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Jury out on Stoke survival hopes
By David Ornstein
Stoke finished second behind West Brom to gain automatic promotion
The estimated 30,000 supporters lining the streets of Stoke on Tuesday night - not to mention the 20,000 packed inside the Britannia Stadium - rejoiced with good reason.
On Sunday, after 23 years of hard graft, their club won promotion to English football's top flight, which gives them access to the riches and global exposure of the Premier League.
But once the euphoria dies down, the sheer magnitude of their task will start to sink in.
Some are already tipping Stoke to usurp Derby as the worst team in Premier League history.
En route to clinching the Championship's second automatic promotion place, the Potters lost only nine of their 46 matches - fewer than any other team in the division - but if prizes were awarded for aesthetic appeal, Tony Pulis' side might not have been so successful.
People cane us for the way we play but it doesn't bother us what people say
Stoke midfielder Liam Lawrence
While Pulis has long been an advocate of employing a passing game, his well-drilled and physically imposing team has benefitted from its aerial prowess.
Conceding a throw-in deep inside your own half of the field can prove as costly as a corner or free-kick when Rory Delap is around.
Afford Liam Lawrence time and space in wide positions and the midfielder is all too capable of laying on a goalscoring opportunity.
And when the likes of Mamady Sidibe, Ricardo Fuller, Leon Cort and Ryan Shawcross are in the vicinity, those chances tend to be dispatched.
But critics have drawn comparisons with the long-ball game played by Wimbledon in the 1980s and suggest a crass link between watching Stoke and developing neck ache.
"If you play the long ball in the Premier League you haven't got a hope," Keith Burkinshaw, Aidy Boothroyd's assistant when Watford were promoted to the Premier League in 2006, told BBC Sport.
"You've got to be able to shorten your game. It's difficult enough to stay up but I believe playing that way didn't give Watford much of a chance.
"I can't think of any teams who have played the ball from back to front, missing out the midfield, and have been really successful doing so."
Stoke's uncompromising approach has earned the wrath of several Championship managers and is unlikely to sit well with Premier League purists come August.
Fuller will need to continue his goalscoring form in the top flight
"People cane us for the way we play but it doesn't bother us what people say," said Lawrence.
"The way we play works for us. We're a big side and if we have to just keep on doing what we're doing then so be it."
Having been promoted to the top flight in 1986 and then remaining there for 14 consecutive seasons, Wimbledon's template is seemingly not one Stoke should shy away from replicating.
"Wimbledon stayed up for a number of years through playing a certain style and it just all depends on the players," Peter Reid, who twice led Sunderland to the Premier League, told BBC Sport.
"I remember Dennis Wise, Robbie Earle, Vinnie Jones and John Fashanu - if the players are good enough you've got a chance.
"Stoke have scored a lot of goals off dead-ball situations but there is nothing wrong with that.
"Aston Villa have done that in the Premier League and many of the big competitions now are won in that way - it's a strength."
The worry is that Stoke's passing and ball retention has been poor this season. "If you can't keep hold of the ball in the big league, you will be punished," added Reid.
Potters chairman Peter Coates will meet Pulis this week to begin the planning process for Premier League football and reports claim the multi-millionaire betting tycoon will hand out a transfer kitty of around £15m.
And with a minimum of £35m to be earned from TV revenue next season, Coates has vowed to support the manager in every way he can.
If you can't keep hold of the ball in the big league, you will be punished
Former Sunderland manager Peter Reid
It has been suggested Stoke may need up to six "top, top quality" signings with Premier League experience to stay up next season.
Competition in the transfer market will be intense and Pulis has never managed in the Premier League, which may work against him as he tries to attract players.
In his defence, Pulis, 50, who rejoined Stoke from Plymouth in 2006, has made a net profit on player expenditure in each of the last two seasons and reaped the rewards of the loan system.
Players such as Lawrence, Fuller, Cort and Shawcross - all signed in the last two years - are sure to figure prominently in Pulis' plans.
The loyalty shown by Pulis towards his players has helped to create a genuine sense of togetherness but he may have to get ruthless if Stoke are to survive in the Premier League.
Middlesbrough defender Chris Riggott impressed during his loan spell but he has returned to the Riverside and defensive options are required to challenge or cover Cort and Shawcross in central defence and Andy Griffin and Carl Dickinson in the full-back slots.
With striker Richard Cresswell manning the left of midfield for much of the season, Pulis is likely to seek a genuine left-winger, as well as a creative orchestrator in central midfield.606: DEBATE
I still think we can bring in a few quality players and give surviving in the Premier League a good go, certainly better than Derby's effort
edgepotter
Fuller's 15-goal contribution has been vital but supporters feel it is crucial to sign a striker who will guarantee you goals in the Premier League.
That said, George Burley, who took Ipswich up in 2000 and led them to a fifth-place finish in 2001, believes wholesale changes are not necessarily a pre-requisite for survival.
"I was fortunate to have a good squad of players and didn't make too many changes," the Scotland manager told BBC Sport.
"We made the play-offs in each of the three previous years and I had a nucleus of players and a settled squad.
"I kept that continuity going and it worked for us but every club is different, every manager sees it in their own light and you've got to make decisions from there."
And Pulis knows how important it will be to get those decisions right. As most promoted teams swiftly discover, the glamorous trips to Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge, the Emirates Stadium and Anfield tend to lose their appeal in the aftermath of thumping defeats. There are some useful examples to follow - Bolton, Wigan, Middlesbrough and Sunderland to name but four - and, whether or not Pulis puts substance above style, the Potteries will witness more delirious celebrations if Stoke retain their place in Europe's most glittering division.
