It is quite easy to overlook the significance of the Potteries Derby between rivals Stoke City and Port Vale, especially outside of the English county of Staffordshire.
The two professional teams of the small Midlands city of Stoke on Trent, famed for its historic pottery industry, have seldom seen success, despite being two of the oldest football clubs in the country.
What’s more, the teams have spent the majority of their respective histories in separate divisions, so there aren’t ample examples to draw upon to emphasise the importance of the derby.
In fact, the two teams haven’t met in the league or any major cup competition since 2002. However, the history of the derby is scattered with and a wealth of fiery incidents. The history of the rivalry is laid out in full detail in the book “El Ceramico – The Story of the Potteries Derby”. A sampling of the notable events is given here.
A Potted History
Both Potteries clubs date their origins back to the late nineteenth century, though their exact founding years are a matter for debate. Stoke City, at the time known as Stoke Ramblers, proclaim to have been founded in 1863, as stated on the modern club badge. Some footballing historians suggest that the actual formation was in 1868, but the club was certainly around by the end of the 1860’s. Port Vale, the name previously prefixed by the hosting town of Burslem, are officially stated to have formed in 1876, though documentation suggests an establishing year of 1878 or 1879.
One thing for certain is that both teams were established enough by 1882 to participate in the first recorded Potteries Derby on 2 December, in the Staffordshire Senior Cup. Burslem Port Vale were the unrecognised underdogs of the clash, and spiritedly secured a 1-1 draw against their more reputable local rival.
From then on, the two Potteries teams would clash in various local league and trophy fixtures at the Victoria Ground (Stoke City’s home ground up to 1998), at Westport Meadows and at the Cobridge Athletic Ground (Port Vale’s two earliest homes), leading up to their first recognised major meeting in the first round of the FA Cup in 1887.
After Stoke became a founder member of the Football League in 1888 and Vale debuted in the Second Division in 1892, the two clubs spent some time apart battling bankruptcy and liquidation, before finally coming to blows again in March 1920. Stoke ran out 3-0 winners at the Old Recreation Ground, Vale’s new home in Hanley town centre. Both teams traded wins throughout the 1920’s, with several games lit up by Port Vale’s goalscoring machine Wilf Kirkham, who finished his career with a record 164 goals in all competitions for the Valiants.
Must-see Matches
After a run of five straight Potteries Derby wins for the Vale, spearheaded by Kirkham, Stoke then found themselves in a period of derby dominance between 1928 and 1933, before the Potters and the Valiants went their separate ways right up until the 1950’s. The decade brought unparalleled Potteries Derby attendances of 40,000 to 50,000 spectators at both the Victoria Ground and Port Vale’s new home of Vale Park, dubbed ‘the Wembley of the North’. While attendances would never reach those lofty heights again, the rivalry reach new heights following a 32-year hiatus.
After laying dormant for over three decades, the Potteries Derby exploded into action once again on 23 September 1989 at the Victoria Ground. Both clubs had seen ups and downs in the intervening period, with cup successes, legendary player returns, financial difficulties, league exclusion, reinstatement, stadium damage, relegations and promotions.
When the two teams found themselves in the Second Division again in 1989, the local authorities were caught cold by the intensity of the rivalry, which has flown under the radar in the 60’s and 70’s with smatterings of friendlies and charitable favours. On the day, 85 people were arrested as rival supporters clashed in an orgy of violence across the city.
The match ended 1-1, a welcome result for the Valiants who were determined to shake their reputation as the lesser club of the city in the face of their more successful neighbours. The return fixture also ended in a draw, and the Vale finished the season in a higher position for the first time since before the Second World War. The rivalry was now re-established with a whole new generation of ferocious fans, which would lead to some of the most legendary derby clashes of the 1990’s.
The 1990’s
With the scene set in 1989/90, the two clubs would meet again an extraordinary five times during the 1992/93 season. Both teams were on the hunt for promotion from the Second Division, looking to progress in cup competitions and of course, win local bragging rights.
Stoke City were managed by Scotland and Manchester United legend Lou Macari, while Port Vale were under the stewardship of John Rudge, ever-present at the club since his appointment in 1983. In the first meeting of the season, and in front of a capacity crowd at the Victoria Ground, Stoke ran out 2-1 winners thanks to a controversial winning penalty scored by the Potters goal machine Mark Stein.
The striker went down under contact from Valiants’ goalkeeper Paul Musselwhite, described in the local newspaper as ‘minimal’. The incident has not been forgotten by Stoke and Vale fans alike, although interpretations of the correctness of the decision somewhat vary.
The two Stoke on Trent teams would then meet again in the FA Cup, and after a 0-0 draw at the Victoria Ground, Port Vale would run out winners in a clash for the ages under the floodlights and blistering rain at Vale Park. Following a hard-hitting start on a bog of a pitch, Stoke took the lead, but were quickly pegged back by the home side. Vale led 2-1 at the break, but the moment that sticks in the mind (“sticks” being the appropriate word) came in the second half.
