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Stoke City away match thread

Jerseybean

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Jerseybean

Jerseybean

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Good day fellow-reds.

To get things off to a topical start here’s a Good Friday quiz:

1. On which date was the first ever Good Friday celebrated?
a. Friday, April 30th, 12 A.D
b. Friday, April 5th, 30 A.D
c. Friday, April 3rd, 30 A.D
d. Friday, April 3rd, 33 A.D

2. How many times do Church bells toll around the world during Good Friday?
a. 26
b. 30
c. 33
d. 36

3. In German-speaking countries, Good Friday is often referred to as Karfreitag which means what in German?
a. Great Friday
b. Holy Friday
c. Mourning Friday
d. Death Friday

4. What is the day before Good Friday known as?
a. Maundy Thursday
b. Good Thursday
c. Divine Thursday
d. Easter Thursday

5. Why is Good Friday also referred to as “Black Friday”?
a. It was the day Lucifer (Satan) fell from the Heavens into Hell
b. It was the day Jesus Christ was crucified and died at the cavalry.
c. It was the first ever shopping sale ever recorded in history
d. The sun never rose that day

There will be no pay on the day tickets available for travelling supporters at the bet365 Stadium on Friday. Over 1,000 supporters are set to travel to Staffordshire for the fixture.

A poor performance at our place just before Christmas gifted them a 2-1 victory. We were sunk by goals from Liam Delap and Jacob Brown either side of half-time as Nahki Wells' opener came to nothing against the Potters. Highlights :

 

Officials are Oliver Langford with the whistle, assisted by Mark Stevens and Hristo Karaivanov
the fourth official is James Bell.

Mark Sykes will be the guest commentator for Robins TV global coverage of the game.

My mate Bill who is a Stoke fan offered his thoughts: ‘When we played you at Ashton Gate in December Stoke were a team plummeting to league one, we were conceding early goals and losing.  In the previous six games we had scored seven goals and conceded 11, and were averaging a point a game, true relegation form. Fast forward four  months and we are a team on a charge. In our last five games we have scored 13 goals and conceded just four. We have beaten both Sunderland and Coventry by four goals, (playing away,)  drawn with Middlesbrough and Norwich and beaten Blackburn Rovers. YE HA. So we are a team transformed. We average over two points per  game; promotion form.   How did that happen? Well in the January transfer window  we sold Harry Souttar to Leicester for £15 million and then invested some of it in loans. The outstanding full back Hoever from Wolves,  (he's already scored four goals,) Ben Pearson from Bournemouth who is a faster Glenn Whelan but equally bloody-minded defensive midfielder. We also have defenders Dujon Stirling  from Chelsea  and Axel Tuanzebe from Man Utd, who have stiffened our team. Add them to Will Smallbone on a season long loan from Southampton  who has developed into a clever, athletic and goal scoring central midfielder, we are, as Alex Neil acknowledged on Saturday,  "a very well balanced, complete package."  Given that we beat Reading 4-0 in late January with the prototype of our current team, you could well be in for a drubbing, let's just say that it looks as though it's got 4-0 written all over it.’

Last weekend they blew Coventry away winning 4-0 away, https://www.stokecityfc.com/news/2023/april/02/extended-highlights-coventry-city/ a result which Stoke brought Coventry City's nine-game unbeaten run to an abrupt end. Of note of the 16 Stoke players who played on Saturday only five are contracted to Stoke for next season. 

Omar Taylor-Clarke met the media ahead of the game:

 

They have lost 1, drawn 2 and won 3 of their last 6 games and have scored 13 times, and are fifth in the recent form league table.

We have won on our last four visits to their place, however, we have failed to score in our last four away games, losing three and drawing one.

Matija Sarkic, Emre Tezgel and Nathan Lowe are all in the treatment room and aren't expected to play a part. We will be without  Kal Naismith, Tomas Kalas and Alex Scott.

On deadline day Leicester agreed a fee of £15m plus £5m in add-ons with Stoke to sign Australian defender Harry Souttar.

In some respects I’d suggest they are in a similar situation to us, having been sorting out a financial car crash, getting rid of players and changing the culture, Alex Neil is certainly starting to make some head way after a difficult and disappointing season, they have been in decent form this year. Their fans seem to be looking forward to next season and are keen for some of their on loan players to sign permanently. It’s also interesting to consider their approach on loans.

NP pre-match:

 

Potted history of the Potters

Stoke City are one of the oldest English football teams. They began as Stoke Ramblers, but have been known as Stoke City since 1925. One of the best periods for the club was between 1933 and 1953, they played in the top division and managed to reach fourth place twice. They have also a Football League Cup victory from 1972 and would reach the FA Cup final for the first time in 2011. Despite a lack of success Stoke have had a number of famous players over the years such as Stanley Matthews, Gordon Banks, Jimmy Greenhoff and Denis Smith. Stoke City's record appearance-maker is Eric Skeels who made 596 appearances between 1959 and 1976. There top senior goalscorer is John Ritchie with 176 goals.

Owner and managers

In 1986, Peter Coates became majority shareholder at Stoke City and was appointed chairman in September 1986 taking over from Sandy Clubb. The club had been through a tough period with poor finances and a humiliating relegation in 1984–85. Coates backed Mick Mills in 1986–87 for a promotion push but they fell short and Mills had to sell players before making additions. In preparation for the 1989–90 season Stoke spent a combined £1million on new players with a then club record of £480,000 for Ian Cranson. However results were appalling and the team finished bottom of the table and fell into the third tier. In 1990 the Stoke City board consisted of six directors and it was agreed that a new share issue was needed, with the majority wanting the supporters to be free to purchase. Following disagreements regarding this share issue, several board members left and the board then consisted of Peter Coates, Keith Humphreys and David Edwards.

