STOKE MAKING A GOOD
THERE was a time, not so long ago, when Stoke City’s defending could have taken to the stage as a pretty hilarious musical hall act.
Heavily influenced by Mark Hughes, who was said to be inspired himself by Benny Hill, that defending was causing laughter just about anywhere beyond the confines of the Potteries.
Even Stoke fans were resorting to mocking their own defenders by way of coping with the circus unfolding before their sorry eyes.
So the culture shock is simply immense after Saturday’s clean sheet made it three in a row and just two goals conceded in their last seven games after conceding 12 in their previous seven.
That defence is so solid these days that a 19 year-old full-back, Tom Edwards, not only fits in seamlessly, but immediately begins to distinguish himself where he might have previously been swamped by the mayhem around him.
It’s a defence where Bruno Martins Indi is even threatening a run at left-back after doing little wrong in his two games deputising there.
And his shift from centrehalf has opened the door for skipper Ryan Shawcross to return alongside an ever
Stoke city
assured Ashley Williams and demonstrate there might just be a few games left in the old dog yet. Behind them, meanwhile, Jack Butland is once again reminding us why we were virtually pleading with him to stay put in the summer to help spearhead an immediate return to you-know-where. His distribution still has you on the edge of your seat at times - he almost gifted Forest the lead with one foolhardy short pass in the second half - but the rest of his game has surely banished any murmurs about losing his place in the England set up. One flying save late on brought genuine gasps from the Trent End behind his goal, while two even later saves at the feet of the prolific Lewis Grabban was the stuff of good positioning, keen concentration, quick feet and no little courage.
But while manager Gary Rowett has put out a fire at one end of the pitch, another has emerged at the other to stifle any immediate charge towards the top six.
The gap between Stoke and the Autumn pacesetters remains infuriatingly wide, but no chasm, as chances to complement those clean