What Crisis?

Peters Crouch and Odemwingie after the latter's equaliser

It is two months ago now that Stoke travelled to Sunderland, hoping for an upturn in form after poor results against Crystal Palace and Chelsea had threatened to derail their season. An unlucky goal conceded allowed Adam Johnson and Sunderland to take the lead and secure the three points that night, and some Stoke supporters feared a tough relegation battle. Three days later and these fears were not dis-swayed after the 'pizzagate' incident resulted in cries of celebration amongst Tony Scholes and co for the arrival of their late-night munchies and cries of anguish from supporters outside hoping for news of a marquee signing who would guarantee the club's survival. This was only two months ago. In the small amount of time since, Stoke have become one of the form teams in the Premier League, currently sitting in 5th in the Form Table. Wins against Manchester United and Arsenal boosted morale against a backdrop of mediocre results against Swansea and Norwich, whilst their only defeat during this period has been against Manchester City, notorious for only being beaten once at home this season, in the league. This upturn in performances and results reached a new height as Stoke secured their first away win since August at Villa Park. They were made to do it the hard way after conceding an early goal, with Geoff Cameron and Ryan Shawcross both questionable in their defensive duties, Cameron not strong in enough to prevent Fabian Delph crossing the ball into the box, whilst Shawcross, at one point so close to Christian Benteke, allowed him to drift into space and score with ease. It was a goal gifted to Aston Villa and it gave them extra impotence in their attacks during the first 15 minutes of the match.

Steven Nzonzi doubling his goal tally for the previous season

Whilst it has been clear in this run of form, it can also be said that for the majority of the season, one of the hallmarks of this Stoke City team is that they do not know when they are 'beaten'. Under Tony Pulis, it would have taken a huge leap of faith to suggest Stoke would have come back from a goal down to take all three points. With the current side, you suspect that they will get back into the game, if not win it. So when Peter Odemwingie ran onto a Peter Crouch flick-on, slotting home coolly to level the score, you knew Stoke could go on to win the game. And so they did, with a goal oozing class in different attacking quarters of the pitch. A long pass from Ryan Shawcross landed on the boot of Marko Arnautovic who backheeled the ball to an onrushing Erik Pieters, who holding off an Aston Villa challenge found Peter Crouch in acres of space who finished the move off with great aplomb. A year ago, the ball to Arnautovic would've been classed as a long ball rather than a long pass, whilst in that same time a winger would not have been flicking a ball onto an onrushing full-back, more conspiring with them to see which one will send a cross in from deep. The biggest improvement though was there for all to see with Stoke's third goal, a move that took 15 passes to complete with a forward-minded Steven Nzonzi finishing across Brad Guzan.. Patience in play was the key to the move, and again something that Tony Pulis would not have condoned in his players, preferring to play more direct. Villa threatened to get back into the game during the second half, but Stoke held firm and the most worrying moment was when Christian Benteke fell to the ground too easily and made frustrated claims for a penalty, only receiving a yellow card for his troubles. The fourth goal for Stoke came in the last minutes of the game and put the gloss on a fine performance with Geoff Cameron bursting through the middle of the field, showing the pace and power that make some consider him a better option in midfield than at right-back, to latch onto a Marko Arnautovic pass in the box to slot home. As away performances go, it was 75 minutes of perfection. The next step is to get to 90 minutes.

Back to the Brit - Battle of the England Unfortunates:

In the Away Corner, Curtis Davies, impressive
upon his Premier League return

Hull City's success this season has been built on a solid defence, and at the heart of that solid defence has been Curtis Davies. Perhaps taking tips from team-mate and former Stoke idol Abdoulaye Faye, Davies has become the player he was tipped to be when he joined Aston Villa in 2007. For a player who was once rated around the £10m mark, his fall from grace was spectacular, culminating in his move to Birmingham for a fraction of that valuation. He rebuilt his reputation in the Midlands however and earnt a move this summer to Hull after six months previously being linked with a move to the Britannia Stadium. Whilst Davies has been the bedrock of Hull's successes this season, their team has a good mix of graft and guile, with workers such as Jake Livermore working well alongside technically better players in Tom Huddlestone. Their flexibility with formations has been key as well, with the ability to set up with both four and five at the back during any point of a game. Right wing-back Ahmed El-Ahmady, who caused Marc Muniesa trouble in the December fixture, is the key player in this system, tucking in when playing against tougher opposition, then being allowed to ramage down the wing when the opposition is easier to tackle. David Meyler is asked to perform as a left wing-back at times, depending on the position which Maynor Figueroa takes up to start with. If this is the case on Saturday, it should be an interesting prospect for Peter Odemwingie in his current form as Meyler made his name as a central midfielder, and his better performances this season have been in the centre of the team alongside Livermore and Huddlestone. The use of wing-backs has an impact at the tip of the team, with Hull's new strikeforce thriving off good delivery. Both Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic are good headers of the ball, yet I'd question whether both are as prolific as the media suggest. At West Bromwich Albion, Long scored 19 goals in 81 appearances for the club which works out at just under a goal every four games. Jelavic's record was marginally better with just over a goal every four games, but if you take out the goals he scored in his early Everton career, ones which may have been when he was at the crest of a wave, his record was just under 1 goal every 5 games. Compare these statistics to Peter Odemwingie who during his three years at West Bromwich Albion averaged just about a goal every 3 games, and Peter Crouch who scores a goal on average just over every 4 games since he joined Stoke, then you wonder if Hull have got the deal people suggest they have.

