Tricky Potteries Mission

By 4two
February 25 2003

This game is a crucial one for both sides. The Saddlers need to put a string of results together to pull clear of the bottom three, while Stoke will want to avoid yet another defeat and restore some pride after their 6-0 humiliation.

 

 

 

 

 

Stoke City Vs Walsall
Competition : Nationwide League Division 1 Date, Time & Location: 26.3.03 - 7:45pm - Britannia Stadium, Stoke
Tickets: £2 more expensive on a match day, if you get them before they are £17 adults, £10 Over 65's, £10 Under 17's and £9 Under 11's. Expect a sizable away following.
	Directions (Road): Leave the M6 at Junction 15 and take the A500 towards Stoke. You will see the stadium appear on your right. (The Football Ground Guide - Brittania Stadium Section.)
News: Chris Iwelumo, Brynjar Gunnarsson and Sergei Shtaniuk all return from suspension are will figure. While Clarke and top scorer Andy Cooke are likley to figure after returning from injuries.
Andy Cooke 8 Jorge Leitao 9   Forward Focus   6 Goals 9 21 Games Played 31 0.29 Goals Per Game Average 0.29 5 Total Games Scored In 8 4 Games Scored 1 Goals 7 1 Games Scored 2 Goals 1 0 Games Scored 3 Goals 0 2 Scoring Run (games) 2 7 Dry Spell (games) 6
News: Samways still has no clearance, O'Connor should make it back, Hay and Carbon are both struggling but Carbon is the most likely to make it back. The big question is if Jorge and Pedro can force their way in to Lee's plans after excellent performances on Saturday.   The Last 10 Games Head2Head Stoke City       Walsall Ven Versus Pos A 0 - 6 Forest L 4 A 0 - 2 Grimsby L 22 A 2 - 2 Norwich D 5 H 1 - 3 Derby L 16 A 0 - 0 Leicester D 2 H 2 - 1 Preston W 18 H 3 - 2 Sheff Wed W 24 A 2 - 4 Bradford L 20 A 1 - 1 Wimbledon D 15 H 1 - 1 Portsmouth D 1 Ven Versus Pos H 2 - 0 Watford W 8 H 1 - 4 Leicester L 2 H 1 - 0 Brighton W 24 A 0 - 0 Reading D 7 H 0 - 1 Wolves L 10 A 1 - 1  Forest D 5 A 2 - 3 Ipswich L 16 H 0 - 1 Sheff Utd L 5 A 1 - 2 Norwich L 4 H 2 - 0 Wimbledon W 11
one2watch: Many say that Sergei Shtaniuk is one of the best defenders outside the Premiership, but playing in a struggling side has highlighted just what fine player the Belarussian is. He was missed sorely in their 6-0 defeat at Forest and should help sure up the Potter defence on Wednesday.
one2watch: Ian Roper was sponsors man of the match on Saturday, and is the only centre half we have who is able to complete 90 Minutes! If we had 11 players with Ropers heart and attitude we would be Premier League, and he will love the physical Challenge Iwelumo will pose on Wednesday!
Stoke Vs  Walsall Head2Head 3-2 vs Sheff Wed Biggest Home Win 4-2 vs Stoke 2-1 vs Brighton Biggest Away Win 3-0 vs Millwall 1-3 vs Derby Heaviest Home Defeat 1-4 vs Leicester 0-6 vs Nottm Forest Heaviest Away Defeat 1-3 vs Wolves 25 Players Used 26 2 Clean Sheets 9 10 Failed To Score 9 2 Best Winning Sequence 2 5 Best Unbeaten Sequence 3 8 Worst Losing Sequence 4 16 Worst Sequence With No Win 6
The Verdict: Stoke was recently voted the worst place to live in the UK, the city is not having the best of times and neither are it's footballing powers. The last 5 or 6 years have seen them being humiliated against the likes of Walsall, Crewe, Gillingham (and other smaller clubs) in the play off's and league, but when they finally won promotion last season they did 3 things that their ego's could not resist. They sacked the manager, they got the "next England manager" and many of their fans spoke of going to Cardiff again! Alas, the attitude of many at the Brittania is shared by their PA Announcer who presumed his beloved Stoke City were already at Cardiff in 2000/2001 before three quarters of the game had been played (Those at the 0-0 draw in the play offs will know what i mean). Their reputation precedes them and the clubs they poke fun at for being small revel in the glory when they beat Stoke. When Cotterill left they were up in arms about how he could leave their big club when the reality is they have a squad of second division players who were always going to spend the rest of the season in the bottom 5. They got hammered 6 last week, and Colin Lee must fear some kind of backlash from Tony Pullis's men. A defeat to little Walsall would devastate the fans of the Stoke, who have been in our shadow for so many years that they must be realising they are no longer a bigger club they think they are.
PREDICTION: Stoke City 1-4 Walsall
Web Watch....
Oatcake - * * * * * The Oatcake is a famous Stoke City fanzine owned by the notorious Smudge who is a well liked Character amongst fans. He often appears on Radio and TV offering his views on the Potters, and his match reports and features are some of the best on the web.
Merseyside Potters - * * * * * A Well designed site, updated, and interesting. Well worth a visit if you want up to the moment information on the Potters and any team news.
Potters Underground - * * * * * Dazzason and Boltgun do a good job with this independent site. It's match reports are probably the most comprehensive of the sites mentioned here, and is worth a visit for after match reaction. You can tell the Lads put a lot of time and effort in to the site which offers services like Wallpapers, away day guides and ring tones.