Seeing the Forest through the Trees

Peter Whittingham not missing from the penalty spot

The past two weeks as a Stoke supporter have been equal measures of pride and disappointment. On the surface, Stoke presented their fans with two respectable performances against Cardiff City and Tottenham Hotspur, yet the fans left both matches with a total of one point out of the six available. In the title of this article, I refer to not seeing the forest through the trees because that is an epitome of a Stoke supporter at the moment, seeing the positives through the negatives. From both matches it is refreshing, in fact exhilarating, to see the Bear Bit atmosphere of the Britannia Stadium returning at last, both home and away. The cause for the fight though appears strange however, with referees in the two previous games appearing to have stirred the supporters into a frenzy over debatable decisions. Howard Webb, against Cardiff City, was the villain for clearly missing a foul on Peter Crouch that resulted in his shirt referring to him as 'Cr uch' for the remainder of the game. As a referee, he made a mistake and that was strike one, a fair call for Stoke supporters to be disappointed. On the stroke of half time, Webb then proceeded to gift Stoke a penalty, and the word 'gift' is used due to the soft nature of the penalty, rather than the legitimacy of it. Peter Odemwingie was nudged off the ball in the penalty area by Kim Bo-Kyung and Marko Arnautovic slotted the resulting penalty kick home. Howard Webb though was forced to make another decision in the second half, rewarding Cardiff a penalty for another soft penalty, this time a fractionally late tackle by Steven Nzonzi on Frazier Campbell. Webb had the choice of awarding neither of the penalties or both, and by the letter of the law, both were correct decisions. Peter Whittingham pulled Cardiff level from the spot and Stoke could have gone on to win the game via late chances by Peter Odemwingie, Jon Walters and Oussama Assaidi, with Assaidi's the pick of the misses where a cool finish was all that was required after all the hard work had been done.

Danny Rose an unlikely goalscorer, but a likely villain of the game

Andre Marriner followed up Howard Webb's performance by playing the role of a pantomime villain against Tottenham, both to the Stoke fans and in the eyes of the Stoke manager Mark Hughes. After missing a clear elbow by Emmanuel Adebayor on Ryan Shawcross, Marriner forced a decision upon himself just after half time. Having already booked Ryan Shawcross for a foul in the first half, a clear foul that could not be denied, he had the choice of booking Shawcross for a second foul in the second half or warning the Stoke captain. He chose the former, forcing Ryan Shawcross to lose his ever-present status this season in the Premier League. This angered Stoke supporters, but I question the extent of their anger. Yes, Marriner could have called it a foul and left it at that, but if you isolate the challenge from any other challenge in the game, it would have been a yellow card offence as Shawcross's foot was high. Whilst it is disappointing that Stoke's captain left the pitch, he caused the referee to ask the question "Is it a second yellow card?" which Marriner ultimately decided it was. This was the filling of a spicy sandwich of a game that was filled with incidents involving one Danny Rose. The left back, a former figure of dislike amongst the Potters for his theatrics a year previous when on loan at Sunderland was the only player on the scoresheet after heading in a cross from Adebayor after the Togo forward got away from Glenn Whelan too easily. After being the recipient of Shawcross's late challenge that resulted in his second yellow card, Geoff Cameron sought retribution for his team mate, clattering Danny Rose when challenging for the ball on the touchline. Rose, taking offence at this ran ten yards or more to push Cameron and was substituted moments later to a symphony of boos from the home supporters. In past matches, officials have sent players off for initiating headbutts or acts of extreme aggression, yet incidents such as those from Saturday usually result in yellow cards for both players involved for being involved in an act that brings the game into disrepute. In this case, it could, and perhaps should, be argued that Cameron was lucky not to receive a yellow card for goading Rose after the initial push. Again, I revert back to the title of this article, referring to not seeing the forest through the trees. In the past two games, Stoke supporters have been that distracted by refereeing decisions that they have not placed any blame on players for not taking chances. A number of supporters have claimed that the sending off of Shawcross galvanised the players, with the team performing admirably in his absence. Yet the fact remains that Stoke took no points from the game. Whilst I encourage supporters to remain positive, enjoy the plaudits the team has received for the football played, I equally say do not let standards slip when it comes to searching for the reasons behind a poor result. In the past two games, Oussama Assaidi and Marko Arnautovic, two of Stoke's stars this season in attack, could have gained the team an extra four points than the table currently possesses. This is no criticism of the individuals mentioned, merely a point that whilst performances have been good, refereeing decisions do not shape a game as long as a team do not let them. Stoke were the better team after Shawcross's red card, and for the performance to have been perfect, Stoke would have turned the performance into a result.

Felix's Fulham:

