Stoke City

Former Bromley boss Andy Woodman joins Aaron Paul and Jobi McAnuff in the latest episode of the 72+ podcast. He lifts the lid on life after leaving Bromley and what's next for him.

They discuss the top of the Championship, with just one point separating the top five.

At the other end of the Championship, what's happening with Bristol City, who currently lie 17th in the league under former Lincoln manager Michael Skubala – and when is the right time for a manager to make the jump up?

In League Two, it's been a less than desirable start for Crawley Town who are bottom of the Football League and out of the FA Cup after being beaten by seventh-tier Wimborne – where do they go from here? Elsewhere in the FA Cup, Plymouth Parkway assistant manager Matt Godfrey drops by after their win – and with Barnet on the horizon.

And after Shrewsbury Town's new ownership is confirmed, what's next for them?

Listen to the full episode above or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

We asked for your thoughts after Stoke City came from behind to win at Portsmouth and briefly go top of the Championship on Saturday.

Here are some of your comments:

Stoke City fans

Phil: Even when we were up against it in the first half I was confident that we would get a goal back and go on from there to wrest control of the game. That result and how it happened speaks volumes for this new look Stoke team. Last season we'd have lost that. Their inner confidence filters through to the fans. There's a whole new vibe about SCFC this season.

David: A poor first half, followed by a brave second when three substitutions by Mark Robins changed the balance of the side. Ben Wilmot has the happy knack of popping up with late winners and Stoke were deserved winners. A proper team, this Stoke.

Liam: A tight championship game. We were miles off it in the first half but better in the second. We need to keep and use the ball better. However, the togetherness and resilience in this team is its super strength.

Andrew: Great away win again, what a following from the Red Army, 7am on coach well worth it. Must say Pompey have also got good support and nice to hear home fans making some noise, Get a good striker in January, we could do it this year.

Chris: Terrible first half performance from Stoke but realised that Pompey were already playing at their maximum, while Stoke had another few gears. Stoke controlled the second half and there was only going to be one winner. Great set of results the last few weeks - shame the international break will ruin the run!

In truth, at half-time, Stoke City's trip to Portsmouth felt like a game too far as the Championship form teams went toe-to-toe at the end of a three-game week.

After a tough run of fixtures, Portsmouth edged a first half low on quality, like the slightly sharper of a couple of punch-drunk and unlikely contenders.

Stoke midfielder Ethan Galbraith revealed harsh words were said in the away dressing room at the break.

Substitutions soon followed and to labour the metaphor, Stoke collectively bit down on the gumshield, found the energy they needed in the championship rounds and forced a gutsy win that took them, however briefly, to the top of the league.

Previous iterations of Stoke City would have fallen apart as the match went on but this team has an obvious tenacity and greater resolve.

It's fitting that Jack McGlynn and Ben Wilmot, two of the stars of the opening third of the season, scored the goals that sent Stoke into the international break with a win.

Potters manager Mark Robins was quick to praise his side and urge everyone involved not to get too carried away, but it's becoming harder not to.

Stoke have won five league games away from home in a row for the first time since 1947 and they've taken 29 points from their last 12 games.

This team's biggest strength might just be their ability to find a way to get a result in hostile environments, even when they're not playing well.

They've put themselves right in the mix at the top of the table with a great chance to tackle the depths of winter and the busiest part of the season with genuine confidence.

Stoke boss Mark Robins spoke to BBC Radio Stoke after the 2-1 win at Portsmouth.

For a written selection of his quotes, click here

Image source, Opta

Red-hot Stoke will aim to go top of the Championship when they visit in-form Portsmouth on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

Pompey are seeking a seventh game unbeaten after their 3-1 win over Swansea on Tuesday night and could jump as high as sixth if results go their way.

The Potters are fourth after Tuesday's 2-1 win at Blackburn made it 26 points earned from their past 11 games and a victory, coupled with Wolves failing to win at Wrexham in another early-kick off, would see Mark Robins' side take over at the summit for a couple of hours at least.

• Following their 3-1 win in April, Portsmouth are looking to win consecutive league games against Stoke for the first time since December 1997.

• Stoke have won two of their past three away league games against Portsmouth (L1), as many as they had in their previous 20 visits to Fratton Park (D7 L11).

