With recent form dire and player morale likely to be at rock bottom following the Fuller incident at West Ham, fresh blood is definitely needed in the squad. The goalkeeper position, where Thomas Sorensen is doing an excellent job and Steve Simonsen provides a decent deputy, is really the only one where we will not be looking to bring in players, but at least one new striker, a centre midfielder and a pacy winger must be a priority.

  Below is a lowdown on all the propective moves we have been linked with in the last couple of weeks, which I’ll update as new information emerges. 

Miles Addison

Age: 19

Position: Central Midfielder/Centre Back

Nationality: English

Club: Derby County

Former Clubs: None

International Caps: None

Likely Price: £2 million

Other Interested Clubs: None

 Stoke were linked with Addison back in November but then Derby manager Paul Jewell claimed the player was not for sale. Jewell has since left Derby though and the deal may be back on.

Andre Bikey

Age: 23

Position: Centre Back/Right Back

Nationality: Cameroonian

Club: Reading

Former Clubs: Espanyol, Pacos de Ferreira, Shinnik Yaroslavl, Lokomotiv Moscow

International Caps: 15 - 2 goals

Likely Price: £1.5-£2 million

Other Interested Clubs: None

Bikey, who was rumoured to be a Stoke target two weeks ago would join up with former teammates Dave Kitson and Ibrahima Sonko if he moved to Stoke, but I believe this deal is unlikely to go through, and is probably an example of journalists thinking, ”I know, let’s link a big African player with Stoke.”

Henri Camara

Age: 31

Position: Forward

Nationality: Senegalese

Club: Wigan Athletic

Former Clubs: Strasbourg, Xamax, Grasshopper Zurich, Sedan, Wolves, Celtic, Southampton, West Ham

 International Caps: 99 - 29 goals

Likely Price: £500,000

Other Interested Clubs: None

Of all the players Stoke have been linked with, Camara seems most likely to end up playing for the club. He is surplus to requirements at Wigan, despite his decent goalscoring record and will be allowed to leave the club in a cut-price deal if Wigan are able to complete the signing of Columbian forward Hugo Rodallega this week. Stoke seems to be the most likely destination as a move for Camara fell through back in the summer and Camara has said he is keen to link up with his compatriots Abdoulaye Faye, Salif Diao, Amdy Faye and Ibrahima Sonko. DEVELOPMENT - 7/1/09 - Camara denies he has yet been in contact with Stoke regarding a potential move.

Issiar Dia

Age: 21

Position: Winger/Forward

Nationality: Senegalese

Club: AS Nancy

Former Clubs: Amiens SC

International Caps: 6 - 1 goal

Likely price: £3-£5 million

Other Interested Clubs: Marseille, Nantes

The small and nippy winger is rated as one of, if not the best young player in French football today and was linked with stoke in strange circumstances, Dia’s international teammate defender Ibrahima Sonko telling the press that he had urged Pulis to ”go get him.” I certainly hope Pulis takes Sonko’s advice as from what I’ve read about Dia he is destined to become a truly excellent player. 

Lamine Diatta

Age: 33

Position: Centre Back

Nationality: Senegalese

Club: None

Former Clubs: Toulouse, Marseilles, Stade Rennais, Lyon, St. Etienne, Besiktas, Newcastle

International Caps: 40 - 3 goals

Likely Price: Free

Other Interested Clubs: None

Diatta, who has been a free agent since leaving Newcastle in May is currently on trial at Stoke, and it will be up to Tony Pulis whether or not he wishes to add a fifth Senegalese Colossus to SCFC and offer Diatta a contract.

Aruna Dindane

Age: 28

Position: Forward

Nationality: Ivorian

Club: RC Lens

Former Clubs: ASEC Mimosas, Anderlecht

International Caps: 40 - 14 goals

Likely Price: £3-£4 million

Other Interested Clubs: Marseille, Tottenham, Porstmouth, West Brom, Stade Rennais

Dindane, who is arguably the most exciting of the players linked with Stoke, would be an excellent signing. Marseille seem favourites to sign him though, so don’t hold your breath on this one.

Haminu Dramani

Age: 22

Position: Right Wing/Forward/Right Back

Nationality: Ghanaian

Club: Lokomotiv Moscow

Former Clubs: Heart Of Lions, Crvena Zvezda, Genclerbirligi 

International Caps: 27 - 3 goals

Likely Price: £1.5-£2.5 million

Other Interested Clubs: None

Dramani was close to signing on loan to Stoke back in August but the deal fell through because Lokomotiv decided they wanted to keep him until the end of the Russian season, which was in November. A permanent deal now looks possible.

Matthew Etherington

Age: 27

Position: Left Wing

Nationality: English

Club: West Ham

Former Clubs: Peterborough, Bradford, Tottenham

International Caps: None

Likely Price: £3 million

Other Interested Clubs: None

Stop the presses! Stoke interested in a white player! Etherington would solve our left wing problem nicely and with a checkered history of gambling problems and injuries would fit well with Pulis’ reputation of giving players a fresh start. This is as yet just a rumour though and nothing substantiated. DEVELOPMENT - 6/1/09 - Something substantiated has now emerged, with Radio Stoke reporting that Etherington has been at the Britannia Stadium discussing a contract. This looks like it could be our first signing of the window. DEVELOPMENT - 7/1/09 - Many sources are claiming Etherington has agreed to a three year deal at Stoke and the signing will be announced in the next couple of days. The fee is reportedly around £4 million which would make him our second most expensive player ever.

