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Post by march4 on Nov 24, 2023 11:18:42 GMT
Following our disappointing League Cup exit in mid-week, we now go to 5th placed Burnley who haven't lost at home all season. A tough game, considering our injury woes, although Denis Smith somehow declares himself fit just two weeks after being carried off on a stretcher. Unfortunately, we are now without Ritchie and the A-team game designed to ease Skeels and Bloor back to the pitch was a bit of a disaster as both broke down before half-time. Burnley's Leighton James had been a revelation on their left wing and would be the danger man to watch. We lined up; - Farmer, Marsh, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Dodd, Robertson, Greenhoff, Hurst, Goodwin, Haslegrave. Sub; - Lewis. The game started badly. James jinked down the flank after 4 minutes, put over a cross that fooled Farmer and we were 1-0 down. For the next 10 minutes, James ran us ragged until Marsh flattened him and earned a booking. This stemmed the flow and we took control using our new attacking approach. Indeed Dodd left the central defending to Smith and moved into midfield. Hurst had a shot hit the underside of the bar (similar to his 1966 goal) but on this occasion there was no eagle eyed linesman to rule the ball had crossed the line. In the 80th minute, a Marsh shoulder barge was punished by the referee with a second booking and consequent sending off - the first in his career. Our goal threat was over particularly with Goodwin struggling to make any impact. So we lost 1-0, but didn't play too badly. The Sunday papers are full of articles outlining Waddo's concern that he can't find a younger version of Eastham to control our midfield. It is obvious he sees this as a key issue. Meanwhile, our injury crisis is a whole lot worse with Marsh suspended for at least 3 games. We make an improved bid for Tommy Smith but it is turned down. It appears we are interested in our former player Mike Bernard, but he doesn't really fit the profile of midfielder Waddo is seeking. The Sentinel letter page is full of praise for Gordon Banks, whose testimonial is 2 weeks away. There is one odd letter, bemoaning the lack of support from the Boothen End and claiming the best place to be is alongside the rival supporters in the Stoke End. In national news, the government announced it was preparing for petrol rationing as the price at the pumps looked like hitting 50p a gallon.  |
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Post by march4 on Nov 30, 2023 17:58:50 GMT
This week's 50 year memory is a day early because we called in a Crewe based referee on the Friday evening to inspect our frozen pitch. It didn't take him long to declare the conditions to be unplayable and consequently our Saturday match at home to Chelsea was postponed. Indeed over half the weekend's league games were postponed as freezing conditions and heavy snow hit large parts of the UK. The postponement certainly suited us more than in-form Chelsea, as we had injuries to Smith, Bloor, Skeels, Mahoney, Ritchie, Conroy and Eastham. Although Chelsea had been playing well, there were stories of unrest in their camp and their top scorer Tommy Baldwin was now on the transfer list. The Chelsea management team increasingly saw Osgood as a defensive midfielder!
There was also an unsettled player at Stoke. Stewart Jump was unhappy with his limited opportunities and so was listed for transfer. In addition, TC was recovering from injury which was going to cause a selection headache for Waddo. Where would TC play? At the start of the season, TC wasn't always first choice and there were rumours of other clubs interested in signing him. However, TC's 4th cartilage operation dampened any interest - there was a lovely photo in the papers of the scar on his knee. Finally, Norwich needed a new manager and George Eastham's name was mentioned in the press. With Waddo's health problems, could the club afford to lose the new ideas and leadership Eastham had brought to the management team.
The letter page was pretty scathing of Waddo. Some of the letters were headed 'not good enough', 'Stoke chief misinformed', 'wrong tactics again' and 'patience will run out'. However, there was balance with a call to stop the moaning and a mention of our injury problems causing our inconsistent form. There was plenty of excitement for the forthcoming testimonial for Banksie.
Nationally, the national speed limit was reduced from 70mph to 50mph in an attempt to save fuel. The restriction on using domestic vehicles on Sundays had so far had little impact.
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Post by march4 on Dec 1, 2023 9:53:15 GMT
There were so many games postponed, the pools panel had to sit. I believe in later years Banksie was a member of the pools panel, but which former Stoke player was a member in the early 70s?
