Stoke City 2-2 Wolves

Stoke threw away a two goal lead in a classic case of a game of two halves. Stoke dominated the first half with two goals – an own goal aided by James Beattie and a lovely goal by Matthew Etherington. But the second half belonged to Wolves as Jody Craddock bagged two goals and it could have gone either way as Ab Faye missed a sitter late on. Wolves fan Robert Plant was spotted in the away end….

The Tango Man steps closer to the Order of the Golden Boot as Hull lost 2-0 at Burnley and who do they play next? Us

Everton 1-1 Stoke City

Robert Huth scored his first goal for Stoke and Salif Diao returned to midfield at the expense of Whelan. Kitson was dropped as well with Fuller and Beattie starting up front. Good away point for us from a team who beat us twice last season. A weekend off now due to World Cup qualifiers and then its West Ham at home, another team who beat us twice last season…

Cresswell off on loan

Richard Cresswell has joined Championship side Sheff Utd on a three month loan deal. He’s had stick of some sections of the Stoke fans this season and last and being honest he is playing a league above his capability but he was one of the players instrumental in getting us promoted so will always be a legend for me.

Shows the squad size now as we have six players currently on loan including Ryan Shotton and Carl Dickinson who both recently joined Barnsley on loan. But the best has to be Sonko on loan at Hull City who showed how uesless he really is on Saturday against Liverpool.

Stoke City 0-2 Man Utd

Didn’t expect a win but a draw would have been good. Pulis seemed to play ultra-defensive and we hardly troubled Man U’s ex-Stokie in goal Ben Foster. Dean Whitehead does not seem to be much of a hit as yet but Robert Huth has settled in well. But where is Tuncay? He hasn’t started a league game yet and with Fuller out injured and Beattie not fully fit you’d have thought he may have started. Sadly not and Pulis says he’s not fit enough yet…

Stoke City 4-3 Blackpool

Blummin’ ‘eck Stoke come from 2-1 down after three Stoke goals in the last fifteen minutes including subs Fuller and Etherington both scoring, with former captain Andy Griffin netting the winner. Worryingly though Fuller went off injured with a suspected hamstring injury.

Carling cup 4th round here we come!

Bolton 1-1 Stoke City

Dave ‘Ginger Ninja’ Kitson scored for us but Danny Collins rash challenge in the 89th minute cost us the three points as Kevin Davies slotted home the penalty. I bet this game is the last on shown on ‘Match of the Day’.

Defender Andrew Davies has joined Sheff Utd on a three month loan.

Five Quick Q’s with STEPHEN FOSTER

Stoke City fan and author Stephen Foster has just had his second book on Stoke City published, ‘…And She Laughed No More’, a follow up to the excellent ‘She Stood There Laughing’. He has also penned books on his dogs and leaving Stoke for the south in the 80’s. You can find out more at his blog

1. ‘…And She Laughed No More’ is out now. How did you go about writing this follow-up to the bestselling ‘She Stood There Laughing’ given that this new book would see Stoke in a much more successful spell. Have you read any of the other books on Stoke that have been published in the last couple of years?

This is my second follow up (after ‘Along Came Dylan’) so I already know that they make you feel slightly wary: ‘I’ve done this before, do I feel fresh enough to do it again, and how do I make it sharp enough for readers to want to read it?’ Also, the deadline looms up very quickly on a ’season with’ book – ideally I like two years to put a book together – write, edit, re-edit, rewrite, edit, etc – but that’s just a non-starter on a title like this. In the end I left it late to start getting stuck into the job properly – partly because I wanted to absorb the experience of being in the Premiership, partly because of natural indolence, and also because it’s not just a sequence of match reports (because that would be so boring):

I have a particular relationship with the manager, that’s one of the rolling threads, and there are several more to keep the non-football-football balanced with the actual matches. By the time I was really rolling it was getting to be late in the day & I was working my rocks off, and that, I hope, gives it some energy. As soon as I had a finished manuscript, the time between delivering it to the publishers and actual publication was so compressed (three months as compared to the much more usual one year) that it seemed as if the proofing never stopped – I am a scruffy enough writer in first draft anyway, but in a book like this there are so many stats and spellings to worry about – I sent the page proofs out to four major Stokie stattos and to two other-team-football-supporting stattos who want to become proof readers too, but there will still be several typos in the first editions, it’s guaranteed. The jacket came together late in the day too (there was a holding ‘crowd scene’ shot for months) but that has worked well, I think, I really like it, as most people seem to.

