Red Alert Averted

Wes Brown, unfortunate to be sent off against Stoke on Saturday

Something a lot of Stoke City supporters will understand is that when you have a run of luck, good or bad, you will notice it. When you're on a good run, the contentious penalty calls are given in your favour. Conversely, when you're on a bad run, you get incidents such as Wes Brown's red card on Saturday. Despite winning the ball and making minimal to no contact with Charlie Adam, referee Kevin Friend deemed the challenge to be excessive. Supporters across the land will look at the challenge Brown made and be thinking "I wouldn't like one of my players getting sent off for a challenge like that." When luck starts to desert you, as it appears to be vanishing in Sunderland's quest to stay in the top division, decisions like this make survival more of an uphill task. Contrary to what John O'Shea claimed post-match, the red card had little bearing on the remainder of the game, with both looking capable of scoring during the second half, with Steven Nzonzi's calming nerves for the final 10 minutes of the match.

Steven Nzonzi the unlikely match-winner, calming nerves after
Charlie Adam's early opening goal

Does this mean that Stoke have finally found a balance between defence and attack? Yes and no are sadly the answers to that question. Whilst Stoke managed to grab a second goal in the second half to see out a deserved victory, there were moments in the second half where Sunderland looked threatening, Adam Johnson shooting from range to cause bums to rise from seats in anxiety. Steven Fletcher's run onto a through-ball, cleared well by Asmir Begovic could have caused more problems than it did if Kevin Friend had seen the incident in full, with the Stoke goalkeeper lucky to remain on the pitch after Brown's earlier red card. These chances were created because Stoke reverted to type and sat back on a victory, rather than pushing for a further goal earlier on. Mark Hughes has been clear in the media that he believes it will take time and confidence for the players to adjust from digging their heels in for narrow victories to becoming a team with the ability to turn over teams by cricket scores. A result like this will give the players confidence that they can see out a result, even though they did not close it out as early as they could have done.

Crouch holding up the ball well against O'Shea

There is also the positive that a midfield combination has been found that proved effective, with Glenn Whelan providing a shield for his defence, as well as having a 100% passing accuracy during the 90 minutes against the Black Cats. This showed with the two goal-scorers breaking from midfield to score their respective goals. Although there is now a conundrum of where Stephen Ireland will play, having dropped out due to injury, it is a welcome conundrum compared to several weeks before where there seemed to be a gulf of difference between Adam and Ireland. The resurgence of form in Peter Crouch has not yielded many goals from the striker as of yet, but his level of performance has created goals for others, with Nzonzi's goal coming from a neat through-ball. At the start of the season, I would have pushed for Kenwyne Jones to start, mainly because I felt he would challenge for balls into the box, whereas I felt Crouch was too slow to join in with the play to finish chances off. However, if Crouch keeps up his current level of performance, there won't be many calls for Crouch to be sold, even if we bring in a few new faces to add to our front line.

Beware the Belgians:

Romelu Lukaku, one of the deadliest strikers in the league

If you were to choose between Romelu Lukaku and most other strikers in the game at the moment, few would be picked ahead of him. Whilst Christian Benteke is ahead of him in the Belgium pecking order, I cannot see that being the case for much longer. Despite scoring 17 league goals in 35 appearances last season, Jose Mourinho felt that Lukaku would benefit from further development and this weekend, Stoke City will see how good a player he really is. The Shawcross/Huth partnership is notable for being capable of dealing with strong muscular forwards who focus on bringing others into play (in the mould of Grant Holt for example), whilst also being watchful of faster, trickier strikers (ala Luis Suarez). Lukaku is a mixture of these two styles, with his strength and height making him a danger at set-pieces (take note of his header against Liverpool on Saturday), whilst he has a strong burst of pace that can beat any defender who gets caught napping. In the long run, it is a shame that Stoke failed to sign Lukaku when he first joined Chelsea (rules stating that a player could not be registered to play for three clubs in one season), with a striker in Lukaku's mould the type that Mark Hughes will still be looking to acquire in the coming months.

Kevin Mirallas made a fool of Steven Nzonzi in the last fixture
between Everton and Stoke City

Another Belgian has caused trouble for defences during the large part of the last eighteen months on Merseyside. Kevin Mirallas, scored a superb solo goal against Stoke during their last trip to Goodison Park, although Steven Nzonzi should still feel guilty about failing to stop Mirallas when he was through on goal, with only Geoff Cameron and Asmir Begovic to beat. Despite his modest goal tally in England so far, he is a tricky customer that will give either full-back a challenge for the 90 minutes, with the ability of cutting inside from the left and taking a shot, whilst also able to run the right wing and cross a ball in with accuracy. Adding Steven Pienaar to this front line strengthens it, and despite adding more goals to his game, he has failed to regularly hit the heights of his first spell on Merseyside where he deserved a move to Tottenham. With trickery and pace, Pienaar should not be underestimated, with his last goal for Everton against Hull showing that he can hit the ground running from the first whistle to last.

Quick Snippet - Tony Pulis:

Tony Pulis - the man to save Crystal Palace?

The relationship between Tony Pulis and Stoke supporters is reminiscent of a twenty year old's relationship with their parents. They find their parents to be annoying, they never seem to listen, yet they fear the day they have to live without them. Stoke have been brought up with Tony Pulis's apron-strings, provided safety from relegation and allowed to grow up without fear. The apron-strings are well and truly cut now, and some supporters are fearing they were cut too soon. Some have claimed that we are favourites for relegation at the moment, unable to name three worse teams at present. There are at least three worse teams than Stoke City at present, and Tony Pulis has just joined one of them. Like any child, they do not wish their parent harm, even if they've parted ways and severed ties with them. In this spirit, I add to the chorus of Stoke supporters in wishing Tony Pulis all the best with his new job, although I hope he'll forgive us all for rooting against him on 18th January.

