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<p>Stoke once again have compounded the critics and not only avoided the dreadful “second season syndrome”, but actually improved their points and placing from last season. It’s a fantastic achievement for the club and its passionate and noisy fans. I have to say that as an away fan at either the Brittania Stadium or the old Victoria Ground, listening to the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7SqgtuJdbk&amp;feature=related" target="_blank">Stoke fans regal you a blast of “Delilah” is an experience</a> you have to witness. Hats off to them, it’s an impressive sonic attack that seems to come from everywhere.</p>
<p>To the modern fan, most people assume Stoke have seemingly come from nowhere and when I started watching football, Stoke City were unfortunately on the way down. They have suffered over modern seasons, but don’t be fooled by the clubs league standings over the last 20 years. Throughout most of the 20th century the club were a well established First Division side.</p>
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<p>Now they’ve begun to re-establish themselves and a lot of credit has to go to Tony Pulis for the work he’s put in at the club since he returned for his second stint as manager. Today he’s had an interview with the BBC’s underated Juliette Ferrington in which he’s opened up about some of the leaks and gossip that threatened to derail the clubs progress earlier this season. Following on from Benoit Assou-Ekotto’s refreshingly honest interview in the Guardian, it makes such a refreshing change for someone to deal with the issues fans actually talk about.</p>
<p>I find Pulis an interesting interviewee, his experiences in the lower leagues as a player and manager stands him in good stead. He’s been where it really matters in football, rather than the cossetted world of top flight football. He has an astounding record of never being relegated as a manager so far at the 6 jobs he’s had since he replaced Harry Redknapp at Bournemouth in 1992 and he knows what a club needs to keep it up. It may not be pretty sometimes, but it works.</p>
<p>In the interview today, he’s named names and laid it out for all the fans to see. He’s fed up with people running to the press and leaking stories, which in his opinion destabilises the club.<strong><em>“I thought Beattie was one of the main reasons we stayed up in the  first year, he was exceptional, but he hasn’t had a good season in my  opinion. “Kitson was our record signing, and I don’t think we’ve  got what we thought we were going to get, to be perfectly honest.”</em></strong></p>
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<p>Regardless of what players may think or what John Terry may say to the press, the power at a football club has to lay with the manager. Fans may have favourite players, but ultimately it is the manager who’s neck is on the line every time his team kick off. He’s the one who gets the stick if the side loses and stands back when the team win. Players don’t get sacked when the team struggles, the manager does. The last thing a newly promoted side needs is a couple of ego fuelled players thinking they’re the only thing that matters at a club.</p>
<p>The two players he names can point the fingers all they want, but they simply haven’t performed this season at all. Kitson’s tenure has been a bit of a disaster to be honest, but you can’t go shouting your mouth off about the manager. He was bought to score goals and simply hasn’t produced anywhere near the form he showed at Reading. Beattie on the other hand, has always had a reputation as a bit of a “prima-donna”, so it was seemed more a question of when he’d blow up rather than why. He is a classic example of potential being wasted by poor off field discipline. Ironically both have drink driving convictions.</p>
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<p>Martin Keown tonight criticised Pulis for his comments, but I applaud him for his honesty. I’m sick to death of pampered players whining because they are not the be all and end all at clubs they clearly feel aren’t big enough for them. Pulis would do well in selling the pair of them and investing in some raw talent that has it all to prove rather than two players who feel they are bigger than Stoke City. No doubt, someone will want them but Stoke City are better of without them.</p>

Stoke Keep Improving But Can They Shift The Troublecausers?

