Sentinel, The (Stoke-on-Trent UK) back issues from June 2009:
City prove it's not how you start, it's where you finish ; Stoke were tipped for the drop before a ball had been kicked in anger. However, they defied the critics to not only survive in the Premier League, but finish 12th. City reporter Martin Spinks looks back at a truly historic season that no Stoke fan will ever forget...
Jun 01, 2009 ... Stoke were tipped for the drop before a ball had been kicked inanger. However, they defied the critics to not only survive in thePremier League, but finish 12th. City reporter Martin Spinks looksback at a truly historic season that no Stoke fan will everforget ... Stoke City's ...
How delap threw his big chance to impress
Jun 01, 2009 ... Rory Delap's throw-ins became an early symbol of Stoke City'snovel approach to the task of Premier League survival. Outsiders were falling over themselves to learn more about theseemingly secret weapon as it reduced grown defenders to tears inthe first few months of the ...
'The challenge now is whether we can do even better'
Jun 01, 2009 ... Martin Spinks: Does life get any better than this? TONY PULIS: Yes, and hopefully it will. But it does feelabsolutely brilliant right now. MS: Which was the bigger achievement Tony, winning promotion orstaying up? TP: I think the two go hand-in-hand because it's ...
An early wake-up call
Jun 01, 2009 ... Momentous occasion, fairish entertainment, inconsistent showing,rotten result. Emotions on this heady day ranged from fear and excitement beforethe game, to satisfaction, injustice, horror and relief during it,and finally to a desperate search after the final whistle for somekind ...
Fan's view
Jun 01, 2009 ... After a summer of euphoria it was down to earth with a bang. Notquite the Premier League welcome we wanted. We were three goals down at half-time due to 10 minutes ofmadness when the defence went AWOL. This looked a nervous performance from the players, but I am ...
Last-gasp sidibe goal clinches first triumph
Jun 01, 2009 ... The word is going around that internet betting companySeamusStrong.com are already paying out on bets that Stoke willsurvive the drop this season. There is even a rumour that another Dublin-based bookmaker,MickeyMighty24/7, is shortening its odds on Stoke landing a UEFA ...
Potters on march as fringe players prove their worth
Jun 01, 2009 ... Government spies at GCHQ will have been alerted by suspiciousactivity involving Stoke City at nearby Cheltenham Town FootballClub. Tradition dictates that Stoke not only fall at their first hurdlein the League Cup, they preferably do it at the hands of lower-league ...
City prove they have the spirit to survive
Jun 01, 2009 ... Yellow shirted, but far from yellow bellied, Stoke left the northeast with their chins on the floor, but their heads held high. Not literally, of course, although their defending was athleticand elastic enough at times for such contortions not to be entirelybeyond ...
Plucky Potters crash to late cahill winner
Jun 01, 2009 ... A Standing ovation once again greeted Stoke at the final whistle,but this time for honourable defeat rather than heroic victory. No points and an uncomfortable slot in the bottom three of thePremier League was cruel reward for a performance both enduring andendearing. Here ...
City silence the kop with dogged defence
Jun 01, 2009 ... History's greatest sieges at The Alamo (1836), Rorke's Drift(1879) and Stalingrad (1942-43) now have a worthy comrade in Anfield(2008). Well that's how it felt at times as Stoke successfully executedone of the game's truly magnificent rearguards to somehow defyLiverpool's ...
Confident Vince lets feet do the talking in cup win
Jun 01, 2009 ... Vincent Pericard's soft shoe shuffle left Stoke dancing into thefourth round of the Carling Cup for only the second time in 21years. Pericard's harsher critics would have nominated him for a spot onstrictly come prancing not so long ago, but here there was bothbottle and skill in ...
Chelsea show of pure class too hot to handle for city
Jun 01, 2009 ... The sight of John Terry indulging a group of Stoke supporters agood half-an-hour after the final whistle was both heart-warming anda wee bit heart-wrenching. Heart-warming because his decision to give them time of day showshis ego is nowhere near as big as his wallet. A ...
Frustrating city fall just short of mark again
Jun 01, 2009 ... Generous onlookers will survey the mixed outcome of Stoke's firstseven Premier League fixtures and conclude: Not too bad, but notquite good enough. And a similar verdict will be passed on this offering as theyonce again fell narrowly short of the quality required in vitalareas at ...
