Stoke & Staffordshire

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  1. 🎧 Deja vu? Stoke City's season review

    A Cold Wet Tuesday Night - Stoke City season review

    "Frustrating, a bit of deja vu in there as well. Chaotic with the number of managerial changes. Tense towards the end as they continued to flirt with relegation.

    "I think you can sum it up by saying [it's] one to put well behind the club, the fanbase and everybody else.

    "We'll get this season review out the way and then never think about it again hopefully."

    Those are the thoughts of BBC Radio Stoke commentator Mark Elliott following the end of Stoke City's season, which saw the Potters finish 18th and avoid relegation by just two points.

    He joins presenter Lucas Yeomans on the latest episode of A Cold Wet Tuesday Night to review Stoke's campaign, discuss the squad and what might be needed to improve next season.

    Listen to A Cold Wet Tuesday Night podcast on BBC Sounds.

  2. Lord Mayor Lyn Sharpe, wearing a red jacket and gold chains of office, is stood behind a bar with four pumps. She is stood next to a man with a grey shirt on.

  3. Irene Taylor looks out of the shot, has grey hair, and wearing a black hoodie. She stands in front of a flower bed and cars are behind her on the housing estate

  4. Nina Kelly looking at the camera. She has curly brown hair and is wearing a black shirt with white abstract prints on it, and she has her arm in a blue sling. She is standing in front of her black potato oven.

  5. The exterior of North Staffordshire Justice Centre, a red brick building. There is grey signage with white writing that identifies the building.

  6. The shell of a building which is consumed by flames, is being tackled by firefighters. There are cars and a tree in the foreground. Firefighters can be seen looking up towards the building and there are jets of water being sprayed into the inferno.

  7. A view of a takeaway called Ali's Kitchen on a street with a bus stop. The restaurant has a white door and signage.

  8. A statue of a man holding a guitar, viewed from below and looking straight up to his chin. The fingers he is using to play the guitar have rings on them, including one of a skull.

  9. A hosepipe being used in a garden. Water is sprinkling from the yellow and grey hose attachment with green grass in the background.

  10. Michael Hamson pictured inside the house. He wears a blue jumper over a white shirt and has short white hair.

  11. There is a heavily graffitied wall to the bottom right of the picture, followed by metal security fencing, overgrown bushes and derelict properties in the distance

  12. A blonde. woman's face smiling at the camera. She has blue eyes and is wearing red lipstick

  13. Men and women are lined up singing and dancing and covered in streamers as celebratations are held on VE day in this black and white archive photograph. The women are wearing 1940s skirts, jackets and blouses and two of the men are in uniform. There are reams of streamers underfoot.

  14. Staying up a relief, not a celebration - Johansson

    Stoke City goalkeeper Viktor Johansson holds the ball after making a save in the 0-0 draw at DerbyRex Features

    Stoke City goalkeeper Viktor Johansson says avoiding relegation from the Championship this season was a "relief" and not something to be celebrated.

    The Potters finished two points above the drop zone in 18th with 51 points - their worst overall tally and lowest league position since relegation to the second tier in 2018.

    "It's been a disappointing season because our goal was completely different," Johansson told BBC Radio Stoke.

    "It's not a celebration; it's more of a massive relief. We had different plans for this season and how it was going to go, but then it changed.

    "But to be fair to the boys and the fans, we stuck with it and made sure we stayed up, and then next season we can go again. We can't wait to go again."

    The Swedish international was named Stoke's player of the year in his debut season but praised the whole team for staying up despite playing under three different managers.

    "It has been a tough season, but I think as a group, we've grown loads," Johansson said.

    "We're a proper family in there. We support each other. It's one of the best changing rooms you can walk into.

    "Even though it's been a bit rocky sometimes, we made sure to stick together."

    Johansson also thanked the "incredible" fans and said their support shows that Stoke is a "great and massive" club.

    On whether he will be at the club next season, the 26-year-old added: "I signed for Stoke, so this is where my head and heart are at the moment."

    Listen to Johansson's full interview on BBC Sounds.

  15. Stoke City's Jordan Thompson

  16. Two fire trucks in a parking lot on a cloudy day. The parking lot is at the junction of two roads. One of the roads is blocked off with red and white tape.

  17. A biker's feet next to the wheels of a motorbike while it stands on its kickstand. The feet wear converse trainers with white toe tips and the rest of the footwear is dark. They stand on a gravel path next to a grassy field. The bike's wheels have dust on them.

  18. A man with short grey hair stands on a pavement with parked cars on the road. He is wearing an open-collared shirt under a brown jacket.

  19. The rocky terrain of the Roaches in Staffordshire, overlooking miles of green land.

  20. A man who is holding a chainsaw and sawing through a tree that is covered in green ivy. He is wearing orange headphones and an orange helmet and gloves. There are wood chippings flying from the saw.

  21. A dog looks towards the camera with its mouth open, looking happy. The dog has a brown, blonde coat and stands on a woodland path between bluebells.

  22. Robins reacts to Derby draw that seals survival

    Stoke City boss Mark Robins (right) shakes the hand of Derby County head coach John EustacePA Media

    Stoke City boss Mark Robins spoke to written media after the Potters had their Championship survival sealed with a goalless draw at Derby County.

    "It was a rubbish game but we both ended up getting what we needed, so that is the most important thing," he said.

    "The game was so lacking in quality it's frightening, but understandable in the circumstances.

    "The players managed themselves really well during the week and managed themselves through the game well today.

    "Since I came in [to Stoke] in January, it has been a really tough period - I think one of the toughest of my career. It has been really difficult because I'm the third permanent manager and fourth voice they have had.

    "It's been a lot of upheaval. This team should never have been anywhere near the bottom, it's a mid-table team at worst. And had everyone been fit and we'd been in earlier, things wouldn't have got down to this day.

    "But thankfully we have managed to come out the other side OK."

  23. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage attends a post-election event at the Staffordshire County Showground. He is wearing a suit and tie and gesturing with his hands and there are people gathered around him, listening.

  24. Walsall players look dejected at full-time