Does it Mata?

Steven Nzonzi and Joel Ward battling for possession

Did the loss at Crystal Palace badly affect Stoke City's hopes and aspirations for the season? It does not help them reach their targets, no loss would, yet they still remain in an intriguing position along with eleven other teams.Two wins from 20th placed Cardiff could send them up to 10th with results going their way. So for Stoke in 14th with only 2 points between themselves and 10th, the gap going up should not be bothersome. The gap going down is more of a concern, with only 4 points separating Stoke from the foot of the table, yet there are positives in the next batch of Premier League fixtures. Norwich, Swansea, Fulham, Crystal Palace, Hull, Aston Villa, West Brom, West Ham, Sunderland and naturally Stoke all have the potential to drop points in the next round of fixtures due to a large amount of these teams facing off against one another. These games will be seen by all teams as a chance to break away from the bottom pack, and Stoke, travelling to Sunderland, have to make sure that they are in the group breaking off towards the top half of the table. There is potential for a tough game after Sunderland's impressive aggregate victory over Manchester United in the League Cup semi-final, and a FA Cup fourth round fixture against Kidderminster is between them and a game against the Potters. Whilst the Black Cats play a Conference side, the Potters will be facing off against a side that are about to sell their two-time player of the season - Juan Mata -  to Manchester United, a game also made more difficult by the victory Stoke achieved in December. Chelsea will be wanting revenge, and Stoke will have to ready themselves for perhaps Chelsea's performance of the season. Come the game at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday, whose team will be more prepared for the game, and who will be the more hungry for the victory? Whatever the result against Chelsea, they need to refocus their attention towards the league, and fast.

John Guidetti on his Stoke debut, but when will he come good?

Despite only playing one game for Stoke City, I feel that the pressure on John Guidetti is growing by the day. Despite public assurances that Kenwyne Jones has not burned all bridges with the club after his failed attempts to manufacture a transfer, it is highly unlikely that he will feature regularly in the first team between now and the end of his contract. This leaves Peter Crouch and John Guidetti as Stoke's only recognised strikers. Some have noted that Jon Walters could play as the sole man up front if injuries forced the situation upon the team, but I believe that as a player, he suits the role of a number 10, sitting in the hole and doing the dirty work in attack, rather than the number 9 role of finishing any chance that comes his way. This naturally comes from the past and current manager's preference to play him on the wing at times rather than as part of a front pairing, plus his goal tally for the season is not encouraging despite the number of chances he has had in games this season. I must make clear that whilst this is not a deliberate criticism of Jonathan Walters, it is an explanation as to why we need reinforcements in January if possible.

Jason Puncheon goes from Villain to Hero with one goal

The fact is that the transition Stoke City are attempting to make from one era to another is not going smoothly at the moment. Like a rollercoaster there have been highs and lows, but you have to know where you will level out at the end. At the moment, it is hard to know with the congestion in the table, but what we can tell is that it will be a tough fight. Prior to kick-off at Selhurst Park, I had belief that Stoke would dominate possession over Palace and that with a bit of trickery from Oussama Assaidi or a shot from range from Charlie Adam, Stoke would make their territorial advantage count. Whilst we had the advantage on the ball (57% possession), we failed to pressure Julian Speroni enough, with only two shots on target troubling him in 90 minutes. Counter this with the six from Palace, three of which were in the space of 10 seconds that forced Jack Butland into a wonderful triple save, Stoke failed to do enough to impose themselves on the game and demand a result. The ability to create goals is too infrequent, with three coming against Liverpool, yet none against Palace. The job of the coaching staff within the next week has to be finding some consistency, especially away from home where there are far 'easier' teams to play in the second half of the season (Sunderland, Southampton, Norwich, Aston Villa etc) compared to those who travel to the Britannia (Manchester United, Arsenal, Newcastle, Tottenham etc).Oussama Assaidi had a game to forget with his stray pass causing the only goal of the game, yet Marc Wilson will not be feeling pride in his performance after being sluggish to react to Assaidi's loose ball. If these mistakes can be cut out of Stoke's game, then the team has a chance of getting a point out of hard fixtures when a mistake at the back will offer the opposition the chance to take all three points in victory. Simple things such as improving concentration off the ball, improving reaction speeds can only help the team and I can only assume the coaching staff have enough in their lockers to work on this sooner rather than later.

Away from the Brit - Orange Cards:

Jerome Champagne has some radical ideas for the future of football

The introduction of orange cards to football would signal the end of the current state of the sport and the beginning of an evolution that at present is hard to chart where it could end. But it would be a start, of something that like Pandora's box would be hard to stop. Whilst I am an advocate for technology to assist referees make a correct decision, changing the laws of the game is another matter. Jerome Champagne has suggested that if he is elected FIFA president after Sepp Blatter, he will put forward a proposition to introduce orange cards into the sport for decisions deemed between a yellow and red card, with the punishment on the pitch following on from rugby and seeing sin-bins introduced. In principle, this is not a terrible idea. It is what it could lead to that should strike fear into the powers that be. If this works, then what happens if someone in the future decides that there should be an introduction of a green card that results in a player having to run the lap of the pitch for every foul they commit - Robert Huth would be the fittest player in the league with his uncompromising nature when tackling! Whilst I respect that Champagne wants to have a positive influence on the game, I feel that if he starts introducing new laws and interfering with the game we all know, the enjoyment of the game could dwindle fast. After all, what would Denis Smith and Alan Bloor think of receiving an orange card?

Quick Snippet - Pennant Problem?

Pennant likely to leave the Brit in the immediate future

Whilst his tackle against Leon Osman a few weeks ago was bad enough for most Stoke supporters to deem the player surplus to requirements, 'Twitter news' that Stoke are to release Jermaine Pennant within the coming days came as a surprise. As one of the group of supporters that did not want Pennant to remain at the club after the Tony Pulis era, I cannot say in full honesty that I am sorry to see him leave. All that needs to be said is that we will always have the FA Cup season. Players like Rory Delap, Danny Higginbotham and Dean Whitehead, who have the left the club in recent seasons because the time was right deserve far more respect than Pennant, in my opinion. For this reason, I say farewell and goodbye if the rumours follow through with an official confirmation in the coming days.