Double Trouble

Per Mertesacker with the only goal at Wembley on Tuesday

We all knew that one loss would be likely, two wouldn't be improbable, yet it still stings. For the masses that are falling out of love with the national side, two back to back losses at home are an understandable reason to channel surf during the international break. Although most neutrals would have expected Germany to beat England, the loss to Chile proved galling, with early predictions from some suggesting that they were there for the taking. As mentioned last week, the Chilean team was no pushover. Although star midfielder Arturo Vidal was absent, there were still a batch of household names in the team from Wigan's Jean Beausejour to Barcelona's Alexis Sanchez so this was a team that no fan should have taken lightly. Across the two games, Roy Hodgson might question whether it was worthwhile picking an experimental side for the game against the Chilean's, especially considering his side was bracing itself for a beating from their old rivals. As things stand, a weakened England side could not beat a mid-strength Chilean team, whilst a full-strength England side could not match a weakened German side.

Sanchez showed why he is a Barcelona player on Friday with two goals

Against Germany, there is an argument to say that England were unlucky. They competed in the game and a 0-0 draw would not have been an unfair result, yet as Hodgson said after the match, there was a lack of quality on show. This was shortly after the England U21 side thrashed San Marino's U21 side 9-0 where despite the quality of the opposition, there was quality within their ranks. The central midfield duo of Will Hughes and James Ward-Prowse looked composed, grabbing a goal each, whilst Jesse Lingard tormented the backline with peppered shots throughout the 90 minutes after playing in the hole in a free role. Whilst this is not an argument that the senior side should be overhauled with U21 players, there is an argument that after this World Cup, the revolution should begin in earnest.

Subs: Butland, Forster, Jenkinson, Shaw, Cahill, Shawcross,
Cleverley, Ward-Prowse, Barkley, Lallana, Zaha, Ince,
Welbeck, Lambert, Ings

If I were to pick an England squad for after the World Cup, I believe it should be flooded with younger players, with as few players over the age of 30 as possible. In my team I have only included one over 30 player in Rickie Lambert, on the substitutes bench. The rest of the team is built around the younger players, with potential, in the current squad, whilst incorporating the players who have the potential to be great in the current under-21 team. Whatever team you or I pick, I believe the key to creating a good team is consistency. Whatever group of players Roy Hodgson picks after the World Cup, they need to be a group of players that can learn from any mistakes made during the Euro 2016 campaign, perhaps even the 2018 World Cup, so that they are ready and experienced by the peak of their careers. Pete Sharland made the point this week that English players are too readily called up to play for their country, something my line-up may be guilty of as I have placed current form players in the team. However, if you look at Spain's national team, you already know 20 of the 23 players who will travel to Brazil this summer, the same could be said of Germany's World Cup squad. England though are still handing out last ditch chances in the hope that someone plays their way into contention. If we are to progress, I agree with Sharland that this attitude has to stop and consistency should become the key to our country's future.

Back to the Brit - Lucky Black Cats?

Forgotten man Phil Bardsley comes to the rescue

Although I'm a fan of Phil Bardsley the player, someone who reminds me of Marc Wilson in regards of being a right-footed left-back, his inclusion back into the Sunderland team came as a surprise. There aren't many players who can be caught lying on a floor with dozens of £50 notes and still get back into their club team. This is not about Paolo di Canio's decision to leave him out, it is about Sunderland's inability to sell him, plus Gus Poyet's desperation to recall him back into the squad. The lack of quality in the Sunderland squad is quite astonishing in certain areas. Jozy Altidore, who was mooted by Stoke fans as being the solution to our goalscoring problems, yet with 0 goals in 11 league games, those fans may be glad Stoke failed to listen to them. Steven Fletcher is capable of scoring the goals to keep a side higher up the table, yet he has failed to recover from the injury which kept him out at the end of last season. Whilst John O'Shea and Wes Brown are capable defenders, having both played short of 500 league games between them for Manchester United before leaving in 2011, there is a reason they left the current Champions: age and injuries. Their quality was not increasing and their opportunities were decreasing, with increased games at Sunderland not helping either's cause. Looking at the rest of the squad, it is hard to pinpoint which players could get into Stoke's squad, highlighting their lack of top-notch players.

Michael Owen and John O'Shea last season

Despite the frailties of Gus Poyet's squad, he appears to have brought new motivation to the team, having overseen three home wins in his three league and cup games at the Stadium of Light. However, away from home he has suffered a 4-0 mauling at Swansea and a 1-0 loss to Hull City, where his team lost Lee Cattermole and Andrea Dossena to red cards. These losses show that Sunderland are not as strong, yet at least, away from home than when they play in front of their own fans. This should suit Stoke, knowing that they themselves are not at their strongest, having conceded winning positions in their last four games in league and cup, yet it should not make them complacent. A key to the game for Stoke will be how Robert Huth plays after his ankle troubles against whoever the Sunderland roulette draws up front. Any one of Fletcher, Altidore or Borini could get a starting place against Stoke, each posing their own unique threat. Altidore relies on powerful runs past a defender, whilst Borini seems to prefer to use clever footwork to beat his man. Fletcher appears to be more of a poacher in the box, something Stoke should be wary of during the game, and come January. If Huth has overcome his injury, as reports this week suggest, then he should be able to handle these three threats with Shawcross, but if he is playing at 80% as he appeared in the last few games, it would not be harsh to call for Marc Muniesa to receive his first league start.