Marlon Harewood

Age: 29

Position: Forward

Nationality: English

Club: Aston Villa

Former Clubs: Nottingham Forest, FC Haka, Ipswich, West Ham

International Caps: None

Likely Price: £2 million

Other Interested Clubs: None

Pulis is a long time admirer of Harewood, who has never been more than a fringe player at Villa. Villa are keen to sell him to make way for the addition of another striker to the squad, possibly Wigan’s Emile Heskey. DEVELOPMENT - 7/1/09 - Harewood’s agent denies Stoke have been in contact regarding the player, and emphasises that while Harewood is happy at Villa, he would like to play more regular football, though it would have to be a permanent move rather than a loan one for him to leave Villa Park.

Sami Hyypia

Age: 35

Position: Centre Back

Nationality: Finnish

Club: Liverpool

Former Clubs: MyPa, Willem II

International Caps: 95 - 5 goals

Likely Price: £2 million

Other Interested Clubs: Fulham, Sunderland, Blackburn, Tottenham

Hyypia has fallen down the pecking order after nearly a decade at Liverpool and Stoke are among several clubs interested in adding the experienced defender to their squads. 

Joe Ledley

Age: 21

Position: Left Wing/Central Midfielder

Nationality: Welsh

Club: Cardiff City

Former Clubs: None

International Caps: 24 - 2 goals

Likely Price: £7 million

Other Interested Clubs: Everton, Tottenham

Cardiff rebuffed bids of £5 and £6 million from Stoke this summer but a bid of £7 million could be too good to refuse. Despite Cardiff doing their utmost to hold onto Ledley, he made it clear in the summer that he was keen on a Premier League move. DEVELOPMENT - 6/1/09 - Spurs now look favourites to sign Ledley, which may explain Stoke’s attempts to sign Etherington.

 Adam Lallana

Age: 20

Position: Centre Midfielder/Attacking Midfielder

Nationality: English

Club: Southampton

Former Clubs: Bournemouth

International Caps: None

Likely Price: £2-£4 million

Other Interested Clubs: Tottenham, Fulham

Lallana is a young player who is destined for big things and would in my opinion be a quality signing for Stoke. He has been linked with a move to the Potteries alongside Southampton teammate Andrew Surman

Quincy Owusu-Abeyie

Age: 22

Position: Forward/Left Wing

Nationality: Dutch/Ghanaian

Club: Spartak Moscow

Former Clubs: Arsenal, Celta de Vigo, Birmingham

International Caps: Ghana: 9 - 1 goal

Likely Price: Loan with view to £2.5 million move

Other Interested Clubs: None

Quincy, whose potential move to Stoke was touted in the press just this morning spent the first half of the season on loan at Birmingham, but they were unable to extend his loan due to financial restraints. Another good young player for us to be linked with.

Andrew Surman

Age: 22

Position: Cente Midfielder

Nationality: English/South African

Club: Southampton

Former Clubs: Walsall, Bournemouth

International Caps: None

Likely Price: £2-£4 million

Other Interested Clubs: Wolves, Reading

Another good young player produced by Southampton, Surman has been linked with Stoke for a while. While he seems set for a big move in the future, Surman claims he is currently happy at Southampton, making a move look unlikely at this time.

Lee Williamson

Age: 26

Position: Centre Midfielder

Nationality: Jamaican/English

Club: Watford

Former Clubs: Mansfield, Northampton, Rotherham

International Caps: None

Likely Price: £2-£3 million

Other Interested Clubs: None

Stoke have been rumoured to be interested in Williamson in the last few days but nothing at all concrete has emerged from it.

With a number of players linked with Stoke looking like excellent potential signings, Dia, Ledley and Dindanestanding out, I would hope we are able to bring in as many of the above as possible as at present, we really do need something to revitalise the side after recent lacklustre performances. 

Allardyce greets the Rovers faithful on the pitch before kick-off

  While an injury to main goal-threat Roque Santa Cruz led Allardyce into making a straight swap for fellow striker Jason Roberts, his Stoke counterpart Tony Pulis opted for some rather more ”unconventional” changes. An injury to first choice ‘keeper Thomas Sorensen in the warm up meant understudy Steve Simonsen, who is yet to really impress in the Premier League, was handed his first league start since early October.  Meanwhile, he chose to start with a defence containing four players whose best position is probably centre-back, in Danny Higginbotham, Abdoulaye Faye, Ibrahima Sonko and Ryan Shawcross, a bizarre decision that certainly didn’t seem t pay off with the Potters shipping three goals. Striker Richard Cresswell replaced Danny Pugh on the left wing and, finally, Vincent Pericard replaced the injured Mamady Sidibe in attack to complete a Stoke line-up which could hardly be described as full-strength.

  Perhaps surprisingly, Stoke made the better start, enjoying the majority of possession, though in truth, failing to really bother former England man Paul Robinson in the Blackburn goal, although midfielder Glenn Whelan did inadvertently strike the Blackburn crossbar with a mis-hit cross. Disaster struck in the ninth minute though, Sonko unnecessarily scything down Blackburn’s Morten Gamst Pedersen inside the box, leaving referee Peter Walton with little choice but to award the penalty. It was South African international forward McCarthy who stepped up to take the kick, and any pressure being felt inside the ground certainly eluded him, as he calmly stroked the ball into the bottom left corner of the net, sending Simonsen the wrong way. 

Pedersen wins the penalty before McCarthy tucks it away

  With Stoke still reeling from the first goal, things got a whole lot worse in the eighteenth minute, the experienced Jason Roberts being left with a simple finish after a poor clearance from Shawcross fell straight to him after some neat Blackburn passing in the Stoke half.