• Having lost three of their first four league games this season (W1), Portsmouth have now lost just one of their past 10 (W5 D4) and are unbeaten in their past six (W4 D2).

• Since the start of September, Stoke have won more games (8), more points (26) and conceded fewer goals (8) than any other Championship side. They had lost seven in a row prior to this run.

• Jack McGlynn has been involved in six goals in his eight Championship starts this season (4 goals, 2 assists), with only Ethan Galbraith being involved in more for Stoke (7).

Image source, Shutterstock

Jack McGlynn came to Stoke as a relative unknown to anyone who was not keeping a very close eye on MLS, despite his presence on the fringes of the US national team.

Nine goals over a couple of seasons for Houston Dynamo, one of the league's less glamorous franchises, indicated promise.

But the impact he has made since moving to the Championship has revealed a 23-year-old ready to establish himself as an important player for club and country and shone a really favourable light on a league now exporting homegrown players of real quality with increasing regularity.

He came to Stoke with a reputation as someone who struck the ball well from distance but his goal at Blackburn gave everyone at Ewood Park the understanding that his quality goes far beyond a mere ability to hit the ball cleanly.

Standing over a free-kick, McGlynn spotted that Blackburn goalkeeper Balasz Toth had left an inviting gap at his near post, choosing to position himself higher and wider anticipating a cross.

To see that, have the confidence to shoot from a position just infield from the left touchline and then follow that intention through with clinical accuracy showed a mix of vision, composure and quality that very few players in the second tier possess.

McGlynn now has four goals and two assists in eight starts and 10 overall appearances and has firmly established himself as the player most likely to replicate the numbers Sorba Thomas produced (double figures in both categories) last season before the latter moved to Hull.

His set-piece delivery is good, he is mobile enough without fitting the stereotype of the hyper-athletic MLS midfielder and he has still got plenty of room to grow.

McGlynn is still acclimatising to the Championship and could still be more influential in possession in open play, but he has made an incredible start to his Stoke career and alongside Ethan Galbraith and Luke Graham, he is an early contender for signing of the summer.

We asked for your thoughts following Stoke City's 2-1 win at Blackburn Rovers in the Championship on Tuesday night.

Here are some of your comments:

Blackburn fans

Martin: Perfectly good equalising goal- you have to question why the referee disallowed it!!

Alf: Stoke too quick, too slick and too savvy for Rovers for 80 minutes. Poor ref all game and still don't know why he disallowed the equaliser but a draw would have flattered us. Great away support.

Luke: Played really well. Definitely deserved at least a point. The disallowed goal looked really harsh.

Brian: I have to say I thought it was a poor game overall. A lack of conviction/desire/imagination from both sides and 0-0 would probably have been the expected result, albeit Stoke defended better than Rovers, which wasn't hard to achieve given their two very soft goals. Maybe it's tired legs, but that's being too nice. They all need a kick up the backside! More fight and belief needed.

Will: Rovers played really well most of the game. Keeper has made a howler by being so far out of his net for the miles out free kick. Rovers had another calamity at the back with the own goal but they kept going and it paid off with the first of Gudjohnsen's goals.

The second should have stood. He didn't foul the player, it should have ended 2-2, the ref made the wrong decision. Controversial headlines will begin now as it should instead of a heroic comeback headline. I really hope they play well against West Ham but fear they will get pummelled by them.

Image source, Shutterstock

Stoke fans

Skeppers: A great result again for Stoke. Disappointing to not get a fourth clean sheet and disappointing to see Vik spill one again. But he is still the best GK in the league. Don't know what the BBurn commentators were on about. We didn't buckle at all. We completely controlled that game. BBurn were poor and didn't start playing until the last 5 minutes so they never deserved anything from this game. It was clearly a push on Wilmot by Gudjohnsen. Ref was spot on.

Roy: Ref let almost everything go, which favoured home side, until the 'goal' at the end. To be fair to him, whatever he saw, he saw it straight away. Looked like he blew his whistle before the striker even headed it.

Lee: Must say I feel that we was very lucky for them to their goal disallowed tonight, but it's about time we had a little luck.

Johno: Got away with it after giving the ball away too often. Soft foul at the end but definite push.

