Premier League, Stoke City
Stoke City back in the big time
After 23 years of ups and downs, this Saturday sees Stoke City play in the top flight of English football for the first time since a 1-0 defeat at home to Coventry in May 1985. During the intervening years, Stoke have flirted with the two leagues directly below the Premier League and have added some silverware [...]
After 23 years of ups and downs, this Saturday sees Stoke City play in the top flight of English football for the first time since a 1-0 defeat at home to Coventry in May 1985.
During the intervening years, Stoke have flirted with the two leagues directly below the Premier League and have added some silverware to their cabinet on three occassions- the glorious Auto Windscreens Trophy twice and the Division Two Championship. It is hardly a glittering two decades for the second oldest league club in the World.
Having endured the horror of managers such as Chris Kamara, Alan Ball and Joe Jordan, Stoke now have the right man at the helm. Tony Pulis has guided Stoke to quite possibly the most important silverware in the clubs history- a small silver tray with the wording “Championship Runners Up”.
Many pundits have already written off Stoke’s chances of survival, declaring they will ‘do a Derby’. Make no mistake, this won’t be happening. Pulis has moulded a solid squad with a tremendous team spirit and despite not being as successful as he would have hoped in the transfer market, new faces are just around the corner.
The three that the Welshman has acquired so far all have the potential to succeed this season. Record signing Dave Kitson managed to hit the back of the net ten times for a relegated Reading last season, while Thomas Sorensen still has a point to prove after falling out with Martin O’Neill at Aston Villa. Seyi Olofinjana has also arrived from Midlands rivals Wolves, and his box to box style could be the difference between relegation and survival.
A strong pre-season has seen Stoke unbeaten on home soil, and even beat the national team of Bahrain along the way. However, it is Saturday’s clash at Bolton’s Reebok Stadium that Stoke supporters have been waiting for since promotion was secured with a 0-0 draw against Leicester on 4 May. Having had a taste of Premier League opposition in January (with two cup ties against Newcastle) Stoke are ready to be catapulted onto the World stage and be watched by millions in the Far East and the like.
The global explosion of World football since Stoke were last in this league is phenomenal. The invention of the Premier League and the addition of Sky Sports to our televisions has made the ‘EPL’ the most lucrative sporting league on this planet. With a pot of gold amounting to roughly £60 million, it makes the scramble to escape the Championship even more important.
Even if Stoke do find themselves in the wrong position come the end of the season, they will have enough money in the bank to give themselves a very good chance of bolstering their squad and return to the top flight even stronger. The more teams that get relegated from the top flight is making the Championship like a mini-Premier League, which makes Stoke and Hull’s achievements of promotion even more remarkable.
This season proves to be an exciting adventure for every Stokie in the World- at the stadium, watching Jeff Stelling on Sky for updates, or watching in a pub in Australia.
This is a campaign for memories. Cherish them.
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