The Diary

20 March 2004: A Potted Potteries Preview!

Look out Stokies (or Clay-heads, as they?re sometimes known!) ? the mighty Baggie Army?s going to get you! Latest scuttlebutt is we?ve completely sold our ticket allocation for tomorrow, which means we?ll be taking some 4,400 Black Country souls to the Britannia Stadium. According to those nice chappies on the official website, that will beat by a country mile the numbers we took to both Derby and Sheffield United earlier in the current campaign. As I?ve said before, we haven?t beaten them at their place since 1982, when we did so by a 3 goal margin, and since then, we?ve had just about rock-all to show for our efforts there. How come? Simple, until comparatively recently in Stoke-Albion encounters, ?might was always right? ? they had all the might, and our side was never right! That was during the days of such luminaries as Lou Macari, and bloody Mark Stein, though, when any Baggies side was liable to get battered into submission at their place. As far as The Britannia Stadium?s concerned, though, as of now, we?ve drawn one League encounter bloodlessly, also a pre-season friendly last year.

Stoke gaffer Tony Pulis will be hoping their lot can partially scupper our promotion ambitions tomorrow, as they have (very!) faint hopes of making it into the play-offs themselves, but, nice chap that he is, he does reckon we?ll lift the Division One championship come the end of term. He did say also, at the start of the current season, that in terms of finances, etc. we were a million miles away from them! Apparently, he knows our manager from way back when, more than 25 years ago to be precise. At that time, Gary was about 14, and his dad was Bristol Rovers gaffer ? the young shaver used to hang around the place a lot, according to Tony. One vagrant thought ? is there any manager in the League that hasn?t encountered our gaffer at some stage or another?

It?s looking very much as though we won?t have the pleasure of The Horse?s company tomorrow afternoon. In today?s papers, our leader seemed to be strongly hinting Hughsie would start this time round, which isn?t surprising, given his pivotal role in bringing home the bacon on Tuesday night. Which delicate little wallflower will be plucked from the dark corner of the dance-floor to partner him for tomorrow?s Premiership Quick-Step, I wonder?

We do have a fair old choice, though: Facey, Dobes, Rob Hulse, or Skoubo, even. Personally, I would go for Delroy as he doesn?t half have a turn of speed about him, and proved at Norwich he could handle pressure situations quite easily. How he didn?t get on the scoresheet that night still astonishes me. Moving into the middle of the park, I wonder whether we?d consider dropping Scouse Jase at all? His performances have been very much below par of late. It?s an interesting thought, but having said that, he?s the sort of player that can turn games in the twinkling of an eye. As for the rest, the fact that there?s very little in the way of injury to worry about means it?s very much be a case of ?as you were?; the only remaining variable in the equation is what sort of formation we adopt ? 4-4-2, or 3-5-2?

Talk of tomorrow?s pottiness at The Potteries brings me, as per usual, to some consideration of the history of the place. It won?t surprise you at all to know that much of the city?s story is inextricably bound with that of the pottery industry, so for those of you who want to know a little about tomorrow?s opponents and what makes their supporters tick, here goes!

The City of Stoke-on-Trent actually consists of six towns, and up until comparatively recently, they were all separate geographical entities. A bit confusing, I know, but not half as confusing as having several of the locals trying to bleed your ears simultaneously. Trust me, I know! Those six towns? Burslem (as per our old mates and Division Two sparring-partners Port Vale), Fenton, Hanley, Stoke, Longton and Tunstall. These towns formed a federation in 1910, and although each one still retains its character and identity, they are collectively known under the name of Stoke-on-Trent, becoming lumped all together as a City in 1925.

So how did the place start, then? Stoke-on-Trent didn?t exist 300 million years ago, of course; even the dinosaurs were otherwise engaged elsewhere. However, those gungy swamps of rotting vegetation around at the time formed an important step towards the evolution of the Potteries. It was these that created the rich coal seams that were to make the area so popular for industry. From them grew a huge coal, steel, pottery and brick-manufacturing centre. Additionally, the clay soil deposits found in the area laid the foundations of the pottery industry, although when mass production of cups, saucers, pots, and so forth really got under way, better quality clay was imported from places like Cornwall.

The area was not heavily populated before the Industrial Revolution, but there were settlements in the area. Indeed, stone monuments exist from prehistoric times, when the climate was similar to the modern day Mediterranean. Imagine it, a sunbathing prehistoric Stokie, chattering (grunting?) furiously to his missus as he soaked up the youthful Sun?s rays? No? Aw, suit yourself! . Coal was extracted as far back as Roman times. They used it for cooking purposes as well, plus their hypocausts ? that?s central heating to you or me. Yep, even some 2,000 years ago, they had it, and we didn?t.

After the Romans buggered off because of Vandal troubles of their own around 400 AD, the area came under the control of the barbarous hordes from the north and west. Think Billy Connolly in skins and leather, all daubed with woad, and you?ve just about got it. That didn?t last long, though: Saxon settlers pushed them into mountainous and coastal areas in the West and North, and as we all know, the sods can still be trouble to this day. Leaping forward in time a little, most people think pottery making came into its own in Stoke during the Industrial Revolution, but recent finds prove that at least one cottage industry thrived here some 600 - 800 years ago, and the consensus is it?s unlikely to have been an isolated workshop.

