Republic of Ireland international Jonathan Walters showed that Stoke can be entertaining on the pitch as they hit three against Liverpool to claim a deserved three points.

Stoke 0 Sunderland 0

Stoke 1 Manchester City 1

With Wayne Rooney — with all his current problems from the penalty spot — watching from the stands, a penalty kick each from Javier Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov were enough to lift Manchester United joint top of the Premier League in this most unpredictable of title races.

STOKE almost threw away a 3-0 half-time lead against Fulham last night but eventually clung on to end a run of six Barclays Premier League matches without victory.

STOKE manager Tony Pulis and Hull boss Phil Brown joined forces yesterday to condemn Arsenal chief Arsene Wenger’s comments about weakened sides and fixture congestion.

ARSENE WENGER’S mood has been characterised by angry defiance for weeks now, and the Arsenal manager marked the end of his side’s season yesterday by issuing another rallying call to the club’s most prized talents to stay put in north London.

SURVIVAL is now old hat for Stoke.

GIANFRANCO ZOLA’S first signing as West Ham manager is also proving to be his most significant.

ROY HODGSON is keen to hear if his reluctant super sub Erik Nevland wants to stay at Craven Cottage.

A frenzied relegation battle is no place for a purist, which is one of the reasons why Middlesbrough’s band of travelling supporters left this ground with faces longer than the Tees on Saturday.

NASTY is not the word that immediately associates itself with Paul Hart. Portsmouth’s amiable caretaker manager is as softly-spoken and courteous as they come in the Premier League pressure cooker but Hart has demanded his side embrace the dark arts if they wish to preserve their top flight status.

THE sound of Stoke fans jeering Phil Brown highlighted how the Hull City manager’s profile has risen in two years in the job.

STOKE may not be winning many friends this season, but their happy habit of winning points could yet prolong their stay at this exalted level.

LONG before the phrase ‘doing a Derby’ became the voguish term to describe abject failure in the Premier League, Stoke City had cornered the market in top-flight under-achievement.

DOES anyone really want to be promoted to the Premier League this season?

NOBODY understands the lure of Southampton more than Rory Delap, but the Stoke midfielder is desperate for manager Tony Pulis to resist the overtures from St Mary’s and lead City to promotion.

STOKE billed this game as a ‘Kids for a Quid’ fixture, but they could now stand accused of cruelty to children after an absolutely abysmal advert for the Championship.