Mistakes made?

Peter Crouch played well as a lone front-man again
despite a lack of goals at Hull

A draw at Hull was never going to be considered a bad result considering they have created quite a fortress for travelling teams to attempt to breach. Only Crystal Palace have breached the KC Stadium this season and taken three points, which is a testament to the importance Hull have placed on home form in their bid for survival. Stoke on the other hand seem to be having mixed fortunes in games, particularly away from home. The game against Hull is a case in point where for the first 30-40 minutes of the game, Stoke failed to impose themselves on Hull, appearing out of the two teams the one more likely to concede. Although I think he will have a bright future, as a defender, Marc Muniesa had a tough game at left-back against Hull's right wing-back Ahmed Elmohamady. Perhaps sensing our weakness there, Hull continued to play the ball out to Elmohamady in the first half, and at the beginning of the second before Mark Hughes spared the Spaniard and replaced him with Erik Pieters who was largely untroubled for the remainder of the game.

Stephen Ireland, playing well with Peter Crouch

When on the offensive, Stoke were unlucky not to have troubled Allan McGregor more than they did with some chances that on another day would have punished. The most heinous of the chances that Stoke failed to capitalize on fell to Marko Arnautovic, who one-on-one with McGregor, and with the option of squaring the ball to Oussama Assaidi chose to shoot straight at the goalkeeper and fluffed his shot. A simple pass to Assaidi and the three points would be in Stoke now. McGregor earnt his wage though during the game, notably keeping out a first-touch effort from Peter Crouch after good wide-play between Geoff Cameron and Stephen Ireland. Again the partnership between Ireland and Crouch appeared threatening when Ireland had the ball in the net from a Crouch flick-on, but the Irishman was called offside, rightfully so. Set-pieces also showed that we can be a menace from a dead-ball with Ryan Shawcross climbing high to get his head on the ball and heading it against the crossbar. Whilst Hull still remained a threat in the second half, the substitution of Pieters for Muniesa limited their freedom and although there was always a fear they could score in the last minute and steal the points, Stoke safely saw the game out. What was galling for some Stoke fans to see was the misuse of substitutions again, with the introductions of Charlie Adam and Wilson Palacios not as welcome as perhaps seeing Jermaine Pennant or Kenwyne Jones about to enter the fray. To reiterate, a point in Hull is not a bad thing, but it should be questioned whether we made the changes to try and take more than a share of the spoils.

Back to the Brit - Stoke City vs Manchester United:

Ashley Young scored to silence the boo-boys at the Brit

Just as a point at Hull is a good thing, a loss to Manchester United cannot be considered the beginning of the end of the world. In the first half, the weather assisted Stoke in imposing a deep-pressing style of play, allowing Manchester United to have the ball in their own half. The break in play did not even disturb Stoke as they pounced on any weather-based errors and went more direct. Despite not having any shots on target during the first half, they were a threat. The second half proved that Stoke's game plan was to take advantage of the weather, with their pressing game failing to control United well enough when the ball travelled in the direction they aimed. The introduction of Javier Hernandez influenced proceedings as it forced Stoke to watch out for a player who had scored regularly against the Potters. This knack he has against the Potters was shown before United's first goal, with Ryan Shawcross paying attention to the Mexican and delegating the role of watching the run of Ashley Young to Wilson Palacios. Whether by a confusion of responsibility or simple laziness after playing his normal quota of minutes, Palacios failed to follow Young's run and was paces behind when Young smashed the ball past Thomas Sorensen into the top corner of the net.

Patrice Evra showing that lefties can score with their right

At this point, it was not panic stations for Stoke supporters. After being a goal down against Chelsea recently, there was a possibility still that a comeback was on the cards. All that was needed was a higher tempo of play from the players and maybe an attacking substitution from the bench. The latter did happen, in an unorthodox manner. With Charlie Adam ready to come on, Wilson Palacios started to get his bum warm for a seat on the bench. At the same time, Ryan Shawcross was signalling to the bench that he could not play on. For reasons unknown, the end result was Palacios remaining on the field and Adam coming on for Shawcross. On paper and on the field, this was a bad choice. Positionally Palacios did not know where to go. Centre-half, right-back, midfield? Manchester United took ahold of Stoke's disorganisation and a lay-off to Patrice Evra was finished with a weak-foot finish from range for the full-back. At the time, Glenn Whelan and Jon Walters were covering right back, with Geoff Cameron at centre-half, and Palacios nowhere to be seen, Evra snuck in and took a shot.Whilst respecting that substitutes may need a warm-up before coming on, what prevented the Stoke bench from bringing on Andy Wilkinson or Marc Muniesa for Shawcross? If there was nothing preventing them, then this is the second game in a week when I feel the bench could have done better to influence the result.

