After our recent bad run of results away from home, this looked like a potential banana skin, and I must admit that earlier on in the week I wished I hadn't already bought my ticket for this one. When the day of the game came around though, I had regained some of my usual enthusiasm and I was actually looking forward to the game, although I think it was the inclusion of Richie Partridge at long last that had me excited more than anything else.
On the monday before this game I was listening to the phone in on Century 105, and some idiot Stoke fan rang in to say how he wasn't impressed with our defence and he reckoned Stoke would definitely turn us over. Mickey Thomas and Alan Kennedy both told him to behave himself and both were predicting three or four nil wins to the reds.
One angry red took it one stage further though, and rang in to say that Stoke would be lucky if they kept the score down to single figures. He wasn't kidding either, he was deadly serious, his logic being that we were creating so many chances every week that eventually someone was going to get a hammering. If that red is reading this, then I'd appreciate it if he could write in and tell me what he think the lottery numbers will be this week!
Anyway, I was a bit wary about this trip given the reputation of the home fans, and I was unsure whether trying to sell the mag outside was such a good idea. A conversation with Andy Knott from RAOTL (who also happens to be my printer by the way, so if you need any printing done he's your man!) eased my fears though, and my mate and I arrived at the Britannia to see RAOTL editor JJP already selling outside in the rain (and not looking in the best of spirits either!).
It had been an entertaining coach journey, as there were a few lads at the back in fine voice on the coach, although they did let themselves down with regular renditions of the Munich song, which can't be condoned I'm afraid boys. Singing it on the coach was bad enough, but doing it in the stadium was a disgrace. Thankfully there were enough sensible reds there to boo them whenever they started it, and eventually they got the message and shut up.
The most amusing part of the night for me was seeing this gobshite Stoke supporter escorted out by stewards just after our first goal. There was a bit of banter between our fans on the left of the stand behind the goal, and some of the locals who were adjacent to them, but this one middle aged slap-head sat on the front row was getting a bit too carried away. Naturally, he was subjected to the sight of a load of reds slapping their heads and grinning at him, and it appeared to be too much for the poor chap to handle, as he repeatedly made throat cutting gestures and kept pointing outside. His intent was clear, and the stewards turfed him out. Really funny it was.
Almost as funny as the ¿Shit on the hippoî chant that went up when Stoke's mascot trudged past our end with the score at 8-0 to us. As for the game, the caller to Century 105 was absolutely spot on. We created no more chances than we had at Newcastle, but this time we were clinical and Stoke were mauled.
Fowler was different class, Murphy and McAllister ran the game, Ziege was brilliant in midfield, the position where he should play every week, and Partridge and Wright had good debuts. Pegguy was just....well Pegguy. I said when we signed him that he is dodgy and you never know what he's going to do next, and this was exactly what I meant by that. I like Pegguy, but I don't trust him.
8-0 away from home against any football league side is an achievement, and it pisses me off to hear people say ¿It was only Stoke.î These are the same people who would have been slaughtering us if we'd only won 2-0. This win has been on the cards for a while, and although we had a few early scares and God knows how we kept a clean sheet, at least we did. Hopefully this will kick start our season now, but haven't I said that before this season?
TEAM: Pegguy Arphexad; Markus Babbel (Stephen Wright), Stephane Henchoz, Sami Hyypia, Jamie Carragher; Richie Partridge (Nick Barmby), Danny Murphy, Gary McAllister, Christian Ziege (Dietmar Hamann); Vladimir Smicer, Robbie Fowler:
