My Day At Stoke City

It started about six months ago, I received a telephone call from a man with a strong potteries accent called Dave Evison, he said that he was calling from Stoke City Football Club and this immediately grabbed my attention. Dave works for the Potters Foundation at Stoke City. This is a foundation that asks fans to donate x amount of money per month and that goes towards the investing in the academy at Stoke City, fans money really goes into grassroots football.

He asked me if I sign up I got lots of benefits such as club shop discounts, priority away ticket access which is invaluable for matches against the likes of Liverpool, Man Utd and Chelsea where you have more chance of a ride on flipper than getting a ticket. He said if there was anything I had ever wanted to do during my time (over 20 years) of supporting the rip roaring potters. I said it was always a dream of mine to commentate on a Stoke City match. It was then that Dave said they run a competition each year that allows a supporter to do this with the assistance of BBC Radio Stoke. However they always struggle to find a winner who then wants to do it, mainly because of cold feet and last minute nerves! He said he would put my name on the list!

Then about 3 weeks ago and out of the blue, my mobile rang when I was in work, Dave Evison flashed up on the caller I.D. I answered with an air of caution, ‘hello Adam, remember we spoke a while back and you said that you would love to co-commentate on a football match, well congratulations you have been chosen, can you make the game in 2 weeks, a premiership encounter against Blackburn? How do you feel?’ ‘Yeah, erm great, erm can’t believe it.’ Suddenly I started saying erm in every sentence, it was a sign that I was shocked!

Later that week I received in the post an official letter from Stoke City with instructions for that day. I was to report to the club shop at 13:30 where I would be taken to meet Nigel Johnson, for those of you who do not support Stoke City, like my staunch Liverpool fan girlfriend Lisa, Nigel is a legend on the airwaves of BBC Radio Stoke, someone I have listened to since a was a young lad, a real idol! I could not wait.

February 06th 2010 – Stoke City Vs Blackburn Rovers

I was suited and booted and arrived at the Britannia at 1:15pm prompt, I knew this would give me time to park up (in my posh allocated parking space!) and then sit in the car for 10 minutes to compose my nerves, and go for yet another toilet break! (Note not in the car!)

At 1:28pm prompt I reported to the club shop where I got slightly distracted by the 50% sale, I will come back here after the match I thought! I went to the small window at the rear of the shop where Dave came over to meet me. ‘Right lets go, I will take you straight into the media department to meet Nigel and the BBC Radio Stoke crew.’ This was it, my heart was skipping a beat, my stomach doing more somersaults than a Olympic gymnast.

I was asked to sign in where I was provided with a media pass that was clipped onto a Stoke City neck ribbon, I will be keeping this I thought!

Up the stairs we went and then through into the media room, a long, rectangular room, at the far end 3 desks with microphones on and a huge Stoke City banner behind, I have seen this on the tele I thought! I was the room where the press conferences take place with the manager, new signings etc. However on this occasion the tables were been used as dining tables for the hoards of journalists, French, Spanish and English! The room was an aroma of Sweet and Sour chicken however my stomach was still doing somersaults!

Dave then lead me over to the BBC Radio Stoke team, I was less than 20 metres away from Nigel Johnson, or ‘the voice’ as he is known in the Potteries. Suddenly my brain was recalling his commentary when James O’Connor struck a shot that hit Soulemayne Oulare’s A**E and went into the net to secure us a famous victory away at Cardiff City in the play-offs several years back. I was in my student house in Liverpool at the time and that was one of the biggest mentals that I have ever had! Suddenly I was back in the media room and been introduced to Nigel Johnson, ‘it’s a pleasure to meet you’ I said, Nigel immediately put me at ease and said ‘ We must go down to the players tunnel now to try and get a pre-match interview!.’

I was led through a labyrinth of corridors and suddenly through a door where I came out onto the side of the pitch, I was within leaping distance of the hallowed Britannia turf, I felt like King of the Hill! I followed Nigel and Dave through the players tunnel where it seemed that I was been lead into a weird type of nightclub with professional footballers walking past me stinking of vic vapour rub, not wearing much apart from jock straps and thumping music coming from the Blackburn Rovers dressing room, it was a back catalogue of Drum and Bass, whatever that is!