Well-travelled Villains:

Matt Lowton's strike killed off Stoke's comeback
and threatened them seriously with relegation last season

No Stoke supporter will forget the strike from Matt Lowton last season that put the Potters on the precipice of relegation, as much as they may have tried to. With results harder to find than a Christmas Light in Stoke Town, a sucker punch like this left many Stoke supporters contemplating relegation for the first time in a long time. Whilst Stoke have changed managers in the time since they last played, Villa have continued to place their faith in Paul Lambert. Whilst they are still as inconsistent as they were last season, they look like a team with an identity again. Under Martin O'Neill, his Villa team would go into a game and use the pace of Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Stewart Downing and the engine of James Milner to cause the opposition problems. Several years have passed since then and the current attacking trident of Weimann, Agbonlahor and Benteke seem to have helped Villa settle on how they want to play. Similar to the Villa team under O'Neill, they use the pace of Weimann and Agbonlahor out wide, yet with the target-man option Benteke provides, there is an element of power in their attack now. Even in the last few weeks when Benteke has failed to register a goal, opposition defences will have known that they were going to have a tough game from these three. Lady luck has, perhaps, shone on Stoke with Agbonlahor being unavailable for selection due to a one-match ban, whilst Benteke has continued his poor record in front of goal this season. Libor Kozak appears to be a useful player, but perhaps not in this Villa team that treats the last frontman as a target man rather than just a focal point of attack (ala Messi at Barcelona). The return of Fabian Delph will not weaken Villa as Yacouba Sylla failed to deliver the basics of a good defensive performance against Manchester United last week, offering Antonio Valencia too much room on the wing by not supporting his full back. Delph is a willing runner, and is not frightened to get his foot in to a tackle so Geoff Cameron or Andy Wilkinson may not expect the same amount of room that Rafael was offered last week.

Could Ireland's absence help Stoke to the three points?

What Villa are lacking in their team is a spark of creativity. Someone who can release the ball to their pacey wide-men or thread a through-ball for Benteke to nick a goal. This is where it is surprising that the one man who cannot play tomorrow was released from Villa this summer on loan: Stephen Ireland. Whilst he has been in good form the last three games, linking well with Peter Crouch, I question whether it is worth breaking this partnership up for this game anyway, even if he had been available. Against Manchester United, Ireland failed to get close enough to Crouch, opting to support the midfield in their defensive duties. However, with United playing a midfield trio for the first 60 minutes of the game, Ireland felt he had to drop deep to support his defence. Now, supposing Villa line up with a three man midfield (El Ahmadi, Westwood and Delph perhaps), then what would prevent Villa drawing in Ireland in as United did? If Ireland is occupied, then Stoke's creativity disappears. For this game, it may be worth experimenting on Plan B, how to build up an attack without Ireland. Whilst Adam looks like a shoe-in to be Ireland's replacement, I would not play through him, with his recent performances showing that he does not play well with the responsibility of the team on him. Who I would play the ball out to is our wide full backs, in an attempt to draw Weimann and Albrighton (the widemen Villa may pick) further back and take them away from Benteke. For this reason, if Ryan Shawcross fails to appear on Saturday, I would be tempted to pick Muniesa at centre-half over dropping Cameron inside and playing Andy Wilkinson. This season Cameron has been such a prominent attacking threat that as good a centre-half as he could be, I feel we would lose an aspect of our attack by moving him inside. With Cameron and Pieters pushing forward, Villa would have their hands full, and despite improving on last season, they are still frail defensively, as shown in their last two games against Fulham and Manchester United.