Coates appointed Lou Macari for the 1991–92 season and he guided the club to the Second Division title and victory in the 1992 Associate Members' Cup Final. Supporters were dismayed with the board after Mark Stein was sold to Chelsea in October 1993 for £1.4 million and shortly after Macari left to join Celtic. Macari returned to Stoke the following season and the side nearly gained promotion in 1995–96 losing to Leicester City in the play-offs. The board decided to move to a new all-seater-stadium following the 1996–97 season after deciding it would be too costly to upgrade the Victoria Ground to meet the Taylor Report.

The first season at the new Britannia Stadium was a disaster for the club as unexpectedly Macari left and was replaced by his assistant Chic Bates. Coates was coming in for a lot of criticism from supporters for his lack of spending and after a embarrassing 7–0 defeat at home to Birmingham City on 10 January 1998 around 2,000 angry supporters invaded the pitch at full-time and some attempted to enter the directors box. After more fan protests Coates resigned as chairman although he remained a majority shareholder, whilst Keith Humphreys was appointed chairman as Stoke were relegated to the Second Division.

In 1999, a group of Icelandic businessmen formed a consortium to buy the club led by Gunnar Gíslason. The consortium Stoke Holding paid around £3.5 million. The deal was completed on 15 November 1999. The Icelandic consortium eventually took Stoke back to the First Division via the play-offs in 2002 and consolidated the club in mid-table but were unable to mount a promotion attempt. The consortium made one last effort to gain promotion in the 2005–06 season after sacking Tony Pulis and replacing him with Johan Boskamp. He brought in a large number of foreign players and ultimately only managed a mid-table finish and the owners left at the end of the season.

The Coates family through a bet365 subsidiary company completed the purchase of Stoke City F.C. for £1.7 million. Coates later stated the Icelandic consortium had left the club in a "mess" with debts of around £9 million. Coates re-appointed Tony Pulis as manager ahead of the 2006–07 season and the team almost made it to the play-offs. They did achieve promotion to the Premier League in 2007–08 finishing in 2nd place. Stoke secured survival in 2008–09 despite being favorites for relegation. Stoke broke their transfer record in August 2010, paying Sunderland £8 million for Kenwyne Jones.

They reached their first FA Cup Final in 2010–11, losing 1–0 to Manchester City. Stoke again broke their transfer record in 2011–12 spending £10 million on Peter Crouch. Supporters began to get frustrated with the style of football played under Pulis in 2012–13 and so Coates replaced him with Mark Hughes. The style of football improved under Hughes and Stoke enjoyed a good period finishing ninth three seasons running in 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16.

Problems began to emerge however as Hughes began to move on the longer serving players and replace them with his own with £18 million spent on Giannelli Imbula in February 2015 and Kevin Wimmer in August 2017 with both making little impact of the team. Coates came in for criticism from supporters in December 2017 with the team in deep relegation trouble and pressure mounting on Hughes, He dismissed the fans concerns with— "I don’t know what all the fuss is about". He sacked Hughes soon after and replaced him with Paul Lambert who was unable to keep Stoke in the Premier League. Gary Rowett was appointed manager going into the 2018–19 season and despite spending over £30 million on new players he was unable to mount a promotion bid and was sacked in January 2019 and replaced with Nathan Jones. Stoke made a poor start to the 2019–20 season and were cut adrift at the bottom of the table by November before Jones was dismissed. Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill was brought in and he was able to guide Stoke to Championship survival. In September 2020 his son John Coates was appointed as joint-chairman.

On 28 August 2022, Neil was appointed as the new manager of Stoke City, after the dismissal of Michael O'Neill.

Stoke stuff

  • Sir Stanley Matthews never ate the crusts of bread - he always cut them off. So who knows, kids, if you stop eating your crusts then perhaps you too could become a world-class footballer.
  • The Stoke City squad once included a vicar in midfield. Father Elijah Smith took off his cassock to play for the Potters in the 1880s. The half-back, who was in charge of a church in Stoke, starred in the club's first ever league win, over Notts County – but he didn't bless the team with much luck on their travels. The vicar started 12 away league games and lost 11.
  • Neil Morrissey grew up in a children's home in Penkhull, but did you know that's where his tattoos originate from too? He has reportedly said that other children at the home threatened to beat him up if he didn't agree to 'being inked', and that he now regrets not opting for the beating.
  • The tiles on the floor of the Houses of Parliament were made in Stoke-on-Trent, by Minton.
  • Robbie Williams is the most famous pop star to hail from the city. Many of his songs refer to Stoke-on-Trent, either directly or indirectly. These include "It's Only Us", "Burslem Normals", "The 80's" and the spoken introduction to his duet with Jonathan Wilkes of the song "Me and My Shadow". The song "Angels" was partly inspired by the golden angel at Burslem Town Hall. In 2015, three streets in a new housing estate in Middleport were named after Williams' hit songs: Supreme Street, Candy Lane and Angels Way.
  • Staffordshire oatcakes (very different from the Scottish version and traditionally made in corner-shop style oatcake bakeries) are a much-loved local culinary speciality. They remain popular although are no longer the cheap alternative to bread.
  • Stoke-on-Trent is the smallest city to boast two professional clubs in the English Football League. The club bearing the area's name is Stoke City. The city's other professional football club is Port Vale, who were formed in 1876.

