And now for the answers provided by Phil:
How long have you supported Stoke City?
Since the mid-1960s. Too late to watch Matthews play but in time for our ‘glory days’ in the early 70s.
Where did you finish last season?
Way below expectations. I was hoping for a fresh start, but the team just carried on in the same listless way that got them relegated.
What do you think of your Manager?
The jury’s still out. Pre-season looks encouraging but he has cut our cloth to be a no-nonsense Championship side, so we would have to start all over again if promoted. We’re a very different side since the days of BMX (Bojan, Marko Arnautovic, Xerdan Shaqiri).
What are your hopes and expectations for the 2019/20 season?
Top six is realistic but it wouldn’t surprise me if we miss out.
One(s) to watch?
Tom Edwards. One of our own.
Who do you think will finish in the top 6 of the Championship?
Economics means that it will probably be the usual suspects, who all fancy themselves as temporary exiles from the Premier League. I think it will be Leeds, Derby, WBA (and hopefully, us) battling it out for automatic promotion.
Who do you think will finish in the bottom 3 of the Championship?
Millwall, Brentford, QPR. Just prejudiced against London clubs really! 😉
What are your thoughts on Lincoln City?
I live locally so they are unofficially my second team. I think they will end up in the Championship within the next three years, providing they keep hold of the Cowleys.
What do you think the score will be?
1-1. Diplomatic answer.
Random fact about your Club?
Stoke are big in Scandinavia. They come over in coachloads to watch the games.
If you could steal one Lincoln City player for your own team, who would it be and why?
Rheady. He’s a true Stokie and I would love to just give him at least one game up front, scoring in front of The Boothen End. Can you imagine his mental?! Reminds me of Jon ‘The Beast’ Parkin.
What are your proudest and most embarrassing moments as a Stoke City Supporter?
Owning Man City when we beat them 2-0 about four seasons ago. For the first time, TV pundits were saying good things about us without a ‘But…’ So many embarrassing moments but I suppose going out of The Championship without a whimper back in the 90s, this time losing badly at home to Man City (who we dragged down with us).
Who would you say is your most underrated player?
James McLean. He has more skill most fans give him credit for, and he has a massive heart.
Do you have a Supporters Trust and what role do they play at the Club?
I think there is one.
Which was your favourite match involving Stoke City?
Beating Liverpool 6-1? Beating Bolton 5-0 in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley? But, really, my favourite match was back in 2008, when we came back from 0-2 down to beat Scunthorpe 2-3 in our promotion season. A massive mental and a short journey home. I just knew we were on to something and it was a great feeling.
Which was your least favourite match involving Stoke City?
Most games last season. It was like being in some version of Groundhog Football Hell.
Do you have a Former Players Association at Stoke City?
No idea if it’s formalised, but ex-players are still closely involved with the club: Brendan O’Callaghan, Jimmy Greenhoff, Terry Conroy, etc..
What’s the best thing about Stoke?
Friendly people. Oatcakes with bacon & cheese. Wright’s pies.
Are your stripes better than ours?
Ours are older, for a start! In the case of both clubs, the stripes represent the red cross on the white shield from their respective City’s coat-of-arms. What makes ours unique is that traditionally we have white cuffs and collars (and white shorts). Purists will even insist that the central stripe has to be white.
Other than Matt Rhead who is your most famous supporter?
Nick Hancock, probably. And A-Ha are part of our Scandifan movement (I kid ye not!).
Why, why, why, Delilah?
Apparently, it goes back to a group of pissed up Stokies on an away trip singing along to a pub jukebox back in the 80s. I wish it was more romantic than that, but that’s Stoke for you. With slightly edited lyrics, of course. Personally, I don’t like it that much and prefer “We’ll be with You”, the cheesy anthem to which the team enters the pitch on match days.
From your recent experiences in the Premier League, is it better to be a small fish in a sea of sharks, or the shark in a smaller sea?
Every small fish has its day, and we beat every big fish at least once while we were there. Arsenal hated us. As you guys found during your cup run, there’s nothing like the feeling of beating football’s self-appointed aristocrats.
Alan Hudson, was he all that and have you had anyone better since?
He was all that. Marko Arnautovic is probably the closest since him. But of course, before Hudson, there was always Sir Stanley Matthews, who is our indelible legend.
What is it like living in the shadow of those up the road in Burslem. Joking aside is there much in the way of a rivalry between the two clubs?
Depends on age and geography. If I lived and worked in Stoke (which I haven’t for over thirty years) I might feel the rivalry more. Growing up in the 60s and 70s, Vale were always Tier 4 and we were Tier 1, so our paths rarely crossed and I never grew up seeing them as relevant. But the 90s generation hate Vale with a passion because there were quite a few local derbies when we were both in the third tier.
Micky Bloor. One that got away?
Every club has ones that got away. I suspect he wouldn’t have made it with us; we don’t have much of a track record at bringing lads successfully through the ranks. It’s part of football that players develop at different rates and faces fit at different times.
"He possesses this mighty infectious enthusiasm about the club.":https://t.co/DRzBMcW3GR#ImpsAsOne #SCFC #StokeCity
— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) July 24, 2019
https://www.facebook.com/VitalLincolnCity/posts/2314702131899352
