Tom Edwards is not just blowing the trumpet for the club’s current Academy, the Stafford teenager is also flying the flag for all those youth players graduating into Stoke City’s first team down the decades.
By our reckoning, he is one of 132 players over the years to be promoted from youth-team to first-team football at Stoke.
They date from one Tommy Sale, who made his senior league debut in December 1930, to Lasse Sorensen on the final day of last season at Swansea.
Famous names in the history books include Stanley Matthews (debut 1932), Neil Franklin, Frank Mountford (both 1946), Tony Allen (1957), Garth Crooks (1976), Steve Bould (1981) and Carl Beeston (1985).
If ever there was a golden period it was surely in the late 60s when that famous back four emerged in the shape of Alan Bloor (1961), John Marsh (1967), Denis Smith (1968) and Mike Pejic (1969).
Just the 1,409 first-team starts in total for that awesome foursome born a short tram ride from the Victoria Ground.
John McCue, whose debut came in September 1946, boasts most first-team starts with 502, followed by Allen (414), Smith (410), Frank Bowyer (394), Mountford (391), Johnny Sellars (384), Bloor (379) and Alan Dodd (364).
Not every graduate could claim anything like that catalogue of games, however, and no fewer than 22 of the 132 only ever made a senior sub appearance, though there’s still time for Tyrese Campbell, Ollie Shenton and Julien Ngoy to put that right.
With substitutes not introduced until the 1960s, it’s the more modern-day player boasting the greatest number of sub appearances among the 132 and the list is currently topped by Karl Henry (56), Lewis Neal (41), Marc Goodfellow (37) and Carl Saunders (34).
Four marked their debut with a goal - Peter Bullock in 1958, Terry Smith in 1970, Dave Goodwin in 1973 and Graham Shaw (1985).
Edwards, 20 in January and now with 11 league starts to his name for Stoke City, `enjoyed’ his debut at the start of that infamous 7-2 drubbing at Manchester City 13 months ago - though it must be remembered it was only 3-2 when he limped off injured! - and that’s the worst debut for any youngster making his bow in terms of scoreline.
There were certainly far more smiles for Sellars and Edward Wordley after they were both blooded in a 5-0 home win over Preston North End in February 1947.
Since the turn of the century there have been 20 graduates - look away now and see if you can name them all.
The first of these was Goodfellow when making his bow in a 1-1 draw against Rotherham in September 2000.
No prizes for guessing that Andy Wilkinson boasts most starts of those being promoted to the first team since January 2000, 126 in total for Wilko and most of those in the Premier League of course, and he’s followed by Karl Henry (53), Ryan Shotton (34) and Carl Dickinson (31).
The 20 since the turn of the century, in chronological order, are: Goodfellow, Lewis Neal, Henry, Brian Wilson, Kris Commons, Gareth Owen, Wilkinson, Jermaine Palmer, Dickinson, Martin Paterson, Adam Rooney, Robbie Garrett, Matt Hazley, Louis Moult, Shotton, Shenton, Ngoy, Edwards, Campbell, Sorensen.
* All statistical research kindly provided by Professor P. Smith.
