Stoke City

Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, currently competing in the English Premier League. Founded in 1863 as Stoke Ramblers, the club changed its name to Stoke City in 1925. The club are the second oldest professional football club in the world, second behind Notts County, and were one of the founding members of the Football League.

The club won their first and only major title in 1972, winning the Football League Cup after beating Chelsea 2-1 in the final. The club have won the Football League Trophy on two occasions, firstly in 1992 and then most recently in 2000. Stoke's highest league finish in the top division came in the 1935-1936 and 1946-1947 seasons when the club finished fourth. Stoke played in the FA Cup Final in 2011, finishing runners-up to Manchester City following a 1-0 defeat at Wembley. 

After winning promotion to the Premier League in 2008, Stoke finally returned to the top flight for the first time in 23 years. Despite being given little hope of avoiding the drop in their first season by the bookies, Stoke finished the 2008-2009 season 12th in the table. Under the management of Tony Pulis, the Potters soon established themselves as a mid-table Premier League side, reaching the 2011-2012 UEFA Europa League following their FA Cup exploits the previous season. 

Stoke have played their home games at Britannia Stadium, a 28,384 all-seater stadium in the city, since 1997, moving from their previous home at Victoria Ground. Victoria Ground had previously been the club's home ground since 1878. Nicknamed 'The Potters' after the pottery industry in Stoke-on-Trent, the club's home kit is a red and white vertically striped shirt, complete with white shorts and stockings. 

Traditionally, Stoke's main rivals are local neighbours Port Vale, with games between the two named the Potteries derby. While the two clubs have regularly been in different leagues, with only 46 league matches ever played between the two sides, it is still one of league football's bitterest rivalries. As well as Port Vale, Stoke also have rivalries with the likes of West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers. 

While Tony Pulis achieved plenty for Stoke during his two spells as manager for the club, the Welshman's physical tactics came in for plenty of criticism. Mark Hughes was named the club's new manager in the summer of 2013, and was instantly tasked with building on what Pulis had achieved whilst bringing in a more attractive style of football. 

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