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Author Topic: Stoke fan in peace...  (Read 9227 times)

Offline ORFYDUCKMAG

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Stoke fan in peace...
« on: April 10, 2020, 04:07:44 PM »
Hello folks – Stoke fan here in peace.

I work on the ‘Duck’ fanzine and I’m planning a different type of article for our next issue – out whenever something approaching normal matchdays return to our lives once more.

I aim to ask supporters of several clubs 5 questions about their perceptions of Stoke City in order a to create a big feature article “Us and Them.”  For the following questions, feel free to answer in varied depth/ brevity but a couple of sentences at least for each is ideal:

1. Generally how do you see Stoke City the club – a rival? Non-entity? Certain type of club? Disdain? Admiration? Pity?! As a fixture – is it of general appeal?

2. Are there any Stoke players/ teams that have made an impression on you over the years? 

3. Are there matches between your team and Stoke you recall hating/ loving?

4. In home / away matches, what have you made of the Stoke support? Any particular memories?

5. The Victoria Ground/ The New One – what did/ do you make our of our home ground(s)’ the grounds? Any particular experiences or impressions?

Given our reputation over the years, this could be a risk but then again, it would be great if I could glean a diverse range of honest/ diverse/ cutting/ funny/ serious or even complimentary views. 

If you can be arsed, thanks for your time. 


Take care of yourselves,

Lee Hawthorne @ORFYDUCKMAG

Offline Cliftonville Villlain

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Re: Stoke fan in peace...
« Reply #1 on: April 10, 2020, 04:52:04 PM »
1 Always a hard-working nuisance of a side. Can never predict results against them. Never a fixture of general appeal just two to get out of the way.

2 Tony Pullis the manager and George Eastham the player only because he used to play for Ards over here. Can't name a single Stoke player off the top of my head. Were the Greenhoff brothers once Stoke? Mark Chamberlain?

3.Hated two matches - remember being one up against you lot away until Pullis made an appearance at half-time and inspired a victory. But the one that stands out is the one we were two-up and heading towards the Champions League under O'Neill, and then you equalised, the wheels came off and we've been in free fall ever since. Ever since that day.

4 No views at all on the Stoke support.

5. The Victoria Ground was a proper old football ground and since moving to the new identikit soulless one, you've lost some of your character.

Grew up in a sea of Celtic here in Belfast but had a mate who was Stoke. Remember Coventry City fans giving him a hard time when we were in Majorca mid-nineties. Previous history? Hope this helps.


Offline four fornicholl

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Re: Stoke fan in peace...
« Reply #2 on: April 10, 2020, 05:05:11 PM »
Adrian Heath

Offline Steve67

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Re: Stoke fan in peace...
« Reply #3 on: April 10, 2020, 05:30:46 PM »
1. A midlands rival. Always a tough fixture and one I sincerely hope that we don't rekindle next season.
2. Tiny Penis.  Horrible tactics, long ball crap.  That said, when you got rid, you collapsed.  You have a good Manager now though.
3. Honestly?  Not really, except I suppose the 1-1 draw last season as this seemed to be the 'kick-start' that we needed to push the eventual play off promotion.
4. No particular memories, except you are a loud lot.
5. Is it ever not windy up there?  The old ground was better as it was a football ground.

I think you will be a play off contender next season.  O'Neill is a shrewd appointment.  Good luck.

Online Brazilian Villain

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Re: Stoke fan in peace...
« Reply #4 on: April 10, 2020, 06:03:30 PM »
1. Always a hard-working, physical side whose natural level should be mid-upper reaches of the Championship.
2. For some reason Alan Hudson.
3. N/A
4. The only Stoke fan I know is in his 60s and regales me me with stories of Matthews and Banks over a few rums so favourable. My general impression is that your support is "passionate" having read "Naughty(Forty)" and that having passed through it, Stoke is not a place I'd like to live.
5. Never been.

Offline ChicagoLion

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Re: Stoke fan in peace...
« Reply #5 on: April 10, 2020, 07:06:06 PM »
Never seen you as a rival. But playing you in recent years as difficul and not enjoyable. Hated the Pullis era, don’t know how you could applaud the deliberate  time wasting and anti football spectacle. I was embarrassed for you.
The Victoria Ground was a proper football ground, now you playin a soul less identikit place with no charm.
I allways think the atmosphere in those grounds feels manufactured.
Famous players John Richie Gordon Banks Alan Hudson Jimmy Greenhoff Stanley Matthews Peter Crouch.
Stoke is a bit of a dump though. A few Stokies were on here for a while and seemed like decent fellas.
You are a Founding Member of the football league and yet your list of Honours rivals Birmingham City, which is sad.
Anyway, all the best.