Away from the Brit - Sacking Season:

Clarke's sacking at West Brom was the most surprising so far

Three managers in the top two divisions have lost their job in the past week, whilst another in Malky Mackay could be about to join them. If you place the sackings on a scale of 1 being very harsh and 5 being not harsh at all, I don't think there would be any 5s being handed out. The first sacking was the most shocking in my eyes with Steve Clarke doing a fantastic job in his time at West Bromwich Albion, surpassing my expectations of him as a manager. Yes they've had a poor calendar year, and poor results have been frustrating, but it has to be remembered that last season they were bolstered by Romelu Lukaku whilst this year their star signing on deadline day was Victor Anichebe! Results were bound to dip this year. In my pre-season predictions I said they would be around 12th place. Whilst that is a drop in the league from the previous season, I felt it was a good target for his second season. Despite sitting in 16th position in the league at present, they are only four points from my predicted position, and five points from a top ten position. The season was not irretrievable and when they handed him his P45 there were no better managers out there. That was until today anyway.

Vincent Tan and Malky Mackay, now at loggerheads

The football world at large will have sympathy for Malky Mackay, except for some Swansea fans of course. Considering Cardiff's current league position, their impressive performances so far this season against teams across the league, plus the nature of the signings that Mackay made in the summer, few would have expected such a turbulent end to a managerial post. Vincent Tan's claims that Cardiff overspent this summer, past £35m they had budgeted and towards a £50m total seem improbable, although not impossible. Looking at the players brought in - Cornelius, Brayford, Moore, Caulker, Medel, Theophile-Catherine, Amondariain and Odemwingie - it seems unlikely that this group cost in great excess of £35m. Although all fees were undisclosed, Cornelius was reportedly £8m, whilst Caulker was £9m, and Medel £10m as their record signing. So at the £27m mark, we include a nominal fee to Brentford for Moore, and fees for Brayford, Theophile-Catherine,Amondarain and Odemwingie, which in my opinion would be surprising if they cost £8m between them, let alone closer to £23m. Unless Tan included wages when he made this statement, then the reported fees do not add up. Mackay, at the time of writing, is standing firm and not resigning, and not for one minute do I blame him as he should not sacrifice a £3m pay-off just to please a man who wants to remove him. With West Brom looking for a manager though, it may not be long before Mackay finds a club and an owner willing to treat him more fairly than Tan has in recent times.

Quick Snippet - Champions League Draw

James Milner celebrates the winning goal versus Bayern Munich

Can an English team win the Champions League this year? I think all four teams have a chance. A slim chance, but a chance. Whilst Manchester City and Arsenal have tough draws against Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively, Manchester United and Chelsea have 'easier' ties against Olympiakos and Galatasaray . Whilst the City and Arsenal look like easy prey for two of Europe's most dominant club sides in recent years, they will be a challenge. For example, I cannot see Barcelona looking forward to a trip to the Etihad, where City have scored four past Manchester United, and six past Arsenal. Likewise, Bayern know that Arsenal are capable of scoring against them after their win in Munich last season, whilst their win in Dortmund will not encourage a complacent performance from the Bavarians. On the other side of the draw, whilst Galatasaray are tough opposition for Chelsea, knowing full well what Didier Drogba is capable of when he is fired up, Chelsea should be able to conquer them over two legs. As for Olympiakos, their players will deserve the freedom of Greece if they beat Manchester United over the two legs. Whilst they may prove tough, like Stoke, at home, it would be a footballing shock to not see Manchester United overcome them and progress into the quarter-finals. And if all four teams make it to that stage, who knows what could happen?

Staying on Track

Oussama Assaidi celebrating his sensational winner against Chelsea

What an end to the week for Stoke City, and in particular Oussama Assaidi. Nicknamed 'Ozzie' by his teammates, his performances against Everton and Cardiff had left some fans questioning his ability to deliver in games when it mattered. Whilst one goal does not change a player, it can certainly influence their form. With Jon Walters suspended after receiving a fifth booking of the season in a pulsating 3-2 victory over Chelsea (Stoke's first victory over the Blues since 1975), the importance of Assaidi's goal is clear. If the doubts had remained over his ability in the stands, there would have been a three-way fight for the open wing spot between Assaidi, Jermaine Pennant and Matthew Etherington. As things stand, Assaidi is likely to earn another start to add to his growing collection.

