Shooting Blanks

Arnautovic's best chance of the game

In fairness, the least that is said about the game against West Brom, the better. As far as entertainment goes, I'm sure that members of the sparse Britannia Stadium crowd will have seen paint drying on walls that has caught them off their seats more than this game did. West Brom, to their credit, played the better game and considering their unrewarded penalty claim, they were perhaps unlucky to only leave Stoke-on-Trent with just a point. The Potters had Asmir Begovic to thank for rescuing the team after several promising chances were given to West Brom, the last effort of the game from Stephane Sessegnon proving why Begovic is one of, if not the best goalkeeper in England's top division. After Sessegnon latched onto a ball, beating the majority of the Stoke defence, he sold a dummy to Shawcross, then another to Pieters who perhaps fell to the floor too quickly, before taking a shot that Begovic parried with ease after positioning himself well. Although this chance typified the balance of play, Stoke were not without their own chances in the game, with Marko Arnautovic and Stephen Ireland guilty of not taking second half chances that they each provided for the other. An Arnautovic cross should have been scooped into the net by Ireland, yet he managed to power the ball over the net, whilst a cross into a dangerous area by Ireland was too early for Arnautovic to make the vital contact which would have resulted in a goal.

Charlie Adam's performance was not of the highest standard

With Stoke having not scored in three league games, and their last goals coming against Tranmere in League One, this dry spell is naturally concerning. Four goals in eight games is equally as concerning as a goal every other game is relegation form. However, I am not buying into the calls from some that the team that played against West Brom were not good enough. It was attack-minded, with players playing in their most effective positions. What I feel was lacking was a lack of understanding between the players as far as creating a chance goes. Arnautovic's chance in the second half exemplifies my point that whilst we were able to create a good opening, Ireland did not see Arnautovic's speed during his run into the box, playing the ball in too early for the chance to be fulfilled. Once an understanding is developed between the attacking players, then they will be able to time runs and deliveries to better affect. For that reason, I would not call for mass changes ahead of this weekend's trip to Old Trafford.

Red-faced Devils:

Dejan Lovren earnt Southampton a worthy equaliser against
the defending Champions.

If there is one team that Stoke really could have done with avoiding in this weekend's set of fixtures, it is Manchester United. Whilst you could argue that a trip to Old Trafford is daunting at any point during the season, this weekend is of more importance to both teams than perhaps any previous visit of the Potters to the Theatre of Dreams. Whilst Stoke are looking for there first points since the beginning of September, Manchester United are on the back of two home league games where they have failed to gain three points. Despite a victory over Real Sociedad in midweek, Manchester United still looked a bit goal-shy, relying on an own goal to see out the victory. This luck has deserted Stoke, yet both teams go into the game, not just needing goals, but needing points.

Morgan Amalfitano scoring a goal from a run from the half-way line

Southampton showed that Man Utd are capable of being pressurised on the ball by playing an impressive high pressing game for large periods of the game, whilst West Brom several weeks before claimed victory by scoring two goals on the counter-attack. The question now is, can Stoke exploit either one of these two weaknesses that they have shown in recent weeks? Stoke's natural game at the moment does not involve, playing a high line in the defence, and whilst I would love to see the likes of Jon Walters, Marko Arnautovic and Oussama Assaidi chasing United's backline, I think that it is out of Stoke's natural game, at this moment, to play this way. So the alternative is to play on the counter-attack. At Old Trafford, you would assume that this is not impossible as they will have the majority of possession. The key to our attacks will be launching attacks as soon as possible from the defence. In the recent England vs Poland international, the Poles exploited England's lack of pace at the back in the first half, carving out a few chances by launching the ball from Szczesny to Blaszczykowski on the break. I feel that this is a technique Begovic should try to exploit, finding Assaidi (if he starts) and trying to break from a set-piece. On paper, this looks to be our best approach to scoring a goal in this game. Stoke's build-up play; whilst short, neat and tidy, is still toothless. Until the forwards find a rhythm with each other, perhaps inviting the opposition onto the backline, relying on Begovic to make one or two extraordinary saves, then countering and exploiting the gaps is the best way to go.

