|
Post by crouchpotato1 on May 11, 2024 9:00:52 GMT
22 years ago today we invaded Cardiff😊 Never in doubt
|
|
|
Post by suck_the_mop. on May 11, 2024 9:09:39 GMT
Yeah i think our 'final' was the Cardiff second leg i was still nervous though..
|
|
|
Post by maninasuitcase on May 11, 2024 9:23:55 GMT
Remember it well. Took my dad to the game. He was made up.
Recall seeing loads of stoke fans in the city centre and a massive stoke flag hanging of a balcony as we walked to the stadium.
Brentfords turnout was pitiful as well.
|
|
|
Post by deeside2 on May 11, 2024 9:35:57 GMT
22 years ago, bloody hell !
I remember the flag on the balcony as well. When we got off the coach we just seemed to be walking for ages and ages past coach after coach of Stoke fans. When we got into the stadium it was almost like spot the Brentford fan. We were sitting quite high up behind the goal and it sounds odd but the game almost seemed to be being played at a slower pace than when you're closer to the pitch.
Great day !
|
|
|
Post by silsdenstokie on May 11, 2024 9:46:04 GMT
Yeah, once we’d done Cardiff I dont think Ive ever been more confident of Stoke getting the win
Fairly plain sailing on the day, if memory serves Cutz onky had one save of any note to make
|
|
|
Post by OldStokie on May 11, 2024 9:47:34 GMT
Fabulous! Loved that side. A team of battlers and some top players in it. Shame what happened to Gudjon after though. Wish we'd got Handyside and Shtaniuk now.
OS.
|
|
|
Post by SuperRickyFuller on May 11, 2024 9:48:29 GMT
That home kit is probably one of, if not, the nicest ones we've had in my lifetime.
Jani Viander celebrating with a medal, did he ever play for us? 😂
|
|
|
Post by lordb on May 11, 2024 9:53:10 GMT
Sliding doors what would have happened if Gudjon stayed? And if he'd been given his head in the transfer market? Gunnlaugsson and maybe Burton would have come in? He may have been able to attract some better quality players from abroad? I think he would have done better than Cotterill did for sure
|
|
|
Post by silsdenstokie on May 11, 2024 9:56:06 GMT
Sliding doors what would have happened if Gudjon stayed? And if he'd been given his head in the transfer market? Gunnlaugsson and maybe Burton would have come in? He may have been able to attract some better quality players from abroad? I think he would have done better than Cotterill did for sure Think we only added Chris Greenacre that summer and lost our loanees aswell
|
|
|
Post by lordb on May 11, 2024 10:01:42 GMT
Sliding doors what would have happened if Gudjon stayed? And if he'd been given his head in the transfer market? Gunnlaugsson and maybe Burton would have come in? He may have been able to attract some better quality players from abroad? I think he would have done better than Cotterill did for sure Think we only added Chris Greenacre that summer and lost our loanees aswell Chris Kommons came through but yeah the lack of incoming signings was absurd
|
|
|
Post by crouchpotato1 on May 11, 2024 11:32:55 GMT
Think we only added Chris Greenacre that summer and lost our loanees aswell Chris Kommons came through but yeah the lack of incoming signings was absurd Cotterill gave him his debut at Sheff Wed I seem to remember in front of that huge away following
|
|
|
Post by maninasuitcase on May 11, 2024 12:01:11 GMT
Chris Kommons came through but yeah the lack of incoming signings was absurd Cotterill gave him his debut at Sheff Wed I seem to remember in front of that huge away following Im sure we took over 6k to that game. The away end was rammed. 0-0 draw as i recall and im sure we had a shot that hit the bar and post before bouncing out.
|
|
|
Post by crouchpotato1 on May 11, 2024 12:09:32 GMT
Cotterill gave him his debut at Sheff Wed I seem to remember in front of that huge away following Im sure we took over 6k to that game. The away end was rammed. 0-0 draw as i recall and im sure we had a shot that hit the bar and post before bouncing out. Yes that’s the way I remember it mate and I come away encouraged by the team and Quitterall 😳how wrong I was 😊
|
|
|
Post by SamB_SCFC on May 11, 2024 12:18:42 GMT
Sliding doors what would have happened if Gudjon stayed? And if he'd been given his head in the transfer market? Gunnlaugsson and maybe Burton would have come in? He may have been able to attract some better quality players from abroad? I think he would have done better than Cotterill did for sure It's very difficult to say. Around that time I think the Icelanders were getting itchy feet because the ITV Digital collapse had knackered their financial calculations and meant that getting promoted to the Premier League was the only way they were likely to make much money. And that would need a big new injection of cash to make us competitive for promotion and I don't think they had the funds or the appetite for it. Which I think is part of the reason why we signed so few players that summer and we ended up in a bit of a mess that Pulis eventually bailed us out of. Would Gudjon have been backed more than Cotterill? Hard to say. Like I say, I think they were cutting costs anyway so I don't think he'd have got a huge amount of extra money. Although we may have got a few more players in with his knowledge of the cheaper foreign markets. Gunnlaugsson would have been a great signing at the time but I have a feeling he was too expensive for us even after promotion. He was contracted to Premier League Leicester at the time and I don't think we could stretch to his demands. I think we put a lot of our apples in the Greenacre basket and it didn't come off at all. Maybe with Gudjon it would have been Gunnlaugsson that we'd chucked our money at instead of Greenacre? One thing that I'm pretty confident on, keeping Gudjon would probably have meant that our Premier League promotion in 2008 wouldn't have happened. Pulis was the main driving force behind that and I don't think his relationship with the club would have started had Gudjon stayed as manager. I guess it's possible he could have had a disaster start to the season and we could have turned to Pulis at a similar time of year, just in different circumstances? But personally I don't think the chain of events that Cotterill's quitting sparked would have happened had we kept Gudjon.
