Stoke City vs Crystal Palace - Post Match Thoughts

As eye-opening home games go, this was certainly one. The performance was not one to wow, especially in the first half, but overall we are left with food for thought. Defensively, we are more open than we have been in recent years, Shawcross and Huth the main culprits in adjusting to the 'play out from the back' style we're enforcing. While Ryan's character is not under question after recovering in the second half to keep a clean sheet and score a goal, the indecisiveness regarding what to do with a ball in play needs to rectified fast. Any more lapses from the spine of our team and we could start shipping goals when the likes of Manchester City role into town with multi-million pound strike forces.

What also caught my attention, which is not hard to notice, is that the formation we are playing at present does not suit a team lacking pace or clinical finishers. In our first game, we played on the break for large parts and tried to build attacks on the break when winning possession from Liverpool. This was understandable as Brendan Rodgers's side are pass masters in this league and to try to take them on and play them off the park would have been foolish. Against Palace though, elements of breaking when winning possession remained. As a tactic, it's worthwhile to implement, but unless we have pace in the forward lines, we can't exploit the space we create on the break. It's like knowing you need a brick to break a window and using a rolled up piece of paper because its the only thing you've got. Don't use it, try and find a brick! In our squad, we have got pacey players in Jermaine Pennant, Michael Kightly and Cameron Jerome, whilst Brek Shea is known to be an explosive player. When all players are fit, and assuming that we do not sign a new forward this summer, then I'd start Walters through the centre, and have Pennant/Kightly and Shea/Etherington flanking him. Jerome would be on the bench, but across the last two seasons we have seen how good he is from the bench when we need a goal. 

As for Jones and Crouch, as I said last week, we need a player that combines their strengths and doesn't have their weaknesses in play. It's disheartening to all of us to see no solid links to new players, bar a reported sighting of Oussama Assaidi at the Brit yesterday ahead of a move from Liverpool. Forgive me if this move does not fill me with confidence if we are considering this move, as he only made four league appearances last season and twelve in all competitions, scoring no goals. John Guidetti is the latest forward to be linked with a move and the only thing against him is a lack of experience in the Premier League. However, if one man is in a position to know if he could make it in our league, then it's Mark Hughes. After so many false dawns, I don't think I'm wrong in looking at what we have, rather than imagining a squad influxes with potential new signings. We might have four months with the squad we've got, so the management, and fans alike, would be wise to getting to grips with this fact and getting the best out of them. 

Whilst the few boos at half time did the job yesterday to motivate the players to perform better, if the fans have one job in the opening weeks, it's to encourage the players and reinforce the belief they need to play the ball around. Booing too often will place more pressure on the players and result in mistakes, ones that we cannot afford to make. It is why I implore the fans who attend the matches this season to employ patience in their method of supporting the team, and not rip into poor performances without positively reinforcing what they are trying to do.

Capital One Cup Preview:

If ever there is a chance to give a few players a run out, this is the game. All players are fit from pre season and it will give a few players who haven't been in the first two starting 18s a chance to impress. The one who I leave out is Andy Wilkinson, although that is for the one simple reason that he has been on the bench, and closer to the team as a result than Ryan Shotton. The rest of the team brings players in who have not had a chance yet, whilst resting those who may need a game off. The inclusion of Brek Shea is dependant on if he is available after coming through the U21s game tomorrow, or if Mark Hughes decides to save him for West Ham at the weekend. If Shea is unavailable, I would start Jermaine Pennant, thus giving as many players as possible in our squad some game time in the early weeks of the season.

Whilst looking at the starting eleven, it would be worth looking at the youth/development squad and seeing if there are any players who could make an impression against Walsall. Alex Grant was signed this summer after most recently being contracted to Portsmouth and could be an option if we wish to rest a defender at any point, the same could be said for Jordan Keane who travelled with the squad on the US tour. If we wish to look at players who have been impressing however, Derice Richards would be worth considering for a spot on the bench after performing well to earn a place in the U21 squad for the early parts of this season. Then there are the likes of Michael Clarkson and Lucas Dawson who have been close to the squad under Tony Pulis, close enough to travel to Valencia as part of a weakened side, yet not enough to earn their first competitive action for the Potters. All are options for the bench, yet it all depends on how serious we are taking the cup competition. Do we use it as an opportunity to bleed through youth, or do we go strong and take no chances of slipping up so early in the competition? It's an interesting dilemma for Mark Hughes, especially considering the large emphasis supporters have made on pushing youth through from the academy.

Away from the Brit - Dinamo who?

Waiting to be served at a bar on Thursday night, I turned my head and saw a football match on, Tottenham Hotspur played first, then Swansea. Only by looking up the match result would I know that Tottenham had played Dinamo Tbilisi and Swansea played Petrolul Ploiești. These two matches reminded me of two years ago when Stoke City went and played the 'mighty' FC Thun of Switzerland, with Danny Pugh being the only scorer in a 1-0 win. In hindsight, it showed that we had problems at the time that a Swiss team held us back that it took a 4-1 win at the Brit to secure the tie.

It's worth looking at the other matches in this early play-off round, which included teams such as Apollon Limassol, Qarabağ, Chornomorets Odesa and Žalgiris Vilnius, whilst FC Thun lost away 1-0 to an FK Partizan side of Serbia, whose squad contains one Eric Djemba-Djemba. I know football is a world-wide sport and that no team should be denied access to play at the top tables of the game, but I do think that seeding teams would make the competitions slightly more competitive. For example, if teams who play in the top five or six leagues in Europe only join the competition in the group stage, it would be more worthwhile than a one-off game that for the players might be no more than a competitive friendly. Instead of FIFA (and in this case UEFA) wasting time on moving World Cups that shouldn't be moved or planning continent-wide tournaments, perhaps they should be trying to make the competitions they endorse more competitive.

Quick Snippets:

If they had not being playing Stoke, I would feel sorry for Crystal Palace for being the only promoted team not to win yet. Although I was unable to attend the game, I hear credit is due to the Crystal Palace fans who applauded on the 14th minute for Greg Bradshaw. Being respectful to the home support is never easy so full praise is due to those who respected a fellow Potter's passing.

Also, as I would like to congratulate Cardiff City for making the Premier League more competitive than ever. A team, who I will admit I backed to be thrashed by four or five before kick-off stunned football by beating last season's runners-up Manchester City 3-2. Watching the game, I felt it should have been a 3-1 result though because seeing six minutes of added time must've sent the Cardiff defence into shock! Where did that much added time come from?!