I read ‘Tie Me To The Mast’ by David Johnson last Christmas and enjoyed it a lot, it’s a completely different style to mine: there’s room for plenty of works about the Mighty Potters on the bookshelves. I intend to read Exile in the Promised Land by Steve Mifflin too…

2. What were the highs and low of the first season back in the top flight? What teams (bar the top four) impressed you? 

Just being there was a constant high – the contribution of our home support was the biggest single highlight, Pulis’ away formations the low-light. West Ham picked up a huge amount under Zola – I thought theirs was the best defence I saw at the Brit.

3. Which players were you impressed with and who should we be getting rid of?

The whole team were terrific, weren’t they, even bit part players like Danny Pugh gave it their absolute all. ‘Team’ was the key word. Ab Faye was the obvious, obvious Player of the Year, but Shawcross was immense too. My Player of the Season from another side (with the possible exception of Ryan Giggs) was a chap called Tuncay

4. Any good films…TV…music…books you’d recommend…

Against all the negative review coverage I went to see The Baader Meinhof Complex movie. It was excellent. Slumdog Millionaire is ace, and I have to recommend the new album by Tinchy Stryder, ‘Catch 22.’ I’ve just read ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck for the first time, quite brilliant, and very short too, always a good thing in a book if you read at a snail’s pace like me.

5. Given the recent signings of Tuncay and Robert Huth how do you think Stoke will do this season?

Europa top six finish; it’s hardly an original thing to say, but Tuncay is the most exciting signing since Hudson – his cameo on Saturday was so, so promising…

Stoke City 1-0 Sunderland

The Ginger Ninja scores again! Dave Kitson bagged the only goal of the game from a Liam Lawrence assit with debuts for new signings Tuncay and Robert Huth (who is massive, Boro fans called him the Berlin Wall).

Uruguayan midfield destroyer Diego Arismendi has passed a medical and if he gets his work permit should join us next week. Sunderland defender Danny Collins could also be signing after both clubs agreed a fee.

Pulis has stated he wants four more new players before the transfer window closes on 5pm Tuesday 1st September. Arsimendi and Collins look set to be two of these with rumours of Man City’s Petrov, Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham) and Gary O’Neil (Middlesboro) among the names being banded about on the Oatcake and Teamtalk MB’s.

Huth and Tuncay sign

Stoke have signed two Middlesboro players – German international defender and former Chelsea player Robert Huth along with Turkish international Tuncay. Both are excellent signings and Tuncay really shows we mean business, well done Pulis and co.

Peter Reid is the new assistant manager although for now he will still be in charge of the Thailand national team.

Another possible signing is Sunderland defender Danny Collins. Surely if he signs players like Sonko, Dickinson and Cort will be moved on? Just hope its not Shawcross going…

Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones was the subject of a rejected £10m bid from Stoke. He has played for us previously back at the start of his career when he briefly joined us on loan from Southampton.

Leyton Orient 0-1 Stoke City

Long time since I was last at Brisbane Road although the open air loos were still in place! Stoke fielded a mix of squad players and youngsters plus Dave Kitson who happily scored his first goal for us. Otherwise it was a dour display and highlighted the fact that some of our back-up players are not good enough like Tom Soares and Sonko.

Peter Reid was in the dugout and despite no official confirmation must be the new no. 2 at the club.

Hopefully now our attention will turn to new players and the game at home against Sunderland this weekend.

