Potteries Parity

City of Stoke  0  Eccleshall  9

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Something is brewing in the Potteries.

Towards the end of last season the news broke that Norton Wanderers was to rebrand, leading to the formation of a new incarnation known as City of Stoke FC. Premier Division outfit Tunstall Town also came under the umbrella and this meant the club could take a place in the top flight of the Staffordshire County Senior League, with a Development team taking a place in the First Division.

The idea is the brainchild of Leigh Robinson, and it was based on the ethos of building a community club for the area, without allegiance to any of the big two (Stoke and Vale) in the locality. Taking advantage of a strong social media presence, the club is reaching out to the youth of the area, alongside the already established senior men’s and women’s teams that will be wearing the clubs colours.

With a ground secured at the rural location of Whisper Lane and a top flight berth in the bag, the club has high hopes of progressing up the pyramid, and giving the City a team to be proud of.

The clubs badge incorporate both the red of Stoke City and the black of Port Vale, while the ground has been named Kiln Park in homage to the pottery industry the area is famed for. Identity is clearly a very important factor here.

I’d never been to Whisper Lane before, or the North Staffordshire Sports Club as it is also known. It has been the home to Shamblers in Sunday football, and also Manor Inne who played briefly in the Staffordshire League. Location wise, it sits just off the road that runs over the M6 towards Madeley.

I know the area well having been a student at Keele University between the years of 1991 and 1994, in fact, I called for a pint at the Mainwaring Arms in Whitmore before the game, a pub I last visited as a tax dodger in my significant idle team between doing very little. It was a nice walk from Keele to Whitmore and you could waste a good half a day doing it!

Whisper Lane, while a very pleasant setting, is not good for team buses, it’s a bumpy old drive down the track to the car park, but thankfully not many sides in the Staffs League, if any, need to use a bus to get to away games. It’s probably not ideal for cars either, but with it negotiated I was in the car park a good while before kick off, which gave me a chance to survey the scene.

The club had already tweeted about the fixture so I had no concerns about the game taking place, Eccleshall had agreed at short notice to play the game, on one of the various pitches at the venue, which it appears was the training pitch, with the main pitch complete with dugouts the nearest to the main road. The club has plans to rail this pitch, with advertising boards already being sold.

A dressing rooms and clubhouse facility sits on the edge of the car park, and is perfectly good enough for a club plying their trade at Step 7, and indeed higher if required.

Having lost 1-0 at Alsager Town the previous week, I was interested to see what Stoke were all about against another North West Counties League side, but to be fair to them, on a very good pitch, they were given a footballing lesson.

Eccleshall won 9-1, having had a three goal lead at half time. Stoke pulled a goal back when they were 5-0 down, but in all fairness, it was a mere consolation. What was noticeable about the game was the competitive, and at times feisty, nature of it. In fact the visitors had a player sent off in the second period, this after the home player manager in the first period took serious exception to some comments made by a visiting player, leading to a confrontation.

So, a tough day at the office for Stoke, against a very useful side from just down the road, but a real learning experience at the same time for a club that has aspirations to reach a similar level.

It’s going to be very interesting to see how this develops. The noises the club are making are positive and professional, while it’s marketing and commercial incentives are both refreshing and forward thinking.

Word of warning though if you are going, be careful where you park, I made the mistake of using the players car park, and as we all know, players don’t leave at the final whistle, especially when you find yourself blocked in!

Back home in less than an hour, and a very enjoyable night out with it.