The Class Of 1972 Stoke City Football F.C
Battle To Be The Best

1972 was a great year for stoke city

For those of you old enough to remember, Stoke City Football Club were one of the elite clubs in English football during the early 1970s.

They regularly frustrated the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United, and fielded some of the game's biggest stars - Gordon Banks, Jimmy Greenhoff and Terry Conroy to name but three.

They Still Celebrate

In 2002, members of the 1972 Stoke City squad gathered together to celebrate the 30th anniversary of winning the League Cup.

Defeating Manchester United and West Ham along the way, it was Chelsea in the final and a capacity Wembley crowd waited. The Londoners were the pundits favourites, but Tony Waddington's Stoke had other ideas, and the thousands that had made the journey down the M6 were certainly intent on making it an occasion to savour, as the sound of "we'll be with you" echoed around the famous stadium.

The scene was set, one half of Wembley was painted red and white, and what a thrilling contest it turned out to be. With only five minutes played, a goalmouth scramble caused panic in the Chelsea back-line and Conroy pounced to head past Bonetti. It was the perfect start, which sparked wild celebrations. But as half time approached, Osgood seized on a loose ball to steer home the equaliser, and Chelsea were back in it.

The scoreline remained level for much of the second half, until the cup fairytale came true for George Eastham. With just under twenty minutes remaining, Eastham capitalised on Bonetti's parry to lift the ball past the stranded keeper, and cap a tremendous season for the old campaigner.