Roberts celebrates doubling Blackburn’s lead

  As Stoke began to get something of a grip on the game, Richard Cresswell and Amdy Faye both hitting long range efforts, Stoke fans may have begun to entertain thoughts of a comeback akin to the one seen at St. James’ Park two weeks ago, with the Potters salvaging a point from a seemingly desperate situation. Any such hopes were dashed just before the half hour mark, as McCarthy hit his second of the afternoon and sixth of the season. Robets stung the palms of Simonsen with a good effort before McCarthy pounced on the rebound, firing home to send the 18,000 Blackburn fans present into raptures.

  Half time came with Stoke in dire straights, and the second half started with little indication that improvement would come. Ten minutes into the half, Pulis opted for much needed changes, bringing on usually lively duo Tom ”Arto” Soares and Michael Tonge for the ineffective pairing of Rory Delap and Pericard.

  With Stoke pushing for a consolation, Ricardo Fuller, Glenn Whelan and Abdoulaye Faye all saw half chances miss before McCarthy was denied his hat-trick by just a few inches, after his powerful low effort took a slight deflection off Stoke substitute Seyi Olofinjana and crashed into the frame of the goal. The Nigerian midfielder the went close for Stoke, forcing Robinson to save well from a well-struck long-range volley.

  With Blackburn enjoying themselves and Stoke wanting to just get away from the ground and onto the next match, the half drew towards its close. One last chance for the visitors did fall to Cresswell though, as the woodwork came to a defence’s rescue for the third time in the match, a combination of the Stoke man and defender Cristopher Samba steering the ball onto the upright, after some good play by Soares.

Cresswell had Stoke’s best chance late on

  Roberts could have added some extra gloss to the scoreline, and netted his second of the game deep in injury time, his shot being well saved by Simonsen after an impressive run by the striker.

  All in all, it was a disappointing result, but one that always seemed on the cards after the appointment of Allardyce. With some bizarre team selection from Pulis, it is little wonder we floundered on the day, with several players playing out of position, and more still playing with knocks. Hopefully fitness will come soon enough for the likes of Salif Diao, Andy Griffin, Andrew Davies and Dave Kitson for them to play some part in Boxing Day’s obviously tricky encounter against newly crowned World Club Champions Manchester United.

  As a result of other result over the weekend, we drop two places in the Premier League table to fifteenth and are just two points clear of the relegation zone. While anything gained against Manchester United has to be seen as a bonus, good form must be found over the next few matches, including a trip to West Ham and a home clash with Manchester City, as the December/January period is always so vital to a team’s eventual achievements over a season.

Stoke Side: (4:4:2)

                                Simonsen

Shawcross  Sonko  Abdoulaye Faye  Higginbotham

           Delap  Amdy Faye  Whelan  Cresswell

                            Pericard  Fuller

Substitutions: Tonge for Delap & Soares for Pericard (59), Olofinjana for Amdy Faye (75)

Subs Not Used: Sorensen, Pugh, Davies, Wilkinson

Attendance: 23,004

54 year old Allardyce takes charge of Blackburn for the first time tomorrow

  It is eighteen years since the two clubs last met, and since that day, while Stoke have been floundering continuously between the second and third tiers of English football, Blackburn have been top flight regulars, their finest hour coming in the 1994/95 season when they fought off Manchester United to claim the premiership title.

  It is difficult to comment on Blackburn’s style of play, given the abject lack of it they have displayed while flopping to loss after loss in recent weeks, but we know what to expect from an Allardyce team. Pretty it ain’t, but very effective it can be, ”Big Sam” will look to coax a battling and solid performance out of his new charges. With Allardyce and our very own Tony Pulis being two of the renowned masters of the root one game, expect little by the way of flair from tomorrow’s match.

  That being said, Blackburn do have a number of players capable of producing that special something that can win a match. Morten Gamst Pedersen is a desperately difficult to handle midfielder on his day (though he’s had few good games recently) and Roque Santa Cruz, he may be bound for the Ewood Park exit in January is rated as one of the best centre forwards in the league, despite scoring just three times this term. Allardycehas a close to full strength squad to pick his first Rovers side from, with no new injury concerns, and Vince Grella being the only likely absentee with a knee problem.

  Pulis has rather more of a selection headache though, with Dave Kitson, Ryan Shawcross, Salif Diao, Andrew Davies and skipper Andy Griffin all pushing for starting berths after recovering from knee, back, calf, knee and knee injuries respectively, while Rory Delap faces a late fitness test on a shoulder injury and Liam Lawrence and Mamady Sidiberemain out, both with knee ligament damage.

Dave Kitson, who may return from injury, will look to recapture the form of his Reading days for Stoke

  With Blackburn looking like likely relegation candidates, a result tomorrow would be very useful, the appointment of Allardyce has put a dampener on the spirits of the 5,000 (It should have been 7,000) Stokies making the trip tomorrow as he looks to get his reign off to the best possible start. If Blackburn are still hungover from recent performances, we have every chance of gaining at least one point, if not all three tomorrow, and given our recent record of grinding out decent results against our fellow bottom half sides, I’ll predict a 1-1 draw for this one.

