Stoke City Fan View: Tightening up at the back but still lacking creativity going forward

We aren’t defensively frail anymore.

With this change of formation it has become very evident it helps us massively at the back as the mix of speed, power and awareness between the current three has worked very well. Although never playing in that system Bruno, Marc and Glen look at ease with it all and back it up with their performances.

All credit has to go to Mark Hughes and his coaching staff who have implemented this 3-4-3 system perfectly. With Arsenal coming up next it will be a big indicator of how well this formation is going to work for us, as they are one of the most dynamic attacking teams in the league. If they can keep this recent form then we might prevail and get a result.

A lot of people may be surprised with how we are doing without Shawcross but to be honest I’m not. Martins Indi has come into the team and been amazing, also Muniesa is a better ball player which really helps the fluidity in going from defence to attack. With Muniesa, Martins Indi and Johnson you’ve got three players who are incredibly comfortable on the ball which has helped us massively.

Hughes got his reward for sticking with a winning team

Joe Allen could only watch from the bench, as his compatriots outplayed Burnley for long periods.

With high profile players such as Joe Allen coming back into the fold, it would’ve been easy for Hughes to change the side that won 1-0 at Watford. To great credit and my surprise he didn’t.

This message sent out by Hughes was a positive one for sure, it shows to the players that as long as you perform and take your chance, you will retain a place in the starting eleven. His decision was more than justified as we matched our performance at Watford by controlling the game for long periods of time, only really letting Hull have a glimpse later on when we knew the game was won.

Also keeping players like Muniesa and Diouf in the team can only be a good thing, as they have previously expressed a desire to leave if they don’t get game time. Hughes has been very astute in his man management of these two and has kept his word by giving them a couple of 90 minutes and they’ve rewarded him in return.

Creating chances is still an issue

Although a strange statement to make coming off a 2-0 win, I still feel as if we look way short of goals and look quite toothless some times in the final third. Only registering three shots on target at home to Burnley is not ideal. With no disrespect to Burnley but with the quality players we have, we should be doing more and creating better percentage chances especially at home to a team tipped for relegation.

I believe a main issue for this is that the lack of speed we have up front. Jon Walters is a very willing runner and has a good footballing IQ but unfortunately for him he hasn’t got the speed to get on the end of passes in behind the opposition defence. This makes us quite one dimensional which means we become a lot easier to defend against.

Even though Diouf is playing superbly in an unfamiliar right wing back role, we could do with someone of his speed leading the line for us. With recent links to Schalke striker Choupo Moting and Malaga forward Sandro, it’s clear to see that Hughes knows that a striker with speed and energy would be beneficial.