The Wizards of Drivel - Stoke City Podcast

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 contemporaries held him in the very highest regard – placing him alongside the greats of his day like Joe Mercer, Tommy Lawton and even Stanley Matthews.

Frank also has a huge cultural significance. To this day he remains the only person from a Chinese or Asian background to play for England. Yet his name seems to have been forgotten by football. Though born in Derbyshire, his heritage, particularly in the early years of his career, was something to be commented on. It is a testament to Frank’s personality and ability that as his career progressed, he stopped being ‘Stoke’s Chinese player’ and was recognised for his obvious talent on the pitch.

This episode isn’t the story of Frank’s Life. That’s already been done in Susan Gardiner’s wonderful biography of Frank - it’s called “The Wanderer, The Story of Frank Soo” and is something I’d encourage you all to go out and buy.

This episode is instead a discussion, and celebration, of Frank Soo and his legacy.

Many thanks to Susan Gardiner and Jun Kit Man for participating in this episode.

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 tuned for news of History week.

In the second part of the pod, Dave chats to club journalist Jon Sidaway about how transfers happen from his point of view, being a Baggie in charge of Stoke's twitter and blocking an entire nation on Facebook.

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 fans of Fulham, Blackburn and QPR tell us what they think of our current managers. Chris' polls reveal a very fickle fan base.

We also talk about Bojan and Berahino, enjoying Ngoy, doing direct, Man United, Sunderland's made-up bench and much more.

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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) or email us ([email protected]) - Dave and Chris will be at The Stadium of Light so drop us a line if you fancy a beer.

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 Mark Hughes' tactics are like popcorn in a microwave, and discuss how we should approach Watford. Finally, there's a quiz, with Chris and Tom proving that they're such plastic fans.

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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 our Stoke City new years resolutions for next season.

We are now on Facebook. Just search 'Wizards of Drivel' on there and await some exclusive stuff in 2017.

Thanks to everyone who's listened and supported the podcast this year. It's been a blast. Merry Christmas

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 iTunes or promote this episode on all the social medias.

Could be worse lads, we could be the Vale.

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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 Pieters talking about The Potters' season so far, making the Dutchman the first Stoke player to ever appear on this podcast. Making history with every episode.

To give us a tweet, it's @wizardsofdrivel - and find us on there if you want to be one of the lucky few to buy a mug.