Stoke & Staffordshire

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  1. 🎧 'Once the tempo improves, the play improves'

    BBC Radio Stoke's Mark Elliott is joined by former Stoke City defender Ian Cranson to reflect on the Potters' 1-1 home draw with Valencia in their final pre-season friendly.

    Listen to the full analysis below or on BBC Sounds here

    ‘Once the tempo improves, the play improves’

    Explore more Stoke City content on BBC Sounds

    Listen on BBC Sounds

  3. A brook viewed from the shore. It is surrounded by plants, grass and trees.

  4. A generic photo of about half a dozen people on a bus. Their backs are to the camera, most people are sitting down, but one is standing up holding one of the static yellow poles on the bus.

  5. A man with a blue denim hat on is smiling and wearing a khaki green shirt. He is standing in front of a road with a war memorial on the adjacent pavement with poppy wreaths at its base

  6. A close-up of a brown donkey grazing on some grass, with gold sports socks on, with a black wolf logo on it

  7. A close up image of the digger's cabin showing scratch marks and wires that have been pulled out.

  8. Three men wearing work clothes and navy T-shirts stand with their backs to the camera looking at a large sign reading "Robin Hood". One of the O's is a target with arrows in, and there are oak leaves around the words.

  9. A black and white photo of a dad holding up his son so he can touch a water fountain at Malvern Park in Solihull, in 1976.

  10. A close-up on a sunflower, showing its yellow petals, in front of a fields full of them, under a sky of black clouds.

  11. The side of a fire engine with red and green/yellow rectangles in a pattern and "fire and rescue" written on the side.

  12. A teenage boy with dirty blonde hair is wearing a khaki green t-shirt, black gloves and a black apron. He is holding a utensil that is getting a pizza out of a wood-fired pizza oven in a small trailer

  13. A fire engine is parked on the road next to a scorched area of heath, as a firefighter sprays water on it. There are trees in the background.

  14. Two people stand in shallow water inside a canal lock wearing white safety helmets. One is in a blue T-shirt and chest waders, the other in a yellow high-visibility jacket. The lock's wooden gates and blackened brick walls rise steeply on either side.

  15. A composite image featuring a couple on the left, a dog running on a field and on the right a man in a green sweatshirt holding a tray of strawberries in punnets

  16. Port Vale sign defenders McGowan and Montsma

    Aaron McGowan warms up before a match for Tranmere Rovers. He is wearing a navy blue sweat top with the club's badge.Shutterstock

    Aaron McGowan started his career with Morecambe before spells at Hamilton Academical, Kilmarnock, Northampton Town and Tranmere Rovers

    Port Vale have continued their recruitment drive before the start of the new season with the signings of defenders Aaron McGowan and Lewis Montsma on one-year deals.

    McGowan, 30, has been on trial at Vale Park following the end of his contract with Tranmere Rovers this summer.

    He played under Vale boss Jon Brady at Northampton Town and helped the Cobblers win promotion to League One in the 2022-23 season.

    Dutchman Montsma joins Vale following the expiration of his contract with Dundee this summer.

    The 28-year-old started his senior career with Dordrecht in the Netherlands and moved to Lincoln City in July 2020.

    He made 108 appearances for the Imps, scoring 11 goals, before joining Dundee on a six-month deal in February.

  17. Three footballers in green shirts and two in yellow shirts are on a pitch with little green grass at this angle. A building in the background includes the words Wolverhampton Casuals on a sign.

  18. Mo Faal watches the action during a match for Wrexham. He is wearing a black and grey away shirt.

  19. Watch Brady's Vale preview with BBC Radio Stoke

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    Port Vale boss Jon Brady joined BBC Radio Stoke's Valiants reporter Phil Bowers in the studio on Thursday evening to look ahead to the new League Two season.

    In an hour-long special, Brady reflected on last term's relegation from League One, new signings and hopes for 2026-27.

    If you missed any of it, you can watch it all by clicking the play button above.

  20. Five small cows with yellow ear tags are standing in a very small space with what looks like animal dung and mud on the floor. The animals, who are either black and white or brown and white, look to have mud matted in their fur and are thin

  21. Arfan and Tyler stand together outside Sizzlers. Arfan has his arm around Tyler. Tyler has short brown hair and and Arfan is wearing a black top.

  22. A man wearing a green hat and jumper is holding many containers of strawberries and standing in a large covered environment, with rows of plants behind him.

  23. A man in a red shirt and cap smiles at the camera as he stands in a room with yellow walls, colourful paintings and a pink woolly mammoth sculpture behind him.

  24. The side of a fire engine with red and green/yellow rectangles in a pattern and "fire and rescue" written on the side.

  25. cows on farm