2000–01 Stoke City F.C. season
# 2000–01 Stoke City F.C. season

The 2000–01 season was Stoke City's 94th season in the Football League and the seventh in the third tier.

Manager Gudjon Thordarson again brought in some of his fellow countrymen as Stoke were looking to gain promotion to the First Division. The close season saw Stoke beat higher placed teams in the form of Birmingham City and Liverpool but a goalless draw with Wycombe Wanderers emphasized that pre-season results mean nothing. Stoke's form was steady if not spectacular but two terrible cup exists, defeat to Nuneaton Borough in the FA Cup and a shocking 8–0 loss at home to Liverpool in the League Cup threatened to derail Stoke's season. But Stoke responded by going 12 matches unbeaten and for the second season running Stoke entered the lottery of the play-offs. Walsall were the opponents and after a 0–0 draw the "Saddlers" proved to be too strong at the Bescot Stadium and won the match 4–2 leaving Stoke facing a fourth season in the third tier.

## Season review

### League

The Icelandic invasion of Stoke-on-Trent was now in full flow with no less than ten Scandinavian players agreeing to join the club. Amongst them were club record signing Brynjar Gunnarsson, the manager's son Bjarni Guðjónsson, Swedish full-back Mikael Hansson and new forwards Stefán Þórðarson and Ríkharður Daðason although Daðason took until October before he could complete his move from Norwegian football. Stoke went on a pre-season tour of Iceland and then had two impressive results against Birmingham City and Liverpool. Tony Dorigo and Wayne Thomas both joined the side before the season opener at home to Wycombe Wanderers with excitement rife after the good pre-season. But a frustrating 0–0 followed and those it seemed that pre-season results are pretty pointless.

Stoke soon started to get their act together and began to find the back of the net regularly with Peterborough United beaten 3–0 and Oxford United 4–0 and a 3–3 draw away at Reading. The first Potteries derby ended 1–1 but in the next match against Rotherham United on-loan striker Marvin Robinson broke his leg in a nasty collision with the Rotherham goalkeeper. A last minute victory over Millwall was a vital win against a promotion rival and with the arrival of Dadason it seemed that Stoke could continue their push for an automatic position but two truly awful defeats in the FA and League Cup saw the feeling around the club drop and after a 3–1 defeat at home to bottom of the table Luton Town there was a major danger that those results could affect their league form. But City to their credit got their act together and went on a 13 match unbeaten run cementing their place in the play-offs.

But Stoke not making life easy for themselves lost to several lowly placed sides increasing the risk of being caught but three wins at the end of the season saw Stoke finish in 5th position with 77 points and they come up against an impressive Walsall side. The first leg at the Britannia was a tense affair which saw Ben Petty 'sacrifice' himself to prevent a goal for Walsall and the match ended 0–0. The second leg started well enough for Stoke with Graham Kavanagh putting City into the lead but a goalkeeping howler from Gavin Ward gifted the "Saddlers" an equaliser. In a mad 15 minute spell in the second half Walsall scored three without reply and despite Peter Thorne scoring it was too little to late and Stoke would have to try again to gain that promotion out of the third tier.

### FA Cup

Stoke were on the receiving end of a cup shock as after a 0–0 draw at home with non-league Nuneaton Borough, the replay was a stereotypical cup upset waiting to happen with heavy rain a muddy pitch and a hostile home crowd. And it all proved too scripted for Stoke as in the last minute Marc McGregor secured a famous win for Nuneaton.

### League Cup

Stoke had a decent run to the fourth round after beating York City 5–1, Premier League Charlton Athletic on away goals after a thrilling 5–5 aggregate score and a 3–2 over Barnsley saw Stoke earn a glamour tie against Liverpool. But it quickly turned into a nightmare for Stoke as Liverpool ran riot scoring with every shot they took and ended up with an 8–0 victory, Stoke's worst home defeat.

### League Trophy

As holders Stoke were looking to retain the Football League Trophy and they made it to the northern section semi final against local rivals Port Vale after beating Scarborough (3–1), Halifax Town (3–2) and Walsall (4–0). The tie was originally scheduled to be played at Vale Park but with several failed attempts to play the match due to a waterlogged pitch the match was moved to the Britannia Stadium. Vale won a dour match 2–1 after extra time and they went on to lift the trophy.

