A team with Ryan Shawcross and Robert Huth at the heart of its defence will never completely change its style, and the German was a threat from corners all day long. Only his fellow German, Fulham right back Sacha Reither, prevented Huth a certain goal by twice clearing headers off the line. However, the Stoke team has embraced their new manager Mark Hughes and the differing style he wants his side to play. Stoke looked far happier in possession and worked some neat moves, but lacked presence and quality in the final third. "We were in control and didn't get what we deserved. We created opportunities through corners and set pieces but our end product needs addressing. To be fair, that has been the case for several seasons here," Hughes said after the game. The Welshman did manage to offload Cameron Jerome to Crystal Palace, but his strike force still contains Kenwyne Jones and Peter Crouch, who are both a nod back to Hughes' predecessor Tony Pulis. Until Hughes can inject some real pace and a proven goal scorer to the ranks his side will contain to struggle to enter the top ten, but the signs are very positive so far that despite the change in approach, the team will not fall down the table.
