Stoke City FC

The 1-0 home loss to the hammers on saturday thankfully didn't do us much damage as far as the table is concerned with other results certainly going in our favour. Hopefully the defeat won't hurt stoke mentally and the players tired minds and bodies can somehow find that extra 10% and we can finish the season on a flourish rather than a downer. The goal which beat stoke was a cracker from tristan but lack of sharpness in the penalty area cost stoke really and the ref had a bit of a stinker too. The coming weekend sees all the bottom half playing each other and if stoke can do the business at hull then we could be looking at a seriously respectable 12-13th place finish which would be nothing short of remarkable. After hull(a) we have wigan(h) and arsenal(a). If we turn hull over then look at the wigan game as a chance to get 3 points that would put us on 45 and a mid table finish. If we manage to get something from the emirates then it could be even more. Give it your all boys, get the result at the kc stadium, take the momentum into the wigan game and GET IN!!

Potters 1-1 Geordies Att 27500

Yes that's right people, hope you all checked for your wallets on sunday morning to make sure those pesky geordies hadn't nicked them as well as the two points. Granted they played their way back into the game as time went on but stoke should have had the points wrapped up by then as we battered them and they were like jelly at the back. The possession stats on which most purists base their assumption of a game weighed in newcastle's favour but we all know stoke like to get the ball forward with the minimum of fuss and goalmouth action is the order of the day at this crucial stage of the season. We have six games left against blackburn (h), hull(a), whu (h), fulham (a), wigan (h) and arsenal (a). Another 4 points is needed to guarantee survival and if we keep going at teams like we are then they will be got and we are in. Just continue working bloody 'aaard stoke and it's ours.

I was listening to the prophet of crap, the manic street preacher mowbray and his patronising statements about 'it dosen't matter how it goes in, a long throw or a 20 pass move with a half volley at the end, they all count'. West bromwich albion are losing the humility and warmth that made me have a soft spot for them in the first place, i don't want to see the albion go down, i like them but i hate the manager and i think he talks crap and there are plenty of pundits and media organisations who are gullible enough to be taken aboard by his waffle and they are the ones who had/have us down as dead men walking. This victory was important is so many ways, it continued a good set of form which has come at the right time, it prolonged the magnificent run against the baggies but more importantly for me it shut people up and humble pie is slowly being served up. The reporters who were claiming that albion were a far surer prospect for premier survival than the potters now have to write about the way stoke dealt with the opposition who are so revered by the pass pass football merchants who cream their jocks at a 10 ball movement around the centre circle. A unit which displays togetherness and work so god damn hard for each other it is frightening and with the backing of an amazing support that follows our great club. We used to be known mainly for aggro and being top of the tree but now the tables are turning on all that shite and the talk is about the noise level's and passion. The twelfth man. Beattie and fuller look great on the scoresheet together, it ain't over yet but we are two wins away from premiership survival. Love You City

Well they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder and three points and a clean sheet ain't half good looking to me. The game was pretty poor fare from an attacking point of view, middlesborough played pretty patterns on the pitch with no consequence, a bit like our esteemed friends west brazil albion, saying that they seemed to have decent players, especially o'neill and tuncay, they just lack a cutting edge in around the goal which is why they fear relegation. Unbelievable really that afonso alves hasn't set the premiership alight, he was hammering in the goals in the dutch league but maybe that says something about the quality in the flatlands nowadays. Their fans were behind them but for how much longer you ask. Good luck to them anyway. Stoke didn't put too much together in an offensive manner especially in the first half but were firm and organised when it came to defending the goal, in the second we tried to get forward a bit more with etherington adding pace to the left but it was always going to take a delap throw to unlock the door and shawcross duly obliged, heading in his third in three games. Ryan is looking rock solid at the moment and is constantly getting better, what a player the club has on it's hands. Well done pulis. We are staying up this season to annoy the shit out of all you fools who had us down as relegation cannon fodder, to ram the words of idiots like the talk sport presenters durham and wright down their big dribbling traps. On saturday i saw a performance by a team who played nowhere near the limit of their own potential but it was a team who ground out the three points by staying firm and resolute against pressure, it was a team learning about the premiership and learning fast.

Stoke City 2-0 Bolton Wanderers Att 26319

A massive win for the mighty reds on wednesday night, it was definitely a case of not underestimating bolton wanderers and the boys were solid and professional in claiming the victory. Sorensen was in top form when called upon and how good does it look to see the names of beattie and fuller together on the scoresheet. Clean sheets are going to be a huge bonus in the battle to stay up and we could do with getting that goal difference down. Bolton came and had a go as you would expect them to but the potters stayed firm and basically set the standard for the rest of the season. Every game must be approached with the same attitude, if we do this we stay up, simple as that. The 10 games which are left see us face 'boro, newcastle, blackburn, wigan and west ham at home with brazil, hull, fulham, arsenal and everton away. Surely we can get the job done and get 4 wins out of those games. That would put us on 42 points and facing another season in the top flight. I got my ticket for the 'boro fixture today and can't bloody wait to get back in the boothen and fire up my voice. There is such a long yet short way to go yet and i just cannot see us screwing it up if we face each game is an assured and mature manner. God i hope i'm right. We'll Be With You

Boom Bang and GET IN THERE!!!!! The mass wave of emotion that swept the 3000 stokies in the away end and the thousands listening and watching all over the world was like a tidal wave coming round the corner, waking football up from it's slumber. The stoke love spreads far and wide nowadays and there are exiled people all over the world feeling every heartbeat of every game, people whose love for the potters will never diminish, no matter how far away they are. The team payed the travelling support back yesterday, there are not many sets of fans who have stuck behind their players for every minute of every match without turning on them in their time of need, the away faithful have had to put up with some bloody poor performances but have been there for the boys. We'll Be With You. With stoke playing the ever familiar defensive set up in the first half they took upon themselves a lot of pressure and nearly got to half time nils until petrov smashed in late. With fuller coming on for stoke there was a bit of bite to the team with everyone pushing up a bit but still we went two down due to a bizzare goal from carew, some say it was beautiful but it looked a bit freakish to me. Whelan came on and smacked the bar before the grand finale, shawcross crashing a header in from a beattie cross, hope, then the fuse for the emotional bomb was sparked as a sidibe shot came back to glen whelan who lashed into the bottom corner to send the stoke family into euphoria and clinch an unlikely point for the reds. Tony Pulis admirably admitted he'd got it all wrong first half so let's hope that's the last time we defend so deeply this season and let's go for it. It's a big week with the home fixture against bolton on wednesday. The lads did everyone proud and as youv'e been reading on catflap all season WE ARE STAYING UP. Here's to fighting to the death.  ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK!!!!!