Pubs

Power League Sports Club, Dennis Viollet Avenue, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 4TN

Harvester - Trentham Lakes, Trentham Lakes District Centre, Stanley Matthews Way, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 4TL, https://www.harvester.co.uk/restaurants/eastandwestmidlands/harvestertrenthamlakesstokeontrent#/

The Poacher's Cottage, Stone Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 8AA, https://www.facebook.com/HarvesterPoachersCottage/

The Plough, Campbell Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 4EN, https://hotelescon.com.es/The-Plough-Motel/

The Gardeners Retreat, 6 Sideway Rd, Boothen Green, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 4BJ, https://the-gardeners-retreat.business.site/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=referral

The Terrace,185 Leek Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 2BW, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100072011134582

Bulls Head, St Johns Square, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST6 3AJ, (01782) 834153, www.titanicbrewery.co.uk

Old-fashioned two-room tap for Titanic with up to ten real ales (including guests) from horseshoe bar, also good selection of Belgian beers, real ciders and wines; well cared-for interior with varnished tables on wood or carpeted floors, coal fire; monthly live folk music, bar billiards and table skittles; drinking area outside (may be barbecue if Port Vale are at home), open all day Fri-Sun, closed till 3pm other days.

Glebe, 35 Glebe Street, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST4 1HG, (01782) 860670, www.joulesbrewery.co.uk/our-taphouses/our-pub-list/glebe

Well restored 19th-c Joules corner pub, their ales, Weston's cider and good reasonably priced wines from central mahogany counter, William Morris-attributed leaded windows, bare boards and panelling, some civic portraits and big fireplace with coat of arms above, wholesome bar food (not Sun) and all-day deli counter, friendly staff; live music Tues, open mike Thurs; children and dogs welcome, benches in small garden, quite handy for station, closed Mon evening, otherwise open all day.

Holy Inadequate, 67 Etruria Old Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST1 5PE, 07771 358238. Drinkers' pub with five well kept ales including Joules Pale and maybe one from on-site microbrewery, good range of British craft kegs, German lagers and lots of bottled beers, snacky food such as pies and scotch eggs, friendly staff; dogs welcome, outdoor covered terrace, open all day Fri-Sun, from 4pm other days.

This is a good area for decent beers.

Quiz answers

1. d. Friday, April 3rd, 33 A.D
2. c. 33
3. c. Mourning Friday
4. a. Maundy Thursday
5. b. It was the day Jesus Christ was crucified and died at the cavalry.

9F3C9C5F-F04D-49ED-8FA2-1067219B3380.png

FB5719FC-5176-4644-935A-455B87A3C1DD.jpeg

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IAmNick

IAmNick

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Jerseybean said:

Of note of the 16 Stoke players who played on Saturday only five are contracted to Stoke for next season. 

Great post as always but this really stuck out! Crazy stat.

I was reading the comment from their fan talking about their loans thinking "Oh god here we go, I know what people are going to say..." but that line really makes the impact planning for now rather than the future can have clear. Obviously not all loans, but still.

I wonder what their team will look like next year? Must be frustrating as a Stoke fan to go on a bit of a run at the end of the season then have them all leave.

Edited by IAmNick
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City oz

City oz

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Jerseybean said:

Good day fellow-reds.

To get things off to a topical start here’s a Good Friday quiz:

1. On which date was the first ever Good Friday celebrated?
a. Friday, April 30th, 12 A.D
b. Friday, April 5th, 30 A.D
c. Friday, April 3rd, 30 A.D
d. Friday, April 3rd, 33 A.D

2. How many times do Church bells toll around the world during Good Friday?
a. 26
b. 30
c. 33
d. 36

3. In German-speaking countries, Good Friday is often referred to as Karfreitag which means what in German?
a. Great Friday
b. Holy Friday
c. Mourning Friday
d. Death Friday

4. What is the day before Good Friday known as?
a. Maundy Thursday
b. Good Thursday
c. Divine Thursday
d. Easter Thursday

5. Why is Good Friday also referred to as “Black Friday”?
a. It was the day Lucifer (Satan) fell from the Heavens into Hell
b. It was the day Jesus Christ was crucified and died at the cavalry.
c. It was the first ever shopping sale ever recorded in history
d. The sun never rose that day

There will be no pay on the day tickets available for travelling supporters at the bet365 Stadium on Friday. Over 1,000 supporters are set to travel to Staffordshire for the fixture.

A poor performance at our place just before Christmas gifted them a 2-1 victory. We were sunk by goals from Liam Delap and Jacob Brown either side of half-time as Nahki Wells' opener came to nothing against the Potters. Highlights :

 

Officials are Oliver Langford with the whistle, assisted by Mark Stevens and Hristo Karaivanov
the fourth official is James Bell.

Mark Sykes will be the guest commentator for Robins TV global coverage of the game.

