Graphic: bombs away - Stoke's aerial assault on the Premier League

Prince Charles was the last nationally recognised figure to open the Royal Shrovetide Football Game, a medieval form of mass and often drunken public rugby played annually through the streets and streams of Ashbourne, Rory Delap's nearest town in Derbyshire. The Stoke City player's celebrity is growing at such a rate, though, that it has been suggested that he should “turn up” the first ball in February.

Stoke have been caricatured as the team who have launched themselves into the Barclays Premier League on the back of a long throw. The technique spawned by Delap's ability to hurl the ball 38 metres has only added ammunition for the critics who denigrate the direct tactics employed by Tony Pulis, the manager, and David Kemp, his assistant.

Today, Stoke take on Chelsea and, by the sound of things, they have got Luiz Felipe Scolari worried. The Chelsea manager has said that he has spent the past three days studying videos of Stoke - especially the Delap delivery.

The Brazilian may wish to follow Liverpool's example from last week. They restricted the number of throw-ins conceded at Anfield to eight - and only two in “Delap territory”. Stoke, to their credit, still secured a goalless draw.

“It was a great confidence-booster to keep a clean sheet at Anfield, even if the goal [by Steven Gerrard that was disallowed] was a bit dodgy,” Delap said. “When you go to places like that, you need to ride your luck. We were still disappointed with the way we played when we had the ball, though. It's hard to get up the pitch if you concede possession too cheaply.

“We've got to try to keep the ball against Chelsea. If you give a top side that number of shots on another day, you could lose by a few. We need to do better on the ball and we've been working on that this week.”

If Stoke think that they know what to expect against Chelsea, their adaptation of the long-ball game appears alien to Scolari, but the World Cup winner has been won over by Delap's prowess. “In Brazil we don't play this way,” Scolari said yesterday. “I like it because it's different. I've never seen this in my life.

“They have one man who is fantastic. I think he shoots the ball better with his hands than with his foot. We need to think about controlling this situation. I've been thinking about this for three days and we have been working on dealing with these throw-ins in training.

“John Terry is one of the best players for this situation, but it is not just about John Terry. I have organised it so that we win the first ball quickly. You will see what happens tomorrow.”

And would he be tempted to sign Delap? “Maybe in the future,” he said. “Maybe we get a coach for this to work on our arms.”

As Delap, 32, veers towards celebrity status, the Ireland player sees people in the streets who, recognising him, mime taking a throw-in. He threw the javelin as a teenager, but, although he has employed his long throw for various game plans at Carlisle United and Derby County, he does not practise it every day. “I just throw it as hard as I can,” he said. “It's one of those freaky things that I can do. You get the odd sore neck and back, but I get a little massage from the physio after the game.”

So, is there nothing more to Delap? “I don't know about that,” he said, laughing. “I get the ball and give it to those who can do something different.”

The nephew of an Irish playwright, Delap is a contented family man willing to run through brick walls for Stoke, who turned his loan from Sunderland into a permanent deal 18 months ago even after he broke a leg on his home debut, and to cycle hundreds of miles in the close season for the Donna Louise Trust, a children's hospice. The eldest of his three children, aged 5, is a goalscorer in the making for Turnditch Primary School, but does not take all the throw-ins.

Delap Sr admits that he gets a buzz when the febrile Stoke fans celebrate the winning of a throw-in like other crowds cheer a penalty. But he is keeping his feet on the ground and will not be taking part in the Ashbourne game; after all, his brother-in-law usually ends up battered and bruised from the event. Metaphorically speaking, Stoke's opponents may come to know that feeling quite regularly this season.