A game that for the life of it looked to be heading for a 0-0 draw suddenly exploded into a 2-2 instead. Critics and so called experts have rounded on the first 70 minutes, some branding the dirge as the worst premiership game, to be fair not much was going off with stoke seemingly afraid to lose. Kranjcar's 70th minute opener sparked the game into life and a howler of a decision from the ref allowed stoke back in with a beattie penalty. Beats had been getting a shed load of abuse from the one dimensional pompey following due to his southampton connections and enjoyed his moment. Two minutes later a miscued shot from pugh saw beattie smack in it again off his bonce and bang there you go. What seemed like 3 very unlikely points was then snatched away with a full on defensive lapse from the potters and a shawcross own goal to boot. Honours even. It's hard to sum up the feelings on this one, we were very lucky to get the pen decision and might not have got back into the game without it, from then we would have happy with a point but to then take the lead and chuck it away in injury time is a real kick in the balls. With other results staying with us, we now find ourselves 2 points above the drop zone so essentially it is still all in our own hands and would you have asked for anything else? Blackburn have a game in hand but they still have to visit the britannia and we still have fixtures to come against the bottom two namely 'boro and west brom. Twelve games to go. GOOOOAAAARN STOKE

Sunderland 2-0 Stoke City Att38350

How many more times can individual players shoot the team in the foot, this is becoming a disgraceful roll call of shame with players getting sent off for ridiculous petulance when the team are in positions to get a point or even take the three. Matty ethrington becomes the latest addition to the not so exclusive club, seeing red after kicking out at collins as stoke were pushing forward. Just when the team are reaping the benefits of having a pacy skilful left winger we must now do without this new found guile for three matches. Idiot. No doubt we will now see richard cresswell on the left flank for a bit and he gives us only hard work wheras ethrington brings a whole lot more. Cressie is taking a lot of stick lately along with pulis for picking him, the bloke always gives his all and i really respect that but he ain't got what it takes at this level. Stoke had given as good as we had got until the sending off, yes we were indebted to the referee for his hilarious failure in spotting danny pugh handle on the line as the ball headed into the onion bag. Lucky, very much so, not so lucky were the three first half injuries picked up by firstly wilkinson, then shawcross and finally ricardo fuller who looked in absolute agony with a dislocated shoulder, a massive blow as we all know what ric can do on his day and we might not see him for a fair while. Three subs used after half an hour but we still looked dangerous at times. Eventually though sunderland powered in with a couple of goals from jones and healy to leave us with no points and a seriously depleted squad. Let's hope the gods are shining on us in the coming fixtures and no more injuries are sustained. With the next game 2 weeks away other players should be back from fitness and chomping at the bit for a spell on the pitch. Well done sunderland, a club who i respect and have a lot of time for. The indiscipline must stop, the damage is already vast and it's just got to end. Sort 'em out pulis.

Stoke City 1-0 Manchester City Att27236

A massive result for the potters, another loss or draw would have seen us stretch a long running sequence but the boys delivered and stood up to be counted. Ryan shawcross was immense at the back and is growing in stature every game, his partnership with ab faye in the rock of the defence is looking stronger by the match and long may it continue. Andy wilkinson also showed he is starting get his head round what the premier league is all about and played remarkably well. Danny pugh is a player this editor has always liked and he also grasped his chance with a decent display. The resilience shown by stoke after the delap sending off was a joy to watch and that spirit was also pouring from the seats on all sides of the ground. The fans dug in just as much as the players especially when we were under the cosh towards the end. As for that sending off, there is no sympathy for rory delap on my part, he lost his head and the aggression shown towards wright-phillips was unacceptable, he will now pay for that rush of blood by missing three games at such a crucial stage of the season. Wright-phillips himself could have gone as he kicked out at delap but as usual the ref didn't see it, the manchester clubs have had a fair slice of good fortune when it comes to refereeing decisions at the britannia this season. Remember rooney and ronaldo on boxing day. A great goal from beattie won the game, good work from whelan led to a pinpoint ethrington cross and there was the beats to power a header home. The guy is already looking the business and his arrival has flooded my heart with hope that we can get the goals to stay up. The only worry for me other than the silly sending off was the fact that ricardo fuller wasn't anyway near as up for it and passionate as we thought he would be, his maverick personality is starting to get on my tits. Still can't help loving him though but romance wears thin.  Man city had a fair slice of possession and threatened occasionally but only tested sorensen once, there were a few near misses in and around our area but the boys stood firm and claimed a fantastic result. The atmosphere was so intimidating following the sending off that one tv commentator called the britannia a 'bearpit'. Let's keep it that way. UNITED STRENGTH IS STRONGER. SCFC

Few words can be said about another damaging away defeat. To surrender the game with barely 25 minutes gone is in-excuseable and if the results away from the brit carry on in the same fashion for the rest of the campaign then we will probably be screwed and saying 'ay up to blackpool and doncaster next season. Spurs put on a super first half showing to rip us apart but questions should be asked of stoke's players all over the pitch for letting them in with such ease. The second half gave us a touch of respectability with beattie grabbing what we hope is the first of many goals but the damage was done in a pathetic first period. We have got to take the game to teams and to see us handing out the invites to come and have a go is becoming continually disturbing, if we will play the way we are, i.e not to lose then we must defend like men and not idiots. Time and time again i ask my readers to put their faith in pulis and the team but they are chipping away at my armour with these ineffective displays against all but the top four clubs. We raise our game nicely for those fixtures but when we play the teams around us disaster strikes. GET IT TOGETHER LADS PLEASE!!!!

