Science in shirt numbers?

Until recently, it was Mysterious Muniesa regarding his role at the club

For me, this is the most exciting part of the transfer window, seeing a new player who has joined your club, showing off the club shirt and displaying the number he will be representing your club with. That's why in preseason, I am dismayed when we see images such as the one when Marc Muniesa was announced as a Stoke player, with no number on the back of the shirt. Is it because the other players had not returned from their holidays? Was it to prevent mistaken shirt sales? Was it just laziness? The latter, I doubt, but a player's number is his identity on the field. When England play in friendly and qualifying matches, the player's position is represented by their shirt number, 1-11. Whilst different at club level, the science in my opinion is the same. Wayne Rooney wears number 10 for club and country, despite there being no traditional number 9 players who play alongside him in the current system for England. So why does Rooney not wear the number 9 shirt which he wore during the early part of his England career? I surmise it is because he sees himself as a number 10, a player who drops deep and dictates play, whilst also being in the box to score the vital goals. Because he sees himself in this position, it is perhaps why England has sometimes suffered as we play without an orthodox striker on the pitch, utilising Danny Welbeck - a recent recipient of number 9 shirts - out wide to accommodate Rooney centrally. This notion sticks with me when a club announces the signing of a new player. When Erik Pieters and Marc Muniesa were allocated the vacant shirt numbers 3 and 5 respectively, it allayed my fears that on Muniesa in particular that he could be used out of position, which I consider to be left back. Whilst capable there, I believe he should only be a deputy for Pieters who, in my opinion, rightfully took number 3, despite having worn number 5 when on international duty with the Netherlands. What I found equally as interesting was the allocation of the number 11 shirt to Brek Shea rather than Matthew Etherington, who has seemingly waited past his time to take on a traditional winger's number. Hopefully Brek will put the number to some use, but on the flip side, it also suggests that the club do not see Matty being at the club for much longer.

Michael Owen scoring his only goal for the club

So which shirt numbers are vacant, at least of relevance? The only real candidates are numbers 2 and 10. After Geoff Cameron abdicated the number 2 shirt, possibly as a way of indicating he does not see himself as a long-term full back option, we now have a shirt ready for a right back to take, when ready. The fact that in their time at the club, neither Andy Wilkinson or Ryan Shotton have not taken the shirt could be a sign that neither are suited for the position long term. Number 10 is the far more interesting number available, with Michael Owen's departure leaving another set of big shoes to fill after the great Ricardo Fuller vacated it only twelve months ago. Owen may not have had many chances last season, and we can speculate as to why that was all day long, but his name alone means that whoever takes that shirt next will have to be a top-notch player who can score the goals that have been missing in the team as of late. I'm surprised Cameron Jerome did not ask to be given the shirt, or perhaps he did and it was refused him, as Jerome has proven himself quite an exciting player, capable of scoring important goals for the club.Whilst Mame Biram Diouf and Nelson Oliveira are interesting names, I do not associate the number 10 with either of these players for different reasons. I feel Diouf would be similar in style to Kenwyne Jones, a rough 'em up number 9, whilst Oliveira from what I have seen of him appears to be more of a running channels striker who may play out wide if it suits the game. Out of the two, Oliveira is the more likelier to get supporters out of their seats, therefore if it had to go to one, it would be him, but I would like to hold the number 10 shirt back in the short term if it helped the group of players we have, and will get, in the long term.

Away from the Brit:

My fascination in shirt numbers, and the inspiration for this post, was due to Aston Villa's decision to relocate several shirt numbers around ahead of the forthcoming season. After a poor season under Paul Lambert, big name players such as Stephen Ireland, Shay Given, Charles N'Zogbia, Nathan Delfouneso, Alan Hutton, Barry Bannan and Darren Bent have been relocated their shirt numbers to a 'dead zone' for shirt numbers (35-42 in Villa's case). As all of the above players are available for transfers away from Villa Park, the question I ask regardless of whether you are a Stoke City supporter like myself, or from another club is: would you take any of the above players to your club?

Stephen Ireland, whilst having three troubled seasons at Villa Park, is a player that has moments of genius, plus his record under Mark Hughes at Manchester City was incredible. Whether that player still remains is uncertain, but if he could replicate his form from his time at the Etihad, any club could have a fantastic signing.