Away from the Britannia - Holloway:

Holloway, too tired to manage a top-level team

It's hard to decide which part of this story is the more shocking: Ian Holloway leaving his job at Crystal Palace or that he put it down to tiredness. As one of the country's popular managers, it would have been surprising had Holloway been given the push from his position, yet the reasoning that he was exhausted after only having a few days off during the summer should not have come as a surprise. Supposing the summer had drained him, the incapability to bring in the right players to the club zapping him of his energy, then the first few competitive games of the season would have invigorated him, giving him some fight after only losing narrowly to Tottenham and Stoke, then gaining three points against Sunderland. However, after a further five defeats, consecutively, it would be understandable if that early adrenaline had faded. In fact, when watching Holloway's pre-match interview on Monday Night Football, I was struggling to understand Holloway's mumblings of tactics and mainly heard repetitions of 'get the crowd up for it' and 'give it a real good go' or words to that affect, yet no definitive answers to the questions Chamberlain Carragher and Neville were asking. Perhaps it was adequate that he admitted he lost the dressing room after his departure, as despite having a large number of players to choose from, he did not know his best team. From starting Cameron Jerome at Anfield to not even picking him for the bench, Holloway showed that he was stuck in two or three minds over which team to pick. Does he stick with the old guard that had brought him up, his early summer signings that he had pushed early for, or the late signing sprees who were perhaps last-ditch signings that another manager would not have gone in for. Whilst Holloway is a well respected man within the football community, perhaps it was the right time for him to part ways with a club, allowing a new man to come in and wrestle another 37 points from the league and give the Eagles a fighting chance of staying up.

Quick Snippet - CSKA Moscow vs Yaya Toure:

Toure clearly heard the chants, the referee disagreed though

If it is possible, the story between CSKA's deputy media manager, Michael Sanadze and Manchester City's Yaya Toure is fairly amusing. The topic of racism is, as always, deplorable, yet the deniability coming from CSKA is almost laughable. When asked about the chants, Sanadze said: "There is no subject to discuss. Nothing special happened. There was a lot of noise in the stadium. Nobody else, other than Yaya Toure, heard anything. The only trouble that has come about was because Yaya Toure heard something." Well, if all racism was the result of one individual hearing something that they did not like, then racism would not be the problem that it is in society. If CSKA do not get sanctions against them, in particular Sanadze for his disrespectful comments on the topic, then FIFA and UEFA will prove how inept they are as a footballing organisation.

Coming Back Stronger

A 0-0 draw in Kiev left England requiring two wins from two games

When it comes to England, it doesn't take long for a new supporter of football to realise that they never do anything the easy way. After a 0-0 draw against Ukraine last month left the Three Lions requiring two wins from two remaining home games, tensions were high as there remained doubts. After the two games against Montenegro and Poland, the doubts have not vanished, yet they have been eased. Whilst England will be at the World Cup in 2014, no one is willing to stake with any certainty how far they will progress in the tournament. Arguably, that is wise, from both the players and the media in lowering national expectations. perhaps allowing the 23 players who travel to Brasilia and beyond a bit more freedom when the games start to count again. What will strike into the mind of every player soon enough is the blatant truth that they cannot hide from: England Expects.

Andros Townsend - should he make the plane to Brazil?

