Stoke City landed promotion hero when they struck Leeds United deal | OneFootball

Richard Cresswell was a key part of the Potters 2008 promotion to the Premier League

Stoke City spent ten years in the Premier League from 2008 to 2018, and while many supporters reminisce over the players that helped the club finish in the top-half for three consecutive seasons, those that got them to the promised land can sometimes be forgotten.

Tony Pulis moved to bring in numerous Championship-ready players in the summer of 2007, as he looked to improve on an eighth-placed finish in the season prior and lead Stoke into a promotion battle.

The likes of Ryan Shawcross, Jon Parkin and Leon Cort joined to aid their aims, and the Potters also raided League One-bound Leeds United to sign versatile forward Richard Cresswell.

29-year-old Cresswell was supposed to join Hull City, but his move to the Tigers collapsed around concerns following his medical, and that worked out very well in Stoke's favour as he became a key man in Pulis' side and was a huge part of their eventual promotion at the end of his maiden campaign at the club.

Richard Cresswell contributed massively to Stoke's 2008 promotion to the Premier League

Cresswell joined Stoke on a three-year contract in early August 2007, with then-boss Pulis admitting that he was "absolutely delighted" to be signing a player of his quality and experience, following his impressive spell in the second-tier with Preston North End from 2000 to 2006.

The striker-turned-winger went straight into the starting eleven upon arrival, but Stoke struggled to mount a promotion challenge early on in the season, and even though he netted his first goal for the club against Rochdale in the League Cup, it took him until mid-October to score in a league game for the first time.

His maiden goal came away at Crystal Palace, and was followed up by another in the second-half to secure a brace and a 3-1 victory for the Potters at Selhurst Park, which was only their second away win of the campaign up to that point.

Cresswell's best run of form on a personal level was arguably what kick-started Pulis' side into gear for the race for promotion. He bagged in three consecutive wins over QPR, Norwich City and Sheffield United across November and December, and Stoke did not lose again until late January, as he also netted against Plymouth Argyle and former club Preston in that run.

The Potters had bedded themselves into the Championship top-six by the halfway point of the campaign, and Cresswell's star turns did not end there as he proved to be an inspired substitution against struggling Scunthorpe United with a goal to help Stoke come from 2-0 behind to win 3-2.

His sole assist of the season came in added-time against fellow promotion-hopefuls Burnley in March, as he won a penalty that Liam Lawrence duly dispatched to snatch a point at the death at the Britannia Stadium.

Cresswell continued to play week-in, week-out as Stoke moved into the automatic promotion spots, and his strike away at Sheffield Wednesday kept them at the summit of the second-tier with five games to play.

His strike in their penultimate outing of the campaign at Colchester United could have been the one that sealed promotion for the Potters, if not for Hull's win at Crystal Palace, but they got the job done a week later with a 0-0 draw against Leicester City to seal a long-awaited return to the promised land of the top-flight.

Cresswell was a vital, and often underrated, cog in Pulis' well-oiled system, and he was their most used player in the promotion season. He quickly became a fan-favourite in ST4 for his determined attitude and quality in front of goal when his side needed him most.

Cresswell's time at Stoke petered out in the Premier League - he has fond memories of his spell at the club

Stoke were huge underdogs as they ventured into the top-flight of English football for the first time since 1985, and even though Cresswell had just three seasons of Premier League experience from his time at Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester, he was never going to depart so soon after his Championship heroics, so became more of a rotation option off the bench.

His maiden strike of the season came in the League Cup away at Cheltenham Town, and he did start the Potters' first ever Premier League game at Bolton Wanderers, but was only able to muster 10 more league starts throughout the campaign as he played his part in spells and Stoke cruised to safety in 12th place.

Despite starting the 2009/10 campaign as a part of the Stoke squad once again, he struggled to make an impact and so was sent out on a three-month loan to Championship side Sheffield United in September. He impressed for the Blades, and so his two-and-a-half year association with the Potters came to an official end in January 2010 as he made a permanent move to Bramall Lane.

Cresswell stayed at United until the summer of 2013, then joined boyhood club York City on a permanent deal after an initial loan, and eventually retired from playing later that year at the age of 35.

He has maintained a close relationship with Stoke supporters on social media in the years since his departure, and was also invited back to the club to feature in Andy Wilkinson's testimonial match in 2016, in which he netted a brace and later said "it was nice to have the chance to say thank you to the Stoke fans," in an interview with StokeonTrentLive.

Cresswell may not have been the most flashy player in his playing days for the Potters, but he was the exact kind of foil that a Pulis side needed to allow the more technical forwards like Ricardo Fuller and Liam Lawrence to strut their stuff. Stoke enjoyed ten fruitful years in the Premier League thanks to his efforts, which should not be forgotten, especially considering where the club currently find themselves.