## Final league table

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | Reading | 46 | 25 | 11 | 10 | 86 | 52 | +34 | 86 | Participated in play-offs |
| 4 | Walsall | 46 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 79 | 50 | +29 | 81 | Promoted through play-offs |
| 5 | Stoke City | 46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 74 | 49 | +25 | 77 | Participated in play-offs |
| 6 | Wigan Athletic | 46 | 19 | 18 | 9 | 53 | 42 | +11 | 75 | Participated in play-offs |
| 7 | Bournemouth | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 79 | 55 | +24 | 73 | |

## Results

Stoke's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |
| - | - | - |

### Pre-Season Friendlies

| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 14 July 2000 | ÍA Akranes | A | 1–1 | | Lightbourne |
| 2 | 16 July 2000 | KA Akureyri | A | 1–1 | | Þórðarson |
| 3 | 17 July 2000 | Víkingur | A | 2–2 | | O'Connor, Guðjónsson |
| 4 | 22 July 2000 | Liverpool | H | 1–0 | 16,101 | Þórðarson 29' |
| 5 | 24 July 2000 | Darlington | N | 3–1 | | Heath, Lightbourne, Guðjónsson |
| 6 | 26 July 2000 | Bury | N | 1–2 | | O'Connor |
| 7 | 28 July 2000 | Isle of Man | A | 5–1 | 213 | Þórðarson, Thomas, Gunnarsson, Lightbourne (2) |
| 8 | 1 August 2000 | Birmingham City | H | 2–1 | 5,148 | Þórðarson 20', Connor 89' |
| 9 | 4 August 2000 | Newcastle Town | A | 3–0 | 2,153 | Connor, Lightbourne, Georges Rossi |

