Stoke City FC

Perennial piss taking bookie 'paddy power' who annoyingly paid out on stoke's relegation after the first game of the season decided to speak to the people of stoke on trent. Check it out.....

http://www.whydelilah.co.uk/news/24_Apr_2009/Paddy+Power+apologies+to+Stoke+over+%E2%80%98you%E2%80%99re+down%E2%80%99+jibe.html

You may have noticed my absence from this page since friday and then again you may have not. These are the key points to summarise things.

1. The potters go down 3-1 at goodison due to a pretty blunt first half performance and a couple of howlers from sorensen. Stoke fought back in the second and we could have snatched a draw only to concede at the death, a real kick in the teeth but a loss at everton is no disgrace and it's all about where we go from here. We have showed enough in spells lately to suggest the answer is staying in the premier. There is no understating the importance of the 'boro game on saturday, lose it and we are second bottom with eight to play, win it and we push up on the pack above and the confidence will be rolling at a massive stage of the season.

2. Kiston scored for reading last night as we all knew he would. I'm still split on this and my immediate thought was that he is a lazy southener who could have tried much harder at stoke and almost engineered a move with a poor attitude and poor play. Who knows and who bloody cares right now, there are more important things at hand. Survival

3. Something's going down at catflap, it's a proper conundrum but i will keep blogging and spreading the gospel of our mighty football club until told otherwise. Paid or not. It's in the blood and i owe it to my loyal band of followers. All 3 of ya. Peace

A couple of newsworthy items from yesterday, firstly the premier of the '£2 bet' column here on the potters page of catflap went down, sunk without a trace, all my selections ending up being draws. The amount of games ending up even nowadays hasn't escaped my attention and a change of tact is in order for the weekend's hot tips. The championship is again a nightmare for acca fans and really needs to be avoided but we'll see. Over on the bolton page greeny has lost the loot again but will the man come good at the weekend. Exciting stuff. Secondly we woke up to the news that dave kitson had returned to reading on loan for the remainder of the season. The news wasn't exactly a bolt from the blue, his ommision from the last two senior squads coupled with the fact that he didn't make the reserves against the baggies spoke volumes. It looked an exciting signing back in the summer, kitson seemed raring to go and was looking forward to being the first of a string of big name signings at the club, the transfer market was fairly unkind to stoke though and we found it hard to bring in all the top targets, hence the deadline day captures of tonge and soares. It hasn't worked out, an injury didn't help and a dis-interested looking dave kitson has been moping around the brit ever since. It's a shame and a bloody expensive one at that although a majority of the money laid out should be recouped when he is sold on in the summer. 16 games, no goals and you can never accuse the stokies of not backing the fella, many times has he been roared onto the pitch during this barren spell. He'll no doubt whack a load of goals in for the royals and help them gain promotion back to the premier, good luck to the lad. A frustating episode all in all, this editor was convinced he was gonna bang 'em in but for a variety of reasons he hasn't. Love to have seen his face the first time pulis told him to 'get on the end of one of rory's throws', i'll bet it was a picture. 

A fair slice of newsworthy stuff around the club this week so let's break it down.

1. Ricardo Fuller was arrested on wednesday near to the training ground down at trent vale. This was in conjunction with motoring offences and subsequently resulted in fuller being charged and ordered to attend court on march 6. I'm not a driver so know nothing on the penalties for licence and insurance stuff. A bit of bad karma all round, it's never good to read about one of your star players in the slammer but it's definitely no reason to crucify the bloke. There is talk that he is looking for a new contract past his 2011 expiry. I love ricardo and can't wait 'til he's fit again but his attitude has got on mine and other stokie's nerves this season and he needs to sort it.

2. The everton game which is mentioned further down the page has now been moved back to the original date of saturday 14th of march after the bnp rally in the city was 'kindly' scrapped. A cheap little gimmick by the bnp to increase their popularity by playing the good guy. The propaganda machine keeps rolling on. This has left many travelling fans of both sides well in a spin and inconvenience has hit hard. Hopefully all those who had to change plans will have been able to reverse them back again.  This is a farcical situation and the plans of thousands shouldn't really have to change because of a few hundred political supporters who want to march. It was the rally that should have been moved in the first place to save any fuss.  Oh well, lessons learned and all that....

And finally....

