Dream Team : Doug Coward

My Stoke Potters Dream Team. Apologies for any mistakes but the memory is fast fading with age!!

Tom Owen
My first year at Stoke speedway was 1983 and this signing, along with John Jackson, made it a season that I will never forget, even though if memory serves me right we finished 2nd or 3rd bottom. Tom was a revelation having come back from serious injury.

Eric Monaghan
'Bootsy' was worth watching just for the laughs you could have and then again when he was hot he was unbeatable, not bad for a turkey farmer eh??

Nigel Crabtree
What can you say about the man, I first saw him ride in 1983 for Scunthorpe and score a 18 point max at Loomer Road, we signed him the following year and he was without doubt the mainstay of the team through good and bad for many a year, enough said.

Graham Jones
Struggled early on with the team and some said he shouldn't have been re-signed after quitting mid season in 1984/85. I am sure he took great pleasure in showing his true form to many a supporter both for Stoke and Wolves in the following years.

Paul Thorp
I remember Stoke signing him in 1985 mid-season, he made sure that we didn't forget 1986. I still wish we had brought him back to Stoke for a second spell.

Gary O'Hare
Super sub, he could race against any rider and beat the pants off them, was a dead cert to be a top line rider until he broke his thigh at the Under 21 Championship.

Daz Sumner
Could gate and ride the line nearly as good as Tom Owen. Should have achieved more at Stoke, still it was disappointing to see him leave.

This article was first published prior to October 2002