Stoke will be playing Premier League football for another season after finishing 13th in the table. In many ways, that was the most difficult campaign the Potters had since entering the top-flight but also the most impressive one as they cane within just one game of securing silverware. It was not a great start of the season for Stoke who lost their first three games and only secured their first win of the season in September. Time was needed for the new signings to gel but quickly Stoke started to find their feet. Jermaine Pennant looked good down the right and Stoke overall had less of a physical outlook, instead spreading the play on the wings where Matthew Etherington was excellent as well. Their form was hardly stellar but it was still good enough to keep them in mid-table even though a run of losses in November left them too close to the bottom three for comfort. In fact, the most glaring pattern in these early months was the inability to go on a long run without defeat and that was something concerning Tony Pulis. His marquee signing, Kenwyne Jones, faded after a good start of his Stoke career, and was on a very poor run without a goal going into the new year. The home form was still pretty good but Stoke looked hopeless on the road, losing seven consecutive away games in the league from January onwards. Their relegation worries really deepened in early March when West Ham emphatically beat them 3:0. However, when the two teams met again a week later, Stoke managed to turn their season around by winning 2:1 to book an FA Cup semi-final spot. From then on, the only way was up for Stoke who recorded a number of impressive results in the league to steer their way out of trouble. They also turned a sensational performance against Bolton in the FA Cup to win 5:0 and thus seal a final against Manchester City. However, injuries to key players took their toll on the team and they never looked like winning the final against the big-spending Sky Blues. They lost 1:0 without never really giving their best and this remains the only tinge of disappointment in another season of improvement at the Britannia.
