United Strength is Stronger

Celebrating a goal is becoming second nature to the Stoke players

It has been described in the days since that Stoke's victory over Fulham was one of the most complete performances from a Stoke side in the Premier League, that the word 'excitement' had been brought back to life at the Britannia Stadium, while the facts do not disagree from these statements. Stoke are on the verge of completing their sixth season in the Premier League, their first with a different manager, and are on course for their highest finish, potentially their highest points total and already the label of Kings of the Midlands are just a few of the headlines in the Potteries. Since the Stoke City's FA Cup Semi-Final against Bolton, supporters have been looking for the next complete performance, the one that can be held in the same high esteem as the thrashing of the Wanderers. Despite the whispers that this was the one, I disagree, but it was not far off! The key to the semi-final keeping its place in supporter's minds is the domination in all areas by the Stoke players: the defence were solid, the midfield controlled the game, the forward-thinking players took their chances and created more. It was the perfect demolition job. Whilst better in technical execution than the Boxing Day victory over Liverpool last season which has been held as the best result since Wembley for a time now, Stoke's victory over Fulham was not faultless. Again, it was close to faultless, holding so much promise for the season ahead, but not the perfect result.

Richardson not choosing his battles wisely with Arnautovic

The game plan from Stoke was perfect, dropping Peter Crouch for Oussama Assaidi, allowing Peter Odemwingie to play centrally, flummoxed the Fulham back-line who had shifted Dan Burn to right-back in their starting line-up in an attempt to counter Marko Arnautovic's threat. Instead, the rookie defender came up against a masterclass performance from Oussama Assaidi in his last appearance at the Britannia Stadium, for now at least. Every time Assaidi took Burn on, he beat the six foot six left-footer and created opportunities for Odemwingie, Ireland and Arnautovic. Equally on the opposite wing, Arnautovic had one of, if not his best game for Stoke so far, showing such fantastic close control on the ball, excellently shown in how he kept the ball in play for the first goal before, laying it off to Stephen Ireland whose shot hit the bar, but fell invitingly to Odemwingie who tapped in with his head. Fulham attempted to help Burn out by bringing Ashkan Dejagah onto the field to support Burn in defence more, however Assaidi kept pulling him out of position, dribbling past him with ease and on the stroke of half-time, Arnautovic was unlucky not to have scored Stoke's second goal. It would not take long though for Arnautovic to get onto the scoreline, and here I have to praise Mark Hughes. He knew that Fulham would have to put pressure onto Stoke to have any chance of surviving this season, therefore he let Fulham attack, knowing that his front four would be able to attack with pace if a counter attacking opportunity presented itself. Again Assaidi was at the heart of the goal, releasing a pass into Odemwingie's stride, who seeing that Arnautovic was free in the centre squared the ball to his teammate and Fulham with that touch were relegated. Stoke added to Fulham's misery with the third goal, which came from good Stoke attacking play as much as poor Fulham defending. Mohammad Diarra, limping with an injury was forced to chase back Marko Arnautovic on another counter-attack, but was ultimately unable to prevent him from getting in a cross for Assaidi who had another simple finish to cap off a fine performance from the Moroccan. He made way for the final appearance in Stoke colours for Matthew Etherington, who shortly after coming on continued where Assaidi had left off, tormenting his right-back, though this time it was Scott Parker who was struggling, Burn having left the field with stars in his eyes. Beating Parker, Etherington squared the ball and in that moment you wondered if Etherington could have had the fitting final contribution to his Stoke career, but alas the chance came to nothing. At the other end, Fulham clawed a goal back through Kieran Richardson who executed his finish well on his weaker foot, yet you wonder if Stoke's defence had switched off by this goal, leaving Richardson too much room to take his chance. Marc Wilson and Marc Muniesa - the first defensive partnership not to include Robert Huth or Ryan Shawcross since 2010 when Abdoulaye Faye and Danny Collins marshalled a defence against an Aston Villa squad that included now Fulham player Steve Sidwell - did not have much to do during the 90 minutes, but they conceded a goal. As a defender, you would expect they would both be looking into the reason why, yet that does not detract again from how poor Fulham were as a whole, John Arne Riise showing why he is past his best, just like the Cottagers. For Jon Walters to beat a defender for pace and finish as he did, it is a credit to Walters for keeping his cool and not messing up the finish, but also a discredit to Riise who could not keep up with one of the slowest forwards in the league. Cries of 'Ole' were rightfully shouted around the Britannia Stadium during the game and after when the players paraded the pitch with their children, and the Fulham game was a glimpse of what is to come, and the future looks bright.

Away from the Brit - Baggies Bye Bye?

Andy Wilkinson in a rare appearance for Stoke this season

Unless Stoke and Norwich both produce the performances and results that generations will talk about for decades to come, West Brom will be in the Premier League next season. With a 17 goal swing required for Norwich to survive, you suspect Stoke would need to score the majority of those considering Norwich are facing cup finalists Arsenal this weekend in the final game of their daunting run in. So for another season, the Baggies will not have to worry about becoming the yo-yo club that they were known as for such a long time, but you wonder where their problems have come from this season. After a highly respectable eighth placed finish last season, you would have thought they would have pushed on this year and at least finished in the top 12 teams. The pivotal moments of their season seem to have come during the first Deadline Day, when their signings were Victor Anichebe and a botched attempt at signing Romelu Lukaku again on loan. The next pivotal moment came when they sacked Steve Clarke, who despite being on a downward spiral in his first managerial job was a safer bet, knowing the Premier League, than Pepe Mel who took time to adjust to the unrelentless nature of English football. This was evident in how he lost points in two games after scoring three goals in a game, both late equalisers coming in the final moments of the game. Results tightened up in the final fixtures of the season, but arguably West Brom were saved by Norwich's horrendous run-in rather than due to their improved performances - which is something that Sunderland supporters can argue well.

