Stoke City manager Gary Rowett certainly has his detractors given our largely woeful form so far in the Championship campaign of 2018/19 but I imagine all most will see from Saturday’s clash with Middlesbrough was the opportunity for three points wasted.
That wouldn’t tell the full story though as it was a far improved performance and Stoke had numerous chances to take victory over notoriously defensive former manager Tony Pulis’ side. Some might say it was quite entertaining for a change.
Problem is despite some reasons for cheer and 13 efforts overall, we only managed one shot on target and it continues to be our Achilles heel – even when defensively we are actually at the races.
WhoScored only gave seven players a 7+ rating given how tight and evenly matched the game played out, and four of those were Butland, Ryan Woods, Ryan Shawcross and Thomas Edwards so some positives there.
Bruno Martins Indi and Ashley Williams completed our top six, but up front we need significant improvement. Tom Ince stood out with five attempts at goal, but not a single one tested the keeper and it’s becoming a familiar tale.
