EXCLUSIVE

By Natasha Kaur: Port Vale skipper Marc Richards “would love” to see his former boss Micky Adams return to Vale Park, he revealed today.

Speaking exclusively to StaffsLive, Richards said he made contact with Adams shortly after he was sacked by Sheffield United yesterday (May 11).

“On a personal note I’d love to see him back,” said Richards.

By Kofo Oniru: A brewery in Stone has produced a special ale ahead of Stoke City’s FA Cup Final clash.

Lymestone Brewery originally produced the Stone-Banker beer for the Semi-Final but has continued production ahead of the showpiece final.

Brewery owner Ian Bradford said: “I’ve been a Stoke City fan all my life, so we had to brew a beer to mark the special occasion.”

By James Drakeford: In a stunning landslide victory, Labour has won control of Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

The Labour Party gained 34 of the 44 seats available, while the British National Party (BNP) has lost all five of its seats.

The Liberal Democrats are also no longer represented in the city – they lost both of their seats.

By Tom Fairhurst: Port Vale have confirmed that an Extraodinary General Meeting (EGM) will take place on June 1.

Shareholders will have a chance to remove the current board in a ballot after a a request by supporters’ group North London Valiants.

The voting system works on a one share, one vote basis with 51 per cent needed to disband the current board.

By Tom Fairhurst: Port Vale assistant manager Geoff Horsfield is hoping to stay at the club after his contract expires at the end of the month.

The lack of a permanent manager at Vale Park and talk of a potential takeover has left his future in the air.

The former Birmingham City striker told StaffsLive: “I enjoy the club and I love the fans and I just want to be here and get this club out of this division.”

By Matt Richardson and Elliot Richardson: Hundreds of Stoke City supporters lined Britannia Stadium to secure FA Cup Final tickets.

The club’s supporters were left to scrap for just 25,082 tickets allocated to them for the game against Manchester City despite selling out their 34,000 allocation for the semi-final.

The Wembley showpiece on May 14 marks the greatest achievement in the club’s 148-year history.

By StaffsLive Reporter: Stoke City booked a return to Wembley for the FA Cup Final after a 5-0 demolition of Bolton Wanderers.

The Potters stunned the Trotters in the semi-final as first half goals from Matthew Etherington, Robert Huth and Kenwyne Jones did the damage, before a second half double from Jonathan Walters wrapped up the victory.

Tony Pulis’ men rarely looked troubled by their opponents as they romped through to a final clash against mega-bucks Manchester City.

By Josh Hoare: Radio Stoke’s football commentator and a former Potters’ favourite have joined a local band’s charity single to celebrate Stoke City’s trip to Wembley.

The Britannia faithful have been hailed as among the loudest supporters in the country and with 34,o00 set to travel down to the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday, StaffsLive caught up with Universal Thrift Club who have been making all the noise with their Wembley single, The Great North London Road Trip.

By Josh Hoare: Stoke City boss Tony Pulis has insisted his side’s FA Cup semi-final should not have been played at Wembley.

The Potters take on Bolton in the capital and Pulis admits the “traditionalist” in him would have preferred the game to have been played at a different venue.

“I would have loved this game to have been played locally, rather than having to travel down to London,” he explained.

By StaffsLive Reporter: The new FA-sponsored women’s soccer league kicks off this week with a big assist from Staffordshire University sports journalism students.

The new semi-professional league – Women’s Super League – was launched at Wembley on Monday (April 11) with students and recent graduates leading the way in media coverage.

Each of the eight clubs – Liverpool, Everton, Doncaster, Birmingham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Bristol and Lincoln – have been offered student/graduates on attachment to cover match days.