Stoke turn Baggies into dead Beatts

IF EVER one player summed up the rugged physicality and unflinching commitment which have marked Stoke’s astonishing first season in the Premier League, James Beattie is it.

The former Everton striker is the kind of unashamed battering ram who can bludgeon sides into submission single-handedly and his £3.5million capture from Sheffield United in January could yet prove the key for the club’s survival this season.

Beattie and Ricardo Fuller sealed a precious victory at West Brom, his sixth goal in 10 games for Tony Pulis’s side, and pushed them six points clear of the relegation zone and Newcastle, who they take on next weekend.