Stoke & Staffordshire

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Watch our pick of standout clips from Stoke and Staffordshire

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  1. The entrance to Alleyne's sports centre includes a road going from the bottom right to the left of the photo and a blue sign with white letters saying "Welcome to alleyne's sports centre".

  3. A mobility scooter parked on a grassed kerb

  4. Full rebuild on the way at Potters?

    Mark Elliott
    BBC Radio Stoke commentator

    Mark Robins puts his arm around Sorba Thomas as the pair walk infront of an advertising hoarding reading Good Times.Shutterstock

    Do good times lie ahead for Mark Robins and Stoke?

    Everything about this game screamed April.

    The wind blew a gale while the sun shone and the rain poured and a huge rainbow wrapped around the stadium.

    Amongst all of that Stoke played a game that felt meaningless but did shine a light on how much there is to address this summer.

    Of the team that started, Gavin Bazunu, Ashley Phillips and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi are on loan, Lewis Baker is out of contract in the summer and Ben Gibson, Ben Pearson, Million Manhoef and Sam Gallagher are about to enter the final year of theirs.

    The same can be said of first team regulars Victor Johansson, Junior Tchamadeu, Tatsuki Seko, Bae Junho and, assuming the club trigger an additional year built into his agreement, Ben Wilmot.

    Veterans Aaron Cresswell and Steven Nzonzi see their contracts end this summer too, bringing the total number of first team players who are tied to the club for 15 months or less to 15.

    If the club can't tie Johansson and Tchamadeu down to longer deals, they may have to sell them despite not wanting to.

    Decisions on the other players are more nuanced and complicated but Stoke would surely want a fee for players like Junho and Manhoef while they still retain value if either side in each case favours a parting of the ways.

    It looks like a full rebuild could be on the way once you consider that recent signings Maksym Talovierov, Tomas Rigo, Lamine Cisse, Robert Bozenik and Milan Smit who make up the bulk of the group tied to the club long term are all yet to convince manager Mark Robins of their ability to start and contribute consistently.

    Sorba Thomas and Bosun Lawal are probably the only two obviously key players signed until 2028.

    There is an opportunity within all this to add what Stoke have lacked this season. A clearer identity, attacking threat and greater physicality.

    Progress has been made this season with the current squad but it may be a very different group of players tasked with taking the club to the next level.

  5. A man dressed in a polar bear onesie and wearing a blue bib, and looking exhausted, raises his right fist up partially while running in the London Marathon.

  6. An aerial view of a large fire with flames and smoke coming out of a mill building in the middle of a town.

  7. Pink and red tulips spread out across the image with people visible walking around them in the distance.

  8. A black and white image of three soldiers. The man on the left and man in the middle are wearing army combat uniforms and the man on right is wearing a cap and ceremonial uniform with a shirt and tie.

  9. A building that appears to be fourth storeys high is on the left of the computer generated image. Another buildings are on the right and people are in the foreground - standing up or sitting.

  10. 'Only one team trying to win' - Robins

    Mark RobinsGetty Images

    Stoke are 15th in the Championship

    Stoke City manager Mark Robins told BBC Radio Stoke: "We started off not great because the conditions were really difficult.

    "I said before we had to be patient. Michael O'Neill was going to come and make sure Blackburn push every button they possibly can to make sure we frustrate the crowd because we don't move the ball enough.

    "We want to try and be brave. There are positional things that happen that don't feel comfortable, but you have to be uncomfortable at times.

    "First half, we didn't do enough, so we gave them some impetus. Their goal, we didn't get the press right at all, you've got to win your duels. Those are the non-negotiables.

    "What I was pleased about was we kept playing and we got the equaliser. I thought we were well worthy of it and were the only team trying to win it."

  11. Several knitted characters in brown overalls lift logs into the back of a lorry.

  12. Three images side-by-side - on the left, a young boy with dark blonde hair is smiling at the camera. He is wearing a dark navy shirt with a yellow logo on the breast in the shape of a stag's head; in the middle, a man and a woman are hugging whilst standing in a street. The woman is wearing a brown coat and the man is wearing a pink shirt and holding a piece of paper which has been styled to look like a cheque; on the right, a woman with blonde hair, wearing a white top and a scarf, smiles at the camera.

  13. Dark blue metal hoarding with red base and red gates is surrounding the frontage of a museum building. The museum, which can be seen above the hoarding along with the orange arm of a digger, is set against a blue sky with clouds.

  14. A woman wearing ceremonial fire service uniform is standing outdoors in a garden with trees and fence behind her. She has brown hair and is smiling for the photograph.