Dimitar Berbatov, recently of Fulham, challenged by Erik Pieters

Felix Magath has been an odd entry into the catalogue of Premier League managers this season. At times he has looked more than capable of keeping Fulham in the Premier League, such as when they gained back-to-back victories over Aston Villa and Norwich, but then back-to-back losses against Tottenham and Hull raise questions again. Magath has some pedigree as a manager, being compared to Tony Pulis as being a manager who has never been relegated. What I would expect from him, being bequeathed with a tag such as that, is he is capable of bringing the best out of a group of players he did not sign. Whereas Tony Pulis at Crystal Palace has formed a settled back four of Mariappa, Dann, Delaney and Ward, with two holding midfielders in Jedinak and Ledley, Fulham have set up in a similar shape, but with less stability. Whilst Riether, Hangeland, Amorebieta and Riise have started a number of games recently, with Sidwell and Diarra in front of them, as a unit Fulham have looked less secure. As a midfielder, Steve Sidwell would not instill me with confidence that he would protect the back four, whilst Mohammed Diarra has only just returned to club after being without a club since leaving the previous summer. Perhaps Magath realised that Fulham's team needed beefing up by switching to a 5-2-2-1 system against Hull at the weekend, with Riether and Riise allowed to act as wing-backs, and Scott Parker coming into the midfield to allow Steve Sidwell to support Lewis Holtby and Hugo Rodallega in attack. The front three did not appear to have much effect in the first half as Sidwell was replaced by Darren Bent and Holtby was replaced by Ashkan Dejagah who went on to score Fulham's opening goal. Adding in the half-time substitution of Kieran Richardson for John Arne Riise and Fulham had a problem of their own making when Hull scored in the 75th minute to make the score 2-1: how do you change a team with no substitutions left? With so many forward thinking players on the pitch at this point, it was too easy for Hull to exert some dominance at the end of the game and the Hull strike partnership of Jelavic and Long exploited Fulham's nerves. Assuming Fulham attempt to play a similar shape against Stoke, can the Potters exploit Fulham's inability to keep a clean sheet?

Hugo Rodallega is a past nemesis of Stoke City in his Wigan days

The key will be in the finishing, as simple as that sounds. As previously stated, Stoke have had plenty of chances in the past two games to get at least four more points on the table, yet an inability to convert good chances meant that only one point went onto the table. Peter Odemwingie, dare it be said, could be one of the most lethal finishers the Britannia Stadium has seen in the Premier League era, but he could do with finishing the season with a flourish. Whilst the same tag cannot be applied to Marko Arnautovic on the other wing, the Austrian is mercurial, occupying the thoughts of the opposition full-back for a full 90 minutes. Again though, Arnautovic could do with improving his finishing statistics for the season. Despite having three goals for the club, for a player that is held in such a high stature at the moment, he needs to finish the season with a higher output into results. Unless Peter Crouch is dropped for the final two games of the season, Odemwingie and Arnautovic need to step up to the plate in wider areas to cover for the target man's lack of pace in attack. If they both hold their positions as high as possible in attack, staying on the shoulder of their full-backs, they should get breaking opportunities with the pace both of them possess.

Quick Snippets:

1) Moyes Out - Whilst it was no surprise to see David Moyes lose his job last week, it was a surprise how he lost his job, to a point. You expect the media to hear of the news before any managerial departure nowadays, but what is unexpected is the manner of Manchester United declining to comment on his departure hours before the official announcement. As a football supporter who backs giving a manager a long time at a club, I feel sorry for Manchester United and David Moyes that it did not work out, but Moyes did not have a vision for the future, and ultimately that cost him his job.

2) Giggs In - Just as I back clubs at the highest level to stick by their managers for long periods of time, I also like to see clubs to try to employ British managers/coaches. This is not a dislike of foreign coaches, but more of wanting a stand or a public endorsement of what makes British football British. Whilst Ryan Giggs is the second favourite, behind Louis van Gaal to take the United job, I would want him to have the job over a foreign coach. Equally I would like another British coach to be given a fairer chance in the bookmakers odds, though the best British managers at present belong to Liverpool, Tottenham and Newcastle, according to the league table at least! After that, it is between our own Mark Hughes and the unfashionable but effective Tony Pulis. I may like to see a British manager get a chance at United, but at present it seems that the foreign influence is to continue into the Premier League.

3) PFA Player of the Year - There was no doubt across the country that Luis Suarez would and should have won the PFA Player of the Year award. It is a massive turnaround for a player that twelve months ago was having elevenses via Branislav Ivanovic's arm, but in the interests of leaving the past in the past (for Ryan Shawcross and Aaron Ramsey) it is good to see such a controversial player's esteem grow in the eyes of his peers. I feel Daniel Sturridge was unlucky not to win the Young Player of the Year award, but as stated weeks before, he is also lucky to be eligible to receive the award. His goals, alongside Suarez, have given Liverpool their best shot at a title in 24 years, and personally I felt that edged him ahead of Eden Hazard this season. However, Hazard's goals have kept Chelsea within some contention of winning the title and his winning of the award is far from unjustified.

4) RIP Tito Vilanova - There have been a few deaths in the past week relating to the world of football. Sandy Jardine, whilst not a name I knew myself, was someone to a lot of people. The same can be said of Vujadin Boškov who died aged 80 this week, a manager who had won a domestic double with Real Madrid in the 1979/80 season. Again, a name I would not have known, but to others, he was someone. When I say Rest in Peace to Tito Vilanova, it is because his death is tragic being so young, but like Boškov and Jardine, they were all men who contributed to the sport we love. Therefore, I say: Rest in Peace Tito, Vujadin and Sandy with all equal respect for your contributions to the sport in life and now in death.

Vengeance is Swift

Was it a cross or a shot? He doesn't care after his first goal in six years!

Back in October, I wrote about Stoke City's relationship with Lady Luck being fractious, with many decisions in games around the period in question seeming to go against the Potters. Skip forward six months and Stoke seem to have kissed and made up with the fictitious lady of fortune as Erik Pieters was the man who scored a goal that even he admitted afterwards he did not intend to find the back of the net. Given the tight scoreline in the game, had Lady Luck not been on Stoke's side, the game could easily have tilted in the favour of the visitors from the North East. Newcastle had shown their ability to take advantage of bad luck back in December when coming back from a goal down to win 5-1 over the Potters, after two unfortunate red cards for Glenn Whelan and Marc Wilson. The fortunes of both sides have tilted since that day with Newcastle now calling for their manager's head whilst some Stoke supporters have tentatively suggested that Mark Hughes should be considered as one of the nominees for Manager of the Year.

