Stoke make seven changes

Stoke boss Tony Pulis made seven changes for this afternoon’s FA Cup third round trip to Hartlepool.

With Ricardo Fuller and Richard Cresswell suspended and Andy Griffin and Amdy Faye injured, Pulis had little choice but to use his squad, although there was no place either for Thomas Sorensen, Danny Higginbotham or Danny Pugh.

Steve Simonsen, Andrew Davies, Ibrahima Sonko, Carl Dickinson, Tom Soares, Michael Tonge and Vincent Pericard were drafted in as ther Barclays Premier League outfit looked to negotiate a tricky tie.

Hartlepool’s director of sport and caretaker manager Chris Turner replaced loan striker Kevin Kyle with Michael Mackay following the Scot’s return to Coventry, while Matty Robson came in for Andy Monkhouse.