Blackburn Squad:

Goalkeepers:

Paul Robinson (29), Jason Brown (26), Frank Fielding (20), Mark Bunn (24), Bjorn Bussman (17)

Defenders:

Stephen Warnock (27), Christopher Samba (24), Andre Oojer (34), Ryan Nelsen (31), Zurab Khizanishvili (27), Danny Simpson (21), Martin Olsson (20), Tony Kane (21)

Midfielders:

Tugay (38), Brett Emerton (29), Morten Gamst Pedersen (27), Vince Grella (29), Aaron Mokoena(28), Keith Andrews (28), Carlos Villanueva (22), David Dunn (28), Johann Vogel(31), Sergio Peter (22), Keith Treacy (20), Alan Judge (20), Bray Hodge (21), Alex Marrow (18), Aaron Doran (17), Andy Haworth (20)

Forwards:

Roque Santa Cruz (27), Benni McCarthy (31), Robbie Fowler (33), Matt Derbyshire (22), Jason Robets (30), Julio Santa Cruz (18), Marcus Marshall (19)

Star Man: Roque Santa Cruz

The 27 year old Paraguay international forward joined the Lancashire club from German giants FC Bayern for £3.5 million in the summer of 2007 and proved to be an instant hit. He scored 23 goals in an impressive first season with the club and has a goalscoring record of just under one goal in every two games in English football, totalling 27 strikes in 59 appearances. He has also been capped 61 times for his country, scoring an impressive twenty goals. He has been linked with a big-money move away from Ewood Park with Blackburn struggling though, with clubs such as Manchester City said to be interested, although he did sign a new four year deal at the club in August. His younger brother Julio also plays for Blackburn.

Key Clashes:

Christopher Samba v Ricardo Fuller

It is fair to say that Jamaican international Fuller has not been on form over the last few matches, with the exception of his fantastic half hour at Newcastle. He will have to be at his very best though to get much change out of 6′6” French centre back Samba. Fuller’s efforts will be even more important to Stoke than usual in the absence of Mamady Sidibe.

Tugay v Amdy Faye

Aged 38, and looking every day of it, Tugay is enjoying an Indian Summer to his career, putting in some impressive performances recently, and winning the Blackburn Player of the Month for November on this site. Faye, seven years the Turk’s junior, was very good against Fulham last week and will hope to continue this way tomorrow. With both players on form this should be an interesting head-to-head.

Comparative Club Stats:

                                                Blackburn                                   Stoke

League Position:                           19th                                       13th

Games Played:                                21                                          21

Goals Scored:                                 27                                          24

Goals Conceded:                            41                                          32

Home Record: (W,D,L)                  3,2,5                                       6,3,3

Away Record: (W,D,L)                   3,2,6                                       1,3,5

Form:                                          LLLLLL                                    DDLDWL

Disciplinary: (Y,R)                         45,2                                         34,1

Top Scorers:     Derbyshire (5), Santa Cruz & McCarthy (4)    Fuller (6), Sidibe (4)

Last Five Meetings:

Stoke 0-1 Blackburn - 21/4/1990

Blackburn 2-1 Stoke - 27/1/1990

Blackburn 4-3 Stoke - 2/1/1989

Stoke 0-1 Blackburn - 10/9/1988

Stoke 2-1 Blackburn - 5/3/1988

Ewood Park - Stoke make the trip to former Premier League Champions

Sidibe celebrates with Carl Dickinson after scoring the winner against Aston Villa back in August

  On Saturday, Sidibe was replaced by Richard Cresswell, who is generally considered to not be of Premier League calibre by Stoke supporters, but that is beside the point that I am making. Sidibe possesses incredible aerial ability and wins a huge number of flick-ons for Stoke, while he also holds the ball up very well. He is integral to our direct style of play as there is no-one else in the squad, or possibly even the world, capable of playing his role as well as he does. He also has the useful habit of popping up with some timely goals, handing Stoke late wins against Aston Villa and West Brom this season.

  On Saturday, after Sidibe was injured, the rest of the Stoke side continued to play as if he was still on the pitch, hitting countless long balls forward that Cresswell had no chance of winning. If this is a trait in our play that continues to manifest itself in our play during Sidibe’s absence, we truly do look to be in trouble, as without a player to effectvely play the target man role and with Rory Delap’s long throws somewhat neutralised at present we seem to lack any route to goal, with the exception of the odd moment of magic from the likes of Ricardo Fuller. Judging by this evidence, the injury to Sidibe seems to be a huge setback for Stoke.

  The element of silver lining comes though when you consider the possibility that in the forthcoming matches without Sidibe the Stoke players will be able to play with a different style, something we certainly failed to do against Fulham, and pass the ball and press opponents instead of just hitting the ball long. As we saw against Newcastle in the second half, when we began to pass the ball better and harass the Newcastle players, this tactic can be very effective, clawing back a point from a desperate situation at 2-0 down at halftime. it is also far more entertaining for fans to see football like this rather than the dour play served up on Saturday.

  If the injury to Sidibe will keep him sidelined for a lengthy period of time, it gives Tony Pulis even greater incentive to search for at least one new forward player when the transfer window re-opens in two weeks time, with Aston Villa’s Marlon Harewood seeming a likely acquisition. Record signing Dave Kitson, who has so far been a huge flop at Stoke is also coming back to fitness at the moment after a knee injury of his own. Many people believe the reason he has failed to impress for the Potters so far is that he is badly suited to the direct style of play favoured by Pulis. If a more passing style was adopted, perhaps Kitson would be able to make more of a mark at the club, as we know from his time in the Premier League at Reading when he is on form he is a very good footballer.

Villa’s Harewood is a target for Stoke

  So, it seems to me whether Sidibe’s injury will really knock us, or whether we are able to work around it to produce good results depends on the adaptability of Pulis in his tactics and in the players in their ability to play a different style of football without becoming easy relegation fodder in the mode of the current West Brom side. It is always necessary for a football club to be able to implement a ”Plan B” in the face of apparent adversity, and I hope we are able to do so with the change coming in the style of more passing direct football. While I value greatly Sidibe’s workload and contribution to the team, I cannot help but feel that his absence could pave the way for new life to be breathed into the Stoke side that has seemed so flat of late, with the exception of the second half performance at Newcastle. But then again, we could flounder horribly without the services of one of our most influential players. Time will tell, starting with a trip to struggling Blackburn on Saturday.

