NOTE: This page is no longer updated. **************************** JUNE 2006Taylor shows no mercy - 29/06/06Staffordshire's Phil Taylor showed no mercy to his protégé Adrian Lewis as the defending Desert Classic champion whitewashed his practice partner from Stoke. The 13-times world champion, masterminding Lewis' career, won 6-0 after his 21-year-old opponent struggled badly on the doubles despite having plenty of chances. Stoke legend dies - 27/06/06The Stoke City legend Frank Mountford has died. He passed away this morning (June 27, 2006) aged 83. Mountford played for Stoke over 600 times between 1942 and 1958 when he then worked alongside manager Tony Waddington. Birchall committed to Vale - 27/06/06Port Vale midfielder Chris Birchall says he will still miss Vale matches next season if he's called up to play for Trinidad and Tobago. But the winger says he remains committed to the club and won't be using his experience in Germany to try an get a lucrative move away from Vale Park. Local teams on the box - 26/06/06Stoke City's first home game on a Saturday in the Championship against newly relegated Birmingham City will be shown live on TV. The match will now kick off on August 12, 2006 at 12.30pm instead of the normal 3pm. Meanwhile Vale have been selected for TV coverage of their home game against Doncaster on Sunday September 3, 2006. Pericard signs for Stoke - 19/06/06Stoke City manager Tony Pulis has made striker Vincent Pericard his first signing since taking over the club. Pericard, 23, whose previous clubs include Juventus, joins the Potters on a three-year deal from Portsmouth, who released him at the end of last season. "He's six foot two, quick and has two good feet," Pulis told the club's official website. "He has shown enough to convince me there is more to come, which will hopefully be to Stoke City's benefit." Pericard also had a loan spell at Plymouth last season, where he played under Pulis. Cannock out of Super Cup - 17/06/06Cannock, runaway Premier Division winners in successive seasons, will not play in Europe's elite club competition next year after a second defeat at the Super Cup. The Staffordshire team, who are hosting this year's event having staged the EuroHockey Club Championships earlier this month, lost 3-2 to arch-rivals Reading. That left them point-less after two matches - with no hope of winning the event - and having to settle for a place in the EuroHockey Cup Winners' Cup as reward for their league title. Pulis confirmed as Stoke boss - 14/06/06Tony Pulis has been unveiled as the new manager of Stoke City. He replaces Johan Boskamp, who left City at the end of last season. The Potters agreed compensation with Plymouth to allow Pulis to make a return to the club who sacked him almost a year ago. John Rudge breaks his silence - 07/06/06The former Vale boss passed on a piece of tactical advice during the Coventry game in November, after which Boskamp issued a 'they go or I go' ultimatum to Rudge and coach Jan De Koning. In his statement he says he was 'shocked' at Boskamps behaviour calling it 'Beyond Belief', and suggested that the Dutchman believed he was bigger than the club. Rudge also admits that he persuaded Boskamp not to quit his post during their pre season tour, and he always acted in good faith when trying to help him. The director of Football is set to return from his 3 months on so called gardening leave, and will continue his role subject to approval from the new manager. MAY 2006Taylor eyes Matchplay title - 29/05/06The titles just keep coming for the world's greatest player as Potteries darts legend Phil the Power Taylor retained his Premier League crown in Plymouth. Taylor claimed his second title in the space of a week and picked up the £50,000 first prize with a comfortable 16-6 victory over Roland Scholton. But the 13-time world champion has now set his sights on the World Matchplay title in Blackpool this summer: "I'm getting more dedicated as I'm getting older. "To keep the standard that I'm at now you have to practice harder than ever before. A decade or so ago you could do it in your sleep but now you've got to practice four or five hours a day. "And I'm going to be even more dedicated now because the one tournament I'm
after is the World Matchplay - I really want to win it this year. "I'm going to try everything in the book." Hoefkens extends Belgium's unbeaten run - 24/05/06A late goal from Stoke City defender Carl Hoefkens helped Belgium to extend their unbeaten run under new coach Rene Vandereycken to four games. Hoefkens popped up just before the final whistle to leave the game with Turkey all square at 3-3. Coates returns to Potters' helm - 23/05/06Stoke City director Peter Coates (who was previously the chairman of the club for nearly ten years back in the mid 80's.) is the new owner of the club after acquiring the majority shareholding of the Icelandic based consortium Stoke Holdings SA for £1.7 million through Kidsgrove Road Limited, a company under his control. The successful local businessman and chairman of bet365, who is 68, takes over immediately in a deal which sees a further £8.3 million injected into the club to stabilise the club's finances, clear existing debts and provide funds to move the club forward. In addition the club's three remaining directors Phil Rawlins and Keith Humphreys, along with Peter Coates, will convert their existing loans to the club into shares. The club will now be largely debt-free and have a fresh start with a unified Board of Directors and a Senior Management Team. Taylor is tops again - 22/05/06Darts World champion Phil Taylor from Staffordshire has added another trophy to his impressive collection by winning the inaugural World Series of Darts title in Connecticut. `The Power' overcame his protege Adrian Lewis, who's also from The Potteries, 13-5 in the final at the Mohegan Sun Casino. The damage was done in the early stages as Taylor raced into a five-leg lead
against his young opponent. Lewis edged the 180 count 8-6 but Taylor's consistent scoring - he averaged 102.47 over 18 legs - proved to be the difference. "I'm thrilled to have won this," said Taylor, who walked away with a cheque
for 100,000 US dollars (£53,000). "It was hard for both me and Adrian in the
final because we're very close, and he played brilliantly. I knew I couldn't let him in and I had to be better than anything he threw at me. It's been a fantastic event. This is a massive breakthrough for darts in America and I'm sure it will be bigger next year." Lewis, who produced arguably the display of the tournament by beating former
world champion Dennis Priestley 11-1 in the semi-finals, said: "I was looking
forward to the final but it was hard to concentrate because it was Phil. However, I'll learn from this and I'm confident I can get a different result the next time we meet. It's good experience." Boss adds trio to Port Vale squad - 19/05/06The former Crewe defender Richard Walker is one of three new signings at Vale Park. Walker has signed a 2 year contract. He's joined by full-back Jason Talbot who has signed a 12 month deal having been loan at Vale Park at the end of last season. And striker Akpo Sodje has signed for 2 years from Darlington. | 
