POTTERS POLEAXED AT THE BRIDGE

CHELSEA 7 STOKE CITY FC 0

S. Kalou 24

S. Kalou 31

F. Lampard 44

S. Kalou 68

F. Lampard 81

D. Sturridge 87

F. Malouda 90

Not a lot that I feel like writing after witnessing this game.We were in it for the first 20 minutes or so, with Ric Fuller posing a little bit of a threat.Chelsea had a fair amount of luck,but for the most part they made it for themselves.

The Stoke team that featured in the FA Cup quarter final, putting up a half decent show,went missing today in the face of the Chelsea onslaught.

Stoke boss Tony Pulis:
"Chelsea were very good but we turned up and one or two were complacent, we've got to be 100% to compete in this company and we weren't.
"They were far the better team, we were lucky to get nil. We had our pants pulled down and our backsides slapped.
"The team means 11 players having a go not five or six, we were poor we didn't make it very difficult for them."

Nuff said....where's the red wine?

"SOMETIMES YOU NEED A BIT OF LUCK...."

STOKE CITY FC 1 BOLTON WANDERERS 2

......."most probably Owen (Coyle) hasn't had much going for him lately.....certainly got some today!" So said Tony Pulis in his after match comments, I agree with his view totally.Be in no doubt apart from a ten minute spell Stoke completely bossed this game,yet in the end lost it.

Its all about goals.The visitors had not won for three or four matches,and for most of this one they never looked like scoring.Indeed they were woeful in the first half, heads dropping when Dave Kitson put us in front in the 13th minute.By halftime we ought to have been out of sight,yet were only the one goal to the good.

Headers narrowly over the bar, posts struck,clear and sometimes easy chances missed as we went for the second goal in the second half.To be fair Bolton improved ,clearly an unhappy Mr Coyle had had plenty to say to them during the break. Jussi Jaaskelainen denied Whitehead,just getting his fingertips to the midfielders lobbed effort as it headed for the open net,sufficient in fact to slow its progress for a defender to clear.Tuncay unmarked put a lovely ball from Etherington against the post from close range when the open goal seemed an easier target.

Bolton's purple patch was initiated by Ref Attwell.He judged, seriously belatedly (so much so that Stoke broke a good third the length of the pitch before he blew....think the Bolton players made the decision for him !) that Whitehead had felled Weiss centrally on the edge of the box.More than a little dubious.Taylor scored from the free kick( 85 min),the low strike taking a deflection of Ricardo Fuller,to see it on its way into the Stoke net.

The Bolton players celebrated, as you would scoring your first goal for 7 hours, but not a quarter as much as when Taylor grabbed a second,directing the ball into the Stoke net from close in from Weiss's excellent cross.

Stoke still had chances to salvage a point from a game they should never have lost,the best chance falling to Abdy Faye who skied  the ball over an empty net from 4 yards out.

When its not your day its not your day.......Bolton, like Stoke, look to be safe.......Dick Turpin would have been proud of them today!

HONOURS EVEN IN DERBY MATCH

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 0 STOKE CITY FC 0

Beautiful sunny day with a bit of a breeze for this early start at Molineux. Stokies in shirtsleeves...must be summer. First half pretty much even with neither side seriously threatening to score.Plenty of Rory Delap throws ,with a good proportion being fielded by Hahneman without too much trouble.

The second half carried on pretty much as the first had done,probing both ways but nothing really incisive.Wolves played route one,particularly after Uwelumo came on.Wolves matching Rory's throws with long throws of their own.Two chances of note.Two minutes from time Foley sent a sharp shot narrowly to the right of the Stoke goal.On target and Sorensen was beaten.Similarly at the other end Whelan's shot from the edge of the box whistled inches over Hahnemann's crossbar,with the keeper only able to watch it go.

Another point in the bag then,and another clean sheet for The Mighty Potters .Wolves themselves look to be OK if they can maintain this form.

Stoke  Sorensen,Higginbotham,Huth,Collins,Faye,Whelan,Whitehead,Delap,Etherington,Sidibe,Kitson.

RED HOT RICARDO

STOKE CITY FC 2 HULL CITY 0

Stoke passed the magical 40 point mark yesterday,and were excellent value for the win that all but guarantees a third season in the top division.To be honest Hull offered very little real threat throughout the game,and considering their position in the league seemed to lack ambition.A point seemed to be their aim,and apart from one brief attacking flurry in the home penalty area midway through the second half they seldom looked like getting it after Fuller's early strike.

We had to wait just six minutes for the Jamaican flier to open the scoring.A fine flick on from Dave Kitson- who incidentally won all the early aerial exchanges - was allowed to drop by defender McShane.In a flash Fuller was away and past him,finishing with a beautiful shot with the outside of his right boot over advancing keeper Myhill into the net.In a vain attempt to get to the ball McShane clipped Fuller's heel,the resultant injury taking the striker out of the game at halftime,and reducing his effectiveness for the remainder of the first half.

With Tuncay on for Fuller Stoke continued to press for a second goal.It duly arrived after the visitors went down to ten men,when Boateng was stretchered off with a facial injury received totally accidentally as Tuncay attempted an overhead kick.Ian Dowie had already made his three substitutions.

On 90 minutes Sidibe, on for Kitson,got his head to a long ball,directing it to Tuncay on the edge of the Hull penalty box.He squared the ball to Etherington.Having brought the ball under control he rolled a beautifully weighted diagonal ball to Lawrence,free to his right.Lawrence did not panic,his shot - more of a pass really - went along the ground,straight as a die into the corner of the Hull net.Funnily enough this was his first goal since the Hull away win last season,which itself guaranteed our safety!Superb football from The Potters,another quality goal.

Eight minutes of added on time were played out uneventfully.Three points then from a workmanlike performance,which had more than a few moments of high quality football from The Potters.Kitson again had a fine game,getting about the pitch,winning balls in the air and on the ground,making telling passes to set coleagues free on a number of occasions.His partnership with Fuller,certainly on today's evidence,looks to have real potential.Will he be leaving us at the end of the season...maybe not...Etherington continues to impress...another fine game from him!