Same Hardware, Different Software

Charlie Adam has become a regular source of goals in recent weeks

I would challenge the most ardent and optimistic of Stoke City supporters to admit that they predicted eight goals would have been scored at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday, 12th January, 2014. The team has shown in fits and starts that they are capable of taking a game to the opposition, but this trait was lost for the majority of the game against now-fourth placed Liverpool. What it was replaced by was a desire to stay in the game, which became most evident with Stoke's last goal, showing a fire in the players and supporters alike that Stoke City is not a team that will go down without a fight. Teams of the past have sometimes been guilty of lowering their heads in preparation of the inevitable onslaught to come. At 2-0 down due to an unfortunate own goal and poor defending from Ryan Shawcross and Marc Wilson, it would have been no surprise to see the pattern of holding on for dear life to maintain.

Peter Crouch has now scored four league goals in eighteen games

What appeared surprising regarding the comeback was not that it happened, but who instigated it. Marko Arnautovic, who had been having a poor game up until this point, floated a cross into the box, where Peter Crouch could just place enough power, pace and accuracy on it to deceive Simon Mignolet and get Stoke back into the game. Critics of Crouch would state that four goals from eighteen games is a poor return, but it can be argued that he is scoring more goals than he did at his previous club, Tottenham Hotspur. In his two seasons at Spurs he scored 8 and 4 league goals from 38 and 34 appearances. In his first two seasons at Stoke he scored 10 and 7 league goals from 32 and 34 appearances. In both of his seasons at Stoke he has improved on his seasons at Spurs. Whilst the lack of goals in general is still a concern, perhaps Crouch is not all to blame for not being able to put the onion in the bag.

Wilson committing a 'Spanish foul' against Sterling, conceding a penalty

Perhaps refereeing injustices are to blame. Anthony Taylor admitted after the match that he felt that Raheem Sterling had conned him into giving a penalty to Liverpool, whilst Martin Atkinson has in recent weeks placed a target on his head should he enter the Potteries in the forthcoming weeks for his poor display at Newcastle. Whilst the referees have been poor though, perhaps the players response at times to these decisions have not been the best. At times after the penalty to Liverpool, Stoke were all over the place defensively, going into fouls with a bit of blood and thunder rather than due to necessity. Ryan Shawcross conceded a foul shortly after the penalty which I felt needed to be given just to get Ryan's head back on the game. He had by this point conceded an own goal, been at fault for not clearing a bad back-pass quick enough, and had seen a penalty go against his team. Of course he would be rattled. Whilst it didn't improve his game, perhaps being at fault for Liverpool's fourth goal as he was sucked into Daniel Sturridge's movements rather than tracking the run of Luis Suarez, Shawcross did not make any more silly decisions of note.

A consolation goal in the end for Stoke, from Jon Walters

Sandwiched between Liverpool's fourth and fifth was a scruffy finish from Jonathan Walters, a goal he was fortunate to get regarding the finish, but one he deserved due to the criticism he sometimes receives. It is not hard to understand why he receives it regarding his goal tally, with only 2 goals in all competitions this season. His supporters might argue that he plays like former Liverpool player Dirk Kuyt, working tirelessly all over the pitch at perhaps his own detriment, yet if you tell him to stay in position up front, he can score you goals. His deployment on the wing this season, plus Mark Hughes decision not to refer to him when discussing his striking options, suggests that Walters has been told to worry less about his goal output and perhaps more on his defensive duties. Against Liverpool I think he had a bad game in this respect, which is where I am glad that he got his goal, meaning that even if he failed with his main objective, he still contributed to the game. Geoff Cameron's runs forward this season have created more work for Jon Walters as he has to create the right balance between attack and defence. If he is ahead of Geoff in an attack, he makes a run to support it. If he is behind him, he drops into the space that has been left by Cameron's run. By and large this season I feel that Walters has done his job in supporting Cameron, but in this game I feel Mark Hughes was perhaps at fault in playing him against Aly Cissokho. A new-comer still to the Premier League, perhaps unleashing Arnautovic and Cameron on him, whilst placing Walters on the opposite wing to track Glen Johnson may have been a more prudent option. Overall, the decision matters little as Liverpool were in control for large parts of the game, especially in the second half when two goals ahead. Sturridge's goal to make the score 3-5 made the game comfortable for them again and despite a few set-pieces causing problems, they saw the game out. Based on this performance, I would still argue that they are worthy of a top-four place, perhaps even a top-two position, on the condition that the luck that they received in this game remains for the rest of the season. Rarely will a team play Stoke and score five goals, let alone four goals which were from poor defensive decisions or plain bad luck. The priority for Stoke now, to maintain their push for the top ten rather than the bottom three is to get three points this weekend. No problem, right?

Weekend Preview - Crystal Pulis:

Tony Pulis has a 40% win rate at Crystal Palace so far

Twelve months ago, I would have predicted this fixture to be in Stoke's list for the season. At a time we looked to either be on course for relegation or Palace looked on course for promotion. It seemed likely our paths would cross. What I failed to predict was that instead of it being the second battle of the season between Ian Holloway and Tony Pulis, it would be Tony Pulis's first match against Stoke City in the Premier League. Anyone who tries to avoid this elephant in the room is in for a tough time, because whatever your opinion of Tony Pulis's reign as manager at Stoke City, the facts are sound. They state that he was in charge during a promotion to the Premier League, where during five seasons they flirted with the top ten, had a run to a FA Cup Final, and reached the last sixteen in Europe, plus reached the quarter final of both domestic cups multiple times. The last two seasons were unfortunate for Tony, and as a result for Stoke, where a lack of goals heaped the pressure onto Pulis before his eventual dismissal this summer.