Andre Schurrle celebrating after scoring for Chelsea

Whilst Assaidi's contribution to the cause is worth discussing, the importance of a victory after dropped points against Everton and Cardiff is unparalleled. As things stand, two less points would have left Stoke two places lower in the table in 15th, with only two points bridging the gap to the relegation zone. The most ardent of Stoke fans will have felt deflated at the early goal that they conceded, a double dummy from Andre Schurrle sold to Ryan Shawcross before a shot across Asmir Begovic's reach beat him. Despite Peter Crouch's equaliser just before half-time, there were concerns. Chelsea had been dominant, naturally, and Stoke had done little to stop them. Half time came however, and something changed.

Stephen Ireland's lovely dinked weak-footed finish
as four Chelsea players watch on

It is hard to describe what changed, perhaps the team's attitude, their half-time brand of tea, but something turned a team that looked lost and unable to play together into a functional unit. This was not the sign of things to come, but a sign that good things will come. Jon Walters got a shot of luck by not being adjudged to have fouled Cesar Azpilicueta in the build-up to Stoke's second goal, a lovely finish from Stephen Ireland. Whilst a lot can be made of Jon Obi Mikel perhaps allowing Ireland too much room and not tracking back fast enough, Ireland beat what was in front of him and the goal was well-taken. Remembering that this was a game that shows that good things will come, if not straight away, a prudent reminder of this came shortly after with Chelsea's equaliser, a half-volley shot from Andre Schurrle that beat everyone in the box to squirm in the far corner of the net. Whether they were sitting at home or in the stands, fear must have crept into every Stoke supporter's heart. Yet, what happened next was amazing in Stoke's recent history. Stoke City not only dug in, determined not to allow Chelsea any guilt-edged chances, the fans in the ground were the twelfth man again, roaring them on and giving them the last surges of adrenaline that the team likely needed. Andre Schurrle's bar-bound effort being their best effort at getting in front again, whilst Stoke could have taken the win earlier in the game when Stephen Ireland missed a chance that was harder to miss than score. Despite coming on as an early substitute for Charlie Adam, Ireland's influence in the game was incredible, with his vision setting up Assaidi's winner just on the verge of stoppage time. With a win to hang on to, Stoke dug deep, and although Chelsea threw everything they'd got at Ryan Shawcross and co, Stoke hung on.

Like a Tiger in the jungle, hear them roar:

Stoke celebrating at the KC stadium in 2009

In 2010, the last year Hull City (Tigers?) participated in the Barclays Premier League, you would have had small odds on Stoke failing to gain at least a point at the KC Stadium. That was not a reflection of Hull necessarily, more their managerial situation at the time with Iain Dowie failing to keep a Phil Brown assembled side in the top division. Brown had shown he was out of his depth in this last season, yet the appointment of Iain Dowie was bizarre. Had they gone for a more experienced manager at surviving relegation, they would most likely have survived and not spent so long rebuilding their team.The rebuild helped them though in the long run, with Steve Bruce last season forming a team that are capable of nicking point(s) in tight games. This trend has continued this season with a lot of Hull's wins at home coming via the odd goal. This is where the game will be decided for Stoke. Can they score the odd goal in their favour?

Danny Graham, not celebrating his first goal this season

What Stoke didn't need was for Danny Graham to score a goal this week. Whilst he had failed to score in 23 appearances in the league, Graham took the welcome move of not celebrating a goal against his former club Swansea. Whilst the reaction to the goal was mature, inside he must have been glad that he was scoring again, and Steve Bruce must have welcomed his "star name" striker scoring at last. Whether he starts or not against Stoke is another question, with Yannick Sagbo impressing as a target man in Hull's prior games against Liverpool and Arsenal. However, with Graham scoring again, Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore finally finding their passing boots, and Hull's defence looking hard to breach, it will take something special for Stoke to breach the Tiger's defence.

Supporters would never accept Stoke Potters surely?
Neither should Hull accept the title Hull Tigers.

Despite being impressive on the pitch of late, Stoke have one gleam of hope. Hull City owner Assem Allam has taken the unusual step of trying to rebrand the club's name, changing it from Hull City FC to Hull Tigers FC. Whilst protests do not usually extend to on the pitch performances, Stoke may be able to take advantage of any lapses in concentration from fans and players alike if the protests become verbal at a good moment. Whilst I sympathise with Hull and their situation, not the first after Cardiff's kit change last season, this is a game that Stoke must win to start a winning run and keep their momentum on the right tracks.

