Prior to the 2005–06 season, the Potters’ Icelandic owners made some significant changes after they found
themselves in a rut in the Championship in the middle of the 2000s. Dutch manager Johan Boskamp took over as
manager after Tony Pulis was fired.
Carl Hoefkens, Hannes Sigurdsson, and Martin Kolar were among the several foreign players brought in by
Boskamp, but Stoke didn’t pay a club-record £950,000 for the then-23-year-old Bangoura from Belgian club Standard Liege until the last day.
He started off well with the Potters as they aimed for promotion, but after leaving to play for his country in the
African Cup of Nations, things quickly went south for him at the club.
Sammy Bangoura failed to turn up to Stoke training after AFCON
Bangoura, who had been a reliable scorer for Lokeren and Standard Liege in the Belgian First Division, had to wait
two months for his work visa to be issued before being arrested at East Midlands Airport as he was relocating to
Stoke.
However, his charges were subsequently dropped, allowing him to play for the Potters.
The Guinean scored in a 2-0 victory over Crewe Alexandra on his debut at the Britannia Stadium. He then went on a
fantastic goal-scoring streak, scoring seven goals in six games before Christmas to win the Championship’s Player of
the Month award for November.
He left Stoke in mid-January to play in the African Cup of Nations in Egypt because he had been a consistent player
for his country since his debut in 2000. He led Guinea to a quarterfinal loss against Senegal before he was expected
to return to the Potteries in time for the team’s visit to Preston North End on February 4.
However, Bangoura failed to show up at the training facility, and by February 9, his agent had stated that he had
been the target of a £2.75 million proposal from an unidentified Russian club.
Boskamp was happy that Stoke chairman Gunnar Gislason had declined the bid for his star player, but the
Dutchman had some harsh things to say to the media about the 23-year-old’s disappearance after he continued to
fail to show up after the team’s 3-0 loss to Cardiff City on February 11.
Boskamp told the Stoke Sentinel, “It is three times more than we paid for him a few months ago, but the main thing
is we want to keep him.”
“I don’t understand why he hasn’t shown up for training because on Tuesday night, when I went by his house, the
lights were on. “He is aware that last Tuesday was his due date.
“I would kick him in the b******s if I were a player instead of a manager. I don’t respect him at all.”
After the Potters had failed to score in four games without him, teammate Clint Hill said that Bangoura “owes us a
big one,” and he was fined two weeks for his tardiness. Bangoura ultimately showed up nine days after he was
scheduled to.
However, he was unable to regain his spectacular goal-scoring abilities and only managed to score once in ten games
before to the season’s conclusion, as Stoke finished in 13th place. New owner Peter Coates then rehired Tony Pulis as
manager.
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Bangoura continued to be a controversial figure at Stoke before his exit
The Guinean was given another opportunity at Stoke because of his strong play in his first half-year there, which
convinced the Potters that he was worthy of being included in the team for the 2006–07 campaign.
But that trust was not returned, and he arrived 37 days late for preseason play under Pulis. He barely made an
appearance the day before Stoke’s season opener against Southampton United, and he explained that his tardiness
During that period, Stoke had ceased paying Bangoura’s salary, but his agent, Alfred Raoul, insisted that “he wants to
play for Stoke,” and he made four more appearances for the team before signing a six-month loan deal with FC
Brussels in January 2007 in the hopes of getting more playing time.
The Guinean returned to the Potteries at the end of his loan spell but had no chance of getting back into Pulis’ squad
ahead of the likes of Ricardo Fuller, Mamady Sidibe or new signing Richard Cresswell.
In August 2007, he paid £270,000 to join Portuguese team Boavista, ending a tumultuous two-year tenure at Stoke.
However, chairman Coates still called him a “disgrace” for his missteps, which cost the team a good deal of possible
sale fees and Bangoura himself the opportunity to play at the highest level.
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