Marouane Chamakh has scored more regularly under
Tony Pulis than he did under Ian Holloway or Keith Millen

Eight months on and Tony Pulis is the enemy for the weekend. As it has been reported, both sides know the strengths and weaknesses of the other in certain areas. Stoke know the advantages and disadvantages of the system Tony Pulis uses, a static back four with two defensive midfielders. Likewise, Pulis knows the pros and cons of most about 85-90% of the current Stoke squad just from working with them and as such will know how to exploit and poor areas of play each player has. With on-loan Cameron Jerome and Marouane Chamakh leading the Palace front-line, they have struck up the type of partnership that Stoke fans may have hoped could have been formed with Crouch and Jerome. What they lack as a partnership is goals though, with Jerome only scoring one goal in fifteen appearances, whilst Chamakh has a better rate with 4 in 20 appearances. Dwight Gayle has chipped in with goals recently against Aston Villa and West Brom so do not rule out Gayle starting and trying to complete his own personal Midlands hat-trick. Despite being young and raw, I have been impressed with Gayle's touch for a goal. His overall game needs improving quite a bit, and perhaps Tony Pulis is not the best manager to improve him as a modern-day front-man, but at Palace he will get a good grounding and get chances to impress. Meanwhile, Palace are playing with inverted wingers Jason Puncheon and Yannick Bolasie providing the width in the team, with Miles Jedinak the mainstay in their midfield. When Stoke failed in the last few years, it was because their wingers were marked out of the game. This has to be the approach on Saturday, try to keep Puncheon and Bolasie quiet, and as a result keep Chamakh and possibly Gayle out of the game. If the defence does this, then against Danny Gabbidon and Damien Delaney, Stoke have a good chance of scoring goals. With Oussama Assaidi almost certain to return to the starting line-up, the question is who does he come in for? Whilst Marko Arnautovic created two of Stoke's three goals at the weekend, he would still only get a 6/10 for his performance that game. However, would a work-horse like Jonathan Walters be the best option to break down a stubborn defence such as the one that Palace will offer? I would be tempted to play Arnautovic and Assaidi on the wings from the start, and hope that one or both have the ability to unlock Palace's defence, and then bring on Walters if the game is tight and either full back needs better defensive support.

Away from the Brit - Theatre of Nightmares:

Wins have been hard to come by at Old Trafford this season
for the home team

After losses against Tottenham, Swansea and Sunderland, football supporters across the country will be wondering what has happened to Manchester United, if not be unduly concerned about their implosion. The simple explanation is that Sir Alex Ferguson has gone. He was the man that got the extra 20-30% out of his team, whilst using psychological tricks such as tapping his watch to make oppositions fear playing his team. That fear factor has undoubtedly gone, but so has any sign of needing to fear Manchester United. What was once a fortress has now seen four home league losses - by comparison Stoke have only seen two home losses in the league. The weight of pressure on Manchester United players to attack and win at home is undoubtedly causing trouble as their away form is better, with only two losses in the league at Anfield and the Etihad stadium.

One win from four games is poor form for last season's champions

From the outside looking in, what I have noticed most weeks is that there have been vast changes to their line-up, with no consistency being able to form between the key players on the pitch. One game it is Vidic and Evans in defence, Carrick and Cleverley in midfield, then the next game it is Smalling and Vidic in defence with Giggs and Fletcher in the centre. How can players perform if they aren't getting a consistent run. Looking at who their best players have been in recent weeks, Adnan Januzaj's name has cropped up regularly, with the youngster proving to be United's source of inspiration with van Persie and Rooney out injured. The other that has played well is Danny Welbeck, with the feeling being that he is the first name on the team sheet at the moment. Welbeck's run in the team has taken his league goal tally up to 8 goals in the season, one short of his United best of 9. His goal tally has drawn criticism in recent years when connected to his England call-ups, but he is proving a point that when he is played as the focal point of an attack, he will get goals. As he showed against Swansea recently, he will also miss chances, but at 23 years of age, it is promising, for England at least, to see this marked improvement in his goal output this season. David de Gea is the only other United player who has been given a run of games and he has made a decent fist of keeping United in some of the games they have lost, with the clangers he dropped in his first season at United appearing to be a thing of the past. I would still argue that Asmir Begovic is better than him due to Begovic's far impressive physique and ability to collect the ball, but De Gea is impressing nevertheless at, again, 23 years of age. The argument I am making, which seems not to have been picked up by the media as much, is that Moyes should focus less on rotation, and more on consistency within the team. If he starts selecting a starting XI with more consistency down the spine, the results will pick up again. Looking at his time at Everton, it is unlikely he will fail to realise this eventually. His defence at Everton always had consistency, with Jagielka and Distin, and before them Jagielka and Lescott always been certain selections if fit. Moyes, given time, will realise this I suspect, but will it be too late for them to rescue their season?

Quick Snippet - John Guidetti

John Guidetti, 20 goals in 23 appearances in Holland

John Guidetti is an enigma at the moment. A player with such promise after such a good spell with Feyenoord that the only doubt supporters can have over him is whether he can cut it in the Premier League. Perhaps an unfair criticism. As has been mentioned in this post, Crouch has only scored four goals in the league this season, Walters with two and Jones has none. Guidetti, from the bench to begin with, may prove to be a worthwhile acquisition as he has pace, something all of the above lack, whilst he has a good scoring record elsewhere. The proof will be in the pudding, but hopefully a few substitute appearances will impress both management and supporters alike in the near future.