An absolute gutter of a result, another dagger through the heart, many more and it's intensive care for northy. The boys gave everything at stamford bridge, put their bodies on the line against the relentless barrage of chelsea shots and possession but eventually tired minds and legs succumbed to the onslaught and no points were taken, heartbreaking stuff for the potters. James beattie didn't see that much of the ball on his debut but he looked proper up for the battle ahead and his nice touch and pass allowed  rory delap to burst through and dink the ball over cech to put stoke one up on 60 minutes. A priceless moment saw the stokies going mental and northys prediction looked like it was on the button. Eventually though the wall was battered down and the winner from lampard was a total sickener from our point of view and dropped us into the bottom three. Great goal all the same coming from a top player who just wouldn't accept anything but three points. From a stats point of view of course chelsea deserved to win, some superb goalkeeping from sorensen kept them out but from a stoke point of view we should have taken something from this points wise, to concede two late on like that would destroy some teams mentally but not stoke city. Pulis will make sure that the many positives to be taken from this game are used on the training pitch and he will demand the players believe in the power of what we as a club are trying to achieve. The players and staff are on a 5 day break to dubai this week but it's certainly no jolly, intensive training sessions are the order of the day so the boys should be well drilled and ready to go, our next game is two weeks away and with new signings on the horizon things are looking up. Yesterday was a gut wrencher but there are many reasons for us to look forward with optimism. WE ARE STOKE

Stoke City 0-0 Liverpool Att 27500

Let's start by giving credit where it is due, yes that's right, let's lavish some praise on our great club, most of the post match reaction has focused on how poorly liverpool played, no surprise there then, an under strength potters side gave a superbly commited performance and not one of the players shirked their responsibilties. The unfortunate part was again the finishing which needs improvement from all concerned but in terms of an in yer face display stoke gave as good as we got and better. After a decent start from the scousers we seemed to step it up a gear and push forward rather than offer the open invite that liverpool would have gladly accepted . An effort ruled offside, hitting the bar and couple of missed opportunities from kitson,god i wish one of them had gone in.  When gerrard finally woke up with ten to go he ended up hitting the post twice and luck was on our side. Matty ethrington deserves a mention for a great debut, a proper attacking player, it was obvious to the eye what he is going to bring to the table and it sure looks good. This is the kind of player potters fans love to see, forward thinking with a bit of flair, he seems to have taken to the place and the fans already, looks a great signing if he keeps his head together and concentrates on his game. Another player that got close attention was dave kitson, it's weird with this bloke, all the fans want him to get that first elusive goal and have stuck with him big time but he don't look right to me, his body language says ' i've given it a go but things ain't for me', i hope that my assumption is a crock of shite because i really want him to succeed, he put in a decent shift on saturday and should have scored but you just can't help thinking 5.5 million, 0 goals. Will he still be at the brit come february, that is the question. All in all, yes a below par peformance from the merseysiders,but this for me was down to the fact that we had a go and stood firm and didn't let them into their stride too often. We need to carry this performance into the next games and with players in and out transfer wise and others returning to fitness the future looks bright and we are right in the mix when it comes to staying up. People had us down dead and buried by christmas. WE ARE STOKE

Hartlepool United 2-0 Stoke City Att 5367

Let's get this out of the way first. Well done hartlepool, a performance which in the second half put the potters to shame and a well deserved passage to the fourth round for the pools. In no way are any of the words written in this piece meant to be disrespectful in any way and i and i'm sure most stokies wish you the best in the next phase at home to west ham united. As for stoke another embarrasing cup exit to a lower league team who showed passion and hunger for the shirt they were wearing. Injuries and suspensions have worn the squad down a touch but there were eight players who according to pulis were 'chomping at the bit and eager for first team action' in the starting XI. The culprits were Davies, Sonko, Dickinson, Soares, Olofinjana, Tonge and Pericard. None of them showed anything to suggest they should be anywhere near the first team and the rewards from the last transfer window are looking shady to say the least. The 784 diehard potters who made the journey must have been disgusted because from what i have seen and from the radio stoke commentary we sounded and looked shite. The performances have been poor lately with the exception of manchester united at home (although in that match the onion bag seemed a distant friend) and we are hitting the crest of a wave, unfortunately the wave is burning a fire up our arse and now is the time for everybody to get their acts together and come out strong and tall. Otherwise our season will turn to mush, this month see's us up against liverpool, chelsea, man city and tottenham. There have got to be points in there for us, we need something positive to arise because the negativity is spreading around the forums and boozers. Hopefully we will be much stronger come the end of january with new signings and players returning to full fitness. Kitson and lawrence both came on yesterday and according to some liam injected a bit of urgency into the side which bodes well. As always my trust is in pulis and stoke but a boost is needed and a high octane massive performance against liverpool at the brit would be a great remedy. Well done to hartlepool united and what a cracking goal to win it.

West Ham United 2-1 Stoke City Att 34477

The last time this season that stoke hogged the back page headlines it was after the so-called battle of the britannia against arsenal when wenger tried to cause the potters a whole lot of nastiness with his misguided twisted words. Now here we are again, the outrageous incident at upton park that was the explosion from the bomb that has been ticking the past few weeks. Ricardo fuller slaps the captain andy griffin after a shocking mistake from the skipper let carlton cole in for an equaliser, such petulance and arrogance has always been part of fuller's set up and this probably explains (as well as having these supposed dodgy knees) why he isn't playing for one of the top four or a big club abroard because he obviously has the ability. This act of madness will come at a massive price with ric facing a 3/4 game ban, having already served one supsension for clocking up five yellows, in fact he is half way to another one as he has had another 2 yellows since so that makes a total of 7 yellows and 1 red already. He is a special player on his day but he is also a complete pillock when  it comes to attitude and needs sorting out by the club. Disgusting behaviour ricardo. Yes he is probably getting frustrated with the mistakes and poor service from other team mates but is also guilty himself on trying to do too much at times,  there is no excuse here, he has let down the fans and the good name of our great club. The potters had taken a fantastic early lead through ab faye and kept a pretty solid line throughout the remainder of the first half. Into the second and the mistake that led to cole's goal which in turn led to the red card and the self destruct button was pressed again, the hammers piled on the pressure and tristan looked marginally offside when he sent a shot in which rebounded into the net. 2-1. We are now under the line of death which would have been no surprise to many pre season but we had given ourselves a chance of finishing the year in mid table had we put chances away and kept our heads in the last few games. The second half of the season is massive and a big test of pulis managerial skills and the players must step up to the plate in every way. Let's sign some quality in the window, players who will walk into the team. We've got to go for it now as we've been sucked into the black hole. I still believe we will survive this season. YOU'VE GOT TO HAVEN'T YOU??