Based on the last two games, England perhaps should be allowed to expect something from the tournament, even if it is just feeling pride for our country. Since Roy Hodgson took over the National Team, it seems that he has placed showing your pride for representing your country as one of the top priorities. In every game under his stewardship, the players have sung the national anthem, even Wayne Rooney whose once recognisable defiant chin thrust was met with dismay, he now opens his mouth with pride, mingled with, perhaps, the threat of a team sanction if he fails to comply. Also, his team has shown pride on the pitch, not necessarily for their nation, but for their reputations. Only losing one game under the Hodgson era, unfortunately the only game Ryan Shawcross has played in, suggests that the players are capable of grinding out results against tricky opponents. I think in the last three games this has shown, where even if they are not playing at their full capability as a team, they still gained 7 points out of the 9 available. In the Ukraine game, with certain players missing, we still managed to gain a draw against a team that, if they had won, would have doomed us to the play-offs. In the last two games, with pressure mounting on Joe Hart after recent below-par performances, he kept one clean sheet, whilst looking capable of returning to his best for his nation by blocking attempts from Robert Lewandowski and Stevan Jovetic in the two games. Wayne Rooney, in the two games, scored two goals, whilst debutant Andros Townsend impressed with a goal, plus plenty of attacking promise in his first two appearances.

Could Ross Barkley be the midfield engine-man England needs?

If there is one area of weakness I feel that the squad as at the moment, it is in the defensive third. Against Montenegro, England played Lampard and Gerrard as screening players ahead of an attacking quartet of Rooney, Townsend, Welbeck and Sturridge. After conceding a goal in this game, Hodgson turned to Michael Carrick over Frank Lampard for the Poland game in an effort to have a player sit closer to the back four who is aware of potential counter-attacks. The problem I see here is that whilst Michael Carrick is a good player for distributing the ball, he is not the fastest player on the pitch. Poland's counter attacks demonstrated a weakness that our defensive unit will have to overcome in the next eight months, with players returning to their defensive positions as fast as possible when a break is about to occur a priority. Perhaps a younger player, such as Ross Barkley, could be an alternative in the position? Whilst he has played closer to the striker for Everton so far this season, his athleticism would allow him to play deeper and track runs on the counter. Playing with Leighton Baines for Everton as well, a player who's attacking presence at set-pieces also leaves a gap on the counter-attack, could benefit Barkley's push for a place on the plane to Brazil. If Liverpool continue to play a 3-5-2 system throughout the season, Jordan Henderson might be worth looking at as well considering the discipline he has shown at times in the right-wing back role so far this season. Whilst this will be the last World Cup for the likes of Gerrard, Lampard and Cole, sentimentality should not come into Hodgson's thoughts come May when he selects his squad. If Lampard is not suitable for the role required as seen on Tuesday, if Baines is playing better than Cole come the end of the domestic season, and if Gerrard is tiring after a full season with Liverpool, then Roy Hodgson should look to substitute experience with youth for a push for pride. After all, Andros Townsend justified his selection in these two games. What's to say that another young starlet will not do the same across a tournament?

Back to the Brit - "We're Stoke City, we'll play how we want!"

The long throw of Rory Delap against Chelsea

Over the years, Stoke City supporters have stood by their team and its style of play. When the opposition team supporters' chant "1-0 nil to the football team" Stoke supporters would retort in glee late in the game "2-1 to the rugby team". Style mattered little over substance. Culminating in the sacking of Tony Pulis, the club united in its decision that this style of play was no longer providing any substance, the results simply weren't good enough. Part of this is down to poor purchases from Pulis, Peter Crouch for example proving to be only worth one year of his five year contract. The other part relates to one key sale from the team, the release of Ricardo Fuller in 2012. Whilst perhaps declining in weekly effectiveness, Fuller has been the only player in recent times who could create a goal out of nothing. Even if his appearances had come from the substitutes bench, Fuller could have gained Stoke a goal or two more last season, with more reliability than Michael Owen provided. With Fuller's release, plus the short-passing preference that the club's new players preferred, it comes as no surprise that the change of style HAD to occur. Yet the change is beginning to raise doubts.