City heed wake-up call to fell sad spurs
Jun 01, 2009 ... Ricardo Fuller may have missed his early-morning alarm, butluckily Stoke didn't miss their wake-up call as they ushered homevictory in a game that refused to end. Fuller might have been a little late for the game afteroversleeping following recent international assignments, but ...
Samba striker's hat-trick puts Stoke to sword
Jun 01, 2009 ... Robinho swaggered down Coronation Street after being crowned as amatch-winning goalscorer for the first time in his English career. And to think some of us thought it an opportune time to confrontManchester City, before their potentially multi-million poundspending spree in ...
Black Cats thrown by delap and head boy
Jun 01, 2009 ... A Case of 1-0 before the Arsenal as Stoke climbed out of therelegation zone just three days before the Gunners ride into town. If this was not quite a must-win game, then certainly it was amight-win game, and Stoke struck that elusive balance betweendefence and attack to claim ...
Stoke city: Fans' verdict
Jun 01, 2009 ... Brilliant, fantastic, awesome. None of these words come close to expressing how I felt as I left the Britannia. I had just witnessed my beloved Potters play the mighty Arsenal,and win the game! Although Rory Delap's reputation goes before him, none of theseteams ...
Stoke city: Match statistics
Jun 01, 2009 ... Stoke City 2 (Fuller, 11; Olofinjana, 73) ARSENAL 1 Clichy (90) GOAL ATTEMPTS Stoke 8 (5 on target) Arsenal 12 (4 on target) REFEREE Rob Styles (Hants) 7 CARD WATCH YELLOW - Stoke: Higginbotham (foul, 64), Sidibe ...
Stoke city: Delap provides ammo for city to stun Gunners
Jun 01, 2009 ... Premier League: Stoke City 2, Arsenal 1 by Martin Spinks YOU know the footballing world is slightly off its axis whenArsenal fail to turn on the style and Stoke fans fail to turn on theStyles. News of Stoke City's increasingly impressive home form is lessearth ...
Stoke city: Match statistics
Jun 01, 2009 ... Wigan 0 Stoke 0 GOAL ATTEMPTS Wigan 18 (11 on target) Stoke 3 (1 on target) THE REFEREE Mike Riley (Leeds) 7 CARD WATCH YELLOW - Wigan: Bramble (foul, 74). Stoke: Shawcross (foul, 10),Fuller (foul, 62), Cresswell (foul, ...
Stoke city: Stubborn Potters clinch crucial away point
Jun 01, 2009 ... Barclays Premier League Wigan Athletic 0, Stoke City 0 by Martin Spinks SO if Stoke can beat Arsenal one week, then Arsenal can beatManchester United the next, surely that means Stoke will go to OldTrafford on Saturday and ... Ah, if only football was that ...
Stoke city: Fans' verdict
Jun 01, 2009 ... I Don't think anybody could attach any blame to neutrals if theyfell asleep for 90 minutes. They certainly wouldn't have missedmuch! The first half was instantly ...
Potters roll back years to spark prospect of reunion
Jun 01, 2009 ... The mathematicians will tell us the chances of drawing Arsene,sorry Arsenal, in the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup are one inseven when the first hand dips into the hat at the start of thedraw. But football works in mysterious and wicked ways, so you justknow the likelihood of ...
No disgrace in city demolition at Old Trafford
Jun 01, 2009 ... No need for Stoke to beat themselves up and so add self-inflicted bruises to the wounds already left by a five-goalbattering at Old Trafford. So they are not about to turn the big four into the big five anyday soon - big deal. A blow to professional pride this may have been - ...
It might not be pretty, but it is mighty effective
Jun 01, 2009 ... The campaign starts here and now to make demon dancer JohnSergeant honorary president of Stoke City. Why not have a laugh on those in the wider world still insistingStoke play the game with two left feet, think the Pasa doble is somekind of Italian free-kick routine and whose ...
'Panto villain' styles is centre of attention
Jun 01, 2009; ... As blessings in disguise go, this one was dressed in a wig, falsebeard, fake glasses and a pair of comedy breasts. Except no-one from this end of the A50 will have been laughingtoo much as they struggled to locate that proverbial blessing of nowbeing able to concentrate exclusively ...
No love lost in tale of two citys enjoying premier life
Jun 01, 2009 ... Stoke and Hull should really be hand-in-hand and taking acollective bow after defying all reasonable expectation by gathering41 points between them out of a possible 87 on offer thus far. Such solidarity is unlikely, of course, as they remain potentialrivals in a dog-eat-dog quest ...