Vincent pericard is back at the club from millwall after being told his season is over due to a ligament injury. It's never pleasant for any player to get injured and he will be booted out at the end of the season so he can rest up and drag in his ludicrous salary for a few more months. Unlucky vince.

The club have done the decent thing and shunted vincent pericard out to millwall for the rest of the season. The lions fans must be ever so excited about having an ex juventus player in their ranks. Good luck to the man but i hope that's the last we have seen of him, we need quality and big vince dosen't cut it as a stoke city player but he may give millwall a boost and bag a few goals in their promotion push.

The fixture at goodison between everton and stoke has been put back a day, this means the game will be played on sunday march 14th. Not due to television coverage i might add, no it's down to the fact that there is a bnp rally in liverpool on the saturday. This will certainly inconvenience certain folk who were off to the game, especially exiles who often book train tickets and the like months in advance. Northy dosen't like the bnp, they are a disease which is spreading fast but have the right like everyone to express their views, you may agree or disagree with them but freedom of speech and thought is one thing this country should be proud of. Every time the bnp get together it stinks of trouble such is the passionate belief on opposing sides of the political spectrum. Personally i feel sorry for supporters who have been put out by this but i think it's actually a good job stoke aren't in town that day. Our away following nowadays is pretty trouble free and humour is the order of the day but there are still the hangers on around the city who, when something comes up like this wouldn't mind getting in the mix. Steer cleer that's what i say.

Summer signing andrew davies is the latest player to depart the club on loan, he's gone to preston north end for a month, hopefully to gain some much needed match practice and if all goes well he should come back to us sharper and fitter. The lack of reserve games at premier league level can be a pain in the arse when a manager is trying to keep a squad match ready, the likes of michael tonge and seyi olofinjana need games to keep them up to speed with the rest of the squad. The unfortunate part of all this is some of the players who tony pulis signed over the summer are obviously not good enough in his eyes to start games in the premier league. Tom soares has already been shipped out to charlton while the pre mentioned tonge and olofinjana are finding it tough in claiming a first team place, add dave kitson to that list along with davies and you have 13.5 million quid's worth of bench fodder. It was a tough market for a newly promoted club and that figure seems staggering in terms of the amount of input to the season each player has had. Good luck to the lads out on loan, grasp your chance boys.

Amdy Faye - Saw red for a wild challenge early in the season against 'boro.

Andy Wilkinson - With the score at 0-0 into the last ten minutes against man utd boxing day, wilko dived in on ronaldo and got sent off. What the mancs got away with that day was disgraceful. Arrogant bastards.

Ricardo Fuller - Saw red for slapping the skipper andy griffin in the crucial match at upton park which we eventually lost.

Rory Delap - Dismssed after hacking at wright phillips with first his boot and secondly the ball.

Matthew Ethrington - Stupidly lashes out and sees red at the stadium of light with the score 0-0.

Let's hope there are no more additions to this ugly wall and if there are please don't let it be for players losing their minds at crucial times.

Bit of a bolt from the blue was this one, the potters signed birmingham city full back stephen kelly on loan until the end of the season in a move which surprised many. We were made to wait as the deal didn't get approved by the fa until yesterday. Hands up here i don't know too much about the fella but listening to the brum fans it would seem we have a decent player on our hands. A republic of ireland international, kelly has come in to compete with andy griffin and andy wilkinson for the right back berth and will hopefully get with the stoke way quickly and enjoy his time at the club. His experience with birmingham when they were scrapping at the bottom of the premiership will come in handy and he played every game for the blues in their relegation campaign. It is said that stoke have paid a sizeable loan fee so pulis must rate the guy. Welcome stephen kelly.

With the transfer circus, sorry, window now closed it's full on football that occupies the minds of supporters up and down the land. The potters had already done two very fruitful deals with beattie and ethrington joining who have both shown what they can do and what they bring to the red and white table. Next up was henri camara on loan from wigan for the remainder of the season, a geezer who northy has always had mixed feelings about, when on his game he is capable of destroying sides but also seems a bit of a mard-arse and has had his fair share of spats with managers and clubs. It only seems like yesterday when he failed to turn up to pre season training at wolves after relegation from the premiership the previous term. He insisted he wouldn't play at a lower level and was eventually loaned out to celtic. So what will he bring to the squad?  For sure he will bring power and pace with an eye for goal and could end up forming a fearsome partnership with any of our frontmen. Henri seems to really want to prove himself again and there is no better club with which to do that than the potters, our spirit and togetherness coupled with a dogged mentality that we have to stay in this league, camara will be welcomed with open arms especially by his senegalese international compratriots in the dressing room. Ive got a good feeling about this one, its shit or bust every game now and camara's aggressive attitude and sharp finishing could prove to be a massive advantage in this battle for survival. Welcome aboard brother stokie.

