Here’s Bazza’s take on yesterdays game.

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I had one of those days yesterday when having been dealt a bad hand struck but fate actually turned out providing winning cards at the flop. Mrs Bazza, whom regular readers will know by now does not possess the football gene and cannot understand why I drive miles round the country supporting our beloved club, had accepted an invite to a ruby wedding anniversary bash of friends of hers and acquaintances of mine. Whilst she had mentioned something about this upcoming event months ago it had long since faded into the ethereal mist that is my memory and besides I had no idea of the date, time, venue, dress rig or anything else. Well intrepid readers, Mrs Bazza informed me just as I got back on Wednesday from the Portsmouth game that this do started promptly at 7 pm on Saturday and there was no way we could be late! Light the blue touch paper! I was not a happy man and before those of you of the more belligerent slant suggest that I should have said “well sod that! I’m going to the match,” I did. However, the couple who had invited us are elderly, not particularly well off and they had scrimped and saved for years for their event and my conscience eventually got the better of me. So I had to be content with watching Gillette Soccer Special on SKY with the ever animated Paul Merson covering our match.

The match obviously started quite brightly with end to end stuff as Merson began by saying “good match this!” However, it was not to last and the match settled down into the attritional encounter it was to become. From what I could make out Bowyer had come in for Larsson and Kevin Phillips for the injured Jerome after all what Alex McLeish had said about the letter being a super sub and impact player. Parnaby continued at left back in place of the crocked Gregory Vignal. It sounds as if Stoke had the better of the exchanges in the first half without really threatening apart from Rory Delap’s long throws. Beattie got injured and had to go off. Whilst I wish the man no ill, I was relieved only then to hear that he had been replaced by Kitson! The second half appeared to be all Stoke which is at variance with the newspaper coverage this morning. There again, Paul Merson never was our greatest fan was he?

Gradually, goals in the other games started to appear and even Hull managed to snatch a much needed win for them against Bolton. Sunderland were clinging on to a 2 – 1 score line against their bogey side Blackburn. Arsenal were doing a demolition job on Portsmouth, Manchester City were slaughtering Wolves 1 – 0 and allowing the Old Gold and Black a way back and Manchester United finally decided to stop messing about and obtained their habitual win at Wigan 5 – 0 all scored in the second half. Paul Merson was hardly asked for an update which perhaps epitomised what a cracker the game obviously wasn’t and when he was asked, his mood became increasingly morose as the second half wore on. Apparently, the best chance of the game, a header from O’Connor was brilliantly saved by Sorensen. For Stoke, Fuller’s effort from a Delap throw was disallowed for hand ball and all he received was a yellow card. The final score was of course 0 – 0 and before everyone gets too downhearted, this represents a pretty decent result at this stage. We were losing games like these two years ago when we only managed to keep three clean sheets in 38 league games. We have already kept two in three. It is for this reason that I believe we are better equipped this time around. True it sounds as if goals are going to be hard to come by but that is a fact of life in the Premier League. Four points from the first three games is not a bad return. An average of four points from two home games will yield 36 points plus the odd bits and pieces away from home, we should be alright.
Once again this year as last 36 may be enough although I wouldn’t want to risk it. As for the imaginary cards on the flop? It sounds as if I had a lucky escape; another 250 miles round trip to see this game was avoided and although I hate missing games, if Paul Merson’s commentary is anything to go by, I should be thankful. As for the anniversary party; it was on a par with a 0 – 0 draw!