Stoke & Staffordshire

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  1. 'Dreadful run of injuries decisive in Stoke decline'

    Mark Elliott
    BBC Radio Stoke commentator

    Mark RobinsGetty Images

    "Here we go again," lamented Mark Robins as Stoke picked up more injuries in South Wales.

    Eric Bocat is their only fit left-back and left the game, as did captain Ben Wilmot.

    Junior Tchamadeu did return after a lengthy spell on the sidelines but by the time he came on as a second-half substitute, the game was slipping away.

    The red card Sorba Thomas received in the first half was key but Stoke conceded two poor goals and continue to slide down the table.

    It will take all of Robins' experience to turn around a run of results that's seen them take just 20 points from 22 league games since earning 27 from their first 14.

    That's almost half a season averaging less than a point a game, which can be classed as relegation form in most seasons.

    The start to the campaign showed what Stoke can be and a dreadful run of injuries has certainly been a decisive factor in their decline.

    Having said that, performance levels have dropped below what's required too often and injuries were not at fault for Zan Vipotnik's easy header from a Swansea corner that gave them the lead.

    He is the danger man and the situation should have been defended better.

    Injuries can't be blamed for some poor decision-making and execution in the final third either, an all too common theme this season.

    Stoke have been really unlucky with the injuries and the luck they've had in some of those 22 games but that isn't the whole story.

  3. A branch with the words Lloyds Bank in white above the entrance. A cash machine is on the left and there are doors in the middle.

  4. New Road cricket ground home to Worcestershire County Cricket Club which was flooded in Worcester on 9 February 2026.

  5. A black and white picture of a man, wearing a black t shirt and trousers, standing with his hands in his pocket. Behind him is an old pottery site - on the right is a bottle kiln and on the left are brick buildings.

  6. Robins laments lack of finishing touch

    Robins: ‘Just really disappointing’

    Stoke manager Mark Robins lamented his side's lack of a finishing touch in their 2-0 defeat by Swansea.

    Eric Bocat and Ashley Phillips were both denied, with Ben Wilmot seeing a goal chalked off for an offside, before the 10-man Potters conceded twice to return to Staffordshire empty-handed.

    Robins told BBC Radio Stoke: "We had two unbelievably good chances to get our noses in front. We've got to take those chances and then we had a goal disallowed.

    "Then it's compounded by Sorba having a yellow card that didn't look like one – how can you be penalised for trying to take a shot mid-air and somebody putting their head down?

    "That put him on a tightrope and then, for all the good he has done, that loss of discipline can't happen if that was a kick out. He has given the game away.

    "The goal that we conceded was really poor but we still carried a threat right up until the end. We need to lick our wounds ready for the game [against Ipswich] on Tuesday."

  7. A38 motorway with cars on the road, with a grass verge to the left and a sign saying Birmingham A38 with directions to M6 toll, Brownhills (A5), Burton and Derby (A38)

  8. A white football with black panels on grass, with a goal net in the background

  9. A view from above of train tracks coming in and out of Birmingham New Street. The tracks are empty with no passengers on the platforms. A large cylinder-shaped building is seen in the distance with other retail and leisure buildings around the station.

  10. Chris Large standing outside a council building wearing a grey suit, white shirt and striped tie. He has short grey and black hair

  11. A man with brown hair and facial hair is smiling and holding up a small lego build of a blonde woman sitting at a desk in a radio studio in front of a microphone. He is standing in front of a purple background with the BBC Radio Stoke logo in white writing

  12. A composite image for the West Midlands Quiz on 7 March, showing Cillian Murphy, Andy Warhol and specialist cleaner Iain Watson.

  13. Andre Gray in action for Port Vale

  14. A Google street view image showing a road leading off a roundabout.

  15. Film crew members gathered around a truck, equipped with a camera rig, in front of a classic car. A large theatre building can be seen on the opposite side of the road.

  16. EFL Football

  17. Boxes of cigarettes packed into the back of a van.

  18. Pick of the stats: Swansea City v Stoke City

    The Swansea City and Stoke City badges side by side. The Swansea one shows an image of a swan outlined in black on a white background. Stoke's has red and white vertical stripes on a red background

    If this were next season, both these sides would still fancy getting in the Championship play-offs with the EFL announcing this week that six teams will qualify from next season, from third down to eighth place.

    As it is, this is a meeting of 16th against 14th, who are respectively 10 and 11 points short of the top six.

    • Swansea City have kept a clean sheet in their past two home league games against Stoke (W1 D1), having lost 3-1 in the previous two at the Liberty Stadium

    • Stoke are looking for their first league double over Swansea since the 2021-22 campaign under Michael O'Neill.

    • Swansea have picked up 23 points in their past nine home Championship matches (W7 D2), conceding just four goals. In their previous nine home games, the Swans won nine points and conceded 15 times.

    • The Potters have lost six of their past 10 away Championship matches (W2 D2), scoring just six goals in total and failing to find the net in five of them.

    • Since the start of the 2021-22 season, only Gustavo Hamer (38) has more Championship assists than Sorba Thomas (37), who has created a goal in his past two appearances for Stoke.

    BBC How to follow your team banner set on a black background

  19. A man crouches down in a back yard, next to a door to a home, and works on a flood door on the ground. A person wearing an orange hi-vis jacket is standing next to him.

  20. Milan Smit scores for Stoke

  21. A road with a field to the left hand side and housing to the right hand side. There is a traffic filter lane in the centre of the road, and arrows directing traffic.

  22. A woman with blonde hair and wearing glasses, lies back on a chair with her mouth wide open while a dentist puts tools in her mouth.

  23. The front entrance to the Lichfield District Council office building. It is a two storey orange brick building that has a footpath with railing outside its frontage, which is lined with a flower bed

  24. Sharon wears a black tp and yellow apron, has short blonde hair and is standing behing a cheese counter.

  25. A man in blue running gear with a white bib, looks at the camera as he runs past on a road with other runners behind him.