“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss” Stoke didn’t really reset during pre-season as much as they remained on standby. After four opening games in which criticism of Michael O’Neill intensified on the airwaves, terraces and social media cesspits, the verdict for the season is already in with 42 games to go. We’re … Continue reading Meet Stoke City, a club failing to hit ‘reset’
There we go, five months of Nathan Jones and it was...well, it probably wasn’t everything we had all hoped it to be. Stoke stumbled to a 16th placed finish and results wise Jones failed to improve on Rowett’s abject failure. But for some reason I, and I believe a relatively significant proportion of the rest … Continue reading Jonesball Revisited
A Week In Red, White & Purple September 22nd, 2018 4:30pm. We reach my dad’s car in one of the industrial car parks outside the Bet365, having opted to leave on 70 mins whilst Stoke trailed Blackburn by 3 goals. I check my phone, it’s 3-2. We pull away from the ground, messages fly in, … Continue reading Embrace The Chaos
Football should be fun, and a lot of people seem to forget that. From those berating your team's best player at the game, to the maddening cyber-twats of Twitter and the forums, I wonder what a lot of people actually get out of football other than higher blood pressure. Of course, I regularly join in … Continue reading Daring to Expect
(AKA - A Scottish/Yorkshire Stokie's Guide to the 31 other nations) (AAKA - The only World Cup Preview you could possibly need... a day late) (AAAKA - Reasons to support everyone) I can’t claim to be “Scottish Stokie” as there are already several of those frequenting various platforms. Nor can I claim to be “Scottish … Continue reading Tenuously connecting Stoke to The World Cup: A Guide
While Ricardo Fuller asking “Who is he again, Mark Cartwright? Really? If Stoke wasn’t in the Premiership, would he be here?” is entertaining there is a question to Cartwright’s role and many seem to be confused over what exactly he does. People seem to blame him for plenty of the issues at the club, without … Continue reading In Defence of Mark Cartwright (Sort of)
“Optimism. Noun: hopefulness and confidence about the future or the success of something” Ten years in the Premier League have come and gone for Stoke City. It wasn’t a shock departure either, instead it was a slow deterioration which began when Mark Hughes’ Stoke side were knocked out of the League Cup semi-final by Liverpool, … Continue reading The Optimism Paradox
This is the first relegation I've properly experienced. I was too young in 1998, when we went down to the third tier. So after being a season ticket holder for 17 years, this weekend marked the first time seeing Stoke City on a league table in bright red. Bottom of the pile, with the 'R' … Continue reading Premier League Years
We all know that Stoke City are in a world of hurt, and it’s difficult to pinpoint one reason for being so futile. Charlie Adam being fat, Saido Berahino being a dick, Jesé thinking he’s Batman, Hughes just being awful are just a few that come to mind. Putting all of these to the side, … Continue reading Pace odyssey
Stoke are going down. It probably helps to admit it. Unless you're a player or member of the Stoke City management team, in which case please carry on as if we're not yet. With every passing week, there's a simultaneous arithmetic and divination exam we all set for ourselves. "Well, we'll only need two wins … Continue reading The Blame Game
The Wizards of Drivel Podcast 