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Post by deeside2 on Dec 1, 2023 9:58:57 GMT
There were so many games postponed, the pools panel had to sit. I believe in later years Banksie was a member of the pools panel, but which former Stoke player was a member in the early 70s? Not sure of the dates March, but wasn't Neil Franklin involved at one stage ? I remember my dad mentioned him in the late 60's as being a member of the pools panel. |
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Post by thehartshillbadger on Dec 1, 2023 10:02:15 GMT
There were so many games postponed, the pools panel had to sit. I believe in later years Banksie was a member of the pools panel, but which former Stoke player was a member in the early 70s? Dennis Viollet? |
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Post by march4 on Dec 1, 2023 10:23:14 GMT
There were so many games postponed, the pools panel had to sit. I believe in later years Banksie was a member of the pools panel, but which former Stoke player was a member in the early 70s? Not sure of the dates March, but wasn't Neil Franklin involved at one stage ? I remember my dad mentioned him in the late 60's as being a member of the pools panel. We have a winner! Sorry there’s no prize other than glowing in the pride of a correct answer. |
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Post by march4 on Dec 1, 2023 10:25:51 GMT
There were so many games postponed, the pools panel had to sit. I believe in later years Banksie was a member of the pools panel, but which former Stoke player was a member in the early 70s? Dennis Viollet? I can’t see any evidence that he was. It started with ex-footballers Ted Drake, Tom Finney, Tommy Lawton and George Young and ex-referee Arthur Ellis. The team became Raich Carter, Neil Franklin, George Swindin, Arthur Ellis, Stan Mortensen and Ian McColl by the 70s. By the 90s, Ellis, Gordon Banks, Roger Hunt, Tony Green and Maurice Peston were on the panel. Gerald Nabarro and Ronnie Simpson joined in at some point. By the time of Gordon’s sad death, the panel was Banksie with Hunt and Green. It is now Green with Ian Callaghan and David Sadler. |
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Post by march4 on Dec 8, 2023 10:54:05 GMT
50 years ago, we were at White Hart Lane - a ground where we had never won. Our injury crisis was easing with the return of Bloor, Mahoney and Ritchie, although Marsh was still suspended. At Spurs, there was conflict in the camp with John Pratt complaining in the press about the big names in their squad and Martin Chivers replying he should have more respect for players with loads of international caps. Our line up on the day was; - Farmer, Dodd, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Bloor, Robertson, Greenhoff, Ritchie, Hurst, Haslegrave. Sub: - Skeels. The Potters took the lead through a goal stabbed home in the goalmouth by John Ritchie in the 60th minute, but Spurs worked their way back into the game with Mike England hitting the crossbar with a header. Then, following a free-kick, Ray Evans struck a powerful drive from outside the penalty area to level the scores and within two minutes, John Pratt headed Spurs ahead with what turned out to be the winning goal. We had played really well and threatened throughout the game. But we had a poor five minutes and it cost us dearly. With the energy crisis biting, only 14,000 spectators were present - Spurs lowest home gate on a weekend for a long time. The club is now preparing for Gordon Banks' Testimonial game with generators hired to circumvent the government's ban on using floodlights. The Sentinel letters page contains the usual mix; complaints about the manager, complaints about the facilities and complaints about people complaining!  |
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Post by march4 on Dec 12, 2023 16:04:10 GMT
A special event took place at the Victoria Ground 50 years ago tonight in the bitter cold, pouring rain. It was Gordon Banks' testimonial game against ManU. The event had seemed ill fated from the start. The choice of a mid-December kick off had reduced the spectacle from a Rest of the World 11 to our rivals from Old Trafford. Only Eusebio of the invited big names turned up although we did field Preston manager Bobby Charlton. And then 24hrs before kick off, thieves stole the diesel that Stoke had purchased to run the generators required to beat the government's ban on floodlights. Thankfully, replacement fuel was brought in with only hours to spare and the game took place in front of only 21,000 fans as there was a rail strike and large parts of North Staffordshire were blacked out by the energy crisis. We lined up; - Banks, Dodd, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Skeels, Haslegrave (Robertson), Greenhoff, Hurst (Ritchie), Eusebio (Bloor), Charlton. Our opponents were; - Stepney (Roche), Buchan, Forsyth, Greenhoff (Graham), James (Sidebottom), Griffiths, Morgan (Martin), Anderson (Macari), McIlroy, Young, Best. Although suffering from a knee injury that nearly caused him to miss the game, it was Eusebio who scored our goal with a vicious drive. Banksie, in a black goalkeeping jersey showed his quality throughout the game and it was hard to believe this would be the last time we would see him playing for Stoke. Sir Alf turned up to play tribute to Banksie, which I've always thought was a generous gesture. In other news, transfer listed Stewart Jump has joined Malcolm Allison's Crystal Palace on a month's loan.  |
