The 2004-05 campaign was a season of solid mid-table consolidation for Stoke City under manager Tony Pulis, as The Potters finished 12th in the newly-rebranded Football League Championship. The year started with soaring ambition as they briefly topped the table in early September, but this was followed by a frustrating and famously 'binary' run of low-scoring results. Leading the line was the powerful centre-forward Gifton Noel-Williams, whose 13 crucial goals anchored the attack and proved his enduring value in a season that provided much-needed stability in the second tier.