A Night With The Legends of Stoke City FC
I attended the Stoke City Legends Night at The Red House pub in Longton last night and had a great night. The night was organised as a fundraiser for Jackie Marsh and his chosen charity the Heart Foundation and was quickly sold out when tickets were advertised on the Oatcake messageboard. The Legends in attendance were Denis Smith, Alan Hudson, Jackie Marsh and Mickey Thomas.
The Redhouse
The Red House has been taken over by Ben and Mike Dyer and they have spent serious time, effort and money converting it into a Stoke City Theme Pub with the lounge displaying a fantastic collection of football memorabilia.
The beer garden has also been given a Stoke City makeover by artist Jane Cooper who has painted a fantastic mural of Stoke legends including Denis Smith, Sir Stanley Matthews, the two Tony’s (Waddington and Pulis), Mickey Thomas and the League Cup Winning Squad. The detail in the paintings is breath taking and Jane is a truly Fantastic artist. There is also a genuine Boothen End Turnstile from the Victoria ground on display. The Red House is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area just to see the mural and turnstile. It’s as close as the City has got to being a Stoke City museum with the memorabilia on display.
1972 League Cup mural
Jayne Cooper – Artist of the Mural
The night started at 7 with the screens in the pub showing the 72 Cup final, as guests arrived. At 8pm the audience and legends moved to the beer garden to officially unveil the mural. Denis, Jackie and Mickey all signed their pictures, and willingly posed for photos with various guests.
The banter between the ex players was started early on. When Radio Stoke’s Nigel Johnson was introducing the format of the night he re-collected the interview he did with Jackie two days after his triple heart bypass. He said it was one of the most difficult jobs he had done as Marshie had to wear an oxygen mask and it was hard to make out what he was saying. Denis piped up with a comment that “That makes a change, he used to pretend he couldn’t hear me when I was telling him get back to cover!” and that set the wisecracks flowing throughout the night.
The night was then split into an interview/ Q&A format with Denis being first up, interviewed by Nigel Johnson. Nigel didn’t really have to ask much of Den as he spoke candidly about his time with Stoke, from joining the club as a young player, through his career, to his eventual departure into management at York City. One of the stories that made everyone smile was when he was asked about the two Tony’s and how their styles differed. Denis said that they are both very different managers, Waddo would very rarely venture onto the training ground, leaving Frank Mountford to do all the coaching, while Tony Pulis is very much a tracksuit manager and players know what is expected of them, with a tight rein kept on discipline. One of Waddington’s ex Manchester United players, who shall remain nameless, was quoted as saying “I don’t like it here Den, there are no rules to break!” Denis then shouted “that’s right in’t it Huddy!”
Next up was a break to socialise with the legends who were very accommodating by answering lots of requests to sign photos, etc.
Then Ian Dyer – the Stoke City poet took to the stage. His poetry was delivered with his usual passion and desire. Ian had written new poems for each of the Legends in attendance and every one of them got up and thanked Ian personally. It was lapped up by the audience and the room stood as one at the end of his set to give the Boothen End Bard a standing ovation.
Mickey Thomas was next up interviewed by Ben Dyer. Mickey had the room in stitches when he answered Ben’s first question of “when were you first picked up?” with a reply of “when I was 11,……. shoplifting in Colwyn Bay!!” That set the tone for the interview which nearly got serious when he said “Guess which the best team I ever played for was? We were unbeaten for 18 months away from home.” Ben was intrigued as he pondered, thinking was it Manchester United, Brighton, Chelsea, Stoke City, Derby County, Leeds United, Everton, etc. “1993-94 – Walton Prison FC” came Mickey’s response and laughter filled the room once again.
Mickey Thomas and Ben
The charity auction then took place with some excellent pieces available. Signed books donated by David Lee and Stephen Foster fetched tidy sums with Jackie Marsh getting more stick from Denis and Huddy about his ability to read after buying “you could’ner make it up.” We (stoketshirts.co.uk) donated a Longthrow mug signed by Rory Delap, which raised £50 and a replica No. 5 1972 shirt which Denis signed, this raised £130. A limited edition print “Oatcakes and Chayse before the match” by Sid Kirkham, donated by The Artbay, fetched in a staggering £250. Other items included a signed Stoke City shirt from Tony Pulis’s first stint at the club and an Abdoulaye Faye canvas.
The signed Longthrow Mug
Alan Hudson and Jackie Marsh closed the night with a Q&A session that involved much banter, particularly about pubs and alcohol!
Did I mention Denis and his Stoketshirt?
The event was a cracking night for Stokies, at a great venue raising over £1300 for a good cause.
Let’s get more of them on soon!