The YYY-FIles
Stoke City stories, told by you
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“There was once an emperor who was overly concerned with his appearance and clothing. Two cunning weavers convinced him that they could create a magical fabric that was invisible to those who were incompetent or unfit for their positions. In reality, the weavers made no clothes at all. The emperor, fearing he might be deemed unfit, pretended to see the non-existent fabric and paraded through the town naked. The townspeople, not wanting to appear incompetent, also pretended to see the clothes until a child boldly declared the truth.”
Many thanks to ChatGPT for that summary of The Emperor’s New Clothes, which is a fairytale that has become all too relevant for Stoke City over the past eighteen months. I admit, it’s a relatively loose fit. I am far from suggesting that John Coates is a vain or thoughtless leader; neither that Alex Neil or Ricky Martin arrived in ST4 intending to con the club’s ownership. Nevertheless, it’s not unreasonable to suggest that Messrs Neil and Martin weren’t all that they cracked up to be and that Mr Coates will be reflecting on the faith he has bestowed, and the catastrophe that has followed.