A result which felt like an arrow through the head in the end. Tevez sneaking in after decent work from berbatov and bang, there you have it. It dosen't matter how well you play against this team, if your goals tally reads nil then at some point late on your'e going to get punished for missing chances. This was a good performance from stoke, passionate and commited, disciplined and strong. At times we played some decent stuff but just couldn't find the killer instinct and ended up with nothing. A situation which i hope does not repeat itself throughout the coming months, stoke being the side who give their all with ferocious backing from the supporters but always come unstuck in the attacking department. We need to start scoring goals again, we haven't even scored from a corner this season, the only team in the prem not to do so. Hopefully the re-emergence of liam lawrence will sort this out, an appearance on the bench seems to indicate he is ready, a player who, when properly fit and eager can do plenty of damage. It's something when you are gutted about losing 1-0 to man utd but that is how far stoke have come, aside from the elbowing and stamping which was ignored by the referee chris foy they seemed to match us physically and stood up to us, didn't duck the fight so to speak, so much so that they looked there for the taking in the last 20 minutes, we had made the superstars mad and their red fat wallet bloated faces looked fit to burst, then the sending off of wilkinson for a revenge attack on ronaldo saw us change shape and lose our spark, hence conceding with 7 minutes to go. Sorensen made some great saves for stoke but we had chances and didn't take them. That has got to change.

Blackburn Rovers 3-0 Stoke City Att23004

Bah humbug, well i bloody well hope that the presents under the tree aren't as ungrateful and uninspiring as the festive offering from the potters yesterday. A game in which we started in a fairly promising way became nothing in a spell of madness which saw us ship three goals, 25 minutes gone, three down with the attacking prowess of a dead dog. We had a fair amount of possession in the first half and at the close of the second but no-one was clinical enough to take advantage. Blackburn were no great shakes but once the first goal came early the big sam roadshow started rolling and stoke capitulated. The atmosphere from the home support was embarrasing really, even with the scoreline so one sided the 4700 stoke faithful kept filling the air with song, the team need to start showing some passion again and to step it up quality wise, there is a fair chance that three or four are not good enough for the premier league and hopefully will be shipped out come january. We have quality players returning from injury and they need to bring their shit to the table otherwise we are screwed, going down. The transfer window is massive, please let's bring in three or four top players who can improve us and provide a good shot of quality and guile. This blog isn't about pointing blame, naming individuals and criticising tony pulis. It's all about getting behind the lads and listening to good tunes but patience can wear thin and a massive improvement is needed, our performances have been getting worse over the last five games and if we are not careful we could be saying ' ay up' to the bottom three soon. Well done rovers but SORT IT STOKE!!

Stoke City 0-0 Fulham Att 25287

The first thing to say about this game is that it was a pile of shite from a stoke perspective, when you can say that we didn't even warm schwarzer's gloves with a shot on target it speaks volumes. A bad miss by richard cresswell and a couple of decent blocks denied stoke a goal but it was in general poor. It was the old hoof it up there tactic and a lack of ideas was evident. The cause was not helped by a bad looking injury to big mama sidibe as early as the 2nd minute, at one stage he got up to the roars of the boothen end but then his knee gave way and he was stretchered off. We all know a stoke team without the legend that is sidibe just isn't the same, a much maligned player by certain fans but for me he has answered all the questions this season and we all hope for a speedy recovery. Rory delap also looked uncomfortable fitness wise and even bungled a long throw, he shouldn't have been anyway near the pitch and eventually was subbed. The potters were just huffing and puffing all game and now we are starting to get a few injuries we look a bit ordinary so the transfer window is a very important time and can't come quick enough. Saying this ab faye and sonko looked a very strong partnership at the back and both put in assured displays. Fulham looked a pretty good side throughout and could have snatched it with sharper finishing, bullard saw enormous amounts of the ball and always looked to create, they look a very tidy outfit, hodgson has sorted them out with his knowledge and experience and they might surprise a few this term. Surely their following will be the smallest at the brit this season, round about 900 i reckon, they occasionally gave a bit of vocal work but nowt to get your knickers in a twist over. They seemed a good humoured bunch on the train up to the match so fair play to them. Good luck. The atmosphere was pretty poor from us stokies but the players need to do their bit in this relationship, when mama went off so early it subdued the crowd because we are all starting to realise how bloody important he is, especially his partnership with fuller. The ref was awful on both sides of the coin and never let the game flow at all, a blatant handball by higgy in the area was missed so we got lucky there. Fuller could have easily got himself red carded with flashes of his bad attitude starting to surface again. All in all forgetable, let's hope we work 'aaaard on the training pitch and go for the jugular at ewood park next weekend. SCFC

Newcastle United 2-2 Stoke City Att 47422

At half time in this game stoke were looking like cannon fodder, the same old tired away performance, giving the ball away and not getting tight to the man, aimless hoofs and empty holes were in effect and it looked like our away strategy was as predictable as a crap coldplay tune. The combination of a massive arse kicking from TP and the introduction of fuller and later tonge gave the potters a new identity, we broke the shackles away from home and put in a classic stoke performance. Power and passion, a mixture of disciplines, on the floor and up high, long throws and short passes. Forgive my enthusiasm here but we have been waiting ages for the boys to break down the walls that hold us back away from the brit. Stoke made the toon look like brazil in the first period of the game, not trying to belittle newcastle's performance because it was good and inspiring but we were awful, michael owen helped himself to a couple of early xmas presents and stoke looked in the shit. The second half will become legendary in potters circles, a full blooded display which made the magnficent vocal travelling support proud. Goals from big mama sidibe and the majestic mass of power that is abdoulaye faye gave us a share of the points. A good offensive display from glenn whelan was instrumental in this comeback, decent set piece deliveries have been sorely missed at times and it was bloody good to see a decent free kick getting dropped in. Lets hope lessons have been learned all round about the way we can play away from home. Kick down the walls stoke. WE ARE STAYING UP.

Stoke City 0-1 Derby County Att 22034

The above headline is a stab at letting you know how i felt after the 94th minute penalty which saw the rams through to the semis of the carling cup. Couple this with the fact that the travelling support did the unthinkable and outsung and even shouted down the boothen end for what must be the first time in history. Devastation and sorrow are two heavy words and maybe shouldn't be used to describe feelings when it comes to football but there is no other way of putting it i'm afraid. Your editor was silently and excitedly thinking that this was our year, reward for all the years of cup wastage, early exits to lower league sides and uninspired performances. Those old enough to remember and attend the 1972 final will always be misty eyed over events that day, they are lucky people in a sense to hold these memories,  to have witnessed the outpouring of emotion around the potteries as the heroes returned with the silver. A little piece of northy's heart was broken last night but there will be no over reaction here, no blaming of richard cresswell for wars and poverty, no harsh and silly assumptions that this is it, all downhill from here. There will be no attack on the tactics of TP and no naming and shaming players for not trying hard enough. Now ain't the time for all that crap, it's a time for sticking together as one, a unit which can overcome the tallest and stiffest obstacles. There are certain areas of our play which need addressing immediately but pulis will do it so i'll let him get on with it. The style of football is starting to make the crowd nervous and it shows in the atmosphere over the last three home games, negativity spreads fast and can cause massive damage so let's hope we can find a system to help get the ground buzzing again.