Tim Krul thwarted Peter Crouch on numerous occasions to keep
the scoreline respectable for Newcastle

If there is one reason why Mark Hughes has deserved the credit he has received recently, it is down to getting results, whether impressive ones such as the victories over West Ham and Aston Villa, or the scrappier ones against Hull City and Newcastle. What was clear from this game is that Newcastle are fighting for their manager, even if he has done more fighting of late, yet the fight they are showing, fortunately for Stoke, is not being converted into results. Geoff Cameron was lucky not to concede a penalty in the first half whilst Vernon Anita had a great opportunity late in the second half, both of which could have converted a loss into a win. On the other hand, Stoke had multiple opportunities through Peter Crouch to take the lead and had any of those gone in, some simpler chances than others, the floodgates would likely have opened for Newcastle based on their recent results. Nevertheless, it is still three important points for the Potters in their chase to overtake Newcastle, and potentially Southampton in the closing month of the season.

Crime and Punishment - Cardiff vs Stoke City:

Cardiff are one of four teams to prevent Stoke scoring at home this season

Cardiff's first crime was to embarrass Stoke on their home turf without taking away three points. Back in December, mere days after Stoke had been humiliated by Everton 4-0, Cardiff came to the Britannia Stadium and became the last team to date to prevent Stoke from scoring at home. Stoke, on a poor run of form at the time, were made to look amateurish and credit has to go to Cardiff and then-manager Malky Mackay for preventing Stoke from taking their frustrations from Goodison Park out on them. Their second crime was to sack the aforementioned Mackay for the likeable but inexperienced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Their third crime, purchasing Stoke wantaway Kenwyne Jones, has been paid for with interest in the deal to bring Peter Odemwingie to the Britannia in exchange for the Trinidadian. There is still an outstanding debt this club owe not just to Stoke City but to the Premier League, and hopefully on Saturday the debt is repaid in favour of the Potters.

With four games left, would now be the time to rest Crouch?

Perhaps for a striker of Peter Crouch's quality this will appear harsh, but after his misses against Newcastle last week, there is an argument to rest him for one or two of the final four games of the season. Whilst John Guidetti's loan at the club will likely finish without a goal, Peter Odemwingie has been told he will be offered an opportunity in the central striking role during his time at the club. Against his former club, would it be unfair to suggest that Odemwingie would have a point to prove to the club that poorly utilised him? Whilst he is likely to start regardless of whether Crouch starts or not, positioning him up front alongside Crouch or instead of him would offer him more chances to not just get goals but hopefully finish the season on a high with the club. As he has shown in his short time at the club, he is also a lethal finisher, whose first clear fluff at a shot also came in the game against Newcastle. In a game where Cardiff will be fighting to survive their first season in the Premier League, perhaps having our most lethal forward at the top of our forward line could be the decisive move that brings the three points back to the Potteries?

Away from the Brit - Title Race:

The game that tipped the title in Liverpool's favour

When asked recently what he thought of Liverpool or Manchester City winning the title, pundit and ex Manchester United player Gary Neville described either winning the title the equivalent of choosing a man to sleep with your wife. As far as Stoke supporters are concerned, a consensus would say that we don't care who she sleeps with as long as it isn't Neville and Manchester United. Liverpool's victory at the weekend effectively decided where the title would be heading, IF Chelsea fail to win at Anfield in the final match-days. Chelsea could still win the title as Manchester City, hungover perhaps from their loss at Anfield surrendered points to nearly relegated Sunderland in midweek, meaning they'd need Chelsea to win at Anfield just to keep their lingering hopes alive. Personally, if I had a choice between Liverpool and Chelsea to win the title, I'd edge towards Chelsea for the simple reason that if Liverpool do win the title, they could dominate for years to come again, and for Stoke, the longer a trophy drought goes on, the better it is for those who will play them regularly. However, if the question is who do I think will win the title, Liverpool is the only answer, and you cannot argue it would be undeserved as they have played the better football this season, being the only team in the top four to have won at the Britannia Stadium (with some debatable decisions going their way it must be said!), whilst their goalscoring feats in Sturridge and Suarez has been commendable. For the neutral, I'm looking forward to some highly entertaining games to close the season as all teams involved cannot afford to drop any more points.

Quick Snippet - Cheating Palace?

Crystal Palace will be investigated for alleged use of leaked information
regarding the Cardiff City team sheet a fortnight ago.

It might just be me, but what is the harm for a manager if their team sheet is leaked the day before a match? This is a honest question, and even if a Sunday League manager is reading this, I'd encourage you to reply to this question as I cannot see why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Cardiff City are making a formal complaint about Crystal Palace allegedly finding out their team sheet in advance of their game on 5th April 2014. If the reports about the leak are correct, Tony Pulis put pressure on Iain Moody to find out the team ahead of Palace's game with Cardiff, something that by the Friday of the week Moody had found out. My question is: what could Tony Pulis have done or told his players within such a short space of time between seeing the team sheet and the matchday to guarantee his side's chances of victory to the point that Cardiff's claims of cheating are validated? Some managers such as Jose Mourinho have voluntarily released their team sheet ahead of a game to play mind games with opposition managers, so what is the issue, beyond the dirty tactics these allegations portray Pulis and Palace as using?