Birmingham 0-0 Stoke City

Birmingham 0-0 Stoke a valubale away point but not a great game by all accounts. Peter Reid is set to be Pulis’s number two and hopefully a couple of new players this week. Not Dean Ashton though as he is set to retire due to his dodgy ankles al…though fellow Hammer James Collins could still sign. Sunday paper rumour is a £12m bid for Slumberland’s Kenwyne Jones!

Still no new signings…

Seyi Olofinjana has left Stoke to join Hull for £3m just over a year since we signed him from Wolves. Not a great player for us but good luck to him apart from when Hull play us

Plenty of rumours but bar Dean Whitehead we have added no new first team players. The Dean Ashton saga rumbles on and we have been linked with Boro duo Gary O’Neil and Robert Huth although O’Neil looks Everton bound. Doubt we will see any new players by Saturday’s big kick off against Burnley.

Gerry Francis could be bringing his buffont back to the Brit as a coach after a successful spell last season and Brian Kidd is the latest name for the vacant assistant manager post.

Dean Whitehead signs on a four year contract

Former Sunderland captain Dean Whitehead today signed for Stoke on a four year contract for £3m rising to possibly £5m with extras. Good signing IMHO and will add some good back-up for midfield.

Hopefully West Ham’s Dean Ashton is signing on Monday and we have been linked with Fulham’s Danny Murphy as a possible player/coach, Man Utd’s Torin Tosic on loan and former Liverpool defender Steve Finnan. Blimey how things change from a couple of years ago in the players we get linked with.

Transfer news

As Wolves sign their sixth new player of the summer (mind you Greg Halford formerly of Sunderland would hardly set the Wolves fans pulses racing) Stoke have yet to sign a new player. But hopefully this coming week will change that as the Oatcake MB and its regular posters with club contacts have hinted we could see two new players (Kevin Nolan of Newcastle Utd could be one of them) and maybe a couple depart (Dave Kitson seems most likely to be first out the door).

Pre-season training starts on Thursday 9th July followed by our first friendly against Newcastle Town on Saturday - be nice to see a few new faces by that game.

Rory on his bike and the fixtures are out

Rory Delap starts his three day cycle ride from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Edinburgh today raising funds for the Donna Louise Trust. The total so far stands at £2,554
http://www.justgiving.com/stokecityfc

Stoke manager Tony Pulis has now raised a whopping £17,000 for the Dona Lousie Trust following his London marathon run back in April.
http://www.justgiving.com/tonypulis

Well done to both, make you proud to be a Potter and Stoke City supporter

Fixtures are out today and we face newly promoted Burnley at home on the first game of the season then Liverpool away. Last game of the season? Err Man Utd away

Full list of Stoke City fixtures can be found here

Transfer rumour mill…

The transfer rumour mill swings into overdrive especially over on the Oatcake MB where various posters claim to have insider info or have heard from a friend of the tea lady’s second cousin a player rumour. Below are a few more likely rumours although as ever knowing Tony Pulis he will sign a couple of players no-one had on their radar…
Incoming…

Cisse for a record fee keeps being mentioned. Would be a good signing but he is very similar in style to Fuller plus he tends to go missing in the later part of the season as he did at Sunderland.

Peter Crouch currently at Portsmouth, although can’t see this happening myself.

Villa’s Steve Sidwell is ‘99%’ according to some on the Oatcake MB. He did very well whilst at Reading but lost his way at Villa, hopefully he would be better unlike fellow ex-Reading player Dave Kitson.

Long term Pulis target Joe Ledley at Cardiff is again doing the rounds especially as the player is refusing to sign a new contract.

Two Newcastle players being linked with us are Kevin Nolan (bet he’s glad he left Bolton in January!) and Alan Smith. Yes please to Nolan but no thanks to Smith, he is past his best now.

Last season’s loanee Stephen Kelly looks set to sign permanently from Birmingham where he is currently third choice right back. Good signing provided we don’t pay too much for him. UPDATE 16th June – Kelly has today signed for Fulham.