My mate Bill who is a Stoke fan offered his thoughts: ‘When we played you at Ashton Gate in December Stoke were a team plummeting to league one, we were conceding early goals and losing.  In the previous six games we had scored seven goals and conceded 11, and were averaging a point a game, true relegation form. Fast forward four  months and we are a team on a charge. In our last five games we have scored 13 goals and conceded just four. We have beaten both Sunderland and Coventry by four goals, (playing away,)  drawn with Middlesbrough and Norwich and beaten Blackburn Rovers. YE HA. So we are a team transformed. We average over two points per  game; promotion form.   How did that happen? Well in the January transfer window  we sold Harry Souttar to Leicester for £15 million and then invested some of it in loans. The outstanding full back Hoever from Wolves,  (he's already scored four goals,) Ben Pearson from Bournemouth who is a faster Glenn Whelan but equally bloody-minded defensive midfielder. We also have defenders Dujon Stirling  from Chelsea  and Axel Tuanzebe from Man Utd, who have stiffened our team. Add them to Will Smallbone on a season long loan from Southampton  who has developed into a clever, athletic and goal scoring central midfielder, we are, as Alex Neil acknowledged on Saturday,  "a very well balanced, complete package."  Given that we beat Reading 4-0 in late January with the prototype of our current team, you could well be in for a drubbing, let's just say that it looks as though it's got 4-0 written all over it.’

Last weekend they blew Coventry away winning 4-0 away, https://www.stokecityfc.com/news/2023/april/02/extended-highlights-coventry-city/ a result which Stoke brought Coventry City's nine-game unbeaten run to an abrupt end. Of note of the 16 Stoke players who played on Saturday only five are contracted to Stoke for next season. 

Omar Taylor-Clarke met the media ahead of the game:

 

They have lost 1, drawn 2 and won 3 of their last 6 games and have scored 13 times, and are fifth in the recent form league table.

We have won on our last four visits to their place, however, we have failed to score in our last four away games, losing three and drawing one.

Matija Sarkic, Emre Tezgel and Nathan Lowe are all in the treatment room and aren't expected to play a part. We will be without  Kal Naismith, Tomas Kalas and Alex Scott.

On deadline day Leicester agreed a fee of £15m plus £5m in add-ons with Stoke to sign Australian defender Harry Souttar.

In some respects I’d suggest they are in a similar situation to us, having been sorting out a financial car crash, getting rid of players and changing the culture, Alex Neil is certainly starting to make some head way after a difficult and disappointing season, they have been in decent form this year. Their fans seem to be looking forward to next season and are keen for some of their on loan players to sign permanently. It’s also interesting to consider their approach on loans.

NP pre-match:

 

Potted history of the Potters

Stoke City are one of the oldest English football teams. They began as Stoke Ramblers, but have been known as Stoke City since 1925. One of the best periods for the club was between 1933 and 1953, they played in the top division and managed to reach fourth place twice. They have also a Football League Cup victory from 1972 and would reach the FA Cup final for the first time in 2011. Despite a lack of success Stoke have had a number of famous players over the years such as Stanley Matthews, Gordon Banks, Jimmy Greenhoff and Denis Smith. Stoke City's record appearance-maker is Eric Skeels who made 596 appearances between 1959 and 1976. There top senior goalscorer is John Ritchie with 176 goals.

Owner and managers

In 1986, Peter Coates became majority shareholder at Stoke City and was appointed chairman in September 1986 taking over from Sandy Clubb. The club had been through a tough period with poor finances and a humiliating relegation in 1984–85. Coates backed Mick Mills in 1986–87 for a promotion push but they fell short and Mills had to sell players before making additions. In preparation for the 1989–90 season Stoke spent a combined £1million on new players with a then club record of £480,000 for Ian Cranson. However results were appalling and the team finished bottom of the table and fell into the third tier. In 1990 the Stoke City board consisted of six directors and it was agreed that a new share issue was needed, with the majority wanting the supporters to be free to purchase. Following disagreements regarding this share issue, several board members left and the board then consisted of Peter Coates, Keith Humphreys and David Edwards.

Coates appointed Lou Macari for the 1991–92 season and he guided the club to the Second Division title and victory in the 1992 Associate Members' Cup Final. Supporters were dismayed with the board after Mark Stein was sold to Chelsea in October 1993 for £1.4 million and shortly after Macari left to join Celtic. Macari returned to Stoke the following season and the side nearly gained promotion in 1995–96 losing to Leicester City in the play-offs. The board decided to move to a new all-seater-stadium following the 1996–97 season after deciding it would be too costly to upgrade the Victoria Ground to meet the Taylor Report.

The first season at the new Britannia Stadium was a disaster for the club as unexpectedly Macari left and was replaced by his assistant Chic Bates. Coates was coming in for a lot of criticism from supporters for his lack of spending and after a embarrassing 7–0 defeat at home to Birmingham City on 10 January 1998 around 2,000 angry supporters invaded the pitch at full-time and some attempted to enter the directors box. After more fan protests Coates resigned as chairman although he remained a majority shareholder, whilst Keith Humphreys was appointed chairman as Stoke were relegated to the Second Division.

In 1999, a group of Icelandic businessmen formed a consortium to buy the club led by Gunnar Gíslason. The consortium Stoke Holding paid around £3.5 million. The deal was completed on 15 November 1999. The Icelandic consortium eventually took Stoke back to the First Division via the play-offs in 2002 and consolidated the club in mid-table but were unable to mount a promotion attempt. The consortium made one last effort to gain promotion in the 2005–06 season after sacking Tony Pulis and replacing him with Johan Boskamp. He brought in a large number of foreign players and ultimately only managed a mid-table finish and the owners left at the end of the season.