A Bridge Too Far

Willian the playmaker in chief against Stoke at the weekend

Last Saturday, Stoke City were sent onto the football field with a gameplan: to nullify Chelsea and attack them on the counter-attack. By Saturday night, a combination of Chelsea attacking like a wounded animal and Stoke failing to inspire anyone with their performance led to a comprehensive 3-0 defeat. Whilst Stoke did not turn up, defending and attacking without conviction, Chelsea were wasteful, exploiting so many gaps through the centre of the field and not taking advantage when through on goal. Willian was a key architect, though his co-conspirator Mohamed Salah played his part in two of the evening's three goals. The first goal came from a cutback cross in the box that no Stoke player could get a foot to, yet Salah could lash the ball into the box with a hint of venom: in other words an unstoppable shot.

Cameron out of sorts, injured, and replaced by Andy Wilkinson
at half time in the defeat to Chelsea

Stoke made two changes at half time, bringing Andy Wilkinson and Charlie Adam on for Geoff Cameron and Wilson Palacios. This suggests that Hughes knew that Plan A wasn't working (possibly what I suggested last week unfortunately) so he tried to shake up the midfield whilst steadying the defence after Cameron was off form and possibly injured. The substitutions in fact did have an impact, but only negative ones as Andy Wilkinson, not long after his introduction, conceded a penalty that even the staunchest of Stoke supporters could not deny was a stonewall decision. Asmir Begovic did better than he has ever done at a penalty before and made an initial save, but could do nothing about the rebound that put Chelsea 2-0 up and put Frank Lampard on 250 Premier League goals. Chelsea's final goal was a defender and goalkeeper's nightmare, as it was a situation where they would say collectively "if you can score that goal, you've earned it," and Willian obliged by curling the ball from distance around Ryan Shawcross and past Asmir Begovic into the top corner. A bad day at the office for Stoke City in general with set pieces providing minimal hope for the travelling supporters that a goal at Stamford Bridge could come, but by the end it proved to be too much to ask.

Revenge is Black and White:

Yohan Cabaye: a big cog missing from Newcastle's machine

For the first half hour on Boxing Day, Newcastle United did not show up for their match against Stoke City, so when Oussama Assaidi took the lead in the game, it would be unfair to say it was an undeserved lead. Two questionable refereeing decisions moments later and Stoke City were down to nine men and any potential momentum they were trying to gather for future matches was depleted with a demoralising 5-1 loss. Yohan Cabaye was influential that day in keeping the Newcastle midfield ticking over, not sublimely, but efficiently to make sure that the two-man advantage they had counted. Since then they have won 3 out of their last 16 matches, and are on a current run of form that consists of four losses out of five, 12 goals conceded and only one scored in their tight victory over Crystal Palace. Consider as well that before Stoke's visit to Chelsea they had scored 8 goals in three games, conceding only two, this should be a game with some goals in it.

Erik Pieters battling with Hatem Ben Arfa

It will be a positive inclusion if Stephen Ireland is able to overcome the illness that kept him out of last week's defeat to Chelsea, with his ability to keep the ball moving forward a useful trait to have in the team, something that admittedly was missed last week. The only other change I'd be tempted to make is at right back, depending on how Geoff Cameron has recovered from his injury against Chelsea. With a World Cup on the horizon, it would not be unfair to give arguably Stoke's player of the season (at the very least one of the contenders) a break before travelling to Brazil and give Andy Wilkinson some games to brush off the rustiness that he showed during last week's defeat. Whilst Wilkinson is uncompromising in the tackle, his poor decision-making that lead to Chelsea's penalty can come from a lack of game time so I would be inclined to give him a second chance if Geoff is showing signs of not being 100% fit. As for Newcastle, they have set up in recent weeks in an unorthodox manner, similar to West Ham, by placing a strong central midfielder, Moussa Sissoko, in the wider areas of the pitch. Whilst he may have the license to drift inside whenever they attack, it is unusual to see as wingers are usual fast and tricky rather than tall and muscular. Erik Pieters should be able to handle any attacking threats that come from his wing, whilst on the left it is a choice between Yoann Gouffran or the riskier Hatem Ben Arfa who throughout the season has been a better impact player than starter. Newcastle's defence looks particularly frail as well, with Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa and Davide Santon both trying their luck at right back in the absence of Mathieu Debuchy. Mike Williamson and Fabricio Coloccini are capable and experienced defenders, yet Stoke will be looking to exploit any lack of pace from either of them through Peter Odemwingie and Marko Arnautovic, hopefully by running onto any flicks (aerial or on the floor) by Peter Crouch.

