1966–67 Stoke City F.C. season within the next twelve months. In the summer of 1966 Waddington secured the services of former Newcastle United winger George Eastham from Arsenal for £35,000. The other was goalkeeper Gordon Banks who was snapped up for a bargain £52,000 from Leicester City in April 1967. Matt Gillies, the Leicester manager was coming under considerable pressure to play his young reserve Peter Shilton and decided to sell the 29-year-old Banks to Stoke. It is widely considered that this was a 'steal' as Banks carried on to play for England for another five years. Banks left English football in 1972 and ironically
Peter Shilton to the First Division and were riding high under the management of Brian Clough. They won the League Cup in a replay after initially drawing with Liverpool at Wembley, though Shilton missed that as he was cup-tied, and then won the League title in their first season back in the first division. Shilton made a save in the clinching 0–0 draw against Coventry City which critics regarded among his greatest ever – a vicious close range header from Mick Ferguson seemed destined for the net with Shilton slightly out of position, but he got across to palm it over the