Great stuff, another ragged old woofer comes through the door for a bit of love and attention from pulis and the boys. James beattie has signed a two and a half year deal with stoke, the potters paying sheffield united a fee which could rise to 3.5 million quid. Beatts seems to be having a second wind in regards to his career and looks to me like a real quality purchase. A terrier of a player, he will give his all for the shirt and fit into whichever system is being used. We really seem to mean business in this transfer window and there is more to come. A real good effort from all concerned at the club. I'm buzzing about the remainder of the season and i hope my readers are too. We Are Staying Up

Unbelievably the above mentioned player has today moved to manchester united on loan for the rest of the season. The youth has never played a first team game for stoke after we signed him from royal antwerp in 2007. He came with high promise it must be said but has never managed to bust his way into the team. He has been on loan at wrexham and  must be delighted although in a state of shock. An almost carbon copy of the ben foster transfer from the potters to man utd, he was also on loan at wrexham before a move to old trafford. All in all fairly bizzare news, he'll probably turn out to be a world class player and another name on the list of young talents let go from the club. Good luck ritchie.

The potters have snapped up the left winger from west ham on a three and a half year deal for a fee of around 3.5 million. We've been crying out for some quality on the left hand side of the pitch and hopefully he will deliver. He spent 6 years at west ham after signing from spurs and one remembers when he burst on the scene with simon davies at peterborough. His pace and trickery will give us a new dimension which richard cresswell cannot provide, i respect cress for the work he does and he never shirks from giving his best for the shirt but we need skill and guile on the left wing. Matty and a fit and ready to go liam lawrence can give us the decent balls into the box which hopefully will help the strikers, especially dave kitson. GOOOAAARN Dave We Believe In You. More of the same transfer wise please stoke.

The decision today that was made in conjunction with lancashire police and blackburn rovers fc to only honour 4700 tickets of a prospected 7,500 is history coming back to haunt us. The spectre of the hooligan era looms large and the forces in the north west seem to have the dimmest view of the potters, kick off times have already been moved this season because of supposed intelligence and now over 2500 stokies are now deprived of a ticket for this massively important cruncher of a game. General sale was scheduled to go ahead on monday but now the sold out signs are up because of the witheld allocation. Other teams such as liverpool and sunderland have had the full package so why not us? There is certainly no basis whatsoever when you look at the fact that the majority of stoke games are trouble free nowadays in and around the ground. Already this season stoke fans have been subject to the section 27 law which basically allows police to round up away fans who are having an enjoyable drink in pubs on the way to the game and accuse them of looking like they might cause trouble at some point and send them back home whilst taking their match tickets. Hopefully this pig headed decision will be reversed otherwise they run the risk of having a home end with hundreds of potters fans in it. The police are the ones who are causing the trouble here, instead of policing 7000 odd stokies in one end of the ground they now will have to look after city fans all over ewood park because one thing is for sure, tickets will be available. Since the id card came in 2002 (it has recently been suspended) going away hasn't been much fun sometimes, getting herded about by over zealous officers with a dose of paranoia to boot. The blackburn game was to be a celebration of freedom, it still will be because 4700 is a superb following but the whole thing stinks..big time....

Take It Away Bizzle.

Stoke v Derby  Week commencing december 1st

Yes, what a fantastic draw in the quarters of the carling cup. Not because i think it will be easy but it's the just the fact that it's derby county at home. Although my grandad and a few other family members support them i have never had any time for them whatsoever like most stokies, living in nottingham adds to the spice for me as everyone here hates them as well. Hopefully the ground will be pretty full and there should be a great atmosphere allowing for the fact that last time we played derby they only had one song, the boothen end though should keep it going. Really looking forward to this one. Good stuff.

