Stoke City lost 2-1 to rivals Wolves in a game marred by a horrible looking injury to record signing Kenwyne Jones as he crumpled under a hard challenge by Stoke old boy Jody Craddock.

Consolation goal... ©PA Photos

I felt physically sick when I saw Kenwyne rolling around in obvious pain, I’ve seen him clobbered before and he is always quick to jump up and continue but not this time after Craddock slid in on him and trapped the record signing's ankle with his trailing leg. The game had started well for Stoke and we looked really comfortable with our new addition, dare I say that we even started to keep the ball on the floor more and impressively work the channels . One such move saw Jones pick up the ball in the inside right position, hold off the attention of the Wolves defender as he strode forward and then crash a shot off Hahnemann’s crossbar in the first few minutes, this is what we have been missing, this is what we have all been waiting for.

How sick we all felt then in the 14th minute when he had to be taken off and replaced by boo boy Mama Sidibe whose introduction saw us revert to type, the defence simply lumping it up to the big Malian’s head in the absence of their new talisman. The Stoke players, as Pulis said, had the wind knocked out of their sails with the loss of the new signing and it showed. The whole team dropped off Wolves and were camped on the edge of their area as we had endure attack after attack, we then conceded two quick fire goals, the team looked lost, it was awful to watch and half time couldn’t come soon enough.

The second half came and sure enough the Manager had given them a good talking to and we pushed further up the pitch. One of the biggest things for me that day was Pulis' decision to substitute Mama who himself had come on for the injured Jones, a sign, I thought, that signalled Pulis finally starting to lose faith in Sidibe's abilities and the recognition that we needed some flair and technique to get a hold of the game. This was further evident in the use of Tonge, someone whose positional sense is poor but who is more technically gifted, again, his inclusion spoke volumes. A goal from Faye nor a late rally was enough to send the Stokies who made the short trip home happy and everyone's thoughts were on the results of the scan.

From watching the game it is clear to see that Kenwyne Jones looks top drawer but his withdrawal and subsequent capitulation illustrates just how little strength in depth we have, similarly Tonge's inclusion says much the same. I'm happy we will make the signings we need, we always do, but this time I feel there will be some serious business including another big striker signing. It's the midfield, however, that needs the most attention, someone just to put their foot on the ball and dare I say it pick out an attacking pass to a team mate. I fear the hunt for such a player will drive us to as much distraction as the search for Mama with goals... still, we got him in the end.

On that note, I have been told that Kenwyne was walking unaided at the gym today and there is even talk of involvement on Saturday against Redknapp's Spurs, if that is true then that's the best news I have heard since he signed - the result means nothing in comparison to the importance of a swift return for the man who promised so much in so little time on the pitch.

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