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Stoke City at home match thread

Jerseybean

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Jerseybean

Jerseybean

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Seasons greetings fellow Reds.

It’s on the red button.

NP pre-match comments: https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/squad-update-ahead-of-potters-clash/ and

 

Kal Naismith had this to say:

 

In August, after a poor start to the season, they sacked Michael O'Neill, who won 55 of his 143 games in charge of Stoke. The Potters had won one of their first five league games when he was relieved of his duties after almost three years at the helm. Former Bristol City manager Dean Holden took interim charge, for just one game, before he departed too.

O'Neill recently returned for a second spell as Northern Ireland manager on a five-and-a-half year contract.The 53-year-old will take charge for the forthcoming Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, succeeding Ian Baraclough who was sacked from the post on 21 October.

They appointed Alex Neil as manager following his departure from Championship rivals Sunderland. Bellshill born Neil, who began his managerial career with Hamilton Academical in 2013, only moved to Wearside in February.

The 41-year-old Scot became the Potters' fourth boss on a permanent basis since they were relegated from the Premier League in 2018.

“The backing of the club is why I came here," said Neil, who left Sunderland to sign a three-year contract at the bet365 Stadium in August. "It's really as straightforward as that. The best thing that's happened to Stoke City from my perspective is the Coates family, who if anything have been overly generous in terms of what they've tried to give the club over a number of years for different reasons.”

"When you come down your basic task is to get back up. Naturally as years go by, circumstances change. I think what the family has done is say, 'Whatever you need, here you go, go and get us out of the league.”

Earlier this year it was estimated that the Coates family has poured £338m into Stoke City since resuming ownership in 2006, https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/stoke-city-financial-fair-play-7230553

Their Chairman Peter Coates was born in Goldenhill, Stoke-on-Trent, the youngest of 14 children. He was brought up by his sister, Irene, after his mother died when he was two. His father, Leonard was a miner and World War I veteran who had a keen interest in football, where they regularly attended Stoke City's Victoria Ground. Coates signed for the club on amateur terms in the 1950s, but admitted he was "not quite good enough" to make it as a professional; instead he went on to play for local non-league sides Goldenhill Wanderers and Kidsgrove Athletic. He stopped playing football at the age of 23.

Coates left school at age fourteen to work in an office to help his family make ends meet.This lasted until he was old enough to join the Parachute Regiment for his National Service. After leaving the army he took a job with the Wimpy restaurant chain, eventually rising to the position of regional manager. Using his restaurant background as a springboard, Coates founded Stadia Catering. Their specialty was catering events at football grounds, and they would eventually merge with competitor Lindley Catering. He used the increase in revenue to purchase a chain of betting shops that he dubbed Provincial Racing. He also founded the local radio station Signal 1 in 1983.

bet365 was founded in 2000 in a portakabin in Stoke-on-Trent by the Coates family, led by his daughter Denise. Denise Coates developed a sports betting platform and trading team to launch the business online in March 2001. The business borrowed £15 million from RBS against the family's betting shop estate which had been started by Peter Coates in 1974. bet365 sold its betting shop chain in 2005 for £40 million and paid off its loan to RBS. bet365 has grown into one of the world's largest online gambling companies, with its reported figures to March 2010 showing amounts wagered on sports at £5.4 billion, revenues of £358 million, and an operating profit of £104 million. Peter Coates holds the position of chairman of bet365. Denise Coates, joint chief executive, continues to run bet365 with her brother, John.

Their squad headed off for a week-long training camp in Dubai during the World Cup break.

Referee: Geoff Eltringham, it’s actually his first championship game of the season after he’s reffed in the championship for years. Eltringham was appointed on to The Football League list as an assistant in 2008, before being upgraded to referee just a year later in 2009.

A self-confessed Sunderland fan, the former season ticket holder made his football league debut as a referee for the Morecambe v Hereford game in League Two on 8 August 2009.

Assistant Referee: Graham Kane. Assistant Referee: Rob Smith. Fourth Official: Keith Stroud.

At the end of last season Stoke City released defenders James Chester and Tommy Smith and forwards Tom Ince and Steven Fletcher.

Aden Flint joined them on a one year deal, he’s made 9 appearances so far this season, https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/bristol-city-stoke-robins-season-7209667

Stoke have received an initial allocation of 2,031 tickets.

They have had a difficult first half of the season and currently occupy 19th place with one point less than us. Last season we beat them 1-0 home and away.

 

 

 

There is also this beauty from Marvin Elliott from 2007 in another 1-0 victory: pic.twitter.com/j71uozCBOp

Our head to head record is won 19, lost 26 and drawn 15.

Special anniversary for Scott Murray will be acknowledged, https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/celebrate-scotty-murray-s-25th-signing-anniversary/

https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/hall-of-fame-scott-murray/

 

My good friend, Bill, who is a long-standing Stoke fan offers these insights.

Five months ago we were looking good. We had players such as Harry Souttar, Nick Powell and Tyrese Campbell returning from injury, we had in the previous season an emerging 15 goal a season striker in Jacob Brown and then brilliantly we signed  Dwight Gayle from Newcatle and Delap on loan from Man City (the son of our longtime hero and coach Rory), we even signed Aden Flint as a backup defender and renewed Jagilelka's contract. We were looking good. 

