 16(18) 8 0 0
12 FW   Kyle Lightbourne 11(11) 5 3 0 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 14(12) 5 3 0
14 GK   Carl Muggleton 11(1) 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 16(1) 0 0 0
15 MF   Tony Dorigo 34(2) 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 39(2) 0 2 0
16 FW   Paul Connor 1(6) 0 0 0 1(1) 2 0 0 0 0 2(7) 2 0 0
17 MF   James O'Connor 44 8 0(1) 0 5 2 2 0 2 0 53(1) 10 14 0
18 DF   Ben Petty 10(12) 0 2 0 3(1) 0 4 1 0(1) 0 19(14) 1 5 2
19 FW   Stefán Þórðarson 15(15) 4 2 0 4(2) 2 3(1) 1 0(1) 0 24(19) 7 6 0
20 DF   Kristján Örn Sigurðsson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
21 MF   Robert Heath 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
22 FW   Chris Iwelumo 0(2) 1 0 0 0(2) 1 0 0 0 0 0(4) 2 0 0
23 DF   Wayne Thomas 33(1) 0 1 0 3(1) 0 4 0 2 0 43(2) 0 9 1
24 DF   Matthew Bullock 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
25 DF   Ashley Wooliscroft 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
26 FW   Steven Taaffe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
27 DF   Frode Kippe 15(4) 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 20(4) 0 1 0
28 MF   Lewis Neal 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0(2) 0 0 0 0(3) 0 0 0
29 FW   Marc Goodfellow 0(7) 0 0(1) 0 0(2) 1 2 1 0 0 2(10) 2 0 0
31 MF   Graham Fenton 2(3) 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 4(3) 1 1 0
32 FW   Marvin Robinson 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 2 0
33 GK   Hjörvar Hafliðason 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
34 FW   Andy Cooke 21(1) 6 0 0 0 0 2(1) 1 1(1) 0 24(3) 7 4 0
35 DF   Lee Collins 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0
36 GK   Birkir Kristinsson 18 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 22 0 0 0
37 MF   Karl Henry 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0
Own goals 5 0 0 0 0 5

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Stoke City season review 2000-01 play-off heartache again for City". The Sentinel. 22 May 2001.