Fan's Eye View: Potteries skip to the Lou legacy

EVENTS at the Victoria Ground over the last few weeks have added a whole new meaning to the word 'traumatic' for Stoke City and their supporters. Just when everything seemed to be ticking along nicely, our world comes crashing down. Mind you, we've become used to such things. Back in 1982/83 we had one of the most attractive sides in the First Division and seemed set to go on to great things, yet two years later we were relegated with statistically the worst record of any top- flight side in the history of English league football.

Experiences such as the one endured by Stoke supporters in the best-forgotten nine months that constituted the '84/85 season have turned us into quite a hardy bunch, ready to take the blows that life tends to throw our way. So much so that our relegation to the Third Division four years ago did nothing to diminish support, though many Stokies were reaching breaking point during the last days of the Alan Ball reign, which had taken our club to their lowest- ever league placing - 14th in the Third Division.

Which is where Lou Macari came in. Fresh from the relative success he had enjoyed during his brief stay with Birmingham City, Lou arrived at Stoke during what were truly the club's darkest days. Shortly after his arrival he bought Mark Stein and from that point on everything has been rosy for the Potters, as two pieces of silverware will certainly testify.

Having tasted success, albeit only a modest helping, the recent departure of two of the men most responsible for bringing it about has left us all feeling a little bit frustrated.

The frustration came with the stark realisation of our own status and inadequacy. No matter that he had enjoyed two very successful years at Stoke, Stein wanted away for the bright lights of one of the game's bigger clubs and there was nothing the club could do, which forces us to face up to the fact that we will never be able to hang on to our best players. Somebody bigger and richer will always take them away from us, in this case Chelsea.

The Macari saga provided a different kind of frustration, more in line with a feeling of rank bad luck. He had previously stated that only two clubs could tempt him away from Stoke City: Manchester United or Celtic.

With the Red Devils having won the Premier League last season, we could count ourselves very safe on that score, but Celtic's mediocre performance over the past three seasons proved to be our downfall. Just our luck that the Scottish giants should experience one of the worst spells in their illustrious history just when we've got the best manager we've had in years]

Liam Brady's inevitable resignation was bad news for Stoke City but was nothing compared to the news a day later that Brady's assistant, Joe Jordan, had refused to step into the dead man's shoes and had also resigned, leaving Macari as the only likely candidate.

In joining Celtic Macari has fulfilled his destiny. Most Stoke supporters appreciated that; we just hoped that his time to go would not have arrived so soon. In his 28 months at the Victoria Ground, Macari achieved more than the previous half-dozen managers had done in the last 15 years.

Yet, despite the disappointment at the loss of a great manager and a prolific goalscorer, it is not all doom and gloom. Macari may be gone but he has left behind a telling legacy. Finances are better than they have been for years, crowds are up considerably and the playing squad is the best we've had for some time.

There is a rock-solid foundation for his successor, Jordan, the irony of whose appointment was not lost on supporters, to build upon. Perhaps that is the reason for the club's continued good form through this crisis. Mind you, when you've won four and drawn one of your five matches since your manager's departure, 'crisis' barely seems the right word, does it?