Outgoing…

Former captain Andy Griffin is being linked with another of his former clubs, Newcastle although any move would be some way off as Newcastle are up for sale, managerless and haven’t even arranged any pre-season friendlies yet. Newcastle defender Bebe may come in the other direction which would be a brilliant piece of business if it goes ahead. I’d be very surprised if Griffin is still at Stoke come August.

Thomas Sorenson has been the subject of rumours of a possible move to Bayern Munich although he did tell the ‘Sentinel’ recently he was happy at Stoke and had no plans to leave the club. Certainly hope he stays as he proved the best signing last summer out of Fulop and Carson.

Matthew Etherington maybe heading back down south possibly to Fulham as apparently he hasn’t settled well. I hope he does stay as although he failed to score and has not proved a massive hit yet give him a full pre-season and I am sure he will prove his worth.

Michael Tonge is linked with a few clubs but again given a decent pre-season, he should along with Danny Pugh and Tom Soares give us some decent squad cover in midfield.

Although not linked with any clubs yet Carl Dickinson is my bet for leaving the club as he can’t seem to break into the match day squad.

Rory Delap bike ride for Donna Louise Trust

Well done Rory Delap – a true Stoke City legend…

For the second year running Rory Delap has kindly decided to raise vital funds for our local Children’s Hospice. 

After recovering from last year’s cycle, Rory Delap, Andrew Brentnall and their team have decided to cycle from Edinburgh to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. This is a grueling 202 mile trek and will take around 3 days to complete. We hope everyone gets behind them and shows their support for them all!

Please dig deep and sponsor us online.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Donna Louise Trust will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 22% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

So please sponsor us now!
http://www.justgiving.com/stokecityfc

The summer transfer rumours are in full swing

Man Utd’s Paul Scholes to Stoke? That’s what amny papers are saying today a couple of days after the Oatcake MB first had rumours of this possible signing. If he did sign it would be as a player/coach.

Man City striker Ched Evans for £2m reckons the Guardian – he has mixed reviews but at 21 has room to improve and is streets ahead of Pericard.

A young goalkeeper as well is in our sights apparently with former Stokie Ben Foster now at Man Utd, on a season long loan one name. The other is Coventry City’s Westwood.

Cisse is again linked with Stoke and the Metro has us and Pompey after Everton striker Yakubu. Now that you could see as he has been crocked for most of this season and we do like our recovering crocks at Stoke.

Arsenal 4-1 Stoke City

Good job we didn’t need points to stay up today. At least Fuller got us a goal.

Newcastle went down as the four teams threatend with relegation all lost today. Middlesboro join Newcastle and West Brom in the Championship next season.

Rumour time is upon us again and Man Utd’s Paul Scholes to Stoke? Well that’s one doing the rounds on the Oatcake MB. Doubtful as I’d expect he stay on as a coach or go to Oldham, Man Utd’s retirement home for old players. Sunderland’s on loan striker Cisse is another possible signing and he would be more likely of the two.

Bye bye Pericard and thanks for nothing…

The summer transfer changes start at Stoke as Vincent Pericard is given a free transfer. One of the worst players I have seen at Stoke for many years and he won’t be missed. Port Vale here’s your new summer signing…

Players coming into Stoke? Well the rumour mill goes into overdrive over the summer and already players like Liverpool’s Ryan Babel is being linked with a season long loan. Despite mixed reviews from Liverpool fans he’d be a hit at Stoke I am sure.

Player of the Season awards & pre-season friendlies announced

Fans’ Player of the Season: Abdoulaye Faye

Players’ Player of the Season: Abdoulaye Faye

Coaching Staff’s Player of the Season: Rory Delap

Young Player of the Season: Ryan Shawcross

Top Goalscorer: Ricardo Fuller

Goal of the Season: Ricardo Fuller (versus Aston Villa H)

Academy Player of the Season: Andrew Nicholls

Pre-season friendlies…(players are back in training on 9th July)

July 12th Newcastle Town/Nantwich Town (would have thought the more seinor players and any trialists would play at the Newcastle fixture)

July 15th-22nd July Austrian tour

July 25th Preston NE (A)

July 29th Notts Forest (A)

August 1st Derby County (A)

August 7th (Home friendly TBA)

August 15th Premiership season starts!

