After weeks of Cricket/Rugby/Golf/Darts hogging the back pages, Football is now making its way back to its rightful place pushing these stopgap sports back through the pages to sit nicely alongside the adverts for the Dirty DVD Shop that is closing down.

The arguments on whether the league will be a better place or not, now that the Portuguese winker has departed for the more tax friendly comfort of Madrid, have been raging on, but only 1 subject has dominated my thoughts all Summer, only one subject that holds my attention 24/7 and that is Stoke City FC and their second season in the Premier League. After a magnificent first season, fans of Stoke are waiting with baited breath as we straddle yet another silent and uncomfortable pre-season where it seems every team in the land are signing players, yet the deafening silence coupled with the stories of the man whose girlfriend’s hairdresser’s dog walker was talking to the Chairman’s bin man who found a crumpled up, yet perfectly legible list of targets, is enough to tip you over the edge.

Dozens of players have been linked in the press, and whilst the likes of Orange one at Hull love to run their clubs through the media, telling anyone who will listen who they are chasing, Messrs Pulis, Scholes and Coates continue to carry out their business behind closed doors guarded by half a dozen Abdoulaye Faye clones. The main signing being mooted on various forums is that of Dean Ashton, the former England International who, rumour has it, is having a treatment table named after him, was originally at Stoke as a youth and is said to be keen to move back to the area. Ashton, despite his poor record of injuries of late, would represent an astute and potentially huge step by Stoke City in establishing the club as one that is going places, a club who aren’t happy to go into each season in a relegation scrap, a club that wants to push on to the next level..

A signing of this stature would represent a real statement of intent to other players and could really be the catalyst for bigger and better things…and how amazing would it be if he did sign, if Stoke did better their achievements of last season and if Ashton did manage to stay fit enough to make a real impact – we could actually see a Stoke player leading the forward line for England for the World Cup next year?!

Or……

….we may just sign Jason Scotland

I love being a Stoke fan!