Ryan Shawcross’s horrific Emirates trip

Stoke City captain Ryan Shawcross has described their trip to Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium and back as ‘horrendous’.

The team bus was stuck in heavy snow on the M1 after the midday postponement of the Potters clash with the Gunners.

Shawcross told the club’s website: “We certainly don’t want another journey like that, it was horrendous.

Ryan Shawcross

“The spirit remained high on the bus and I suppose in many respects it was a relief that we actually made it home.

“With so many cars and lorries getting stuck and being abandoned we were fortunate that we didn’t end up that way.”

The Potters will remain closer to home over the festive period, with four out of five home matches after they make the short trip to Blackburn Rovers on Boxing Day.

Stoke City set for Arsenal clash

Stoke City travel to the Emirates Stadium to face an Arsenal side looking to bounce back from defeat.

The Potters themselves will hope to avenge last weekend’s 1-0 defeat to Blackpool and second-placed Arsenal.

In last season’s clash, centre-back Ryan Shawcross saw red following a tackle on Aaron Ramsey, which resulted in the young forward breaking his leg.

Ryan Shawcross

But Tony Pulis has defended Shawcross and said the young defender will not let that impact on tomorrow’s match.

He added: “Ryan is a very honest lad and has done fantastic for this club.

“I don’t think he will approach the game in any other way, he is a competitive defender but an honest kid as well.

“I have seen the challenge over and over again and I am convinced along with 99 per cent of people that there was no malice in the tackle.

“He has no justification to go to the Emirates and be anything other than what he is – an honest competitor.”

Kick-off is 3.00pm.

Click below to see the challenge in last season’s match at the Britannia Stadium. Warning to viewers the video is graphic.

Blackpool boss hails work at Stoke City

Blackpool boss Ian Holloway believes Stoke City Football Club are only going to get ‘stronger and stronger’.

Speaking after his side’s 1-0 win over the Potters, Holloway said he hopes to emulate Tony Pulis’s success with his own newly-promoted club.

He told BBC Sport: “Stoke are a fantastic side, their fans and players are brilliant and Tony (Pulis) deserves a lot of credit.

Ian Holloway

“We knew Stoke would be a test and we just about passed it.

“There is a fantastic spirit at the club and we have got to try and emulate that.”

Dudley Campbell’s strike three minutes into the second-half separated the sides, but Holloway added that he hopes Blackpool can follow in similar footsteps as Stoke City have.

He said: “Stoke come up and are really enjoying it.

“They have good energy and it is massive for people in and around the community.

“Tony and the chairman have a good relationship and they are only going to get stronger and stronger.

“Stoke have stayed up two years now and we would love to live up to what Stoke have done.”

Holloway has been very vocal in recent weeks over squad rotations, Wayne Rooney and the Premier League bosses.

Click below to listen to one of his lively interviews:

Stoke City rue missed chances, says boss Tony Pulis

Stoke City boss Tony Pulis has said his side have paid the price for squandering too many chances.

The Potters lost 1-0 to Blackpool at the Britannia Stadium thanks to Dudley Campbell’s second-half goal.

Pulis conceded after the match that it was ‘one of those days’.

Tony Pulis

He told BBC Sport: “We created more chances today (December 11) than we have done in other Premier League matches.

“We had opportunities and won every header from the corners but didn’t hit the target.”

Both sides squandered early chances in a goalless first-half.

Matthew Etherington and Kenwyne Jones linked up well but the latter’s headed effort flew narrowly over the crossbar.

Blackpool found their feet in the game and came perilously close following Robert Huth’s slip.

The German’s mistake was picked up by Neil Eardley whose teasing cross was blocked by Andy Wilkinson, the rebound falling kindly to Campbell who lashed his volley wide.

Blackpool nearly broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time but were denied by Asmir Begovic who pulled off a superb one-handed save to deny Campbell.

There were chances for both sides at the start of the second-half, but it was the visitors that made sure of their opportunity.

Britannia Stadium

Ricardo Fuller failed to take advantage of a clear run on goal, and Blackpool countered the attack. Charlie Adam whipped in a teasing ball from the left and found Campbell prowling in the six-yard box with a simple tap-in from close range.

Stoke piled the pressure on, and hit the woodwork three times through Fuller, Etherington and Rory Delap but the visitors somehow managed to hold out.

Pulis said Blackpool’s ‘game of lottery’ worked for them.

He added: “They took their chances and won the game.

“Fair play to them, they have thrown the dice and their playing a game of lottery at times because they play very open and it came up trumps today.

“The lads worked hard – but I didn’t think it was going to be our day and it turned out that way.”

The result leaves the Potters in 11th place with a trip to Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium to look forward to next week.

Did you go the game? Let North Staffs Football know your thoughts!

Stoke City boss urges fans not get carried away with European Cup hopes

Stoke City boss Tony Pulis has called for fans not to get carried away after their 2-2 draw with Wigan Athletic.

The Potters have been in superb form after wins over West Brom, Liverpool and Birmingham, a run which has lifted them from relegation worries upto only five points off an elusive European Cup spot.

And there are talks starting to circulate the ground that the Potters could find themselves in a European Cup place come the end of the season.

Pulis said: “People will always get carried away but we are bobbing along nicely at the moment.

“We have a good spirit in the team which has always been there but we have added a little bit more quality to it and we look more of a threat going forward.”

