Tony Waddington guided Stoke City to a glorious period during the early 1970‘s as his side were a major force in English football. They reached the semi finals of the FA Cup in 1971 and 1972, only suffering defeat against Arsenal on both occasions. They forced the gunners to a replay in the 1972 FA cup semi finals, however could not gain a place in the final of the cup competition. Their biggest achievement to date in football has to be considered as winning the 1972 League cup final as they defeated Chelsea in the final of the competition. Two real heroes’s emerged from the match, Gordon Banks was great in goal and Mike Pejic was a constant threat for Stoke City through out the encounter. As the decade progressed, Stoke became even stronger in the first division as they finished off the 1974 and 1975 campaigns in fifth position. The following two years saw a gradual decline in the Potters league fortunes as they could only manage to finish the 1976 – 1977 campaign off in a disappointing 21st position. Alan Durban took charge at the club during the club in 1978 and guided the Potters back in to the top flight at the end of the 1978 – 1979 season as they finished it off in third position.