올드보이의 귀환 | The Return of the Old Boys

Stoke City have been described as ‘new boys’ in many reports previewing the new EPL season but this isn’t really true. The club is spending its first season in the EPL but is in fact the second oldest professional football club in England and one of the oldest football clubs in the world.

The club was created in 1863 and only Notts County, which was founded a year earlier, is older than Stoke City FC. The club has spent many years in the top division, with little success, and so Stoke City’s promotion to the EPL is really the return of the ‘old boys’ to the summit of English football.

From obscurity to fame

The club is almost older than time and is so old that records of its early matches don’t actually exist. What is known is that the club was created as Stoke Ramblers by pupils of Charterhouse School who were working at the North Staffordshire Railway works in the town of Stoke-on-Trent in the West Midlands, famed for its pottery industry. At the time there were various forms of football and initially the club played something similar to today’s rugby.

The club moved to a new home, Sweetings Field, in 1875 as interest and attendances rose then merged with the cricket club three years later and became known as Stoke Football Club. The club then moved to the Athletic Club ground, which was renamed the Victoria Ground, and adopted its traditional red and white striped shirts. In August 1885 the club turned professional and then in 1888 it became one of the twelve founder members of the first ever professional football league in the world, the Football League.

Struggles

Sadly, Stoke soon found that it was out of its depth in the new league as the club struggled to field a full team due to the lateness or absence of players. Inevitably, it finished bottom of the table in its first two seasons and was replaced by Sunderland.

The club joined the new alternative league, the Football Alliance, and was champion at the first attempt. Then in 1891 the club returned to the Football League but generally remained unsuccessful, finishing next-to-bottom in the first season back and often fighting against relegation, although it did finish seventh in 1893 and sixth in 1896. The malaise continued into the new century and finally in 1908 the club was relegated from the Football League and sought a new life in the lower leagues.

Rebirth

The club finally returned to the Football League in 1919 and was reborn, buying its home and expanding its capacity to 50 000 then changing its name to Stoke City Football Club in 1928 after the town became a city. 51 130 squeezed into the Victoria Ground in March 1937 to see the Potters take on Arsenal for a record attendance as the good times continued. However, real success and trophies remained elusive and the club’s golden generation was denied the opportunity to prove themselves with the outbreak of war in 1939.

In 1947 the club came as close as it ever would to becoming League champions but, as a harsh winter extended the season to June, Stoke City lost its final game and handed the title to Liverpool. Decline followed but hope was resurrected by an appearance in the League Cup final in 1964. Finally the club won its first and only major trophy in 1972, defeating Chelsea 2-1 in the League Cup final.

Then, in 1976, fate played its part in another decline when a heavy storm blew the roof off one of the stands at the stadium, causing a financial crisis that forced the club to sell its best players. In 1997 the club left its home of 119 years and moved to a new ground, the Britannia Stadium, holding 28 383 supporters, but gave the fans little to cheer about until it finally returned to the top division last summer after twenty-three years away.

What do you think?
In what position will Stoke City finish at the end of the season?

© Andy Wray, British Council Thailand and Bangkok Post

Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoke_City_F.C. (retrieved 30 July, 2008)
http://www.stokecityfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/HistoryIndex/0,,10310,00.html (retrieved 30 July, 2008)

<Questions>

Understanding the story
1. Which football club is the story about?
2. What were the previous names of the club?
3. Why are the players described as ‘old boys’?
4. Does the club have a successful history?
5. What major trophies has the club won?

Answer

Find the information
1. What is the club’s nickname?
2. What colour shirts does the team wear?
3. Where is the club’s home?
4. How long did the club play at the Victoria Ground?
5. How many clubs created the Football League?

Answer

Vocabulary
Match these meanings with the words in bold in the story.
1. severe
2. increasing in size
3. a power that controls events
4. joined together
5. different
6. difficult to achieve
7. a very successful group
8. not good enough
9. bad situation
10. brought back after disappearing

Answer