Ryan Shawcross attempting to better Phil Jones
in the 'weird face whilst winning the ball' competition

Whilst Curtis Davies has come back to his best after a seasons in the wilderness, Ryan Shawcross will be looking at the season just passed as an opportunity missed rather than an opportunity not given. There has been criticism in Roy Hodgson's direction at times this season for not travelling up to the Britannia Stadium often enough to judge Shawcross himself, and the added incentive of playing well in the hopes of making an international appearance could have spurred Ryan on further. However, too many times this season I feel that he has been so close, yet so far from the perfect defensive performance.

Last week was a prime example in that he made an early mistake by letting Benteke gain space for his goal, but afterwards the Villa strikeforce did not have a sniff at goal. As Stoke City supporters, these mistakes can be forgiven because we won the game, the mistake did not cost the team any points. If Shawcross had made that mistake against Uruguay playing for England though, who would have the same faith in England that they could recover from being a goal down? This is just one example, but look back across the season and Ryan has been at fault for a fair share of goals, whilst still contributing to solid defensive performances. If he cuts out his own individual errors, makes the right decision more often than not, then I would hope that Roy Hodgson's satnav finds its way to the Britannia Stadium, especially with the quality of football on show at present.

Away from the Brit - UEFA Nations League:

San Marino, could they win a league format? I'd doubt it!

On Wednesday, UEFA announced a replacement for the current international friendlies system: games at the same time, in a league format, that give smaller countries a second chance to qualify for UEFA competitions. Doesn't some of this sound like they are just replacing meaningless friendlies with slightly meaningful friendlies? By 2018 when these plans are expected to be initiated, will Wayne Rooney (an expected future England captain) be looking forward to a fixture in the Nations League perhaps facing a Switzerland or Austria, or would he have preferred to be playing Argentina in a glamour friendly? Save Wayne Rooney, would anyone choose Switzerland or Austria over Argentina? The incentive for competing in the League of Nations is qualification for the European Championships, outside of the normal qualifying process, yet you wonder again why this would matter to England? Yes in 2008 they failed to qualify, but that year had there been a League of Nations they would have failed to qualify that way as well! For England, I fear that this is just a replacement of the word 'friendly' and it has been changed to 'prearranged match with little to no glamour', and that the only thing preventing England from putting second-string teams out will be pride.

England U21s now, potential stars of the future?

What if England as a nation though could put more than pride at stake though? If these matches were used to give caps to young players, it could be seen as a way of promoting youth to the main England team in time for major tournaments. For example, if England were to treat squad selection as Great Britain had to for the Olympics, by only selecting three over-23 year olds, then the rest of the squad were under 23, it would be a great opportunity for younger players to be given their first chances. If this system were to run from next season, it would give Jack Butland a chance to get a consistent run for England and to show Roy Hodgson that he would be a capable challenger to Joe Hart, whilst it would also showcase Will Hughes's ability on a bigger stage after several years of playing in the Championship. However, if England were to select players from any age range, I believe that we would learn nothing, whilst even if we won the league system, we would gain nothing. Yet if we failed with a squad of largely U21s, morale would be low for a time perhaps, but it would show that we are putting more faith into youth than what it appears we do at present.

Quick Snippet - Is it a bird, is it a plane? Oh wait, it's a plane...

Wrong One - Moyes Out: the banner proclaims

A number of Manchester United fans have clamoured together enough funds to charter a plane to fly over Old Trafford with a banner proclaiming 'Wrong One - Moyes Out'. Two things entered my mind here. First of all, the truck driver with a 'Hughes Out' sign before the Stoke City manager had even signed on the dotted line must be relieved that someone has outdone him after recent results for Stoke, yet the other thought revolved around the words. As the words are supposedly a reply to the banner hung at Old Trafford saying 'The Chosen One' as a nod to Sir Alex Ferguson's parting words at the end of last season, you would have thought the banner would say 'Chosen Wrong - Moyes Out'. If you're going to club together to charter a plane to send a message, at least send out the right message!