Jon Walters - not a ball magnet by any means, but capable
of a good touch when leading from the front

Three consecutive league defeats, combined with only three goals in seven games has ushered in the inevitable question from some supporters: would we have scored more under Tony Pulis? The downward trend the club was on would suggest that although relegation might not have been a worry, goals still would have been hard to come by. The crucial question now is if Mark Hughes has done enough to improve the goal scoring chances and create more goals for the team. Whilst Stoke have been far more attacking in their opening 7 games than in the entire 38 league games last season, I still feel that attacking moves need a touch of simplicity adding to them. At times, Stoke have had good crossing opportunities, players in the box, yet the player in control has chosen to pass short rather than play the ball into the box. At other times we have played the ball around the back and in the midfield when perhaps a sharp long-ball would have opened up the defence for our forwards. One player who I feel has come off bad from this lack of potency is Jon Walters. In several of the games this season I have watched, I have seen him make forward runs when the ball is in midfield possession, yet the tendency to over-play the ball has resulted in him having to come back onside and try to help in the attacking build-up. Until they gain a fluency in play that comes with understanding runs and movements of your teammates, Stoke will remain in their infancy, like a toddler learning that you don't stick car keys into your mouth but into a car lock. As long as we don't have any more performances similar to the Norwich game, we will not suffer relegation, yet we could be in for a bigger fight than we have in the past five seasons, and Stoke supporters should rally together and prepare for this fight. And as far as battling performances go, what better game to try and roar the team on than a 'local' derby against West Brom where the Stoke fans love to chant "we always beat the Baggies!"

Quick Snippet - Dario Gradi

Dario Gradi, one of nine members of the 

On paper, it is a good idea look into why England is not producing enough players who play in the Premier League. Whilst it is not impossible that the pool of players progressing in the Premier League Academies could be better than those progressing in La Liga's B and C teams, it would not hurt to enhance England's pool for selection. From the list that includes Howard Wilkinson, Danny Mills and Greg Clarke, I think the stand-out name is Dario Gradi. Whilst his managing days appear behind him, he has masterminded Crewe's successful youth academy. How many names can be listed from the Gradi era who came through their academy? Danny Murphy, Dean Ashton, Rob Hulse, David Vaughn, Nicky Maynard, Nick Powell, Ashley Westwood, Luke Murphy. There are more who did not start at Crewe yet who became great players under his stewardship. If there is one man who can put his finger on why English football has declined so much that England hopes rather than expects, I have faith that Gradi knows the answer.

The Lady is a Tramp

All smiles for Bent yesterday

The only thing that was not a surprise about Stoke City's loss to Fulham was the inevitable anger from Stoke supporters, clamouring for an explanation as to why we don't have a Darren Bent in our squad. In summarising the game, most Stoke fans have said "we need more goals" or "we need a clinical finisher up front", plus the line I have used myself recently "we need a bit of luck". Whilst these facts are true, there are still another twelve games between now and the next transfer window. With 36 points up for grabs within the space of time, the club's priority at the moment will be making sure that the players we have start to score enough goals to lessen the pressure on any incoming players in January. Assuming though that only Juan Agudelo comes into the Stoke squad in the next window, and that the club do not place too much pressure on his shoulders to begin with, what could be done to improve the current conversion rate of the players we currently have? Yesterday was a case in how not to use possession at times, where despite having 56% of the ball Stoke did not use the ball in any menacing way. Out of the 16 shots Stoke had, only three of them were on target. Something that appears to be encouraged during Mark Hughes's era at the club is shots from outside the box, which were a rarity under Tony Pulis. However, the stats from yesterday's game suggest that shooting from range can disguise the lack of threat the team is displaying, with 9 out of the 16 shots Stoke took being from outside of the penalty area. Whilst no team should avoid taking shots from outside of the box, there comes a point when it feels that a player is trying too hard to force the issue rather than showing patience in play. Whilst I have been impressed with Marko Arnautovic since his arrival from Werder Bremen, he seems more willing to force a shot into a wall of defending players rather than try and play in a team-mate elsewhere.