The week has whirled by in a frenzy after the fine home win over arsenal and we now find ourselves heading up the motorway for the relatively short trip to the jjb stadium to face wigan. The latics only joined the football league in 1977 and to find themselves as a steady premiership club after 31 years is remarkable really considering the passion for rugby in the town was far greater during the formative years and maybe still is. Ive got a lot of respect for wigan, fair play to them, stoke have played them more than a few times over the last 20 years and there have been a couple of unsavoury encounters, the first being the violence that overshadowed a game at the jjb which was sparked when a minutes silence for sir stanley matthews was broken by noise from the home end. The second being stoke getting hit for 6 by wigan in a horrible game near the turn of the century. A tough game for the potters but one which could see us chalk up a point or three on the road, which is vital if we are to survive, our away form has been poor thus far and needs to improve, starting at 12.45 on saturday. For this to happen though we need another total performance from the lads because wigan are certainly no mugs, with good players and a taste for the physical side of the game the latics can do us over if we aren't on the button. Hopefully a massive following from the potteries can inspire the boys to a positive result.

Northys Prediction. 1-1

Well it's certainly been an eventful week in the life and times of stoke city football club. In over 35 years of supporting the potters northy has never seen us adorn the pages of the written press with such regularity. We are all over the place thanks to the euphoria concerning the long throw and the battle of the britannia against arsenal. To stoke supporters it was a typical, in your face full blooded passionate display by the potters but to the pampered prima donnas in the upper echelons of the premiership it was a dirty and over physical performance. It was good yesterday to hear managers, in particular phil brown of hull tell the media they had no problem with the way stoke go at it. All this talk has deflected away from the fact that we have played some good stuff in spells this season and as the campaign progresses you will see more of the same as well as the in your face commitment we are quickly becoming very well known for. With liam lawrence hopefully returning from injury over the next few weeks we will have on our hands a guy who has recharged his batteries, physically and mentally and is ready to hit the ground running. I personally get the feeling that everybody hates us and i love it. Get stuck in 'em stoke. Play hard and fair. We'll Be With You......

Well here i was thinking how gracious the arsenal gaffer had been after the defeat at the britannia stadium, that was until i had the misfortune to read the quotes of crap coming from his sour and bitter mouth this afternoon. Calling stoke players cowards and saying we went out to deliberately injure opposition players, someone should take this man to court because those words are clearly accusing and help to carry on the false representation of stoke city football club within the media and within football. Yes we are a physical side who stand up and be counted, we're also a side who live off passion and high levels of determination, unfortunately sometimes this can spill over into the odd late tackle and error of judgment.  Wenger, the fans and the players think they should be able to show off their exhibition football on match of the day every week and the opposition to be swept aside in a dazzling array of skill and speed. Screw the lot of you, when you come to stoke expect to get turned over physically, mentally and in terms of match result. But deliberately injuring players and showing cowardice. NO. Calling rory delap a coward, a man who came back from a horrific injury with exhausting stints of physio and counselling to get back playing in the premier league, he makes one poor tackle and gets blasted from a lunatic manager who also tries to assasinate the profile of a proud football club. We get enough bad press without this rubbish. SHUT IT WENGER

Stoke city fc have announced a suspension of the away identity card system. This will take place from the man utd game on november 15th. A subject which has always divided stoke supporters, the scheme was introduced in 2002 to try and bring some order to the troublesome scenes which had been seen at stoke away games for many a year. Some fans saw it as a draconian measure while others welcomed the opportunity to get rid of the nutters. Personally i hated it at first and saw it as a crass measure but as time has gone by i have started to understand the reasons behind it. Time will tell whether this decision produces a positive outcome. We are free of ID.

Identity by X-Ray Spex

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Boom, bang, boom, bang. Toothache is hardcore, stripping you of your senses and leaving you helpless. This particular molar problem's musical equivalent is probably early thrashers celtic frost, hitting you with a barrage of mental abuse then going all slow and grungey, lulling you into a false sense of security and then bang!! there it goes again. Before i head off to the emergency dentist i just wanted to share my thoughts on how the season has gone so far.