Plucky fightback speaks volumes for survival bid
Jun 01, 2009 ... Abdoulaye Faye is a man of few words, especially English ones,but few were needed on this occasion. His broad grin spoke far more eloquently than his broken Englishas he re-lived his greatest moment yet in a Stoke shirt. Two down at the break and seemingly capsizing towards a ...
Stoke's penalty escape a relief for honest Tony
Jun 01, 2009 ... One of your defenders clearly handles the ball inside his ownarea, but the referee waves play - either too unsighted or tooincompetent to notice. So was it a penalty? Applying the appropriate accents ... Sir Alex Ferguson: "How can ye ask me about that when Cristianois being ...
Rovers mauling leaves bad taste behind for Christmas
Jun 01, 2009 ... Stoke's beaten players were getting pretty shirty with oneanother in the aftermath of events at Ewood Park. No need to worry about teacups being chucked around the dressingroom or insults being hurled at one another however. For the players headed to their annual Christmas ...
Battling Potters put pride before the fall
Jun 01, 2009 ... Stoke recovered the lost pride and dignity they mislaid at OldTrafford just 41 days previously. Not with a victory. Not even with a draw, but with a performancetesting United's self belief almost to the very end. Nearly a quarter-of-a-century after last competing with United ...
Late goal caps a day of shame for Fuller
Jun 01, 2009 ... Andy Griffin's lips remained sealed after City's self-inflictedcontroversies and not, thankfully, because of any swelling left byRicardo Fuller's assault. Fuller's clip around the face lacked the power to inflict anyreal damage, but still left a distinctly nasty taste in the ...
Mission accomplished, but the hard work lies ahead for Pulis's boys ; Stoke enjoyed an unforgettable season back in the top flight, defying their critics to clinch survival. Oatcake editor Martin Smith shares his thoughts on the campaign and his hopes for the future...
Jun 01, 2009 ... Stoke enjoyed an unforgettable season back in the top flight,defying their critics to clinch survival. Oatcake editor MartinSmith shares his thoughts on the campaign and his hopes for thefuture ... The two bookends of the Stoke City 2008/09 season turned out tobe completely ...
Mobile mishaps and shattered shades... It's all in a campaign covering Stoke ; It's that time of year when awards are dished out left, right and centre, so we asked our Stoke City reporters Martin Spinks and Michael Baggaley to sound the gong in recognition of a truly wonderful campaign
Jun 01, 2009 ... It's that time of year when awards are dished out left, right andcentre, so we asked our Stoke City reporters Martin Spinks and Michael Baggaley to sound the gong in recognition of a trulywonderful campaign Martin Spinks: Stoke 2, Arsenal 1. It was terrific enough at thetime, ...
'I embarked on a big quest for wireless access. I found it outside a nightclub' ; He's experienced the highs and lows of Stoke's season as he followed the Potters across the country. Now, Dave Knapper hands out the Why Delilah website awards for the campaign...
Jun 01, 2009 ... He's experienced the highs and lows of Stoke's season as hefollowed the Potters across the country. Now, Dave Knapper hands outthe Why Delilah website awards for the campaign ... The Temuri KETSBAIA AWARD FOR OVER-THE-TOP CELEBRATION This gong goes straight to the Manchester ...
Premier Potters prove it is squad game in successful quest to extend top-flight status ; So who covered themselves in glory, and who covered themselves in... Stoke City reporter Martin Spinks, witness to all of Stoke's 43 fixtures in the truly historic campaign, runs the rule over the main runners and riders...
Jun 01, 2009 ... So who covered themselves in glory, and who covered themselvesin ... Stoke City reporter Martin Spinks, witness to all of Stoke's43 fixtures in the truly historic campaign, runs the rule over themain runners and riders ... 1 Steve SIMONSEN Precious few opportunities once ...
'I've been in football too long to become complacent because I know it can soon bite you where it hurts...'
Jun 01, 2009 ... Peter Coates is at the peak of his popularity as Stoke Citychairman, but Martin Spinks finds him in anything but a smug andtriumphal mood in this annual end-of-season interview MARTIN SPINKS: Did Premier League survival give you as muchpleasure as winning promotion? PETER ...
