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Stoke City away match day thread


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2 minutes ago, Numero Uno said:

Which I would be all for except these same people would lose their shit totally if the youngsters lost 3-0 and got outplayed. Not even a debate.

Agree to a large extent.  There are enough youngsters in the team / 18 on merit without giving games to players who are behind them.  If they’re good enough NOW, they’ll get their chance.

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Lets see, what can this shower can offer today.

We conceded in the last minute a couple of games ago, so not that. Threw away a lead against ten men last week so not that either. What about a missed penalty? Ooh, we haven’t been 3-0 down after about 20 minutes all season. I’ll go for that, in a 4-1 defeat.

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9 hours ago, Jerseybean said:

Easter greetings fellow-Reds, are we in for a good or bad Friday as far as todays game is concerned? As of Tuesday more than 600 tickets had been sold to traveling fans. There is  no pay on the day for todays 3 pm kick off.

I asked my Stoke City supporting friend, Bill, for a view, he had this to say:

‘It all started so well. In the first two months of the season we had played 10, won 6, drawn 2, lost 2. Ok, so one of those losses was to Fulham 3-0, but we felt we were right up there, play-offs certainly, automatic promotion possibly.

It was great teasing my Bristol City mate and even better listening to Nigel Pearson doing almost weekly squirms. And then our young, towering, majestic centre back Harry Souttar, playing for Australia, did his ACL. Suddenly, the decision to sell our other young centre back protégé, Nathan Collins to Burnley for £15 million looked a bit shortsighted. But we needed some income because we were hemorrhaging money and the Fair Play regulations were looking extremely problematic. We were some £170 million in debt and clearly the exorbitant, reckless and ill-judged spending on players at the end of the Mark Hughes era was coming home to roost.  We were in fact right up there (and beyond) the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County and Wigan. Points deductions and relegation beckoned.  If we were a real business we would have been trading while insolvent.

But maybe, just maybe we could get out of this approaching doomsday by getting promoted. We were still there or thereabouts in January. A strong finish would see us home. In the next ten games, we won 1, drew 4 and lost 6. We were abysmal. We couldn’t hold on to winning positions. All our losses were by one goal; often conceded in the last ten minutes of the game. We were out ‘Bristol Citying’ Bristol City. We even lost to you.

Our manager Michael O’Neil started lamenting about not getting what we deserved, about individual errors, about injuries and terrible referring. Unlike Nigel Pearson he doesn’t see what the real truth is which is that we are not good enough.

We are currently mid-table, but if it hadn’t been for our good start we would be down there with Reading (who we have just lost to) Peterborough and Barnsley; another two teams that in the last month we could not beat. You can visit us with hope in your hearts. Let us score an early goal and we will readily give you two in return.

However, it’s not all bad. Stoke City have recently sold their stadium and training ground to our sponsor BET 365. BET 365 also agreed to turn another £75 million of debt into shares. So Stoke City has no Fair Play problems! We are a profitable football club with absolutely no debt! Hurrah! Hallelujah! With one leap we are free. Oh, the owners of Stoke City football club just happen to be the Coates family who, just a bit co-incidentally, also own BET 365. Now there’s some glorious insider trading.’

Neither side has anything to play for, other than finishing this season with a bit of momentum. We do have the opportunity of a rare double having won 1-0 at Ashton Gate back in November: https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/highlights-bristol-city-1-0-stoke-city/ Michael O’Neil certainly wasn’t happy with the ref: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/stoke-city-penalties-red-bristol-6258420

Remarkably we are joint top in the Championship with Fulham for taking the lead (33 times). Unfortunately we're also top for giving away equalisers (21 times).

Over the years they’ve beaten us 26 times, we’ve won 18 and drawn 15.

While we were playing so poorly last weekend they were beating WBA 3-1 at the Hawthorns. They are expected to start with the same eleven today. We are without all recent absentees, although Tanner and King are seemingly nearing a return.  With both teams having five remaining games they have ten more points than us. They’ve taken 10 points from their last six games.

Todays ref is  Matthew Donohue, who has taken charge of 26 Championship games this season issuing 110 yellows and 10 reds, he’s not been in charge of a game involving us, the last time he was in the middle at the bet365 Stoke lost 2-1 to Derby.