Stoke City 2-0 Wigan

Well done the boys again with a home win on out last home game of this season. Fuller and Beattie got the goals with the players doing a lap of honour at the end of the game.

THANK YOU Stoke players, Tony Pulis and the club for a great season. Come on the mighty Potters next season!

The Seven Deadly Sins of Football

Interesting series coming from the Guardian and Observer this next week - the Seven Deadly Sins of Football. Mind you I am not sure I want reminding of David Mellor’s toe sucking exploits in ‘Lust’…

Sloth #49: Pistone gets a sheep’s heart

Secret Santa theoretically provides an opportunity to get a colleague an ingenious Christmas gift (or spend as little as possible safe in the knowledge that they won’t know you are the skinflint). But in 1998, Newcastle’s footballers took it as an opportunity to tell other members of the squad what they really thought of them. Especially those pesky foreigners. The Italian full-back Alessandro Pistone was given a sheep’s heart, as a sign of his perceived commitment, or lack thereof. Duncan Ferguson, who had done time in 1995, was given a prison’s shirt. And Dietmar Hamann – he’s German, you see – unwrapped a copy of Mein Kampf. Suddenly a deodorant set from Superdrug didn’t seem so bad.

For more sinful-tales of footballing misdemeanours, see our seven-part series with:

16 May – Greed featuring David Beckham and Ashley Cole
17 May – Pride featuring Andrei Arshavin and Mike Ashley
18 May – Wrath featuring Craig Bellamy and Roy Keane
19 May – Envy featuring Bruce Grobbelaar

Hull City 1-2 Stoke City

YES! We are staying up! Well done to Tony Pulis, the players, the club and the fans. Great result today, only our second away win of the season with goals from Fuller and Lawrence, fittingly two players who helped us into the Premiership this time last year.

Great to be safe with two games to go and now we can spend the summer speculating who we may sign and who will leave. Pericard must be going surely?

Stoke City 0-1 West Ham

Only our fourth defeat at home this season and only the fourth (and final) team to do the double over Stoke this season. We battled but couldn’t get the equaliser so another week of fretting over whether we will stay up…and then its Hull away next weekend.

Still at least West Brom can’t catch us now as they lie 11 pts behind us with only 9 pts left to play for. Helped as well today by Boro, Portsmouth and Blackburn all losing today.

Stoke City 1-0 Blackburn

A vital three points takes us up to 39 pts and another win from our last five matches will see us safe. Great to see Liam Lawrence score today and from a James Beattie flick on!

Wolves finally made the Premiership today after clinching promotion and Leicester are back in the Championship after their first attempt. But a former Premiership team sinks into League One for the first time since 1981, Charlton Athletic. Last week sadly saw Luton Town leave the league as they were never going to overcome their 30 point deduction.

Just Giving page – Adrian Chiles & Chris Jericho signed books

There is a Just Giving page here for the Shooting Star Children’s Hospice should you wish to support the Great Bid ‘N’ Buy Fundraiser but none of the Ebay auctions take your fancy.

Plus now live are a signed copy of the excellent book by ‘MOTD 2′ presenter and West Brom fan Adrian Chiles ‘We Don’t Know What We’re Doing’ and a signed copy of WWF/WWE wrestler turned metal star Chris Jericho’s book ‘A Lion’s Tale’.

Stoke City 1-1 Newcastle Utd

A hard earned point although if we had put away one of our numerous chances we could have won the game. Still another point towards safety and Blackburn at home next weekend is another must win game.

Pottermouth is back and this time he’s rapping!

The mystery man Pottermouth is back with a rap to keep Stoke up. You can view it here

Come on the mighty Potters!!!

West Brom 0-2 Stoke City

Yes! Our first away win this season against the old foe West Brom/Brazil. Ricardo Fuller tormented West Brom again and James Beatie made sure we got the vital three points. Next up? Shearer’s Newcastle come to the Britannia Stadium…