Offline Brassneck

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Re: Stoke fan in peace...
« Reply #6 on: April 10, 2020, 07:14:55 PM »
1.  A club/team that have played to their strengths for years.
2.  Not really - Generally a team who worked hard for each other. 
3.  As others have mentioned, the 2-2 when we were going for Champions League sticks out (you scored 2 in injury time when we were coasting to a 2-0). Your first game back up you scored late to beat us 3-2.  Houliers first game in charge when Houlier didn't bother going yet Pulis made it at half time despite his mother dying earlier in the day - We were 1-0 up at half time but lost 2-1.  You seemed to always get late goals against us to snatch draws or victories.  My favourite memory is the 1-1 at yours in 1981 when we got to within touching distance of the title on Easter Monday.  We had 1000s there.
4.  Support was always better than average.
5.  I much preferred the old Victoria Ground and loved the walk to and from the station.  For some reason it reminded me of the walk from Bolton station to Burnden - I always used to like walking through old, industrial type areas as opposed to retail parks we often find ourselves in these days.

Offline cdbearsfan

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Re: Stoke fan in peace...
« Reply #7 on: April 10, 2020, 07:22:30 PM »
1. Generally how do you see Stoke City the club – a rival? Non-entity? Certain type of club? Disdain? Admiration? Pity?! As a fixture – is it of general appeal?

Didn't really have a huge amount of knowledge other than Stanley Matthews/Gordon Banks/Nick Hancock prior to your promotion. Was pleased when you went up as generally like to see Midlands teams do well, except for a few of the local obsessives. Still don't really have any feeling of rivalry with Stoke. Would rather see a new team get promoted, if we stay up, but always want you to do well against Birmingham, West Brom, Leeds and Millwall.

2. Are there any Stoke players/ teams that have made an impression on you over the years? 

Ricardo Fuller. Always seemed to have everything you could ask of a striker, but didn't seem like Pulis liked him for whatever reason. Also noticed that diving twat Pennant.

3. Are there matches between your team and Stoke you recall hating/ loving?

The main one I hated was the one where Glen Fucking Whelan scored an equaliser from about eighty yards in a game we had dominated. We would have gone miles clear of Arsenal and put ourselves in a great position for the Champions League Gravy Train had we held on. One of those "Sliding Doors" moments that all clubs have. Loved the late win at Stoke when Lowton scored from Vale Park.

4. In home / away matches, what have you made of the Stoke support? Any particular memories?

Always make a decent noise when they come to Villa Park. Surprisingly quiet when I have been to Stoke, although both games were turgid affairs with one nil-nil and a one-nil win for us, so you weren't given much to shout about.

5. The Victoria Ground/ The New One – what did/ do you make our of our home ground(s)’ the grounds? Any particular experiences or impressions?

Never went to the old one. Can't say I like the new one. It could be Southampton or Middlesbrough or any of a myriad of boring identikit stadia. Also, it somehow manages to be fucking freezing even when it's warm outside. Given the amount of money I donate to your owners each year, they could at least give me a heated seat... to stand next to.
« Last Edit: April 10, 2020, 07:25:48 PM by cdbullyweefan »

Online algy

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Re: Stoke fan in peace...
« Reply #8 on: April 10, 2020, 07:25:47 PM »
1. Generally how do you see Stoke City the club – a rival? Non-entity? Certain type of club? Disdain? Admiration? Pity?! As a fixture – is it of general appeal?
Reasonable-sized local-ish club. No particularly strong feelings, but Stoke were always quite generous as a club to my primary school with things like match tickets and signed footballs. Seemed odd as I don't recall any Stoke fans at my school, just the one Port Vale fan in the year below mine.

Peter Coates is a credit to your club, city, & football as a whole. Got a lot of time for him.

2. Are there any Stoke players/ teams that have made an impression on you over the years? 
Well, Stanley Matthews is the obvious one. Bought a Stoke shirt the season he died. He didn't do too well at us, but I always liked Peter Crouch, especially after he'd left Liverpool.

3. Are there matches between your team and Stoke you recall hating/ loving?
I had a season ticket up until a couple of seasons before your lot got in to the Premier League, and it's never been a fixture I've bothered with when buying tickets as it's slightly too inconvenient to get to games in Stoke, and you seem the sort of side who we'd end up losing to at home.

4. In home / away matches, what have you made of the Stoke support? Any particular memories?
I've not ever seen Villa play Stoke, but ...

5. The Victoria Ground/ The New One – what did/ do you make our of our home ground(s)’ the grounds? Any particular experiences or impressions?
I went to the Victoria Ground in the mid 90s to watch Stoke Vs Oxford. My dad's mate is a massive Oxford fan so I  go to watch them from time to time. We sat with the home fans along the side of the pitch, but up with the away fans to our left. Thought it was a nice old ground. Probably be seen as a bit of a dive now, but went to far worse grounds in that era. Loved the stand we were in, full of character and had a great & friendly atmosphere. Know Stoke fans don't have the best reputation, but the few I've met have been alright.


