As this season’s come to an end, I’ve put together a compilation of all the best Stoke City pictures, hopefully capturing the highs and lows along the way, and the overall essence of what has been a very successful 2008/09.
The Stoke fans descend upon Bolton for our first ever Premier League match
Forty-five minutes and three Bolton goals later we feared the worst
At least Ricardo Fuller added a little credibility to the scoreline with our first top flight goal in 23 years
Emotions changed from despair to delight as Fuller sublimely put us ahead against Aston Villa a week later
After Villa had equalised, Mamady Sidibe’s last minute winner sealed a priceless first victory
Rory-mania reached fever pitch after the next home game, a 3-2 loss to Everton
At which point we still had high hopes for Dave Kitson
A hard fought draw at Liverpool in mid-September announced our aspirations to compete with the big boys…but we remained in the bottom three
The contrasting faces of the fans tell the story
About this time a new Stoke hero came to prominence
Our second win, against Tottenham, finally arrived in mid-October
With Thomas Sorensen’s blood and guts performance epitomising our season
A heavy defeat at Manchester City summed up our travel-sickness
But a home win over Sunderland put us back on the right track
It was Delap’s turn to shine again as we out-thought and out-fought Arsenal
Fuller nodded the first of our two goals from the Delap throw, while Kolo Toure forgot that you can’t be offside from a throw in
Robin Van Persie then saw red for losing his temper with Sorensen, capping the perfect day for Stoke
Arsene Wenger, the definition of a bad loser, pathetically accused Stoke of deliberately injuring his players
after the game
We saw off Rotherham to continue our League Cup run
We were thumped by the enemy
But at least we managed to wind up Cristiano Ronaldo
A vital win over West Brom was our fifth in a row at home
But our dreams of Carling Cup glory were dashed by Rob Styles and Derby
2-0 down at Newcastle we feared the worst
But a second half comeback was gloriously sealed when Abdoulaye slammed home in injury time
Christmas defeats to Blackburn and Manchester United saw us slide right back into trouble
Disaster then struck at West Ham, Fuller being dismissed after striking teammate Andy Griffin in the face
This without doubt the darkest day of our season
It got worse before it got better as we were horrifyingly dumped out of the FA Cup at the hands of Hartlepool
Things looked up as we gained our first point of 2009 a week later, with another draw against Liverpool
Perhaps the defining moment of our season, James Beattie signed in mid-January
The next weekend we astonishly led at Chelsea until the 87th minute
Only to lose the game 2-1
After the devastating loss at Chelsea, and the one that followed at Tottenham, we could have caved in at home to Manchester City, especially after Delap was sent off in the first half
Instead we kicked on, Beattie scoring a superb header to win the game
And announcing himself as a Stoke player
We were still deep in trouble though, as despite Danny Pugh’s excellent save, we lost at Sunderland
Our luck seemed to change as February became March at Villa Park
Our spirits soared and we all roared when in the last minute…Whelan scored
Four days later we put paid to Bolton at a snowy Britannia Stadium and survival suddenly looked on the cards
And with a win over Middlesbrough two weeks later we were a mid-table side
![[image]](http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00774/stoke10_280x390_774145a.jpg)
We had to wait until April for it, but our first Premier League away win followed the next Saturday at West Brom, as we hit our best form of the season at just the right time
Scott Carson rued his decision to move to the Baggies
This Stoke fan was sadly wrong though as we conceded late to squander two points against Championship bound Newcastle
Liam Lawrence’s goal gave us the win against struggling Blackburn the next week though
Abdoulaye and Sorensen knew survival was close
We could have secured safety at Fulham, but a 1-0 loss added to the nerves
Before a frustrating home defeat to West Ham, our first of 2009, saw us stutter again
We needn’t have worried though, as Lawrence’s sublime goal helped us to a win at Hull and gloriously confirmed our Premier League status for next year
The Stoke fans were understandably overjoyed
![[image]](http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p28/Stokie_Craig/1241886222_spt_ai_hull_stoke_45.jpg)
Abdoulaye and Lawrence showed what survival means to them
While Tony Pulis pointed to the future
Defeat was painful for Phil Brown, making Stoke’s achievement all the sweeter
We finished a fantastic home season in style, seeing off Wigan 2-0, Lawrence and Beattie demonstrating how well they’ve got to know one another
The Britannia Stadium was bouncing for the lap of honour after the final whistle
![[image]](http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i233/LilMiss_Speculation/Arsenal%20v%20Stoke%2024th%20May%202009/IMG_0532.jpg)
Heavy defeat on the final day at Arsenal did little to dampen Stoke spirits, and we could celebrate a successful 2008/09. and look forward to an even better 2009/10
Chelsea and Man City locked in battle for Zadok Yohanna as Newcastle fall behind- Tottenham target Harry Wilson after standout season with 19 goal involvements
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