 At this time , the side was predominantly composed of local players who had come through the club 's youth system , including Matthews , Sale , Steele and John McCue , all in their prime , as well as the newly discovered Neil Franklin , regarded as the country 's best centre @-@ half . In the 1946 – 47 season , Stoke mounted a serious title challenge : the club needed a win in their final game of the season to win the First Division title , but a 2 – 1 defeat to Sheffield United gave the title to Liverpool . Stanley Matthews left the club three games before the end of the 1946 – 47 season to join Blackpool at the age of 32 for a fee of £ 11 @,@ 500 . The team subsequently failed to mount a title challenge in the following two seasons , 1947 – 48 and 1948 – 49 , finishing 15th and 11th respectively . 
