WELL, we wait all these years to see our team earn the right to play at Old Trafford in a League game and then when we get there our worst nightmare unfolds before our very eyes. Well, actually, losing 5-0 isn’t quite the worst nightmare. That would be taking a three goal lead with five minutes to go, rubbing the home supporters noses into it and then losing 4-3! However, I’m sure you get the point.

There is, of course, no shame in losing at Old Trafford, not even by five goals. I’ve seen far better teams go for five goals there, Arsenal for six, Roma go for seven and Ipswich go for NINE! It happens and deep down we always knew it might!

The problem for us is that we have a very definite plan of action for away games and that involves frustrating the home side. The longer it takes them to score then the better our chances become. When we concede after only three minutes then the plan goes out of the window and we’re in trouble. That helps to explain why we only have two points from our seven away games so far this season and why we have yet to take the lead in any of those seven games!

As always, fans are more vocal and eager to share their opinions after a defeat and so the online community of Stokies has had plenty to say in the wake of that five-goal mauling. The ongoing issue of our style of play away from Stoke has been one subject of heavy debate and so has the choice of players TP has opted to use in recent matches.

After the home victories against Tottenham and Sunderland it seemed as though we were adding a new dimension to our style of play. You could though understand why the manager would choose to switch things around as he did to frustrate Arsenal. It was a good plan and it worked. You can’t argue with that.

It worked so well though that Tony Pulis decided to keep it for the matches at Wigan and Old Trafford. This has led to many supporters questioning the continued use of four central midfielders, none of whom can be said to be particularly creative or adds much to our attacking play – Rory’s rocket-propelled throw-ins excepted of course!

We had Tom Soares coming in and looking useful, but now not even making the bench and we had Glenn Whelan producing a Man of the Match display against Rotherham and only making the bench and Danny Pugh showing up well in the League Cup tie but not even managing that. Two midweek goalscorers there who may have thought their efforts might get them noticed?

So when we had to take off Olofinjana after 30 minutes at Old Trafford we brought on Richard Cresswell. We didn’t HAVE to bring on Richard Cresswell, but we chose to. We could have brought on Michael Tonge, the player with past experience of playing out wide in the Premier League and who we paid a rather sizeable £2M to being to the club on transfer deadline day.

The one thing I always hate doing (except when Dave Bamber is the player in question) is to highlight one player and perhaps show them in a bad light, especially when that player is one who has been as committed and genuine to the cause of Stoke City as Richard Cresswell has been. However, I have to count myself amongst the swelling ranks of Stoke fans who have to question why TP keeps on doing this.

Richard Cresswell is not a bad player but then neither is he a left-sided midfielder. He has proved this over and over again. It was hard to see what he brought to that role in the Championship and it is even more difficult to see now that we’re in the Premier League. Even the Rotherham defence had very little trouble in dealing with his efforts out on the flank during the midweek League Cup match!

If the likes of Pugh and Whelan, both of whom cost the club in excess of £500,000 keep getting overlooked while Cresswell gets the nod then I will have to admit that I am at a total loss to understand what’s really going on?

We have £1M worth of talent there being pretty much ignored, another £2M in Tongue, £1.25 in Soares, £2M in Sonko and £5M+ in Kitson. If Our manager is planning to do a lot more spending during the forthcoming January transfer window then I sincerely hope that he intends using it to purchase players who might get a game in the first team!

Oh well, time put Old Trafford behind us and look forward to the home game against West Brom. We’ve had so much fun playing against The Baggies in the past and we can only hope that continues into this season. We won’t get relegated this season off the back of our results against Man Utd but from games against the likes of West Brom. They ARE one of the teams we do need to beat and it would be just wonderful to keep our incredible record against them going for another year.

There have been few things so joyous as seeing the new lines in excuses that various ‘West Brazilwich Albion’ managers have come up with to try and explain away their repeated failures against those bully-boys from The Potteries

Here’s hoping our red and white-striped heroes give us plenty of reasons to have the Britannia Stadium rocking again this weekend and at the same time have Tony Mowbray squirming uncomfortably in front of the Match of the Day cameras!