Seyi Olofinjana Strong midfielder who, at 6 foot 4, stands taller than most on the field. Signed from Wolves for £3m, Olofinjana played nearly 150 times for the Black Country team, the Nigerian international went straight into the side and got his season off the mark with a great volley against Everton and a vital goal in the win against Arsenal. Lost his place shortly after to Amdy Faye before Whelan and latterly Delap kept him out of the centre of midfield as a failure to stamp his authority on games cost him.
#4
Centre midfield
d.o.b: 30/06/80
Signed/Left: July 2008/August 2009
Games in last season: 17/4
Goals in last season: 2
Total club games: 17/4
Total club goals : 2
Turned down the advances of Monaco to sign for Premier League rivals Hull, the Potters recouping the £3m they paid for him barely twelve months before his departure.
Richard Cresswell
#16
Striker, Winger
dob:20/09/77
Signed/Left: August 2007/January 2010
Games in last season: 2/1
Goals in last season:0
Total club games: 61/22
Total club goals: 13
Signed after a move to Hull fell through.
Worked with fellow striker Ricardo Fuller at Preston and is described by the Jamaican as the best player to work with him.
Had to leave Leeds after they got relegated and went into administration and judged his £11,000 a week wages as something they needed to offload.
Spent nearly the whole season the left wing and chipped in with some valuable goals aswell as some top class effort and willingness to help out his full back.
Has past experience of the top flight with Leicester and Sheffield Wednesday.
Played a part on 2008/9 as a winger on either flank or as a striker. Always gave 100% effort but sadly quality was usually lacking.
Departed in the January window to Sheffield United for £500,000 with the eternal thanks of all connected to the club for his part in promotion.
Leon Cort
#5
Centre back
d.o.b: 11/09/79
Signed/Sold: November 2007/January 2010
Games in last season: 4
Goals in last season: 0
Total club games: 50/3
Total club goals : 8
Tall, dangerous centre back who became the clubs record signing when Stoke paid Crystal Palace an initial £1.4m for the services of their player of the year.
Showed his prowess from set pieces by nabbing 8 goals in 35 games in his first season, equalling that of centre back partner Ryan Shawcross.
Was booked against Leyton Orient for the first time in nearly 200 games, an incredible record for any centre back.
Found holding a place down hard this season but when he has played he has done well, including a fantastic performance in the goalless draw at Anfield that win the Potters there first away point of the season.
Missed a large chunk of the season with injury before returning to help secure vital wins over Hull and Wigan saw him finish the season on a high.
Left in January 2010, joining Burnley in a £1.5m deal
Nathaniel Wedderburn
#39
Centre midfield, Centre back, Left back
d.o.b: 30/06/91
Signed: Academy
Games in last season: 0
Goals in last season: 0
Total club games: 0
Total club goals : 0
Extremely highly rated youngster given a squad number and included in the first team squad at the age of 16 years and 4 months.
Can competently play in numerous positions but niggly injuries stalled his startling progress in the second half of 2007/8.
Was loaned out to Notts County for three months mid way through 2008/9 to gain some experience as academy football seemed such a stroll physically for him.
Nearly joined Wrexham on loan but after an upturn in their results they couldn't guarantee him a starting role so he stayed with the Potters before joining League Two Notts County where he played three games before an injury forced his return to the Potters. He then returned to County in the New Year for a second loan spell and was in and out of the side, a good achievement for a 17-year-old.
Returned to the Potters to captain academy and reserve sides in their run in and then had a short loan spell at Hereford in 2009/10 but niggling injuries hampered his progress and he was released at the end of the 2009/10 season.
Played for the England U19's in 2009/10 and was impressive in the UEFA U19 championships qualifiers.
Amdy Faye
#19
Defensive midfielder, central midfielder, centre back
d.o.b: 12/3/77
Signed: August 2008
Games in last season: 1
Goals in last season: 0
Total club games: 19/4
Total club goals: 0
Signed from Charlton on a one year contract after impressing enough during a trial for manager Tony Pulis to offer him a deal.