It was the most surreal experience I have ever had, a small narrow corridor, the away team dressing room on the right, the home team further down the corridor on the left and a gym in the middle where players were going in before the match to do weights! Walking past me was everyone who is anyone in the Stoke team, Mamady Sidibe, James Beattie, Glen Whelan, big Ryan Shawcross and Sanli Tuncay, oh my god I was in dreamland! It was a hype of activity, a real buzz, Peter Reid, Stoke’s scouse assistant marching the corridor like a naughty child waiting to go in the headmasters office! We were waiting for Mark O’Connor, Stoke’s 2nd Assistant Manager to come out and announce the team live on the Radio with Nigel Johnson. Suddenly a young lad, with a Stoke City tracksuit on emerged from the Blackburn changing room and came straight over to us grasping a piece of paper like it was Willy Wonka’s golden ticket! It was Blackburn’s team and he read it through to us before taking it to the referee’s office, he should have gone to the referee’s office first! Next Mark O’Connor emerged and Dave Evison and I followed Nigel into a tiny broom cupboard of a room where Nigel sat down with Mark, tapped twice on his microphone and did what comes most naturally to him, what makes him a legend to Stoke fans, he just came out with a list of fantastic, open ended questions. Mark O’Connor was well and truly put on the spot! When this grilling was over and the Stoke team which was scribbled on a note pad, (ala Sunday league style) was announced, he stood up and left the office, I shook his hand and wished him good luck!

It was now getting onto 2:30pm and it was time to meet up with the rest of the BBC Radio Stoke team in the press gantry. So it was back through the labyrinth of corridors, except this time we went via the main entrance of the stadium. It was then through a large glass door and a press on the button to await the lift. As we were waiting for the lift there was a soft, yet very well spoken female voice behind me, ‘oh hello Nigel how are you?’ I turned around and there was Jean Gough, Stanley Matthews daughter, I really don’t need to explain to you all who Stanley Matthews was, but as Carlsberg would say in a flashy advert, ‘If Carlsberg did the best ever footballers.’ Then Stan would be it! Nigel introduced me to Jean Gough and I made sure I watched my P’s and Q’s. The lift arrived and we stepped in, along with a waiter and waitress carrying a fantastic smelling home made pie and a bowl of boiled potatoes and mixed veg. So there was I stood in a lift with Nigel ‘the voice’ Johnson and Jean Gough, the daughter of the greatest footballer known to man, along with enough food to last us a few hours, it did cross my mind that I wouldn’t mind if the lift broke down, the stories them two must have!

Stoke City 3 – 0 Blackburn Rovers

I took my position between BBC Radio Stoke and BBC Radio Lancashire, I was snuggled in like a Sardine, headsets on, and pre-match interview done (this was the only piece of co-commentating that I did!) The game was fantastic, an easy 3-0 win for the potters to extend our unbeaten 2010 run. Straight after the final whistle I was ushered down to the players tunnel with Nigel and Dave where it was time for a post-match interview. On one wall was a BBC logo board and on the opposite wall a SKY sports logo board, with one cameraman and 2 reporters, the SKY one I did not recognise, the 2nd was Tony Gubba from the BBC, who looked a nimble old man but a wealth of knowledge!

We were stood outside the jubilant Stoke City changing room where Nigel Johnson asked a Stoke City representative that he wanted an interview with Tony Pulis and Danny Higginbotham the scorer of the potters first goal.

Suddenly walking towards me was Big Sam Allardyce, who in real life is not actually that big and to be honest very grumpy! His Assistant Kevin Bond was telling him the league scores and Sam was taken aback when he found out the Hull had gone and beaten Man City, a lack of respect I thought!

Anyhow I watched him get interviewed for the BBC and SKY, followed by Stoke City’s wing wizard Matty Etherington, I wonder if he had a bet on himself scoring today?! (joke!) As each player emerged from the Stoke City changing room, you could hear the thud of dance music and the laughter of the players celebrating the win. Then in the corner of my eye I saw Tony Pulis approaching Nigel Johnson for the post match interview, he was suited and booted, wonder if he shared a shower with James Beattie?! (another joke!) Dave marched me over and said ‘excuse me Tony, hope you don’t mind but this is Adam Lambert from the Potters Foundation, can we grab a quick photograph with you and him for the programme.’ Suddenly Tony grabbed me, put one arm around me and asked me to smile for the camera, this is the stuff of legends surely, my mouth went dry with nerves, as I whispered out ‘very nice to meet you!.’ For a 29 year old man to suffer nerves on this scale is quite frankly pathetic! But I don’t really care as I had met our manager, the man who led us into the Premiership, the man who made my dream come true.

I watched Nigel Johnson conduct his interview and then that was it, my day was finished, I said my goodbye and told Nigel ‘the voice’ Johnson‘its been a pleasure meeting you, since I was a young lad I have listened to you, you are a legend!’ I told Nigel Johnson to his face that he was a legend! Brilliant!

Dave led me out of the Britannia via the players entrance and I was brought back to reality, I was once again a fan and as I walked towards my car and turned around to look at the menacing Britannia Stadium, I thought to myself ‘I will never forget this day.’

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