# 1952–53 Stoke City F.C. season

The 1952–53 season was Stoke City's 46th season in the Football League and the 32nd in the First Division.
The summer of 1952 again brought drama as long serving manager Bob McGrory resigned after spending 31 years with the club as player and manager. In his place came former Scarborough manager and Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Frank Taylor. However despite a change in leadership the team continued to struggle and were again involved in a relegation battle. The season went to the final day and Stoke went into their match against Derby County knowing they had to win to stay up, a 2–1 defeat saw Stoke's stay in the First Division come to a disappointing end.

## Season review
### League

During the summer of 1952 Bob McGrory resigned after spending 31 years at the Victoria Ground as player and manager and Frank Taylor took over as first team manager. Taylor was a 'new breed' of tracksuit manager and was regarded as potential great manager by the Stoke board. The first act Taylor did was to erect a sign above the players dressing room which read: Are you 90 minutes fit? It's the last 20 minutes that count–train for it.
The 1952–53 season was obviously going to be a transitional one with the defence and forward lines in need of strengthening. A new goalkeeper was brought in, Bill Robertson coming up from Birmingham City for £8,000. The season did not start well and after one win the first five matches Taylor moved quickly to bring in Ken Thomson to the club a fine centre back from Aberdeen whilst allowing George Mountford to join Queens Park Rangers. Taylor also started to move on some of McGrory's signings but the talent from the youth team which had served Stoke for so long had now dried up.
Prior to the lead up to 1953 Stoke had agonisingly slipped into the relegation zone, but seven games without defeat at the turn of the year they seemed to have averted the danger. But then it all went wrong again and they slipped back down the table and in the end they had to win their final match of the season against an already relegated Derby County at the Victoria Ground. Most expected Stoke to step it up and beat a dejected Derby side but disaster struck as Jack Lee scored for the "Rams" early on. Stoke hit back through Frank Bowyer but Jackie Stamps but Derby 2–1 up. Stoke created plenty of chances and with just minutes left were awarded a penalty but the reliable Ken Thomson hit his kick straight at Ray Middleton and with it ended Stoke's 20 year stay in the First Division.

### FA Cup

A miserable season was not helped any by a shock 1–0 defeat to Third Division North side Halifax Town in the fourth round.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
| 18 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 62 | 72 | 0.861 | 35 | |
| 19 | Chelsea | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 56 | 66 | 0.848 | 35 | |
| 20 | Manchester City | 42 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 72 | 87 | 0.828 | 35 | |
| 21 | Stoke City (R) | 42 | 12 | 10 | 20 | 53 | 66 | 0.803 | 34 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Derby County (R) | 42 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 59 | 74 | 0.797 | 32 | Relegation to the Second Division |

