I noticed on EPL Talk the other day somebody asking for an article on Stoke City’s chances of winning the FA Cup, so I thought I’d have a crack at this blogging lark and give you the wisdom of this Stokie’s insight and opinion of our form and chances.

Getting to the semi-final of the FA Cup is a rare occurrence for Stoke City. Only once in the 19th century have we accomplished it, and only twice in the 20th century.  All before my time and poor going for a team that will be celebrating 150 years in existence in 2013.  Before the semi-final all I wanted was for us not to disgrace ourselves, to give it a go, and not freeze on the big stage. I said I’d be happy with Manchester City in the final. Well so far I’ve got what I want.

The semi-final was a truly surreal experience. I’ve followed Stoke all over England during the past sixteen years and have seen us take some real drubbings. The one that sticks in my mind is a 0-6 defeat away at Nottingham Forest when a young Marlon Harewood tore us a new backside just after Tony Pulis took over in his first stint at the club. That was embarrassing enough; God only knows how those poor Bolton fans felt after seeing their team rolled over on a stage as huge as Wembley.

Whilst Bolton were truly bad, everything gelled on the day for Stoke and I believe this is down to the meticulous preparation of our management team. Bolton players came out for their wander around the pitch suited and booted as if they were there for the final. The Stoke players followed them in tracksuits and training shoes, much more relaxed and apparently knowing in no uncertain terms that the job was not finished.  A mate’s son had being doing work experience at the club when Stoke played West Ham in the quarter final match; he said that after the match the players came in looking pretty calm, almost glum. They heard the cup draw and a few smiled and cheered when Bolton came out as the opposition. Tony Pulis’s response to them was along the lines of ‘Forget that, we’ve got Newcastle on Saturday’ (probably with a few more choice expletives knowing him). We know how to keep our feet on the ground.

During the FA Cup semi-final everything went perfectly. The Stoke City supporters bounced their way through the simplest game of football we’ve played all season. “Delilah” reverberated around the stadium at least five times; ‘We only score from a throw in’ and ‘We’re Stoke City, we’ll play how we want to’ were well aired also. The perfect game and result, on the biggest stage, it made up for my years following Stoke, toiling around League One and the Championship.

As we all know the semi- final match turned into the most one-sided FA cup semi-final in seventy odd years. Outsiders will think that this is a one off. Bolton froze, and everything went right for Stoke on the day.  I may have red-and-white tinted glasses on but it was more than that. We’re hitting form in all positions at the right time.

To recap for those that don’t follow the Potters on a regular basis; we easily beat West Ham 2-1 after they’d battered us the week before. Newcastle next 4-0, fair enough the bar codes aren’t great away but Stoke were ruthless. Chelsea 1-1, if not for Petr Cech it could have been 4-1 to Stoke and that is no exaggeration.  A 3-2 defeat against Spurs, a loss but another two goals and a much better performance away from home (we live up to our billing as dour in away matches usually).  Beat Bolton 5-0, say no more (watch the goals if you haven’t already – tell me which came direct from a set piece or a long ball).  We then drew Villa away 1-1, again a much improved away game, Stoke were on top for much of the first half. We defeated Wolves at home 3-0, The Wolves fighting to stay up, clinically pulled apart by Stoke, left the Wolves fans admitting it could have been 6 or 7.

I don’t think we’ve been playing this consistently since our promotion season. Jones, Pennant, Walters and Etherington have gelled up front, the defence has always been relatively settled and the central midfielders generally pick themselves.

However we’ve started to pick up injuries to some of our most important players. Fuller may not have been starting but he’s a magician, our talisman, worth chucking on to go all David Copperfield on your arse for the last fifteen minutes if we need to pull something out of the bag. He’s just been operated on and has no chance of making the final. Then on Tuesday against Wolves Matty Etherington went past a Wolves defender at pace then just slipped off the pitch. Hamstring apparently. We’re sweating on it but personally I feel it’s the bench at best for him in the final. Pennant is on fire at the moment, as are Jones and Walters; I expect all three to be rested at some point in the run up to the final.