Quick Snippet - England in Manaus:

Arena Amazonia - England vs Italy's rumble in the jungle

On paper, a difficult group and an unwanted location for the opening group game to be played. So do England stand a chance in Brazil? I say yes. Not of winning the competition, I am realistic. But there is reason to be optimistic looking at the squads available to the group opposition. Whilst Uruguay have a strikeforce that will strike fear into most defences, their defence is aging and appears frail based on Diego Lugano's appearance for West Bromwich Albion at the weekend. Italy may have beaten the Three Lions in 2012 but only on penalties. Their team is rebuilding and has had two years to develop further, but Italian football is still on a decline, like England. Stars like Mario Balotelli will keep the impression that their youth system has improved, but they are an outsider for the tournament, just like England. As for Costa Rica, they have few players that we have heard of. Fulham's Bryan Ruiz is likely to be the most recognisable name on their team sheet come the last match day, but as Algeria proved four years ago, you cannot underestimate any team, even if the names are unrecognisable. I'd guess that England will gather five points, with draws against Italy and Uruguay and a win against the Costa Ricans. Assuming that Uruguay and Italy both beat Costa Rica, then it is just a case of seeing how they play against each other. Dependant on that result, England have a chance of progression.

A Week of Three Parts

Part One - That's Why They Call Them The Blues:

Gerard Deulofeu's opening goal opened the flood-gates

After a convincing win against ten-men Sunderland a week before, confidence was high amongst supporters that regardless of the result, Stoke City would put a performance in against a resilient Everton side. The loss of Leighton Baines to injury, plus the absence of Ross Barkley from the Evertonian's starting line-up gave hope to Stoke supporters that perhaps a shock result could be on the cards. The starting line-up for the Potters was encouraging, although some had doubts over the inclusion of Spaniard Marc Muniesa for his league debut in central defence. In a battle of a near-unstoppable force versus a generally immovable object, Everton showed their class in steam-rolling a Stoke City side that looked far from the races from the first whistle. The opening 20-30 minutes of the game had echoes of Stoke's defeat to Norwich City in September, with Everton closing the ball down with urgency whenever Stoke lost the ball, resulting in hurried and misplaced passes in the Stoke ranks. Just like the Norwich game, Stoke were clinging on by the time they conceded the first goal, a wonderful one-touch passing move started and finished by Gerard Deulofeu. At the end of the first half, this goal came at a critical time, influencing Stoke's approach at half time. Would they settle for keeping the game tight and trying to keep the margin of defeat narrow, or would they push forward and risk leaving themselves exposed at the back? The latter proved to be the case with Ryan Shawcross failing to clear the ball out of his own half within the opening minutes of the second half. Instead he tried to play the ball to his own team and lost possession, and unable to get back into position to stop Deulofeu crossing in for Seamus Coleman to dink the ball into Asmir Begovic's far corner, Shawcross was helpless to make amends for his error.

Marc Muniesa battling for the ball with Leon Osman

At 2-0, changes needed to be made to try to save face, but they did not arrive until the score was 3-0, a sweet strike from stand-in left-back Bryan Oviedo putting the Potters out of the contest. Kenwyne Jones and Brek Shea were introduced to the game at 3-0 and both had an impact in the game. Jones helped to create a chance for Peter Crouch who could not find the right connection to a flick on around the edge of the Everton box, whilst Brek Shea failed to connect to an across-field ball to head the ball into the unguarded net. This short spell of Stoke pressure ended when Romelu Lukaku scored the fourth Everton goal, taking his last chance at goal before making way for Nikica Jelavic. So what could be taken out of this game? Everton are a better team that previously thought, their win a few days later at Old Trafford showing that they should not be ruled out of contention for the European places. Any result for Stoke at Goodison Park would have been fortunate, with Everton paralysing Stoke in attack and defence equally as well. The question that was asked ahead of Cardiff's visit to the Britannia Stadium was: have the opposition worked out how to stop the new Stoke City from playing?