The adjective disheartening does not do what happened next justice. Dwight Gayle put the ball in the back of the net seven times in his first 10 games. All were disallowed. He is yet to score.  Nick Powell is re-injured, Jacob Brown has scored once, Delap the same. Souttar has played twice and we have leaked goals. Our England under 21 goalkeeper Bursik would struggle to play for Jersey and his replacement Bonham, with a previous career in the lower leagues, demonstrates that history does not deceive. 

So we sacked Micheal O'Neill who had rescued us two years before from relegation and appointed Alex Neill. At the time we were fourth from bottom. If we lose against you we could be in the bottom  three.  

There is in all of this a real truth. We are just not good enough. We are, despite spending millions of pounds and breaching all the fair play rules (and getting away with it), a team that would do ok  in League One. Which is really disheartening.

Especially, as I remember Alan Hudson, Jimmy Greenhoff, Gordon Banks, Peter Shilton, Peter Dobing, Harry Burroughs, Mike Pejic, Alan Bloor, Lee Dixon, Lee Chapman, Garth Crooks, Mick Marsh, Dennis Smith, John Ritchie and oh PeterThorne who scored the winner in the Auto Glass Trophy in 2000 against you lot.   

 

 

587B7F98-125C-433C-BB16-4AD6331D46BE.jpeg

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BCFCGav

BCFCGav

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This game marks the midway point of our league season, they're the only team we're yet to play. A win will see us on 30pts, therefore on course for 60 which is comfortable survival. It'll be very nice to be back at the Gate after such an extended leave, let's drum up a real atmosphere to welcome the team home ready to take the points.

 

 

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ralphindevon

ralphindevon

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In a season where I personally don’t think we’ve had the rub of the green in many games, tomorrow’s game is a reminder that last season we had two victories against Stoke and it’s fair to say we had a touch of things going our way in both games.

I’m not saying we were extra lucky in both but both games could certainly have gone either way.

I’m not sure my Stoke supporting wife will be speaking to me on the journey home if it happens again………..but here’s hoping! 

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Lew-T

Lew-T

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3 hours ago, Major Isewater said:

Interesting insight from Alex Neill

‘I’m not asking anybody to go around kicking people but the problem you’ve got is, when they break on you, and you can sense there’s a danger, the ball and man can’t get the wrong side of you. If the ball gets past you, the man stays there, and vice versa.’ 
 

Seems a tactic made for Alex Scott! 
 

 

Ah bugger, I’d forgotten Alex Neil was with Stoke. He always seems to have our number!

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22A

22A

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For what it's worth; here's their opinion.

https://oatcakefanzine.proboards.com/thread/306856/team-bristol-city

I reckon he's going to drop Baker, I've also got a feeling he might return to a back three:
Bonham
Clarke
Souttar
Wilmot
Sterling
Kilkenny
Thompson
Tymon
Campbell
Delap
Fosu

I'm going for a 1-1 draw, Andreas Weimann will get his routine goal against us to cancel out Campbell's early opener......... 

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ralphindevon

ralphindevon

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1 hour ago, RedM said:

Stoke still give their fans free coach travel so I think they will bring a few.

Earlier in the week I saw they’d sold fewer than a thousand, that might be over by now but it won’t be as many as it might be if it wasn’t black Saturday, freezing weather, train strike, on the red button and they couldn’t beat Cardiff at home last week.

I noticed they’re the first club to issue a Bristol clean air zone warning to their fans. Does anyone know how it’s going? I’ve not heard anything about it since it’s been up and running. 

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Jerseybean

Jerseybean

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54 minutes ago, Bizyer said:

@Jerseybean great summary as always? . Thanks very much for taking the time to do this as it's much appreciated. 

I'm over from Spain for my first 'live' game of the season and hoping for a good  game or at least 3 points.  COYR

Thank you Bizyer, here’s wishing you a great afternoon and three points COYR. 

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Blagdon red

Blagdon red

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1 hour ago, sh1t_ref_again said:

Great write up as always Jerseybean, interesting bit about the Coates family,

Yep, really good write-up, thanks.

Picking hairs, one slight correction re Peter Coates' involvement with Signal Radio (as it was called at launch). Having joined the pre-launch team there in summer 1983 (moving from Radio West), I would say that's wrong to call Peter the 'founder'. He may well have been one of the many shareholders and even a non-exec director, but he was not chairman in the first few years. He only took up that role some time later. So, I don't think it can be said that he 'founded' the station. He's certainly done a lot of good for Stoke as a place, though, over the years.

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Norn Iron

Norn Iron

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16 hours ago, 22A said:

For what it's worth; here's their opinion.

https://oatcakefanzine.proboards.com/thread/306856/team-bristol-city

I reckon he's going to drop Baker, I've also got a feeling he might return to a back three:
Bonham
Clarke
Souttar
Wilmot
Sterling
Kilkenny
Thompson
Tymon
Campbell
Delap
Fosu

I'm going for a 1-1 draw, Andreas Weimann will get his routine goal against us to cancel out Campbell's early opener......... 

It's like reading OTIB! In fact, if you blank out their player references, you'd think you were reading OTIB. You'd react angrily by telling the poster that Baker isn't playing because he had to retire due to a terrible injury!

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