As for the final against Manchester City it’ll be tough but it’s the match up that I wanted. We’ve beaten them more than once. In our first season back in the Premier League we beat them 1-0 after playing with ten men for 55 minutes, in an atmosphere that I’ve never experienced before or since. Hostile doesn’t describe it. Last season we played two epic FA cup matches and overcame them. We’re usually poor against them at Eastlands but we have already proven that Wembley does not daunt us. It’ll be tight and if Tevez is back then realistically Manchester City should be favourites. If Tevez doesn’t start, I’d say it’s up for grabs.

Whatever happens this will be the pinnacle for me supporting Stoke City. All I’ve ever wanted is to see them lift the FA Cup. People are flying in from all over the world trying to get tickets from anywhere, anyhow. Stories are going around about holidays being cancelled; even a Stokie’s wedding has been postponed! It means so much to the city of Stoke on Trent.

I’m going to rush back from Wembley to Stoke if we win. I want a drink before the pubs run dry. Either way at least I’ll be able to get a hair-cut. I decided to let it grow until Stoke got knocked out of the FA Cup. That was on 15 November 2010.  I look like a cross between David Luiz and Rory Mcilroy now. Stylish it’s not.

Anyhow I hope this has given you a bit of perspective from the point of view of a match going fan who’s lucky enough to be able to attend on regular basis and has paid their dues slumming around the lower leagues with their team.  I’m sure you’ll excuse me for feeling pleased with my Stoke City life at the moment.  If any of you are daft enough to back Stoke based on this, don’t blame me when it goes pear shaped. But feel free to share any winnings with me!

The elite group that is the big four – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, have dominated the top four places in the Premiership for the past six year with the exception of Everton three seasons ago. But can this season be different and a club outside of this elite group break into a Champions League place?. This season has seen some clubs invest huge sums of money into players to try and break into club footballs biggest tournament.

Spurs have invested onwards and upwards of £90 million on players in the past two seasons and are still looking at players as Ramos tries to truly stamp his mark on the team. The new faces that have joined the squad certainly make it look stronger on paper, all that could be questioned is that with a lot of new players it takes time for them to settle into the teams system. The players to have signed this year are Goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, Forward Giovanni Dos Santos, Playmaker Luka Modric, Winger David Bentley and hot prospect John Bostock. But they have also lost influential forward Robbie Keane to Liverpool which could be a huge blow unless he is replaced before the season starts. Other players to have left the club are Paul Robinson, Steed Malbranque, Teemu Tainio, Pascal Chimbonda. Last years finish of 11th is certainly not in the thoughts of the club this year.

Aston Villa are a team who have been on the up the last two seasons with Martin O’Neil at the helm. The main headlines the last few months is the will he not he saga of Gareth Barry, the player obviously wants to leave but question is will Liverpool come up the £18 million that Villa want. Despite this O’Neil has made some shrewd buys in holding midfielder Steven Sidwell from Chelsea for £5 million, goalkeeper Brad Friedel for £2 million from Blackburn who is one of the most consistent performers in the league. Other additions are American keeper Brad Guzan, Curtis Davies on a permanent deal. Villa though have lost influential defender Olof Mellberg who will need to be replaced before they can be taken seriously as true contenders. Bu the future looks bright with young stars Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor making great strides.

Everton were the team that had a the chance last season to break the domination but a poor finish to the season saw them barely make Europe by the end. Last season saw the emergence of Joleon Lescott and Phil Jagielka at the back, but with Everton not making any new signings and the loss of Tim Cahill to injury and the sale of Andy Johnson to Fulham it would seem they will not be making the extra step. With that said David Moyes is an excellent manager and will get the very best out of his young talented squad.

Manchester City have changed there manager after a fairly successful season under Sven Goran Eriksson. But the new man in charge has a good C.V and will no doubt bring a new professionalism that could take City to the next level. They have made a big signing in Brazilian striker Jo for £19 million and strengthened there back line with Tal Ben Haim. With young prospects in Joe Hart, Micah Richards and the flair of Elano and Petrov they could well have a chance to do something this year.

Portsmouth had their most successful season in their history last season and will be looking to build on that. With a very strong and athletic team they will be a force to be reckoned with especially at home. A major blow to them is the loss of midfielder Sulley Muntari to Inter Milan but they have add to the squad with Peter Crouch, Ben Sahar and Glenn Little. With Jermain Defoe in his first full season at the club and the reliable back four and goalkeeper they could well be a surprise package this season.