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Post by lordb on Dec 12, 2023 18:31:00 GMT
A special event took place at the Victoria Ground 50 years ago tonight in the bitter cold, pouring rain. It was Gordon Banks' testimonial game against ManU. The event had seemed ill fated from the start. The choice of a mid-December kick off had reduced the spectacle from a Rest of the World 11 to our rivals from Old Trafford. Only Eusebio of the invited big names turned up although we did field Preston manager Bobby Charlton. And then 24hrs before kick off, thieves stole the diesel that Stoke had purchased to run the generators required to beat the government's ban on floodlights. Thankfully, replacement fuel was brought in with only hours to spare and the game took place in front of only 21,000 fans as there was a rail strike and large parts of North Staffordshire were blacked out by the energy crisis. We lined up; - Banks, Dodd, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Skeels, Haslegrave (Robertson), Greenhoff, Hurst (Ritchie), Eusebio (Bloor), Charlton. Our opponents were; - Stepney (Roche), Buchan, Forsyth, Greenhoff (Graham), James (Sidebottom), Griffiths, Morgan (Martin), Anderson (Macari), McIlroy, Young, Best. Although suffering from a knee injury that nearly caused him to miss the game, it was Eusebio who scored our goal with a vicious drive. Banksie, in a black goalkeeping jersey showed his quality throughout the game and it was hard to believe this would be the last time we would see him playing for Stoke. Sir Alf turned up to play tribute to Banksie, which I've always thought was a generous gesture. In other news, transfer listed Stewart Jump has joined Malcolm Allison's Crystal Palace on a month's loan. View AttachmentMalcolm Allison was a visionary coach, decades ahead of his time played false 9 back in the 70's- However he was useless in the transfer market Jump loan spell was deemed a success - sorry to 'jump' ahead on the time line -, Big Mal rings Waddo (no agents then) and offers £30k for Jump Waddo said "how much!" meaning that was way above his value, Big Mal immediately goes "OK £50k but take it or leave it" Deal done before you could say, well, jump. I may have the £wrong but this is the story |
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Post by Dutchpeter on Dec 13, 2023 6:28:23 GMT
A special event took place at the Victoria Ground 50 years ago tonight in the bitter cold, pouring rain. It was Gordon Banks' testimonial game against ManU. The event had seemed ill fated from the start. The choice of a mid-December kick off had reduced the spectacle from a Rest of the World 11 to our rivals from Old Trafford. Only Eusebio of the invited big names turned up although we did field Preston manager Bobby Charlton. And then 24hrs before kick off, thieves stole the diesel that Stoke had purchased to run the generators required to beat the government's ban on floodlights. Thankfully, replacement fuel was brought in with only hours to spare and the game took place in front of only 21,000 fans as there was a rail strike and large parts of North Staffordshire were blacked out by the energy crisis. We lined up; - Banks, Dodd, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Skeels, Haslegrave (Robertson), Greenhoff, Hurst (Ritchie), Eusebio (Bloor), Charlton. Our opponents were; - Stepney (Roche), Buchan, Forsyth, Greenhoff (Graham), James (Sidebottom), Griffiths, Morgan (Martin), Anderson (Macari), McIlroy, Young, Best. Although suffering from a knee injury that nearly caused him to miss the game, it was Eusebio who scored our goal with a vicious drive. Banksie, in a black goalkeeping jersey showed his quality throughout the game and it was hard to believe this would be the last time we would see him playing for Stoke. Sir Alf turned up to play tribute to Banksie, which I've always thought was a generous gesture. In other news, transfer listed Stewart Jump has joined Malcolm Allison's Crystal Palace on a month's loan. View AttachmentMalcolm Allison was a visionary coach, decades ahead of his time played false 9 back in the 70's- However he was useless in the transfer market Jump loan spell was deemed a success - sorry to 'jump' ahead on the time line -, Big Mal rings Waddo (no agents then) and offers £30k for Jump Waddo said "how much!" meaning that was way above his value, Big Mal immediately goes "OK £50k but take it or leave it" Deal done before you could say, well, jump. I may have the £wrong but this is the story The Hungarian national team were playing false 9s in the 50s. After they smashed England 6-3 at Wembley in 1953, Don Revie picked up on the false 9 at Manchester City where it was known as the ‘Revie Plan’. |
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Post by march4 on Dec 15, 2023 14:27:26 GMT