The Potters next match will be at the Britannia on Saturday (Dec 11) will be against Blackpool. Kick-off is 3.00pm

Can Stoke finish in a European Cup spot this year? Or are we building our hopes up? Let North Staffs Football know and leave a comment below.

Tony Pulis disappointed with 2-2 draw at Wigan

Tony Pulis

Stoke City boss Tony Pulis has admitted he is disappointed after the Potters drew 2-2 with Wigan Athletic.

Stoke twice took the lead through Robert Huth and Matthew Etherington but an own goal from Danny Collins and Tom Cleverley’s deflected shot gave both sides a share of the points at the DW Stadium.

Pulis described the result as ‘desperately disappointing’ but added that his team can’t be greedy.

He told BBC Sport: “It was an open game and we are desperately disappointed to concede two goals but it is a much tighter and compact league this year and we will take every point we can.

“They had their chances and opportunities but we played with four forwards and to come away from home like that just shows that we are trying to be positive.”

The draw leaves Stoke in seventh place, and more importantly five points off an elusive European Cup spot.

Eidur Gudjohnsen ‘will feature’ in Wigan clash

Stoke City boss Tony Pulis has reiterated that striker Eidur Gudjohnsen will feature in their trip to Wigan on Saturday (December 4), writes Ted Woodward.

The Potters sit 8^th and will be hoping to extend their unbeaten run to five games when they take on a Wigan side that is staring down the barrel of relegation.

Pulis has revealed that Gudjohnson could feature despite the strike force of the side helping to net nine goals in their last four matches.

Eidur Gudjohnsen

He told Sky Sports: “He is good around the place and good with the other players, but Ricardo Fuller has done exceptionally well, so has Kenwyne Jones and Tuncay, and Jon Walters has done better than anyone else would have imagined.”

Jermaine Pennant is major doubt after a hamstring injury from last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City, but Pulis has admitted that long-term absentee, Mamady Sidibe, will be included in his 25-man match day squad from next month.

It was thought that the Malian international would be out of action for the entire season, having snapped his Achilles tendon against Tottenham in August.

Speaking to the Sentinel Pulis said: “He’s had a long, hard road back to fitness, but he is making sound progress. He’ll be a welcome addition.”

Kick-off is 3.00pm at the DW Stadium.

Let North Staffs Football know your thoughts about the match, and should Eidur Gudjohnsen be given more of a chance?

Click below to see Maynor Figueroa’s 60-yard strike in the Potters 2-2 draw last season.

Stoke City look at young Swedish midfielder

Stoke City are in talks with Swedish youngster Smajl Suljevic in a bid to snap up the midfielder during the January transfer window.

The 16-year-old is reported to have already agreed terms in a two-year deal at the Britannia Stadium, following a successful two week trial.

Tony Pulis revealed to the clubs website that despite more terms to agree he is hopeful of bringing the Dalkurd star to the Potteries.

Tony Pulis

He added: “I’ve left it to the academy lads – they think he is a good player and we have just backed him really.

“We have had a number of players on trials just to see how their react to English football.

“We are also making a massive effort to get our own players through the system and into the team, and it is something we will continue to concentrate on in the next few years.”

Stoke City travel to Wigan Athletic on Saturday. Kick-off is 3.00pm.

Stoke City boss proud of club’s community role

Stoke City manager Tony Pulis has admitted he is proud of the part his team his team plays in the local community, writes Jonathan Doubtfire.

The Potters boss believes the commitment and passion of his players on the pitch can be an inspiration to a city suffering during tough financial times.

He said: “As a football club we understand that we are a massive part of the community.

Tony Pulis

“We sometimes forget that there’s a very big world out there and there’s lots of things going on outside the club that we can help with. If we can help, we will help.

“I think that what we have managed to achieve is a football club that has grown right through the community and I think they realise how important they are to us and how important we are to them.

“I always feel proud when I see red and white striped shirts on kids in the street. Six or seven years ago, you wouldn’t really have seen that. It would have been Man United, Liverpool or even Arsenal shirts.

“Even seeing the club stickers on car windscreens gives me a great lift.”

Stoke City players and coaching staff have been growing moustaches during this month as part of the Movember campaign to raise money for the Prostrate Cancer Charity.

Pulis joked: “The lads have been saying it’s much easier growing a moustache than climbing Mount Kilimanjaro but they have done it for a really good cause and that’s the most important thing.”

Pulis praises character after West Brom win

Stoke City made it three-successive wins on Saturday (Nov 20) with a superb 3-0 win over Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion.

The match-winning second-half performance included converted penalties from Matthew Etherington and Jon Walters.

Walters rubbed salt into West Brom wounds three minutes into injury time as he shot and then reacted quickest to the rebound.

Speaking after the match, Tony Pulis said he was delighted with his side’s performance.

Tony Pulis

He added: “It is a massive win. We have played better before in some games away from home and not picked up any points so I am pleased.

“They shaded the first-half but as soon as we scored the first goal I could not see anybody else winning it.”

The Potters run is on the back of five successive defeats in the league and cups, but Pulis said this reaction from the players is a sign of good character.

He added: “It is another great result for the players. We have won two local derby’s and beaten Liverpool.

“The players thrive on confidence but we will try and stay as level headed as we can but it is such a tough league.”