  15. Stoke players have to 'suck up criticism' - Robins

    Robins: 'It's been a season of great promise, then real disappointment'

    Stoke City's players need to learn how to accept criticism if they are to be successful, according to head coach Mark Robins.

    The Potters were fourth in the Championship table at the start of December, just three points off the automatic promotion places, but they have won only six of their subsequent 23 games to slip to 13th place, 12 points adrift of the top six.

    "It's been a season of great promise to start with and then real disappointment," Robins told BBC Radio Stoke.

    "Everybody talks about that position we're in, being mid-table obscurity, and no-one wants that. The emotions in mid-table are totally different, so we need to be at the top end of the division.

    "I don't want to be at the bottom end of the division and we're not, but that's scant consolation for the promise the season showed at the start. So the disappointment is there and it's tangible for everybody."

    Stoke were beaten 2-0 at Derby County on Monday, and Robins is hoping his players can react the right way to the criticism which followed that performance when they host Blackburn Rovers on Saturday (15:00 BST).

    "We speak about ego, where if you get criticism nowadays it's difficult for people to take on board, but like I said at the end of the game, 'Suck it up'. Understand what is going on, understand what your part of the bargain is, and deliver. That's our job.

    "It gives me a lot of information of how people cope in certain situations. When everything is going great everyone is alright, but people react in different ways under pressure, and it's something people need to learn to deal with - we've got five games left and I want to win all five of them."

    Listen to more Stoke City content and interviews on BBC Sounds.

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  16. EFL confirms fixture release date

    An EFL football with goal design perched on top of a blue cone with EFL branding on itGetty Images

    The 2026-27 EFL season will kick-off on August 7 with the opening round of the Carabao Cup

    The EFL has announced the fixtures for the 2026-27 season will be published at midday on Thursday, 25 June.

    The first-round draws for the Carabao Cup and the Vertu Trophy will be made on the same day.

    The new season will kick off on the weekend of August 7-9 with the first round of the Carabao Cup, and the opening fixtures in the Championship, League One and League Two will follow a week later on 14-16 August.

    The first round of the Vertu Trophy will be played in the week commencing 21 September.

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  17. A hospital with ambulances parked outside it. The hospital building is several storeys high and red, black and yellow outside on the lower part.

  18. A man wearing a high visibility jacket is talking to a group of young boys, also wearing high visibility jackets. They appear to be in an industrial facility.

  19. A police mugshot of a woman with curly auburn hair. She is wearing a grey top. She is positioned against a light-coloured backdrop.

  20. A police mug shot of a man with short brown hair and a beard. He is positioned against a light-coloured background and is looking directly at the camera. He is wearing a black top.

    • UK
    A police mugshot of Esten Bennett. He has short black hair and black facial hair.

  22. A man in a blue shirt taps a payment card on a contactless reader while boarding a bus. The bus driver , a man in a black vest, white shirt snd red tieis seated behind a transparent safety screen at the front of the vehicle, with the steering wheel and control panel visible. The image is taken inside the bus during daytime, with an urban street scene visible through the windows.

  23. A mainly blue and white sign by a hedge includes the words "Welcome to our Smokefree Hospital" and a red, white and black no-smoking sign. Some cars are visible in the background.

  24. Pick of the stats: Stoke City v Blackburn Rovers

    Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers club badgesOpta

    Blackburn Rovers will look to pull further clear of the Championship relegation places when the visit Stoke City on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 15:00 BST).

    Michael O'Neill's side were just one point above the drop zone after a 1-0 defeat to relegation rivals Oxford on 11 March but are unbeaten in the four games since (W2 D2) and are now six points ahead of Leicester in 22nd.

    The Potters - who are 12 points behind the play-off spots and 13 clear of the drop - are on course for a mid-table finish.

    • None of Stoke's previous 15 home league games against Blackburn have finished level, with the Potters winning nine and losing six.

    • Blackburn have alternated between victory (3) and defeat (3) in their past six away league games against Stoke, losing 1-0 in this exact fixture last season.

    • Stoke have won their past two home league games – the Potters haven't won three on the bounce at home since April/August 2024, while in the same season they last did so in August/September 2021 under current Blackburn boss Michael O'Neill.

    • Blackburn Rovers have kept a clean sheet in their previous three league games, last going four without conceding in November/December 2024 (a run of five).

    • Stoke City's Sorba Thomas is the only player with both 10 goals and 10 assists in the Championship this season. The last player to achieve that in a league season (excl. play-offs) under manager Mark Robins was current Arsenal striker Viktor Gyökeres in 2022-23 at Coventry (21 goals, 10 assists).

  25. A woman wearing a green hat and grey jumper is holding a number of small knitted hats. She is standing by a desk in a room with purple walls.