Just days before the first game of the season against notorious now-rivals Stoke City, I had a chat with Stoke City super supporter and all-round good guy, Sean ‘Hairy Potter’ Ruane. Sean spoke about what the feeling is around the Britannia at present, how the team may line up and which of our new forwards he would love at his own beloved Stoke City.
First of all: 6-1 – is it going to happen again?
“Never, not in a million years. You caught us in the perfect storm. Sterling had fallen out with you, so he was sitting on the bench. That created disharmony in the squad. You had Gerrard starting up-front. Where was Balotelli? Lambert? All of these forwards you paid a lot of money for? Why weren’t they given a chance against Stoke? I remember Sakho, looking at him and thinking ‘my god’ – he’s a good player but this lad’s head has dropped.”
What do you expect ahead of the game on Sunday?
“Now, what I think about the big match on Sunday is that what Liverpool have got in their psyche is what I call the fear factor about coming to Stoke now. Arsenal are the same. Once you start fearing what you’re going to come up against: a bruising, hard battle, and then all of a sudden you get played all over the pitch. We’ve got passing movements, quick counter attacks. I think it’s really hard to knock that out of your system. And that’s what it will be like for Liverpool. If I was doing a quote for you, I would say that the Liverpool players have got to man up. Play football, don’t go there with this fear factor about Stoke.”
What has the mood been like in the Stoke City camp leading up to the game?
“Well the thing is, we were losing the passion with Pulis towards the end, but let me just say with this management team who’re finding players from all over the world, who want to fight for their places, this passing game that Hughes has created. Also, we don’t fear anymore, and it’s exciting for Stoke. Last season we topped our best season, I think we got 51 points, we just lost to a lot of really crap teams. But with the new structure, the players want to play and have a laugh, and that’s what it should be. Football should be fun.”
There’s a couple of injuries to your side, with Shawcross and Wilson out, and Bojan and Arnautovic touch and go, does this have a big effect on your game plan on Sunday?
“I don’t think it will matter. We’ve lost Shawcross but we’ve got players who can just slot in, everyone in the squad seems to know the squad. The system Stoke have got is tried as tested, and all of the players want to fight for their place, there’s plenty of cover. Bojan and Arnautovic are touch and go yeah, but we all play the mind games don’t we, I wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up on the pitch. All I know is we’ve got quite a lot of depth.”
I imagine the atmosphere will be buzzing, as it usually is with it being the start of the season and the return of Liverpool, do you see that playing a part?
“If you come with any fear – as it isn’t the biggest of grounds, it’s quite a tight pitch. It doesn’t suit the likes of Sterling or Walcott or anyone like that. I also think with the likes of Charlie Adam facing his old club, players raise their game. Glen Johnson as well. I think he’ll up his game too.”
Another big factor will be the probable inclusion of Christian Benteke up front for Liverpool. He’s known for his strength and aggression, does this play into your hands or will this help us?
“I tell you what, if Benteke starts I’ll be the happiest man alive. We’ve wrapped him up. Every year we’ve played against him we’ve wrapped him up. He’s not got a good record against us, he misfires a bit against us to be honest.”
It’s always interesting to hear an outsider’s point of view, but what do you see for Liverpool this season?
“I think your season is defined with the first three matches. You can’t come up with excuses after the first three matches. If he [Rodgers] doesn’t put 6/7 points in the bag in the first three matches, he isn’t going to win the title. And then people might need to start asking questions straight away. I think Ings and Benteke will boss that forward line for you, I think it will be goals galore. To be honest, I think you’re a shoo-in for top six, now you’ve got Ings. I rate him more than Benteke. And if Sturridge gets back, Ings and Sturridge could be a brilliant together.”
Who out of the Liverpool side would you love to see playing for Stoke if you could?
“I’ll tell you now, of all the players at all the grounds I went to last year to watch football, the player that impressed me the most was Danny Ings. When we went to Burnley and Danny Ings was all over us, he was like a wasp, all over us. He could have scored four or five, he was like a wasp. He never stopped, and it really frightens me if he is to start. If he gets the service mate, he is a serious player. You’ve also got Ibe, he’s a quality player, absolute quality – but after that we couldn’t really afford anyone else in that team!”
And finally, let’s just wrap this up, the all-important question: score prediction?
“I think it’s nailed on a draw, really. It depends if we have a lucky break, but it’s nailed on a draw. I’d fancy Ings to score against us. So 1-1, I’ll go with that. Cast iron draw. Watch Ings score two now and we’ll lose 2-1.”
Speaking to Sean was a genuine pleasure. We spoke on the phone for near 60 minutes, and the one thing that came across was his genuine love for the game and Stoke City. The respect he has for Liverpool was surprising and humbling. We spoke of the JFT96 campaign and how he and many Stoke fans paid their own tributes to the victims and their families and how he grew up watching the old Liverpool teams dismantle each opponent they came across.
Another think that shone through was his enjoyment when engaging with fans. With his own Stoke City fan page (Hairy Potter) he’s spending time doing what he loves best. Having hair and being a Potter.
He spoke several times about the idea of football being about fun, enjoying the game and never forgetting it is a hobby. Something I’ve written about time and again is the idea that football should never not be fun. It can be annoying. Crap, even. But once it stops being fun, then jack it all in.
Thanks again to Sean @cosnakickbo for taking the time out to chat to me.
Come Sunday though, I’ll be turning my phone off if we lose.