The presence of coal and clay in Stoke-on-Trent led to the area becoming the country's centre for the production of pottery in the 18th century, of course. Potteries dominates the history of the area, in fact, and one name stands above the many other famous ones connected with the industry - Wedgwood. The Wedgwood family came from Burslem, where Gilbert Wedgwood is recorded in 1640 as the first Master Potter in the family. His famous descendant, Josiah was born in 1730. He was to prove an innovator, a pioneer and a very astute businessman. Did he talk a lot as well? Probably. After an apprenticeship and several partnerships, he set up his own pottery at Burslem where he began creating and selling most successfully his famous Queen?s Ware. In 1768, he formed a partnership with Thomas Bentley and began making fine ware using imported clays, especially from Cornwall In 1769 he opened a factory at Burslem, called ?Etruria?. Why? At that time, Greek vases were though to be Etruscan in origin ? so there! Oh, and Wedgwood is where The Noise works ? and don?t we know it. The place was to be a model for other pottery manufacturers, and once the Wedgwood clan got going, others followed suit in quantity. Whilst Wedgwood may be the most famous name, there were many others, such as Spode, Minton, and Twyford were operating at this time, learning from each other and creating the reputation of the Potteries. The railways finally came to Staffordshire in 1837, making the movement of goods to more civilised (and less-voluble!) parts of the country even easier.

The towns today follow what was an ancient trade route, and string north to south in a staggered line. This makes the City layout in many ways similar to what you see in villages, and to a lesser extent in towns. The modern city stretches between 16 - 20 miles, north to south, but is in actual fact only a few miles wide. Indeed, ten minutes driving east or west will see you in open countryside. With growth, the towns started to form an indistinguishable mass along the main travel route. Talk of amalgamation - and there must have been lots and lots! - began long before federation finally happened in 1910.

There was another unique element about the place, which must have caused much animated discussion at the time. Stoke doesn't have a cathedral, and this was unknown for a city, or a town that had upwardly-mobile aspirations, even. Indeed, this caused many of the objectors to the 1925 city award to kick up one hell of a stink about it. Traditionalists, presumably, they saw this as a more significant reason than the region really being an elongated link up of towns, instead of the usual criteria of one town growing into city status.

When all the hubbub about city status finally died down, it was finally decided that the City Centre was to be Hanley. Hanley had enjoyed the status of a major localised trading centre for some time, so that was why. The first records of a settlement there document a place named Hanlih, and were dated 1227. And just to make things even more complicated, originally, Hanley was a collection of three places linked together purely and simply because they were near to each other i.e. Hanley village, Upper Green and Lower Green! Which just goes to show that nothing about Stoke or its people is ever straightforward! Oh ? one other strange fact about the area; according to government statistics, an amazing 15 per cent of their citizens are classified as ?sick or disabled?.

Among the many famous folkies born in the Potteries was novelist Arnold Bennett. Enoch Arnold Bennett (his proper monicker) was born on 27 May 1867 at 90 Hope Street, Hanley. He was the son of Enoch Bennett, a Burslem man who was at the time a pawnbroker, seeking to improve his station in the pursuit of a career in law. (Another occupation where you have to talk a lot ? I rest my case!) Bennett`s first novel, ?A Man From The North?, was published in 1898, and featured a thinly-disguised Burslem. You might say, what with Vale and everything darkening the place, it was about the only decent thing ever to come out of there! He?s also well-known for novels such as ?Clayhanger? and ?Anna Of The Five Towns?, both of which have featured on the box at some time or another.

Captain Smith of the ill-fated ocean liner 'The Titanic' was born in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. History places the blame for the 1912 disaster fairly and squarely on a bloody great iceberg stuck right in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, plus the fact the so-called ?unsinkable? boat, erm, wasn?t, actually! Personally, I reckon it was all down to the master of the vessel. How come? Being from the Potteries, he was so engrossed in a good old chinwag with the other crew on the bridge, he never even noticed that great frozen lump of water in front of him, with predictable results!

The city also has large connections with Reginald Mitchell (1895 - 1937), designer of the Word War 2 Spitfire aeroplane. He was born in the neighbouring borough of Newcastle Under Lyme, and each year, on his birthday, a lone Spitfire does a fly-past over the school there that bears his name. The Spit, as it was popularly known, was one of the most famous aircraft of that period. First produced just before the start of the conflict and still in active service for the RAF for quite some time after hostilities finished, in all, 21,554 were built in 24 different versions, including some 1220 Seafires fitted for aircraft carrier operation.

Last, but not least, is Robbie Williams. He started off with ?Take That? of course, but decided to go solo in 1995. Much to everyone?s surprise, he made a go of life on his own, musically speaking, and is now a well-respected member of the industry. Oh, and he supports Port Vale, allegedly, although despite having a personal fortune of some ?70 million, he still hasn?t splashed any significant amount of cash in their direction. Unless you know better, of course.

And finally?.. This one comes from Scandinavian Baggie Stian Boe, and thanks to him for using it. Some praise for once for those lovely lads and lasses at the Ticket Office. According to Stian, about ten days after applying (from Darkest Norway, remember!), he received his membership card, got his PIN code after a few more days, and once they?d both arrived, ordered tickets for Gillingham and for Millwall online and by fax on Wednesday lunchtime - and received them all by post today! What more can I say, I?m absolutely knocked out by that one. Bloody good service, Albion ? and long may it continue.

 - Glynis Wright

Contact the Author

Diary Index