SPEED CROSSES THE DIVIDE TO TAKE ON NEW ROLE AT STOKE
IT has been another busy week at Stoke City. Potters writer PETER SMITH looks at the latest talking points...
CROSSING THE CITY
There were a series of double takes in the Stoke press corps at the bet365 Stadium as Port Vale stalwart Steve Speed walked into the media room kitted out in his Stoke City tracksuit and a big smile.
It was, as one fella with a foot in the Vale camp suggested, like seeing Mark Stein turning up in a Vale top. Groundsman Speed was a revered figure across the city for 43 years, working against the odds for much of that time, before his departure was confirmed in September.
He remained coy about what his next chapter would involve, except to be clear that he wasn’t retiring.
He has now taken up a role at Stoke, where he will find a fellow workaholic in head groundsman Andy Jackson. Speed had to think outside the box at times because of his budget in Burslem - Mike Baggaley recently recounted the story of the sheep and there was the tractor episode in January - and he was named club hero in 2015, nominated for a City of Stoke-on-trent service to sport award in 2020 and was given the EFL long service award in 2021.
He was always reluctant to be in any headlines - but what he did was often particularly headline-worthy so, apologies for putting you in the spotlight again, Speedie.
It will be a significantly different gig at Stoke and their Clayton Wood training complex, where state of the art pitches are maintained almost like bowling greens.
Jackson. who has worked for Stoke since 1995, has long been lauded too and has always been innovative to try to make sure the club is renowned for its playing surface. “We’ve got a good group of staff here and we don’t want to give the players any excuses,” he told the Sentinel last year upon receipt of a commendation from the EFL.
ALEX NEIL OVERTAKES HIS OWN RECORD
Alex Neil now has more wins as Stoke manager (five) than he has against them (four) - although he still has more wins as an away manager at the bet365 Stadium than in the home dug-out.
Neil’s record against the Potters was quite impressive - eight games, four wins, two draws and two defeats, 12 goals scored and eight conceded particularly because his sides were probably the underdogs in most of those encounters.
He won three out of his four visits to the Potteries, twice with Preston and once with Sunderland.
He has now won two out of his first seven home games as Stoke boss and you could sense he knew getting that second, on Tuesday against Luton, was very important.
“I think from our point of view the result was much more important than the performance,” he said in his postmatch press conference.
“I’m sick to death of coming in and saying how well we’ve played when we’ve not won.”
Nathan Jones has lost four out of five games against Stoke since he returned to Luton, including one at the bet365, where his overall record is now four wins in 20 attempts, including three in 17 as home manager.
CONGRATULATIONS TO JORDAN THOMPSON AND FAMILY
Jordan Thompson was given permission to miss Stoke’s game on Tuesday when his partner Melissa gave birth to a baby boy. The couple had been expecting their new arrival in December.
Neil said: “Jordan was due to start the game but they’ve had a baby. Everything is well as far as I’m aware so that’s great for him and his family.” Dujon Sterling missed out with a knock and centre-half Phil Jagielka was rested.
Neil added: “We made quite a few changes.
“Some to give people an opportunity to start like Jack Bonham, who I think has merited a chance to play and I thought he did well this evening. “Others were to freshen up other positions really because we’ve had a lot of games in a short period of time.”
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