All my worst fears were realised on Saturday at Ewood Park, as Blackburn profited from the ”new manager factor”, handing Sam Allardyce a dream start to his career at the club, easing past Stoke 3-0, the goals coming courtesy of Benni McCarthy and Jason Roberts.

Allardyce greets the Rovers faithful on the pitch before kick-off
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  Any Stoke fans hoping for an easy ride with the visit to second-bottom Blackburn, who haven’t won in twelve in the league and have suffered six straight defeats, would have been unhappily forced to reconsider their thoughts earlier this week with the sacking of Paul Ince and the subsequent appointment of former Bolton and [...]

  When Stoke’s influential striker Mamady Sidibe was stretchered off with a serious looking injury after just four minutes of Saturday’s draw with Fulham many Stoke fans will have feared the worst. It has now been confirmed that the Malian has suffered cruciate knee ligament damage and will be out for a least a month [...]

   Never have I seen a game where the phrase ”the defences were on top” is so fitting. The Match of the Day pundits said the game could have carried on until midnight and neither team would have scored and that seems about right.
  After the unfortunate loss of Mamady Sidibe in the first few minutes, [...]

   
  The Potters made it three league draws in a row following a bad tempered yet dour goalless draw at home to perenial travel sickness sufferers Fulham. The best chance of the game in which the defences were well and truly on top fell to Stoke’s Richard Cresswell on the half hour mark but the striker/winger [...]

  No team has ever been relegated from the Premier League after having a total of 22 points or more at Christmas. Stoke City currently sit thirteenth in the table, with nineteen points and with two games coming up before Christmas, Fulham at home tomorrow, before a trip to struggling Blackburn next week it seems [...]

  After being assured by Chairman Peter Coates that there is a large warchest of transfer funds to spend in January, Tony Pulis will move once again to try and sign Cardiff’s Welsh international midfielder Joe Ledly. Welshman and Cardiff supporter Pulis has always been a fan of Ledley and came close to bringing the [...]

  The Potters have apparently had a bid of £1 million rejected for acting Watford captain (in the absence of Jay Demerit) Tommy Smith. The bid reportedly falls some way short of the £3 million value the Hertfordshire club place on the 28 year old striker.
  Smith, who can also play as an attacking midfielder [...]

  Stoke are reportedly interested in signing Celtic’s Scottish international centre-back Gary Caldwell when the transfer window re-opens in three weeks time. The 26 year old, who learnt his trade at the Newcastle United academy but never made a league appearance for the club, is said to be high up Tony Pulis’ list of transfer [...]

  A good result and an excellent second half performance from Stoke is very encouraging following poor performances at home to West Brom, Hull and Derby. In the archetypal game of two halves, it was Newcastle who completely bossed the first half, while the second belonged, without doubt to Stoke. With a lot of positives to [...]