  After the unfortunate loss of Mamady Sidibe in the first few minutes, none of our players were able to compete with Brede Hangeland for any aerial challenges. Despite this, worryingly, a lot of our players, with Danny Higginbotham and Andy Wilkinson being the main culprits, still hit the ball long frequently, when it was clear that we were likely to lose possession by doing so. After being completely outplayed in the first half at Newcastle last week, we changed things in the second half, playing with a higher tempo, pressing the Newcastle players and passing the ball well. Yesterday we showed no signs of doing that. Our lack of adaptability is all well and good when yo are stifling a point out of a blunt side like Fulham, but we really must show more depth to the way we play as a team against the better sides, or we will be torn apart.

  It seems that whenever Ricardo Fuller is not on form, the overall Stoke performance and result is a disappointing one. He was in one of his mardy moods yesterday, after receiving an early booking for a late tackle he spent the majority of the rest of the game appealing for decisions and looking moody, with the exception of the couple of times he got the ball down and ran at the Fulham defence, one of which almost resulting in a goal for Richard Cresswell.

  After an early booking, and given his propensity to waive the ”respect the referee” convention, Fuller was always going to be walking a disciplinary tightrope, culminating in the second half clash with john Pantsil. After Fuller gave away a dubious free kick against Pantsil, the two squared up to each other, before Pantsil pushed his forehead into Fuller’s, making slight contact, stood still for a full three seconds and then hurled himself to the ground clutching hi face, making out that Fuller had struck him violently. His actions were frankly, a disgrace, knowing Fuller was already on a yellow card, he deliberately tried to get him sent off by simulating Fuller striking him. In my, admittedly biased, eyes, Pantsil should be given a retrospective ban of at least three matches as we try and remove the element of cheating from the game.

  The decision not to take any action on Fuller was a correct one by referee Stuart Atwell, but aside from that he had a very poor match. He seemed to award every niggling free-kick Fulham’s way, while constantly waving away fouls on Stoke players. The suggestion that I am biased towards Stoke in my view of this may be made, but the statistics speak for themselves; fouls given away by Stoke - 18. Fouls given away by Fulham - 4. We have a reputation as a strong physical, even dirty, team, thanks in no small part to the words of one Arsene Wenger, and I feel at times referees an affected by that, overcompensating by giving every physical challenge as a foul against Stoke.

  The one big decision did go in Stoke’s favour though, Higginbotham clearly handling the ball from a cross in the first half, Atwell declining to a clear penalty. Although I’d never want to see a penalty given against Stoke, this was an example of very poor refereeing, and in any other situation I’d be angry that the penalty hadn’t been awarded. After awarding the infamous ”phantom goal” to Reading earlier this season, and making numerous important errors in the high pressure Notts Forest v Derby derby, Atwell was demoted to the lower leagues, and there he should stay in my opinion. What’s worse than his poor decision making, he seemed to be influenced by the crowd. The Stoke fans really got on his back after a while, culminating in him awarding several free-kicks to Stoke in quick succession in an attempt to pacify the crowd. On the subject of the atmosphere, while loud as always, it was strangely unpleasant yesterday, with the majority of the noise generated to rile the referee and the Fulham players, not to support Stoke.

  On the day, most of the Stoke players were little better than average, with the exceptions of the always excellent Abdoulaye Faye and, encouragingly the other two Senegalese players on the pitch, Amdy Faye and Ibrahima Sonko. Neither of them put a foot wrong, despite having their detractors after past performances. I think that possibly, Salif Diao and Amdy Faye, the usual midfield pairing, are too similar players to each other, each being at their best in the holding midfield role. When they play together they sometimes get in each others way, and our midfield is far too defensive, with no-one from in getting forward to help the attack. With Diao out injured, Faye was able to shine, bossing the defensive midfield area, which allowed Glenn Whelan, starting alongside him to get forward more and support the strikers.

  One thing that concerns me about Stoke is while, we have spent a total of almost £4 million on two quality midfield players in Michael Tonge and Tom Soares, they are being limited only to cameo appearances, with players from the old Championship squad like Danny Pugh and Richard Cressell preferred. It seems strange that we would pent the money if we didn’t intend for them to play a bigger part, particularly Soares, who for the second game in a row didn’t even make the bench.

  The opponents, Fulham, looked a good passing side, with very little penetrative powers. That is to say, they are the West Brom of the south. Unlike West Brom though, their defence is very solid, so they can afford to not score many goals as they don’t concede man either. They are far too good to go down, but not good enough to challenge for Europe this season, and I see them finishing anywhere between ninth and fourteenth.

Player Ratings 

Thomas Sorensen (gk):Sorensen didn’t have a difficult save to make all match, but he was put under pressure from several good crosses. He has a tendency to punch rather than claim, which is all well and good if you make good punches, as he usually does, but on one occasion yesterday he made a very weak punch, which Fulham should have done more to capitalise from. A good clean sheet. 6 

Andy Wilkinson (rb):Making his first league appearance since August, Wilkinson didn’t look great. He is very strong in the tackle, but his distribution is poor and he lacks composure. I’d be concerned if he were a regular starter, but he is third choice right back really, behind Andy Griffin and Andrew Davies so I’m not too bothered by this. 6

Ibrahima Sonko (cb): Ibrahima had easily his best game for Stoke, winning everything in the air and on the ground. While his positional sense his been lacking in some games, it was spot on yesterday, allowing the dangerous Andy Johnson very little. He’s back to full fitness and will look to establish himself in the defence alongside Abdoulaye Faye, and on showings like that I’d be delighted to have him there. 9