International Round-up:

It was the Cristiano Ronaldo show in Sweden

Love him or hate him, Cristiano Ronaldo has made a tough case to beat that he deserves the Ballon d'or this year. Whilst Lionel Messi is indisputable in his rank as the number one player in the world, based on the past year his performances have been sub-par with niggling injuries affecting him. Ronaldo on the other hand has taken on the challenge of Gareth Bale stealing his limelight and shown why he was once the most expensive footballer on the planet. His hat-trick in Sweden saw him win his personal duel with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with all four goals for Portugal in the two ties coming from the Real Madrid star. Whilst Ronaldo still has a lot to do if he wants to claim he has had a successful season, with Madrid currently sitting third in La Liga, come July next year he may be able to look on a season when he finally bettered Messi.

Mamadou Sakho involved in two of France's three goals

Another Real Madrid player was on the score-sheet in the World Cup play-offs, with Karim Benzema scoring for France in a 3-0 win that sent them to Brazil. Despite a lot of hype from the media, both in France and internationally, there was little doubt that France could still qualify after their first leg loss to Ukraine. They might not be the greatest generation for Le Bleus, but there is quality throughout their team, and when they needed to win on Tuesday, they did. Elsewhere Croatia and Greece turned out winners over Iceland and Romania to complete the European play-off rounds. Former Stoke striker Eidur Gudjohnsen turned out for Iceland in their last chance for a historic appearance in a World Cup. Unfortunately for him, it turned out not to be.

Quick Snippet - Prison State:

Zahid Belounis, unable to leave Qatar.

I wish to keep this shorter than usual about Zahid Belounis, a French footballer who has been denied an exit visa from Qatar. Without going into the politics of the situation, this is a reason why I believe Qatar should not be hosting a World Cup, that cases like this can still rise to the surface. Read the full story here and see what you think for yourself. Personally, I believe any man or woman has a right to leave a country and return home.

A Team of Two Halves

Stephen Ireland congratulating Jon Walters before scoring
a goal for himself in a brilliant opening 45 minutes for Stoke City

This game was a brilliant example of how Stoke City are not the finished article yet in terms of where Mark Hughes wants the team to be. After a strong first half where Stoke went in at half time with a two goal lead, the remainder of the game came with three goals for the home team followed by a late equaliser for the Potters. How can a team be 2-0 up and be on the verge of losing 3-2? It's sacrilege, surely? Or is it poor management? Unlike at Manchester United, where the substitution of Marko Arnautovic changed the game, I do not believe that the entirety of the blame should lie at Mark Hughes's feet this time, although I do believe that the changes he made to the team did affect the result.

Jon Walters took a chance to silence his critics for the time being

After an opening five minutes where both teams appeared to be fired up for the game, Jon Walters made Ben Davies and Chico Flores look like fools by letting them run into one another, while he stumbled onto a Peter Crouch flick on to finish past Gerhard Tremmel. For a player making his 100th consecutive league appearance, a large percentage of which he has received large amounts of criticism from supporters due to a perceived lack of contribution towards results, it appeared fitting that Walters would force his team into the lead. Stoke then followed this up shortly after with a neat passing move between Walters, Crouch who flicked the ball onto to receive another assist in a wonderful team goal finished off by Stephen Ireland. This was Stoke City at their best.

Wilfried Bony with a second-half brace for Swansea

As it appears to be the norm at the moment, a half of Stoke City at their best is followed by the team at their worst shortly after. For Swansea's first goal, so soon after half time, Stoke may be disappointed that no one stopped Jonathan de Guzman's cross into the box, or that no one stopped Wilfried Bony from having a free header to head home. A goal that early meant that it was inevitable that Swansea would come back into the game, which they did with a Nathan Dyer finish. The goal came after Stoke conceded a free kick, Erik Pieters the offender, whilst Charlie Adam, brought into the game moments before, lost his man in the box when the ball was delivered in. To cap it off, the third goal seemed a repeat of the first Swansea goal, with Geoff Cameron failing to stop Jonjo Shelvey from crossing the ball into the box, whilst both Shawcross and Huth may be disappointed at not getting ahold of Bony before he toe-poked the ball into the net. A controversial penalty earnt Stoke a draw, Charlie Adam the scorer of a first Stoke penalty not to be taken by Jon Walters since Matthew Etherington was the man for the spot in 2010/11.

Matthew Etherington, the potential scapegoat
for Stoke's failure to stay tight in the second half

Although the initial reaction from Stoke fans was disgust, in time this may prove to be a valuable point in what looks to be a very tight season. Four points currently separate 18th from 10th, whilst nine more points could have taken Fulham in 18th up to 8th where title challenging Manchester City currently stand. That is how hard three wins are to come by in this league at the moment, so whilst relegation is a concern for Stoke City, it is a concern for all teams from Crystal Palace, all the way up to Newcastle United. What I believe has let Stoke down in the last two away games has been that substitutions have been made at the wrong time. At Manchester United two weeks ago, Marko Arnautovic went off due to illness and the game changed, allowing United to dominate a Stoke team lacking an outlet. The situation was the same here, with Stoke looking lacklustre after Arnautovic's substitution, despite not having his best game in South Wales. At times in the first half, Pieters did appear to be outnumbered, with Arnautovic appearing to choose when and where he would do his defensive duties rather than committing to runs defensively. Come half time, Hughes had two choices, he could move Jon Walters across the field to support Pieters, leaving Geoff Cameron with both Ben Davies and Roland Lamah (later to be Nathan Dyer) to cope with. The alternative was taking Arnautovic off the field and bringing on the more disciplined Etherington who under Tony Pulis was used to supporting his fullback. This is where timing is crucial in the substitutions. With Arnautovic off the field, the impotence had vanished from Stoke's attack, and with the need to look for a third goal to kill Swansea off looking harder to find, a Swansea goal was not surprising. At 1-2, Hughes made a further two changes, bringing on Wilson and Adam for Palacios and Ireland. The two coming off both had good games, potentially their best for the club so far. Wilson and Adam on the other hand had both had shaky games in recent weeks and had not shown a resilience when coming on to shore up a defence that was being barraged. Again an equaliser was not surprising with Adam being caught cold in the box so soon after coming on. The question that needs to be asked of Hughes now is why did he take these players off before the 65-70 minute mark? Why try to close the game off so early and not wait and see if a killer third goal could be found? At 2-2 and our three best players of the game sitting on the bench, to get a 3-3 draw was fortunate. Against Sunderland in two weeks time, there is no more room for error from the players, or management.

