A Visit to the PotteriesThe method of making Pottery is achieved by taking a clay body, preferably previously shaped and formed, and heating it to very high temperatures in a kiln.
Stoke City, famously known as The Potters, this week welcome our Swansea City (the clay body), to their Home the Brittania Stadium (the kiln), and will be hoping they can turn the temperature up on us, such that we emerge at the very least "biscuit fired", or, better still "glost fired" with the requisite "glaze" from their particularly identifiable brand of football.
Stoke's sobriquet comes from the preponderance of a high number of pottery factories (Pot Banks) in the area, and as Stoke on Trent was one of the earliest industrial cities of the modern era, the biggest football club in the city was given that name.
The style of football they play has assumed almost mythic proportions within the game, and one could quite easily slip into the lazy cliche of branding it aerial and agricultural only, and in stark contrast to our own growing reputation as some sort of esoterically better purveyor of a culturally superior ground based pass and move game.
However, this begs the question of how it is that in their fourth consecutive Premier League season, and with a year 1 adventure in the Europa League ongoing, they don't yet seem to have been "found out" by their supposed betters.
It ignores the fact too that in each season they have continued to do more in every campaign, culminating in an FA Cup Final defeat last year to earn that European Place, and a 13th Place PL placement that if it were offered to us right now, we'd bite off the giving hand with a degree of alacrity.
They must, at the very least, be doing something right, mustn't they?
The answer, of course, is that they are, and while they're not everyone's cup of tea, the effectiveness of the approach can't be argued. That's not meant to either denigrate them, or to suggest it's necessarily right, either - and I'd argue that it's maybe reached it's limitation, but that it's also something their Gaffer knows.
That self same canny Manager, Welshman Tony Pulis, is more than bright enough to not just frustratedly argue with the perceived image of his team, which he does, but continue to demonstrably develop his outfit's personnel and style, expanding their game tactically and practically, whilst retaining that route-1 hard-edge.
This week we've got the fascination of seeing in action their Europa League tie against an acknowledged Pedigree European side of the first order- La Liga's third placed team, Valencia, and no one can deny their place on a high rung of the "Attractive Football" ladder.
Stoke City lost the Home first leg of the tie 1-0 at the Brittania on Thursday night, and by the time our meeting comes around, will have visited the Mestalla, where they would appear to have a very difficult task if they're to progress to the round of 16.
The goal that won the game for Valencia at the Brit was indeed a cracker, scored by Mahmet Topal, with an unstoppable shot, but of more relevance for us was the way the Spaniards controlled the match, their possession based game perhaps a blueprint for us, and they seemed to have done their homework too.
They were more than ready for Stoke's aerial threat, and were combative and busy in the essential tackling centrally that the Potters' game compels as a necessity.
Begovic, the keeper, had already made an excellent stop from Jonas, and Stoke's best chance came from a late Peter Crouch effort.
The key set up was Valencia's 4-2-3-1, with both full backs pushing forward,and Jonas played the No 10 role, dropping off Aduriz. A guide for Sigurdsson and Graham, maybe?
As Pulis, their Manager said, ......"It was a great occasion for everybody and we were playing a top team. We needed an early goal, we were desperate to score first, and we had a couple of good chances."
It will be key to take the sting out of the game, as Valencia did, because, as TP confirmed,...."They scored first and that took the pressure off them."
The same, undoubtedly, applies to us.
What can we expect? If you want an expression of their likely line up, have a read, and see what you make of my opinions.
Changes have been made since our home fixture at the Liberty, which, you will remember, was a comforting 2-0 victory. If your memory deserts you (as mine often does), get a reminder here.
The threat for us Swans is likely to be the same.
We can be sure that there will be as many balls thrown long from throw-ins conceded in our half as there have always been - they have, indeed, narrowed the pitch to facilitate this - and don't get me started on the sad towels and bibs, - and if Rory Delap is the main man, then Ryan Shotton has been trained in his absence. And, since it's unlikely to be Delap, bet on that aerial missile attack being little changed.
The complete squad is appended here, and I'll concentrate on just some of it this time, particularly those most likely to play, with perhaps a little more attention paid to those you might not necessarily be more conscious of.