Familiar Brit finale as city sign off with win
Jun 01, 2009 ... How else could it have all ended at the citadel on the hill? The Britannia Stadium bid farewell to the most incredible of its12 seasons to date by dispatching Wigan the same way as nineprevious visitors. To have won more than half of their 19 home games is a trulyrespected ...
Fan's verdict
Jun 01, 2009 ... A Home season of joy ended with a comprehensive victory. It was a day of celebration and the crowd got what they deservedwhen Fuller was patient enough to notch his 10th of the ...
Snipers were way off mark with talk of club's demise
Jun 01, 2009 ... No need for cold turkey, no risk of cold comfort and certainly noorders for Coldplay albums this summer after all. Any lingering fears that the close-season would be spent indarkened rooms listening to depressing melodies were finally laid torest once and for all after this game at ...
Ab's not so fab after goal misses cost Potters dear
Jun 01, 2009 ... Abdoulaye Faye was mobbed by several women - some single, somemaybe not so single - as he clutched his man-of-the-match champagneand headed for his car. They merely wanted a picture with him, maybe a peck on the cheek,but heaven only knows what their voluptuous demands might have ...
Fan's verdict
Jun 01, 2009 ... Where do the FA get their referees from? Once again we got awaywith nothing while West Ham's constant fouling and pushing wascompletely ignored. It is as though referees are scared to award anything against thetop teams in the Premier League. It happens most weeks, and not ...
Media icons fail to inspire Potters on capital day out
Jun 01, 2009 ... Only when you've been Mottyfied have you truly arrived as a fully-fledged Premier League football club. It's taken Stoke City nine months, 34 matches and 39 points, butthe moment finally came at Craven Cottage. Having John Motson commentate for a first time on your affairsfor ...
Liam back to best to put city on the brink
Jun 01, 2009 ... Not a scoreline or an occasion to rank readily, you might think,alongside Chelsea 1972, Notts County 1979, Brentford 2002 orLeicester 2008. But this result was the one, perhaps, that allowed Stoke to begindreaming of Premier League safety against all predictions andexpectations ...
Match stats
Jun 01, 2009 ... Stoke 1 Lawrence (75) BLACKBURN 0 THE REFEREE H Webb (S Yorks) 7 GOAL ATTEMPTS Stoke 9 (3 on target) Blackburn 5 (2 on target). THE CROWD Attendance 27,500. CARD WATCH YELLOW - Stoke: Wilkinson (foul, ...
Long wait finally over as Stoke maintain baggies' jinx
Jun 01, 2009 ... Only a Devon Loch moment can surely stop Stoke City now. Safety is far from signed, sealed and delivered, of course, andplenty have been dragged back into trouble from healthier positionsthan six points clear with only seven games to go. And back-to-back home defeats by ...
Abdoulaye shows why they were wrong to let him go
Jun 01, 2009 ... No single transfer has surely influenced the bottom of thePremier League quite like that which saw Abdoulaye Faye, that HGV ofdefenders, thunder down the M1 from Tyneside to the Potteries at thestart of the season. Newcastle have committed a catalogue of ghastly errors over ...
Fan's verdict
Jun 01, 2009 ... As the Toon Army and the Shearer Circus rolled into the Brit, itwas the Stokies who sent the decibel count off the scale when thatcolossus of a man Abdoulaye Faye opened the scoring. For 70 minutes we were on cloud nine as we played most of thegame on ...
Goodison jaunt ends in familiar fashion for city
Jun 01, 2009 ... The players emerged to the tune of Z Cars, but should havedeparted it to the tune of Waking The Dead. For Stoke were laid to rest, beaten and somewhat bloodied, for an11th time in their 15 away days in the Premier League after anotherperformance best described as Softly, Softly in ...
Cold comfort for boro as shawcross strikes at death
Jun 01, 2009; ... Boro boss Gareth Southgate arrived in his dug-out before kick-off dressed in a snazzy suit and tie, but was soon requesting anovercoat to protect himself from the elements - both natural and man-made. Welcome to ST4 4EG. A people renowned for their warm friendliness have somehow, ...
Fan's verdict
Jun 01, 2009 ... I Had butterflies before the game and the players must have hadthem too because the football was bad. I can't remember us having ashot at goal in the first half. How we stayed on level terms I will never know as the referee,true to form, gave us nothing. He seemed determined that ...
Potters get physical to beat Bolton at own game
Jun 01, 2009 ... What were the odds last August, when Stoke were 3-0 down afterthe first 45 minutes of their Premier League debut at the Reebok,that they would eventually "beat" Bolton on the away goals rule overtheir two meetings this season? Probably about 10,000/1 with our old friends Paddy ...