Away from the Brit - Chile over Germany:

Star midfielder Arturo Vidal

Whilst most neutral supporters would consider England's clash with Germany to be the more appetising, the first encounter with Chile could be an chance to see some of the best English prospects against a strong Chilean team. In Arturo Vidal, they have one of the most complete midfielders in Europe, whilst their goalkeeper, Claudio Bravo, showed recently that he is no pushover keeping Manchester United at bay and conceding only one goal in two recent matches against the English champions. With household names in English football such as Gary Medel, Jean Beausejour, Gonzalo Jara, plus Barcelona's Alexis Sanchez, the Chilean team will be no pushovers. Despite this, I expect England to give a few players their first caps against the South American side, with Fraser Forster and Adam Lallana likely to get first starts, whilst Jay Rodriguez may get a first appearance off the bench. If any of England's younger players have any hopes of making a surprise claim to be on the plane to Brazil, it is in games like this that they will have to prove why they deserve to go. Looking at Andros Townsend, another player who may get a chance to impress, if they play well, what is to say that they will not go to Brazil? Jose Mourinho has dropped Ashley Cole from his Chelsea line-up in recent games, leaving open the possibility that he may not make the plane to Brazil if he cannot maintain his first-choice status at club level. The likes of Kieran Gibbs, and Luke Shaw who was not called up due to U21 commitments should look at opportunities such as these and try to grab them with both hands. If they do not make the World Cup, at least they will be better prepared for a European Championship in 2016 as a result.

Quick Snippet - The Charlatan

Martin O'Neill, the new face of Irish football

Usually, there is a code of conduct amongst managers, that you do not openly criticise your successor in a job, rather employing phrases such as "it was meant to be" or "he's doing a fantastic job and I'm happy to be here now." Martin O'Neill did not get the memo it seems when he commented on Paolo di Canio's short spell at his former club Sunderland. Whilst this code of conduct is employed to ensure that no disruption is caused for the new manager, it is still surprising to hear O'Neill's words on Di Canio. Describing Di Canio as a managerial charlatan who "ran out of excuses" by the end of his tenure, it was surprising to hear such honesty from a manager in today's game. With Roy Keane alongside him on the Irish coaching staff, it makes you wonder what else might emanate from the duo in the coming two years.

The Wait Continues

99 Premier League wins, when will it be 100?

Stoke City are suffering from Mark Hughes's personal milestone it seems. Since the end of August, when Stoke City won their second game of their season at West Ham, Mark Hughes has been waiting for his 100th win as a Premier League manager. At the time, the next game seemed a good opportunity for it to come, a win against his former employers, Manchester City. Alas, a draw was the final result. Then another great secondary motive for victory was to beat Arsenal, traditionally Stoke's nemesis when style versus substance is questioned. Again, the win did not come. Three games on, and only one more point gained and another extra reason for the victory arrives: a chance for Mark Hughes to better his former playing club who were struggling for form themselves. When Peter Crouch put the Potters in front within the first ten minutes, Hughes must have thought that his and his team's luck was changing at last. Despite conceding a Robin van Persie equaliser, Hughes's belief that his team could get a result must have increased when Marko Arnautovic scored an unstoppable free kick that was powered into the top left corner of the net.

Marko Arnautovic the cause of celebration, conspicuous by his
absence during the second half at Old Trafford

At this point you could forgive any manager for thinking that it was looking like it could be their day. Whilst there was still another 45 minutes of football to go, Stoke had shown that they could exploit any defensive mistakes that United made, which they did with surprising regularity during the match. The match also showed where Stoke are lacking: the lack of ruthlessness. Even if the squad's head coach was John Kreese from 'The Karate Kid', you'd suspect that they'd fail to take advantage of nervous teams and go for the jugular. This lack of killer instinct has shown in the past three games, but all for different reasons. At Old Trafford, Stoke looked like the most likely team to score, Marko Arnautovic defending well when needed, but proving to be our best outlet during the 50 minutes he played. After being substituted due to feeling unwell, the balance of play changed. This is the first time Mark Hughes deserves criticism for a decision he has made, in that he failed to replace an outlet like Arnautovic for another similar player. Instead of bringing on Oussama Assaidi in a like for like change, he opted to bring on a defensive midfielder in Marc Wilson. From that point, the game drifted out of Stoke's control as when Stoke had the ball, they had no one to dictate play through, such as Arnautovic in the first half. The subsequent introduction of Glenn Whelan did nothing to improve the flow of play, although it resulted in the substitution of Wilson Palacios who was one of six Stoke players to be booked during the game. It was after this that Man United took advantage, scoring through Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez. Whether Hernandez should have been on the pitch to score the goal is another matter, the result stood because our manager did something unexpected: he stopped attacking. Rule one of gaining a result at Old Trafford has to be that you do not sit back.

