Stoke City hit the jackpot with Oxford United loan deal – The Potters would love a repeat this summer | OneFootball

Mark Stein became a Potters legend in his first two-year spell at the club

Stoke City struggled for success throughout the 1980s as they endured two relegations to drop into the third-tier by the end of the decade, but their revival in the 90's was spearheaded by an unlikely star in South African striker Mark Stein, who became a hero to Potters supporters in his two years at the club.

Stein bounced around a few different clubs at the start of his career, as he started out at Luton Town, spent time at Aldershot and Queens Park Rangers, then moved to Oxford United in 1989.

Two relatively inconsistent seasons with the U's saw him make a loan move to Stoke in September 1991, and despite a pretty slow start, he soon became a hit among supporters at the Victoria Ground under Lou Macari.

The pacey striker was a key part of a Potters side that made their way out of the doldrums of the Third Division to become a steady, established second-tier team once again, and his outstanding goalscoring exploits at the club mean that, even over 30 years on from his departure, he is fondly remembered as a Stoke legend.

Mark Stein became a Stoke City hero after Oxford loan move

Stein had netted 18 goals in 85 appearances for second-tier Oxford prior to the start of the 1991/92 campaign, but a lack of game-time at the start of the new season saw him allowed out on loan to join Stoke in the league below in September 1991.

He began his Potters career in underwhelming fashion under newly-appointed boss Macari, as he failed to find the back of the net in his initial one-month temporary spell at the club, but Macari knew he had the tools to be a success in red and white, and so persuaded his higher-ups to spend a sizeable £100,000 to secure his signature on a permanent basis.

Stein soon set about becoming a hero to supporters at the Victoria Ground as he formed a deadly partnership with fellow striker Wayne Biggins. He netted 22 times in 47 appearances in his debut campaign to fire Stoke to Autoglass Trophy glory against Stockport County, as he scored the winner in the final, but they were beaten by the Hatters in the play-offs after finishing fourth.

He continued to be a real force in the third-tier into his second term in ST4 under Macari, and was an important part of a side that brought hope back to fans and all connected with the club after a rough few years following their successes of the 1970s.

Stein scored 33 goals in 57 appearances in 1992/93 to fire the Potters back to the second-tier as champions of the newly-named Second Division, becoming the first player in three decades to find the net more than 30 times in a single campaign for the club, as he was crowned as both the Players and Supporters Player of the Year.

The 'Golden One' showed little sign of slowing down as Stoke found their feet in the First Division, and he netted an iconic brace in one of the biggest wins in the club's history in September 1993, as they beat Manchester United in a League Cup second round first-leg tie.

His impressive scoring exploits had, by then, alerted numerous Premier League sides to his potential availability though, and so he joined Chelsea later that month for a fee of £1.5 million, which was Stoke's record sale at the time. He cited a desire to test himself at the highest level as his reasons for leaving ST4, and he left with the best wishes of all at the club following a hugely successful two years.

Mark Stein loved his time with the Potters - Stoke need a player like him ahead of 2025-26

Stein impressed in his first couple of seasons at Chelsea, but had lost his place in their side by 1996 and so re-joined the Potters on a two-month loan deal in November of that same year.

He netted four goals in eleven games for a decent return, but the two clubs could not agree a fee for a potential permanent transfer, and so he departed for the second and final time at the start of 1997 as Stoke prepared to move into the Britannia Stadium.

Spells with Ipswich Town, Bournemouth, former club Luton and Dagenham & Redbridge followed, and he hung up his boots at the age of 38 in 2004.

Stein has, of course, maintained a close relationship with the club and its supporters in the years since he left, and he was named in Stoke's 'All-Time Stoke City Greatest XI' in May 2013, as part of their 150-year anniversary celebrations, while he also took to the pitch at the Britannia Stadium that year for the same event.

He has looked back on his time with the Potters as "brilliant" and the "best changing room" of his career, while admitting that his decision to leave for Chelsea "was the hardest thing in the world" due to his "great affinity" with the fans.

In the present day, Stoke have struggled in the Championship for a good while now since Premier League relegation in 2018, and their issues up-front have been obvious, with just two strikers in the last seven years having hit double figures for goals in all competitions across a single campaign.

Head-coach Mark Robins needs a player like Stein, who was unfancied at first but was able to build a really close relationship with supporters due to his impressive scoring form. Stoke would love to sign a player of his mould, as he was quick and strong, but also knew where the net was and so became a hero for his exploits over a relatively short period of time at the club.