### Football League Second Division

| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | Report |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 12 August 2000 | Wycombe Wanderers | H | 0–0 | 14,532 | | Report |
| 2 | 19 August 2000 | Bristol City | A | 2–1 | 12,590 | Guðjónsson 76', O'Connor 87' | Report |
| 3 | 26 August 2000 | Notts County | H | 0–1 | 13,041 | | Report |
| 4 | 29 August 2000 | Reading | A | 3–3 | 10,668 | Hunter (o.g.) 17', Þórðarson 22', Fenton 75' | Report |
| 5 | 9 September 2000 | Peterborough United | H | 3–0 | 13,011 | Lightbourne 53', Þórðarson 87', Kavanagh 90' | Report |
| 6 | 13 September 2000 | Oxford United | H | 4–0 | 9,600 | Þórðarson 22', Guðjónsson 32', O'Connor 45', Robinson 71' | Report |
| 7 | 13 September 2000 | Port Vale | A | 1–1 | 8,948 | Lightbourne 15' | Report |
| 8 | 23 September 2000 | Rotherham United | H | 1–1 | 13,472 | Thorne 81' | Report |
| 9 | 30 September 2000 | Colchester United | A | 1–0 | 3,758 | Thorne 14' | Report |
| 10 | 14 October 2000 | Swansea City | A | 1–2 | 6,498 | Lightbourne 88' | Report |
| 11 | 17 October 2000 | Cambridge United | A | 1–1 | 4,433 | Thorne 41' | Report |
| 12 | 21 October 2000 | Millwall | H | 3–2 | 13,752 | Thorne (2) 8', 13', Iwelumo 90' | Report |
| 13 | 24 October 2000 | Walsall | A | 0–3 | 6,996 | | Report |
| 14 | 28 October 2000 | Bournemouth | H | 2–1 | 11,572 | Guðjónsson 9', O'Connor 13' | Report |
| 15 | 4 November 2000 | Wrexham | A | 2–1 | 6,447 | Thorne 16', Þórðarson 27' (pen) | Report |
| 16 | 7 November 2000 | Northampton Town | A | 2–2 | 5,475 | Kavanagh 10', O'Connor 24' | Report |
| 17 | 11 November 2000 | Oldham Athletic | H | 0–1 | 12,503 | | Report |
| 18 | 25 November 2000 | Swindon Town | A | 3–0 | 4,904 | Dryden 8' (o.g.), Lightbourne (2) 11', 78' | Report |
| 19 | 2 December 2000 | Luton Town | H | 1–3 | 12,389 | Mohan 35' | Report |
| 20 | 16 December 2000 | Bristol Rovers | A | 3–0 | 6,338 | Thorne (3) 3', 19', 40' | Report |
| 21 | 23 December 2000 | Wigan Athletic | A | 1–1 | 8,957 | O'Connor 65' | Report |
| 22 | 26 December 2000 | Bury | H | 2–1 | 16,499 | Daðason 39', Gunnarsson 84' | Report |
| 23 | 30 December 2000 | Bristol City | H | 1–0 | 14,629 | Guðjónsson 81' | Report |
| 24 | 1 January 2001 | Notts County | A | 2–2 | 9,125 | Guðjónsson 1', Cooke 80' | Report |
| 25 | 13 January 2001 | Reading | H | 0–0 | 14,154 | | Report |
| 26 | 17 January 2001 | Brentford | H | 1–0 | 9,350 | Daðason 22' | Report |
| 27 | 27 January 2001 | Wigan Athletic | H | 2–0 | 16,859 | Cooke 18', Thorne 60' | Report |
| 28 | 3 February 2001 | Northampton Town | H | 1–1 | 13,235 | Cooke 59' | Report |
| 29 | 10 February 2001 | Peterborough United | A | 4–0 | 7,568 | Thorne 2', Guðjónsson 45', Daðason 72', O'Connor 89' | Report |
| 30 | 17 February 2001 | Port Vale | H | 1–1 | 22,133 | O'Connor 55' | Report |
| 31 | 20 February 2001 | Oxford United | A | 1–1 | 4,856 | Cooke 69' | Report |
| 32 | 24 February 2001 | Rotherham United | A | 1–2 | 8,211 | Thorne 53' | Report |
| 33 | 3 March 2001 | Colchester United | H | 3–1 | 11,714 | Thorne (2) 9', 40', Kavanagh 88' | Report |
| 34 | 7 March 2001 | Swansea City | H | 1–2 | 10,091 | O'Connor 81' | Report |
| 35 | 10 March 2001 | Brentford | A | 2–2 | 5,518 | Cooke 17', Daðason 90' | Report |
| 36 | 13 March 2001 | Wycombe Wanderers | A | 1–0 | 5,385 | Kavanagh 11' (pen) | Report |
| 37 | 17 March 2001 | Cambridge United | H | 2–3 | 11,939 | Kavanagh 56', (pen), O'Connor 57' | Report |
| 38 | 27 March 2001 | Bury | A | 0–1 | 4,224 | | Report |
| 39 | 31 March 2001 | Bristol Rovers | H | 4–1 | 12,274 | Hansson (2) 4', 15', Thorne (2) 71', 86' | Report |
| 40 | 3 April 2001 | Millwall | A | 0–2 | 11,639 | | Report |
| 41 | 7 April 2001 | Luton Town | A | 2–1 | 6,456 | Taylor (o.g.) 30', Kavanagh 40' | Report |
| 42 | 14 April 2001 | Walsall | H | 0–0 | 16,603 | | Report |
| 43 | 17 April 2001 | Bournemouth | A | 0–1 | 5,373 | | Report |
| 44 | 21 April 2001 | Wrexham | H | 3–1 | 12,687 | Hardy (o.g) 6', Gunnarsson (2) 44', 56' | Report |
| 45 | 28 April 2001 | Oldham Athletic | A | 2–1 | 9,359 | Gunnarsson 73', Daðason 84' | Report |
| 46 | 5 May 2001 | Swindon Town | H | 4–1 | 20,591 | O'Halloran 1' (o.g.), Gunnarsson 12', Cooke 32', Kavanagh 45' (pen) | Report |