Well, two great home wins against villa and spurs and a much praised and also mailigned draw at anfield sees us sitting 18th in the table with seven points in the bag, newcastle and tottenham occupy the 19th and 20th spots respectively.  The defeat at home to everton still wrangles with my mind because its a game stoke should have won, no matter that everton finished high last season, they were there for the taking and mistakes cost us. Accounts by supporters of the pompey game say that with a more attacking mindset the game was there for stoke against a knackered team. Defeats to bolton, 'boro and chelsea make this the current situation. P 8 W2 D1 L5. PTS 7 . Could and probably should be more but nevertheless is a decent tally, our style of play was always going to take a bit longer to impose on this league,  with the tigers of hull going out all guns blazing and chalking up the points the bookies have the potters as odds on for the drop. I say that we are getting better gradually rather than peaking early, bringing in gerry francis will no doubt freshen up things on the training pitch and i believe we as stoke supporters will see our side grow in confidence in the way we play and keep ourselves in the fight to stay in the premier league. Also we have a possible route to the quarter finals of the carling cup when we play rotherham united at the britannia in two weeks time so northy is happy but still rues that bloody everton game. Get over it man and get those god damn teeth fixed. AAARRRRGGGGHHH

Three stoke city players were caught up in disturbing scenes after Senegal's 1-1 draw with Gambia which put an end to the hosts world cup 2010 prospects. Salif Diao, Ab Faye and Ib Sonko were among the players who needed police protection after the crowd went insane at the final whistle with weapons thrown and barriers breached. Gambia had scored the equaliser very late on and this was the goal which ended Senegal's hopes of WC qualification. An incensed home support turned on the police and the players in scenes reminiscent of Togo vs Mali when stoke hardman Mama Sidibe was seriously injured after rioting fans decided to take out their frustrations on the men who had taken part in the game. Only a matter of time before the headline reads ' player killed in rampage'. Watch this space.

Stoke City are sitting seventh in the premier league table, unfortunately not the one we see in the paper but the 'Fair Play Table' which sees points awarded to the supporters after each home or away game played. Delegates at each game somehow mark followings out of ten, one thing for sure is that if vocal support plays any part in the scoring then we get top marks for that. Lets be hoping that the good vibes continue in a fortnight when the potters visit manchester city in a fixture that has been moved on much hyped up police advice, we will take a large following up there and any trouble would be heavily scrutinised over in the media. Things are different nowadays, the times when there used to be massive armies of ready for it lads at the away games is over, banning orders saw to that.  Stoke is a rum place and people don't take any shit but potteries people are also passionate and good humoured and this shows in our superb support who are a credit to the club and the area. I'm not saying this season will be trouble free but what i am saying is that the image of stoke's support is changing. For the better. Well done lads and lasses. SCFC

As stoke city introduce their second multi ticketing scheme in a matter of two months (If you want a ticket for arsenal you must buy one for hull too) its time to reflect on the change of circumstances at the britannia stadium. In the mid 80's at the victoria ground when stoke were heading for a record low points tally of 17 in the top flight the crowds dipped to an all time low and one 'local derby' against west brom attracted around 4000 fans. These were dark days when locals started following other teams, this can be seen in present times as man utd, everton and villa all have followings in stoke on trent. Until macari took over in the early 90's crowds of 7-8000 were the norm. As the passion started to return under lou, so did the crowds and some great days and nights were had at the vic with 20,000+ packed in for the good 'uns, the atmosphere returned and we were a force again. Since moving into the new stadium attendances had jumped up and down between 10 and 16 thousand, more for the big cup ties and cliffhanger league games, even halfway through the promotion season last term the same could be said. Heading into the final furlong of 2007/08 though, the britannia was packed every time as the euphoria and anxiety of sealing promotion took hold. Now we are premier league the club will be hoping that the ground is sold out on a regular basis, the battle cry of stokies is a weapon in itself which needs to be used, in our own war called 'staying in this bloody snobby league'. WE'LL BE WITH YOU

Sorry for the lack of match review this week, northy has been nowhere near a football match or even seen the highlights so to try and summise would be daft. Listening to the game on radio stoke in the fantastic audio company of nigel johnson and stoke legend denis smith didn't really tell us much apart from stoke need to get hold of the ball in midfield and start pushing on into the opponents half. The divisions in the support have already surfaced on internet forums with many claiming if we carry on with this defensive style of play we are dead men walking. There is a two week break now to sort it, we need to come back in sharp, playing our fast direct style but with a bit of grit and guile throughout the pitch. Many who travelled the hundreds of miles to pompey on sunday say that game was ours if we had gone at a tired team from the start, but the team as a whole sat back and invited them on. Well done to portsmouth, as said before a club i respect. A team whose achievements and progress should be a role model for us at stoke. At the end of the day its another loss and i'm sick as a parrot. STEP IT UP LADS

Stoke city have been drawn at home to face Rotherham united in the carling cup last 16. The tie will take place on the week commencing nov10 and gives the potters a massive chance of reaching the quarter finals. Don't be fooled into thinking it will be an easy route though, these are notoriously tough events and the millers have done well to virtually overturn a negative points tally in league two imposed by the fa for entering administration. All said though its a great draw for stoke.