The potters had enough chances last night and we shouldn't point to the disallowed goal too much as fuller and sidibe had a few chances to wrap it up. Derby are no mugs and started to grow in confidence as the match progressed striking the woodwork twice, roy carroll made some super saves and then came the hammer blow. Griffin handled in the area with seconds to go and bang, ellington scores and that's it. Dream over. Well done to derby, their crowd were superb and a massive surprise going on previous years. Got to say though i really hope they don't win it. Thats for breaking my heart. Baaaaa

Stoke City 1-1 Hull City Att 27500

Listening to the radio phone-in 606 on saturday night at times was hilarious, hearing stoke and hull supporters venomously defending the stature of the two clubs, on a paranoid offensive after comments from phil brown and media reports of the game. Stokies objected to the portrayal of hull as the flair side who play the game as it should be done, no way i say, most of their goals come from set pieces and they created not very much, granted they have shown flashes of superb impact play so far this season but were no way the flag bearers against the potters. Tigers fans were condeming the reds for being one dimensional and saying their side were by far the better team, accusations from both corners concerning OTT tackles and other little niggles which would normally go un-noticed. Is there something building here, another rivalry that borders on the unsavoury ala cardiff city, hopefully not but there seems to exist a bitterness between the two sets of fans.  Stoke have not exactly set the world alight in the last three games but have emerged with 4 points since the non-descript display at old trafford, 4 points without really getting into top gear, we sit in a position which everyone will be happy with and have games coming up which we can win, obviously we are going to take knocks and the response will need to be positive but at the moment we are chugging along and i for one am well chuffed at the way things stand. Issues need to be addressed in the midfield area (two defensive centre mids at home is a poor show really) but im not tony pulis and he knows best, the fans are crying out to see a bit of flair open up a game and michael tonge must surely be homing in on a start. With liam lawrence due to return, he will hopefully be fit and raring to get into 'em. Many of stoke's goals last season were from free kick's and corner's and so far this time these have been very poor and a higher return is required. As for hull, they didn't show much yesterday but aren't at the top end of the league for no reason and are having a superb first half of the campaign. Fair play to you boys but don't start believing the hype. Arrogance = Failure.

King for hull Fuller for stoke

The beautiful game normally only comes with a cutting edge when you have the quality of footballer to complete the total package. The likes of liverpool, chelsea and manchester united can spend 20-30 million on the kind of player that you need for this pursuit of happiness. When these teams are on song their armoury is impressive, deco, gerrard and rooney are a few of the names that spring to mind. Players that can turn a game on it's head with a flash of brilliance, men that consistently play at a level others aspire to reach. When i look through the team that west brom put out yesterday i see no-one who has the ability to justify the approach that their manager consistently bleats on to us about. If mowbray had his way then stoke would let the little kittens of west brom weave pretty patterns all over the pitch, we should sit back in awe and not impose ourselves at all and let them entertain us. This search for purity is admirable in a sense, roy of the rovers stuff, Pro evo stylee, we know we all love to see it. Mowbray wants the world to know about his philosophy, it seems to me that he would be happy to get relegated as long as he didn't have to turn his players on to the 'ugly' side of the game. He described the game at the brit as dross and told us that there is no way his team can make us all cream our pants when faced with the brutal and unfair tactics of the potters, going for throw-in's and time wasting, he's never liked coming to stoke and thats because we surrender our style for no-one. Now granted, the game was poor, we are learning and have bad days but to have a bummer of a performance and still get the points shows a grit and determination and a will to win which west brom will never achieve this season if they don't stop trying to play this kind of fantasy football. I wonder how long the list will be of managers having a pop at the potters style this season, it all depends on how teams fare against us i suppose, beat us and it dosen't get mentioned but lose and the bile starts flowing faster than the buzzsaw guitar which was the trademark of any ramones lp. If we can keep up this solid start to the season then come january players will want to join us, quality players who can make us tick in a way that will improve our solidity and momentum in an attacking sense. We were meant to be cast adrift at the bottom punching and fighting hopelessly as we are cast aside by the rest of this league. Sure we seem to lack of touch of quality when we don't have fuller and we have missed an on form lawrence all season really so all in all we are on the button and can look ahead to the rest of the season with optimism and faith in our club. We will never comprimise but we will learn and evolve. Together.

Stoke City (sidibe) 1-0 WBA Att 26613

Beautiful goal big mama, great move. Onwards and upwards. SCFC

Manchester United 5-0 Stoke City Att 75369

So it turned out to be a right royal hammering in the end, northy looks like a deluded fool with my score prediction and i am feeling the pain this morning.  It was always going to be seen as a bonus game by most and there were no positive prizes in this one.  To get beaten at old trafford is no disgrace but to get done over whilst showing such un-awareness in midfield and attack was shocking to watch. In no other game this season have i seen stoke have so much time on the ball in midfield but the way we play with the two defensive banks of four leaves us with no options and therefore we do a good impression of a team who haven't got a clue what to do with the ball going forward away from home. I and the rest of the potters faithful will be hoping that it was a collective off day with a couple of exceptions namely shawcross and griffin. To play this way away from the britannia and get positives we have got to get every ball right, every long punt up the pitch has got to reach a stoke player and he needs help from his team-mates in retaining possesion so we can push through on goal. Man utd are a special footballing side but they invited us to get into them with the way they played and we didn't respond. Writing this sits uncomfortably with me because i try and keep my blog positive and i know it was the champions of europe we lost to but there is a feeling inside of me that says we could have had something there yesterday, between the 1st and 2nd goals we saw a fair bit of the ball but didn't utilise it. Oh well, we have massive games coming up against our rivals in the bottom half and now is the time to move on and support the team in what will be tough encounters against wba, hull, newcastle and fulham. I just hope tony pulis sees the need to start using some of our midfield reinforcments such as glenn whelan, tom soares and michael tonge, all positive attacking players who must be aching for a start. The supporters were again fantastic with some borderline chanting at times adding to a highly charged atmosphere in the stoke end.

