Being two similar-sized Midlands clubs, Leicester City and Stoke have often been like ships that pass in the night. Whenever we meet, one or the other of us is on the up, or the down.
On Saturday, we meet up again in the top flight for the first time in 30 years.
Stoke have been there since 2008, and represent something that Leicester need to aspire to – a club living comfortably in the Premier League, rather than clinging on for dear life with the odd FA Cup final appearance thrown in for good measure. That's the life for me.
I can recall vividly that last top-flight meeting with the Potters, in January 1985, for several reasons.
Firstly, it was a 0-0 draw in which nothing of note happened at all. We agreed it was the most boring game we had ever seen (although Stoke probably considered it a highlight in a season where they were relegated with 17 points).
Secondly, it was absolutely freezing and, for some idiotic reason, we had elected to go in a draughty and half-empty Double Decker rather than nestle among the warm crowd at the back of Pen Three.
I recall at one point we were so cold our teeth were uncontrollably chattering. And finally, the Midland Fox buses were on strike and we had to walk the seven miles home.
The fashion requirements of the mid-80s meant that coats were frowned upon and, by the time we got back to our firesides, I was lucky not to have lost my core heat to an irretrievable measure.
Another Stoke game that stands out in the memory was City's last-ever trip to the old Victoria Ground.
Garry Parker beautifully struck home the only goal to send City to Wembley for a meeting with Crystal Palace in the 1996 Play-Off final.
Stoke never recovered their momentum from that night and soon found themselves in the third tier, while Leicester enjoyed six seasons in the Premier League.
The tables were dramatically turned on May 4, 2008, at the Britannia Stadium, when Stoke fans were celebrating automatic promotion to the Premier League on their pitch while Leicester's forlorn followers sat dumbstruck in the away stand having just witnessed their club being relegated to the third tier for the first time in their history.
Whatever happens in the Potteries on Saturday, we can't feel as bad as we did that day.
But it is a vital game for City, who need to build on the promising start they made before the international break.
With the mini-injury crisis easing, and some new faces in the squad, I am really looking forward to this one.
This is the first game of the rest of the season. I'll be happy with a point (I'll be ecstatic with three).