Faye, 31, started his British career at Portsmouth before moving on to Newcastle, Charlton and Rangers, on loan, and now finds himself at Stoke.
Earned himself a new 12-month contract in the new year after several dominating displays in the centre of midfield before injury ended his season.
Was looking to reclaim his place in his last season but injuries and lack of match fitness meant he made only one appearance, in the Carling Cup win at Leyton Orient.
Ryan Connor
#44
Central midfield, Centre back, Left back
d.o.b: ??/??/??
Signed: Academy
Games in last season: 0
Goals in last season: 0
Total club games: 0
Total club goals: 0
Local lad who was on the bench for the Carling Cup 4th round tie away at Portsmouth.
Tenacious midfielder who can also play at centre back and left back. Tackling is hard but fair but he also possesses fantastic passing ability, great vision and reads the game well. Set piece deliveries were a major weapon for the Potters U18 side.
Wasn't offered a professional contract at the end of the season and was released by the Potters.
Steve Simonsen
#1
Goalkeeper
d.o.b:03/04/79
Signed/Sold:July 2004/July 2010
Games in last season: 5/2
Goals conceded in last season: 11
Clean sheets in last season: 3
Total club games: 180/7
Total goals conceded/clean sheets: 215/58
Joined from Everton after his career had gone downhill.
Broke into the Tranmere team aged 17 and was fantastic as they went far in the cup competitions knocking out several Premiership sides.
This alerted Premiership clubs and he joined Everton for £3m in 2000 but a sudden change of manager left him out of favour and after one season as first choice keeper he then got injured and never got back in the team.
Initially was number two to Ed De Goey but quickly established himself as number one after an injury to De Goey.
Played fantastic for Stoke in his first season and there were rumours that Arsenal were sniffing around him but a less impressive second season cooled a lot of interest but he was still one of the best keepers outside of the Premiership.
Pulis return for his third year saw his form return, probably due to the added protection from the defence and he played his first ever present campaign conceding just 41 goals in the league to give the Potters the best defence.
Sunderland were reportedly sniffing around in the close season with a £2m fee being banded around but he remained a vital player for the Potters, playing 38 times in the 2007/8 season before being replaced by Carlo Nash for the final 10 games as manager Pulis picked up on his tiredness after 3 seasons of non-stop football.
Left in the summer of 2010 after two seasons where he saw very little league action and had little to no chance of displacing Thomas Sorenson and Asmir Begovic for the keepers jersey.
Andy Griffin
#20
Right back, Left back
d.o.b: 07/03/79
Signed/Sold: January 2008/July 2010
Games in last season: 2/1
Goals in last season: 1
Total club games: 126/11
Total club goals: 5
Came through the youth team in the mid nineties and was brought by Newcastle for £1.5 million after some stunning displays.
Scored a last minute Champions League winner against Juventus for the Toon Army but failed to nail down a regular spot amid the constant change in the managers chair during his stay.
Moved to Portsmouth where he suffered injuries and eventually rejoined the Potters on loan in September 2006. When his loan expired he was forced to head back to Pompey only for the Potters to complete a new loan until the end of the season.
Scored the goal of the season in a foggy televised home game against Coventry in November 2006 when he cut inside onto his right foot and hammered a 35 yard drive into the top corner.
He rejoined the Potters for a fourth time in January 2008 after a nightmare 6 months in Derby's 'season from hell' and seemed very low on confidence and form before his season was cut short by an injury with 3 and a half games left.
His Stoke career basically ended on Boxing Day 2008 after he fell from club captain to watching from the stands in the new year following the 'Fuller incident' at West Ham.
The emergence of Andy Wilkinson, and loan signing of Stephen Kelly, left him a spectator for the second half of the season before Robert Huth added more competition for the right back slot and Griff was left to watch the entire league season without as much as a substitute appearance. Joined Reading on loan late on in 2009/10 before joining the Royals permanently in time for pre-season.