Marko Arnautovic and Philippe Senderos,
shirt grabbing in equal measure

The key three players for me in the forward line against Fulham were Oussama Assaidi, Jonathan Walters and Marko Arnautovic, as when these three played in tandem for a twenty minute period in the second half, it was when we looked most likely to score. The main advantage of using these three though would be that they can work in tandem and move around the pitch rather than staying rigidly in one position. Matthew Etherington, for example, whilst a capable left-winger struggles when played out of position on the right-wing or more centrally. Peter Crouch and Kenwyne Jones are both good target men, but combined with their current lack of goals is a lack of versatility, where both have to be the focal point of the attack. Yesterday, it was hard to pin-point prior to kick-off whether Jon Walters or Marko Arnautovic would lead the line, with both capable of playing on the wing or up front. Whilst this versatility will not necessarily bring goals to the team, it will cause opposition players food for thought when considering how to play against our forwards.

Not the first poor performance from Roger East when Stoke are playing
as Ryan Shotton will agree, being sent off against Aston Villa last season

As far as Lady Luck goes, I think both players and supporters need to get accustomed to decisions going against us, rather than expecting referees to suddenly treat us fairly. I have not heard one person say that Roger East had a good game yesterday. As decisions go for teams, Fulham won that battle yesterday quite easily, with two stone-wall penalty claims being ignored for Stoke, whilst we did receive one bite of fortune in that we did not go in at half time a goal down ourselves. We could count ourselves lucky that in the second half, Glenn Whelan only received a yellow card for a lunge on Dimitar Berbatov, moments after coming onto the pitch. Roger East has previous when it comes to sending Stoke players off under harsh circumstances after all. If either of the two penalties in the first half had been awarded, Stoke would have had the momentum to kill the game off. Like Fulham in the last eight minutes of the game, Stoke could have absorbed whatever pressure Fulham applied late on and tried hitting them on the counter attack if we had taken the lead. This is where we are failing. And whilst referees aren't helping our situation, we cannot say that luck has failed us any more. Until we attack with intent, I feel that results in the upcoming games may not be ones we desire.

Boing Boing Baggies Time:

Wilson and Nzonzi will need to support their wide-men
better in this formation to create more goals

As I have already referred to, I believe that Oussama Assaidi has proven to most Stoke supporters that he is worthy of a start in the team. Whilst his pace and trickery are two advantages that could persuade Mark Hughes to include him against West Brom, his versatility may tip the scales in his favour. Our goal against West Brom at the Hawthorns last season was an example of how to get a perfect victory against this current Baggies side. They are a brilliant counter-attacking side still, yet have built up an ability this season to break teams down, as shown in their draw with Arsenal. If we can draw West Brom onto us and absorb what pressure they apply to us, with the pace of Assaidi and Arnautovic, we have two potent weapons on the counter attack. I'm cautious to include Walters in this statement as his current form would lead you to believe he should be the last name on a counter-attacking team-sheet. However, I remember his goals against Chelsea and Bolton during his first season at the club and remember that he does have the ability to score a goal on the break. His laboured performances of the last few years though leave me doubting his consistency in this area though. If when we break, we get the ball to Assaidi or Arnautovic, then if they can hold the ball up long enough for Walters to join the attack, we have three potential goal-scorers there to take advantage of any bad re-positioning after an attack. If it is the case that Walters is now too laboured to be effective in a counter-attack, then we have Jermaine Pennant who can be called upon to provide extra pace within the front three.

Erik Pieters, guilty of making bad decisions in good positions

If we are not on the counter-attack and trying to build up to a goal, then we really need to be working over the international break on how to create runs into the box that can result in goals. Despite the performance against Fulham being better than the one we saw in the loss to Norwich, when Stoke attacked in both games, there were periods of play where Stoke were effectively trapped in the opposition corners, playing the ball around with no end product. A typical scenario would be that a cross-field pass would land at the feet of Erik Pieters. Pushing forward and trying to get to the edge of the box, he would pass short to Arnautovic, who whilst open at the time was not the best option compared to two players waiting for a low-cross across the six yard box. In Pieters case, I can understand why he may be rusty regarding his decision-making after hardly playing in the last twelve months, but he could do with improving his standards, or risk being dropped for Marc Muniesa who has impressed in cup games. One of my last memories from watching Match of the Day in recent years has been a breakdown of how Arsenal teams attacked in years gone by, playing in triangles to work their way upfield and into the box. Stoke have started to do this under Mark Hughes, with Cameron, Walters and generally Nzonzi playing neat short passes between each other to good effect at times. The same cannot be said on the other side of the pitch at the moment though, and with the rotation that has occurred on the left-wing so far this season, no consistency has formed on this side of the pitch yet. With Arnautovic on international duty for the next two weeks, I would hope that Erik Pieters will be working with Etherington and Assaidi, hopefully to good effect by the time Stoke kick-off at the Brit again.

