The Emperor's New Clothes

The Emperor's New Clothes

“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.

Delapidated

You’d think that, after a tough past few years for Stoke City and their supporters, the only way is up. The New Year provides most with an opportunity for a clean break, fresh beginnings, and a chance to refocus. However, 2023 couldn’t have started much worse. An FA Cup Third Round victory against struggling League 2 opposition is hardly enough to override the sucker-punch loss against Preston, chants of “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” and two generations of the Delap family leaving the Club merely hours apart. The latter events are particularly painful: whatever you may think of their respective recent contributions to the Club, both loved it dearly and were eager to be here. The fact that both Rory and Liam are both leaving under a metaphorical cloud is not a good look for Stoke and, somewhat inversely, this year has allowed the mood around the Club to step to a new low. Celebrity superfan Nick Hancock (via his podcast’s Twitter account) recently summed it up best.

Red and White Christmas 2022

Red and White Christmas 2022

Community. Either a very underrated American sitcom or a word that seems like it means less and less in modern football. In the age of Petrostate ownership of football clubs, it’s easy to be cynical about football’s ability to connect to its local communities and its communities of fans. Even outside of football, it seems that communities across the country are way more prone to division and unity than ever before. Political turmoil, an energy crisis, possible impending financial disaster are getting people at each other’s throats, and that’s before you even cross into the murky waters of social media and its various supposed ‘culture wars’. Take our community. The community of Stoke fans…….

The Tail Wagging the Underdog

The Tail Wagging the Underdog

101.8 decibels is loud, very loud. The HSE warns that being exposed to this volume of noise for over fifteen minutes can cause hearing damage. This is the level Stoke fans were generating through their support during the 2008/09 season, our fledgling year in the Premier League. We’re now in 2022 and a lot has happened since then. In short, the atmosphere within ST4 has gone from one that hoisted their team to unfathomable survival, to one which is arguably so hostile that a glass ceiling is building over the potential of our young, fairly intimidated squad and their exasperated manager. Consensus says that toxicity is not conducive to success. Nevertheless, you cannot escape that the general mood on a matchday will tend to eat our team alive the minute things go awry. The question is, how do you reverse the decay?

5 Takeaways from Stoke City's "Meet The Club" Event

5 Takeaways from Stoke City's "Meet The Club" Event

Less than 48 hours before the start of their 2022/23 Championship season, Stoke City hosted their (somewhat) annual Meet The Club event. Joint-Chairman John Coates, First Team Manager Michael O’Neill and Chief Operating Officer Simon King (only two months into his job) took to the stage in the bet365 Stadium's Waddington Suite in front of a 250-strong audience of season ticket holders. They spent an hour answering dozens of questions submitted by supporters ahead of the evening.