1896–97 Stoke F.C. season
The 1896–97 season was Stoke's eighth season in the Football League.
After last season's success of finishing in 6th position there was high hopes that it would signal a change in the club's fortunes. Alas it was a disappointing season for Stoke as little progress was made and they finished the season in 13th position with 25 points.
Season review
League
As the 1896–97 season beckoned there was a lot of talk of Stoke purchasing the football pitch at the cricket ground in the town, with a considerable amount of financial backing promised. However this never materialised much to the disappointment of chairman Mr S. Barker. During the campaign itself a total of 16 players made their senior debuts for the club including Zeke Johnston, Stoke's first Irishman signed from Burnley. There was little progress in the league with a 13th-place finish. The best result of the season saw Stoke beat Liverpool 6–1 in February 1897. Long serving forward Billy Dickson retired as did half-back Davy Brodie.FA Cup
After beating Glossop 5–2 in the first round Stoke lost 2–1 in the next to Preston North End.Final league table
Key: P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = PointsResults
Stoke's score comes firstLegend
Football League First Division
| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 1 | 2 September 1896 | Aston Villa | A | 1–2 | 5,000 | Schofield |
| 2 | 5 September 1896 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 2–1 | 7,000 | Johnson, Wood |
| 3 | 12 September 1896 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–4 | 3,500 | |
| 4 | 19 September 1896 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 2–3 | 4,000 | Schofield, Eccles |
| 5 | 26 September 1896 | The Wednesday | A | 3–4 | 6,000 | Schofield, Wood, Johnson |
| 6 | 10 October 1896 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 2–1 | 5,000 | W Maxwell, Wood |
| 7 | 17 October 1896 | Nottingham Forest | H | 3–0 | 5,000 | W Maxwell, Schofield, Johnson |
| 8 | 24 October 1896 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–4 | 4,000 | |
| 9 | 31 October 1896 | Aston Villa | H | 0–2 | 4,000 | |
| 10 | 7 November 1896 | Derby County | A | 1–5 | 3,000 | W Maxwell |
| 11 | 9 November 1896 | Preston North End | H | 2–1 | 4,000 | W Maxwell, Eardley |
| 12 | 14 November 1896 | Bury | A | 2–4 | 3,000 | A Maxwell, Wood |
| 13 | 21 November 1896 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 2–2 | 6,200 | W Maxwell |
| 14 | 28 November 1896 | Preston North End | A | 0–3 | 5,000 | |
| 15 | 5 December 1896 | Derby County | H | 2–2 | 5,000 | W Maxwell |
| 16 | 12 December 1896 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 2–1 | 1,105 | W Maxwell |
| 17 | 19 December 1896 | Everton | A | 2–4 | 7,000 | W Maxwell, Schofield |
| 18 | 2 January 1897 | Everton | H | 2–3 | 8,000 | W Maxwell, Schofield |
| 19 | 9 January 1897 | Burnley | A | 3–1 | 3,000 | A Maxwell, Schofield |
| 20 | 16 January 1897 | Liverpool | A | 0–1 | 7,000 | |
| 21 | 23 January 1897 | The Wednesday | H | 0–0 | 5,000 | |
| 22 | 6 February 1897 | Liverpool | H | 6–1 | 7,000 | Schofield, W Maxwell, Hill, Hingerty |
| 23 | 20 February 1897 | Sunderland | A | 1–4 | 2,000 | Schofield |
| 24 | 27 February 1897 | Burnley | H | 3–2 | 8,000 | Hill, Hingerty |
| 25 | 20 March 1897 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1–2 | 8,000 | Hingerty |
| 26 | 27 March 1897 | Sheffield United | A | 0–1 | 2,000 | |
| 27 | 3 April 1897 | Sunderland | H | 0–1 | 5,000 | |
| 28 | 10 April 1897 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1–0 | 5,000 | Hill |
| 29 | 12 April 1897 | Bury | H | 3–0 | 2,500 | Hill, Schofield, Darroch |
| 30 | 15 April 1897 | Sheffield United | H | 2–0 | 3,000 | Hingerty, W Maxwell |
FA Cup
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| R1 | 30 January 1897 | Glossop | H | 5–2 | 2,000 | W Maxwell, Schofield, Hingerty |
| R2 | 13 February 1897 | Preston North End | A | 1–2 | 6,000 | W Maxwell |