Off field issues dominated the headlines as much as what was happening on the field of play. With the energy crisis worsening, we had used a generator to power the floodlights at Gordon's Testimonial. However, 24hrs before our home game with Wolves, the government banned the use of generators for sports events because they use too much fuel. This meant kick off was changed to 2pm and with all of the problems, the usual bumper crowd for a Staffordshire derby was reduced to 13,000. Our reserve fixture due in midweek was moved to an 11am kick off and the ground staff were worried about preparing the pitch for the Christmas fixtures as they were now banned from using petrol mowers to cut the grass. Stoke sought permission from the government to consider Sunday games as there was less demand of the National Grid than for a Saturday and were still awaiting an answer. So, onto our big relegation battle with a Wolves team who were just below us in the table. We had no new injury issues and lined up; - Farmer, Dodd, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Bloor, Robertson, Greenhoff, Ritchie, Hurst, Haslegrave. Sub; - Skeels. Wolves started at a furious pace and scored two goals in a minute early in the first half. This setback soured the mood of the home crowd with the Sunday newspapers reporting continual load groans as we attempted to battle back. And fight back we did - first when Smith headed home a Robertson cross and 2 minutes later Robertson applied the finish to a half blocked piledriver from Pejic. Just as it looked like we would get something from the game, Wolves got a 3rd. We were unlucky not to be sharing the points but the 3-2 defeat let Wolves leapfrog us in the table and left us perilously close to the drop zone. Only one subject in the Sentinel letters - the teams poor results especially away from home and frustration with Waddo. Words like 'abysmal', 'bleak' and 'rubbish' appear. Strong words 50 years ago to see in a newspaper letters.  |
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Post by march4 on Dec 16, 2023 21:39:02 GMT
I know we have other things on our minds at the moment, but 50 years ago we were on the edge of the relegation zone with a fantastic adventure about to begin. To whet the appetite I thought I would attach the league table for December 16th 1973. I will add the league table after every subsequent game to gauge our progress.  |
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Post by pushon on Dec 16, 2023 22:57:33 GMT
I much appreciate your research and recollections Marsh, this is my favourite era of Stoke supporting.
It's easy to remember this period wearing Red and White coloured glasses,but we were really a match for the big boys then.
After seeing the notable teamsheets, it's sad that there isn't the same indomitable team spirit anymore.
Also a winger with the drive and talent of Jimmy Robertson wouldn't go amiss.
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Post by ihaveadream on Dec 18, 2023 13:11:36 GMT
I know we have other things on our minds at the moment, but 50 years ago we were on the edge of the relegation zone with a fantastic adventure about to begin. To whet the appetite I thought I would attach the league table for December 16th 1973. I will add the league table after every subsequent game to gauge our progress. View AttachmentGood to see Arsenal and Chelsea in the bottom half of the table |
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Post by march4 on Dec 18, 2023 13:12:32 GMT
I know we have other things on our minds at the moment, but 50 years ago we were on the edge of the relegation zone with a fantastic adventure about to begin. To whet the appetite I thought I would attach the league table for December 16th 1973. I will add the league table after every subsequent game to gauge our progress. View AttachmentGood to see Arsenal and Chelsea in the bottom half of the table And ManU. And ManC. And Spurs. |
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Post by Veritas on Dec 18, 2023 15:52:00 GMT
Good to see Arsenal and Chelsea in the bottom half of the table And ManU. And ManC. And Spurs. Those were the days my friend That sort of has a ring to it! |
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Post by march4 on Dec 22, 2023 11:33:47 GMT
50 years ago, we were 3 points off the bottom of the table with an away game at bottom placed West Ham where defeat would see them just one point below us. And yet, this is the day that a golden age in Stoke City's history began with an incredible run of results that included only two league defeats in the rest of the season. As Farmer had 'flu, we lined up; - McDonald, Dodd, Pejic, Skeels, Smith, Bloor, Robertson, Greenhoff, Hurst, Mahoney, Haslegrave. Sub; - Ritchie. We played wonderfully well with our three pronged strike force (total age close to 100) terrorising the West Ham defence with Hurst in particular showing the West Ham crowd his impression of the ghost of Christmas past. Our first goal was a Greenhoff through ball to Hurst who played the ball back to Robertson and his shot bulged the net. Our second was a typical Greenhoff volley, this time from the edge of the 'D'. The game was marred when a bottle was thrown at Robertson just before full time. The Sentinel link us with an imminent move to bring back Mike Bernard from Everton and the Sunday papers are saying we have bid £60,000 for Peter Morris from Ipswich. With the energy crisis worsening by the day, attendances across England were 100,000 fewer than the equivalent weekend in 1972 and several clubs registered the lowest crowd in their history. The government have given permission for some games to be played on a Sunday and our cup match at Bolton will be one of the first. Two dozen players have announced their intention to strike in the New Year over the FA's reluctance to let them participate in a European soccer circus in the summer. Those involved include, Alan Ball, Charlie George, Peter Bonetti, Peter Osgood, Rodney Marsh, Denis Law and George Best.  Had this been the first game of the season and we worked out the league table simply on the games remaining, Stoke City would have won the title by a clear margin! |
