The Wizards of Drivel - Stoke City Podcast

The Wizards go slightly insane in the absence of a Stoke game. So there is chat on: Ireland v Wales, Shaq's mysteriously healing hammy, In-ger-lund, filling the bet365, the sesh with Saido, holidays with Stoke players, Giannelli Imbula and The Temple of Doom, roughly an hour of Lord of the Rings chat, a quiz and a vague attempt at a Leicester preview. ALSO: Listen out for a chance to WIN BEER!

Stoke suffer late heartbreak as this season's champions take a step towards the title. Dave is joined by Zach and Tom to dissect that performance, as well as talking Primark mannequins, Ngoy on Twitter and dressing room music choices. We've also got @StamfordChidge from The Chelsea FanCast giving a Blues' perspective on yesterday, @scfcjase sends in some concerns about strikers and we have our fir...

For the first ever time in the Wizards' completely original new show idea, Dave and Ben are joined in the studio by prolific Stoke City 'artist', Joe Barbieri. The unlikely trio discuss Joe's favourite five Stoke games of all time as well as his inductee into the Wizards of Drivel Hall of Fame and his all-time favourite Stoke kit. If you don't know who Joe is you will certainly recognise some of h...

Stoke beat Boro 2-0 and it's our Egyptian wonderkid who has Dave, Chris and Ben purring. There's praise for Ramadan and Hughes' men as we make light work of a lacklustre Boro side. Thanks to @PhilSpenc23 for his Boro insights In addition, we celebrate Stoke reaching the FA Youth Cup Semi and look ahead it to with The City Watch Podcast. Also, Aff's new contract, and our favourite footballer tweets...

The Wizards dissect a 4-0 defeat to Spurs...again. An emotional pod meet in Sheffield to discuss Stoke's capitulation at White Hart Lane. We try to find the positives despite there being a shower of negatives. Also, we have our listener question of the week - what was your 15 minutes of football fame? Plus Coates on Question Time, Ranieri and we open 'The Hate Locker' ahead of Middlesbrough. Thank...

How can the fans create a better atmosphere? What would your ideal first XI be? Will we ever see a Potteries derby again? Do you have your Oatcake with cheese? What was your first ever Stoke City game? Who were you sad to see leave? The answer my friend, is in Wizards 43 The answer’s in Wizards 43 Who would you support if we ceased to exist? Who can replace N’Zonzi? Is the Premier League as good a...

STOKE WIN! The Wizards digest a good result (if not the best game) as Stoke win 1-0 at home to Palace, with Joe Allen proving once again why finishing is his best attribute. There's praise for Ramadan, Bruno and plenty more. David has bought a Stoke shirt and guess who's name is on the back? We wonder if Palace will go down, mourn the loss of our scoreboard and grow tired of the latest instalment...

It's a bumper episode of #WODPOD this week. We have the usual post-game analysis, with Ben Rowley, Chris Brammer and David Cowlishaw digesting a defeat at West Brom. Look at our facebook page for the best argued 'Hughes In' correpsondence ever Also, we chat to Martyn Cooke about an academic paper published on the early history of Stoke City, Pete Smith from The Sentinel talks about covering the cl...

Literally moments after the final whistle at the bet365, the Wizards discuss a 1-1 draw at Everton that included Peter Crouch reaching his Premier League century. In a short, editing-issues-effected podcast, we also bemoan a dour second half and Arnie not sticking the ball in the net. Also, there's a collective sadness about El Petit Geni moving to Germany. We'll be back with a longer, happier and...

This episode is all about Frank Soo. The name Frank Soo will probably be familiar to you, but it’ss a name that really ought to be more celebrated. Frank was, first and foremost, a fantastic footballer. Frank played over 170 times for Stoke between 1933 and 1945, at Inside Forward or Half Back, and was appointed captain of Bob McGrory’s side. Frank was a star with the ball at his feet, and his con...

Stoke suffer last-gasp heartbreak as Rooney breaks a little-discussed record to level for Man United. Dave, Ben and Tom discuss our approach to a hard-fought point. There's some disagreement about our performance, but plenty of praise dished out. We look at Mark Clattenburg's game and wonder who got the best of his decisions. Also, there's the Roving RePotters, a reaction to Saido signing and stay...

Stoke break their hoodoo at the Stadium of Light, meaning Dave and Chris return from the North East in high spirits. There's praise for Sparky and his team, and Ben even singles out Peter Crouch for some plaudits! 2017 is weird. In addition, there's a very negative 'Hughesnight' with contributors giving a scathing review of his time in charge, and there's also 'Have I Got Hughes for You' where fan...

