Stoke City

The Potters are set for a nervous end to the season with the club sitting just two points above the relegation zone.

Supporters will no doubt have a close eye on the games against Huddersfield Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth Argyle who are also hoping to beat the drop.

How many points do you think Steven Schumacher's side will be able to pick up from their final eight matches? More importantly, do you think they'll survive relegation?

Send us your predictions here.

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Stoke City midfielder Bae Junho has returned to the club early from international duty.

The Potters star had been called up to represent South Korea's U23's in the West Asian Football Federation Championship.

Despite not featuring in their opening game against Thailand, the 20-year-old provided the assist for the winning goal in their semi-final vs Saudi Arabia.

However, Steven Schumacher has decided to bring the playmaker back meaning that he will not participate in the final, but instead be ready for Good Friday's trip to Hull City.

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Speaking to Rob Adcock on the Stoke City: 8 Games To Go Podcast, BBC Radio Stoke summariser Angela Smith has addressed the club's current problems off the field.

She believes chairman John Coates will have to make more significant changes over the summer, both with regards to signing new players and the people who are recruiting them:

"The recruitment has been a mess, the appointments of certain staff have been a mess and Stoke have got to change everything in the backroom in terms of getting the right people to advise the owners.

"We've got good owners, but they've been misguided in who they've appointed to run the club for them and maybe John would be better advised to recruit for a person who can help recruit the players. I reckon we've got to bring in 11 new players to even have a chance if we survive this season to not be in the same boat next season.

"Everybody's fed up, but the club have it in their own hands to change. You look at Ipswich. Ipswich have made monumental strides. Got promoted and are carrying on and that's what Stoke have to learn from situations like that. They've made mistakes, now learn from them and be more positive."

You can listen to the full episode here.

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Stoke City beat Sunderland AFC 4-2 in the Premier League U18's at the Academy of Light on Saturday.

Elliot Fearn put the Potters ahead after two minutes, before the hosts found a quick response and equalised through Aaron Chung.

Dave Hibbert's side were 3-1 up at the break after Jayden Ogbebor scored twice, while Joe Neild pulled one back for the hosts. Luke Enright then got a fourth to secure all three points in the North East.

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On 24 March 2012, Stoke City earned a 1-1 draw against Manchester City at the Britannia Stadium thanks to a spectacular 25-yard volley from Peter Crouch.

With the anniversary of that goal having just passed, the former striker has been speaking to BBC Radio Stoke's Rob Adcock about whether that is the best finish he's ever created.

"There are other goals that I think about as well, but that's certainly right up there. I think it's the best goal I've scored in the Premier League, 100%.

"I got a scissor kick in the Champions League against Galatasaray which I love. There was one I scored for Tottenham in the Champions League, World Cup goals, like there's certain goals, but as a technical goal, it's probably my best.

"It comes up every now and then. Every month, there's always someone that puts it out there and I look at it on social media.

"When you look at the whole stadium's reaction, the manager's reaction, the bench's reaction, my reaction, it's one of those moments where I'm so glad that it happened because it made so many people so happy."

You can listen to the full interview here.

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Speaking to Stoke City's official website during EFL Youth Development Week, Sol Sidibe lifted the lid on his journey with the club so far after making his senior debut on the opening day of the campaign against Rotherham United.

“It is only the start, hopefully there will be many more opportunities to come. From joining as an under-eight, I feel like I have always been on an upwards trajectory.

“The first team experience at the start of the season was great. I had an opportunity to impress, that was all I wanted, and hopefully there will be more to come.

“Between now and the end of the season, my goal is to get in and around the first team again and to extend the season with the U21s by qualifying for the PL2 Play-Offs.”

Talking about the backing he's received, the midfielder added: “The support on and off the pitch has been huge. The staff have shown that they believe in me and given me the opportunities to progress and become a better footballer.

“It is important that I have a good support network around me and I know I can rely on a lot of people at the club, which is massive for me.”

We recently asked you to get in touch and tell us your favourite big Stoke City victory from throughout the club's history.

Here are some of the responses that we received:

Paul: Never forget the penalty save from Gordon Banks against West Ham at Upton Park in 1972 from Geoff Hurst after losing the home leg 2-1. The save helped us to a 1-0 win away and we won the replay to help us to Wembley. Most Stokies will tell you that penalty save was better than the Pele one in 1970.