Charles N'Zogbia is another who has been hit and miss at Villa Park, although largely miss. I didn't think he had lived up to the hype that Dave Whelan placed upon him when he left Wigan for Aston Villa, and links to Chelsea at the time were absurd. Whilst not a top half of the table player, in my opinion, he could do a good job for any of the teams who have come up and need a player who will score a few goals from the wing to help them stay in the Premier League.

Alan Hutton has been linked with a move to Mallorca again this season, and whilst unusual for a British player to move to foreign leagues it is refreshing to see someone willing to give it a go abroad. Considering his reputation for tackling though, perhaps it is a small blessing that he's going away! However, the one thing I will never want to lose as a Stoke City supporter is our fighting spirit and players who are willing to take no chances when it comes to defending. Hutton would fit the bill, if Andy Wilkinson ever decides he must leave home permanently.

Shay Given certainly hasn't given his all to football yet - puns aside. If there is one club I am surprised didn't go in for Given it is Hull City who have been looking for an established number one for a while. I can only assume there was an hitch regarding personal terms or a fee because if you believe what you hear in the media, the interest was certainly there. If there is one club though that could do with a number one goalkeeper like Given, it's Cardiff who at present only have David Marshall and Joe Lewis in their ranks. Whilst one is a Scottish international and the other is a former England Under-21 international, neither have the experience of Given at 125 caps for the Republic of Ireland, plus 440 top flight appearances in his career.

One player, on that list, I have looked at over the last few years is Nathan Delfouneso who seems to have failed to live up to the hype he received earlier in his career. As far as pace his concerned, he is dangerous, but he seems to lack elsewhere, hence why he spent last season on loan at Blackpool. With 7 goals in 40 appearances though, I don't believe his future should be in the Premier League, unless he's willing to change his playing position and adapt his pace into use as a winger.

On the list, the name I was most surprised to see was Barry Bannan's. Whilst not an incredible player, he has made his way into the Scotland team, whilst also playing semi-regularly for Villa across the last few years. I feel if they let Bannan go, they might regret it as at 23, he still has plenty of time left in his career to improve his overall game. Again, promoted clubs would be spending their time wisely by taking a look at him as he wouldn't harm their midfield options.

Finally the most eye-catching, yet least surprising name on this list: Darren Bent. Even though Stoke need a goal-scorer, I would still avoid Bent if I had the choice. He has the reputation of a forward who only scores goals. Whilst the likes of Filippo Inzaghi could get away with this, I feel that a lot of teams in the top flight need every player to put in a shift in front of goal, and at important moments, Bent can disappear. For the likes of Crystal Palace who are missing a star striker, this could be a worthwhile endeavour. Newcastle seem to be in pole position however, so a return to the North East seems to be Bent's best option of escaping the number 39 shirt he currently occupies at Villa, again.

Pre-season panicking

So Stoke City got their preseason tour of the USA of to a rough start last night with a 2-0 loss to Houston Dynamo. In the 16 hours or so since that result was confirmed, I've heard quite a bit of worrying about the coming season. Although I won't quote heavily in case I alienate a reader, one such comment disturbed me: "my main fear here is that we will see Hughes being interviewed on MOTD every Sat night saying 'we are trying to change things here, and it takes times' meanwhile we get to Xmas at the bottom, with losing becoming a habit." If this had been a loss to Liverpool in our opening league game, I'd understand the comment, but it was our first preseason game, in earnest at least, against opposition that is halfway through their own league season. We were also trying out our new style of play and it could take the whole of preseason for us to settle into it. Equally it could take all of the forthcoming season to adapt. Only the coming season will show which it is.

To challenge this, I ask the question of whether David Moyes is as worried as Manchester United fans are after losing two of their opening three preseason games. Or if Manuel Pellegrini, his personal grieving aside, is concerned after his new side lost two of their opening four preseason games. Of course not. It's all about fitness. Norwich City were beaten 1-0 by Portland Timbers. In my recent predictions for the forthcoming season, I put them up for a top-half finish. Do I think that because they lost to the Timbers they will flop? No. To all Stoke supporters, I implore calmness until the first game of the season. It's going to be an uncomfortable preseason as this is a new season in more ways than usual. For now, just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Quick Snippet:


Arsenal's reported £40,000,001 bid for Luis Suarez has to go down as one of the cheekiest bids in transfer history in my opinion. Liverpool's insistence that it was a shoddy bid included owner John Henry tweeting: "What do you think they're smoking over there at Emirates?" Whilst Suarez is a good player, one of the best the Premier League has to offer in fact, I think his scandal magneticity brings down his market value. The sooner he realises this, the better for all monitoring this story.