 PS goals from Ronaldo(2), Carrick, Berbatov and Wellbeck.

Stoke City 2-0 Rotherham United Att 15458

Your editor can't go the night matches as there are no bloody trains back to nottingham after 9pm and there is something bugging me.  I'd like to ask any stokies who read this and went to the game, did the club make this attendance up or what?  Nigel johnson on radio stoke seemed certain of a crowd of around 10k at kick off time and he's a damn good judge i'll tell you, there are always the late arrivals (which by the way potters fans are pretty good at this such is our love for a pint before kick off) but it didn't sound like a 15k crowd during commentary anyway. Bizarre stuff or is it just me??

The millers came with a large following and made plenty of noise, i'm sure all potters fans are with me when i say good luck to rotherham, they have overturned a big points deficit in league two and could even, northy thinks get into the top half of the table. Fair play. On to the potters and two great goals from whelan and pugh, a great save from simonsen, a clean sheet with no injuries or bookings, oh and we're in the quarter finals of the league cup. Northy's score prediction was an outlandish 3-3, that is because since i started going in 1980, especially over recent years we have been known to get knocked out of this trophy by so called inferior opposition, not now though, we have a squad who are showing great attitude and a hunger to push their way into the first XI. Players such as glenn whelan will be chomping at the bit to get onto the premier league stage, an assured display did him no harm, kitson also apparantly had his best game in a stoke shirt and had a taste of a partnership with fuller towards the end. Whether they start together at old trafford on saturday remains to be seen with big mama is nursing an injury.

We won this competion in 1972, if the draw is favourable towards us on saturday we could be on for a big day at wembley in 2009. I am definitely counting no chickens but hey, we are still in it, 2 wins away from the final, that is unless the semis are a two legged affair? then its 3 but what the hell. This is our time stokies. Gooaaarn

It would be pretty fair to say we got away with this one, a point gained for sure in what sounded like a shocking game. Constantly in the second half the names of palacios and cattermole emerged from the lips of john acres and nigel johnson on radio stoke as the potters midfield was becoming more and more battle weary. Nigel gleghorn who was doing the co-commentary mentioned twice that stoke looked tired and if that is the case then it's pretty worrying. Tony pulis has always had a fit squad but we are having to put that bit extra into games at this level and hopefully this won't take it's toll too much. Players on the fringe such as tonge, soares and whelan must be chomping at the bit to get in and will do themselves no harm with a good performance in the cup on tuesday against rotherham. Big mama went off injured early on in the second and dave kitson came on to an almighty roar from the thousands of stokies massed behind the goal but failed to shine yet again. Another of those days when the route one stuff is in full effect as stoke stuttered in the final third but at the back the lads really stood up to a barrage of pressure  and a display of commitment and strength saw us through to a valuable draw. Sorensen made some superb saves and is really looking like an astute signing by pulis. The stats all went in the latic's favour with 64/36 possession and 13 shots to 2 by the potters. Stokies will mock the size of the crowd but it's nothing unusual to see these kind of attendances at the jjb, it was not too long ago when they were getting 4000 at springfield park and lets face it with all the negativity surrounding our style of play we are not exactly crowd pullers. All in all a good result but i'm sure any potter who was in that away end will tell you that it was a poor display attacking wise and finally, to those fans who travelled, you were first class again, as always.

Stoke City 2-1 Arsenal Att 26704

Home is where the heart is, a big pulsating heart that thrashes with emotion, passion and desire. This weight is carried in equal measure by the players and supporters, helping each other to get that little bit extra, the 10% of 110%. Tony Pulis got it right when he commented that the fans know where it's at, what the club are about, our limitations and strengths. The anti brigade who want to see beautiful flowing football even if it means getting hammered every game and going down in disgrace are slowly burying their heads but will be back when we have a sticky patch. The arrogance of arsenal's support is incredible, 100 chester fans would make more noise, they expect everything to come to them and then end up giving it the old cockney swagger back onto the coach with a boot up their arse. The potters battled and harried for this victory, outfought the millionaires and sent them packing so they can cry about phsyical football and long throws. Stoke city and their fans do not give a damn about entertaining non stokies on match of the day. We are staying in this league and we do it our way, no compromise. We play some good football and are starting to settle, we will play different ways against different teams, yesterday was all about the battle and we won it. Superb victory stoke. Very proud. PS Fuller and Oli goals for stoke. Almost forgot!

Apologies for the lack of match review, the piece had been written but seemed to get lost in the system, inspiration like that dont happen twice so to summise. Great victory for the lads, we worked hard and were rewarded for our patience. We are in there and we are fighting which is what we all wanted. Onwards and upwards.

Manchester City 3-0 Stoke City Att 44624

Northys prediction (1-1) didn't materialise this week after a masterclass from robinho in the art of putting the ball in the net. Stoke created more going forward than in recent away games and positives can be taken from this, chances were created and we saw more possesion than in the pompey and liverpool games. Ultimately we were undone on several occasions and sorensen make some great saves to keep the score respectable but the blues keeper also had his moments and if the potters were a bit sharper it could've been a different story. Tony Pulis will tell the lads to learn and move on, he knows we will take these defeats throughout the season and must pick the chins off the floor and get the boys raring to go. Man city look they could be ready to go on a run and with some big games coming up they must be relishing it. Fair play to them. They are a good side who will get better and could go a long way this term. Luckily we have a chance to make amends in a home game against sunderland coming up on wednesday which will be previewed tomorrow. The supporters again were fantastic, 3000 strong and full of noise. The travelling faithful really deserve an away victory, lets hope it comes at wigan.

