Stoke fan in peace...

Likewise. Those early-'90s meetings were especially memorable!

Will conjur up a few thoughts for you over the easter weekend, Lee.

I'd really appreciate that - thank you very much!

Here you go, Lee...

1. Generally how do you see Stoke City the club – a rival? Non-entity? Certain type of club? Disdain? Admiration? Pity?! As a fixture – is it of general appeal?

As a young lad, getting into football in the early 1970s, I liked Stoke. They were top-flight underdogs, but with plenty of characters in their squad. Everyone, without exception, loved Gordon Banks - especially on the back of THAT save in Mexico '70. I remember Jackie Marsh, who, unusually for the time, wore contact lenses. Dennis Smith appeared to get either of his legs broken at the drop of a hat, before returning to action in a trice. And then there was George Eastham, who capped a long career in his mid-to-late thirties by scoring the winner at Wembley against Chelsea's highly-fancied Kings of King's Road to end the club's long wait for a first major trophy. And Stoke - or, at least, a chanting ensemble called The Potters - were one of the first clubs to chart, as 'We'll be with You' coincided with that League Cup Final win. All good stuff, at least in the mind of a football-crazy kid.

Every schoolboy knew, too, that Stoke were the League's second-oldest club. I have to say I felt a tad sorry for you last year when Notts County dropped out, and Forest put up a claim to assume their near-neighbours' longevity crown on the basis that Stoke's origins were sketchy. After all, no-one had bothered to question them before!

County and Stoke went over 60 years between sharing Third Division North status during 1926/27 and that concentration of tense, febrile tussles in the nationwide third tier of 1991/92. So there was no history of a rivalry to speak of. And not really much geographical basis for one, either. Stoke, of course, had Port Fail (as I have heard them referred to down your way) on the doorstep to goad. And our previous couple of decades of consistent under-achievement in the bottom tier had left us feeling more entwined, albeit in a half-hearted way, with not-that-near-but-nearer-than-the-Potteries-neighbours Crewe and Rochdale. (Not sure if we ever called the latter Roch-fail, mind...)

All of a sudden, though, there was a rivalry, in much the same way as one had developed between us and Burnley over five League and Cup meetings the previous season. Snatching a point, after going two-down, at the Victoria Ground before September was out gave Hatters the assurance that we could go to big stadia and compete at our new level against the backdrop of a febrile atmosphere... other than at Birmingham, where we would inevitably get stuffed.

The return, goalless fixture at Edgeley Park and the two play-off matches were also incredibly tight - but ultimately joyous, so far as County were concerned. And our Wembley meeting, despite the outcome (more of which under (3) below), still felt special with it being County's first-ever trip to the Twin Towers. We were pretty sure, too, that Stoke fans would swap places with us in a heartbeat and trade in the Autoglass Trophy for another jaunt to Wembley the following weekend and the chance of promotion we were to have then. I remember on Wembley Way preparing to take a photo of my Dad, but letting a group of your supporters walk across our path before saying: "It's ok, lads, we'll do this when we come back for the Play-off Final." And, eight days later, I rather wished I hadn't when we failed, in heartbreaking style, to get over the line against Peterborough, and then, on our homeward journey, had to endure the sight of jeering Stoke fans, with banners, across the bridges over the M6 through Staffordshire.

Oops... rather more than a couple of sentences! But we can probably leave it there, as Stoke gained automatic promotion the following season, and, with that, the erstwhile intensity of our relationship rather dimmed. It has now been 22 years since our paths have crossed - and although County were in the higher division for the first four of those, we have been well adrift, and feeling rather envious, throughout the 18 following that.

More brevity from now on, I promise...

2. Are there any Stoke players/ teams that have made an impression on you over the years?

All, naturally, from the early '90s. I remember there being a number of players whose surnames needed in 'on'... Overson, Cranson and - oh yes - Beeston.

Carl Beeston was, in the eyes of Hatters, a classic pantomime villain, whose presence added to the spice of the matches. His presence didn't last too long, mind, at the first-leg play-off encounter in SK3, where he clobbered Jim Gannon and earned a very early bath. 'Bertie' Biggins was another we loved to taunt, as he continually went to ground in our box, before staring in wide-eyed disbelief on not winning a penalty.

And then there was Mark Stein. A classic case of an opponent to sneakingly, if grudgingly, admire. He was clearly a class above most players in Division Three, obviously enjoyed scoring against us, and the altercation he had with Gannon served all the more to make Hatters snarl in his earshot. That said, I would have loved to see him partner Big Kevin Francis up top, and tear apart all-comers, at EP.

From the same era - although, due to injury towards the end of 1991/92, not particularly remembered as an opponent - was the late Paul Ware, who, after playing a part in Stoke's promotion from the third tier in 1993, did likewise for us four years later. Classy player, whose curling shot at Carlisle remains one of the best County goals I have ever seen. Tragically taken from the world far, far too soon.

3. Are there matches between your team and Stoke you recall hating/loving?

I certainly loved more than I hated! The two play-off matches were exciting beyond belief, while clawing back a two-goal deficit at the Victoria Ground several months earlier had felt more like a victory than a draw. I was also at the old ground in 1997 for what proved to be the final FA Cup-tie there, and it was nice to write our names in your history books with a win on a foggy mid-January night.

The Wembley defeat was one with which, if truth be told, most of us (despite the thrill of playing at the national stadium) will have felt a little disappointed and frustrated. The decisions didn't go our way that afternoon, with Paul Wheeler's goal getting ruled out, and Biggins being in an offside position when Stein struck the decisive blow. But it was still a good day out!

4. In home / away matches, what have you made of the Stoke support? Any particular memories?

Always vociferous, vehement and vocal inside the ground - and turned out in good numbers. 'Delilah' was the song of choice, which, as a Welshman, I would favour any day over Vale's adoption of 'The Wonder of You'!

Living in Macclesfield, I have a few friends who follow Stoke - and I have to say that, among the many more I didn't know, I never experienced any bother before or after matches.

5. The Victoria Ground/ The New One – what did/ do you make our of our home ground(s)’ the grounds? Any particular experiences or impressions?

Loved the Victoria Ground - a proper, old venue full of character, at which we saw some thrillers. Car park's surface was a bit rough on the suspension, I recall!

Have been to the New One a couple of times: once to watch County in mid-September 1997, when, despite summer still not being done, the wind cut through the gaps between the stands to make it feel more like mid-February; and once to see your FA Cup-tie against my original home-town club Lewes - the one that saw two Lewes players jump over the ball, leaving no-one left to take a free-kick, which to this day remains a staple clip on 'Bloopers' vids and 'What Happened Next?'!

Absolutely

you're very welcome. it was pretty interesting to do.