Southampton supporters will again be travelling in large numbers to Stoke City despite the kick off time, with this being our first visit to Stoke on a Saturday since 2017, there will be a fair few for whom this will be their first visit, here is all you need to know.

The Bet 365 stadium (formerly the Britannia Stadium) was opened in 1997 and was different to many other stadia built in the last 25 years or so, in that it was not a bowl and had openings in three of the corners to allow pitch ventilation etc.

However two of these corners have been filled in with seats and it is now a little more enclosed that it previously was when opened.

Now holding just over 30,000 its a decent stadium, but suffers from being well out of town with little around it bar an industrial estate. It is also on a hill and one of the highest grounds in England in regard to sea level etc, this means that it looks good from afar and especially when lit up at night.

Don't expect it to be full though, they have not had an average attendance of over 22,800 in the past 5 years and this season although likely to beat that as they push for a play off spot, is not likely to be much more, given even the big games have only seen around "5-26,000 attend, still well short of capacity.

Getting There

By Car

The normal route you would follow when heading to the North West, A34, M40, M42 and M6.

Leave the M6 at Junction 15 and then follow signs for the A500 towards Stoke after a few miles follow signs for the A50 towards Derby and then signs for the Britannia Stadium which is to the right of the A50.

Sat Nav - ST4 4EG

By Train

Stoke Station is over two miles from the ground although there are shuttle buses from Glebe Street just outside the station to and from the ground, otherwise its a taxi or a 40 minute walk.

After the game they normally have shuttle buses that run straight back to the station from the compound at the back of the away section.

Parking

Car parking available at the Stadium itself is limited to those who have passes, otherwise its a case of using the unofficial sites provided by industrial units nearby, most though are a 15 minute walk from the stadium.

One tip though is not to park on wasteland as quite often they are patrolled by private parking enforcement firms and you will more than likely get a ticket.

There is street parking on the other side of the A50 from the ground, but again at least a 15 minute walk.

The Away Section

The away section has changed since our last visit, previously it was in one half of the South Stand, next to the players tunnel.

Now it has been moved in a bid to make this stand more of a home end, something similar as happened at St Mary's in 2024.

The thinking seems to have been the same as Saints, away fans have been moved to the South East Corner of the ground, so we will have a similar view as away fans get at our ground, although it is the other side of the ground so to speak.

The view is still pretty good, but the acoustics less so.

The full allocation is again similar to St Mary's with 2,800 away fans.

Inside its the usual selection of beer and food and as you would expect from a fairly recently constructed stadium the concourses are quite spacious.

One downside though is that the stadium is built on high exposed land, the open corners of the ground made the away section feel quite exposed to the elements with a bitter wind blowing in winter, it will be interesting to see if this has changed with the changes to the location of our support this season.

There does not seem to be a compound at the back of the away section as there was at the old location, so those going by coach will probably have a little walk after the game, likewise whether there will be special buses for away fans only as there used to be is also unsure, so it might be a case of walking join Stoke fans for a bus back.

Drinking etc

There is little in the way of pubs etc near the ground or within a 15 minute walk, there is a Holiday Inn and Harvester pub next to the Stadium, and although they do let away fans in they can get very busy so your best getting there early or face being turned away due to being packed. Further on the industrial park there is a "Power league " complex, presumably some sort of indoor football/bowling place and that has a bar.

Further down Sir Stanley Matthews Way (and turning left along Eastern Rise) is the Longton Rugby Club, which has two bars also showing SKY Sports. Parking is also available at £5 a car. It is around a 20 minute walk to the away turnstiles from the Club.

For those going by Train, The Terrace Bar on Leek Road is a five minute walk from the station and is the designated away fans pub for those going by train, the shuttle bus's that run from the station also stop outside the pub with a return fare of £3

Another option is the Fenton Bowling Club in the Heron Cross area which is about a 15 minute walk and is just the other side of the A50 from the Brittannia. This is a small club but is very welcoming with a decent range of beer at good prices and limited food including the famous Stoke Oatcake.

Quirky Facts About Stoke.

1. Stoke itself is actually a collection of 6 towns, of which Stoke was one, Hanley, Burslem, Longton, Tunstall & Fenton were the other 5. Collectively they are known as the Potteries.

2. Stoke is not actually the main town of the Potteries, that honour falls to Hanley were the main shopping area is, hence the chant "Your just a small town in the Potteries" would be quite accurate.

3. There is a another football club in the Potteries, Burslem is the home to Port Vale and although they rarely play each other, it is not a very friendly rivalry.

4.Stoke City had the honour of being the first club of perhaps the greatest English footballer ever, Stanley Mathews made his debut for club aged 17 in 1932 and after 259 League appearances joined Blackpool where he played for 15 seasons in the top flight adding another 379 league games.

He returned to Stoke aged 47, to play another 4 seasons, helping them to promotion back to the old First division and thus played his last top flight and professional game in 1965, some 33 years after his debut having just turned 50.

He later said he felt he retired too early., there is a statue to him at the ground, if you have never heard of him google him, he was undoubtably one of the greatest players not just in England, but the world.

5.Most of the places of interest in the area are focused on it's traditional industries of making pottery and mining coal.

6. The Oatcake is it's traditional food dish, all I will say is it is an acquired taste, but the locals seem to be very proud of it and love it.

7.The City does have some other famous people other than Stanley Mathews, Robbie Williams was from Burslem and supports its local club Port Vale rather than Stoke City,, Darts player Phil Taylor is also from the area,

You may be surprised to learn that Slash, guitarists with Los Angeles Hair Metal band Gun's & Roses lived in Stoke till he was aged 6, just missing out in their League Cup win in 1972.

Lemmy from Motorhead was also from the City.

One Stoke born person of note with a Southampton connection was RJ Mitchell who was born locally in the Potteries but made his name in Southampton where he died aged just 42 in 1937 leaving a legacy behind that undoubtably changed the odds in fovour of Britain in World War 2.

Capacity: 30,089 (all seated)
Address: Stanley Matthews Way, Stoke On Trent, ST4 4EG
Telephone: 01782 367 598
Fax: 01782 592210
Ticket Office: 01782 367 599
Pitch Size: 115 x 75 yards
Club Nickname: The Potters
Year Ground Opened: 1997
Shirt Sponsors: bet365
Kit Manufacturer: Macron
Home Kit: Red and White Stripes

Official Web Site: www.stokecityfc.com

All Photos Via Reuters