1932–33 Stoke City F.C. season
Introduction The 1932–33 season was Stoke City's 33rd season in the Football League and the 13th in the Second Division.After almost gaining promotion last season there was great belief that Stoke would finally make a return to the First Division. And they would do so in impressive style, setting a number of records as they finished in 1st place, a point ahead of Tottenham Hotspur to claim the Second Division title.
Season review ===League===After last season's success the main topic amongst the supporters was whether or not their squad of up-and-coming young players was good enough to get Stoke promoted. Mather did not sign anyone during the summer claiming he was happy with his squad and confident that promotion could be gained.Stoke started the 1932–33 season brilliantly winning 13 from their first 18 matches, with Joe Johnson, Joe Mawson, Bobby Liddle and Stanley Matthews in fine form. No wins in December allowed Tottenham Hotspur to close the gap at the top of the table and they would be destined to be running partners for the rest of the season. Mawson suffered injury towards the end of the season which would ruin his career and Mather brought in Reading forward Jack Palethorpe to fill the gap and he did well scoring eight goals in ten matches.Stoke produced the goods and with a 5–2 win over Lincoln City they finished top of the table taking the Second Division title in style finishing a point above Tottenham Hotspur and six ahead of third-placed Fulham. Stoke achieved a number of records during a memorable season, such as most wins in the Football League (25), the best goal average in the top two leagues (2.000), the best away record in Division Two, and the best defensive record. Joe Mawson became leading goalscorer for the second season running with 16 goals. During the season Bob McGrory was made coach of the reserve squad and only made a few appearances.===FA Cup===With Stoke's main goal achieving promotion little pressure was placed on the FA Cup and ultimately they tamely lost 4–1 at Middlesbrough.
Final league table
Results ''Stoke's score comes first''===Legend===WinDrawLoss===Football League Second Division===MatchDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers1 27 August 1932 Manchester UnitedA2–024,996Mawson (2)2 29 August 1932 MillwallH1–213,026Mawson3 3 September 1932 Tottenham HotspurH2–012,230Davies (2)4 5 September 1932 MillwallA0–010,0005 10 September 1932 Grimsby TownA1–06,000Ware6 17 September 1932 Oldham AthleticH4–013,528Mawson (2), Johnson (2)7 24 September 1932 Preston North EndA3–110,000Turner, Mawson, Ware8 1 October 1932 BurnleyH3–012,583Johnson (3)9 8 October 1932 Bradford Park AvenueA2–28,000Turner, Mawson10 15 October 1932 Plymouth ArgyleH2–010,156Mawson (2)11 22 October 1932 Port ValeH1–029,243Johnson12 29 October 1932 Notts CountyA4–38,500Liddle, Mawson (2), Johnson13 5 November 1932 Swansea TownH2–015,268Davies, Johnson14 12 November 1932 SouthamptonA0–110,00015 19 November 1932 West Ham UnitedH0–011,06916 26 November 1932 FulhamA3–125,000Turner, Sale, Mawson17 3 December 1932 ChesterfieldH2–112,102Davies, Johnson18 10 December 1932 Lincoln CityA3–24,500Mawson, Johnson, Sale19 17 December 1932 BuryH2–313,521Turner, Sale20 24 December 1932 Bradford CityA1–17,500Sale21 26 December 1932 Nottingham ForestH0–122,27922 27 December 1932 Nottingham ForestA0–113,00023 31 December 1932 Manchester UnitedH0–014,11524 7 January 1933 Tottenham HotspurA2–320,000Liddle, Ware25 21 January 1933 Grimsby TownH2–08,421Mawson, Johnson26 31 January 1933 Oldham AthleticA4–03,908Johnson (2), Ware, Salmon27 4 February 1933 Preston North EndH1–112,750Sale28 11 February 1933 BurnleyA2–112,228Sellars, Mawson29 18 February 1933 Bradford Park AvenueH4–07,962Sellars, Liddle, Mawson, Ware30 25 February 1933 Plymouth ArgyleA0–18,00031 4 March 1933 Port ValeA3–119,484Johnson, Ware, Matthews32 11 March 1933 Notts CountyH0–214,22333 18 March 1933 Swansea TownA2–07,000Palethorpe (2)34 25 March 1933 SouthamptonH3–118,891Sale, Jackson, Palethorpe35 1 April 1933 West Ham UnitedA2–110,000Sale, Palethorpe36 8 April 1933 FulhamH0–117,00037 14 April 1933 Charlton AthleticA0–110,00038 15 April 1933 ChesterfieldA2–18,000Sale, Palethorpe39 17 April 1933 Charlton AthleticH2–022,341Liddle, Palethorpe40 22 April 1933 Lincoln CityH5–219,998Liddle, Sale (2), Palethorpe, Ware41 29 April 1933 BuryA2–38,790Johnson, Palethorpe42 6 May 1933 Bradford CityH4–117,380Turner, Liddle (2), Sale===FA Cup===RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersR314 January 1933 SouthamptonH1–018,526DaviesR428 January 1933 MiddlesbroughA1–425,000Liddle
Squad statistics Pos.NameLeagueFA CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsGK Dave Beswick200020GK Roy John40020420DF Arthur Beachill36020380DF Joe Buller301040DF Bob McGrory800080DF Charlie Scrimshaw300030DF Billy Spencer37020390MF Jack Hartshorne000000MF Peter Jackson310031MF William Robertson39010400MF Henry Salmon310031MF Harry Sellars39220412MF Arthur Turner42520445FW Walter Bussey10010FW Harry Davies31421335FW Joe Johnson4115204315FW Bobby Liddle33721358FW Stanley Matthews15100151FW Joe Mawson2616202816FW Jack Palethorpe10800108FW Tommy Sale2111002111FW Harry Ware29720317
References