Northy had a dream brothers and sisters, it was the kind that has you waking up thinking YES GET IN. The dream was of 11 men fighting with valour and honour, using every ounce of energy to conquer their opponents, with a passionate band of followers vocally supporting them. This classic, epic humdinger of a dream saw a solid defensive display with a deadly attack that countered when possible, bombardment came from all over but the men stayed strong and resisted, then when the time was right. BOOM.

COME ON STOKE

There will be a multi game ticketing policy in place for the home game with chelsea on 27th of september, supporters wishing to buy a ticket for this fixture must also purchase a ticket for either the spurs or sunderland games, these are on the 19th and 28th of october respectively. Both of these fixtures are live on tv and are possible below capacity games so stoke are forcing the issue.  This is a very bold move by the club in a time of economic difficulty, dictating how people spend their money, it has split opinion amongst supporters but here is the view of northy. Can't argue with the reasoning behind it, the club want the ground full of hardcore stokies not starseekers who want to sit in the britannia gawping at the millionaires, there are plenty of folk in stoke who didn't have skin thick enough to follow the potters during the dark days and instead opted for safer more successful clubs who they would never get to watch. We don't want these glory hunters in the ground, so in a way its a good idea. It is not so good for people who pick and choose the odd game because of work or any other kind of commitment, it is even worse for the many who are feeling the pinch financially and have a strict week to week budget which does not include buying several match tickets at once. The bottom line is there is no room for sentiment in football nowadays, stoke are premier league and must stay that way, having a ground full of crazed hostile potters fans is essential in helping reach that goal, saying that there surely must be a better way of dealing with it than putting restrictions on ticket sales. Any suggestions?

Congratulations are due to stoke midfielder glenn whelan who scored his first international goal for the republic of ireland against georgia tonight. Well in fella. Glenn hasn't seen much first team action so far this season but northy reckons he's well up for the premiership battle and really hopes he gets his chance. There was talk of him going out on loan and hopefully thats what it will stay. Talk.

Wow, it only seems five minutes ago when stoke were travelling up to st james park for a third round replay in the fa cup. About five hours before kick-off the news was announced that kevin keegan would return as newcastle manager, the scenes that followed were quite incredible with supporters beside themselves with emotion swelling what would have been a relatively small gate into a massive one, queues around the block, the city losing itself in an outpouring of happiness. Stoke were forgotten about as the geordies went crazy, we got beaten 4-1 and never even got a mention in the press the day after. Eight months later he is gone, what kind of club are newcastle turning into, the kind where the manager is there just to take the flak off the media and to train players he hasn't even wanted at the club. Crazy, the manager should manage and northy feels pretty bad for the fella. He loves that club so much, unlucky kev.

The potters had a busy day yesterday in the previously mentioned hullaballoo. Stoke submitted  two bids for joe ledley of cardiff, both being refused, the latter around 6 million. Jermaine pennant didn't want to lower himself or his wages after a fee had been agreed, sit on your arse in the reserves with your big money mate, you never know you might get a game in the carling cup. Danny higginbotham rejoined the potters for a fee of 2.5million, opinions are split over the nature of his departure but the deal sunderland offered him gave his family security so northy has no axe to grind. Welcome back danny. Tom soares, a promising and talented midfielder from palace came for 1.5million, an england u-21 international who has a surprising amount of games under his belt for a young 'un. Finally michael tonge from sheffield united, a left sided midfielder who can go on the wing or in the middle, quality player in the past so hopefully pulis can get him going, he cost 2million. That makes 10 signings over the summer and now we are ready to have a crack, screw the likes of pennant who think they are above the club, pulis always said he didnt want players who thought they were doing us a favour. This lot are going to fight and their are goals throughout. COME ON STOKE

Transfer window psychosis

Ever felt like a whizz head whos been up for four days chomping on their lip, head spinning and mentally drained? Well it feels very much the same as 6 hours in front of a sports news channel watching the meat market merry go round that is deadline day, a rollercoaster ride of rumour, reporters with 6 mobile phones receiving texts off all kind of shady cloak and dagger characters. Stay with us, not all deals get announced before midnight, noooooooooo!! all right then just give it another hour, one for the road. Lets all watch man united's underhand conduct, kidnapping berbatov and giving him the light in your face treatment.  All in all an entertaining night of tv, rare as that may be.