Pepe Mel, a good man, but a good manager?

One of my criticisms of Mel's short tenure has been not knowing his best forward, and then playing him regularly. At one point it appeared to be Anichebe, then it was Vydra, then Berahino comes back into the side against Arsenal last weekend. Does he know his best front-line? In their best run of form, Vydra led the line and Anichebe came on as a substitute if a goal was needed or to be the front man who's been told to protect a lead. Against Tottenham, Vydra took his goal well, whilst against West Ham Anichebe came on after Berahino's opener to protect the lead and hold the ball up in the corner. Against Stoke it could be a mixture of any of the forwards that starts, but I think the one that would give the most trouble to the returning Shawcross and Wilson partnership would be Vydra, purely for his pace and his shooting accuracy. Whilst his goal tally this season isn't high, I would argue that is due to a lack of game time rather than a lack of talent, and if West Brom play Victor Anichebe, I will be less concerned about them going forward, and as a result more excited about what Stoke can produce when they go forward.

Alternative Stoke City and Premier League awards:

Stoke City Player of the Season - Ryan Shawcross has been a model of consistency this season, with room for improvement still. Whilst I have criticised him at times this season for goals conceded, it is because he sets such high standards. Whilst a call-up for Brazil is highly unlikely now, you would hope that next season Roy Hodgson would find his map again and realise that Southampton isn't the only city in England he is allowed to enter. Ryan would be worthy of another call-up, and hopefully a start this time so that he can be judged on a full 90 minutes instead of a 15-20 minute cameo against one Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Stoke City Young Player of the Season - Charlie Ward. If you consider a young player to be 21 or younger, the options are limited. Whilst Marc Muniesa would have been a worthy winner considering he has only just turned 22 (in March), I feel that awarding a member of the development squad for the progress they have made this season would be a better allocation of the award. Charlie has been a regular in the development squad this season, earning a call-up to the bench for Stoke's away victory at Aston Villa (coincidentally a former club of his) in March. Whilst Charlie will have a lot to do potentially to bridge the gap between the development squad and the first team, he has made a step. As shown by James Wilson this week, if you are given a chance to impress, you can only do what you are told. If Charlie is given an opportunity next season, the only people who know how he could do are Charlie himself and Stoke City. Here's hoping his small progress this season is repeated next year.

Villain of the Season - Nicolas Anelka edges this award for me just for typifying his nickname 'Le Sulk'. Whilst there is a debate about the nature of the quenelle gesture he made, regarding his alleged intentions and its actual meaning, his reaction is what makes him this season's villain. Instead of taking his punishment and accepting he did something that is culturally not acceptable, he terminated his contract and wandered off into the wilderness. Good riddance 'Le Sulk'.

Joker of the Season - It would be fair to say that Jonathan Walters get a bit of stick from Stoke supporters for his lack of natural talent sometimes. Against Tottenham this season, he appeared to show a comical side to his character that I'm sure endears him to his team-mates, taking a drink out of spectators coffee cup after being barged into the ad boards. Just for showing a bit of cheek in the heat of the game, he wins the award for me this year. Mesut Ozil gets a mention as well for his close control earlier in the season when dribbling a bit of gum on his boot before carrying on chewing.


Player's Beard of the Season - Up until last week I would have awarded this to Marc Wilson for his super effort
this year. But after seeing and hearing of Adam Clayton of Huddersfield earning £1,717 for charity by dying his beard in Huddersfield's sky blue and white, I feel the award goes to him for his efforts. Other honourable mentions go to Tim Howard and Ashley Cole for their attempts at hot fuzz that fizzled out.

Harshest Sacking of the Season - On the day that his settlement with Cardiff has been agreed, Malky Mackay's sacking has to be judged as the harshest as far as coaching talent goes. As the adage goes, if the supporters are sad to see a manager go, he must have been unlucky to get the sack and Cardiff's season since Mackay's sacking as been one of far more downs that highs. Mentions must go to Rene Meulensteen and Chris Hughton as with both a neutral would have expected both to see out the season with their clubs before eventually departing.

Quick Snippets:

Greg Dyke trying to reorganise English football into a Spanish structure

B Teams - The news of trying to introduce B teams to English football has been met with mixed responses. Whilst Premier League squads have welcomed the possibility of their clubs potentially being able to offer their younger players a more competitive league to play in, Football League and Conference clubs have seen the possibility as unwelcome, disrespecting the role that their clubs play in developing younger players. I think that the notion has pros and cons, but perhaps the biggest sticking point is the actual purpose of the B team. Could a team finish 11th in League Three but still gain promotion to League Two? What purpose would that serve to the clubs that gain promotion, would it make them stronger when they play in League Two? No. They'd've played half a season against a team of reserves effectively. Of all people, Arsene Wenger has made the most potent point on this proposal, stating that it is not a lack of games that the young players have, it is a lack of quality training to allow them to break into the first teams at present.

Roy Hodgson has selection dilemmas ahead of Monday's announcement

My England 30 Man Squad - Joe Hart, Ben Foster, John Ruddy, Fraser Forster, Glen Johnson, Phil Jagielka, Gary Cahill, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Ryan Shawcross, Steven Caulker, Leighton Baines, Luke Shaw, Ashley Cole, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Milner, Adam Lallana, Michael Carrick, Ross Barkley, Jack Wilshere, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Raheem Sterling, Jordan Henderson, Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge, Wayne Rooney, Rickie Lambert, Andy Carroll, Jermain Defoe.

Italicised players would not be included in the final 23 man squad.