The Coates family through a bet365 subsidiary company completed the purchase of Stoke City F.C. for £1.7 million. Coates later stated the Icelandic consortium had left the club in a "mess" with debts of around £9 million. Coates re-appointed Tony Pulis as manager ahead of the 2006–07 season and the team almost made it to the play-offs. They did achieve promotion to the Premier League in 2007–08 finishing in 2nd place. Stoke secured survival in 2008–09 despite being favorites for relegation. Stoke broke their transfer record in August 2010, paying Sunderland £8 million for Kenwyne Jones.

They reached their first FA Cup Final in 2010–11, losing 1–0 to Manchester City. Stoke again broke their transfer record in 2011–12 spending £10 million on Peter Crouch. Supporters began to get frustrated with the style of football played under Pulis in 2012–13 and so Coates replaced him with Mark Hughes. The style of football improved under Hughes and Stoke enjoyed a good period finishing ninth three seasons running in 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16.

Problems began to emerge however as Hughes began to move on the longer serving players and replace them with his own with £18 million spent on Giannelli Imbula in February 2015 and Kevin Wimmer in August 2017 with both making little impact of the team. Coates came in for criticism from supporters in December 2017 with the team in deep relegation trouble and pressure mounting on Hughes, He dismissed the fans concerns with— "I don’t know what all the fuss is about". He sacked Hughes soon after and replaced him with Paul Lambert who was unable to keep Stoke in the Premier League. Gary Rowett was appointed manager going into the 2018–19 season and despite spending over £30 million on new players he was unable to mount a promotion bid and was sacked in January 2019 and replaced with Nathan Jones. Stoke made a poor start to the 2019–20 season and were cut adrift at the bottom of the table by November before Jones was dismissed. Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill was brought in and he was able to guide Stoke to Championship survival. In September 2020 his son John Coates was appointed as joint-chairman.

On 28 August 2022, Neil was appointed as the new manager of Stoke City, after the dismissal of Michael O'Neill.

Stoke stuff

  • Sir Stanley Matthews never ate the crusts of bread - he always cut them off. So who knows, kids, if you stop eating your crusts then perhaps you too could become a world-class footballer.
  • The Stoke City squad once included a vicar in midfield. Father Elijah Smith took off his cassock to play for the Potters in the 1880s. The half-back, who was in charge of a church in Stoke, starred in the club's first ever league win, over Notts County – but he didn't bless the team with much luck on their travels. The vicar started 12 away league games and lost 11.
  • Neil Morrissey grew up in a children's home in Penkhull, but did you know that's where his tattoos originate from too? He has reportedly said that other children at the home threatened to beat him up if he didn't agree to 'being inked', and that he now regrets not opting for the beating.
  • The tiles on the floor of the Houses of Parliament were made in Stoke-on-Trent, by Minton.
  • Robbie Williams is the most famous pop star to hail from the city. Many of his songs refer to Stoke-on-Trent, either directly or indirectly. These include "It's Only Us", "Burslem Normals", "The 80's" and the spoken introduction to his duet with Jonathan Wilkes of the song "Me and My Shadow". The song "Angels" was partly inspired by the golden angel at Burslem Town Hall. In 2015, three streets in a new housing estate in Middleport were named after Williams' hit songs: Supreme Street, Candy Lane and Angels Way.
  • Staffordshire oatcakes (very different from the Scottish version and traditionally made in corner-shop style oatcake bakeries) are a much-loved local culinary speciality. They remain popular although are no longer the cheap alternative to bread.
  • Stoke-on-Trent is the smallest city to boast two professional clubs in the English Football League. The club bearing the area's name is Stoke City. The city's other professional football club is Port Vale, who were formed in 1876.

Pubs

Power League Sports Club, Dennis Viollet Avenue, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 4TN

Harvester - Trentham Lakes, Trentham Lakes District Centre, Stanley Matthews Way, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 4TL, https://www.harvester.co.uk/restaurants/eastandwestmidlands/harvestertrenthamlakesstokeontrent#/

The Poacher's Cottage, Stone Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 8AA, https://www.facebook.com/HarvesterPoachersCottage/

The Plough, Campbell Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 4EN, https://hotelescon.com.es/The-Plough-Motel/

The Gardeners Retreat, 6 Sideway Rd, Boothen Green, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 4BJ, https://the-gardeners-retreat.business.site/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=referral

The Terrace,185 Leek Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 2BW, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100072011134582

Bulls Head, St Johns Square, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST6 3AJ, (01782) 834153, www.titanicbrewery.co.uk

Old-fashioned two-room tap for Titanic with up to ten real ales (including guests) from horseshoe bar, also good selection of Belgian beers, real ciders and wines; well cared-for interior with varnished tables on wood or carpeted floors, coal fire; monthly live folk music, bar billiards and table skittles; drinking area outside (may be barbecue if Port Vale are at home), open all day Fri-Sun, closed till 3pm other days.

Glebe, 35 Glebe Street, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST4 1HG, (01782) 860670, www.joulesbrewery.co.uk/our-taphouses/our-pub-list/glebe

Well restored 19th-c Joules corner pub, their ales, Weston's cider and good reasonably priced wines from central mahogany counter, William Morris-attributed leaded windows, bare boards and panelling, some civic portraits and big fireplace with coat of arms above, wholesome bar food (not Sun) and all-day deli counter, friendly staff; live music Tues, open mike Thurs; children and dogs welcome, benches in small garden, quite handy for station, closed Mon evening, otherwise open all day.

