We know they can do it on a cold rainy night in Stoke, but could they do it on a hot, humid day (or night) in Singapore? Outside 90’s Tom Batten analyses the performance of the Potters during the Premier League Asia Trophy.
Stoke City have just finished the first part of their preseason preparations, competing in the Barclays Asia Tour, involving three Premier League team and one XI of the host countries choice. The Potters’ run saw a clash with Everton in the quarter-finals and a feature match against the Singapore Select XI.
There were positives from the game against the Merseysiders, such as the showing from goalkeeper Jakob Haugaard. Having moved from Danish side FC Midtjylland, the shot-stopper was not used to playing against accomplished players such as Kevin Mirallas, Romelu Lukaku and Steven Pienaar. However, Haugaard produced great saves to deny shots from the best Everton had on the day.
At only 23, Jakob Haugaard is heavily underrated by Stoke City fans which releases the pressure to perform, as we saw him play well during the tournament in Singapore. He has 10 years ahead to blossom into a great goalkeeper, however, his dreams of first team football in 2015-16 may be crushed by former Villan Shay Given and English youth international Jack Butland.
Another highlight of the tournament was former La Masia student Mohamed El Ouriachi. Known as ‘Moha’ by most, the winger got to experience his highest level of competition yet when he came off the bench against Singapore Select XI. The winger’s performance was noting too memorable, but he used his pace and technical ability to blast past his opponents. Though he was playing against relatively weak opposition, he can surely be given plaudits for his effort.
Moha was signed on a free transfer from Barcelona and looks promising at only 18-years of age. The Barcelona youth academy is known as being one of the best producers of talent, boasting names such as Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta among their graduates. Moha was mentored by some of the best youth trainers in the world and his technical ability is amazing compared to most players his age. The winger may have been a Blaugrana reject, but when in his prime could be a great player for Stoke. For next season he will unlikely be a starter in Premier League matches, therefore we may see him loaned out to another club in the Football League or coming off the bench to play in the late stages of a match.
Stoke City midfielder Steve Sidwell declared that team mate Ollie Shenton “did not look out of place” in their loss on penalties against Everton.
“I think on the whole, tactically he’s done very well and positionally too. He stuck to the game plan and that all bodes well.”
Ollie Shenton played 72 minutes against the Toffees and impressed the coaching staff, but was not featured in the second game against the Singapore Select. The midfielder has been at the club for more than 10 years and made his debut against Manchester City in February. This was just days after the death of his mother. Surely with that much passion for football he can play many more after that for Stoke City.
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Stoke’s most experienced players also put in a good performance in the two games, with Sidwell and Marko Arnautovic scoring once each in the third place playoff. Arnautovic was putting his skills to good use, showing off some flashy dribbling in the game against Everton. Peter Odemwingie also impressed, but missed an easy chance to score in the first-half.
Stoke’s new signings were also displayed proudly in the kit for the first time in Singapore. Striker Joselu was subbed off in 63rd minute but looked to be in good stead. The former Hannover man should feel more comfortable after playing a few more games up front for the Potters.
Marco van Ginkel was another player to debut for the club during the tour. Although he is only on loan from Chelsea, he is looking to play an important role in midfield for Stoke City. Despite being the only player that missed their penalty against Everton, he still had a solid performance.
Shay Given is a key arrival to Mark Hughes’ team and the deal becomes even better because he was signed on a free transfer. He did not play in the first match, however, he was between the posts for the whole 90 minutes against the Singapore Select XI. The Irish custodian helped his new club to a 2-0 win over the hosts, albeit not having to do very much.
Third place in the tournament was not too bad, considering Arsenal and Everton were also competing, but Stoke City were unlucky not to get a win out of the first game. The team from Stoke-on-Trent now have remaining friendlies against English teams Wrexham and Brentford, alongside foreign outfits FC Koln and Porto.
Hopefully the new signings will compete for first team places and the experienced Stoke players will fight hard to keep theirs. Who knows, if the Potters’ preseason goes well they might see a win against the Champions League quarter-finalists in the form of Porto. But first, they have to get through the grit of Wrexham and Brentford.
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