Stoke chairman Peter Coates has labelled striker Ricardo Fuller as one of the best strikers to have ever donned the red and white stripes of Stoke City. Speaking after the Jamaican’s sublime solo effort against Birmingham on Tuesday, Coates said: “Ricardo's goal against Birmingham was amazing. He is one of the best players ever to play for Stoke City. I absolutely believe that.
He is strong, quick and very few players can control a ball at pace like he can. He's a very special player,” he added.
Having watched his beloved club since the 1940’s seeing goalscoring heroes like Freddie Steele and John Ritchie shows how high Coates rates the Stoke star. Within a blink of an eye, Fuller can produce a magical moment that can turn a game on its head, which he has shown throughout his spell in the Potteries since joining from Southampton in 2006. Arguably his £500,000 transfer fee could be the shrewdest bit of business in the club’s history.
Fuller spearheaded Stoke’s promotion back to the Holy Grail of English football and now that the Potters have been propelled into the limelight, Coates wants the rest of the football world to know what a prized asset the 31-year-old is: "He is appreciated here, but I'm not sure the outside world has appreciated just how good he is.
If you look at our outstanding players over the years, he is up there in that company. And he's achieved things here while the club has enjoyed one of its best periods.”
Tuesday’s goal was the Jamaican’s 100th goal in British football and he will be hoping to add to that tally on Saturday evening against a Liverpool side looking to turn the corner on their horrific start to the season.
The Sky sports cameras return to the Britannia Stadium, the second time in the space of five days with all eyes on the visitors and striker Fernando Torres who looks like he could be hitting the sort of form that has already earned him legendary status on Merseyside. Torres has scored three in his last two games and will be hoping to add to his brace against Chelsea and opener against Wigan on Wednesday.
Liverpool have been under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons so far this season but now they have new owners and a more stable foundation to build, Roy Hodgson will be aiming to continue their good run of late and at least climb into the Europa League places. Hodgson’s baptism of fire at Anfield coincided with the club’s worst start to a season in their history but the 2-0 victory against runaway leaders Chelsea last weekend has lifted a huge weight from his shoulders and restored a lot of pride back to England’s most successful club. His demeanour seems a lot more relaxed than from just a few weeks ago with the pressure of managing such a big club looking like it was taking his toll on last seasons Manager-of-the-year.
In two previous league meetings at Stoke, both games have ended all square. Last season’s encounter finished 1-1, courtesy of a last minute equaliser by Stoke’s Robert Huth. The German was also on the scores sheet as stand-in skipper against Birmingham during the week, his second goal of the campaign. Interestingly three of the four league meetings have seen the sides share the spoils since Stoke returned to the top flight.
Stoke boss Tony Pulis has called on the vociferous home fans to help his team earn their first league victory over the Reds since 1984: “Our supporters are magnificent. We know that the Liverpool match will be an incredibly difficult one for us, we will need another big performance from them on Saturday.”
Pulis has hinted that Ricardo Fuller may need a rest following Tuesday’s heroics but the Jamaican is still expected to start with Tuncay on the bench. Should Fuller show signs of fatigue after his layoff with a shoulder injury, the Turk will be on hand to try to cause problems for Liverpool’s backline. The Potters’ only change from Tuesday’s much needed win should be captain Ryan Shawcross returning at the heart of the defence replacing Danny Higginbotham. The Stoke boss has a full bill of health ahead of this mouth watering clash as they look for back-to-back home wins following four consecutive defeats prior.
After a reality check at Wigan on Wednesday night, Hodgson will pick his players up and try to emulate the performance against Chelsea, a result which saw them win three league games in a row. Wednesday’s game at the DW Stadium saw the Reds fortunate to leave with a point in the end as they held on against a determined Wigan side, a game which Tony Pulis will have monitored carefully as he looks to halt Liverpool’s recent resurgence.
No comments:
Post a Comment