Firstly we have drawn reading at home in the 3rd round of the carling cup so a quick reunion for kitson and sonko with their old teamates. Ex stokies brynjar gunnarsson and michael duberry are royals players. Todays papers link us with a host of players as the window draws to a close. Most interesting is jermine pennant for 4million, one rag claims talks are at an advanced stage, can pulis bag the lad and get him into the stoke way? Hope so, his creativity from the wing is just what we need. Joe ledley from cardiff has been the subject of a 5million GBP bid and we are after a striker from standard liege who goes by the name of Igor de camargo. Im sure mrs pulis wont be seeing her husband for a couple of days. He'll be too busy working aaaard trying to get our squad in tip top shape. GO GET EM TONE

Stoke city today completed the signing of defender ibrahiam sonko from reading for a fee rising up to 2.5 million, he is a warhorse of a defender and a senegalese international so will feel at home with the likes of salif diao and the fayes. Sonko scores a few goals  so with cort and shawcross we have 3 goalscoring defenders, not bad for a team who are going straight back down.  UP YOUR ARSE PADDY POWER. Ahem, sorry about that. On the way out are anthony pulis to southampton and jon parkin to preston north end.  Won't be sorry to see either of them go but they go with our blessings and good wishes as they deserve respect for wearing the red and white.  Expect plenty more action in the transfer market before monday. United strength is stronger.

As we near the end of the transfer window expect a mass of activity with surprises galore. Hopefully stoke will be in the thick of this frenzy adding to a squad which is looking stronger all the time, with andrew davies soon to be fit we should be pretty stocked at the back especially if, as expected we add an experienced premier league defender to the ranks. We need additions up front and in the midfield especially left hand side, a good zippy left winger to get those balls in the box would be fantastic. Tony pulis knows what needs to be done, lets hope we can do it and have a real good go at preserving this status we have fought so hard for.

Expect concrete news on signings tomorrow. Up the potters. Northy

A note for anyone travelling by train to the stoke versus villa game on saturday, stoke on trent railway station is shut whilst engineering works take place. All routes are severely affected with replacement buses running from derby, stafford and northern stations. What a great idea eh everyone! shut stoke station on the day of the first home top flight fixture for 23 years, against west midlands opposition as well. As far as your editor sees it chaos will rear its ugly head as football fans from all over the country hang around outside train stations waiting for buses. 

Stoke have today completed the signing of 23 year old defender andrew davies from southampton for an un-disclosed fee believed to be 1.3 million. He has signed a four year deal and southampton fans will be loathe to see him go as he was player of the year for last season.  Davies has premiership experience with middlesborough and looks a useful young prospect as tony pulis looks to strengthen the defence. Four more good quality players before the deadline and we stay up. You heard it here first.

One leading bookmaker who will not get any publicity from your editor have decided to pay out on stoke to be relegated this season. They even offer to 'ease the pain' for season ticket holders by offering a free £50 bet.  The outpouring of scorn which was exercised by the press in the wake of a 3-1 defeat at bolton and the childish antics of a betting firm have been to say the least, laughable but in the long run i feel we as stoke fans will thank these idiots when we start next season in the premiership. YES we know it was a poor display on saturday, the lessons are harsh and we must learn quickly, expect to see stoke very active in the transfer market up to the deadline, experience is a must and this editor trusts the club to bring it in. We had top players out of the starting lineup and with faye 1&2, davies and whoever else we attain coming in we will get stronger, quickly. There is a look of hardcore determination in the eyes of Tony Pulis. Stoke will be no laughing stock. WE'LL BE WITH YOU

Formed 1863, founder members, went bust, re-emerged. Matthews, Steele, Franklin, Matthews again. Waddington era, promotion, League Cup winners '72. Viollett, Setters, Dobing, Hudson, Ritchie, Greenhoff, Conroy, cracking football, roof blows off stand, downhill slide, 17 points, bye bye top flight. Mills, Ball, the Macari years, Divison Two trophy. Autoglass, play-off despair, Parker, serious aggro, Icelandic years, away cards, Coates and Pulis back in. Investment, PROMOTION. THE FUTURE…