Abdoulaye Faye (cb): Another very good performance from Abdoulaye, he won a lot in the air and gives the defence the calming influence it has lacked in past years. He was captain in the absence of Griffin and did very well in the role, particularly calming down Fuller after the Pantsil incident. 8

Danny Higginnotham (lb): Higginbotham was poor yesterday. He hoofed the ball aimlessly long far too often, making it all too easy for Hangeland and the Fulham defence. He didn’t get forward as well as he has done recently either, and was very lucky not to give away a penalty after a stupid handball. 4

Rory Dealp (rm): Delap needs to be rested for a game or two, simple as that. He looked knackered out there, and with his throws not working due to a shoulder injury, he added little to the team. He should be dropped for a game or two and hopefully he’d come back as good as ever. 5

Glenn Whelan (cm): Whelan is usually very good when he plays, but yesterday was not one of his better performances. He failed to take the game by the scruff of the neck in the same fashion he did against Newcastle. A good contribution from a player like Glenn could have made all the difference. 5

Amdy Faye (cm): A truly excellent performance from Amdy. He did everything right, winning every tackle and not misplacing a single pass. 9

Danny Pugh (lm): His sudden rise back into the first team is a peculiar one and he had an average game yesterday, doing little wrong but nothing great either. 6

Mamady Sidibe (cf): He is payed to win flick ons, and it was in doing so that he was injured after just ninety seconds, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt with a seven. 7

Ricardo Fuller (cf): After his heroics at St. James’ Park, this was a disappointing performance from Fuller. He failed to influence the game in the positive way he can. 5

Subs:

Richard Cresswell (cf): Effectively had a full game after the injury to Sidibe so early. He did little, which is not surprising when players smack the ball long to him up against a six foot six centre back. 5

Michael Tonge (lm): Tonge failed to influence the game after his introduction with half an hour to go. I still think he should be given a chance to stat for a few games though. 5

Vincent Pericard (cf): Often a slating boy for the Stoke fans, Pericard did surprisingly well, winning a few aerial balls, despite the fact that he cannot jump, and producing a moment of magic to get away from the Fulham defence, pity his finish was poor. 7

Men Of The Match:  Amdy Faye and Ibrahima Sonko

  Both were excellent yesterday, and fully deserve their shared man of the match award.

  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 could only guide the ball over the bar after he was played in by Ricardo Fuller.

  The match was full of controversy, with young referee Stuart Atwell, famed for awarding the ”phantom goal” to Reading at Watford earlier this year, turning down two strong penalty claims for the visitors, who he seemed to favour throughout the majority of the match, and then decline to show Fuller a second booking after a clash with John Pantsil, after Pantsil went down holding his face though there was little if any contact between the two.

  Stoke were without three first choice players, with Ryan Shawcross, Andy Griffin and Salif Diao all missing out through injury, with Ibrahima Sonko, Andy Wilkinson and Glenn Whelan all starting in their absence while top-scorer Fuller returned to the starting eleven in place of Cresswell and Rory Delap started in spite of a shoulder injury. Fulham boss Roy Hodgson was forced into making a change to his side for the first time in four games with American Clint Dempsey starting in the place of the injured Bobby Zamora.

  Within two minutes from kick-off, the home side suffered a major injury blow, the influential Mamady Sidibe landing very awkwardly on his knee after winning an aerial ball. Despite his brave efforts to continue, the Malian international had to be withdrawn, with Cresswell coming on in a move that meant giant Fulham centre back Brede Hangeland would have a much more comfortable afternoon than anticipated, with Cresswell offering not nearly as much aerial ability as the departed Sidibe.

Sidibe is stretchered off just minutes into the game

  Fuller then blazed a long range effort over the bar before Fulham began to establish themselves on the game, playing some neat yet mostly unpenetrative football they could and probably have had a penalty after fifteen minutes, Danny Higginbotham clearly handling Jimmy Bullard’s cross, but Atwell simply waved away the claims for the Fulham men, allowing play to continue upfield. It really was a lucky escape for Stoke in a game where few refereeing decisions went our way, with manager Tony Pulis later admitting that a penalty should have been awarded.

Fulham striker Andy Johnson shows his frustration at being denied an obvious penalty

  Remarkably little happened in the next twenty minutes or so, until Fuller picked up the ball on the edge of Fulham’s penalty area. Despite being urged to shoot by the Stoke fans, the Jamaican delayed playing the ball for some time before brilliantly slotting in Cresswell who, with only ‘keeper Mark Schwarzer to beat, fluffed his lines, sending the ball both high and wide of the goal.

Fuller played in Cresswell who spurned the best chance of the game

  The rest of the first half, like the first half hour of it had been on the most part, was a scrappy affair, Fulham producing their first effort on target through Andy Johnson’s glanced header which failed to trouble Thomas Sorensen in the Stoke goal and the Potters also produced their first goalbound effort, coming bizarrely straight from a Sonko long throw. The Senegalese defender took over long throw duty from Delap after his injury proved so bothersome that his first effort traveled all of two yards, much to the delight of the small Fulham contingent inside the stadium. Sonko launched the ball into the box, and it appeared to be creeping just inside Schwarzer’s left hand post, the veteran ‘keeper taking no chances in case it had taken a deflection off one of the many players in the box and diverting it wide for a corner.

Sonko is a cool character both on and off the pitch

  The second half was no better than the first, with the Stoke faithful becoming increasingly annoyed at Atwell’s continuous inconsistent refereeing, and it was as a result of another contentious decision that the game’s flashpoint came on the hour mark. Fulham right-back Pantsil went down in close proximity to Fuller and was given a free kick despite their being little contact between the two. Fuller, in typical moody fashion reacted badly to the decision, squaring up to the Ghanian, who promptly threw a hand to his face and himself to the ground, miming a strike from Fuller, when in truth, any contact had been intimated by Pantsil. Both players escaped without caution, fortunately for Fuller and Stoke as he had already been booked for a late tackle early on.