They have suffered from lots of injuries this season with players such as  Harry Souttar, Nick Powell, Liam Moore, Lewis Baker and Jordan Thompson all missing for extended periods.

History

Stoke City claim to be the world's oldest professional Football League club. From the early days as an amateur side playing against other teams in the local area, through to becoming a competitive force in England's world famous Premier League, the Club are very proud of it's football heritage.

Whilst mystery surrounds the exact minor details of the formative years, the same cannot be said about recent times with a first-ever FA Cup Final appearance and the subsequent journey in the UEFA Europa League widening the exposure of Stoke City to football fans around the globe.

1863 - 1888 (In The Beginning)

Record books say City were founded in 1863.

1888 - 1899 (Election Fever)

The Potters were heavily involved in the formation of the Football League and were founder members for it's inaugural season.

1900 - 1909 (Win Or Bust)

Stoke suffered major financial problems with relegation and player wages that exceeded gate receipts leading to an inevitable conclusion.

1910 - 1919 (Rebirth Out Of The Football League)

Although not involved within the major league in English football, the Club did pick up several honours in the Birmingham and District and Southern Leagues.

1920 - 1929 (Yo-Yo Club)

The heights of Division One and depths of Division Three were visited in a rollercoaster decade.

1930 - 1939 (Stan's The Man)

The emergence of one player, more than any other, was destined to go down in history.

1940 - 1949 (So Near Yet So Far)

Stoke City were all set for some golden years before the Second World War intervened.

1950 - 1959 (A Foreign Affair)

Off the field problems marred the Fifties but there was some light at the end of the tunnel.

1960 - 1969 (The Swinging Sixties)

Just as the music scene revived Britain, a man by the name of Tony Waddington arrived at the Victoria Ground to turn things around.

1970 - 1979 (Waddo Believe It!)

An astonishing decade in which City captured a first major honour, flirted with winning the Division One Championship and played in Europe for the first ever time.

1980 - 1989 (Five Managers, Five Chairmen)

Football had it rough in the Eighties and the headline says it all about City's fortunes.

1990 - 1999 (Two Relegations, A Trophy, A Promotion, A New Stadium and A Takeover)

Everything conceivable happens in the turbulent final decade of the Twentieth Century. Never a dull moment at Stoke City Football Club. The Bet365 Stadium (formerly known as the Britannia Stadium) has been home to Stoke City since 1997 after they moved from the Victoria Ground.

2000 - 2009 (The Decade Of Success)

Wembley Final and Play-Off Final victories followed by the arrival of Tony Pulis see Stoke rise from the third tier of English football to return to the top flight after a wait of 23 years.

2010 - Present Day (Going Global)

Successful seasons against the odds in the Premier League, as well as FA Cup Final and UEFA Europa League appearances see the Club's name spread around the world.

Manager Michael O’Neil has been under pressure from the fans as their season has not gone as well as hoped: https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/stoke-city-boss-michael-oneill-23306560

As mentioned they sold their stadium just in time! The bet365 Stadium was bought by bet365 on May 28, 2021 for £70.25m. Crucially, that was just over one month before an EFL vote to change the rules and stop clubs selling stadiums at a profit. That kicked in on July 1, 2021 for the 2021/22 season. https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/stoke-city-financial-fair-play-6800769

Pubs

Stoke on Trent is renowned for brewing for a few reasons. First, the water: Due to the water's hardness and mineral content which is formed on its journey through the Trent valley, it is ideal for brewing pale ale. Second, transport: The River Trent connects a number of towns and cities in Britain making it perfect for transporting beer.

Wishing fellow-Reds everywhere a happy Easter and hoping from some points to go with the eggs.

 

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Brilliant intro as ever.  Only complaint is that I saw no mention of Gordon Banks , best goalie ever, who played for them when I first started watching football 

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28 minutes ago, Wanderingred said:

Lets see, what can this shower can offer today.

We conceded in the last minute a couple of games ago, so not that. Threw away a lead against ten men last week so not that either. What about a missed penalty? Ooh, we haven’t been 3-0 down after about 20 minutes all season. I’ll go for that, in a 4-1 defeat.

Hm, your first point means we are due to concede a last minute goal.

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