Away from the Brit - Januzaj for England?

Januzaj, an Englishman? No. A Belgian? Yes.

Are we really this desperate? Adnan Januzaj made an impression for Manchester United on his first full start for the club, scoring two match-winning goals against Sunderland. Within hours of the full-time whistle, England had, according to David Moyes, enquired about Januzaj's availability to play for England over Belgium and a few other countries. Why are we enquiring? Yes, Januzaj is potentially a great player in the making, one that most countries would like to see in their squad in the future. But surely the country that will claim his rights should be Belgium. I know England have history in acquiring players who have English parents but have lived in other countries, Owen Hargreaves being the obvious example of a player who is more German than English, yet represented the Three Lions. Yet looking at the England U21 squad, I would like to believe that we have potential in our youth. Our own Jack Butland aside, the squad includes Premier League players such as Luke Shaw, John Stones, Ravel Morrison, James Ward-Prowse, Sammy Ameobi, Raheem Sterling, Wilfried Zaha and Harry Kane. That is not including players who are playing in in the Championship on loan from Premier League clubs.

Wilfried Zaha, impressive against Wigan, MIA since.

What will stop these players from progressing to the main squad is not being trusted by their clubs to play Premier League games. England is lucky to have clubs such as Southampton that are willing to play their young players, yet players such as Harry Kane and Wilfried Zaha are not so lucky at this moment in time. Whilst some, such as Kane, may not have the talent to make the step up to the top table, players who are not playing for their clubs at the moment, such as Zaha, have the talent to play for England if they get the chances with their club. This is where players need to move on if a move to a top club fails to advance their career. Reportedly, Zaha has been told he can leave on loan in January, although he may get a chance to impress against Norwich in this month's Capital One Cup game. Is this enough though? At the start of this season, I would have included Zaha on a list of players who should be making the move up to the England squad, pushing for a place on the plane to Brazil. Raheem Sterling is another who I would have put on that list, yet he also seems to have gone sideways, perhaps even backwards in recent months. If they aren't getting chances at their current clubs, they should move on, or else I fear the plane to Brazil will be filled with mediocrity that plays regularly rather than potentially talented players who struggled to get a game in a star-studded squad. If we push for players such as Januzaj to be playing for England, those who are struggling for their club will soon find themselves struggling to play for their country as well.

Quick Snippet - Play on?

Bandages that failed to cover the wound for Michu

I respect the 'Play on' rule in football. In fact, I believe that in a lot of circumstances that it should be used more often considering some of the tackles Stoke players get blown up for by referees. On Thursday though, I saw a referee who took the definition of playing an advantage beyond the point of ridiculous. When both Michu and Stephane Besle challenged for a ball in the air, Besle could not withdraw a high foot and made contact with Michu's head. The referee, believing Besle to have somehow made contact with the ball decided to play on and allow FC St Gallen the advantage, despite blood pouring from Michu's head. Law 5 of FIFA's "Laws of the Game", regarding the referee's role in the game states that the referee can "allow play to continue until the ball is out of play if a player is, in his opinion, only slightly injured". From here, I will let you judge whether you think an injury that took over five minutes to bandage up, plus three initial changes of shirts was "only slightly injured".

