He change to the long ball style of play and whilst it worked with other sides in the Division it didn't with Stoke and results were poor.

Barker was sacked and his assistant Bill Asprey took over and he brought back club legend Alan Hudson which sparked a revival with a 4–0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on the final day of the season seeing Stoke stay up by two points.

[1] Stoke used their new style of play in their pre-season friendlies which drew some interesting results but was quite clear that the players were unhappy at the change and once the season started they struggled desperately out on the pitch.

[1] Bill Asprey was put in charge of the team and his task was to get Stoke out of trouble and his first move was to bring back Alan Hudson and sell Mickey Thomas.

[1] Stoke beat Peterborough United and Huddersfield Town before losing to Sheffield Wednesday in the fourth round.