Stoke & Staffordshire

Latest Updates

  1. A woman with short white hair wearing a white t-shirt has her arm out. Another woman, with longer silver-blonde hair, a brown jumper an cheetah-print leggings is wrapping a black tourniquet strap around her arm

  2. Cars stopped on a motorway with people standing outside their cars, at night

  3. 🎧 Stoke performances getting fans to dream big

    A Cold Wet Tuesday Night: 'It's tantalizing'

    "We are quickly approaching the halfway mark of the season and it's not just the top six, they [Stoke] are second.

    "I know Ipswich will have a say in that, they've got a game in hand and look like the team that are making a bit of a move but Stoke are finishing in the top six."

    Lucas Yeomans and Stoke City commentator Mark Elliott dissect a fantastic 3-0 performance against Charlton Athletic that sees them up to second on the Championship table and get a little carried away dreaming of a promotion-contending season.

    Listen to the full episode of A Cold Wet Tuesday Night and more Stoke City content on BBC Sounds.

    Listen on BBC Sounds

  4. 'Bozenik shows Stoke's genuine strength in depth'

    Mark Elliott
    BBC Radio Stoke commentator

    Stoke City's Robert Bozenik during the warm-up before the 3-0 win over CharltonGetty Images

    Robert Bozenik did not even need to think when asked what he needs to do to take his game to the next level.

    "Goals, goals, goals," was the reply.

    Making a rare start for Stoke in place of the rested Divin Mubama, Bozenik was singled out by his manager Mark Robins for praise despite leaving Tuesday's 3-0 win over Charlton without adding his name to the scoresheet.

    He came close, firing just wide from the edge of the box in the second half but his work-rate and hold up play were superb.

    Bozenik has never been prolific but has been working with Robins - a former forward himself - to improve his strike-rate.

    Off the pitch, he says he has settled in well, sharing a commute with international team-mate Tomas Rigo from an area they both share with Burnley goalkeeper and fellow Slovakian Martin Dubravka.

    On it, against Charlton he showed he can offer plenty to Stoke's season.

    They have long had competition for places all over the pitch and Tatsuki Seko, Steven Nzonzi and Eric Bocat came in as Robins made four changes to his side and did well.

    That has helped put them in a great position in the Championship table and now for the first time since arriving from Boavista in the summer, Bozenik has had a big part to play in a significant game.

    With Mubama, the fit-again Sam Gallagher and Bozenik to choose from, Robins has options in the one area that had looked light.

    Stoke have genuine depth and a real chance at getting themselves to January in a position to make a run at promotion to the Premier League.

  5. A man stands next to a large road sign which says welcome to Congleton town. He is holding a calendar, which has bins of Congelton on the front.

  6. 'Not our best performance but well-deserved'

    Listen to Mark Robins' post-match interview after Stoke's 3-0 win over Charlton

    Stoke City boss Mark Robins says his side probably played better in the Championship defeats to Leicester and Coventry than they did in the 3-0 win over Charlton on Tuesday night.

    But the 55-year-old believes the victory was "well-deserved" and is delighted the Potters have moved into the automatic promotion spots.

    "It probably felt like we were comfortable," Robins told BBC Radio Stoke.

    "We were in front early after two minutes, followed that up and then we were three-up in the first half.

    "They had a real go at us. We kept things simple because that was what got us the goals.

    "I think it was well-deserved and just reward, really, because the three performances we have had over the last three games, this, Coventry and Leicester - it probably wasn't our best performance of the three.

    "We've ended up getting three goals, conceding none and winning three points. So, happy days, because I think this moves us up to second."

  7. The back of an emergency call handler can be seen. He has brown hair and is wearing a green shirt and a headset. In front of him are computer screens showing digital images that have been blurred out.

