Marked for Nathan Lowe
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market27 Sep 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Stoke City, and it is not being withdrawn.
The terraces27 Sep 2027
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match25 Sep 2027
A 1‑0 win over Norwich City, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Match21 Sep 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Tommy Watson. 1‑0 against Preston, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad27 Sep 2027
The medical room confirms 30 days on the sidelines for Caleb Clothier, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Tobías Oscari and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.40 on the card, and the Stoke City support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.44 on the card, and the Stoke City support went home talking about one name.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Paul Smyth, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout6 Sep 2027
Tommy Watson: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Stoke City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market6 Sep 2027
Tommy McNally hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Stoke City can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 19 signed and 19 gone
That is the business done at Stoke City until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
No deal for Romain Esse at that price
Stoke City offered $1.5M; Crystal Palace said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Market6 Sep 2027
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Stoke City heard it as anything else.
Market6 Sep 2027
The offer from Wisla Krakow for Matthew Young was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market6 Sep 2027
The name of Ben Wilmot has come up in conversations Stoke City were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad6 Sep 2027
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Tommy Watson and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 Mar 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad15 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Stoke City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
Divin Mubama gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Nobody could get near Bae Jun-Ho
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Michael Bailey was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Stoke City dressing room was either.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
The plan did not have a place for Jack McGlynn
Nobody at Stoke City is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Match13 Mar 2027
Point won or two lost for Stoke City?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Swansea City? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Market15 Mar 2027
The George Hirst talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Stoke City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Michael Bailey has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Market8 Mar 2027
The offer from FC Dallas for Jack McGlynn was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market8 Mar 2027
Tomáš Rigo has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Stoke City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Rodrigo Bentancur and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match2 Mar 2027
Blackburn Rovers left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nathan Collins, and the manager let it.
Market8 Mar 2027
The name of Nathan Lowe has come up in conversations Stoke City were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The terraces8 Mar 2027
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market22 Feb 2027
Molde come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Stoke City did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market22 Feb 2027
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Stoke City can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Match20 Feb 2027
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Junior Tchamadeu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets22 Feb 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The terraces22 Feb 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Bae Jun-Ho has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Match20 Feb 2027
Derby County made Stoke City work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Match20 Feb 2027
It had gone 5 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Marked 8.05 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market4 Jan 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market4 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market4 Jan 2027
The name of Justin Devenny has come up in conversations Stoke City were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Nathan Lowe is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
Stoke City asked and Everton said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Loan watch4 Jan 2027
“I watch every Stoke City game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Derby County runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Joe Buršík
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
A performance of 8.32 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Steven Nzonzi: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Stoke City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad28 Dec 2026
The step up is real for Angus Lloyd
At 17 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Ben Johnson and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Nobody on the pitch touched George Hirst
7.48, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Stoke City had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Marked 7.30 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Stoke City had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Ben Killip dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Michael Bailey could afford to be generous.
Market28 Dec 2026
Steven Nzonzi is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Stoke City has been clear about where Steven Nzonzi stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Nov 2026
Michael Svoboda was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The terraces2 Nov 2026
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match31 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Divin Mubama. 2‑0 against Charlton Athletic, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Match27 Oct 2026
Derby County left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.16, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.02 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I want to play”: Joe Buršík speaks
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Ben Killip dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Michael Bailey kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 Oct 2026
8 saves: Joe Buršík was the team
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad26 Oct 2026
20 days out for Luca Bombino after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Stoke City will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Steven Nzonzi: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Stoke City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.44 for the rest of it.
Match24 Oct 2026
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joe Buršík, and the manager let it.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Divin Mubama was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Ben Killip asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market14 Sep 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Stoke City, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match12 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Stoke City's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Stoke City has to find a result from somewhere.
Match12 Sep 2026
5 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Portsmouth have kept their man, and Stoke City go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match12 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Milan Smit reaches 100 appearances
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Maksym Talovierov and Stoke City agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Michael Svoboda and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.