Champions League Semi-Final Draw Thoughts:

4-2 on aggregate but Bayern fought hard for to progress

For the neutral, the semi-final draw is fairly mixed, with an entertaining match on offer with Bayern Munich due to take on Real Madrid, whilst the last survivor of the English contingent - Chelsea - will face off against Athletico Madrid which is already being feared as a drab encounter. Both Athletico and Chelsea have attacking players in their respective squads, yet both focus on the defensive aspect to their games before focussing on the attack. This has been shown in the pre-match punditry focussing on Thibaut Courtois being able to play against his parent club and potentially knock them out en route to the final. The danger of using the loan system, as Chelsea have done, is that they could have a star in their hands, such as Courtois, but not be able to use them as they have bought him too soon. If Courtois makes an appearance against Chelsea before appearing for them, it shows that something has to be done internationally about clubs loaning players out consistently year after year without any chance of making a first team appearance. In the other tie though, it is the match of the would-be champions, both prior to the match considered the favourites to win the cup. Despite a 2-0 loss at Borussia Dortmund this week, I would still tip Real Madrid to be too strong for the encounter, as long as Cristiano Ronaldo is fit again after a recent injury. His absence from the pitch reflected on the pitch with Real struggling to take a grip on the game once they had an early penalty saved by Roman Weidenfeller. If Ronaldo is fit, I would back them for the victory across the two legs as Bayern Munich did little to impress me, tactically or in their performance. For Wednesday's second leg against Manchester United, they set up with the intention to counter United's plan to counter attack by deploying so many men forward in their team's shape. At one point the formation was close to 2-3-4-1, with Philipp Lahm and David Alaba acting as attacking midfielders behind Toni Kroos and Mario Gotze. Whilst it was inventive and did prevent Manchester United from consistently counter-attacking, they still conceded the first goal using this tactic. Their comeback was more to do with United being unable to settle down after taking the lead than Bayern suddenly waking up, as Arjen Robben argued. Pep Guardiola, for all his success at Barcelona seems determined to find a new way of winning football matches, with it being his Barcelona team to first use the false number 9 position that Messi now occupies. Whilst this was a brave attempt to break down an opposition that parked the bus (or as one onlooker said 'parking the plane'), Guardiola will have to use a more tried and tested shape against Real if he does not want his team to be punished.

Quick Snippet - Player of the Season:

PFA Young Player of the Year and the Player of the Year?

Whatever you think of Luis Suarez as a person, it cannot be denied that he has been the player of this season. In close second I would have to say it is Yaya Toure, just for the larger contribution to results he has made this season than in any past season, while Eden Hazard would receive the bronze medal for his improved goal tally which has helped to keep Chelsea in the title challenge. Suarez though has surpassed most expectations from outside of Merseyside prior to this season, forming an effective partnership with Daniel Sturridge, who in my opinion deserves the Young Player of the Year award. Whether he should be up for that award considering his age is another question, but due to the pair forming a strong and effective partnership this season that could well earn Liverpool their first title in two decades, it would be a pair of awards well earnt.

And They Laugh No More

40 points gained after Saturday's victory - 18 points left to play for

Although the victory against Aston Villa certainly didn't leave Stoke City supporters with a nervous twitch at the bottom half of the table, hitting the 40 point mark with a victory against Hull City certainly was the signal for everyone connected to the club to have a collected sigh of relief. Whilst relegation had not been a concern for a quite a few weeks, hitting 40 points is not only a sign of safety, but it holds the promise of looking up for the remainder of the season rather than down. Heading into the game against Hull City, a victory would cement Stoke's position inside the top 10, whilst also giving the club a six point buffer against the bottom half of the table. A win would also force Newcastle United and/or Southampton to look over their shoulders in the closing weeks of the season. These motivations did not appear apparent during a tepid first half that was uninspiring for the home side, where Hull, despite not showing any dominance, had the clearer opportunities to take the lead. Games such as this, where the balance of the match is easily tipped, are usually decided by a mistake or a moment of magic, and arguably there was a bit of both of these elements as Stoke took the lead. Ahmed El Ahmady trying to play his way out of trouble sent a cross-field pass straight into the path of Peter Odemwingie who, running at the Hull defence, cut inside onto his left foot and scored a goal for Stoke from outside the penalty area, again, a type of goal that has been a rarity in recent years for the Potters.

Peter Odemwingie, the clinical finisher Stoke have been wanting

Whilst Stoke controlled the game once they had taken the lead, the only chance of note fell to John Guidetti after good work again by Peter Odemwingie, who after jinking his way into the Hull penalty area, delayed passing the ball of to Guidetti, overhitting his cross when he eventually released the ball. This sort of bad luck seems to have summed up John Guidetti's loan stay at Stoke and you would hope that in the last six games he would be given a few more minutes on the pitch to try and justify why he was brought to the club. Arguably his most important action as a Stoke player has been winning the penalty to gain a point at Norwich, yet if he had been given more time on the pitch, perhaps due to an injury or drop in form with Peter Crouch, he may have shown more. His loan has been a disappointment for Guidetti undoubtedly, but for Stoke and Mark Hughes, it has arguably brought the best out of Crouch, something that cannot be described as a bad thing.

Away from the Brit - Baying for Blood:

