The Wizards of Drivel - Stoke City Podcast

What else could we do for our 72nd episode? Stoke's only major trophy in the words of three men who helped achieve it. We met them across two tuesdays in Trentham to tell us (who were far from born back then) what it was like. A busy cafe is a busy cafe, and a small audio budget is a small audio budget - so sorry if the background gets too distracting at times. We did our best, and hope you enjoy...

The tall man does it again for Stoke, as Peter Crouch nets a potential goal of the season candidate as the Potters beat the Saints 2-1 at the Bet365. But, is it a deserved win for Stoke, and what do we do about Saido? Dave, Chris, and a returning Tom Thrower discuss all the talking points from the Saturday fixture, including a love-in for Zouma and Shaq, and a serious pondering over the likes of B...

We're back to a classic Wizards line-up and a classic Wizards format as Ben, Dave and Chris dissect a 4-0 defeat. We talk about a bad week for Stoke, our injury crisis, and a potential sitcom spin-off for the real star of the weekend, Mike Dean. Theme by @DIVENIREUK www.wizardsofdrivel.com patreon.com/wizardsofdrivel

Dave went to Newcastle and had a nice time, bar a pretty poor performance from the Potters at St. James' Park. Also high up in the gods on Tyneside was Alex Marrow, who makes his Wizards debut - discussing what went wrong, what went right and answering a few listener questions. Also while in the North East, Dave shared a pint with friends of the pod Ash and Dan - and discussed a few other talking...

Stoke draw 2-2 with Man United, meaning Dave and Chris are in good spirits. There's praise all over the shop for a superb Stoke display, and chat about everything from our front three to Mike Parry's stupid head. In addition, we have a chat with Brian Darling, author of new Stoke book 'Glory Hunter', Jason Martin delivers an academy update and James Knowles lets us know what's happening with the w...

Hello and welcome to The Wizards of Drivel Podcast In the absence of Chris, Ben and any meaningful football to talk about this weekend – we’ve done something a bit different for this episode. Joining David Cowlishaw are David Lee and Jon Mackenzie. David Lee is the author of Triffic, a biography of Tony Pulis, and 41 Shades of Grey - "The Tweet Life of Stoke City", which takes a look at last seaso...

It’s a hard-earned point for The Potters at the Hawthorns….more like the BOREthorns, am I right? No? It’s a frustrating afternoon for Stoke, as – shock horror – Tony Pulis’ side play negative, long-ball football that has the Sky audience searching for the remote. Elsewhere, Spurs can’t win at Wembley, Arsenal wilt in a high pressure game, and West Ham are still shit despite spending loads of money...

CITY ARE BACK As Stoke unveil a new corner at the bet365, have Mark Hughes’ men turned one? A new improved stadium claims its first scalp of the season, as Arsene Wenger’s men fall to the sweetest Jese release since his 2015 single ‘Yo Sabia’. With The Potters in the unusual position of having points on the board in August, Dave and Chris ask if this could be the start of something really exciting...

The new season is finally upon us, and after a relatively "meh" 1-0 loss to Everton, Chris, Ben and Zach (the American) are back to digest the weeks happenings. We delve deep into the world of 343, talk wingbacks, and pay tribute to a departed Catalan. Finally, with the window still open, we take a look at our new signings, and play a game of fantasy football, and determine who Stoke should spend...

The Wizards (and a host of you guys) preview the season. We look at our concerns, reasons to be cheerful and put our necks on the line by making predictions. Thanks to everyone who sent 60-second previews in! facebook.com/wizardsofdrivel patreon.com/wizardsofdrivel Theme tune by @DIVENIREUK

Dave and Ben are there to see Joselu score a brace at Bolton, and everything's rosy in the garden of Stoke...right? The pair sejourn to the pub to dissect that friendly, Stoke's transfer activity (or lack of it), Hughes' 3 at the back, and the general fan gloom as the new season approaches. In addition, we have a post-Sheffield United ramble from Chris, who saw a less hopeful Stoke City performanc...

Another week of preseason passes, and another Stoke City modern day legend (if you'll indulge us using the term) has left the club...no no not Marko Arnautovic (although there is plenty to discuss there), but Glenn Whelan. It's goodbye to the Irishman, as Chris and Ben discuss what next for Stoke's midfield, as well as the other comings and goings around the Potteries. Oh...and we mention Arnie......