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Post by march4 on Dec 22, 2023 12:14:21 GMT
A table with a difference. This is the league table for the calendar year beginning 22nd December 1973. If there was ever any doubt we were the best team in the country, this should settle your concerns. I suspect, this is the best 12 months in our history for top flight results.  |
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Post by lordb on Dec 22, 2023 12:17:18 GMT
A table with a difference. This is the league table for the calendar year beginning 22nd December 1973. If there was ever any doubt we were the best team in the country, this should settle your concerns. I suspect, this is the best 12 months in our history for top flight results. View Attachmentconverting to that to 3 points for a win what does that look like? |
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Post by march4 on Dec 22, 2023 12:25:27 GMT
A table with a difference. This is the league table for the calendar year beginning 22nd December 1973. If there was ever any doubt we were the best team in the country, this should settle your concerns. I suspect, this is the best 12 months in our history for top flight results. View Attachmentconverting to that to 3 points for a win what does that look like? We would have had 77 points which doesn't seem a lot now, but 61 points in the old system was a big total. It was only 1 behind Leeds when they went most of the season unbeaten in 1973/74 and was a point ahead of Liverpool in 1972/73 and 3 ahead of Derby in 1971/72. When we came 4th in 1947, we had 55 points. And when we came 4th in 1936, we had 47 points. |
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Post by march4 on Dec 26, 2023 10:55:03 GMT
The 1973 Boxing Day fixture was a home game against local rivals Derby. Our opponents were near the top of the table (although unbeaten Leeds were miles clear), but this was the start of our golden age and we continued with the 4-3-3 formation that had been so successful at West Ham. Thankfully, Waddo was now back to full health and his partnership with Eastham was blossoming. We lined up; - Farmer, Dodd, Pejic, Skeels, Smith, Bloor, Robertson, Greenhoff, Hurst, Mahoney, Haslegrave. Sub; - Marsh. Alan Dodd kept John Marsh out of the starting line up to man mark Derby's danger man Alan Hinton. He did so effectively and Derby barely mustered a shot for the whole game. Indeed, Farmer's hands must have been mud free by the final whistle. The only problem was we struggled to convert our half chances. Hurst did get the ball in the net on the hour, but turned round in amazement to see the eccentric referee, Clive Thomas, had given us a free kick on the edge of the penalty area claiming Hurst had been fouled by Colin Todd. The game was very much the Clive Thomas Show, with numerous free kicks breaking up any momentum the contest might develop. Stoke had Derby tottering but never managed to send them crashing. This was a dominant performance, lacking only goals and Stoke were more than the equals of the normally impressive Derby. 24,000 fans turned up. Our cup tie at Bolton will now kick off at 2pm on Sunday 6th January. Cambridge have been given permission to kick off at 11.15am on the same day which I think makes it the first Sunday cup game. Had we needed a replay against Bolton, it would take place at 1.30pm on Thursday 10th January as this is one of the 3 days when the ground will have electricity. Yes, the 3-day week begins on 1st January. For younger readers, this meant you only had electricity on 3 of the 7 days every week. I remember being fitted for a suit in Burton's in Hanley in candle light. Schools opened on a Saturday for lessons if that was a day when they had lighting and heating. TV shut down every night at 10.30pm to conserve power and there was still little petrol so car journeys were discouraged on Sundays. We had a coal fire for warmth and a source of light in the lounge. Candles and batteries were in short supply and if you could find one to buy, the prices went through the roof. I managed to get a fully charged battery off a lorry which I connected to a string of small light bulbs. This gave a little illumination in the kitchen. Strange times.  |
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Post by march4 on Dec 28, 2023 13:56:56 GMT
Rumours that things haven't gone well in post-Christmas training at Chelsea. Could be a few players dropped for the next game!
