Having said his goodbyes and received some lovely tributes from his former teammates after doing so, it's clear to see how much of an impact Jon Walters made at Stoke City.
During his time at the club he scored goals, infuriated opponents, and literally shed blood for the shirt on numerous occasions, so it's easy to see how the supporters at the Britannia Stadium fell in love with him, especially considering that we, as Ireland fans, did the exact same.
But we get to enjoy Big Jon doing his thing in a green jersey for another while yet. At Stoke, the fans have to say goodbye to a man who played a significant role in the club's history, so it's an emotional time for the supporters. The end of an era, if you will.
Thankfully, the superbly named Stoke fan podcast 'Wizards of Drivel' have done an outstanding job of getting across just how special Walters is to them with a Twitter thread dedicated to his greatness.
A 'Jon Walters is great' thread #SCFC #WODPOD
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
For those unaware, a 'Twitter thread' is replying to your own tweets with further information to create a long scrolling post on a platform intended for brief thoughts. They've become very popular among football fans, with the best example being the thread on why Sunderland are a total disaster, but this one is right up there.
For their now departed #19, the Wizards of Drivel listed 19 reasons why Jon Walters is great, and it will raise a smile to any fan of the big man's work.
1) Reading a programme that had been chucked on the pitch at St. James' Park after a late Stoke equaliser pic.twitter.com/biwfHTWn08
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
2) Putting us en route to Wembley with two vital extra time goals in Cardiff. pic.twitter.com/oJYjKSmITv
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
3) Boiling the piss of the red half of Liverpool in Stevie's last game pic.twitter.com/8c3iLjU8BR
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
4) Scoring one of the finest goals the new Wembley Stadium has ever seen pic.twitter.com/lIqjC2OQZ6
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
5) and then becoming the first Stoke player to score a Wembley brace, putting the icing on the cake in the best day ever pic.twitter.com/IQCOBULqdp
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
6) Absolutely twatting one in against Chelsea in the League Cuphttps://t.co/Bt5rjYvKIe
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
7) His services to Twitter banter pic.twitter.com/Czy0S18GsP
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
8) The fact he scored two own goals and missed a penalty in one game, and still played well on the whole
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
9) His bromance with Robert Huth pic.twitter.com/QntulJj03H
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
10) That other beauty against Chelsea, where he ran from the halfway line, broke David Luiz and smashed it in pic.twitter.com/Ywh3WXOk3v
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
11) Taking his awesomeness international, and beating the World Champions single handedly pic.twitter.com/UWO0OmIciv
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
12) The only 'recent' Stoke player to make our top 25 all-time top goalscorers list pic.twitter.com/nIuvIxjQWV
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
13) The only Stoke player with a Premier League hat-trick pic.twitter.com/1k3AzrZ0kW
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
14) How much he enjoyed scoring against Arsenal pic.twitter.com/m2KwtEskpG
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
15) This picture pic.twitter.com/2x1iDFEsr2
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
16) BoJon - the unlikely double act that took the league by storm pic.twitter.com/8yiZVGrpki
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
17) The Ireland flags at the Euros pic.twitter.com/gdP7lqY3vl
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
18) I've just discovered this picture and am enjoying it pic.twitter.com/JCEB5NDOnw
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
19. pic.twitter.com/fseQxhYmSj
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 5, 2017
Outstanding. While Shane Long may have an argument regarding Walters defeating the Germans single-handedly, we'll let it slide as they used the photo of Walters refusing to allow any more football to be played, a moment that is close to our hearts.
We loved the tribute, and it turns out the man himself did too.
We like you too, Jon ❤ pic.twitter.com/KMFsZ09rQ8
— Wizards Of Drivel ? (@wizardsofdrivel) July 8, 2017
If you're a Stoke fan, we're sure you are already familiar with their work, but check out Wizards of Drivel on Twitter here, as they are great craic. It's just a shame that Stoke's once thriving Irish connection now appears to have fizzled out.
For more on how much Jon Walters means to Stoke City, check out our chat with the Wizards of Drivel below.
