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Mode
of Transport:
Once again, the train was used for this journey,
although in order to reduce cost a strange route
was taken to the Potteries that involved in
stopping in every Midland hellhole en route, and
coming home via a taxi and Crewe |
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Team:
Gus kept up his FA Cup pretence of making a
couple of changes to preserve players for the
league campaign, naming a 4-4-2 line-up of:
Brezovan, Calderon, Elphick, Greer, Painter;
Bennett, Bridcutt, Battipiedi, Dicker; Murray,
Barnes |
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Kit:
Stoke wore their world famous uniforms of red
and white stripes, white shorts and white socks.
The Albion were in their home number of blue and
white stripes, blue shorts and blue stockings.
Sexy Pete marked his return between the sticks
with the emerald green number combined with
black shorts and socks |
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Gus
Poyet's Attire:
Despite the chilly wind that was whipping around
the Britannia, Mr Poyet went with his standard
issue suit, no doubt to impress viewers watching
the game live on Italian Sky |
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Weather:
A few spots of rain in the air, but mainly dry
with a chilling wind at the Britannia Stadium,
voted the coldest stadium in England |
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Stadium
Rating:
Stoke have been playing at the Britannia for
nearly 14 years now, and unlike grounds of a
similar age it shows little signs of wear. A
large, doubled tiered main stand is on one side,
while a smaller stand behind the goal joins up
nicely with the other down the side. The away
stand is a large seated affair that stands alone
behind a goal, meaning that the wind billows in
through the corners. 8/10 |
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Food
Rating:
No food was taken, although the beer was very
amicable |
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Entertainment:
Nothing on offer bar the television screens on
the concourse, which allowed fans such as
McCarthy to watch the entire second half with
the comfort of a pint |
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Friendliness
of Locals:
With Stoke being a pretty dire place, we taxied
to nearby Newcastle-under-Lyme for pre-game
beers and the people here seemed rather jolly
and friendly. 8/10 |
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Standard
of Local Females:
Very little women seemed to be in attendance at
the Britannia, although Crewe boosted the mark
considerably with the fit barmaids operating in
the pub we frequented before catching the train
home. 7/10 |
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Steward
Rating:
Extremely well mannered, allowing fans to stand
and sharing a joke, except for the one who
decided to turn off the concourse television
with ten minutes remaining, forcing fans to
return to the stands for the last few minutes.
6/10 |
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Flag
Attention:
Due to the 3000 fans in attendance, the flag was
left behind |
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Match
Report:
Stoke City secured their place in the quarter
finals of the FA Cup before half time as they
trounced the Albion 3-0 at the Britannia
Stadium. Gus Poyet made a number of changes to
his regular 11, and it showed as John Carew
headed in from a Rory Delap throw before
Jonathan Walters and Ryan Shawcross secured the
win for the Potters |
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Thought
of the Day:
What would you do if your 26 year old daughter
came home and revealed she was now dating a 12
year old boy? |
