Exile In The Promised Land
by
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Ninety minutes played and the game is surely over. The fourth official holds up his board and I am expecting one, maybe two minutes. The board shows four minutes and there is a huge cheer around Stamford Bridge. Nobody expected that and now there is real danger as Chelsea press for the winner. It is desperate and I cannot bear to watch. There are three minutes of frenzied goalmouth action as crosses rain in from the flanks. I remain convinced Stoke will survive as the defence deals with the danger. The whistles from the Stoke fans are now deafening. Another cross comes in and is not cleared. The ball drops to Lampard on the edge of the penalty area and he blasts it through the crowd of Stoke defenders who are desperately trying to make the vital block. The world stops as the ball hits the back of the net. It is the single most sickening moment I have experienced as a Stoke fan. I sink to the steps, head in hands as the adrenaline drains from me. A now frenzied Stamford Bridge feels utterly surreal. I do not feel emotional, I just feel sick. This is the defining moment when relegation becomes a reality and I am not mentally prepared for the dramatic circumstances in which Chelsea have so cruelly hammered that realisation home.
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About the Book
“Exile In The Promised Land” is a personal story of a ten thousand mile journey around England, following Stoke City. As unwelcome gatecrashers at the Premier League party, they defy ridicule and ultimately secure survival.
It is a unique insight into a unique season for everyone associated with Stoke City. Having spent twenty three years in the cash starved lower tiers of The Football League, an entire generation experience top-flight football for the first time.
“Exile In The Promised Land” captures the essence of what it is to be a football fan unexpectedly thrown into the excesses of The Premier League.
About the Author
Steve Mifflin was born in Cheshire, England in 1971. He attended his first Stoke City game in 1979 at The Victoria Ground where Stoke beat local rivals Derby County. From the age of seven he has been hooked and has regularly attended home and away games with his father and younger brother.
For Steve every home game is an away game as he now lives in Reading. Although the family roots run deep through Stoke-on-Trent, Steve has always had exile status from the city. The lack of a Potteries accent singles him out at The Britannia Stadium and when on the road with Stoke City.
Steve is married to Kate, a long-suffering football widow. He has two daughters Ellie and Daisy. Ellie has recently declared her allegiance to local team Reading.