It's been a turbulent week for Stoke. Dave, Chris and Ben dissect the cup exit to Wolves and a win over Watford. There's also chat on Bojan, 'flair players', the return of Hughesnight and Roving RePotters, as well as a new feature from Chris. Thanks to our Roving RePotters, emailers and tweeters for joining in the conversation. Find us on facebook ('Wizards of Drivel'), Twitter (@wizardsofdrivel)...

HAPPY NEW YEAR. Before you do anything: Like us on Facebook please - facebook.com/wizardsofdrivel - you won't regret it. David Cowlishaw, Chris Brammer and a croaky Tom Thrower welcome in 2017 by reflecting on two drubbings at Liverpool and Chelsea. Tom wants the manager gone, and becomes the first ever guest on 'Hughesnight' to defend his position. We worry about the January transfer window, my M...

Fair warning, this episode contains a lot of giggling at our own jokes and self-indulgence, so if you came here for tactical analysis or hard-hitting opinion, steer clear. Dave, Chris and Tom review 2016. A year that brought a few highs, plenty of lows and some excellent Giannelli Imbula content. We discuss our best goals, games, highlights and players. In addition, there's a festive pun XI and ou...

Oh boy. As Leicester still celebrate, our very own comeback kid Jason Martin returns to podding duty. He and Dave dissect two very different draws at the bet365. Fair warning, we moan a lot about the second of them. Thanks to our Roving RePotters Tom Thrower, Lucien Finch and Dom Smith. Also to our e-mailers and twitterers for joining the discussion. If you want to cheer us up, leave a review on i...

We did it.

The Wizards (and Xherdan Shaqiri!) are back round the microphones again to discuss a pleasing 2-0 over Burnley in the Premier League. Dave loves boring second halves, Ben loves Bruno, Chris loves being back on the podcast and we all love Marc Muniesa. Additionally, news on Wizards of Drivel, Mugs, #DeployNgoy Stickers, and a preview of our trip to Arsenal. @wizardsofdrivel

There's no half measures in this episode, as Dave and Ben spend more time talking about Stoke players they'd like to have a drink with than the upcoming fixture against Burnley. Fortunately, Jamie Smith from the No Nay Never Podcast was free to have a chat with Dave about The Clarets' season and his hopes for their trip to The Bet365. And, as a bonus, Nathan Shelley grabbed some audio of Eric Piet...

Stoke win away! Dave and Ben are fresh from a deserved 1-0 victory at Vicarage Road for Mark Hughes' men. There's praise for the Potters' misfits as Diouf, Muniesa and Imbula come in from the cold and help secure some great sunday lunchtime points. @wizardsofdrivel

Dave, Chris and Ben return to the mics and look ahead to Stoke's trip to Vicarage Road. Also up for discussion are Marc Muniesa's future at the club, Stoke's injury crisis and the exciting future of Thibaud Verlinden. In the second half, Dave chats to Mike from Watford Podcast 'From The Rookery End' to give us a glory hornet boy's perspective - @wizardsofdrivel, @watfordpodcast

Much like the Potters' midfield against Bournemouth, this episode contains several disjointed parts that don't really fit together. To kick off, David and BearPit blogger Tom Thrower (@sussexstokie) discuss the 1-0 defeat to The Cherries, picking holes in several players' performances, as well as Sparky's tactics as Wilshere and co walk away with three points. Secondly, David chats to Russian Stok...

The Wizards meet in person, and from a studio in Salford bring you a special episode honouring the team that took us to a cup final in 2011. It was a brilliant time to be a Stokie, so we hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane with us. @wizardsofdrivel

*Disclaimer* There was an audio foul-up which meant Dave and Ben's chat at the start is severely cut down. Nonetheless, it's a short and sweet podcast in which Dave and Ben look ahead to Bournemouth's visit to the Bet365. In the second half, Dave chats to Bournemouth fan Jamie Williams for a Cherries' perspective. Get your memories in for our FA Cup special @wizardsofdrivel or wizardsofdrivelpodca...

A slightly different episode, given the international break. It's a celebration of Stoke City fan media with two of the leading figures in it. Dave chats to The Bear Pit TV's Elliot Hackney about all that's involved in producing a club-specific YouTube channel, including having tea at Chez Wilko. Then he talks to Anthony Bunn from Duck Magazine about interviewing Joe Allen, and all things fanzine-...