Stoke Keep Improving But Can They Shift The Troublecausers? - World Soccer Talk

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<p>ESPN’s fledgling new sports channel is beginning to pull things together rather nicely since it won the rights that Setanta lost last month. Capturing those 46 games is certainly a coup for them but the work really begins when they add the front row staff to present the output and act as a front for the channel itself. Now they’ve added the Scottish Premier League, the people they now choose to front both Premierships are going to be crucial.</p>
<p>On Friday, they announced that Ray Stubbs had agreed to come to ESPN as main anchor on the Premiership games, ironically beginning with Everton Vs Arsenal on Saturday August 15th. Whilst the BBC were very diplomatic and wished him well, you really had to feel for Stubbs as the BBC had booted him off their live Score programme which aired every Saturday from 2.30pm until 5.30pm. He found out last week that he was being replaced by Gabby Logan, so jumped ship when the opportunity came his way.</p>
<p>Stubbs is a damn fine presenter and deserved better from the BBC, having already lost Football Focus to a younger, trendier presenter and I think it’s a fine choice by ESPN to have him handle the matches. The Beeb are having a somewhat strange purge of their sports staff with Marc Saggers being allowed to leave after his spat with Radio 5’s darling, Alan Green. Green it seems can do no wrong in the eyes of some at the BBC but letting Saggers go was a shabby way to treat one of its better presenters.</p>
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<p>Stubbs knows his stuff and is quite a rarity as television presenter who was actually a sportsman, playing for Bangor City and Tranmere Rovers before beginning at local BBC radio. The other main news is that Rebecca Lowe is expected to join him as the co-host for ESPN and it’s well deserved. She’d always done well at the BBC before being passed over too many times, and being picked up by Setanta to work on a variety of programmes.</p>
<p><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/uploads/news.bbc.co.uk/assets/library/store/standard/Rebecca%20Lowe.jpg" alt="" width="170" height="170"></figure></div>Lowe, in my opinion, excelled on Setanta, with Football Matters and her presenting on the Blue Square Conference matches. She knows her stuff and deserves another break after the chaotic collapse of her previous employers. It’s an interesting pairing but, they will both be aware of each other after working together for the BBC and have in something in common as bothwere passed over and moved on for less talented, but more aesthetically pleasing colleagues.</p>
<p>What next for ESPN’s television team? They’ve not announced the commentators as yet and I assume they’ll go for the double act which Sky set the template on all those years ago. When Tyler and Gray are in tandem, they take some beating by any rival pairing out there, so it’s crucial they get the pairing spot on. This is a big moment for ESPN in the UK, get it wrong and people will simply turn off. Get it right and they could become a major player in the UK sports market.</p>
<p>As long as they don’t pick up any of the Setanta pundits, I think they’ll be ok. Why do we always have to suffer ex-professional footballers who lack the wit and intelligence you need? It seems the majority of pundits in the UK are chosen purely on the basis of being an ex-footballer first and being able to speak coherently and objectively second.</p>
<p><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignleft" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/jon_champion.gif" alt="" width="144" height="180"></figure></div>Jon Champion would be an excellent choice, Connor McNamara one from left field, but another whose stock is rising in the field of punditry. Rescuing Peter Brackley from the football retirement home wouldn’t go amiss either or taking a chance on Paul Walker from Radio Sheffield. He’s an excellent commentator and has started doing some work for Radio 5 too.&nbsp; All of them would deliver an excellent commentary for viewers where ever they’re based. Juliette Ferrington is another under used sports presenter on the BBC and could easily do a good job.</p>
<p>Gavin Peacock would be perfect as the ex-professional; unfortunately, he’s studying Divinity at the Ambrose Seminary in Canada for another two years. I hear Shaka Hislop is an excellent pundit but overall I just want someone who can talk about the game enthusiastically without reverting to cliches and type. Pat Nevin would be a perfect choice, eloquent, determined and honest and another former player that’s under used for the usual old boys club in football punditry.</p>
<p>Overall though, whilst it’s early days for ESPN, they’ve made two excellent decisions so far. Let’s hope they continue in that vein.</p>

ESPN's Recruitment Drive Begins To Warm Up

ESPN's Recruitment Drive Begins To Warm Up - World Soccer Talk

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Stoke Keep Improving But Can They Shift The Troublecausers?

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ESPN's Recruitment Drive Begins To Warm Up