Mark Albrighton

Just echoing a few points already made. Very happy with the win, today was always going to a tricky game. Second half was a massive improvement. Clark & Richards, occasional errors aside, were good. Veretout look decent and will only get better. Gana (Gueye) very good, gabby was better as the game went on, Sinclair was our biggest threat in the first half. Ayew initially looked bright but seemed to disappear. Amavi was out best player. Gestede is going to be a problem for the opposition defences. Great support from us today (could be easily heard via the dodgy feed which I was watching). Nice one Tim, another win on Friday please.

Our best player today. Around the hour mark the camera cut to him and he had such an infectious grin. Loved it. Looks like he could really be a fan favourite.

Great start by Rudy. What I enjoyed almost as much as his goal was his introduction. There was an instant rapport between him & the fans (who sounded fantastic btw). Very encouraging signs.

Happy for him to remain as a back up. His goal line clearance preventing a Stevie G love-in cup final day means I can never take a total dislike to him.

Fantastic news, hope he keeps on improving. Would love to see him get past ten years with the senior team.

He wouldn't have been my first choice (possibly third or fourth choice for me), but it's academic now. I suppose whoever is the most vocal in the changing room should be captain. We can only guess who that might be, so if Sherwood thinks it's Richards, so be it. It does seem to further cement his place in the starting eleven. Will be interesting when Okore comes back. Lead them, Micah!!!

One thing that has been lacking in the last few weeks (as far as I've seen) is the number of videos of the new signings doing their initiation karaoke. Richards & Bunn, fair enough. As we've got the right numbers and to save time, I suggest Sinclair, Gueye, Amavi, Gestede, Ayew, Veretout & Crespo to perform "Reach" by S Club 7. The subsequent recording to be played as the team walks onto the pitch.

I won't believe this is confirmed until SSTUOASF. (Scuba Steve turns up on a Stoke forum)

Hot, cold or lukewarm water? Tap or bottled? For God's sake man, we need to know these things. Yep, and what sort of cereal? Could be crucial.

If we win against Man Utd, it's on.

Sorry, messed up the quote. Heading to the things that piss you off thread....

Yep, agree with this too. It feels like the starting line up against Bournemouth will be this.

When does his contract run out?

Haha! Likewise, I'm glad it isn't just me. Four seasons in a row now! I must have been relatively relaxed for Houllier's season for some reason.

If March comes around and I haven't felt the need to write down our remaining fixtures and those of the teams around us, hopelessly trying to predict results and points totals, it will have been a been a big step in the right direction.

Yeah this is totally off topic, but I couldn't bring myself to put Lowton in that team. His sunderland performance alone puts him above those players. Back on topic, I think Guzan, Richards, Clark, Amavi, Westwood, Gueye and Veretout are amongst the definite starters. After that I'm struggling, too many options. Love it.

Any thoughts on how much more the club is likely to spend this window? £5m-£10m?

Excellent post.

Cilla's gone, aged 72. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11778819/Cilla-Black-dies-aged-72.html

It's been said elsewhere but i love that these team selections are so varied, particularly the front line. I wouldn't have thought I'd see a team selection that had neither Gil or Grealish in it and would (just about) be ok with it.

Late goals again too. Really can't get this monkey off our back. Didn't watch the game, were we better defensively in the first or second half? Based on what we currently have, barring injuries it's clark & okore as first choice CBs for me. Amavi obviously LB then Hutton, Richards and Bacuna fighting it out for RB. Unless we tried a back three.

Not seen the game, but I thought he looked decent after the wolves game, eager to get the ball, thought he linked up well with Amavi in the first half. As just mentioned, the biggest gripe he seemed to cause amongst a few of us was his performance against Swansea. Easily forgiven, he won't be the last player to try too hard to get one over his old team. I don't know how often he should/could start, but for me, he's ahead of Gabby for one of the wide-striker roles. Just re-watched the goal against baggies in the cup, so much composure. £2.5m is a bargain.

For me, he's ahead of Sanchez to play in that holding role. Sanchez seems to be more capable of producing MOTM performances (eg Sunderland, home) but then is more likely to be all over the place (eg arsenal, home & away etc). I think Westwood, being the more consistent player, is the better option while we've got so many new players in the starting eleven.

The (historical alarm) bells are ringing. The last time we finished one place above relegation was 1994/95, having a mid-season manager change. The following season, after losing our top scorer for the previous 3 seasons (Saunders), we finished 4th and won the league cup. And it all started with a win in our first game against Man Utd. Twenty years on, we finished one place above relegation after a manager change mid-season, our top scorer of the past 3 seasons has gone and now our first (home) game is against Man Utd. So keeping all that in mind, who does everyone want for the 2016/17 champions league qualifiers?

Ha it might just be a chain reaction! Still, I'm looking forward to seeing him play! Ha! Yeah quite possibly. I'm taking some reassurances in the ITK's glowing praise of him and the Leicester City fans rating him too. I was expecting Amavi (another player of whom I know little of, other than his whoscored stats) to be our "wow can't believe we got him" signing, but this guy has won the VT positive reaction trophy for me!