The Stoke City Courier
Squad13 Jan 2031
Jason Steele damages knee ligaments — 98 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 98 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad13 Jan 2031
Sorba Thomas breaks a bone — 40 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 40 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings13 Jan 2031
Arnaud Kalimuendo runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 29. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad13 Jan 2031
Lewis Baker: 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.
Match11 Jan 2031
No end in sight to Stoke City's wait for a win
6 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.
Squad13 Jan 2031
Tempers go at Stoke City
Arnaud Kalimuendo 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.
Market13 Jan 2031
Norwich City expected to open talks for Nathan Lowe
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Stoke City will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Market13 Jan 2031
Bromley join the queue for Tommy McNally
Add another name to the list: Bromley have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Tommy McNally. The answer from Stoke City has not changed — yet.
Market13 Jan 2031
The Arnaud Kalimuendo story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Arnaud Kalimuendo signs something — a contract at Stoke City or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
- Match Stoke City and Hull City cancel each other out
- Market Stoke City put Sean Raggett up for sale
- Player ratings A defender's afternoon for Tatsuki Seko