Oussama Assaidi opened the scoring against struggling Birmingham

Fast Forward to Tuesday and Stoke travelled to Birmingham for a Capital One Cup tie. After Oussama Assaidi's opening strike from outside of the box, Birmingham levelled through Tom Adeyemi. A sending off for Birmingham player Wade Elliot appeared to be crucial, with Stoke going on to score twice more through Peter Crouch and Marko Arnautovic goals. By the 80th minute, it appeared all over. Arnautovic, Pennant and Crouch all left the game with Brek Shea making his first appearance of the season, alongside Stephen Ireland and Kenwyne Jones. Two goals from Peter Lovenkrands however changed the game forcing Stoke into extra time. Now where Hughes deserved a portion of blame for the capitulation against Manchester United, the players let themselves down against Birmingham. Whereas rule one of gaining points at Old Trafford is not to sit back, rule one away from the top grounds is to sit back and hold what you have. Stoke failed to do that. Although Kenwyne Jones gave Stoke another chance in extra time to hold onto a win, Olly Lee grabbed a goal that condemned both teams to a penalty shootout. Whilst the shootout showed that players other than Jon Walters are capable of scoring a penalty under pressure, the fact that it went this far is a cause for concern. Hopefully by the time Stoke get a chance at avenging their defeat to Manchester United in December, a balance will have been found between scoring goals and not conceding them.

Boruc beaten by Begovic

With six goals from two games, Stoke went into the game against Southampton, looking for Hughes's elusive 100th Premier League win against another of his former clubs. As this also was Stoke's 200th Premier League game, plus a game where Jon Walters made his 99th consecutive start for Stoke, it seemed like it was meant to be after Asmir Begovic's freak goal from a goal kick. The wind helped the ball downfield, but Boruc will know that he abandoned his goal and didn't collect the ball. At 1-0, with a goal from your goalkeeper, nothing seemed capable of slowing Stoke down. They matched Southampton's intensity on the ball, closing down their defence when they tried building attacks from the back, whilst passing the ball with a respectable amount of pace themselves. As such it was a shame that Jay Rodriguez scored for the Saints, again with a wind-aided chipped-finish bouncing over an unfortunate Begovic. Stoke had their chances to claim the three points they so desperately want, with Ryan Shawcross being the closest to scoring on two occasions, once failing to connect to a ball across the box, and another being a mis-hit in the six-yard box. On too many occasions this season, balls have been played into a dangerous area and no player has been able to get on the end of them. Whilst Shawcross is not a forward and may have been wary of being played offside if he went for the ball too early, I believe the squad should risk being played offside and getting onto the end of a ball, than setting off fractionally later and missing a chance. Small things such as this could be the difference between two draws and two wins after all.

Swansea City vs Stoke City - Preview:

Ben Davies beating Robert Huth to the ball

In the Premier League era, Stoke City vs Swansea City has been a battle of the home teams, with the record of two wins each both going to the home team. The question on the lips of Stoke City supporters' lips will be: can a change of manager create a change of fortune at the Liberty Stadium? At home against Swansea, Stoke's strength has been pressing the opposition so that they cannot play their natural game with ease. Based on the Southampton game, I believe that this trait still exists within the team, although it has been used less this season as a result of Stoke seeing more of the ball during games. This can work to Stoke's advantage as one of their weaknesses when playing away (in general) has been that they have not been able to keep ahold of the ball and create chances.

Michu is almost a certainty to play in Russia in midweek

Another positive Stoke can look towards is that they have a free week to prepare for this game, unlike Swansea who, coming off the back of Sunday's 1-0 defeat to rivals Cardiff, have a trip to Russian side Kuban Krasnodar to prepare for. As Stoke know, trips to Eastern Europe are not ideal ahead of Premier League fixtures. Despite rotating the squad in certain areas for European games, the majority of the squad stayed the same. Swansea have a similar ethos, rotating the goalkeeper, parts of the midfield and perhaps deciding whether Wilfried Bony plays or not. It would not be a surprise to see Gerhard Tremmel on the bench for this away game as Michel Vorm will not be available to play Stoke after receiving a red card in the Welsh derby. With injuries in the squad affecting key players in the rotation system (Hernandez and Davies), Swansea's side might not be as much changed as it could have been due to Swansea only being top of their group by one point. If Valencia beat FC St. Gallen, there will be pressure to get a result in the final two games against these two teams. Although these circumstances could work in Stoke's favour, if they do not put the same effort into the game that the team did against Southampton, all the travelling in the world will not make Swansea any less difficult to beat.

Quick Snippet - Ferguson for Newcastle:

Joe Kinnear expressed an interest in his team's own player
Shane Ferguson

What would the tabloids write about if Joe Kinnear wasn't at Newcastle United? At a scouting trip at Birmingham recently, he commented that he liked the looks of young left wing-back Shane Ferguson. When Birmingham commented that they believed him to be joking, they informed him that he already belonged to Newcastle, playing for Birmingham on loan. Now whilst Kinnear isn't a scout, he is the Director of Football at Newcastle. As such, you would expect him to know the name of every player at his club, from the first team to the development squad, plus all on loan players. As he has proven, he cannot even pronounce some of his player's names. At least the local takeaways in the area can dip into the mockery is that Kinnear still. Yohan Kebabs anyone?

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.

