Stoke built on their mini revival of late with a well earned win at Goodison Park on a day when both sets of fans bid farewell to an Everton legend.

Again, it wasn’t a great performance but there was some good play in there and it was more a case of most players being on top of their game as opposed to the other way round which had sadly been the trend for many weeks. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that our successive league wins had the central defensive partnership of Huth and Shawcross, the fact that we also kept a clean sheet was the icing on the cake for the many baying for this partnership to be reinstated.

Order restored... ©premierleague.com

The talking points were as follows;

Team Selection – I was about ready to spit my dummy out with the inclusion of Woodgate, assuming Huth would be stuck out at right back again but my fears weren’t to be (entirely) realised as it was Woody who was to be deployed at full back, I guess it’s easier to carry a passenger away from the middle and he was exactly that. We can see now that the manager is back to the preferred partnership in the middle and Woodgate’s “performance” at full back (and his subsequent early withdrawal) should ensure that Pulis’ itch has finally been scratched in that respect and we don’t see the player anywhere near the first team in the league again.

I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, in fact, even after a couple of dodgy games I suggested trying him at full back so I watched with interest. It didn’t take long for Woody to illustrate he is equally inept at full back as he is in the middle as he got pulled out of position time after time and if the winger wasn’t flying past him he was underneath him having been dragged to the floor by a defender devoid of any pace, awareness or guile to deal with the threat posed despite having the defensive Shotton in tow.

I was accused of having a vendetta against Woodgate, of giving Huth the benefit of the doubt when he is at full back so to cut Woody the same slack. Why? Huth has shown time and again that he is a great player, he won every award going last season so forgive me for allowing him to use up some of the masses of credit he has in the bank. Also, despite Huth not enjoying playing at full back, he does a good job defensively, in fact he has won MOTM there on numerous occasions. Woodgate was nothing short of woeful and knowing how desperate the manager was to integrate him into the team, it should give you an idea of just how much of a liability he was that he was subbed so early into the game. Does Pulis have a vendetta too or has he finally realised that Woody is not even a shadow of his former self? I think we know the answer.

Sorensen – Tommy had a very difficult afternoon, he didn’t look comfortable with any of the balls coming in and swung wildly at most of them causing panic and mayhem on all but a couple of occasions. Then came his injury, there seemed to be a moment of indecision between him and Huth and he got clattered. Based on what I have seen of Tommy in the past, it’s not inconceivable that he made the call but then failed to come to the ball, we’ve seen him do it before with other defenders and get an earful so that might be what happened here, then again it could have been Robbie at fault. Either way the treatment he got from the Everton fans was disappointing, I’m not sure I have ever seen someone stretchered off with an Oxygen max to a chorus of boos before, I’m just glad Tommy is ok.

The Defence – I’ve already mentioned the calamitous Woodgate so I’ll instead concentrate on the other three who all did a great job in shutting Everton out and not allowing them even one shot on target, the last time that happened to them was three years ago. This was in no small part to Shawcross and Huth who seem to be getting their understanding back and as a result we look stronger with every game they are together, the fact we were so close to a clean sheet against Blackburn and got one here is testament to their impact as a partnership. It’s just frustrating that Pulis seems to shoehorn Huth in at right back every single Summer/Autumn before putting him back in the middle in the Winter. Mind boggling.

The Cage – We saw Whitehead and Whelan selected for this game, not a duo to whet the appetite much but having an energetic Shotton and a back on form Matty either side of them coupled with their own energy and drive made for an impressive showing with Whitehead in particular impressing – he was my Man of the Match. Deano was everywhere, along with Whelan he was first to a lot of the second balls meaning we maintained possession and territory, I was really impressed with the both of them and think that they are a great option for away games.

Man of the Match... ©premierleague.com

The Wingers – Matty once again looked more like the livewire on the flanks we’ve missed for the last few months as he started to really attack his full back which is great news given the potential issue with Pennant who was left out amid all kinds of rumours, not helped by a thinly veiled dig at our style in the local pres only days before. Shotton did an admirable job out wide, my only criticism of him would be to do the basics first before rolling the ball under your feet or Cruyff turns. He has all the ingredients to be a great player, though I would suggest his best bet would be to go on loan to a top Championship club on loan to play at right back and work on his defensive game for the remainder of the campaign so he can come back and challenge Wilko for a regular spot.

Crouch – I’ve always said I call it as I see it and after a less than impressive spell Crouch is starting to look a little more mobile and is being helped by a bit more assistance from his team mates. We know his touch is good and at Everton, despite being away from home, we got in and around him much better. It may well be that everything is coming together nicely for him as he gets used to his new team mates and vice versa, the energy and coming of age of Shotton, the re-emergence of Matty, the stamina of Whitehead and Whelan all helping him bed into a new and very specific system on what was a very difficult away game. I was disappointed with Jones in the week who didn’t bring any of the attributes I’ve been seeking from Crouch of late, so for me the latter is very much in there on merit at the moment.

Much better... ©premierleague.com

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