  8. A single storey grey building, with graffiti on the walls, and the edge of the roof exposed on one side.

  9. Sorba Thomas celebrates goal

  10. A man with very short grey hair and a long grey beard. He is wearing black glasses, a dark grey t-shirt and blue jeans. He is holding a small black labradoodle puppy. There is another black puppy is resting its head on his leg. A woman is sitting next to him with a grey and silver bob and black glasses. She is also holding a black puppy, and there is a light brown one next to her, lying down.

  11. A green cushion with dozens of rings sitting in it, some with colourful jewels. Around it are various ring boxes containing jewellery. They are all inside a glass cabinet with wood surround.

  12. A close-up of a man's face. He has cracked lips, and is looking directly at the camera. He is wearing a dark top.

  13. Port Vale boss Darren Moore claps the crowd at the end of a game

  14. A woman with long dark hair smiles at the camera. She is wearing a hooded netball top, and is stood in a sports hall

  15. Semi-detached houses with bay windows sit behind neatly trimmed hedgerows. A sign on a concrete post on a green in front of the houses says Mount Road.

  16. A man in glasses, wearing a suit jacket over an open necked shirt stands next to a display of blue and white decorated pottery. A sign above the pottery says celebrating 250 years of Spode

  17. A woman with curly bobbed hair points one finger on each hand towards herself. She is wearing a shirt and tie and is smiling at the camera

  18. A man with very short grey hair is wearing a dark blue suit jacket with a dark blue patterned tie, and white shirt with light blue squares on it. He stands in front of a whiteboard and a map of Staffordshire

  19. A girl wearing red is looking away from the camera. Someone else at the top of the photo is wearing a red Christmas jumper.

  20. Pick of the stats: Stoke City v Charlton Athletic

    Stoke City and Charlton Athletic club badges

    This is a first league meeting between and Stoke and Charlton for five years and Addicks' boss Nathan Jones will hope it goes better than his last encounter against another of his former clubs.

    Charlton's 5-1 drubbing at home by Southampton on Saturday leaves them looking to avoid three successive league defeats.

    A victory for Stoke and defeat for Middlesbrough against leaders Coventry would move the Potters into second place in the Championship.

    • The home side has won each of the past four league meetings between Stoke and Charlton, with this the first since a 3-1 victory for the Potters in February 2020.

    • Charlton have won just one of their past 13 away league games against Stoke (D2 L10), with that coming in their first ever visit to the bet365 Stadium in February 1998 (2-1).

    • Stoke lost 1-0 in their last home league game against Coventry, last losing consecutive home matches in September 2024.

    • Charlton's first six away league games this season followed a pattern of draw, loss, victory, draw, loss, victory. Their seventh game was a draw at Hull and then they lost at Wrexham in their eighth.

    • Since winning their first meeting in October 2017 with Coventry (3-0 vs Luton), Stoke boss Mark Robins is winless in his past seven against Charlton's Nathan Jones (D3 L4), most recently a 2-2 draw in September 2022.

    BBC Follow Your Team Banner

  21. Stoke Under-21s boss Hibbert joins Wycombe

    A photo of Dave Hibbert playing for Shrewsbury Town in 2010Getty Images

    Stoke City Under-21s head coach Dave Hibbert has left the side to join Wycombe Wanderers as their first-team set-piece coach.

    The 39-year-old took charge of the Potters Premier League 2 team in January and departs after 12 years of service within Stoke's academy.

    Former Potters winger Liam Lawrence will take charge of the vacant head coach role in the interim.

    "Dave has made a significant contribution to the development of hundreds of academy players, on and off the pitch, in more than a decade of service to Stoke City," Stoke academy manager Sam Stockley said.

    "Dave has our gratitude for his dedication to his various roles at the club and our sincere best wishes for his future career."

  22. A huge pile of silver scrap metal, with a metal crane claw coming down towards it, to grab it.

  23. A woman in a black coat and white hat with a girl in a black coat and black hat and a girl in a wheelchair in a pink coat

  24. A red hatchback car is parked by the side of a road. The rear number plate has been blanked out.