Holy Inadequate, 67 Etruria Old Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST1 5PE, 07771 358238. Drinkers' pub with five well kept ales including Joules Pale and maybe one from on-site microbrewery, good range of British craft kegs, German lagers and lots of bottled beers, snacky food such as pies and scotch eggs, friendly staff; dogs welcome, outdoor covered terrace, open all day Fri-Sun, from 4pm other days.

This is a good area for decent beers.

Quiz answers

1. d. Friday, April 3rd, 33 A.D
2. c. 33
3. c. Mourning Friday
4. a. Maundy Thursday
5. b. It was the day Jesus Christ was crucified and died at the cavalry.

9F3C9C5F-F04D-49ED-8FA2-1067219B3380.png

FB5719FC-5176-4644-935A-455B87A3C1DD.jpeg

Absolutely brilliant. Great football knowledge. You are a true robin but maybe leave the novel shorter a bit next time. Great work mate and I enjoy reading your posts.

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BigTone

BigTone

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Jerseybean said:

Good day fellow-reds.

To get things off to a topical start here’s a Good Friday quiz:

1. On which date was the first ever Good Friday celebrated?
a. Friday, April 30th, 12 A.D
b. Friday, April 5th, 30 A.D
c. Friday, April 3rd, 30 A.D
d. Friday, April 3rd, 33 A.D

2. How many times do Church bells toll around the world during Good Friday?
a. 26
b. 30
c. 33
d. 36

3. In German-speaking countries, Good Friday is often referred to as Karfreitag which means what in German?
a. Great Friday
b. Holy Friday
c. Mourning Friday
d. Death Friday

4. What is the day before Good Friday known as?
a. Maundy Thursday
b. Good Thursday
c. Divine Thursday
d. Easter Thursday

5. Why is Good Friday also referred to as “Black Friday”?
a. It was the day Lucifer (Satan) fell from the Heavens into Hell
b. It was the day Jesus Christ was crucified and died at the cavalry.
c. It was the first ever shopping sale ever recorded in history
d. The sun never rose that day

There will be no pay on the day tickets available for travelling supporters at the bet365 Stadium on Friday. Over 1,000 supporters are set to travel to Staffordshire for the fixture.

A poor performance at our place just before Christmas gifted them a 2-1 victory. We were sunk by goals from Liam Delap and Jacob Brown either side of half-time as Nahki Wells' opener came to nothing against the Potters. Highlights :

 

Officials are Oliver Langford with the whistle, assisted by Mark Stevens and Hristo Karaivanov
the fourth official is James Bell.

Mark Sykes will be the guest commentator for Robins TV global coverage of the game.

My mate Bill who is a Stoke fan offered his thoughts: ‘When we played you at Ashton Gate in December Stoke were a team plummeting to league one, we were conceding early goals and losing.  In the previous six games we had scored seven goals and conceded 11, and were averaging a point a game, true relegation form. Fast forward four  months and we are a team on a charge. In our last five games we have scored 13 goals and conceded just four. We have beaten both Sunderland and Coventry by four goals, (playing away,)  drawn with Middlesbrough and Norwich and beaten Blackburn Rovers. YE HA. So we are a team transformed. We average over two points per  game; promotion form.   How did that happen? Well in the January transfer window  we sold Harry Souttar to Leicester for £15 million and then invested some of it in loans. The outstanding full back Hoever from Wolves,  (he's already scored four goals,) Ben Pearson from Bournemouth who is a faster Glenn Whelan but equally bloody-minded defensive midfielder. We also have defenders Dujon Stirling  from Chelsea  and Axel Tuanzebe from Man Utd, who have stiffened our team. Add them to Will Smallbone on a season long loan from Southampton  who has developed into a clever, athletic and goal scoring central midfielder, we are, as Alex Neil acknowledged on Saturday,  "a very well balanced, complete package."  Given that we beat Reading 4-0 in late January with the prototype of our current team, you could well be in for a drubbing, let's just say that it looks as though it's got 4-0 written all over it.’

Last weekend they blew Coventry away winning 4-0 away, https://www.stokecityfc.com/news/2023/april/02/extended-highlights-coventry-city/ a result which Stoke brought Coventry City's nine-game unbeaten run to an abrupt end. Of note of the 16 Stoke players who played on Saturday only five are contracted to Stoke for next season. 

Omar Taylor-Clarke met the media ahead of the game:

 

They have lost 1, drawn 2 and won 3 of their last 6 games and have scored 13 times, and are fifth in the recent form league table.

We have won on our last four visits to their place, however, we have failed to score in our last four away games, losing three and drawing one.

Matija Sarkic, Emre Tezgel and Nathan Lowe are all in the treatment room and aren't expected to play a part. We will be without  Kal Naismith, Tomas Kalas and Alex Scott.

On deadline day Leicester agreed a fee of £15m plus £5m in add-ons with Stoke to sign Australian defender Harry Souttar.

In some respects I’d suggest they are in a similar situation to us, having been sorting out a financial car crash, getting rid of players and changing the culture, Alex Neil is certainly starting to make some head way after a difficult and disappointing season, they have been in decent form this year. Their fans seem to be looking forward to next season and are keen for some of their on loan players to sign permanently. It’s also interesting to consider their approach on loans.

NP pre-match:

 

Potted history of the Potters

Stoke City are one of the oldest English football teams. They began as Stoke Ramblers, but have been known as Stoke City since 1925. One of the best periods for the club was between 1933 and 1953, they played in the top division and managed to reach fourth place twice. They have also a Football League Cup victory from 1972 and would reach the FA Cup final for the first time in 2011. Despite a lack of success Stoke have had a number of famous players over the years such as Stanley Matthews, Gordon Banks, Jimmy Greenhoff and Denis Smith. Stoke City's record appearance-maker is Eric Skeels who made 596 appearances between 1959 and 1976. There top senior goalscorer is John Ritchie with 176 goals.