Neil: Favourite big Stoke win has to be the 6-1 mauling of Liverpool or the 5-0 beating of Bolton in the FA Cup semi-final.

Cath: A cold Wednesday evening on 28th January 1987. FA Cup. Stoke City 6 - 0 Grimsby Town. My 29th birthday.

Jeff: The 3-2 victory over Leeds back in the early 1970's, when we came back from 0-2... magical!

Ian: The best match was the League Cup Final 1972 and we beat Chelsea.

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Stoke City defender Jaden Dixon recently made his debut for England U17s against Northern Ireland, and the club's academy director, Gareth Owen, has been discussing the defender's first international performance for the Young Lions.

"You never quite know how he'll settle in that environment because it's completely new to him, but he took to it like a duck to water.

"Leading, organising, demanding things from others which is pleasing to see and that's due to him being around older players in the U21s here.

"I thought he was outstanding from minute one to minute ninety, and we look forward to him having a few more appearances in the future."

When asked how the 17-year-old has been progressing at Clayton Wood, Owen added: "Since he walked through the door, he's taken every challenge that we've set him and smashed through it. We've moved him up age groups, we've dipped him in other positions, he's been around the first team as well in such a short space of time.

"He wants to be better and he's asking Ryan Shawcross for clips which just shows what a great learner he is, but he also knows his feet are firmly on the floor and he's not the finished article.

"He's got that desire and a hunger to learn, and when you are coachable and you have those attributes, it makes our job a hundred times easier."

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We recently asked you whether you could name the top five players who have made the most appearances for Stoke City in the Premier League.

Here are the answers:

1. Ryan Shawcross - 316

2. Glenn Whelan - 276

3. Jonathan Walters - 226

4. Peter Crouch - 202

5. Erik Pieters - 169

Well done if you got it right! Data has been provided by the top-flight's official website, external.

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Stoke City's former manager Tony Pulis has opened up on the advice that he received from Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson after he got the club promoted to the Premier League in May 2008.

“When we got promoted at Stoke, I called Sir Alex Ferguson up. He told me:

‘Your best chance is making the Britannia a place no-one wants to go. If any of the top teams go there and praise you, you’re not doing it right. If you’ve got the best players in the world, then building from the back is fine, but the majority of teams don’t.

'The bottom line is football is about winning and if you don’t win football matches you aren’t going to be in the job very long. You need to find out what your strengths are and play to them. Don’t worry about what others do.'

“I never forgot what he said, and as a result we narrowed the pitch in, grew the grass and brought Rory Delap into play. We found a way to win and it worked.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been at a football stadium where the crowd and team were so together – we used to play the top teams and the place used to light up.”

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Former Potters defender Denis Smith believes that the club won't get relegated to League One, despite being only two points above the drop zone.

Speaking to BBC Radio Stoke, the 1972 League Cup winner said that the squad is good enough to secure their Championship status:

"I'm fairly confident we won't go down but it's going to be tight. If we finish 5th, 6th off bottom, that's where we are and then we've got to start building after, but get this season over first. People are talking about next season, we don't know where we are going to be next season. The next game is the important game.

"I honestly believe that we'll stay up. We could be comfortably a few more places up the league, but it still doesn't make it a good season the fact that we've stayed up. We shouldn't be talking about 'are they going to go down?'. I honestly believe, on what I've seen and what we've got within the club, that we will stay up."

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Stoke City forward Million Manhoef picked up his seventh cap for Netherlands U21s on Thursday night as they were beaten 2-1 by Norway.

The Potters winger was named in the starting eleven by manager Michael Reiziger, but was substituted just after an hour.

Elsewhere, Daniel Johnson featured for Jamaica in a 3-1 defeat against the USA in the CONCACAF Nations League semi-final.

The 31-year-old midfielder came on in the second half, but couldn't help his country progress to the last two of the competition.

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Stoke City achieved promotion to the top-flight during the 2007/08 season and enjoyed a ten-year spell under both Tony Pulis and Mark Hughes before getting relegated to the Championship at the end of the 2017/18 campaign.

The Potters saw plenty of arrivals and departures over that decade, but can you name the top five players who have made the most appearances for the club in the Premier League?