Late Pompey sucker punch leaves the Potters reeling
Jun 01, 2009 ... Definitely two points dropped, not one point gained, judging bythe ill-tempered driving that left at least one vehicle with alasting memento of its attempts to vacate a bottle-necked car parkafter this belated entertainment. Ant and Dec can't be that fascinating - and certainly ...
Stunning comeback is best of bunch for city's slickers
Jun 01, 2009 ... Tony Pulis has seen more St David's Days than he would care toremember, but none can have been celebrated quite like his latest. The Welshman's daffodil was wilting forlornly on the wind of yetanother away-day defeat when suddenly, and almost without warning,Stoke staged their ...
Struggle goes on to beat travel sickness
Jun 01, 2009 ... Capital punishment has been swift and ruthless for Stoke Cityafter defeats in East, West and now North London over the pastmonth. Thank heavens there are no trips to South London to complete theset on this season's calendar, though there is the little matter ofvisits to Fulham ...
Potters in victory for willpower
Jun 01, 2009 ... A Timely and reassuring reminder that Stoke's fate may not lieentirely in Delap of the Gods after all. Rarely this season have the odds been so heavily stacked againstthem as they were for nearly an hour of their sixth home win of theseason - and their first win of any kind ...
Last-gasp salvo enough to break Stoke hearts
Jun 01, 2009 ... Forget a week's training out in Dubai, this lot deserve a weekwith their feet up on the Copacabana. Everyone knew the Premier League could be cruel, but not thiscruel, as Stoke veered somewhere between the Herculean and theheroic before this late, late heartbreak. To a man, ...
Red mist descends to increase travel woes
Jun 01, 2009 ... Too much red, too little red and white, as Stoke's satnav guidedthem into yet another dead end once they ventured from thePotteries. Matthew Etherington's red card was Stoke's fifth of the season,but their fourth in their last seven Premier League fixtures, to adda further and ...
We don't like to be beside the seaside...
Jun 01, 2009 ... The hovering seagulls were resembling circling vultures by thetime a wretched afternoon ended a pretty wretched week. They, like the rest of football, justifiably sensed blood as theFA Cup was about to leave them fighting over the carcass of itsfirst Premier League victim. A ...
Fantastic faye leads from front to win fans' affections ; His performances in Stoke's survival bid saw him sweep the board at the end-of-season awards. Michael Baggaley looks at the impact on the club of defender and captain Abdoulaye Faye...
Jun 01, 2009 ... His performances in Stoke's survival bid saw him sweep the boardat the end-of-season awards. Michael Baggaley looks at the impact onthe club of defender and captain Abdoulaye Faye ... If Abdoulaye Faye was a motor, Jeremy Clarkson would kneel downon the tarmac in front of him and ...
Last-day loss fails to take shine off glorious season
Jun 01, 2009 ... Stoke staggered around the final lap, pulled up with cramp on atleast four occasions and eventually limped over the finishing linein a weary old heap. But hey, who cares? This lot could have netted not one, but fourown goals, and crawled in eight down at the break - and still ...
Fearless Potters provide reasons for renewed hope
Jun 01, 2009 ... You can't imagine Steven Gerrard going out on the town afterthis one. Not only was his name sung in vain by Stoke fans keen to warn himof the dangers of dropping your soap in the prison showers. But it was Gerrard going so agonisingly close to breaking thedeadlock after two ...
Scanner speed is security key
Jun 01, 2009; ... Security firm Rapiscan has developed a high-speed baggagescreening system to be used as part of a pounds40 million deal withManchester Airport. The Surrey company, which has offices in Congleton, has created aReal Time Tomography (RTT) scanner to detect explosives in ...
Firms exposed to credit risks
Jun 01, 2009 ... Just one third of small to medium firms in the region carry outcredit checks on new customers, according to a survey. Cattles Invoice Finance said 66 per cent of companies in itsannual business survey admitted credit checking was not standardprocedure. Regional managing ...
pounds1bn turnover for franchises
Jun 01, 2009 ... Franchises in the West Midlands achieved a record turnover ofpounds1.1 billion last year, according to a new study. The latest NatWest/British Franchise Association survey hasrevealed that the industry is now worth pounds11.4 billionnationwide. That means that the 3,400 West ...