Best of luck for whenever we get going again.

Offline Damo70

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Re: Stoke fan in peace...
« Reply #9 on: April 10, 2020, 07:50:22 PM »
1. A secondary local rival without the same passion in the fixtures we have with Birmingham, West Brom and Wolves. More in the bracket of games we have against Coventry, Leicester, Derby and Forest.

2. The first Stoke side I remember would be the likes of Peter Fox, George Berry, Paul Bracewell, Adrian Heath, Sammy McIlroy, Mickey Thomas and Mark Chamberlain.

3. I hated my first visit to The Victoria Ground in the second division in 1987/1988. We were stood at the side below pitch level and it was honestly the worst view I have ever had at any game. It finished 0-0 (unless I missed any goals due to the restricted view ;))

4. I always thought Stoke brought relatively few away fans to Villa Park considering the relatively short distance

5. I always thought under Pulis Stoke were a very solid and stable team and club and tough to beat even if they did struggle in the league on occasions. Post Pulis the stability seemed to go and you struggled.

As for the future you had a terrible start and looked doomed to me but you made a good managerial appointment in O'Neil and turned things around.

Offline PeterWithesShin

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Re: Stoke fan in peace...
« Reply #10 on: April 10, 2020, 09:14:46 PM »
1. As a club Stoke have never meant a fat lot to me

2. The Pulis team. I'd have genuinely stopped going to games rather than watch a side built on throw-ins and being snide.

3. The 3-1 when first Lowton scored and then we had a 5 on 1 and the 1 was your keeper.

4. Shit away support for such a short journey.

5. Victoria Ground was ok, the new one is just another bland new build.

Online Legion

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Re: Stoke fan in peace...
« Reply #11 on: April 10, 2020, 09:18:33 PM »
1. As a club Stoke have never meant a fat lot to me

2. The Pulis team. I'd have genuinely stopped going to games rather than watch a side built on throw-ins and being snide.

3. The 3-1 when first Lowton scored and then we had a 5 on 1 and the 1 was your keeper.

4. Shit away support for such a short journey.

5. Victoria Ground was ok, the new one is just another bland new build.

This.

Offline Des Little

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Re: Stoke fan in peace...
« Reply #12 on: April 11, 2020, 12:15:36 AM »
That police escort from the station to the Victoria Ground was like a scene from a Western. I’ve never known so many sidestreet snipers.

And oatcakes are vile.

Offline steamer

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Re: Stoke fan in peace...
« Reply #13 on: April 11, 2020, 07:19:58 AM »
1 Never really bothered me as a team
2  Gordon Banks
3 The only time I went to Stoke was in the Mid 70,s have no recollection of the match, only of my answer below
4 As we were coming out, someone punched me in the side of the head and disappeared into the crowd
5  Never been to new ground, my memory of the Victoria Ground from that visit was that it was a bit of a run down Relic.

Offline Meanwood Villa

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Re: Stoke fan in peace...
« Reply #14 on: April 11, 2020, 08:38:23 AM »
1. I always like to see promoted teams do well (this last season more than ever) so when you first came up I liked the fact you made a decent job of it and gave a few "bigger" clubs a bloody nose. Beyond those first few years and your cup final appearance you became a bit of a mid table non entity, this at a time when we were perennial strugglers, so while that sounds like a criticism it would have been nice to be there ourselves in hindsight. Prior to that I remember you featuring on Central Sport a fair bit in the 90s under Macari and the Port Vale rivalry seeming to be rather heated.

2. See above re 90s team although can't remember any specific players from that era. As a few have alluded to, Pulis was a large part of your identity when you came up, more so than particular players really. Of course everyone remembers Delap for the long throws. I know Hughes was there for a while and had you comfortably mid table. At this stage you seemed to become somewhere players would move to from "bigger" clubs but do a job for you eg Allen, Crouch.

3. I think the memorable recent games have already been covered. 2-2 at our place 08/09, 3-1 win at yours in 12/13 and 1-1 draw last season which was the catalyst for our winning run.

4. Never had much of a view as Stoke fans as a collective. No particular thoughts of being better/worse than any other set of fans from my experience. I know one Stoke fan through work and he seems a level headed chap. Wasn't particularly fussed about most recent relegation as he remembers 3rd division days. Although he was a bit concerned his lads raised on the Prem days might lose interest.

5. Been to new ground twice. I much prefer grounds you can walk to from a train station or decent pub. Neither of which seems to be the case for yours.

 


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