### Second Division play-offs

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | Report |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Semi-final 1st Leg | 13 May 2001 | Walsall | H | 0–0 | 21,482 | | Report |
| Semi-final 2nd Leg | 16 May 2001 | Walsall | A | 2–4 | 8,346 | Kavanagh 31', Thorne 87' | Report |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | Report |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R1 | 18 November 2000 | Nuneaton Borough | H | 0–0 | 8,437 | | Report |
| R1 Replay | 21 November 2000 | Nuneaton Borough | A | 0–1 | 4,477 | | Report |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | Report |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R1 1st Leg | 22 August 2000 | York City | A | 5–1 | 2,035 | Heath 10', Connor (2) 47', 59', Iwelumo 70', O'Connor 80' | Report |
| R1 2nd Leg | 6 September 2000 | York City | H | 0–0 | 3,478 | | Report |
| R2 1st Leg | 20 September 2000 | Charlton Athletic | H | 2–1 | 9,388 | Þórðarson 45' (pen), Goodfellow 86' | Report |
| R2 2nd Leg | 26 September 2000 | Charlton Athletic | A | 3–4 (aet) | 10,037 | O'Connor 36', Gunnarsson 87', Þórðarson 107' | Report |
| R3 | 1 November 2000 | Barnsley | H | 3–2 | 10,480 | Guðjónsson (2) 8', 56', Daðason 90' | Report |
| R4 | 29 November 2000 | Liverpool | H | 0–8 | 27,109 | | Report |

### League Trophy

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | Report |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R1 | 6 December 2000 | Scarborough | H | 3–1 | 2,336 | Thorne (2) 21', 57', Cooke 25' | Report |
| R2 | 9 January 2001 | Halifax Town | A | 3–2 | 1,917 | Daðason 31', Guðjónsson (2) 35', 90' | Report |
| QF | 7 February 2001 | Walsall | H | 4–0 | 5,624 | Clarke 3', Goodfellow 59', Petty 67', Þórðarson 81' (pen) | Report |
| SF | 5 March 2001 | Port Vale | H | 1–2 (aet) | 11,323 | Mohan 87' | Report |

## Squad statistics

| No. | Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | League Trophy | League Trophy | Play-offs | Play-offs | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | Gavin Ward | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Mikael Hansson | 36(2) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44(3) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Clive Clarke | 12(9) | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 5(1) | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 23(11) | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Henrik Risom | 9(16) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2(2) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16(18) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Nicky Mohan | 37 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 2 | 8 | 1 |
| 6 | MF | Brynjar Gunnarsson | 46 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 56(1) | 6 | 11 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | Bjarni Guðjónsson | 41(1) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2(1) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 52(2) | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Graham Kavanagh | 42(1) | 7 | 2 | 0 | 4(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 52(2) | 8 | 7 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Peter Thorne | 35(3) | 16 | 2 | 0 | 3(1) | 0 | 2(1) | 2 | 1(1) | 1 | 43(6) | 19 | 3 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Ríkharður Daðason | 13(14) | 6 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 1 | 2(1) | 1 | 1(1) | 0 | 16(18) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | Kyle Lightbourne | 11(11) | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14(12) | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 14 | GK | Carl Muggleton | 11(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Tony Dorigo | 34(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39(2) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | Paul Connor | 1(6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(7) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | James O'Connor | 44 | 8 | 0(1) | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 53(1) | 10 | 14 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | Ben Petty | 10(12) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3(1) | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0(1) | 0 | 19(14) | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 19 | FW | Stefán Þórðarson | 15(15) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4(2) | 2 | 3(1) | 1 | 0(1) | 0 | 24(19) | 7 | 6 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | Kristján Örn Sigurðsson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | Robert Heath | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | Chris Iwelumo | 0(2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(4) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | Wayne Thomas | 33(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3(1) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 43(2) | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| 24 | DF | Matthew Bullock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | Ashley Wooliscroft | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | Steven Taaffe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | Frode Kippe | 15(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20(4) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | Lewis Neal | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | Marc Goodfellow | 0(7) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(2) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2(10) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | Graham Fenton | 2(3) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(3) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 32 | FW | Marvin Robinson | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 33 | GK | Hjörvar Hafliðason | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | FW | Andy Cooke | 21(1) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(1) | 1 | 1(1) | 0 | 24(3) | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | Lee Collins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | GK | Birkir Kristinsson | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | MF | Karl Henry | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| – | – | Own goals | – | 5 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 5 | – | – |