  With the game petering out towards the bore draw that looked likely before kick-off, given Fulham’s solid defence and the difficulties Stoke have in breaking down teams, and both sides were limited to half chances. Dempsey hit a stinging shot just wide from range before Johnson was denied by a fine last ditch challenge from Sonko just as he was about to pull the trigger after finding space in the Stoke box. For Stoke midfielder Amdy Faye saw his powerful effort deflected over the bar before substitute Vincent Pericard, making his first Premier League appearance of the season, fired wide after breaking free of the Fulham defence following a skillful flick.

  The game ended a dull 0-0 then, a fair result in a game in which neither side ever looked like scoring and the main talking points surround the refereeing of Stuart Atwell rather than the footballing actions of the players he is charged with keeping in order. Stoke remain in thirteenth position with twenty points, while Fulham fall a place to tenth, a point better off than Stoke.

Stoke Side (4:4:2):

                              Sorensen

Wilkinson  Sonko  Abdoulaye Faye  Higginbotham

             Delap  Whelan  Amdy Faye  Pugh

                            Sidibe  Fuller 

Substitutions: Cresswell for Sidbe (5), Tonge for Delap (61), Pericard for Pugh (68)

Subs Not Used: Simonsen, Olofinjana, Cort, Davies

Attendance: 25,287 

  Fulham have enjoyed a similar start to the season to Stoke. Their home form has been excellent while their away form, minus the occasional stoic point has been far from good. Their highlights of the season have, like Stoke come in a home win over Arsenal and a hard-fought 0-0 draw at Liverpool. Roy Hodgson has built a side that are very hard to break down, the Cottagers recently adding a creditable goalless away draw at high-flying Aston Villa to their list of good results this season, which includes wins over Bolton, Newcastle, Wigan and Tottenham. The West Londoners have been helped to these results by having one of the meanest defences in the division, conceding just twelve goals from fifteen Premier League matches, in stark contrast to Stoke’s 27.

Veteran ‘keeper Mark Schwarzer provides the last line of a solid defence

  They have though had problems at the other end of the pitch, with goals being hard to come by. New signing Andy Johnson has recently hit some decent form, scoring four times so far this term, but he looks like the only goal threat in a team that includes Bobby Zamora and Jimmy Bullard, both of whom have struggled for goals of late. Going on that, a draw may seem the likely outcome, and a 0-0 scoreline is likely to be a popular prediction. That may be the case, but if one side does nick the game, which I see as being a close one, it will most likely be by a 1-0 scoreline.

  Stoke will be again without Dave Kitson and defender Ryan Shawcross with knee and back injuries receptively, while captain Andy Griffin is a doubt with an ankle injury and long throw specialist Rory Delapmay be ruled out with a shoulder injury that has been hampering his performances in recent weeks. If Delap does not play, expect Ibrahima Sonko to retain his place in central defence alongside squeaky-voiced hero Abdoulaye Faye as he proved against Newcastle that he can chuck it a fair distance too. We await a decision on the fitness of midfielder Salif Diao after he limped off at Newcastle with a calf problem.  In contrast to Stoke’s long injured list, Hodgson is likely to name an unchanged side from the team that drew 1-1 with Manchester City six days ago as long term absentees Diomansy Kamara and Andranik Teymourian are the only players likely to miss the match through injury.

Fulham Squad:

Goalkeepers:

Mark Schwarzer (36), Pascal Zuberbuhler (37)

Defenders:

Brede Hangeland (27), John Pantsil (27), Paul Konchesky (27), Aaron Hughes (29), Fredrik Stoor (24), Toni Kallio (30), Chris Baird (26), Adrian Leijer (22)

Midfielders:

Zoltan Gera (29), Jimmy Bullard (30), Danny Murphy (31), Clint Dempsey (25), Simon Davies (29), Andranik Teymourian (25), Seol Ki-Hyeon (29), Leon Andreasen (25), Wayne Brown (20), Dickson Etuhu (26), Julian Gray (29)

Forwards:

Andy Johnson (27), Bobby Zamora (27), Erik Nevland (31), Diomansy Kamara (28)

Star Man: Jimmy Bullard

  The popular midfielder, who is said to be both better than Steve Gerrard and thinner than Frank Lampard, joined Fulham from Wigan Athletic for £2 million in the summer of 2006. After some good initial performances for the club, which prompted then manager Chris Coleman to describe the former Gravesend trainee as ”the best £2 million ever spent”, Bullard suffered a horrific knee injury which kept him out of action until January 2008. He showed flashes of the excellent form he displayed at Wigan in their debut Premier League year in the latter part of last season but has yet to really hit fifth gear this time round. He is still a very dangerous creative midfielder, lethal with a dead ball, though, and he reminded us of his talents with a very well taken goal against Manchester City last weekend.

Key head-to-heads:

Mamady Sidbe v Brede Hangeland

This promises to be a clash not for the squeamish as two of the Premier Leagues giants face up. If the Norweigan can stop the Malian winning his usual flick-ons, he will greatly inhibit Stoke’s style of play and neutralise a lot of our attacking threat.

Amdy Faye v Jimmy Bullard

With Salif Diao likely to miss the game injured, much of the dirty work in the Stoke midfield will be the responsibility of Faye, no small part of it being keeping Bullard from bossing the game the way he can and allowing the Fulham playmaker little time on the ball, a tactic that worked so well in the second half against Newcastle.

