Three hundred years ago, Alexander Pope said that hope springs eternal. He also said that to err Is human, but to forgive is divine. He also mentioned that blessed is the man who expects nothing for he shall never be disappointed.
I’m loathe to suggest that the great satirist of the Enlightenment was a Stoke City fan in advance, but being a devotee of the Potters for six decades now can indeed cause the imagination to veer towards the feverish, “Perhaps this year is our year.”
Maybe I should be a realist. We have been a Championship team for past eight years. For the last two we’ve been on the absolute precipice of relegation. We have hardly disturbed the footballing gods in any way. Every Saturday and on occasional rainy Tuesdays or windy Wednesdays I make a little deal with the devil, and I log on to watch from afar. I love my team foolishly and absolutely, and have done for six decades, ever since I trotted out as mascot when we played a friendly against Athlone Town, alongside the great Gordon Banks, the mighty Dennis Smith and my hero Terry Conroy.
These days I still simply refuse to believe that we deserve to languish in the lowly reaches. After all, I tell myself, we won the League Cup back in 1972!
So here’s my cause for optimism this year. Steven Nzonzi is back! The French legend was a masterclass in cool for us for three years. He’s the sort of right-footed player who always seemed like he was left footed. He’s now 36 years to heaven, with a touch of grey at the temples, but he surely still has a stepover in his repertoire.
Then there’s Viktor Johannsen, the brilliant Swedish goalkeeper who saved us last year. And the Dublin-born Bosun Lawal who, after an injury-strewn year, looks like he’s at his brickbat best. And Aaron Cresswell who is thankfully now an ex-Hammer. We have a new center half in the Ukranian-born Maksym Taloveirov who looks like he might direct the core of the team.
Former Under-21 international Bosun Lawal during a recent training for the senior Irish squad. [Inpho/Morgan Treacy]
So for the first time in years it actually feels – under our new manager Mark Robins – that we have a spine. Where the spine ends – as in a striker who can score goals – is a little more mysterious, but I’m putting my faith in our new Slovakian addition Róbert Boženík, recently joined from Boavista. And Sam Gallagher. And Bae Jun-ho. And Million Manhoef. And our loanee from Manchester City, Divin Mubama.
Who knows what might happen?
I shall never damn my team with faint praise (another Pope-ism). No, this team is going to the playoffs, at the very least.
After all, the possible always exists within the impossible.
[Editorial Note: Stoke City beat Derby County 3-1 in their opening game last Saturday. Dubliner Bosun Lawal was in the starting lineup. See also the Echo's 2025-26 Premier League Preview here.]
Colum McCann is a National Book Award-winning novelist. For more about his work go to colummccann.com.