Stoke City 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur Att 27500

David Bentley must be a relieved man this morning, when he looks in the mirror and realises his hair looks great then he will probably cast a thought over his dreadful, disinterested performance for spurs yesterday, it's obvious Bentley dosen't do relegation battles, he probably thinks he's too good for that. I'm not saying this to have a pointless pop at a player, but because the spurs support (who i thought were a credit to their team) deserve better, they deserve someone who's going to scrap hard to turn them around. The match was a crazy affair with stoke taking the lead via a higgy penalty that was dispatched after a comedy situation in which the ball kept getting blown from the spot, fair play for keeping your cool danny. Bale was sent off for the tackle on soares which resulted in the spot kick. In true stoke fashion we lost the plot for the remainder of the half and chased the ball around making spurs look like santos. Bent equalized as the londoners piled on the pressure. Pulis must have given them a proper roasting at half time and the boys came out and gave a great performance in the second. A great move saw mama cross for delap to knock in the second for stoke. Kitson had a long face as he was subbed, the crowd welcoming hero ricardo fuller and the potters hit top gear with some really good attacking football. Soares was upended again in the box and fuller smacked the penalty against bar and post, delap hit the bar with the rebound shot. 11 minutes of injury time was played due to an unfortunate incident which saw two spurs players collide and defender corluka taken to hospital. During this time dawson was sent off for a shocking tackle on sidibe and fuller hit the post with a beauty of a shot. PHEW...

Great three points for the lads, soares looked to give us another dimension and looks like he's not afraid to take men on. Personally i thought Salif had a good second half and did his job very well. It was good to see us mix up the play and get it on the floor as well as the direct stuff. A downside was the shocking performance after the penalty and sending off, if we do that against a team with confidence they will destroy us. Well done boys. WE'LL BE WITH YOU

Stoke City 0-2 Chelsea Att-27500

It would be wrong to describe this as a routine victory for the blues even though they could and probably should have scored more. Stoke gave as good as they got and played some decent football on the floor at times but it wasn't to be, a great goal from bosingwa after some neat work from lampard put chelsea in front and then in the second half cort lost his footing and possession to allow anelka to smash in to the net. Ashley cole cleared off the line from a cort header and a possible penalty was turned down when cole connected with fuller. Pulis was forced to make a change when the specialist rory delap went down in training on friday, so in came cresswell when a lot of supporters thought tonge might start, cort retained his place after a strong performance as sub at anfield. A lot was said about missing the long throw and how chelsea would have been preparing for it but really it meant stoke would have to play it on the deck a touch more which to our credit we tried. People in the stands will now demand an attacking performance at portsmouth on sunday with three points a must for stoke. With hull (hats off to ya boys) and west brom getting great results yesterday the pressure is on the potters to catch them up a bit and to do this we need to throw caution to the wind a bit more and get  men forward. Chelsea are a great side and we gave them a game, unbeaten in 27 league games now, that says something. Good luck to them.

Stoke City 2-2 Reading (Stoke win 4-3 on pens) Att-9141

Nice one, job done, reaching the dizzying heights of the 4th round of the league cup for the first time since the turn of the century when we took a bashing from liverpool. Tony Pulis would, i'm sure have liked to have got the job done in 90 minutes but we never do things the easy way. With the two new lads Tonge and Soares cup tied there were a few more familiar faces in the line up than expected, Higginbotham(captain), Lawrence and Sidibe all started whilst the yet to be seen Andrew Davies was on the bench. Big bad Vinny Pericard who isn't adverse to a bit of bird (prison that is) opened the scoring for stoke but we were pegged back on half time with James Henry scoring from the spot. Mama Sidibe put the lads in front once more before Henry smashed home a bullet of a shot to make it 2-2. Extra time and pens followed and most stoke fans would have been thinking oh well, concentate on the league!!. Amazingly the shootout went our way with Simmo making a great save before Lita smashed over the bar to give stoke the tie. Lewis Buxton was the only stokie to miss and 4-3 it ended. Well done lads, now we await the draw on saturday. Burnley at home please, some retribution to be handed out there. UP THE POTTERS.

Liverpool 0-0 Stoke City Att-43931

Well as the match preview suggested, a backs to the wall, solid blood and thunder defensive display was required and that is what we got. An almost constant onslaught of attacks from the merseysiders threatened to tip the lads over the edge but we stayed firm and got bodies in the mix when required. Some fantastic saves from sorensen and great tackles from faye, sonko (replaced by the excellent cort after 22 minutes), griffin and higginbotham. Yes we rode our luck with the ruling out of a pearler from gerrard but only two minutes had passed then and liverpool had 88 minutes to unlock us, when they did get behind us they could not find a way past the great dane. Stoke created very few chances and kitson could have done better early on with a drive over the bar. Sharper shooting from torres and keane would surely have resulted in a goal but this was the potters day and a well earned point was gained. No doubt people will queue up to accuse stoke of playing 10-0-0 formations and not being adventurous enough, these comments will come from the idiots whose clubs go to anfield and disrespect the opposition, trying to attack constantly and leaving massive holes for the scousers to exploit, ending up getting hammered 4 or 5. Well done to the lads, proud of you all, now lets carry this on and give chelsea the fright of their lives at the britannia next saturday, we will attack at home and really give them a game. WE'LL BE WITH YOU

The Fans

It was like a version of stoke city fc's greatest hits. Completely outsung the kop for 90 minutes as expected. What a following we have. The team responded to the battle cries and everyone connected with the club should be proud. COME ON STOKE

Stoke City 2-3 Everton. Att. 27415

Northy is still on a bit of a downer, a bit like the feeling you get when listening to the cocteau twins or some shite like that, lets get one thing straight, we do not want to be the club who always run a team close, always on the receiving end of tough breaks, if we don't cut the crap at the back and start playing a touch more on the floor we are gonna get nowhere. The set piece is 80% of our artillery and we need to mix it up. When stoke got the ball on the floor and played we looked decent, foraging forward with quick sharp passes, a little more composure and we're in. Its great to get the ball forward quickly but if we are going to use the longer balls then they have to hurt the opposition, the midfield aren't getting enough of the ball from their own, instead having to pick up on tackles and mistakes. Yes its early days and we do have three points but we face liverpool and chelsea next and we can't see these as bonus games, a point from either would give a massive confidence boost, three would be amazing. Every player needs to sharpen up because we are good enough to win games, when we are on our toes we are a fine unit. The feeling here is that we can get to the level required we just need to step it up.

The match itself exploded in the second half after everton went in 1-0 after yakubu slotted home on 41. The toffees started well in the second and probably thought they had the points when anichebe netted with his bonce. Stoke roared back with a classic from olofinjana and then fuller had a goal dissallowed for being a strong lad and shrugging yobo off the ball. The equaliser came after a delap bullet throw caused chaos and jagielka nutted into his own net. Alan wiley continued his one man comedy act by denying everton a penalty after initially pointing to the spot. Cahill stole in with a great header to give the merseysiders the points.