1 Asmir Begovic GK, 4 Robert Huth DEF, 5 Danny Collins DEF, 6 Glenn Whelan MF, 9 Kenwyne Jones STR, 10 Ricardo Fuller STR, 11 Mamady Sidibe STR, 12 Marc Wilson MF, 15 Salif Diao MF, 16 Jermaine Pennant MF, 17 Ryan Shawcross DF, 18 Dean Whitehead MF, 19 Jonathan Walters STR, 20 Matthew Upson DF, 24 Rory Delap MF, 25 Peter Crouch STR, 26 Matthew Etherington MF, 27 Carlo Nash GK, 28 Andy Wilkinson DEF, 29 Thomas Sorensen GK, 30 Ryan Shotton DEF, 32 Diego Arismendi MF, 33 Cameron Jerome STR, 39 Jonathan Woodgate DEF, 40 Wilson Palacios MF, 41 Michael Clarkson MF, 44 Lucas Dawson MF
I've omitted 7 players out on loan, which tells you that the squad is deep.
The complication and competition for selection against us is also added to by their having to play an FA Cup tie against Crawley on Sunday last, won 2-0, so the team chosen there will contain at least some players perhaps rested vs Valencia on Thursday, so able to return against us.
That doesn't include Rory Delap, the long thrower Numero Uno, who was sent off and will be suspended (unless appealed successfully), but Ryan Shotton, RB, is equally adept at launching bombs.
Begovic kept goal, and the rest of the side went Shotton, Shawcross, Upson and Collins at the back, with Delap, Whelan, Whitehead across the middle, and Walters and Jerome supporting the advanced Peter Crouch, in a 4-3-2-1 layout able to morph to 4-3-3 quickly.Walters was also energetic enough to track back into MF too, so it often resembled a 4-4-2 in the game at times.
The sending off of Delap, for a recently trending but not overly fierce challenge, compelled some of this flexibility, and we know from our own experience against lower division sides that to come away with a 2-0 victory was no mean feat,
Begovic, the highly capable Bosnian No 1 was bought from Portsmouth for £3.25m, and is probably now recognized as the Club's first choice, although the Danish previous ( and still often, nowadays) incumbent Thomas Sorensen will argue that point. Both are top keepers, and further covered by the experienced Carlo Nash.
Welshman Danny Collins came from Sunderland, for £2.75m, and was a surprise inclusion, having recently returned from a loan at Ipswich. Ryan Shotton, the go-to-man Numero Due for long throws, played at RB.
The CB pairing at the cup tie was Matthew Upson and Ryan Shawcross.The left footed Upson was playing in the last World Cup for England lest it not be forgotten, and the uncompromising ex Man Utd youngster Shawcross had made an England squad too when he was involved in the contentious tackle that broke Aaron Ramsey's leg two seasons ago. Very strong in the air, and often the target of the long throws when they attack.
Whelan is the stand out MF'er, the ROI cap a dead ball practitioner and creator. Whitehead is primarily a wide right or central MF'er and a hard-worker-bee type.
It's when we begin to look beyond simply the team they put out on the field last Sunday that we begin to see some evidence of the type of players who have moved Stoke forward from that limited description of them as "just a hoof-ball" team.
Although when they first came into the Division TP was averse to "splashing the cash", it shouldn't be forgotten that the Ownership lies in the hands of the Stoke born and bred Peter Coates, once listed as the 25th richest man in British football, and the founder of Bet365.
From 2005, this is his second spell in charge, and over the past couple of seasons we've seen the Potters prepared to lay out increasing Transfer Fees and Wages to attract players.
Inclusive in that evolution are some of those mentioned above, coupled with some of these we'll come to.
Two immediate examples are the wingers Matthew Etherington and Jermaine Pennant. ME came from from West Ham last January, and Pennant, ex Liverpool, was acquired on loan from Real Zaragoza, where he was drifting. Both have had off-field issues of various kinds, but both talented and technical wide men have found a home in the Potteries.
Along with Peter Crouch, Wilson Palacios, the Honduran MF'er was bought for big money from Tottenham on Transfer Deadline day at the start of this season, but persistent injury issues have limited his steel and skill involvement. He tragically lost a brother some 2 years ago, to an increasingly horrendous risk for South American Footballers of kidnap and ransom of Family members.
Kenwyne Jones, the £8m Trinidadian No 9 came from Sunderland AFC, and we've all seen him display both power and skill on numerous occasions. Along with Crouch, another example of that fabled football phrase- "good feet for a big man". The big German CB, Robert Huth, is currently suspended.
Marc Wilson and Salif Diao are primarily hard working MF players, but Wilson is also able to play at the back, and has been playing successfully at LB of late. Acquired from Portsmouth, the under rated NI man is a flexible squad member, and Diao, once of Liverpool, is happy at Stoke in his 4th season.
They also took the experienced but injury unlucky Jonathan Woodgate on a free in the summer on a 1yr deal with a view to proving that if it weren't for those injuries, he would have added a great many more to his England Caps. People forget that he was the scorer of an own-goal on his debut for Real Madrid some years back, and was also sent off in the same game.
