Legends on legends - Stoke City

One of, if not the, most famous footballer in the world in his heyday, described by Pele as the player 'who taught us the way football should be played', Sir Stanley Matthews played at the top level for over 30 years, including 19 years in two spells at Stoke City.

Known as the 'wizard of the dribble', Matthews maintained his fitness to play until the age of 50 and remains both the oldest player to play for England (42 years and 104 days) and in the Football League (50 years, five days).

Making his debut at 17, and a goalscoring England debut at 19, Matthews' strength came from his sheer pace and trickery down the right wing, where he'd tie defenders in knots before delivering pinpoint crosses. He scored a lot of goals in his early career but responded to being marked tighter and tighter by dropping slightly deeper, lessening his personal goal threat - he ended up with 80 goals in 803 career appearances - but proving more effective for the team.

He won the inaugural Ballon d'Or in 1956, the FWA Footballer of the Year in 1948 and 1963 and was later voted into the PFA's 'Team of the Century'. He lifted the FA Cup with Blackpool in what became known as the 'Matthews final' - a 4-3 thriller against Bolton in 1953 - two Second Division titles and earned 54 England caps in an international career spanning 1934-57. He was awarded the CBE in 1957 and was knighted in 1965. He passed away aged 85 in February, 2000.

Our legendary former winger Cliff Jones, 378 appearances for us, 1958-68, 159 goals, played against Stanley and took part in his testimonial in 1965.

Remembering Stanley this week, ahead of our Carabao Cup tie against Stoke on Wednesday night, Cliff told us: "Sir Stanley Matthews... he was known as the 'wizard of the dribble'. As a young lad, he was an iconic figure for me, Stanley. When you talk about wingers and Stanley Matthews, he wouldn't come back and help the defence, he didn't score goals, he didn't head the ball - but he was the greatest winger I've ever seen! That was Stan!

"He played for over 30 years, never got injured, never smoked, never drank, a fitness fanatic. He was miles ahead of his time, really, an iconic figure and someone younger players of my generation, 1950s, all looked up to.

"He was the Messi or Ronaldo of his day. He'd put thousands on the gate wherever he played. He was just very special and I had the pleasure and privilege of meeting him a number of times, a terrific, engaging character."

Stanley was seen ahead of his time in terms of the way he looked after himself - you could say he was one of the earliest proponents of sports science with his attention to diet and fitness, and even his kit, wearing a more lightweight boot then many of his peers.

Cliff benefitted from Stanley's knowledge first hand, as he explained. "I met Stanley in the early 1950s and he asked me what I had for pre-match meal. Usually for me it was a bit of boiled chicken or steak three hours before kick-off, that was the norm. He said to try egg, milk, beat it all up and add glucose powder, two heaped teaspoons, mix it all up and drink it down. He told me it was easy to digest and a great source of energy. Well, I thought, ‘if it’s good enough for Stan Matthews, it’s good enough for me’. So, I did that. Stan played until he was 50, he had his own way of doing things. He was a long way before his time.”