Glenn Whelan v Danny Murphy

In the absence of Diao, Whelan will most likely be given a rare start and will figure in a battle that is the reverse of the Faye/Bullard clash, with Murphy looking to stop Whelan, arguably Stoke’s most creative player, having too much influence on the game.

Comparative Club Stats:

                                               Stoke                                        Fulham

League Position:                      13th                                            9th

Games Played:                           20                                              17

Goals Scored:                            24                                              16

Goals Conceded:                       32                                              15

Home Record: (W,D,L)             6,2,3                                           6,2,1

Away Record: (W,D,L)              1,3,5                                           0,3,5

Clean Sheets:                             5                                                  5

Blanks Drawn:                            6                                                  7

Disciplinary: (Y,R)                     32,1                                            16,1

Form:                                   D,L,D,W,L,D                                D,D,D,W,W,L

Top Scorers:                   Fuller (6), Sidibe (4)                     Johnson (4), Murphy (3)   

      A view of Fulham’s Craven Cottage home

Stoke’s interest in Ledley will continue into January

  Ledley was reportedly unhappy that he had been forbidden the chance to speak to Stoke and seems to feel that a move to the Premier League is necessary to further his promising career. A fee of £6 million would again test the Welsh club’s resilience, with Cardiff Chairman Peter Ridsdale recently suggesting he would accept the offer this time around.

  Ledley, who scored for Cardiff in a thrilling derby draw with Swansea two weeks ago is equally comfortable either on the left wing or in the centre of midfield, though given the huge amount of central midfielders at Stoke at present, and the fact that Ledley is neither Senegalese of Nigerian, the chances are he would be used predominantly on the left. Since breaking into the Cardiff first team during the 2004/05 season, Ledley has been a regular, playing 185 matches and scoring 22 goals. He also has 24 full caps for Wales and has scored twice for his country.

  In my opinion, Ledley would be a very good signing. He looks a very good player at Championship level and one who could easily make the step up into the Premier League. At 21 he will continue to improve for several years to come and would do a great deal to improve our midfield, as our left sided options are currently limited to a centre midfielder in Rory Delap and a striker, Richard Cresswell.

  Ledley would add a bit of creativity to the side, something we often lack and he’s also shown he has a knack for scoring goals, with a ration of one in eight which is pretty good going for a midfielder and would be a very welcome return in a midfield that currently provides Stoke with a chronic lack of goals. £6 million, which would be a club record may seem a bit on the pricey side for a 21 year old, and we must be wary of wasting funds on big money signings following the £5.5 million flop Dave Kitson is fast turning into, but in football at present quality players at any age are going to set you back a few quid, and Ledley certainly is one of those. Besides, with Coates promising lots of funds to spend on transfers, we can afford players like Ledley, with enough left over to set Woolworth’s back on the right track.

Ledley celebrates helping Cardiff to the FA Cup final at Wembley

Meanwhile, much to my relief, Pulis has denied having any interest in signing Watford’s mediocre striker Tommy Smith.

  Smith, who can also play as an attacking midfielder is currently in his second spell with Watford, where he started his career and found himself again two years ago, via reasonably successful spells at Sunderland and Derby Couty. In total he has scored 52 goals in 265 appearances for the Hornets, and has averaged around ten goals a season for the majority of his career.

  Stoke’s Premier League rivals Blackburn are also said to be in the hunt for Smith, with the hierarchy at the Lancashire club seemingly prepared to pay £2 million to secure the player’s services.

  It is clear that we need top bring in at least one more striker in the January transfer window but if Smith really is a serious target I must say I am surprised. He does not suit our typical forward player at all, he is well under six feet tall and weighs just ten stone so would not be best suited to playing either the Mamady Sidibe target man or the Ricardo Fuller tank role if called upon to play for us. His goalscoring record of one in five on average is hardly eye-catching either. He is a decent Championship player but aged 28, in the so-called prime of his career he seems to have found his level, and in my opinion it would be foolish of Stoke to spend any great deal of money on him while there seems to be better players, who would improve our survival chances far more than Smith would available for similar amounts of money. (The £3 million not the £1 million)

Smith - not the first player that springs to mind when one thinks of a Tony Pulis forward line

  Meanwhile, Stoke’s prospective mood for Celtic’s Scottish international defender Gary Caldwell seems to be dead in the water before it had ever really got going, Caldwell saying that he is happy at Celtic and has no wish to move away from the club. 

  During his time at Newcastle, Caldwell had loan spells at Darlington, Hibernian and Derby, but most notably Coventry City where he played at the heart of the defence for the majority of the 2002/03 season. It was to Hibbs that he moved permanently in 2004 though, going on to make 104 appearances and score seven goals for the Edinburgh club before his move to Celtic two and a half years later. He has since made exactly 100 appearances for the Scottish champions, scoring three times.

  Caldwell has also won 26 caps for Scotland, his first coming four years ago and has scored twice for his country, one of his goals being the winner in their 1-0 home victory over France during the EURO 2008 qualifying campaign.

Caldwell may swap the green and white of Celtic for the red and white of Stoke

  Caldwell would definitely be a good player to have in our squad, with a lot of experience at the top European level and internationally, while at 26 he still has age on his side. for me, however, our defence would not be a priority, with Abdoulaye Faye cemented in one centre back slot (no-one would dare drop him, and no-one with a brain would want to) and Ryan Shawcross, Ibrahima Sonko and Leon Cort all able to partner him well at the back.

  I’d hope we are looking to strengthen in more advanced areas of the pitch rather than the defence, as on recent showing we need at least one more midfield player and another striker to bolster our attacking options, particularly with Dave Kitson hardly firing on all cylinders at the moment.