"I've got a sense of impending doom, but I am excited about the new season" pretty much encaspulates the spirit of the podcast as we try to balance the positive of some encouraging pre-season displays and the negative that is the transfer uncertainty. We also talk about our link-up with our new radical punk mates FC St. Pauli, and get a perspective from over in Hamburg thanks to St. Pauli pod Mill...

We welcome Zak Deakin to the pod but it's a sombre mood as The Wizards reflect on the Arnautovic transfer request bombshell whilst we play Xamax.

It’s another interview episode as we chat to Anthony Bunn, the editor of Duck Magazine. In these interviews, we want to talk to people with a genuine passion for Stoke and Duck magazine is the embodiment of that. I went to the excellent Glebe pub to chat with Bunny about fanzines, Stoke, the academy, hopes for next season and much more besides. As you might expect with the interview being recorded...

We're back! The Wizards of Drivel podcast returns for another season and what better way to kick things off with an interview with a modern day Stoke City hero? We obviously covered Higgy's Stoke career - from helping bring Ric to the Britannia (we could have had Dexter Blackstock!), to THAT Quarter final free-kick and the horrible injury that cut short his time at The Potters and the effect it ha...

Dave and Ben have a new podcast and they'd love it if you would listen. It's called Who Are Ya and can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/user-251565865/blackpool-not-a-penny-more or on iTunes. This episode of Wizards is a bit cheeky of us but it features the first few minutes of the first ever Who Are Ya? podcast and we thought you might be interested in our latest project. @WhoAreYaPod @wizar...

A whole season summed up in one podcast, what more could you want? As Stoke emerge victorious at Southampton, The Wizards discuss what this season has meant and where we go from here with Mark Hughes providing strong and stable leadership for at least another season...right? But there's more than that - there's the first ever #WODPOD end of season awards, season reviews from our loyal listeners, a...

***This episode contains a fair bit of swearing*** Exactly a year since their first show, The Wizards discuss Stoke shipping four goals. Things get very heated, Mark Hughes is compared to Ozymandias, and we attempt to talk through exactly what is going wrong and what needs to happen in the summer. @wizardsofdrivel patreon.com/wizardsofdrivel facebook.com/wizardsofdrivel wizardsofdrivel.com

As Stoke return from the Vitality Stadium with a point, it’s one of those confusing little end of season games that asks more questions then it answers. Questions like: WHO can explain Mark Hughes’ substitutions? WHAT was Arnie thinking about when Joe Allen’s cross came in? WHEN will the good people of Stoke be celebrating Ramadan again? WILL those leaked new kits turn out to be the biggest Macron...

An hour of not a lot of action with many shots harmlessly faling by the way side. And that's just the podcast. A disappointing 0-0 draw meant neither side went home particularly happy. Jack was back, Muniesa was playing at left back and Hughes made some bang average subs. Other areas of interest for the Wizards were Robbie Savage's clueless comments, Charlie Adam's Jack Butland agent duties and Da...

Oh Stoke. Jack was back against the Jacks and there's delight that Butland made his long overdue return to Premier League football, but that's about as far as the positivity goes as Stoke fall to another away defeat. We ask why we've used half a season to get a player fit, what our defenders actually do in training and when Arnie's pen will come back to earth. Apart from discuss the game, we play...

It's an effective double change not only at the bet365 stadium, but also at Wizards HQ as the old guard of Ben Rowley and Tom Thrower are thrown on to make a nuisance of themselves and deliver their verdicts on a much-needed Stoke win. There's praise for a delightful trio of goals, in amongst the regular concern and criticism. Also, we decide what song will motivate the lads for the rest of the se...

It’s episode 50 of the Wizards of Drivel Podcast and the lads have got the bakewall tarts out. What better way to celebrate a milestone than speculating at which manager would be best to take over from Mark Hughes? The wizards take a long hard look at who could replace the Welshman, with some sensible choices, and some that are probably rather unrealistic. Obviously we don’t want Hughes to go if h...

Stoke are brushed aside at The King Power, and The Wizards are left to chew over another underwhelming display. Chris takes the defeat badly, getting as 'Hughes Out' as he's ever been. We attempt to analyse what is going wrong and what can be done to address it with the return of 'Hughesnight'. Also, we have our Oatcake Thread of the Week courtesy of Stoke's newest American fan, our listener quest...