Why the joke is on Stoke

A LOT of soul-searching has been going on at Stoke City. Way, way, too late.

Charlie Adam was the latest to wade into his team-mates, saying some had “been getting away with murder for a long time”.

And he is not wrong.

Yet while Adam is one of those who could not be accused of shirking, his situation was nonetheless symptomatic of the malaise at the bet365 Stadium.

Before August was up last year, Adam, who turns 33 in December, was given a contract extension that takes him through until the summer of 2019.

He did not start a Premier League game until December 30 of this season.

Adam (above) might well be spot-on when he says a few had been getting away with murder but a lot more were given a comfort blanket that sent them sleep-walking to relegation.

ROY HODGSON has done a splendid job at Crystal Palace but he did have one advantage that his predecessor did not enjoy.

He had a mainly fit Wilfried Zaha at his disposal.

Zaha only featured in the first of Frank de Boer’s five games and returned on October 14 for Palace’s first win of the season, at home to Chelsea.

At this time of the year, debate bubbles about which player has been most crucial to the fortunes of his team.

Few have been more important to their club than Zaha has to Palace.

IT is a shame it has not worked out quite as planned, but if ever a transfer symbolised the muddled thinking of a supposedly ambitious owner, it was Wayne Rooney’s return to Everton. NEWS of a delay in Andy Murray’s recovery should not come as a surprise.

Getting back to fitness after suffering with a debilitating hip problem for so long was always going to be tough. Getting back to the fitness Murray will demand of himself was always going to be even tougher.