Blackburn (a) Sat 28th November - A vast improvement

Last season's trip to Ewood Park resulted in a disappointing 3-0 defeat as a lacklustre Stoke were soundly beaten by a superior Blackburn side. It's testament to the progress our club has made in the 11 months since that dreary day in December that today's game was not only evenly matched, but if anything Stoke looked the most likely to win.

Obscurely, this game was far more entertaining than the 1-0 win the week before, and definitely marked a vast improvement from the team in terms of both creativity and effort. The match was end to end with each side having had plenty of chances to secure the win amidst some flowing football that belied their hoof-ball reputations.

Of course on paper, 0-0 between Stoke and Blackburn doesn't really leap out as an epic encounter, more so it leaps out as a guaranteed last match on Match of the Day. It was typical though of MOTD's anchor (and he is a complete and total anchor) Gary Lineker to summarise the entirety of the match with a short derisory "hardly a thriller". Oh I am sorry Gary, was it not quite thrilling enough for you? I counted at least 5 or 6 solid chances for both teams, each including an absolute sitter of Ronny Rosentahl proportions. Does this not deserve at least some comment?

If Stoke achieve a surprise result, like their outstanding win away at Spurs, then we are lauded with praise as a strong organised team that is equipping themselves superbly to life in the Premier League. The rest of our matches however tend to be in the last two or three on MOTD, which as any regular viewer knows, usually means minimal appraisal. Now i'm under no illusions here, a lot of Stoke games can be fairly bland affairs and i'm not disputing their lowly place on the MOTD schedules. However it does get a little galling when the smug jug-eared tw*t decides to dismiss the entire match with one short sarcastic aside.

Our usual MOTD coverage is as follows: a few brief match highlights, a short interview with the respective managers and then it's back to the studio. Right on cue, Gary leans back, raises his eyebrows at a smirking Alan Hansen and desperately holds back from sneering"what a shower of shite that was". They have all the time in the world to praise United's attacking threat for the umpteenth time, or discuss once again what's gone wrong under Rafa, but a quick minute long analysis of where Stoke are letting themselves down, or where they might improve.....that's too much to ask.

But I digress. Back to the game itself.

Ewood park is a great ground to visit, easy access, a quality view and chippies aplenty. Like most clubs who aren't Stoke, they have ample nearby parking and pubs, and you have no trouble getting away from the match quickly and stress free. It always amazes me how quickly you can get away from many of the away grounds we visit. Any fan trying to park near the Brit faces an obscenely early arrival to guarantee a space, and then a monumental wait to get off after. Even in the days when we were averaging gates of around 14,000 in the Championship, supporters were up in arms due to waits of over an hour to get off the club car parks. Cars crawl away from the ground in a poorly designed system that seems designed purely to maximise traffic congestion.

You may be spotting a theme over these past few posts, namely the gross incompetence of those who designed our ground and it's surrounding infrastructure. It really is not any exaggeration. Now I've grown to love the Brit, as i'm sure most Stoke fans have, but that's due to the experiences i've witnessed on the pitch and the electric atmosphere our fans create. My love of the Brit has come despite the open corners, the deficit of parking, the lack of roadways and pathways leading to the ground, the cramped concourses and the hill-top location. I've even grown to like the Incinerator-side views my seat offers.

For away fans however, a trip to the Brit is far from a pleasant experience. Any away fans travelling to fortress Britannia are greeted with an extreme deficit of nearby amenities and no pubs to frequent other than a Harvester that is about as safe and welcoming for away fans as a BNP rally is for Abu Hamza. In any away day league, a visit to the Britannia has to rank fairly near the bottom. Unless you have a penchant for industrial estates and incinerator's, there really isn't much to occupy your time.

Ewood park suffers no such problems however, and the ground itself is 3/4 of the way to being a top class stadium. The lowly looking Riverside Stand looks hideously out of place compared to its three modern compatriots, but other than that the ground is smartly designed and the top-tier in the Darwen End offers a brilliant view.

Blackburn's 90's heyday must seem like a distant memory to any devout Rovers fan. Their constant string of mid-to-bottom half finishes has clearly had an impact on the pitifully quiet home fans.If your ground is so quiet on match day that it makes the Reebok Stadium seem like a cauldron of noise, you know you are in trouble. There's barely a peep out of the Rovers fans other than the odd half-hearted 'Big Sam's barmy army', which did little but make the term 'barmy' sound bitterly ironic.

The travelling Stoke support was on top form however and almost had something to celebrate in the first half as both Dean Whitehead and Liam Lawrence went close only for Paul Robinson to show his quality in the Blackburn goal and thwart them both.

Pulis had seemingly learned from the Pompey game and opted to start Lawrence on the right instead of Delap. This ensured that we actually looked dangerous going forward and were able to attack from down both flanks. A rare treat in a Pulis side.

The other big change from the Pompey game was the inclusion of big Mama (in the 'Mama Role' of course) alongside the tireless Fuller up front. The two linked up as well as ever, with Fuller once again running their defence ragged, creating numerous chances for his team-mates but unfortunately none for himself.

The second half saw both teams go close, but Stoke in particular missed a couple of absolute sitters. Beattie came on for a tiring Mama and proceeded to spoon a chance over from close range when he really should have broken the back of the net.

It was Whitehead however who missed the chance of the match. This was one of those chances destined for a Christmas stocking-filler DVD, 'crap misses from the six-yard box when it's harder to miss...and gaffes 7' .

Whitehead actually had a decent game in the midfield, tirelessly closing Rovers midfield down and continually getting forward to support our front two. When Fuller went on a typically jinking run, cutting in at the by line and powering into the box, he spotted Whitehead unmarked merely yards out from the goal. A perfectly weighted pass was crying out for Deano, or even Etherington perfectly positioned behind him, to smack it home. Unfortunately Dean swiped wildly at the cross and proceeded to guide the ball harmlessly away from the goal. To say your Grandmother could have scored it may be a slight understatement. Your Grandmother could have done a few kick ups, paused to salute the travelling support, got down on her knees and nosed the ball over the line, but it just wasn't to be.

Nevertheless, Stoke left Ewood Park happy with a point and overall the game was genuinely a close and entertaining encounter which either team could have won. Despite what Mr. Lineker would have you believe.