TONY Pulis won’t need me to tell him he’s got some interesting decisions to make ahead of the Man City game.

Is now the time to bring in Liam Lawrence and/or Ricardo Fuller from the start – and who to play in central midfield whether or not Lawrence comes in?

I’m sure that Lawrence and Fuller can play together, particularly at home and with results needed now, but that’s Tony’s call.

A manager is in and around the players all week, so he gets a feel about whether particular players are at it and ready for the call.

And it’s not a straightforward decision when you consider how long each player has been out, but sometimes you just know the time is right to take that gamble.

If Lawrence does play, then does Tony leave out Rory Delap and his long throws, or switch him inside where he is more than capable of doing a job?

There could be a vacancy after Amdy Faye disappointed at Tottenham and was taken off just after half-time.

Again, Tony will know Faye better than anyone, so he knows whether he’s the kind of
character who can bounce straight back from such a disappointment, or whether he now
needs a break.

I’ve got to say I’ve been impressed by Matthew Etherington and James Beattie after their impact in their first few games for us.

I always knew Etherington could dribble and run with the ball, but I didn’t realise he was such a good passer as well.

That gives you so many more options because here you have a player who’s not going to waste possession cheaply. Beattie has got off a remarkable number of shots on goal in his two games to date when you consider the fixtures were Chelsea and Tottenham away.

He’s not afraid to have a go at goal and I’m impressed with how he climbs and heads the ball, so fingers crossed he will get enough goals between now and the end of the season.

Man City are almost two teams in one. They can’t half attack with all that pace and flair, but they remain a bit suspect at the back.

It looks like they will effectively play with a front three of Shaun Wright-Phillips, Robinho and new signing Craig Bellamy.

Not much height or physical presence, perhaps, but plenty of speed, ability, creativity and finishing power.

We have to pressurise them by squeezing and dropping off to stop such players having both the freedom to play and the room to run at us. But we have to squeeze the play right because, if you do it too flat as a unit, you leave space behind for them to just lob over the top and exploit their pace in the space.

I know Bellamy has often courted the wrong headlines, but Mark Hughes knows him as well as anyone in football and the fact he’s gone back in for him tells you everything you need to know about his ability.

Hughes has also brought in the Dutchman Nigel de Jong to stiffen up his midfield – something they’ve obviously lacked – while there’s been a shake-up in the heart of their defence after a rocky first half to the season there as well.

Wayne Bridge is the other big January signing for Manchester. He’s dangerous going forward, but again there are question marks defensively which were shown up in their midweek win over Newcastle.

Their real unsung hero is Stephen Ireland. He’s been one of the players of the season in the Premier League so far because of his scoring, movement, passing and energy. But
again, not the best defensively.

Stoke must play with a good tempo and, with a hostile crowd at their back, I’m sure they will once more at the Britannia.

It’s been a tough old time for everyone at the club this past month or so. Now is the time to show we are all in this together, all true Stokies together.