Coming Back Stronger

A 0-0 draw in Kiev left England requiring two wins from two games

When it comes to England, it doesn't take long for a new supporter of football to realise that they never do anything the easy way. After a 0-0 draw against Ukraine last month left the Three Lions requiring two wins from two remaining home games, tensions were high as there remained doubts. After the two games against Montenegro and Poland, the doubts have not vanished, yet they have been eased. Whilst England will be at the World Cup in 2014, no one is willing to stake with any certainty how far they will progress in the tournament. Arguably, that is wise, from both the players and the media in lowering national expectations. perhaps allowing the 23 players who travel to Brasilia and beyond a bit more freedom when the games start to count again. What will strike into the mind of every player soon enough is the blatant truth that they cannot hide from: England Expects.

Andros Townsend - should he make the plane to Brazil?

Based on the last two games, England perhaps should be allowed to expect something from the tournament, even if it is just feeling pride for our country. Since Roy Hodgson took over the National Team, it seems that he has placed showing your pride for representing your country as one of the top priorities. In every game under his stewardship, the players have sung the national anthem, even Wayne Rooney whose once recognisable defiant chin thrust was met with dismay, he now opens his mouth with pride, mingled with, perhaps, the threat of a team sanction if he fails to comply. Also, his team has shown pride on the pitch, not necessarily for their nation, but for their reputations. Only losing one game under the Hodgson era, unfortunately the only game Ryan Shawcross has played in, suggests that the players are capable of grinding out results against tricky opponents. I think in the last three games this has shown, where even if they are not playing at their full capability as a team, they still gained 7 points out of the 9 available. In the Ukraine game, with certain players missing, we still managed to gain a draw against a team that, if they had won, would have doomed us to the play-offs. In the last two games, with pressure mounting on Joe Hart after recent below-par performances, he kept one clean sheet, whilst looking capable of returning to his best for his nation by blocking attempts from Robert Lewandowski and Stevan Jovetic in the two games. Wayne Rooney, in the two games, scored two goals, whilst debutant Andros Townsend impressed with a goal, plus plenty of attacking promise in his first two appearances.

Could Ross Barkley be the midfield engine-man England needs?

If there is one area of weakness I feel that the squad as at the moment, it is in the defensive third. Against Montenegro, England played Lampard and Gerrard as screening players ahead of an attacking quartet of Rooney, Townsend, Welbeck and Sturridge. After conceding a goal in this game, Hodgson turned to Michael Carrick over Frank Lampard for the Poland game in an effort to have a player sit closer to the back four who is aware of potential counter-attacks. The problem I see here is that whilst Michael Carrick is a good player for distributing the ball, he is not the fastest player on the pitch. Poland's counter attacks demonstrated a weakness that our defensive unit will have to overcome in the next eight months, with players returning to their defensive positions as fast as possible when a break is about to occur a priority. Perhaps a younger player, such as Ross Barkley, could be an alternative in the position? Whilst he has played closer to the striker for Everton so far this season, his athleticism would allow him to play deeper and track runs on the counter. Playing with Leighton Baines for Everton as well, a player who's attacking presence at set-pieces also leaves a gap on the counter-attack, could benefit Barkley's push for a place on the plane to Brazil. If Liverpool continue to play a 3-5-2 system throughout the season, Jordan Henderson might be worth looking at as well considering the discipline he has shown at times in the right-wing back role so far this season. Whilst this will be the last World Cup for the likes of Gerrard, Lampard and Cole, sentimentality should not come into Hodgson's thoughts come May when he selects his squad. If Lampard is not suitable for the role required as seen on Tuesday, if Baines is playing better than Cole come the end of the domestic season, and if Gerrard is tiring after a full season with Liverpool, then Roy Hodgson should look to substitute experience with youth for a push for pride. After all, Andros Townsend justified his selection in these two games. What's to say that another young starlet will not do the same across a tournament?

Back to the Brit - "We're Stoke City, we'll play how we want!"

The long throw of Rory Delap against Chelsea

Over the years, Stoke City supporters have stood by their team and its style of play. When the opposition team supporters' chant "1-0 nil to the football team" Stoke supporters would retort in glee late in the game "2-1 to the rugby team". Style mattered little over substance. Culminating in the sacking of Tony Pulis, the club united in its decision that this style of play was no longer providing any substance, the results simply weren't good enough. Part of this is down to poor purchases from Pulis, Peter Crouch for example proving to be only worth one year of his five year contract. The other part relates to one key sale from the team, the release of Ricardo Fuller in 2012. Whilst perhaps declining in weekly effectiveness, Fuller has been the only player in recent times who could create a goal out of nothing. Even if his appearances had come from the substitutes bench, Fuller could have gained Stoke a goal or two more last season, with more reliability than Michael Owen provided. With Fuller's release, plus the short-passing preference that the club's new players preferred, it comes as no surprise that the change of style HAD to occur. Yet the change is beginning to raise doubts.

Jon Walters - not a ball magnet by any means, but capable
of a good touch when leading from the front

Three consecutive league defeats, combined with only three goals in seven games has ushered in the inevitable question from some supporters: would we have scored more under Tony Pulis? The downward trend the club was on would suggest that although relegation might not have been a worry, goals still would have been hard to come by. The crucial question now is if Mark Hughes has done enough to improve the goal scoring chances and create more goals for the team. Whilst Stoke have been far more attacking in their opening 7 games than in the entire 38 league games last season, I still feel that attacking moves need a touch of simplicity adding to them. At times, Stoke have had good crossing opportunities, players in the box, yet the player in control has chosen to pass short rather than play the ball into the box. At other times we have played the ball around the back and in the midfield when perhaps a sharp long-ball would have opened up the defence for our forwards. One player who I feel has come off bad from this lack of potency is Jon Walters. In several of the games this season I have watched, I have seen him make forward runs when the ball is in midfield possession, yet the tendency to over-play the ball has resulted in him having to come back onside and try to help in the attacking build-up. Until they gain a fluency in play that comes with understanding runs and movements of your teammates, Stoke will remain in their infancy, like a toddler learning that you don't stick car keys into your mouth but into a car lock. As long as we don't have any more performances similar to the Norwich game, we will not suffer relegation, yet we could be in for a bigger fight than we have in the past five seasons, and Stoke supporters should rally together and prepare for this fight. And as far as battling performances go, what better game to try and roar the team on than a 'local' derby against West Brom where the Stoke fans love to chant "we always beat the Baggies!"