Owner and managers

In 1986, Peter Coates became majority shareholder at Stoke City and was appointed chairman in September 1986 taking over from Sandy Clubb. The club had been through a tough period with poor finances and a humiliating relegation in 1984–85. Coates backed Mick Mills in 1986–87 for a promotion push but they fell short and Mills had to sell players before making additions. In preparation for the 1989–90 season Stoke spent a combined £1million on new players with a then club record of £480,000 for Ian Cranson. However results were appalling and the team finished bottom of the table and fell into the third tier. In 1990 the Stoke City board consisted of six directors and it was agreed that a new share issue was needed, with the majority wanting the supporters to be free to purchase. Following disagreements regarding this share issue, several board members left and the board then consisted of Peter Coates, Keith Humphreys and David Edwards.

Coates appointed Lou Macari for the 1991–92 season and he guided the club to the Second Division title and victory in the 1992 Associate Members' Cup Final. Supporters were dismayed with the board after Mark Stein was sold to Chelsea in October 1993 for £1.4 million and shortly after Macari left to join Celtic. Macari returned to Stoke the following season and the side nearly gained promotion in 1995–96 losing to Leicester City in the play-offs. The board decided to move to a new all-seater-stadium following the 1996–97 season after deciding it would be too costly to upgrade the Victoria Ground to meet the Taylor Report.

The first season at the new Britannia Stadium was a disaster for the club as unexpectedly Macari left and was replaced by his assistant Chic Bates. Coates was coming in for a lot of criticism from supporters for his lack of spending and after a embarrassing 7–0 defeat at home to Birmingham City on 10 January 1998 around 2,000 angry supporters invaded the pitch at full-time and some attempted to enter the directors box. After more fan protests Coates resigned as chairman although he remained a majority shareholder, whilst Keith Humphreys was appointed chairman as Stoke were relegated to the Second Division.

In 1999, a group of Icelandic businessmen formed a consortium to buy the club led by Gunnar Gíslason. The consortium Stoke Holding paid around £3.5 million. The deal was completed on 15 November 1999. The Icelandic consortium eventually took Stoke back to the First Division via the play-offs in 2002 and consolidated the club in mid-table but were unable to mount a promotion attempt. The consortium made one last effort to gain promotion in the 2005–06 season after sacking Tony Pulis and replacing him with Johan Boskamp. He brought in a large number of foreign players and ultimately only managed a mid-table finish and the owners left at the end of the season.

The Coates family through a bet365 subsidiary company completed the purchase of Stoke City F.C. for £1.7 million. Coates later stated the Icelandic consortium had left the club in a "mess" with debts of around £9 million. Coates re-appointed Tony Pulis as manager ahead of the 2006–07 season and the team almost made it to the play-offs. They did achieve promotion to the Premier League in 2007–08 finishing in 2nd place. Stoke secured survival in 2008–09 despite being favorites for relegation. Stoke broke their transfer record in August 2010, paying Sunderland £8 million for Kenwyne Jones.

They reached their first FA Cup Final in 2010–11, losing 1–0 to Manchester City. Stoke again broke their transfer record in 2011–12 spending £10 million on Peter Crouch. Supporters began to get frustrated with the style of football played under Pulis in 2012–13 and so Coates replaced him with Mark Hughes. The style of football improved under Hughes and Stoke enjoyed a good period finishing ninth three seasons running in 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16.

Problems began to emerge however as Hughes began to move on the longer serving players and replace them with his own with £18 million spent on Giannelli Imbula in February 2015 and Kevin Wimmer in August 2017 with both making little impact of the team. Coates came in for criticism from supporters in December 2017 with the team in deep relegation trouble and pressure mounting on Hughes, He dismissed the fans concerns with— "I don’t know what all the fuss is about". He sacked Hughes soon after and replaced him with Paul Lambert who was unable to keep Stoke in the Premier League. Gary Rowett was appointed manager going into the 2018–19 season and despite spending over £30 million on new players he was unable to mount a promotion bid and was sacked in January 2019 and replaced with Nathan Jones. Stoke made a poor start to the 2019–20 season and were cut adrift at the bottom of the table by November before Jones was dismissed. Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill was brought in and he was able to guide Stoke to Championship survival. In September 2020 his son John Coates was appointed as joint-chairman.

On 28 August 2022, Neil was appointed as the new manager of Stoke City, after the dismissal of Michael O'Neill.