There are two from England, two from Ireland and one from the Netherlands...

Get involved by sending us your answers here!

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On this day: 21 March 1964

Stoke City sealed a remarkable 9-1 win over Ipswich Town at the Victoria Ground.

The Potters had Peter Dobing, Keith Bebbington, John Ritchie, Jimmy McIlroy and Dennis Viollet all on the scoresheet, with the latter netting a hat-trick of goals.

Only 16,124 watched Tony Waddington's team secure that result so emphatically due to the Grand National taking place on the same day.

What's your favourite big Stoke victory? Leave your comments here.

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Back in 2016, Stoke City won the second leg of their League Cup semi-final away at Liverpool, and Philipp Wollscheid was one of the players who produced an outstanding performance on the night, despite losing the overall tie on penalties.

Now, the former defender has opened up on his decision to retire and revealed how his relationship with Mark Hughes broke down after he attempted to sell him.

"Two years after such a match at Anfield, I was not on the football map anymore and I guess that is quite weird. I was still quite young when I retired and I have always loved football itself but I never loved the business.

"I really appreciated the benefits that I had from football but I didn’t want to play just for the money and I didn’t want to go anywhere I didn’t want to be. The fire inside of me wasn’t really existing anymore and I didn’t want to play without that so I decided to quit."

On Hughes, he added: “We never fell out but he never opened up on why he tried to get rid of me. There were rumours in pre-season that I was in Germany to find a club but I was just ill. That was it. I went from being a regular starter to not being wanted. I tried to get him on the phone but he never replied."

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Stoke City's academy defender Jaden Dixon made his debut for England's U17s as they secured an emphatic 5-1 win over Northern Ireland on Wednesday.

The Potters centre-back played the full 90 minutes, helping the Young Lions take maximum points in their first of three UEFA Euro Qualifiers.

South Korea's U23s were also able to grind out a 1-0 victory over Thailand in the West Asian Football Federation Championships, despite Bae Junho not featuring in the matchday squad.

Elsewhere, Ali Hayder suffered a 2-1 defeat in the first match for Iraq's U23s against Australia, with the youth striker competing in the same tournament as Junho.

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Last summer, David Okagbue left Stoke City to join Walsall on a season-long loan, and the centre-back has been a regular feature of their first-team, making 28 appearances to date.

Saddlers fan, Seb, spoke to BBC Radio Stoke's Lucas Yeomans about how the 20-year-old has been progressing at the Bescot Stadium.

"He started off a little bit shaky. I remember games at the start of the season, Salford, he got bullied in that game. He got took off at half-time, same at Mansfield away.

"Since this New Year, he's been probably one of our best players. He's really commanding. I recognised in a few games, especially Forest Green away where you are close to the pitch, his communication skills have really come on.

"He's one of very few players I could hear, driving on the team, demanding more when we were 2-0 down, his communication was good and he's added a bit more aggression to his game as well.

"He comes and wins headers now, he scored his first EFL goal against Accrington off a corner and he's looked really solid. If there's an option to buy him permanently, Walsall will be looking at it because I think his contract expires in the summer."

Would you like to see Okagbue be given a chance next season? Let us know here.

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On January's transfer deadline day, Stoke City sent Emre Tezgel out on loan to League Two side MK Dons with the intention to further develop his career.

Speaking to BBC Radio Stoke's Lucas Yeomans, George Weaver from the Potterlytics Podcast delivered his opinion on the striker's future at the club.

"It's very strange that a year or two ago, you'd have never said that Nathan Lowe would be jumping up over him in terms of getting towards the squad and getting towards playing time. The injuries seem to have taken a little bit of a toll.

"It's going to be really interesting next season to see where he ends up because presumably people like Wesley are going to be making their way out. We don't know what's going to happen with Tyrese Campbell as well, so there may be spots for people to stake their claim."

When asked which of the two academy prospects he thinks will seal a temporary move away from the Bet365 Stadium next term, he added: "In my mind, it would be Tezgel. I wouldn't be surprised to see both of them out on loan to League One.

"Given the amount of football he's missed with injuries in the U21s, giving him a full season would be very, very useful."

What hopes do you have for Emre Tezgel next season? Let us know here.

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Stoke City's U21s have been knocked out of the Staffordshire Senior Cup after suffering a 1-0 semi-final defeat against Leek Town on Tuesday.