Quick Snippet - Dario Gradi

Dario Gradi, one of nine members of the 

On paper, it is a good idea look into why England is not producing enough players who play in the Premier League. Whilst it is not impossible that the pool of players progressing in the Premier League Academies could be better than those progressing in La Liga's B and C teams, it would not hurt to enhance England's pool for selection. From the list that includes Howard Wilkinson, Danny Mills and Greg Clarke, I think the stand-out name is Dario Gradi. Whilst his managing days appear behind him, he has masterminded Crewe's successful youth academy. How many names can be listed from the Gradi era who came through their academy? Danny Murphy, Dean Ashton, Rob Hulse, David Vaughn, Nicky Maynard, Nick Powell, Ashley Westwood, Luke Murphy. There are more who did not start at Crewe yet who became great players under his stewardship. If there is one man who can put his finger on why English football has declined so much that England hopes rather than expects, I have faith that Gradi knows the answer.

The Lady is a Tramp

All smiles for Bent yesterday

The only thing that was not a surprise about Stoke City's loss to Fulham was the inevitable anger from Stoke supporters, clamouring for an explanation as to why we don't have a Darren Bent in our squad. In summarising the game, most Stoke fans have said "we need more goals" or "we need a clinical finisher up front", plus the line I have used myself recently "we need a bit of luck". Whilst these facts are true, there are still another twelve games between now and the next transfer window. With 36 points up for grabs within the space of time, the club's priority at the moment will be making sure that the players we have start to score enough goals to lessen the pressure on any incoming players in January. Assuming though that only Juan Agudelo comes into the Stoke squad in the next window, and that the club do not place too much pressure on his shoulders to begin with, what could be done to improve the current conversion rate of the players we currently have? Yesterday was a case in how not to use possession at times, where despite having 56% of the ball Stoke did not use the ball in any menacing way. Out of the 16 shots Stoke had, only three of them were on target. Something that appears to be encouraged during Mark Hughes's era at the club is shots from outside the box, which were a rarity under Tony Pulis. However, the stats from yesterday's game suggest that shooting from range can disguise the lack of threat the team is displaying, with 9 out of the 16 shots Stoke took being from outside of the penalty area. Whilst no team should avoid taking shots from outside of the box, there comes a point when it feels that a player is trying too hard to force the issue rather than showing patience in play. Whilst I have been impressed with Marko Arnautovic since his arrival from Werder Bremen, he seems more willing to force a shot into a wall of defending players rather than try and play in a team-mate elsewhere.

Marko Arnautovic and Philippe Senderos,
shirt grabbing in equal measure

The key three players for me in the forward line against Fulham were Oussama Assaidi, Jonathan Walters and Marko Arnautovic, as when these three played in tandem for a twenty minute period in the second half, it was when we looked most likely to score. The main advantage of using these three though would be that they can work in tandem and move around the pitch rather than staying rigidly in one position. Matthew Etherington, for example, whilst a capable left-winger struggles when played out of position on the right-wing or more centrally. Peter Crouch and Kenwyne Jones are both good target men, but combined with their current lack of goals is a lack of versatility, where both have to be the focal point of the attack. Yesterday, it was hard to pin-point prior to kick-off whether Jon Walters or Marko Arnautovic would lead the line, with both capable of playing on the wing or up front. Whilst this versatility will not necessarily bring goals to the team, it will cause opposition players food for thought when considering how to play against our forwards.

Not the first poor performance from Roger East when Stoke are playing
as Ryan Shotton will agree, being sent off against Aston Villa last season

As far as Lady Luck goes, I think both players and supporters need to get accustomed to decisions going against us, rather than expecting referees to suddenly treat us fairly. I have not heard one person say that Roger East had a good game yesterday. As decisions go for teams, Fulham won that battle yesterday quite easily, with two stone-wall penalty claims being ignored for Stoke, whilst we did receive one bite of fortune in that we did not go in at half time a goal down ourselves. We could count ourselves lucky that in the second half, Glenn Whelan only received a yellow card for a lunge on Dimitar Berbatov, moments after coming onto the pitch. Roger East has previous when it comes to sending Stoke players off under harsh circumstances after all. If either of the two penalties in the first half had been awarded, Stoke would have had the momentum to kill the game off. Like Fulham in the last eight minutes of the game, Stoke could have absorbed whatever pressure Fulham applied late on and tried hitting them on the counter attack if we had taken the lead. This is where we are failing. And whilst referees aren't helping our situation, we cannot say that luck has failed us any more. Until we attack with intent, I feel that results in the upcoming games may not be ones we desire.

