This season for Stoke has been much like a roller-coaster for the faithful, from a 5-1 loss to Newcastle on Boxing day and looking as though Stoke would be involved in a relegation dog fight for the first time under Mark Hughes, Stoke have fought back in recent months and remarkably made this season their most successful to date.
Stoke’s 2-1 win over West Brom this weekend allowed them to reach the 50 point mark for the first time in their Premier League history as well as securing their highest ever finish, in 9th position, leapfrogging the team who they were beaten by on Boxing day, not so much revenge but still it felt kind of good.
The worrying thing going into the West Brom game was knowing if Stoke lost and Crystal Palace beat Fulham by seven goals, they could catch and overtake them. Now normally this wouldn’t be a concern, but since Stoke beat West Brom 4-1 last week and Palace are getting better and better under Tony Pulis, you can never be too sure.
Thankfully, like most teams Stoke weren’t concerned about the clubs around them, instead they knew they had to win and Charlie Adam made it happen. Pulis had Stoke on the ropes for a while, and I am so proud of him for what he has done at Palace this season. Manager of the year for sure! I’m sad that he’s gone but seeing what Stoke have become under Hughes, you can’t deny that while the team had some great moments with Pulis in years he was in charge, but Hughes has turned Stoke into an attractive team who are the 9th best side in England.
Matthew Etherington was an emotional note to come out of the game as he was a second half substitute and took his final bow in front of the fans that sang his name at Wembley and have watched him run down the wing so many times. He was a great addition to the Pulis side of old but he will be moving on to pastures new next season and I think I speak for the whole Stoke following when I say we wish him well but hope we don’t ever have to play against him because his pace can be deadly… just ask hull.
Also this week the Player of the Year awards were held and Ryan Shawcross took the Fan’s Player of the Year, deservedly after playing every minute of football this season until he was sent off against Tottenham. Asmir Begovic took Player’s player of the year whilst Marc Wilson picked up the coaching staffs, Oussama Assaidi received goal of the season for his thunderbolt against Chelsea and Peter Crouch picked up Golden Boot for his eight Premier League goals.
All in all it’s been an incredible season to be a Stoke fan. Over the past six years it’s been a delight to look back on the season and see the improvement year by year. Right now Stoke City are in the best position they have ever been in. Stoke City could push on to win trophies and qualify for Europe next season. And I for one cannot wait until August!
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