Down, But Not Out

Poor defending, poor goal to concede

The first thing that needs to be said about this match is: well done Norwich City. For the entire 90 minutes, Norwich not only out-played Stoke City, but they out-fought and out-thought us, leaving Stoke supporters questioning whether our new style has been sussed out already. It took ten first-half minutes for Stoke City to wrestle control of the ball from Norwich City, and after parrying attack after attack, Stoke offered little more than a cheaply won corner in their first venture forward. Whilst all set-pieces are earned, this pattern was to follow with the few Stoke ventures into the Norwich City half resulting in little. When Jonny Howson received the ball from a flick-on from Anthony Pilkington, whilst the defending and goalkeeping was questionable, there was no doubt the shot would result in a goal.

Leroy Fer outmuscling Stephen Ireland

Did Stoke muster anything in the second half? One long-range effort on goal from Steven Nzonzi kept John Ruddy away from his deck of cards, yet despite the half-time introductions of Stephen Ireland and Jermaine Pennant, Stoke failed to muster another effort on target during the remaining 45 minutes. So where did things go wrong? Complacency certainly appeared to be an issue, with Jon Walters and Marc Wilson coming out of the dressing room, admitting the performance of the team had been below par. Another reason appears to be that Norwich were not prepared to sit back and let us play, perhaps the first team this season to challenge us for the ball. Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City will let us have the ball in certain areas after all. They will back their ability to thwart any chances we created, so with Crystal Palace and West Ham the only other two Premier League teams we have played, perhaps it's about time a team put pressure on us whilst on the ball.

White Knuckle Time:

Berbatov without a goal this season so far

So what can we do to prevent another disappointing result against Fulham? First of all, I hope players and fans alike do not look at the Cottagers' current form and think that they are there for the taking and underestimate the opponent two weeks consecutively. Looking at the team that started Fulham's home defeat to Cardiff, their weakness appears to be in creating chances. This is not dissimilar to Stoke's own misfortunes in front of goal, yet Fulham have no excuses for not taking the chances they are given with prolific goalscorers in Dimitar Berbatov and Darren Bent leading the front-line. With 15 goals in 33 appearances for Fulham last season, the Bulgarian was arguably the reason Fulham stayed in the Premier League, yet despite his self-belief, shown with his under-shirt celebration "keep calm and pass me the ball", the goals have dried up so far. Perhaps not being Fulham's main man is affecting him slightly, having to play a bit deeper to support Darren Bent's inclusion as the highest forward in the front-line. If Bent and Berbatov start the game, the two have the potential to create an interesting strike partnership, yet it does not seem to be in full momentum yet.

Ruiz, capable of the brilliant, culpable of the frustrating

One player who did himself little harm last weekend for Fulham was Bryan Ruiz. Coming off the bench to score an equalising goal, as a tactical first-half substitute is worthy of inclusion in the following starting line-up. As his strike against Cardiff showed, Ruiz is capable of some magnificent strikes, whilst he has a good eye for a pass to create goals as well. Where he fails is that he lacks the consistency to say to Martin Jol every week: "I deserve to play". Just as an armchair pundit, I feel that the best way to boost a player's consistency is to play them. At Stoke, we have seen in the last 12 months a similar situation with Michael Kightly. After starting last season in fine form, he was dropped for a returning Matthew Etherington when his inclusion wasn't necessary. From that point on, he started few games and as such could not build up any momentum to push on. Now at Burnley, he has a chance to prove himself week in, week out. Bryan Ruiz may be this sort of player, one who needs the manager to say to him "you will play every week, I will back you" rather than benching him in preference of grafters in Pajtim Kasami and Alexander Kacaniklic.