Stoke stuff

  • Sir Stanley Matthews never ate the crusts of bread - he always cut them off. So who knows, kids, if you stop eating your crusts then perhaps you too could become a world-class footballer.
  • The Stoke City squad once included a vicar in midfield. Father Elijah Smith took off his cassock to play for the Potters in the 1880s. The half-back, who was in charge of a church in Stoke, starred in the club's first ever league win, over Notts County – but he didn't bless the team with much luck on their travels. The vicar started 12 away league games and lost 11.
  • Neil Morrissey grew up in a children's home in Penkhull, but did you know that's where his tattoos originate from too? He has reportedly said that other children at the home threatened to beat him up if he didn't agree to 'being inked', and that he now regrets not opting for the beating.
  • The tiles on the floor of the Houses of Parliament were made in Stoke-on-Trent, by Minton.
  • Robbie Williams is the most famous pop star to hail from the city. Many of his songs refer to Stoke-on-Trent, either directly or indirectly. These include "It's Only Us", "Burslem Normals", "The 80's" and the spoken introduction to his duet with Jonathan Wilkes of the song "Me and My Shadow". The song "Angels" was partly inspired by the golden angel at Burslem Town Hall. In 2015, three streets in a new housing estate in Middleport were named after Williams' hit songs: Supreme Street, Candy Lane and Angels Way.
  • Staffordshire oatcakes (very different from the Scottish version and traditionally made in corner-shop style oatcake bakeries) are a much-loved local culinary speciality. They remain popular although are no longer the cheap alternative to bread.
  • Stoke-on-Trent is the smallest city to boast two professional clubs in the English Football League. The club bearing the area's name is Stoke City. The city's other professional football club is Port Vale, who were formed in 1876.

Pubs

Power League Sports Club, Dennis Viollet Avenue, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 4TN

Harvester - Trentham Lakes, Trentham Lakes District Centre, Stanley Matthews Way, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 4TL, https://www.harvester.co.uk/restaurants/eastandwestmidlands/harvestertrenthamlakesstokeontrent#/

The Poacher's Cottage, Stone Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 8AA, https://www.facebook.com/HarvesterPoachersCottage/

The Plough, Campbell Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 4EN, https://hotelescon.com.es/The-Plough-Motel/

The Gardeners Retreat, 6 Sideway Rd, Boothen Green, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 4BJ, https://the-gardeners-retreat.business.site/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=referral

The Terrace,185 Leek Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 2BW, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100072011134582

Bulls Head, St Johns Square, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST6 3AJ, (01782) 834153, www.titanicbrewery.co.uk

Old-fashioned two-room tap for Titanic with up to ten real ales (including guests) from horseshoe bar, also good selection of Belgian beers, real ciders and wines; well cared-for interior with varnished tables on wood or carpeted floors, coal fire; monthly live folk music, bar billiards and table skittles; drinking area outside (may be barbecue if Port Vale are at home), open all day Fri-Sun, closed till 3pm other days.

Glebe, 35 Glebe Street, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST4 1HG, (01782) 860670, www.joulesbrewery.co.uk/our-taphouses/our-pub-list/glebe

Well restored 19th-c Joules corner pub, their ales, Weston's cider and good reasonably priced wines from central mahogany counter, William Morris-attributed leaded windows, bare boards and panelling, some civic portraits and big fireplace with coat of arms above, wholesome bar food (not Sun) and all-day deli counter, friendly staff; live music Tues, open mike Thurs; children and dogs welcome, benches in small garden, quite handy for station, closed Mon evening, otherwise open all day.

Holy Inadequate, 67 Etruria Old Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST1 5PE, 07771 358238. Drinkers' pub with five well kept ales including Joules Pale and maybe one from on-site microbrewery, good range of British craft kegs, German lagers and lots of bottled beers, snacky food such as pies and scotch eggs, friendly staff; dogs welcome, outdoor covered terrace, open all day Fri-Sun, from 4pm other days.

This is a good area for decent beers.

Quiz answers

1. d. Friday, April 3rd, 33 A.D
2. c. 33
3. c. Mourning Friday
4. a. Maundy Thursday
5. b. It was the day Jesus Christ was crucified and died at the cavalry.

9F3C9C5F-F04D-49ED-8FA2-1067219B3380.png

FB5719FC-5176-4644-935A-455B87A3C1DD.jpeg

Condensed Version

Stoke City:

The day before Good Friday is known as Thursday.

COYR

  • Thanks 1
  • Haha 3
Link to comment
redkev

redkev

Posted
Posted
51 minutes ago, CyderInACan said:

Condensed version: Stoke is a shithole. 

Totally agree I go all over the uk with my job and as a whole Stoke has to be up there with one of the most uninvested areas in the uk , mind you Hull is probably worse than stole from what I’ve seen ,

by the way Stoke doesn’t have a city centre as far as I’m aware 

  • Like 2
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Lanterne Rouge

Lanterne Rouge

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Davefevs said:

I’m away in Cornwall for the week.  I have my iPad / Sky Go app.  Do I need the Sky Sports app?

Not sure mate. I`m sure someone else will be though. Enjoy your hols - the weather is supposed to be great for the weekend except for maybe Monday so that fits in well with watching the Boro game in a nice beachside pub!

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
M.D

M.D

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I watched the club one earlier.  Nige a bit less definite on Kal’s non-availability than he was on the media one yesterday.

Yes, pretty much said its about getting him back and keeping him back, good management 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
ralphindevon

ralphindevon

Posted
Posted
15 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I’m away in Cornwall for the week.  I have my iPad / Sky Go app.  Do I need the Sky Sports app?

It always used to be the Sky Sports App. Click on ‘watch’ then ‘live’ then select our game.

I haven’t needed to use it for a while but that was the way. 

Link to comment
ralphindevon

ralphindevon

Posted
Posted

My Stoke supporting wife is quietly confident of a win, then she remembers we’ve won the last 4 at their place and doubt comes into play again.

But with them looking very good and and us unable to even score away from home, I think our run might be at an end and would be delighted with a draw.

Looking forward to a bit of hospitality in the Stanley Matthews suite which I must admit last season’s Good Friday meeting, was very good…….but then, we did win.

COYR

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