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.