After rounding goalkeeper Musselwhite, Stoke striker Dave Regis was presented with an open goal from some 23 yards out, in front of the heaving away end. Regis immediately steered the ball goalward as the Potters fans began to cheer. Then, around the penalty spot, the ball got stuck in the mud, before coming to a halt some six yards out from the goal line. The ball was cleared, and the home team would eventually run out 3-1 winners, with Vale fans spilling onto the muddy pitch as the final goal went in.
Following a defeat in the Autoglass Trophy, Lou Macari’s side returned to Vale Park some four months later, top of the league and hoping to keep Port Vale at arm’s length in the battle for promotion. Mark Stein, the hero of Stoke City and pantomime villain of Port Vale, struck in a crisp half-volley to put the away team into an early lead, and a second half goal from Nigel Gleghorn effectively secured promotion for the Potters. The season also ended with silverware for the Valiants, who went on to lift the Autoglass Trophy, but John Rudge’s men fell short of promotion, losing out in the playoff final just a handful of days later.
Through the rest of the decade, the Potteries Derby would see plenty of success for the Vale, losing only two of the eight encounters. The highlights include two historic league wins at the Victoria Ground in 1995, and a 12 second goal for Ian Bogie at Vale Park in 1996. Stoke managed to win the last derby match at the Victoria Ground and the first at their new home of the Britannia Stadium, saving themselves from what could have been two unwanted historic milestones. However, the 1997 win at the Brit would be the last win for the Potters in the derby to this day.
“You’ll Never Beat the Vale”
A 0-0 draw in the latter stages of the 1997/98 season would be the last derby of the decade, with Stoke relegated on the final day of the season while Vale ensured their D-day survival with a thumping win at Huddersfield. The two met again in 2000, with a very different Stoke City now owned by an Icelandic consortium, bringing with it a raft of Scandinavian players and management from the north. However, it was Vale that continued to look cool under the intensity of the derby, with a string of draws against their promotion-chasing rivals, followed by memorable wins at the Britannia Stadium in 2001 and 2002.
It is now six games undefeated in the derby for the Valiants, a record stretching back to 1997, and one that Vale fans will seldom let their city neighbours forget in a hurry. The chants of “You’ll never beat the Vale” had begun to ring around in the early 2000’s, and they reappeared when the two teams met in a Football League Trophy clash in December 2018.
The fixture wasn’t a traditional league or cup match between the two senior teams. Instead, Stoke were in a position to field their under-21’s side in the lower league competition. The Potters had just been relegated from the Premier League, following a decade in the top flight, but were struggling to find their feet back in the Championship.
When the two teams drew each other in the Checkatrade Trophy, little doubt was left as to the status of the rivalry when Stoke fans snatched up the 4,000 tickets allocated to them. With Potters fans demanding more tickets and seats in the home end, Valiants fans rallied to the call to ensure a fiery derby atmosphere, despite very little interest in the actual on-field contest (ending 4-0 to the home team in a literal men versus boys matchup).
The story of the night would be the off-field antics of the Stoke City fans, trashing toilets, advertising boards, bins and essentially anything that wasn’t nailed down strongly enough. Arrests, banning orders and damages bills were handed out in the aftermath, and the significance of the derby was once again highlighted. Additionally, a whole new generation of fans were given a taste of what a Potteries Derby is all about. It begs the question – what will happen when the two teams eventually do meet in a real league or cup fixture?
A Rivalry Like No Other
It’s difficult to describe the Potteries Derby to those that are not familiar with it, and even this article can only focus on some of the key clashes on the pitch. There are numerous incidents that also took place in town centres and in board rooms, with several attempted takeovers of Port Vale from Stoke City owners, players attacked and carried towards the River Trent for a ducking, chairmen helping each other out, ground sharing, players and managers crossing the divide, hired planes with gloating messages and pitch invasions at games by fans of teams not even involved in the match. All of this, and so much more, is covered in “El Ceramico: The Story of the Potteries Derby”.
A lot of what makes the Potteries Derby so special is the circumstances surrounding the rivalry. Firstly, the city of Stoke on Trent is actually made up of six individual towns, each with their own personality. So, there is a mixture of shared settings but also individual tribalism; a north-south divide.
It is the smallest city which hosts two professional teams in England. Secondly, there are distinct generations of fans that have seen the teams play during the glory years of the 1950’s to 80’s under friendly conditions, those that witnessed the impassioned clashes of the 1990’s and early 2000’s, and those that have not seen a derby match at all, except for one EFL Trophy clash under unusual circumstances.
And that links in with the third reason for the unique nature of the rivalry: the two teams have barely played each other on a regular basis throughout their long histories, untouched by the polished 24-hour Sky TV coverage of the 21st century. Some might see that as a negative, but in reality, it stops the rivalry from becoming diluted. Games are forgotten when there are derby matches year after year. The matches aren’t as special. It’s a safe bet that the next time Stoke City and Port Vale meet, it’s going to be a very high-profile encounter that may shock a few outsiders. It will be one that shouldn’t be missed.
Reference:
El Ceramico: The Story of the Potteries Derby by Liam Bullock https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1801503931?ref_=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_Y2S9Q1NFH4SFN96EQ6MB