Everton looked like a team who hadn't got going properly yet but were pretty solid and have some skilled players, no team will enjoy the britannia and fair play to them for snatching the points. We gave the ball away too much, especially lawrence, but we managed to get a couple of goals and had a legitimate goal chalked off. STEP IT UP LADS. WE ARE STOKE

Middlesborough 2-1 Stoke city Att-27627

Well as the headline states there are mixed emotions for stoke fans this morning, on one hand if it wasn't for sorensen and some very poor finishing 'boro could have been out of sight, the other hand though, shows a grit and resilience that stoke will need this campaign, bodies flying in making last ditch tackles and blocks. To battle back with ten men, force an own goal and then try to win the game only to see a massive moment of inexperience from wilkinson deny us a point. We could have crumbled at times, but didn't. Certain periods of the match saw 'boro lay seige to stoke but we held relitavely firm with a bit of luck thrown in.

The match

Stoke battled gamely and played some football before being reduced to ten men on 35, amdy faye flew in with both feet and could have no complaints, the usual suspects from stoke were ranting at the referee and bookings would follow for dissent throughout the match. Alves scored a peach of a free kick, real quality player is this man, will score a fair few this season northy thinks.  Heavy pressure on the stoke goal followed and downing hammered a penalty against the bar. The potters battled back and saw a superb cross from lawrence turned into his own net by hoyte after pressure from kitson. A draw looked on the cards until enormous inexperience from andy wilkinson saw him firstly not whack a ball away and then play a striker onside whilst standing with his arms in the air appealing for offside. Tuncay made us pay. 2-1 Boro.

Overview

The 2000 stoke supporters were fantastic as always, loud and proud, in full voice. Respect to them all. If we iron out the mistakes we are going to have a real crack at this staying up business. The transfer window shuts tomorrow night and we are in for players, see above post. We are tough and resiliant and we can play too. Sonko and davies will step straight into the team and will make us stronger. Well done to 'boro though, a club that this editor admires and good luck to them. Good side.

The potters can look forward to the third round draw of the carling cup on saturday after defeating cheltenham town 3-2 at whaddon road tonight.  Tony pulis made ten changes to the side that beat villa introducing the likes of parkin, pugh, buxton, whelan, diao and simonsen.  Your editor was neither at the match or listening on the radio so a brief resume of the scorers is all your gonna get for this one.  A free kick from whelan and a burst through from cresswell saw stoke 2-0 ahead in the space of five second half minutes, vincent pulled one back before jon 'the beast' parkin restored the two goal cushion. Russell pulled one back at the death for the robins. FT Cheltenham 2-3 Stoke.

Northy says

Makes a change to break recent tradition and actually beat lower league opposition, good stuff stoke, the fringe players had a good test in a tight ground and got the victory needed.  Many teams fall at this hurdle and the old 'concentrate on the league' saying comes into effect.  We just want to win games and have done so tonight.  Hoping for forest away (if they get through) as that means a ten minute bus ride from the northwood headquarters.  Bring it on.

Stoke City 3-2 Aston Villa Att 27,500

Lets hope the derby county comparisons stop right now, stoke city and their supporters yesterday showed spirit, commitment and desire to win a game, not content with a draw we gave everything until the final whistle.  We showed more in 90 minutes than derby showed in a whole season, they are a club who get big gates but their vocal support has never been strong and to think of pride park as a fortress would be a nonsense. The two need to be running in tandem for a partnership to be successful, never waiver, always be strong and show support and willing.  Each time villa equalized every stoke fan stood up as one and roared us on, because we know the lads never give up and will bleed for us. Villa fans were their usual selves, a one trick pony, large numbers but nothing to offer in terms of song. Anyway......

The match

A real blood and thunder display from stoke which typifies the spirit in the camp, villa played some nice stuff at times and had chances to add to their tally as did stoke, the ref was very kind to stoke which is extremely rare especially at the britannia. A slightly dubious penalty decision saw lawrence fire stoke in front after villa had a good call at the other end. Carew hit back with a goal from some nice build up play, fuller scored an absolute belter which looked like the winner until dodgy defending from a free kick saw laursen equalize. It aint over til its over though and a bullet throw from delap saw sidibe muscle his way in to deftly head the ball backwards towards goal. GET IN. The place went insane and the whistle went. 

Short overview

Your editor was very impressed with two of the home  debutants ab faye and olofinjana but every player gave their all to eventually see us through to the points.  Tony pulis has stressed the point that we should move on from defeats, regroup and push on.  This will be essential to our survival as we are going to take some beatings this term.  Villa looked a very good side at times but were prone to dodgy errors which opened the eyes of a few stokies, if we listened to the hype we would think villa were invincible.  LOVE YOU CITY WE DO

Well here we are fellow potters, it's northy, your'e not so trusty editor welcoming you to the stoke city fc blog. The big kick off, our first taste of the top flight in 23 long hard years, we as fans have been eager with anticipation, optimism and excitement. The internet forums have been buzzing with opinions so wide ranging they make the gaps in the vale park crowd look small, for some tony pulis will never be the right man, whatever he does, and others will put their faith and trust into the football club to make us proud with pulis at the helm. Your editor falls into the second category. Anyway on with the show.

Bolton wanderers 3-1 Stoke city . Reebok stadium, Att22717

A large noisy contingent of stoke faithful made the relatively short journey to greater manchester for the curtain raiser in the premiership. Tony pulis sprang a surprise for many by including andy wilkinson in place of carl dickinson in defence, liam lawrence and ricardo fuller started on the bench. Andy griffin retained the captains armband and sorensen, kitson and olofinjana made league debuts for the reds. Until what will be known as the '11 minutes of madness' stoke had competed gamely and come close when a superb set piece delivery from whelan was headed point blank at the keeper by leon cort. What followed was hard to swallow with what can only be described as an outrageous fluke in the 34th from steinsson triggering a period of defensive naivety that will be punished in this league, big time. Ryan shawcross and wilko conspired to give kevin davies a chance which was bulleted in by the hardman, even worse was to follow with elmander making a mockery of our back four to make it 3. The second half saw a stronger performance from stoke, helped by the introduction of fuller and lawrence, with cort heading a decent chance over the bar but kitson cleared off the line to save more blushes for stoke. Our first premier league goal was a great header from fuller assisted by a top cross from dicko. Full time.

Short overview

A harsh lesson learned, individual and collective mistakes(plus a freak goal!) cost us, that is the fine line between success and failure in this league. We will strengthen and learn but we must do it quickly.

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…