Abdoulaye Faye - A Man, A Machine, A Mountain

Just what were Newcastle thinking when they let Abdoulaye Faye come to Stoke for a mere £2.25 million back in August.
Faye has so far proved to be an inspired signing by Tony Pulis and must surely go down as one of the signings of the summer, not just by Stoke City but in the entire Premier League.
Faye first caught Stoke's attention during our FA Cup 3rd Round tie against the Magpies at the Britannia Stadium in January, when he produced a superb display to help deny the Potters an FA Cup scalp. It was with this in mind that Potters fans saw him as a excellent capture when Tony Pulis signed the big defender up in the summer as he assembled his squad for the Premier League.
His impact was immediate. After a frail defensive display in our opening game at Bolton, Faye's presence was felt during the home game with Aston Villa, where he marked Gabby Agbonlahor, a striker who had scored a hat-trick the week before, out of the game. Since then Faye has gone from strength to strength and has started to become something of a cult hero among fans, with his tough tackling and frankly faultless displays at the heart of the Potters' defence.
His presence also appears to be bringing out the best in fellow defender Ryan Shawcross, who seems to have stepped up a gear since partnering Faye at centre back.
I wonder if Newcastle are now regretting letting a defender as good as Abdoulaye Faye leave for the Potteries, and replace him with the near £10 million Fabricio Collocini.

To Throw or Not To Throw

It has now become a not so secret weapon, but Rory Delap's throws have gained nationwide attention since Arsenal became the latest team to be bamboozled by his missiles.
The long throw is a football purists' nightmare and although Arsene Wenger (at the time) was gracious enough to admit Stoke deserved their win on Saturday, he surely must have been not as impressed by the style of the win. But who cares? If it gets Stoke City points to stay in the Premier League then that is all that matters.
There are some that say Delap is only in the team for his long throws, but that may be a little harsh as a lot of the other work he does largely goes unnoticed, and he does have a tendancy to chip in with a few crucial goals, such as the winner against Tottenham and the opener against Wolves in the epic 4-2 win at Molineux last season.
The long throw is a unique weapon that surely guarantees a fit Rory Delap a place in the starting eleven week in week out, but nobody should be fooled into thinking it is all he good for, for Stoke City.

Big Mama The Daddy

IF there's one player in the Stoke squad overachieving at the moment it's Mamady Sidibe. A player who once scored just 3 goals all season whilst playing for Gillingham in the Championship, and who took until February to notch his first goal last season has become something of a cult hero among fans and is currently keeping £5.5 million record signing Dave Kitson out of the team with a string of fine performances. There isnt a Stoke fan out there who can surely question Mama's attitude and work rate and he is also now showing what a vital member of the team he really is. We all know and have come to accept that he isnt a 20 goal a season striker but given the amount of assists he provides, including that fabulous cross for Rory Delap's winner against Tottenham, and given that he will chip in with the odd goal now and again, such as the crucial winner against the Villa, he is most defonatly an indispensable member of the squad at the moment.