And George Best has apparently missed training at ManU and could face disciplinary action.
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Post by lordb on Dec 28, 2023 16:08:56 GMT
Rumours that things haven't gone well in post-Christmas training at Chelsea. Could be a few players dropped for the next game! And George Best has apparently missed training at ManU and could face disciplinary action. see you can have all the data you want but knowing when there is an opportunity as Waddo did par excellence is vital |
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Post by march4 on Dec 28, 2023 18:46:09 GMT
Rumours that things haven't gone well in post-Christmas training at Chelsea. Could be a few players dropped for the next game! And George Best has apparently missed training at ManU and could face disciplinary action. see you can have all the data you want but knowing when there is an opportunity as Waddo did par excellence is vital I've always wondered if we were interested in signing George Best at this time. Waddo would have been the sort of manager to get the most from him. Imagine Greenhoff, Best and Hudson in the same team. |
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Post by lordb on Dec 28, 2023 21:48:38 GMT
see you can have all the data you want but knowing when there is an opportunity as Waddo did par excellence is vital I've always wondered if we were interested in signing George Best at this time. Waddo would have been the sort of manager to get the most from him. Imagine Greenhoff, Best and Hudson in the same team. Isn't there the story that Best did say yes to signing but the board baulked at the cost, about 1976 I think or maybe before? |
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Post by benjaminbiscuit on Dec 28, 2023 23:00:02 GMT
I've always wondered if we were interested in signing George Best at this time. Waddo would have been the sort of manager to get the most from him. Imagine Greenhoff, Best and Hudson in the same team. Isn't there the story that Best did say yes to signing but the board baulked at the cost, about 1976 I think or maybe before? Story I’ve heard is United warmed Denis Smith and were prepared to let Best go in exchange waddington point blank refused to discuss Denis |
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Post by march4 on Dec 28, 2023 23:04:52 GMT
Isn't there the story that Best did say yes to signing but the board baulked at the cost, about 1976 I think or maybe before? Story I’ve heard is United warmed Denis Smith and were prepared to let Best go in exchange waddington point blank refused to discuss Denis I think Revie also wanted Denis at Leeds. |
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Post by march4 on Dec 29, 2023 16:26:39 GMT
Our final game of 1973 was at home to in form QPR. However, we were beginning our golden period for this intriguing game as we lined up; - Farmer, Dodd, Pejic, Skeels, Smith, Bloor, Robertson, Greenhoff, Hurst, Mahoney, Haslegrave. There was considerable speculation in the crowd before kick off that substitute Ritchie was about to be sold with Chelsea outcast Steve Kember coming in to replace him. Stoke were still hoping to sign Ipswich midfielder Peter Morris. The QPR team included Parkes in goal, Venables, McLintock (starting his 500th game), Gerry Francis and Bowles. In front of 18,000 spectators and a live TV audience across Scandinavia, QPR took the lead after 25mins. The Stoke defenders argued with both referee and linesman that goalscorer Leach was offside. On the stroke of half-time, Venables pulled up with a strained calf muscle and the composition of the game changed with his withdrawl. Waddo saw an opportunity to remove Haslegrave from midfield and introduce Ritchie into attack. The 2nd half was the John Ritchie show. Within 2 minutes of the restart he created havoc in the box for Mahoney to equalise at the near post. He then repeated the trick so Pejic could head home at the far post. Pejic had been subjected to some harsh tackling from Francis and Bowles leading to a flare up involving most players. The result was a booking for Pejic and Bowles carried off after a challenge from Dodd. Ritchie added a third and then nodded on for Greenhoff to hit a 4th. An inspirational performance from our centre forward who must have cemented his position at Stoke for a while longer. A superb 4-1 win and probably our best performance of the season. The Sentinel letters page is full of the usual moans but one correspondent claims Stoke have turned down a £300,000 offer for Pejic from Derby. Nationally, a last minute goal saved Leeds from their first defeat of the season at St Andrews and Chelsea field most of their usual stars even though Osgood in particular seemed out of sorts.  |
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Post by spitthedog on Dec 29, 2023 16:42:53 GMT
Rumours that things haven't gone well in post-Christmas training at Chelsea. Could be a few players dropped for the next game! And George Best has apparently missed training at ManU and could face disciplinary action. You are getting me all excited now!!! |
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