This isn’t a match preview. This isn’t a level headed look into the fixture, with key players and quotes from each side. This is no score prediction. This is poison. This is anger. This is every fibre of your being screaming from the stands at the weekend. This is every one of you playing your part to breathe life into a shit season. This is the Hate Locker.
West Brom
It’s hard to like West Brom, after they spent the entire summer window fucking us over for Saido Berahino. The pointless saga and dickswinging by Jeremy Peace, seemingly wanting to impress his master Daniel Levy, culminated in him played hardball over Saido for the best part of 8 months from the initial contact. To have a player for sale and reject every bid is lunacy. They deserve to lose him for nothing in the summer.
Then there’s last season’s fixtures.
Who can forget last season’s clash at the Britannia Stadium. Where Craig Gardner’s antics coupled with utterly inept refereeing saw us down to 10 men early doors, shortly after being reduced further to 9 men.
Despite this, Stoke rallied and looked the side who wanted to play. They hassled and harried, chased and fought their damnedest to get back into the game. Not to mention the reverse fixture at the Hawthorns, where Stoke were once again the better side, only for the antics of another Baggies midfielder to swing the balance in West Brom’s favour.
Claudio Yacob, resident macho man at West Brom, went down like a sack of shit from a frustrated push, following Cameron getting his foot trod on. The referee had seen enough, Cameron was the third Stoke player in a few months to see red against West Brom.
Later on in the season, following an incident with Dele Alli, Pulis had the following to say about Yacob:
“I’ve spoken to him and he said the punch wasn’t below the belt so he took quite well!” Pulis quipped.
“Claudio didn’t roll around, didn’t make a meal of it, just got on with it….When you see some players, English players as well as South American players, falling around and rolling around at times whey they’ve not been touched, I don’t think he’s taken the credit he deserves. He didn’t make anything out of it.”
What a fucking hero.
It speaks volumes that Cameron had his red card rescinded following the game, but the damage was already done. Stoke were undone late on and gained 0 of 6 points against West Brom last season.
Think it’s about time we leveled the score.
Martin Atkinson
On the week that Mark Hughes accepts a charge and an £8,000 FA fine, the powers to be decided that a poisonous affair needed an equally poisonous master of ceremonies.
Some creatures need no introduction. Atkinson is one of them.
Let’s be clear – the standard of refereeing this season is shit. Utterly shit. We’ve been shafted many a time over the course of the first few games, and there is certainly a different rule sheet when Stoke are involved. You’re allowed to say that without being accused of excuses.
In the context of poor referees, though Atkinson is god tier. The final boss. Who could forget his one man mission to ruin the game against Newcastle at St James Park in 2013, where Assaidi’s wonder strike became a mere consolation for 9 man Stoke in a 5-1 drubbing.
Need something a little more recent? Try the 2-2 draw against Swansea at the Britannia last season, where he allowed the equaliser to stand despite there being a Swansea man interfering with play. That was the game which all but confirmed we were to miss out on Europe. What a sickener.
He’ll be doing his best to ruin the game as a spectacle and a competitive contest. Be sure to give him a warm welcome.
EURO 2016
We’re not done yet.
Hal Robson Kanu is next up. Winning the Goal of the Tournament for his Sunday League turn against Belgium.
Whilst Xherdan Shaqiri’s acrobatics from outside of the box barely got a look-in.
Disgraceful.
Tony Pulis
The hero of Staffordshire. The man who got us promoted to the Premier League celebrates his 1000th game in management at the weekend, and you shouldn’t give a shit. There’s a time for applause and a time for antagonism, and this game is the latter.
A handful still pine for his return, but times are different. It’s been four years, Pulis has moved on and would not hesitate to slay Stoke in an instant, like a sorry little pup. He’s proved as much on the last two occasions. Roaring down the Britannia touchline, lambasting every decision and getting into scraps with our playing staff. Even dating back to his Crystal Palace stint, Stoke have been unable to beat him.
Does he look remotely arsed about the good old days?
You need to be as cold and as calculated as Pulis – any warm feelings and feeling of gratitude can stay at home, this game is war. Put your ill feelings about the management aside and remember who your manager is. Mark Hughes needs his barmy army more than ever, and a volcanic Bet365 stadium will give Stoke players the perfect platform to break the Tony Pulis curse.
It Is Time
There’s nothing worse than seeing dejected Stoke players. They hate it. We hate it. So enough of feeling sorry for ourselves. Heads have dropped, fans have booed, stands have emptied. Message boards have resembled battlegrounds and social media war zones. Do you want another week of this?
No, you don’t. You demanded a performance against Hull and you fucking well got one. The result may have hurt morale but only a fool would argue the play wasn’t better than the matches before. Stoke were positive, dominant and created chance after chance. The team is settling and gelling – the improved performance needs to be brought into the West Brom fixture. The players are ready. Marko is ready. Forget singing Hughes Out – sing your Hearts Out. Back the team, roar them on and show those Baggies who we are.
Saturday Is Where It All Changes
Where It All Ends
The Wizards Of Dribble 