Ireland playing against Fulham

In the last two league games, Charlie Adam has failed to impress, lacking a clinical nature to any part of his game. I agree with the calls on Twitter for his exclusion from the starting eleven, especially for a tricky away game like this. Whilst going for a better tackler in Glenn Whelan, and as a result going towards a more traditional 4-3-3 rather than the 4-2-3-1 we have played recently might appear to be a safe option, I would push Stephen Ireland on to get his first league start of the season. Although he did not create anything of note against Norwich after he came on, I believe that Ireland will have something to offer if given the chance to supply Jones and Arnautovic with balls to run onto. If Jon Walters fails to recover from his injury, and as a result misses out on his 95th consecutive start for the club, then I would suspect that Jermaine Pennant is a shoe-in for the right wing vacancy. The Premier League as a lot of attack-minded left backs and having a wide-forward like Walters who is willing to track and cover forward runs by either Richardson or Riise, in the case of Fulham, is only good for the team's defensive stability. In this game in particular it could be useful to have Walters available as it might be a good tactic to flood the middle of the park with players and exploit Fulham if they only play two in the centre of midfield. If Pennant is required though, if we can occupy wide players by pushing our full backs as high up the field as possible, then perhaps we can exploit the numbers potentially left free by Fulham in the centre of midfield.

Away from the Brit - Dippy Derby:

'The Wally with the Brolly' has returned to English Management

In the space of five days, Derby have gone from a team with the longest serving manager in the football league to relying on a manager who lasted only four months in a recent spell at their local rivals Nottingham Forest. What amazes me most is how he appeared to be Derby's first choice once they had sacked Nigel Clough. When you look at the records of managers who have lost their job at a club, their reputation tarnished, they usually have to drop down the divisions to rebuild their career. Paul Ince is a case in point, doing well at MK Dons, failing in a short spell at Blackburn, but then after a mixed return to the Dons and a bad spell at Notts County, he appears to have found a good club in Blackpool. Simon Grayson promoted both Leeds United and Huddersfield from League One to the Championship, yet after both sackings he had to drop back down to rebuild his reputation. Phil Brown is now in League Two with Southend after dropping down the divisions after poor ends to spells with Hull City and Preston North End. There are numerous other examples. So the question remains valid: how did McClaren get the job?

Andy Reid - McClaren's best signing at Forest?

Although his first spell at FC Twente partially restored his tattered reputation after his time as England manager, subsequent spells at Wolfsburg, Nottingham Forest and Twente (again) have done little to improve his reputation. At Forest, despite not having a large budget, he still brought in players who were past their sell-by date such as George Boateng, whilst also bringing in players such as Matt Derbyshire who had shown that they lacked a prolific touch in English football. Regarding Derbyshire, this has been proven subsequently with only two league goals in twenty games, across three seasons at the club. Whilst Andy Reid has been a consistent player from his crop of signings, surely his most recent spell as a manager in England should be considered a failure? McClaren has proven himself in the past as a good coach for players, with that potentially being the main reason for his appointment at Derby. Only loan deals are available for him to make at the moment, and as a result, the failures in transfer policy in the past cannot be repeated in the next two months. If Derby's form increases between now and Christmas, then perhaps McClaren will have one last chance to show that he is not just a good coach but also a good manager, able to spot where a player is needed to strengthen a team, and finding the right player to fill the vacancy.

Quick Snippet - Duberry Retires:

Duberry, rock-solid in defence against Millwall

Michael Duberry was my first Stoke City captain. As a young football supporter, Duberry is the first player I remember wearing the armband for the Potters. When he left for Reading in 2007, I was genuinely upset that we had lost a player who I valued in our team, with the only player to be sold since who I have felt the same about being Abdoulaye Faye. When you look at the player's career, starting at Chelsea and clocking up over a hundred appearances for them before moving to Leeds where he got up to 75 appearances, this is a player who we were lucky to get in 2004. At the age of 28, he still had a lot to give to a Championship defence that under Tony Pulis and Johan Boskamp were flirting with relegation each season. The fact that he got past the century of appearances for us before departing to Berkshire, plus his inclusion during the 150th anniversary celebrations of the club shows how valued he was in the Potteries. After being released from Reading, his career naturally started to decline as his age took its toll, but playing for Wycombe Wanderers, Oxford United and St. Johnstone in the SPL was not a bad way to spend the last four years of a career. He has my best wishes for whatever he decides to do post-football and here's hoping that if it's coaching, Stoke keep an eye out for a coach who certainly knows how to keep a defence tight and solid.