Ryan Shotton, mentioned above, and Andy Wilkinson are two defenders who have been developed from within, from Stoke City's well regarded Training Facility. Both Michael Clarkson and Lucas Dawson are youngsters at that Academy.
The squad is completed by the under used Uruguayan MF Diego Arismendi, who cost 3m Euros from Nacional, and our old friend Mamady Sidibe, but Big Mama has had an injury plagued 3 years , and is currently battling an ruptured Achilles Tendon blow. Good luck and good wishes to him.
The Brittania Stadium, built on the site of the former Hem Heath Colliery, has built a reputation over the last few years as a very difficult place to visit, and Stoke's fans are often cited as the loudest in the PL. However, SCFC North's record of W4 D4 L4 this year at least shows they can be vulnerable, although I have a feeling that the crowd will fancy their chances against us.
Incidentally, given the recent debate with regard to our very own redevelopment and extension, a read with regard to Future Developments in the article cited from the highlighted text above is worthwhile. Check out too the little piece at the bottom of the article re Stadium Ownership - does it ring any bells for us, and future plans?
They are level with us on points, and only sit 2 places below us in 13th because of an inferior goal difference, so both teams will have every incentive to go for it. I expect a blood and guts type assault, with those raucous fans attempting to drag their team ahead, so we Swansea Jacks must be ready to sing for our suppers, and our team, as well.
When I travel to the Brittania next Sunday, it'll be the fourth time I've seen our opponents in a couple of weeks, and my impression from the 2 recent viewings (the third comes vs Valencia away) is that this is nothing other than a fixture against a difficult, already established Premier League opponent.
This will not be easy. It won't even be like WBA away, where we were allowed to get it down and play. Stoke will not allow that, doing their utmost to break up the game into manageable, bite-sized chunks. Brave hearts, along with an insistence on imposing our game, will be key.
The defensive unit, as I suspect most of us expect, will benefit from Caulker's aerial ability, and it will also be important for Vorm to be as decisive as we know he can be.
Despite some whispers on GB's about Rangel's capabilities on the back foot, I don't think either Tate or Obeng are yet ready, although if Beaker has made progress, he's an option. Williams (of course) and Taylor (I think) will complete the back 4.
Up front Danny Graham, who's in imperious form and rightly earned the Manager's suggestion that he's an outside bet for an England Euro berth in the summer, plus @Nath_Dizz87 for his ability to get at the full back will surely take two of the three berths. The third is maybe in the balance between Wayne Routledge and Scott Sinclair.
Scott's confidence has not always been as high as it deserves to be, in my eyes, and Wayne has had his more impressive displays come mainly away from the Liberty. Another difficult choice.
Leon Britton is a given, since he's our heartbeat, and the ball-hog (c Barney Ronay GNM) will surely earn his corn in both getting and keeping the football.
There was a great debate about the make up of the other 2 after the Norwich defeat, and the consensus that emerged seemed to be that we can't play both Siggi and Josh McEachran as together they are both too attacking.
I agree with that line of thought, and would also suggest that Sigurdsson is continuing to develop by the week as he gains more and more fitness from playing regularly at the top flight again, so I'd stick with him.
Even BR has admitted that we missed Joey Allen in that game.
Immediately, a straight swap of JA for Josh seems logical, the only drawback being that Kemy Agustien's muscularity might seem more appropriate for this game. On that front, perm any 2 from Gylfi Sigurdsson, Joe Allen and Kemy Agustien despite what I said about Gylfi previously.
These are all options, and I'm glad they will be made by the Manager.
Personally, I'd opt for the Icelander and the Welshman - as I've said before, Joey has been battle hardened by all those Championship and Div 1 games- but, to repeat a phrase of mine - what do I know?
Whatever the make up of the side, we know we'll get 100% effort. We know, we'll get a committed performance.
It would be great to think that after the planned Spanish Training Camp the whole squad has indeed come back refreshed, and ready to go again in the Fantasy Land that is the Premier League.
Here's to emerging from this particular "kiln", maybe a little "glazed", but certainly not beaten. Perhaps a little more Wedgwood than Earthenware, eh?
Whatever.
Onward, Swansea City.
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I'm hearing from today's Sports Radio News that Rory Delap's red card has been rescinded and he will, indeed, be free to subject us to some testing long throws.
It may make the game more difficult for us, but you have to say that it wasn't even deserved in the first place, and since they were punished for not having him for the rest of the Crawley tie, it's certainly the right decision.
The FA's, both English and Welsh, are consistently embarrassing.
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