Ged Scott
BBC Sport England

Image source, Shutterstock

Stoke City boss Mark Robins was exhilarated by the cheeky brilliance of the Jack McGlynn touchline free-kick that set the Potters on their way to three points at luckless Blackburn.

Robins' side were struggling to break down Tony Mowbray's men until McGlynn spotted his chance to catch out Hungarian keeper Balasz Toth just before the break.

"He's the only player on the pitch for us who might attempt something like that," Robins told BBC Radio Stoke. "We only had bits and pieces until we got the goal.

"I saw him move to his left and I did wonder if he might try it, but to execute that was phenomenal. You look for quality - and our first goal was just that.

"Honestly, I saw the goalkeeper, where he was stood and I'm thinking 'go on, please see it'. I wanted to shout to him but obviously couldn't.

"He moved a little bit more to open his stance up and I thought 'go on', and he did it. Incredible. To see it, to spot it, to try it – but to execute it is absolutely fantastic."

Stoke's luck was in when they deservedly doubled the advantage from Moussa Baradji's own goal but were then given a scare when Andri Gudjohnsen scored late on and thought he had equalised only to see his header ruled out for a foul.

"The second goal gave us a cushion and we've sent 3,500 Stoke City fans home very happy, but we got away with it," added Robins.

"It's a hard-fought win. We made a meal of it and we gave the ball away too easily. But it's a brilliant one – and it should make us grow in confidence and have that belief."

The latest episode of BBC Radio Stoke's A Cold Wet Tuesday Night podcast is out now.

Lucas, Matt and Louis discuss Stoke's 2-0 win at home to Preston and whether or not it's OK to start looking at the league table.

Listen above or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

This will be the 108th meeting between Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City in a fixture which dates back to the very first Football League season of 1888-89.

Stoke head to Ewood Park on Tuesday (19:45 GMT) with only the leaders Middlesbrough (14) having taken more than their 13 points in the past six games.

• Blackburn Rovers are winless in their past four league games against Stoke City (D2 L2), with both meetings last season finishing 1-1.

• Stoke City have lost just one of their past 11 away league games against Blackburn Rovers (W6 D4), going down 3-1 in February 2024.

• Blackburn have won each of their past three home league games, as many as across their previous 15 combined (D6 L6). They last won more consecutively at Ewood Park between August and October 2024 (5).

• Following a prior 12-game winless run (D3 L9), Stoke have now won their past three away league games. They last won four in a row on the road in November/December 2005.

• Andri Gudjohnsen has scored in each of his past three home league games. The last Blackburn player to score in four in a row at Ewood Park was Ben Brereton (5 in November/December 2021).

Image source, Shutterstock

Stoke City's second half performance showed just how good they can be when they play with tempo and bravery when it comes to their decision making in possession.

After half-time, already leading Preston by a single goal to nil, they were much more willing to choose a forward pass and trust their technical ability in playing through the lines.

In turn, they created a hatful of chances and could and probably should have won by three or four goals.

Defensively, nobody had conceded fewer goals than Stoke since the start of September and their young back three, with plenty of room still to grow, have been vital during a brilliant run of form that now spans 10 games.

Preston have been poor all season and it's difficult not to fear for them but Stoke dismissed them relatively comfortably.

Away games at Blackburn and Portsmouth will provide tougher tests over the next week but since the opening three games of the season provoked a change of system and late summer squad overhaul, they've taken an average of 2.3 points per game.

1.5 over the course of the season should be enough to secure a play off place so the Potters are already ahead of schedule given their stated pre-season ambitions.

Don't forget to tap the 'follow' button at the top of this page to stay up to date with the latest Stoke City news.

Stoke City boss Mark Robins spoke to BBC Radio Stoke after the win against Preston For a written selection of his quotes, click here

Image source, Shutterstock

Barrow have signed Pijus Otegbayo on loan from Championship club Stoke City until January.

The 19-year-old Irish defender made three league appearances for the Potters last season, but has not featured in this campaign.

Otegbayo, who goes straight into the starting line-up for the game with Boston United (15:00 GMT) is the younger brother of Sheffield Wednesday player Gabriel.

Image source, Opta

Stoke City will seek to jump back into the automatic promotion places, for a few hours at least, as they welcome Championship basement boys Preston North End on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

Mark Robins' men had taken 12 points from five games before being held to a goalless draw at home to Bristol City on Saturday to drop to ninth, but the Potters have struggled against North End in recent years.