By David Ornstein
Stoke finished second behind West Brom to gain automatic promotionThe estimated 30,000 supporters lining the streets of Stoke on Tuesday night - not to mention the 20,000 packed inside the Britannia Stadium - rejoiced with good reason.
On Sunday, after 23 years of hard graft, their club won promotion to English football's top flight, which gives them access to the riches and global exposure of the Premier League.
But once the euphoria dies down, the sheer magnitude of their task will start to sink in.
Some are already tipping Stoke to usurp Derby as the worst team in Premier League history.
En route to clinching the Championship's second automatic promotion place, the Potters lost only nine of their 46 matches - fewer than any other team in the division - but if prizes were awarded for aesthetic appeal, Tony Pulis' side might not have been so successful.
People cane us for the way we play but it doesn't bother us what people say
Stoke midfielder Liam Lawrence
While Pulis has long been an advocate of employing a passing game, his well-drilled and physically imposing team has benefitted from its aerial prowess.
Conceding a throw-in deep inside your own half of the field can prove as costly as a corner or free-kick when Rory Delap is around.
Afford Liam Lawrence time and space in wide positions and the midfielder is all too capable of laying on a goalscoring opportunity.
And when the likes of Mamady Sidibe, Ricardo Fuller, Leon Cort and Ryan Shawcross are in the vicinity, those chances tend to be dispatched.
But critics have drawn comparisons with the long-ball game played by Wimbledon in the 1980s and suggest a crass link between watching Stoke and developing neck ache.
"If you play the long ball in the Premier League you haven't got a hope," Keith Burkinshaw, Aidy Boothroyd's assistant when Watford were promoted to the Premier League in 2006, told BBC Sport.
"You've got to be able to shorten your game. It's difficult enough to stay up but I believe playing that way didn't give Watford much of a chance.
"I can't think of any teams who have played the ball from back to front, missing out the midfield, and have been really successful doing so."
Stoke's uncompromising approach has earned the wrath of several Championship managers and is unlikely to sit well with Premier League purists come August.
Fuller will need to continue his goalscoring form in the top flight"People cane us for the way we play but it doesn't bother us what people say," said Lawrence.
"The way we play works for us. We're a big side and if we have to just keep on doing what we're doing then so be it."
Having been promoted to the top flight in 1986 and then remaining there for 14 consecutive seasons, Wimbledon's template is seemingly not one Stoke should shy away from replicating.
"Wimbledon stayed up for a number of years through playing a certain style and it just all depends on the players," Peter Reid, who twice led Sunderland to the Premier League, told BBC Sport.
"I remember Dennis Wise, Robbie Earle, Vinnie Jones and John Fashanu - if the players are good enough you've got a chance.
"Stoke have scored a lot of goals off dead-ball situations but there is nothing wrong with that.
"Aston Villa have done that in the Premier League and many of the big competitions now are won in that way - it's a strength."
The worry is that Stoke's passing and ball retention has been poor this season. "If you can't keep hold of the ball in the big league, you will be punished," added Reid.
Potters chairman Peter Coates will meet Pulis this week to begin the planning process for Premier League football and reports claim the multi-millionaire betting tycoon will hand out a transfer kitty of around £15m.
And with a minimum of £35m to be earned from TV revenue next season, Coates has vowed to support the manager in every way he can.
If you can't keep hold of the ball in the big league, you will be punished
Former Sunderland manager Peter Reid
It has been suggested Stoke may need up to six "top, top quality" signings with Premier League experience to stay up next season.
Competition in the transfer market will be intense and Pulis has never managed in the Premier League, which may work against him as he tries to attract players.
In his defence, Pulis, 50, who rejoined Stoke from Plymouth in 2006, has made a net profit on player expenditure in each of the last two seasons and reaped the rewards of the loan system.
Players such as Lawrence, Fuller, Cort and Shawcross - all signed in the last two years - are sure to figure prominently in Pulis' plans.
The loyalty shown by Pulis towards his players has helped to create a genuine sense of togetherness but he may have to get ruthless if Stoke are to survive in the Premier League.
Middlesbrough defender Chris Riggott impressed during his loan spell but he has returned to the Riverside and defensive options are required to challenge or cover Cort and Shawcross in central defence and Andy Griffin and Carl Dickinson in the full-back slots.
With striker Richard Cresswell manning the left of midfield for much of the season, Pulis is likely to seek a genuine left-winger, as well as a creative orchestrator in central midfield.
606: DEBATE I still think we can bring in a few quality players and give surviving in the Premier League a good go, certainly better than Derby's effort
edgepotter
Fuller's 15-goal contribution has been vital but supporters feel it is crucial to sign a striker who will guarantee you goals in the Premier League.
That said, George Burley, who took Ipswich up in 2000 and led them to a fifth-place finish in 2001, believes wholesale changes are not necessarily a pre-requisite for survival.
"I was fortunate to have a good squad of players and didn't make too many changes," the Scotland manager told BBC Sport.
"We made the play-offs in each of the three previous years and I had a nucleus of players and a settled squad.
"I kept that continuity going and it worked for us but every club is different, every manager sees it in their own light and you've got to make decisions from there."
And Pulis knows how important it will be to get those decisions right. As most promoted teams swiftly discover, the glamorous trips to Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge, the Emirates Stadium and Anfield tend to lose their appeal in the aftermath of thumping defeats. There are some useful examples to follow - Bolton, Wigan, Middlesbrough and Sunderland to name but four - and, whether or not Pulis puts substance above style, the Potteries will witness more delirious celebrations if Stoke retain their place in Europe's most glittering division.
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