On the deck, but not knocked out, yet

It is true that there is never a good time to play a top team, but coming into the game off back-to-back defeats to Crystal Palace and Paris St Germain will not have created a cool and calm atmosphere at Stamford Bridge. For Stoke supporters, they will be wondering which Chelsea will turn up to play in the late Saturday night kick-off against their team: the one that beat Manchester City convincingly only several weeks ago, or the one that has capitulated under the pressure of a title challenge? Jose Mourinho has blamed his forward line in the last two games for not creating enough chances to compensate for defensive lapses, yet you wonder how much he can blame his forwards. Here I do not refer to Torres, Ba and Eto'o who have only 15 league goals between them (compared to former Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge who currently has 20 goals on his own), but rather look at those who sit behind the main striker. Eden Hazard had been tipped only weeks ago to be up for the player of the year award, yet could he really justify that tag? His last four league goals have been from the penalty spot, whilst his last from open play was against Newcastle in February. Oscar, whilst scoring two against Arsenal two weeks ago, is far from a regular scorer, where he only scored 12 times in 64 appearances for Chelsea last season, though he has improved this season to have only scored one less in 21 fewer appearances. Whilst this is an improvement for the Brazilian, you would expect a number 10 to score more goals considering the area of the pitch they play in.The final man on the attacking trio tends to be rotated between Andre Schurrle and Willian, who are on 7 and 2 goals respectively. Willian tends to be picked for his work-rate over Schurrle who has the higher goal count, yet this may be the reason why Mourinho played the two over Torres or Ba against PSG on Wednesday night. After seeing Bayern Munich play without a recognised striker for the first 60 minutes of their game against Manchester United, it is a common tactic in European football now, so allowing Schurrle and Hazard to rotate up front was a feasible option. Despite going a goal down, the tactic appeared to be working when Chelsea earned a penalty and got back into the game, being unlucky not to take the lead when Hazard's first time volley only hit the post. Once PSG went a goal up in the second half, Mourinho felt compelled to revert back to the system he prefers with a number 9 at the tip of the team. This, combined with Zlatan Ibrahimovic's substitution which brought Lucas Moura into play created a static shape to Chelsea's play, one that proved costly come Javier Pastore and PSG's third goal of the night. If Mourinho had stuck to his first game plan, Chelsea could have gotten back into the game, yet by making the change, Chelsea lacked threat in the final third, unable to create or capitalise on opportunities.

Nemanja Matic challenging Stephen Ireland

It would be a surprise to see Chelsea go into this game without a recognised striker up front, so it appears to be a toss-up between whether Demba Ba or Fernando Torres starts against Stoke. If you are a betting person, you'd suspect that Ba would get the nod ahead of Torres as long as Eto'o remains out injured, with Ba offering a more physical presence up front compared to Torres. This should be comfortable enough for Ryan Shawcross and Marc Wilson to cope with, yet they have conceded goals to Ba in the past so there should be no complacency that this is a striker that always seems to up his game when Stoke are lining up. For the purposes of this game, it would not be a surprise to see Stoke revert to the line-up that won away at Aston Villa, with Wilson Palacios returning to the side to solid up the midfield, offering a two man shield with Glenn Whelan for the defence. Considering Oscar's plaudits are for his ability to find space and perform the playmaking capacity of an advanced midfielder, stacking up players in the middle of the field would narrow the play and force Eden Hazard and one of Willian or Andre Schurrle to stay wide to try and provide some width for their team. If they come inside, then Branislav Ivanovic and Cesar Azpilicueta will be expected to push forward to provide this width, thus requiring both of Stoke's wingers to work as hard defensively as they will going forward. If Chelsea's back-line looks susceptible, it is through pace, which is where Peter Odemwingie should come to the fore. If he can lurk around John Terry, then he should have the beating of the Chelsea captain. If Odemwingie fails to get into the game this way though, Marko Arnautovic will have to win his battle with Ivanovic on the other side of the pitch as it will be tricky for Stoke's midfield to push forward in support in a game like this. Avoiding a loss and maintaining current form should be the aim of Stoke's players, as results may not be the priority any more (as far as survival goes at least), but to become the Pride of the Midlands and to have more points than in any previous Premier League season, a loss would be detrimental to achieving these targets.

Champions League Thoughts:

Gareth Bale vs Borussia Dortmund scoring the opening goal

If there was one surprise scoreline in the Champions League, I'd look away from Old Trafford and venture towards the Bernabeu Stadium. Whilst the result seemed fairly certain prior to kick-off, with Dortmund missing key players and Madrid at full strength, this game showed Europe why Real should be considered the team to beat this year, if anyone had a doubt. For all the plaudits Bayern have received this season, they could not beat an under-achieving Manchester United away from home, whilst Barcelona only managed to salvage a draw in their away trip to Atletico Madrid. I expected a similar result here with Dortmund scoring, but Madrid going on to win, mainly due to Madrid's inconsistent defence. From Dortmund I expected a solid defence but a plethora of goal-scoring chances, some of which wouldn't be taken. So for me, this was the surprise result as I did not expect it to be so easy, or at least appear that way for Real Madrid.

A header that Mama Sidibe would be proud of

At Old Trafford I believed that Manchester United would not concede, despite their recent results against the top teams in the Premier League. Whilst they did concede, they were more solid, sacrificing possession on the ball for hard work off the ball. This was a David Moyes team, set up to destroy rather than create, and despite conceding an away goal, his tactics worked for the most part as Bayern rarely threatened. Putting this result into perspective, there is no surprise to still see Bayern as favourites for the tie as they have the away goal, have won their domestic league and are the better team. Being destructive will not be enough to get a goal at the Allianz Arena, but it gives Manchester United fans hope that perhaps this season has merely been a blimp, and that after months of attempted training sessions, David Moyes has finally gotten his players to play the way he wants.

Quick Snippet - Oh Lord Abdoulaye!

Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye: A warrior of a defender

If there was one player I wish had been selected last weekend when Hull travelled to the Britannia Stadium, it was Abdoulaye Faye. Whilst in the twilight of his career now, he was the rock of our defence as Ryan Shawcross just began to blossom. I may be one of a few to say it, but if Abdoulaye was offered the opportunity to return to Stoke as a player, even now, I would still take him as even if he only played one game a season, he'd have the same impact as Ledley King did for Tottenham, adding a touch of class to whatever game he appeared in. As it appears this will not be the case, I believe the mural adorning the Britannia Stadium is a fitting tribute to a player who not only kept Stoke City up during his first two seasons at the club, but typified what we were, and to an extent still are: fighters.