Part Two - The Bluebirds leave Potters red-faced:

Marko Arnautovic failed to make an impact on his return

Despite a draw against the Bluebirds taking Stoke up to 14th in the league, the result was deserved, and no complaints would have been made if Stoke had not even gained that. The failure to take control of the game against Everton was not completely banished, with player errors being at a premium. Passing without accuracy, squaring the ball instead of shooting, crossing with the left instead of cutting inside are just a list of the small errors the team made. These are the signs of a team in transition, similar to Aston Villa last season. They are the team closest to Stoke City to make a natural comparison, where a new manager has come in and needed time to steady a stem of negative results. Where last season Villa could not keep a clean sheet, they had the likes of Christian Benteke and Andreas Weimann leading the forward line to maintain their position as ever-presents in the Premier League. Stoke's final league position will depend on how their back-line, so successful for many seasons, can cope with the transition in play which is targeting an increase in goal-scoring opportunities.

Steven Caulker heading towards Asmir Begovic

With a clean sheet after the horror show at Everton, a point against Cardiff would normally be a welcome recovery from a poor result. The fact remains though that the performance did not earn a point, let alone three. Oussama Assaidi has come in for criticism due to his performance against the Welsh side, and whilst some of it is deserved, some of it is not. As a relatively young player, he is still learning when the best time is to do certain things in a game. When is the best time to cross, when is the best time to lay the ball off for someone to have a strike, when should I cut inside, and so on. The game against Cardiff showed that he has raw talent, but until his football intelligence increases, he will remain just that - raw. Behind the scenes, it is important that the experience of Matthew Etherington and Jermaine Pennant starts to rub off on him so that when he is double or triple marked by the opposition, he is aware that somewhere there will be a free man, possibly two. Although this is targeted at Assaidi, this is a lesson that the whole Stoke squad could do with understanding, with attacks looking predictable at times, and perhaps the inclusion of Stephen Ireland or Jermaine Pennant could do the trick to just add that edge of unpredictability to the side against an efficient Chelsea side.

Part Three - The game for Walters?

An own-goal, one of two for Jon Walters, in a game to forget

In recent seasons, Jon Walters has been at the centre of results between Stoke City and Chelsea at the Britannia Stadium, for good or bad. The most recent of these results came at the cost of two own goals, plus a missed penalty for Jon Walters. These were followed up by a Frank Lampard penalty and a long range effort by Eden Hazard to give a Chelsea side under Rafa Benitez a much needed away win. On the day, as much as Chelsea were worthy of their win, Stoke were unworthy and it started a run of poor results in 2013, continuing to this day. Could Saturday, 7th December, 2013 be the day when Stoke's results finally start to turn for the better, or will a repeat of January's result be on the cards?

Drogba heading Chelsea back on level terms in 2011

To get a result against a Chelsea side that is dragging out results when playing below their best, Stoke need their best players to play at their best. Despite being dropped for the first time in 102 games against Cardiff, I would lean towards giving Walters a run-out against Chelsea, although perhaps from the bench if the game remains tight. One of Jon Walters's most memorable goals in a Stoke shirt came against Chelsea, beating David Luiz and John Terry to slot past Petr Cech after a run from the half-way line. 102 games later and Jon Walters has looked a shadow of that player at times, yet we know that he is capable of finishes such as that. Mismanagement, largely by Tony Pulis and now Mark Hughes has been key to his drop in form. Whilst there is an argument that rotation is overly used as an excuse in modern football to change team line-ups, it is also a valid chance to give players a breather if they aren't playing well or if they have played a lot of games in a short space of time. Starting the amount of games he has in the last 2 years must have affected Walters, mentally if not physically. Look at Joe Hart, who having a break now, will hopefully come back and show why he is England's number one goalkeeper. For Stoke, hopefully a break will have the same affect for Walters, who on his day is capable of finishing good opportunities.

Quick Snippet - Brazil 2014:

Sao Paulo's Stadium, now (left) and projected for June 2014 (right)

This snippet comes at the cost of the two people who lost their lives when the crane at Sao Paulo's Arena Corinthians fell, carrying parts of the roof and destroying the stadium's LED screen and several columns in the process. This setback aside, Brazil 2014 is still behind schedule, with Brazil's Sports Minister comparing the delay to a bride being late for a wedding. With recent news that the Arena Corinthians will be delayed until mid-April, the world will be watching with abated breath to see if the bride does turn up. After all, like any traditional wedding, what do you do when the bride fails to turn up?

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?