Stoke City offering free travel to away games
Coach travel to watch a really unattractive team may not be as good as it sounds
Now to say I am not a fan of Stoke City is an understatement. I just don't think they have played any proper football during the Tony Pulis years. Yes they've had some good results, beat some very good teams and scored some great goals - Peter Crouch's volley against Man City stands out. They hoof it, punt it, launch it forward, even hurling it in from throw-ins. It's about as attractive as Silvio Berlusconi in a thong - unless you're into that (and seems like some people are).
But today they turned me into a fan. Not of how they play, not of Rory Delap's long throws or Kenwyne Jones' backflips (although I do like those), but because they offered free travel to every away game next season.
Here's the news on Sky Sports, but it has been widely reported.
It may be a publicity stunt. It may be due to the fact even Stoke fans don't want to watch a team managed by Mark Hughes. It may be the face they only won 2 of their 19 away games in the Premier League last year (scoring just 13 goals, the second worst in the league behind West Ham with 11).
Football is not cheap. I could reminisce about paying GBP3.50 (no pound sign on my keyboard!!) to watch my first game, but I won't. Any help getting real fans to games home or away is appreciated. Watching a game on TV is nothing like watching it live. So fair play to Stoke, now their fans just have to remember it's free travel to watch Stoke - maybe it's not worth it after all.
Fair play to Stoke for recognising and attempting to rectify the sutuation although they are ultimately to blame in the first place. It'll be interesting to see if Mark Hughes' appointment will bring a new brand of football, which in my opinion is easy to do following Pulis, but Hughes has a poor record in my eyes and should leave management alone. I'll keep mybeye on this throughout the season.
ReplyDeleteGood article Joe.
Great, just what we need, more Stoke fans at the Emirates jeering Aaron Ramsey for having the temerity to have his leg broken by a neanderthal like Shawcross.
ReplyDeleteCan I pay them to stay home?
This was pretty funny, though http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43w8Onk0mTA
I don't think every team should play the same way. You can't copy Barcelona (and Bayern showed you don't have to), but Stoke have been an eyesore for years.
ReplyDeleteMore away fans at any game is great tho, love the banter.