What Crisis?

Peters Crouch and Odemwingie after the latter's equaliser

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

Steven Nzonzi doubling his goal tally for the previous season

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

Back to the Brit - Battle of the England Unfortunates:

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

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

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

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

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

Away from the Brit - UEFA Nations League:

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

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

England U21s now, potential stars of the future?

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

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

Wrong One - Moyes Out: the banner proclaims

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

Back to Black

Peter Odemwingie bringing smiles to the Britannia Stadium

It has been heralded this week as the start of the 'new' Stoke City. With two out of three of the Potter's goals at the weekend coming from flowing passing moves, supporters are finally seeing the dawn of a new era in the history of Stoke City Football Club. What caught the eye of the neutral was that Stoke had slices of luck during the game, not unearned luck, but slices that have perhaps not been evident enough at other times in the season so far. To go a goal behind against West Ham United is always a challenge as Sam Allardyce is a similar manager to Tony Pulis in that they both focus on defensive play first, then attack as the game demands it. With the score at 0-1, whilst there were no nervous noises from supporters, they could have been forgiven for expecting a repeat of the results against Southampton and Swansea at home this season, gaining a draw in a situation when a win would be better. Consider the two points dropped in both of those fixtures, and the gap to 9th position in the league now would only be 5 points compared to the 9 at present, whilst Southampton in 8th would not be unreachable being only 6 points ahead. It is a sign that this season has been good, but it could have been so much more. West Ham's goal at the weekend epitomised this, with Asmir Begovic coming to claim a ball into the box when all he had to do was stay on his line and wait for the header to come his way. His jump for the ball sums up Stoke's season: so close, yet so far.

Marko Arnautovic celebrates his first Britannia Stadium goal

Whilst Stoke's chances of reaching 9th or 8th in the league table are slim to none, 10th is still a realistic target and can be achieved with wins like the one against West Ham. The key to the comeback was simple: attacking. Whilst West Ham had a penalty claim from a debatable Marc Muniesa handball, they posed little threat after their goal, with Stoke creating the better opportunities in the game. Stephen Ireland had spurned two good chances of equalising for the Potters when from a corner, Peter Odemwingie grabbed a goal, without realising it after standing on the goal-line as Peter Crouch shot goalwards not once, but twice, burying the second effort off Odemwingie's shoulder. If players have any say in claiming a goal, then Odemwingie would hopefully allow Crouch to take the goal because it was all of his working, though if it remains in Odemwingie's name then it is no harm to have a goalscorer scoring a brace in a game. Stoke took the lead just after half time and again this is where luck shone on the Potters, with a nice passing move leading the ball to Marko Arnuatovic's feet just outside the centre of the penalty box, who cut inside his marker, the ball rebounding off a West Ham player back into his path and a sliced finish drifted past Adrian and into the net. You suspect if the chance had fallen to Jon Walters, the chance would have been thwarted, but Marko had the guile to push forward with the ball, try his luck, and it worked. A lesson to all the Stoke players: buy a ticket for the raffle as you never know if you might win! The third goal sums this ideology up as well, with three Stoke players countering on the West Ham defence, Stephen Ireland on the ball, sends a ball wide to Peter Odemwingie, wider than he would have preferred it you suspect, but the finish into the far corner of the net was sublime. No other forward at the club would have taken that chance and finished it as Odemwingie did so he deserves all of the plaudits he receives for the finish. The ball into his feet though was poor, yet he made a shot work with it though. He took a chance on the first time shot rather than risking a touch to cut inside and shoot. He gambled and it paid off. This was a day for the Potters to gain a bit of good fortune, now they need to grasp this luck and push on with it.

Away from the Brit - Heroes amongst Villains:

Peter Crouch on the ball against Aston Villa

Aston Villa are the Jekyll and Hyde team of the season. One week you have the Hyde side, capable of losing by two goals to West Ham and looking incapable of victory at Villa Park, then a few results on and a Dr Jekyll of a performance beats Chelsea with some ease. Which is the true Aston Villa, and most importantly which one will turn up to play Stoke on Sunday afternoon? Their front-line has the ability to frighten most defences in the league, when Christian Benteke is on form then there is very little you can do to stop him, whilst Andreas Weimann, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Marc Albrighton and even Grant Holt can cause a team damage if called upon. Where the team fails at times is supplying these forwards with opportunities. Ashley Westwood and Fabian Delph are classed as the hub of Villa's midfield, but I'm not sure I'd take either of them over a Charlie Adam or even their recent midfielder, Stephen Ireland, when creativity is an issue. Both of those players can create something for themselves or for others whilst Delph and Westwood appear more destructive than creative players by nature, this comment taking into account Delph's goal against Chelsea via a Cruyff flick. Their defence is, in my opinion at least, still one of the weakest in the division, just outside of the bottom teams, this is also taking into account that they have conceded 6 less goals than Stoke have this season. Leandro Bacuna, Matt Lowton, Nathan Baker, Ciaran Clark, Ron Vlaar, Joe Bennett, Ryan Bertrand, whilst all big parts of the current Villa team, they do not exude class. An example of this will come next weekend, where Curtis Davies will arrive at the Britannia Stadium, amid recent shouts for a late call-up for the England World Cup squad. Whilst he will not get the call-up, his supporters (not necessarily just Hull supporters) will be calling for his inclusion. The same can be said of Stoke and Ryan Shawcross as we push for him to be given his second chance in the England squad after his 20 minute nightmare against Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Villa on the other hand have four English players in their crop of defenders, yet none of them are seen as part of England's long term, or short-term future, with none of them even involved in recent U21 fixtures. Baker and Bennett received 3 U21 caps before 2013, Bertrand has played twice for the England senior team but both were whilst he was in favour at Chelsea, whilst Lowton has fallen out of favour with Paul Lambert and as a result has lost form from last season when he was tipped to emulate Kyle Walker and break into the senior England squad. All of these players have been tipped, but none of them have pushed on. Now is the time to face this group of players, whilst they are underachieving to what is their supposed potential.