The Potters were very much the team in control of possession either side of the break, creating plenty of half-chances without being able to convert.

However, it was Leek who found the breakthrough in the last ten minutes when an effort deflected in off Freddie Anderson and past goalkeeper Blondy Nna Noukeu.

Ryan Shawcross' side had claims for a penalty waved away in the closing stages when Tom Curl was clipped inside the area, however it was the hosts that progressed to the final.

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'We've got to stick together' - Josh Laurent

Stoke City captain Josh Laurent says the team need to use the international break to regroup.

Prior to their 3-0 defeat to Norwich City, Steven Schumacher's side had won two of their previous three matches and moved out of the Championship relegation zone.

Laurent told BBC Radio Stoke they need to bounce back from their recent setback:

"We've got to all stick together and go into the international break and come back stronger. It's not a time to be too negative, we can't be too low we've got to stick together and get back to the standard we've set ourselves."

Laurent says the only focus now is the final eight matches and secure their Championship status:

"We broke the games into blocks of four, we attacked this first block, we fell short in the last game but we can't be too negative. We've got to attack the next block of four now and reset ourselves some targets.

"We've got to stay positive and review the games together and fix and find solutions, we're not in the bottom three, we've got to keep trying to get away from that and keep fighting together."

Will Stoke City avoid relegation? let us know your thoughts here.

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Former defender says Tyrese Campbell has got natural ability

Former Stoke City defender Mike Pejic believes striker Tyrese Campbell has got bags of potential, but insists the 24-year-old has got to up his game.

Speaking about Campbell's return to the first team squad Pejic says he's always been a fan:

"He's got natural ability, he likes the ball to his feet, he's got good turning ability, he's got good control and likes to take players on.

"One part of his game he needs to work on is off the ball when the opposition have got the ball. He needs to take up an advanced position to strike at defenders when we actually win the ball, so he's already in a position to go and attack."

Campbell, who has struggled with injuries this season, has only featured 18 times and scored two goals, a return that Pejic thinks should be much better:

"He's the one player who has got to go and attack, he needs to do more work off the ball to be ready to attack.

"That part of the game he needs to work on is his awareness of space."

Image source, BBC Radio Stoke

Following Stoke City's 3-0 defeat to Norwich City over the weekend, Steven Schumacher's side return to action after the international break with a trip to Hull City on Good Friday, 29 March.

Can the Potters pick up the necessary points between now and the end of the season in order to avoid getting relegated to League One?

Lucas Yeomans returns with Praise and Grumble tonight on BBC Radio Stoke at 18:00 GMT.

Call the show to give your thoughts on 0800 121 8080 or listen to it online here.

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Last summer, Stoke City signed Bae Junho from Daejeon Hana Citizen, and the midfielder has now given his first interview in English to evaluate his opening campaign at the club, alongside how his bond with the fans is growing more and more by the day.

"I think it was successful. This season is my first season in Europe and I've done a lot of things. I feel physically stronger now and have more confidence, so my play is getting better.

"I have a stronger connection with the supporters because they are always supporting me and the team so I love Stoke fans. It gives me more confidence knowing that they are behind me."

When asked how it's been working with Steven Schumacher, the 20-year-old said: "I like him because he trusts me. He's really professional. He has given me some great advice."

Delivering his opinion on the Potters faithful creating him his own song to the music of ABBA's Voulez-Vous, he added: "I love this song. Sometimes, I hum this song. Me and the team, we are going to do our best to do well. I hope we can finish the season in a good position."

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Stoke City's U21s secured a 2-1 win over Derby County in the Premier League 2 at the Loughborough University Stadium on Friday.

The Potters went ahead through Dara McGuinness’ strike just five minutes before the break, before Nathan Lowe doubled the club's lead after getting on the end of a low cross from Tom Sparrow to make it 2-0 at half-time.

The Rams got a goal back in the closing stages of the game when Cruz Allen fired a powerful effort past Tommy Simkin, but the visitors did enough to hold on and secure all three points on the road.

Alex Morris' side will next be in action when they face Leek Town in the semi-finals of the Staffordshire Senior Cup at the F. Ball Community Stadium on Tuesday 19 March, with kick-off scheduled for 7:45pm GMT.