## Results

Stoke's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 1 | 23 August 1952 | Manchester City | H | 2–1 | 35,006 | Smyth, Oscroft |
| 2 | 26 August 1952 | Burnley | A | 2–3 | 29,087 | Smyth, Oscroft |
| 3 | 30 August 1952 | Liverpool | A | 2–3 | 40,062 | Bowyer, Johnston |
| 4 | 1 September 1952 | Burnley | H | 1–3 | 40,062 | Oscroft |
| 5 | 6 September 1952 | Middlesbrough | H | 1–0 | 32,061 | Johnston |
| 6 | 10 September 1952 | Preston North End | A | 0–3 | 35,275 | |
| 7 | 13 September 1952 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 2–3 | 27,028 | Johnston, Mountford (pen) |
| 8 | 15 September 1952 | Preston North End | H | 0–0 | 28,436 | |
| 9 | 20 September 1952 | Newcastle United | H | 1–0 | 32,359 | Johnston |
| 10 | 27 September 1952 | Cardiff City | A | 0–2 | 40,271 | |
| 11 | 4 October 1952 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 1–3 | 29,627 | Sellars |
| 12 | 11 October 1952 | Manchester United | A | 2–0 | 28,968 | Siddall, Finney |
| 13 | 18 October 1952 | Portsmouth | H | 2–4 | 29,057 | Finney, Smyth |
| 14 | 25 October 1952 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–2 | 25,294 | Finney |
| 15 | 1 November 1952 | Aston Villa | H | 1–4 | 26,652 | Smyth |
| 16 | 8 November 1952 | Sunderland | A | 1–1 | 43,444 | Mountford (pen) |
| 17 | 15 November 1952 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–2 | 28,410 | Smyth |
| 18 | 22 November 1952 | Charlton Athletic | A | 1–5 | 12,143 | Mountford (pen) |
| 19 | 29 November 1952 | Arsenal | H | 1–1 | 24,033 | Malkin |
| 20 | 6 December 1952 | Derby County | A | 0–4 | 17,484 | |
| 21 | 13 December 1952 | Blackpool | H | 4–0 | 19,382 | Oscroft (2), Mountford, Fenton (o.g.) |
| 22 | 20 December 1952 | Manchester City | A | 1–2 | 13,562 | Whiston |
| 23 | 26 December 1952 | Chelsea | H | 1–1 | 30,846 | Malkin |
| 24 | 27 December 1952 | Chelsea | A | 0–0 | 17,173 | |
| 25 | 3 January 1953 | Liverpool | H | 3–1 | 23,488 | Oscroft (2), Whiston |
| 26 | 17 January 1953 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–0 | 20,320 | |
| 27 | 24 January 1953 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 5–1 | 35,226 | Oscroft (2), Martin (2), Bowyer |
| 28 | 7 February 1953 | Newcastle United | A | 2–1 | 25,115 | Martin, Finney |
| 29 | 14 February 1953 | Cardiff City | H | 0–0 | 21,619 | |
| 30 | 21 February 1953 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–1 | 40,209 | |
| 31 | 28 February 1953 | Manchester United | H | 3–1 | 30,219 | Brown (2), Martin |
| 32 | 7 March 1953 | Portsmouth | A | 1–1 | 25,370 | Oscroft |
| 33 | 14 March 1953 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1–2 | 28,232 | Brown |
| 34 | 25 March 1953 | Aston Villa | A | 1–1 | 15,056 | Thomson |
| 35 | 28 March 1953 | Sunderland | H | 3–0 | 19,611 | Brown (2), Connor |
| 36 | 3 April 1953 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–1 | 35,606 | |
| 37 | 4 April 1953 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–3 | 38,000 | |
| 38 | 6 April 1953 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 2–0 | 25,346 | Brown, Thomson |
| 39 | 11 April 1953 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–0 | 27,087 | Brown |
| 40 | 15 April 1953 | Blackpool | A | 1–1 | 13,280 | Mountford |
| 41 | 18 April 1953 | Arsenal | A | 1–3 | 47,376 | Brown |
| 42 | 25 April 1953 | Derby County | H | 1–2 | 29,597 | Bowyer |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| R3 | 10 January 1953 | Wrexham | H | 2–1 | 36,361 | Finney, Whiston |
| R4 | 31 January 1953 | Halifax Town | A | 0–1 | 34,788 | |

## Squad statistics

| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Frank Elliott | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| GK | Dennis Herod | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| GK | Bill Robertson | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| GK | Billy Waters | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DF | Roy Beckett | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| DF | George Bourne | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| DF | Brian Doyle | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
| DF | John McCue | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 0 |
| DF | Ken Thomson | 38 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 2 |
| MF | Des Farrow | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | Jock Kirton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | Frank Mountford | 37 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 5 |
| MF | John Sellars | 37 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 1 |
| FW | Frank Bowyer | 29 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 3 |
| FW | Roy Brown | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 8 |
| FW | Harold Connor | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| FW | Bill Finney | 21 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 5 |
| FW | Leslie Johnston | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 4 |
| FW | John Malkin | 24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 2 |
| FW | Billy McIntosh | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | Alan Martin | 29 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 4 |
| FW | Jack McClelland | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| FW | George Mountford | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| FW | Harry Oscroft | 37 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 10 |
| FW | Brian Siddall | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 |
| FW | Sammy Smyth | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 5 |
| MF | Derrick Ward | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | Donald Whiston | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 3 |
| – | Own goals | – | 1 | – | 0 | – | 1 |