SPORTING MEMORY: November, 1974 – Peter Shilton joins Stoke City for world record fee
THIS is the moment Peter Shilton arrived for his first training session with Stoke City – after arriving at the club for a world record fee for a goalkeeper. He was captured chatting to some local ladies after joining the club from Leicester City for £325,000 in November, 1974.
He made 120 appearances for the Potters before being sold to Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest for £270,000 at the start of the 1977/78 season following Stoke’s relegation from the top flight.
He later told The Sentinel: “Joining Stoke was a big decision for me because there were a few clubs interested.
“But Stoke had a lot of potential and a good team with the likes of Alan Hudson, Geoff Salmons and Denis Smith. I thought we had a really good chance of success.
“In the first season I was there, we were on top of what is now the Premier League, and Kevin Keegan on Match of the Day tipped us to win the league.
“But towards the end of the season, Denis Smith and our right winger Jimmy Robertson broke their legs. We didn’t have a big squad so it just took the edge of us and we just fell away a bit.
“The next season we were half-way up the league and just starting to hit a bit of form, then the roof blew off the Butler Street Stand.
“The club hadn’t insured the stand, so we were short of money and had to sell. I was the last well-known player to leave Stoke.
“We were relegated the following season and, although I stayed for the start of the next campaign, it was never going to work because Stoke needed the money to get on a financial footing.”
Shilton had a 30-year career and holds the record for England caps (125) and for the most competitive appearances in world football (1,390).
He also played for Southampton, Derby, Plymouth, Wimbledon, Bolton, Coventry, West Ham and Leyton Orient.
What are your memories of Shilton and the Stoke team of that era? Email waywewere@