Christian Benteke and Ashley Westwood, a bad day at the office?

Whilst it may be a good time for Stoke to go to Villa and try and attack their young backline, the one problem Stoke have is a lack of bodies. To add to the suspensions of Jon Walters and Charlie Adam is an ineligibility of Stephen Ireland after performing admirably last week against West Ham. You have to question the logic of not fighting against the clause preventing Stoke's new Irishman from playing against Villa that was in the deal to bring Ireland to the Britannia permanently in January. Nevertheless, with Ireland eligible, I would push the point from last week that Brek Shea should be given an opportunity on the bench, at least. Last week's bench against West Ham consisted of three defenders, one central midfielder, one winger and a forward. The balance should at the very least consist of only two defenders, and Shea was overlooked in favour of Ryan Shotton. If Stoke are a goal down and need to change things, what options did we have after Guidetti and Etherington? Wilson Palacios? Putting Shotton into an advanced position as Tony Pulis did? Whilst Brek Shea has not proven himself greatly at Barnsley, it is unusual to say the least not to include him in a squad that is struggling for depth, so if Oussama Assaidi is declared unfit for tomorrow's fixture tomorrow, I would call for his inclusion, at least on the bench. From the start, if Stoke do not have Oussama Assaidi available after his recent injury problems, I would start Matthew Etherington in favour of John Guidetti. Not only does Etherington have better defensive capabilities but it would also allow an attack-minded substitution, a Plan B, if things do not go right from the start of the game. By starting Guidetti, you start with Plan B, and have few alternatives if things go badly as the game progresses. This would also allow Marko Arnautovic to play with a free role, having the option to link up with all three attacking players (Etherington, Crouch and Odemwingie), rather than being linked up with. If this quadrangle of players can get at Villa's back four, Glenn Whelan and Steven Nzonzi are well versed in taking control of a game in these situations, making simple passes and keeping Stoke's attacks flowing short and smoothly, and as such a positive result would not be out of the question.

Beyond the Brit - Champions League (Part 2):

Bruised and battered, and they haven't played Bayern Munich yet!

Out of the two Champions League ties this week, the Manchester United tie caught my eye more, not for the football glamour by any means (Drogba's return to Stamford Bridge winning out easily there!) but due to the 'importance' of winning this match to the United players. It was a phrase that kept recurring throughout the match coverage, 'they must win this', 'the pressure will be on if they don't', and so on. Shouldn't the pressure have been on in September when they lost their first fixture of the season against Liverpool? Shouldn't it have been on when they lost the Manchester Derby, the home fixtures against 'lesser' teams, losing to Stoke away after spending £30m+ on Juan Mata, and most recently after losing convincingly to Liverpool at Old Trafford. Yes this was a high pressure game, but the amount of hype surrounding it, you'd've thought that if United had won the game, they had qualified for next year's competition! Instead they now face the current Champions of Germany, Europe and the Club World Cup: Bayern Munich. After watching Bayern score at the Emirates recently, then defend a lead effectively at the Allianz Arena, I do not give much hope to United considering their fluctuating form this season. All that can be said is that stranger things have happened in football than United beating Bayern, but it doesn't happen that often!

Drogba's return to Chelsea did not have a
goalscoring impact for his current club.

Chelsea on the other hand looked convincing winners over a fairly strong Galatasaray side which included well known names such as Felipe Melo, Wesley Sneijder and of course Didier Drogba. It was surprising to see how little effort Drogba put into the game at times, a game where I thought he would be busting a gut to prove that he could still do a job against any team in Europe. Instead he looked laboured, chasing after balls for a moment before stopping in his tracks to watch his runner speed ahead of him. This attitude could be translated to the whole team at times, but considering the strength of their team, plus Roberto Mancini who does not allow slackers into his team, it was surprisingly easy for Chelsea to master this task. A tie against Paris St. Germain should not be overly daunting for Chelsea, with the Parisians still a growing team who are more likely to pull up trees in the years to come rather than at this current moment. With names like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Javier Pastore, Lucas Moura, there is enough talent in their team for this to be a tasty tie. All that needs to be added is bring on April and these mouth-watering fixtures for the neutral!

Quick Snippet - Warrior:

Understated promotion, but will their first Stoke kit follow suit?

The big news commercially for Stoke City this week has been the change of kit sponsor from Adidas to Warrior. During the past four seasons, I have to say I've enjoyed the kits that Adidas have made, but there was an element of laziness with some of their most recent incarnations, with elements in Stoke kits being too notable in opposition kits bearing the Adidas logo. Looking ahead to Warrior though, they have already made a statement this year with Liverpool's kits, their away kits being fiery to say the least. Whilst their promo for the Stoke website was understated, it seems unlikely that Warrior's first Stoke City kit will be just as simple, and to an extent, this can only be good for those who buy a new kit each season. Bring on the Warrior era!