|
|
|
Post by felonious on May 11, 2024 12:21:52 GMT
My lad's first away game, he was 4 years old......and asleep on my lap when the first goal went in
|
|
|
Post by callas12 on May 11, 2024 12:22:00 GMT
Sliding doors what would have happened if Gudjon stayed? And if he'd been given his head in the transfer market? Gunnlaugsson and maybe Burton would have come in? He may have been able to attract some better quality players from abroad? I think he would have done better than Cotterill did for sure Think we only added Chris Greenacre that summer and lost our loanees aswell & Greenacre got injured in a pre season friendly if I remember correctly. V WBA possibly?
|
|
|
Post by callas12 on May 11, 2024 12:27:37 GMT
That home kit is probably one of, if not, the nicest ones we've had in my lifetime. Jani Viander celebrating with a medal, did he ever play for us? 😂 I agree. Something about that kit that definitely puts it in my top 3 of favourite Stoke shirts. I know the material wasn't to everyone's liking but as footy shirts go it was so hard wearing & wouldn't snag like normal run of the mill shirts can. Massive Stoke badge being displayed centre stage as well, possibly biggest we've had since the traditional 70/80's badge. Interesting the wearing of red socks as well, that's been topical in kit chat on here recently! Should Stoke where red or white socks 🤔 ?! The Play Off Final memories possibly elevates this kit as a plus factor, but it's definitely one of my faves aside from that.
|
|
|
Post by SuperRickyFuller on May 11, 2024 14:16:34 GMT
That home kit is probably one of, if not, the nicest ones we've had in my lifetime. Jani Viander celebrating with a medal, did he ever play for us? 😂 I agree. Something about that kit that definitely puts it in my top 3 of favourite Stoke shirts. I know the material wasn't to everyone's liking but as footy shirts go it was so hard wearing & wouldn't snag like normal run of the mill shirts can. Massive Stoke badge being displayed centre stage as well, possibly biggest we've had since the traditional 70/80's badge. Interesting the wearing of red socks as well, that's been topical in kit chat on here recently! Should Stoke where red or white socks 🤔 ?! The Play Off Final memories possibly elevates this kit as a plus factor, but it's definitely one of my faves aside from that. Agree about the kit having good memories. Definitely elevated for me because my parents bought me the full kit for getting 555 in my Key Stage 2 SATS 😂
|
|
|
Post by xchpotter on May 11, 2024 15:57:10 GMT
Well re watching that puts it in a different light. Went to the game and don’t remember it being anywhere near that edgy or close…..Cutler made some important saves. Maybe I was too pissed to remember?😂😂
|
|
|
Post by suck_the_mop. on May 11, 2024 17:28:04 GMT
Yes remember it being edgy and they had loads of possession especially 2nd half but never really felt we would lose i suppose it was written in the stars after the Cardiff game.
|
|
|
Post by pretzel on May 11, 2024 18:43:21 GMT
22 years ago today we invaded Cardiff😊 Never in doubt Some more memories here... Lots of familiar faces in the crowd.. are you there?
|
|
|
Post by richie22 on May 11, 2024 18:55:03 GMT
I went the man o clay on the Friday and sank a few, my mum woke me up early next day , I covered the garden in puke, pub opened at 7 ! It was game on till the coaches didn’t turn up ….. we made it into Cardiff . And made it to Hanley on the night…what a day I was hungover for a week . And I had to jet wash the back garden …. The strangers I shared a car with remain friends to this day …
|
|
|
Post by Northy on May 11, 2024 19:14:48 GMT
We were in a 3 car convoy from Northwich, the guy me and my lad went with was great because I could drink, ( he passed away in 2022 and was on the big screen) bumped into an old Navy colleague and his daughter in the city centre who I hadn't seen for a few years and still lived in Plymouth and still keep in touch
|
|
|
Post by richie22 on May 11, 2024 19:39:00 GMT
Also , shout out to ‘chinny’ ( a man I went on to work with and sit best too , ‘stick your Welsh dragon up your arse ‘.
|
|
|
Post by Marc01 on May 11, 2024 20:11:30 GMT
|
|
|
Post by middleoftheboothen on May 11, 2024 21:31:57 GMT
Cotterill gave him his debut at Sheff Wed I seem to remember in front of that huge away following Im sure we took over 6k to that game. The away end was rammed. 0-0 draw as i recall and im sure we had a shot that hit the bar and post before bouncing out. That away following at Wednesday was class. Was an air of trouble but I was only young then and never saw any although I'm sure there was but it was like we had turned a corner after being promoted. The rest as they say is history.
|
|
|
Post by jesusmcmuffin on May 12, 2024 0:58:06 GMT
Was an extra special day as Dave Rowson asked could he sit at our table in the hotel before the game . Was like meeting one of your idols but he wasn't one. Was it called the Angel hotel ? The squad not playing were all in there . PMac, one of the old posters on here , the Conroy family and a few others at bit worse for wear.
Looking back, Brentford had some really good players but after the Cardiff high, was only going to be one winner.
|
|
|
Post by Gods on May 12, 2024 6:51:11 GMT
Remind me why there was a 'hoodoo'?
Something to do with which end your fans were at?
|
|
|
Post by suck_the_mop. on May 12, 2024 8:44:50 GMT
Remind me why there was a 'hoodoo'? Something to do with which end your fans were at? No team had ever won a final or play off from the south dressing room or south stand end etc.
|
|
|
Post by fca47 on May 12, 2024 12:19:30 GMT
Quite liked the games in Cardiff, went to the Vales game there too. Much better than that souless shit hole in Wembley
|
|