The Lilywhites are winless in seven but did pick up their first point in four games under Graham Alexander with a 1-1 home draw against West Bromwich Albion last time out. However, they have taken just one point from six games on the road this season.

• Stoke City have won just one of their past seven league games against Preston North End (D3 L3), failing to score in four of those matches.

• Preston North End are unbeaten across their past eight away league games against Stoke City (W5 D3), conceding just one goal in total across those matches.

• Stoke have won six of their past nine league games (D2 L1), as many victories as across their prior 32 Championship matches combined.

• Preston have lost five of their past six away league games (D1), while only Watford (8) have picked up fewer than their 13 away points in the Championship in 2026 among ever present sides.

• Preston have lost just one of their past 11 league games played on Halloween (W3 D7), though did lose their most recent 2-1 against Birmingham City in 2020.

The latest episode of BBC Radio Stoke's A Cold Wet Tuesday Night podcast is out now.

Lucas, Matt and Louis discuss Stoke's next steps and battling it out in the weather in their 0-0 draw at home to Bristol City.

Listen above or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

Mark Elliott
BBC Radio Stoke commentator

Image source, Shutterstock

This one finished Stoke and Bristol City 0-1 Storm Boelo.

The weather might have won the day but a point for the Potters will feel like one gained if they can follow it up with a win against struggling Preston next week.

The wind played havoc with both teams' attempts to break the other down but it was a compliment to Stoke that the visitors changed to a back five and by the end only one team looked like they really wanted a winner.

The game was a learning curve for players like Luca Bombino who won't have encountered conditions like this too often in California and Stoke's other MLS import Jack McGlynn (pictured).

Losing Lamine Cisse to injury early in the game was a blow but Stoke carried enough of a threat to move on from this one with confidence intact.

Championship teams are judged on sequences of results and with three more fixtures to come, that look reasonably winnable on paper, they'll hope that this draw forms part of an unbeaten run in the same way the draw at Cardiff earlier in the season did.

Ged Scott
BBC Sport England

Image source, Jan Kruger -Getty Images)

Stoke City boss Mark Robins understandably blamed the weather for his side's comparatively poor showing as the effects of Storm Boelo led to the Potters' first goalless draw of the season.

"I can't be too critical and I don't want to be," he told BBC Radio Stoke, after the 0-0 stalemate at home to Bristol City. "I don't think it's warranted.

"It was really difficult. They've changed shape. They've come for a difficult game and then the weather made it doubly so. But, if you can't win, don't lose.

"When a team comes and sits like that, and it's the first time a team has come and done that, we've just got to take some learning from it.

"We move it in different areas and it becomes a bit samey and we don't learn from that. We've tried everything.

"From set plays we were dangerous. It looked like we were going to score from one of them. But, to be fair to them, they've thrown bodies in front when they needed to.

"We had total control of the ball, total control of the game, but an easy option on it. We've been in positions where we've taken a safe position to get on the ball rather than something a little bit more incisive.

"We've tried to do everything that we could to get a goal, but I didn't think we were good enough."

Image source, Opta

In-form Stoke City will hope to pick up their seventh Championship win in nine games when they host Bristol City on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 15:00 BST).

The Potters bounced back from a narrow late defeat to Middlesbrough with a 1-0 win at Derby County last time out and start the weekend within three points of the automatic promotion places.

Meanwhile, the 16th-placed Robins have won just one of their past six games (D1 L4) and have only scored three goals in that time.

• After a run of five successive defeats between January 2019 and April 2023, Stoke City are unbeaten in their previous three home league games against Bristol City (W2 D1).

• After winning their most recent league game against Stoke City, Bristol City will be looking for successive wins in this fixture for the first time since April 2022.

• Stoke have won six of their past eight league games (D1 L1), with only West Ham United (20) collecting more points than the Potters in the Championship since the start of September (19).

• Bristol City have lost their past two league games by 1-0 scorelines, they haven't lost three in a row without scoring since February 2021 (run of four).

• Ethan Galbraith has assisted in three of his past four league games for Stoke, while he leads the Potters this season for league goal involvements (6).