Stoke's Season From Now

The transfer window is done and the Premier League season is well under-way. Stoke started their season early, having had to qualify for the Europa League group stage, with wins against Hajduk Split and FC Thun Stoke safely ensured their place in Europe's secondary tournament. So far in the league Stoke are unbeaten, with draws against Chelsea and Norwich followed by an away win at West Brom giving the Potters 5 points in a start to the season that has pleased supporters points wise, but not so much performance wise. Since promotion one tournament Stoke haven't been so successful in is the Carling Cup, of course the club didn't enter the 2nd round due to their European adventure but they will join in the 3rd round where they have drawn Tottenham Hotspur at home. Jonathan Woodgate, Matthew Upson, Wilson Palacios, Peter Crouch and Cameron Jerome have now joined the club and are sure to be busy players now Stoke have extra games to play, but how will the club fare in the competitions they'll compete in this season?

The Premier League

Last season Stoke City finished 13th in the league after a final day loss against Wigan Athletic. Obviously once again Stoke are expected to avoid relegation and the main question is how high up the table they'll end up. My guess, probably a similar finish than last season. Many Stoke fans are expecting a top half finish and who can blame them after some excellent transfer window additions and a manager in Tony Pulis who keeps shocking everyone with how much he has improved this side over the years. However Stoke have a much busier season this year with more mid-week games than ever and sometimes they'll have to travel far into Europe days before a Premier League game because of Europe. This will no doubt have an affect on the stamina of the players and therefore affect their league performances. 11th to 15th is realistic for Stoke this season.

The FA Cup

Last seasons FA Cup was full of unforgettable memories for The Potters last season, beating Bolton 5-0 at Wembley to get the cup final for the first time where they were beaten by moneybags Man City. Surely they can't do that again? Well with Stoke you never know, full of fight and passion it could happen again but last season they were lucky with the teams they had to face. Man City were only top Premier League side they had to face and Stoke cannot hope for a similarly easy draw this time around. Obviously its hard to predict how far into the competition Stoke will get but I think the quarter finals are where their FA Cup will come to an end.

The Europa League

That's right. Stoke City are in a European competition! After that FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City Stoke were awarded a place in Europe, however first they had to get through two qualification ties. The first was against Croatian side Hajduk Split, Stoke won 1-0 home and away. Then came the play-off round, Stoke were drawn against Swiss team FC Thun. In Thun Stoke won 1-0 and at the Britannia The Potters easily secured a group stage spot with a comprehensive 4-1 victory. City will now play Dynamo Kiev, Besiktas and Maccabi Tel Aviv in the group stage. Although I believe we have a squad capable of beating whatever is put before them the long distances the team will travel added to the busy schedule of games back in England mean the players will be very tired and not as sharp as they have been in the recent past. Furthermore Besiktas and Dynamo Kiev are very good sides who both have Champions League experience. Whilst it will be a fantastic time for the players and supporters the group is tough and I can't see Stoke getting beyond it. 3rd place finish for the Potters is what I expect.

The Carling Cup

Stoke join the 2011-12 Carling Cup in the 3rd round where they will play Tottenham Hotspur. This isn't a competition that has been top of the agenda for Tony Pulis who has always focused on the Premiership and FA Cup, I hope that once again Pulis saves his best team for the other competitions. With extra games to play the last thing that Stoke need is more games through advancing further in the Carling Cup. Luckily having drawn Spurs we are coming up against a side that are much better than us and should beat us. However the home advantage means that Stoke have a fantastic chance of progressing. Obviously as a Stoke supporter there is nothing I'd like more than to get to the latter stages of another tournament knowing how enjoyable the superb FA Cup run of last season was but as I've already said the league is priority number one, and both the FA Cup and Europa League are more important to Stoke this season. Its hard to predict how far Stoke will go, but I wouldn't surprised to see us lose to Spurs.