Brek Broke

Well football certainly makes you shake your head in frustration. We get a player back and straight away lose him to injury for 4-6 weeks, as far as the initial prognosis suggests. This wouldn't have been as harshly felt if Brek hadn't scored in the game and shown glimpses of why we brought him from the States to play for us. His injury though highlights the lack of cover that we have on the left wing, with Matthew Etherington our only natural left-footed left-winger. Whilst this is no discredit to what Matty has done for us since he joined us in 2009, I do believe, like a lot of Stoke supporters, that the time has come where he should be merely a bit-part player, or even less. If he could beat a man, I feel we would all have more confidence in him, but recent performances suggest that his last remaining strength is his crossing ability. If he was being managed by Tony Pulis, that strength might have had some usage still, under Mark Hughes it is slightly unclear. I watched the opening half hour of the last preseason game against Philadelphia Union and we did play a good short passing game. Ryan Shotton impressed me with good support work for Kightly on the right wing, whilst Marc Muniesa did well operating on the left. Both of the goals in the game came from crosses, but I feel they offered something different from the crosses we saw last season. The cross for Shea's goal is the better example as it was aimed in between the lines, waiting to be tapped rather than high in the air in anticipation of a header. Again, Matty could prove me, and others, wrong and show that there is still a fair game in him yet, but it's going to take a run of good performances to convince me at the moment.

Transfer Talk:

Should we sign a player who can compete with Shea? For weeks we have been focussing on names of forwards at who could strengthen our front-line, whilst I feel this injury has exposed another area that may need covering up. I feel that in the short-term, a loan deal from a top club would be ideal as Brek may prove to be better than what we could get elsewhere in this window, so a loan would just keep this side of the squad competitive. So what names am I thinking of?

Jordon Ibe

He has impressed on Liverpool's pre-season tour of Australia so far, although game time might be limited for him with Raheem Sterling, Stewart Downing, Luis Alberto, Oussama Assaidi and potentially Daniel Sturridge or Luis Suarez fighting for a place on the flanks of a front three. This is a long-shot of a deal, but if Brendan Rodgers couldn't guarantee him game time, this would be an interesting move for Stoke.

Adnan Januzaj

Again, another player who has impressed in pre season, this time with Manchester United. While he has played behind Robin van Persie in some of the games in the Far East, he is just as comfortable on the flanks and could provide competition in our squad. Again, the stumbling block would appear to be on whether his parent club would be willing to loan him out.

Serge Gnabry

Less of a long-shot, but at a cost. Gnabry has done well in Arsenal's Academy side and like Ibe has one Premier League match under his belt, playing as a sub against Norwich last season. Like Januzaj he has been played more recently in the hole, but naturally he is a left winger. Arsenal appear willing to loan him out and gain experience, but the question is would they willing to loan him to us? Hopefully with the change in management, it could be an option.

Iago Falqué

He hasn't lit the world up since moving from Juventus to Tottenham, but as the oldest player on my list, perhaps what he needs is a chance. During a short loan spell at Southampton he played once and was never seen again. However, in the time since then he has played for Almeria on loan and gained more playing time, although a goal count of 2 in 22 isn't impressive. He's on this list because with a CV that lists Barcelona B, Juventus, Villareal B and Tottenham, he has been well thought of during his youth career but something went wrong somewhere. Perhaps Stoke could be the place where he hits the heights he was meant for?

These are just four names that have caught my eye on pre season tours or from looking at the top U21 sides in the country. If you have more, post a comment and discuss.

Away from the Brit - Bale-out:

A story that will not die is Gareth Bale to Real Madrid. A reported £85 million bid was made for Bale last week, and considering the time since then appears to have been rejected with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy apparently wanting closer to £125 million. First of all, it needs to be said that the day a club pays £125 million for a player, we know that the game has gone mad. As a human being, I would not like being valued anyway, but to have such a high amount brandished on you is a burden. For this reason to begin with, I don't believe Bale should leave Spurs. As Graham Hunter reported to Sky Sports News yesterday, it appears the Real Madrid President - Florentino Perez - is obsessed with beating Barcelona in the transfer stakes, and in doing so buying a more marketable brand than Neymar. There also appears to be an uncertainty around the future of Cristiano Ronaldo with fears mounting that he will let his contract run down and leave on a free. Whilst the signing of Bale would constitute a world class signing, someone who could compete with Ronaldo for the star role in the team, I fear one would outshine the other. I cannot imagine an harmony between the two players, where both are happy to work for each other, take the pressure from the other when goals are hard to come by. If Bale plays well, Ronaldo will become unhappy at not being the star. If Ronaldo outshines Bale, then the transfer fee paid will have been a waste as long as Ronaldo is there. It's a conundrum for the club, and one they would be forcing upon themselves. Returning to the present though, how would Tottenham use the potential fee from Bale's transfer? In the short term, I fail to see how they could invest in the playing side. £85-125 million is a lot of money to spend, and if the transfer went ahead, everyone would know what money Spurs have to spend. Reports suggest that they would consider investing it into a new stadium, whilst improving the playing squad. But who could they get that would score the goals that Bale did last season? I fail to see who could slot into their team and take on this key role. I know in football that there should be a mantra of 'no one is bigger than the club', yet at this moment in time, I cannot see a promising future for Spurs on the pitch if Bale leaves. In my predictions three weeks ago, I had Spurs finishing fifth (again) even with Bale. Without him, I'd see their position going down to sixth if Liverpool perform well this season, and perhaps seventh if they fail to secure the signing of Roberto Soldado. Spurs lacked goals last season, even with Bale. Until the right player(s) comes along, Spurs should keep Bale and take whatever money they're given. In that time, who knows, Ronaldo may have departed for British shores once more and Bale will be free to be the star of Madrid's show.

Quick Snippet:

My condolences go to the family and friends of Christian 'Chucho' Benitez. One of the things I take out of the term 'football family' is that we're all united by the game. When players are critically ill - such as Fabrice Muamba in 2012 - or in this instance with Christian Benitez, I like to think that we all unite in support of the player, or unite in grief as in this case. In support of this, our club motto is more relevant than ever: 'Vis Unita Fortior'.