Brian FarmerTunnel VisionOne week a groundsman didn’t recognise Our John and wouldn’t even let him into the Victoria Ground to watch Maurice Setters, Roy Vernon…Apr 13Apr 13
Brian FarmerA Red-and-White-Striped Mist DescendsSaturday January 22 1966 was a bad day for Stoke goalkeeper Bobby Irvine, a painful day for Walsall’s 19-year-old striker Allan Clarke, and…Mar 16Mar 16
Brian FarmerBuilding a Ladder to the StarsOur John was a member of one of the most successful youth sides in Stoke’s history during the mid-1960s.Feb 18Feb 18
Brian FarmerStan Matthews forces the boy from Biddulph to consider the price of fameStoke weren’t the most famous club when they signed Our John in January 1965, but they had the most famous player.Jan 7Jan 7
Brian FarmerFor Auld Lang SyneThe New Year of 1965 was the start of a new life for Our John. School was out and he became a professional footballer at the age of 17. He…Jan 1Jan 1
Brian FarmerThe Secret Grammar School FootballerNow, if I was 16 and a first division football club asked me to go to training sessions, I’d be shouting the news from the bike shed roof…Dec 13, 2023Dec 13, 2023
Brian FarmerChatterley Whitfield FC: What a Shower!A plumber at Chatterley Whitfield colliery may actually be the man (I’m assuming colliery plumbers in the 1950s and 1960s would have been…Dec 4, 2023Dec 4, 2023
Brian FarmerA Goalkeeper Trying to Find a NetOur young John had so many heroes: Ted Ditchburn and Ted Dexter, Eddie Baily and Barry Knight (and, of course, Duncan Edwards). But the…Nov 23, 2023Nov 23, 2023
Brian FarmerIn the SummertimeSince there’s an international football break this week, I thought I’d have a blog break and tell you a bit about Our John and cricket…Nov 12, 2023Nov 12, 2023
Brian FarmerWho Do You Think You Are, Duck?Our John was used to being laughed at long before When Saturday Comes thought he was a joke. When he was 12, the kids at Brindley Ford…Nov 5, 2023Nov 5, 2023