Boing Boing Baggies Time:

Wilson and Nzonzi will need to support their wide-men
better in this formation to create more goals

As I have already referred to, I believe that Oussama Assaidi has proven to most Stoke supporters that he is worthy of a start in the team. Whilst his pace and trickery are two advantages that could persuade Mark Hughes to include him against West Brom, his versatility may tip the scales in his favour. Our goal against West Brom at the Hawthorns last season was an example of how to get a perfect victory against this current Baggies side. They are a brilliant counter-attacking side still, yet have built up an ability this season to break teams down, as shown in their draw with Arsenal. If we can draw West Brom onto us and absorb what pressure they apply to us, with the pace of Assaidi and Arnautovic, we have two potent weapons on the counter attack. I'm cautious to include Walters in this statement as his current form would lead you to believe he should be the last name on a counter-attacking team-sheet. However, I remember his goals against Chelsea and Bolton during his first season at the club and remember that he does have the ability to score a goal on the break. His laboured performances of the last few years though leave me doubting his consistency in this area though. If when we break, we get the ball to Assaidi or Arnautovic, then if they can hold the ball up long enough for Walters to join the attack, we have three potential goal-scorers there to take advantage of any bad re-positioning after an attack. If it is the case that Walters is now too laboured to be effective in a counter-attack, then we have Jermaine Pennant who can be called upon to provide extra pace within the front three.

Erik Pieters, guilty of making bad decisions in good positions

If we are not on the counter-attack and trying to build up to a goal, then we really need to be working over the international break on how to create runs into the box that can result in goals. Despite the performance against Fulham being better than the one we saw in the loss to Norwich, when Stoke attacked in both games, there were periods of play where Stoke were effectively trapped in the opposition corners, playing the ball around with no end product. A typical scenario would be that a cross-field pass would land at the feet of Erik Pieters. Pushing forward and trying to get to the edge of the box, he would pass short to Arnautovic, who whilst open at the time was not the best option compared to two players waiting for a low-cross across the six yard box. In Pieters case, I can understand why he may be rusty regarding his decision-making after hardly playing in the last twelve months, but he could do with improving his standards, or risk being dropped for Marc Muniesa who has impressed in cup games. One of my last memories from watching Match of the Day in recent years has been a breakdown of how Arsenal teams attacked in years gone by, playing in triangles to work their way upfield and into the box. Stoke have started to do this under Mark Hughes, with Cameron, Walters and generally Nzonzi playing neat short passes between each other to good effect at times. The same cannot be said on the other side of the pitch at the moment though, and with the rotation that has occurred on the left-wing so far this season, no consistency has formed on this side of the pitch yet. With Arnautovic on international duty for the next two weeks, I would hope that Erik Pieters will be working with Etherington and Assaidi, hopefully to good effect by the time Stoke kick-off at the Brit again.

Away from the Brit - Januzaj for England?

Januzaj, an Englishman? No. A Belgian? Yes.

Are we really this desperate? Adnan Januzaj made an impression for Manchester United on his first full start for the club, scoring two match-winning goals against Sunderland. Within hours of the full-time whistle, England had, according to David Moyes, enquired about Januzaj's availability to play for England over Belgium and a few other countries. Why are we enquiring? Yes, Januzaj is potentially a great player in the making, one that most countries would like to see in their squad in the future. But surely the country that will claim his rights should be Belgium. I know England have history in acquiring players who have English parents but have lived in other countries, Owen Hargreaves being the obvious example of a player who is more German than English, yet represented the Three Lions. Yet looking at the England U21 squad, I would like to believe that we have potential in our youth. Our own Jack Butland aside, the squad includes Premier League players such as Luke Shaw, John Stones, Ravel Morrison, James Ward-Prowse, Sammy Ameobi, Raheem Sterling, Wilfried Zaha and Harry Kane. That is not including players who are playing in in the Championship on loan from Premier League clubs.

Wilfried Zaha, impressive against Wigan, MIA since.

What will stop these players from progressing to the main squad is not being trusted by their clubs to play Premier League games. England is lucky to have clubs such as Southampton that are willing to play their young players, yet players such as Harry Kane and Wilfried Zaha are not so lucky at this moment in time. Whilst some, such as Kane, may not have the talent to make the step up to the top table, players who are not playing for their clubs at the moment, such as Zaha, have the talent to play for England if they get the chances with their club. This is where players need to move on if a move to a top club fails to advance their career. Reportedly, Zaha has been told he can leave on loan in January, although he may get a chance to impress against Norwich in this month's Capital One Cup game. Is this enough though? At the start of this season, I would have included Zaha on a list of players who should be making the move up to the England squad, pushing for a place on the plane to Brazil. Raheem Sterling is another who I would have put on that list, yet he also seems to have gone sideways, perhaps even backwards in recent months. If they aren't getting chances at their current clubs, they should move on, or else I fear the plane to Brazil will be filled with mediocrity that plays regularly rather than potentially talented players who struggled to get a game in a star-studded squad. If we push for players such as Januzaj to be playing for England, those who are struggling for their club will soon find themselves struggling to play for their country as well.

Quick Snippet - Play on?

Bandages that failed to cover the wound for Michu

I respect the 'Play on' rule in football. In fact, I believe that in a lot of circumstances that it should be used more often considering some of the tackles Stoke players get blown up for by referees. On Thursday though, I saw a referee who took the definition of playing an advantage beyond the point of ridiculous. When both Michu and Stephane Besle challenged for a ball in the air, Besle could not withdraw a high foot and made contact with Michu's head. The referee, believing Besle to have somehow made contact with the ball decided to play on and allow FC St Gallen the advantage, despite blood pouring from Michu's head. Law 5 of FIFA's "Laws of the Game", regarding the referee's role in the game states that the referee can "allow play to continue until the ball is out of play if a player is, in his opinion, only slightly injured". From here, I will let you judge whether you think an injury that took over five minutes to bandage up, plus three initial changes of shirts was "only slightly injured".