The away support started out in surprisingly optimistic voice despite their side demonstrating very little reason for such enthusiasm.  It was in fact Stoke, with nothing to play for but a respectable end to the season, who were in the ascendency.  Several times the hilariously ginger Bogdan was tested from distance and in the 13th he was blatantly fouled by Jon Walters as he bungled the ball over the line.  Chris Foy was predictably unpredictable throughout the match and his decision to let the goal stand was clearly wrong, but he is nothing if not inconsistent and the Stoke faithful were not about to snub his charity.

Only wear shorts if you’re on the pitch

Owen Coyle was rightly incensed by this injustice (and probably by the repeated ‘Owen Coyle, you look like a twat’ chants, which in fairness, he does).  Whether it was this or necessity that inspired Bolton to come into the game a little more is uncertain but somehow they were winning when the half-time whistle went.  Everybody in the South Stand was stunned.  We couldn’t quite make out what had happened and replays showed that was because it was ridiculous.  A ricocheted clearance and a cross that snuck into the top corner gave the Bolton fans hope.  The banter went back and forth as news trickled in about the fortunes of Queens Park Rangers and Bolton could have survived with a win, but instead they faded.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about this game was that Walters ended up on the scoresheet twice.  The Scouse Irishman who scored perhaps his most brilliant goal in Stoke shirt against Bolton at Wembley last year has failed to impress in the latter half of the season looking tired and devoid of confidence.  That his equalising penalty was put away with such aplomb was a relief, I for one thought it was going to go wrong when he placed the ball on the spot.  Hopefully Super Jon will return to his troublesome self after the summer break.

Ricardo Fuller City’s Number 10

The sub-plot to this game was that it was unofficially Ricardo Fuller’s last game in a Stoke shirt.  In true Pulis style we didn’t actually know this for certain but the Stoke crowd were not about to pass up the opportunity to give the enigmatic Jamaican a proper send-off.  A standing ovation on 10 minutes and several renditions of the familiar Fuller songs were a reasonably fitting tribute to a man who has provided so many magical moments at The Britannia.  In truth he showed all the reasons why he is probably leaving in the Summer.  He dribbled his way into several dead ends and looked patently unfit, but at other times he still looked a cut above any other player on the pitch and we really should be hanging onto him for another 12 months.

That’s why you’re going down

Bolton never really provided any compelling evidence as to why they should stay in the Premier League.  A late barrage of corners was the best they could muster but for all of that most of their long-range shots were wildly off-target.  To their fans credit they continued to cheer on their team to the bitter end even when a win wouldn’t have saved them.  It was too little too late however, on my three trips to the Reebok Stadium since Stoke have returned to the Premier League I have been massively underwhelmed by the atmosphere there.  Perhaps the season after season of mid-table obscurity has taken it’s toll on the enthusiasm levels, a warning Stoke should definitely heed.

Stoke’s season ended on the whimper it has been ever since we hit 40 points and a few quality additions are definitely needed in the summer transfer window if we are to push on or even survive next season.  The reality however is that Tony Pulis will probably sign another immobile striker and three centre-halves who played at full-back once when they were teenagers.  Only time will tell if we can continue to play the percentage game that has kept Premier League football at the Bearpit for a fifth consecutive season.

Nothing to play for

The game started with a distinctly end of season vibe. Despite having the better of the first half Everton seemed content to play for a draw and time-waste their way to a point. It started with Victor Anichebe going down under every available challenge and then just stopping in the middle of the Stoke half for a lie dow not once but twice before taking a very long and very slow walk off the pitch when he could have exited on the other side. Later in the half Heitinga would make an hilarious miskick when trying to give the ball to Etherington for a corner. The bloke behind me suggested this was also timewasting (and not just sh*t).

Stoke looked dangerous going forwards on a couple of occasions but it seemed as though Moyes was one of those managers that has sussed us out. Peter Crouch was inevitably mauled by Fellaini at every opportunity and Matthew Etherington was triple-marked into a corner every time he found some space to run down the left flank. The winger looked something more akin to his old self last night but the onus was entirely on him to carry our attacking threat after Jermaine Pennant crashed his car again and punched a woman in the face (alledgedly), Walters was his usual ineffective self on the right. Besides that all we could muster was the inevitable long-throw barrage in celebration of Delap signing a new contract. They caused the usual chaos but as has been the case all season it was never a Stoke player getting to the second ball.

Defensive woahs

The Toffee’s goal came after a telling period of pressure albeit through a fortuitous sequence of events (a word which Moyes would nearly bite off an interviewers head for using after the game). Although it was Peter Crouch’s name on the scoresheet it was really the fault of a lacklustre clearance from Marc Wilson who was dire for most of the game. I would suggest giving him a rest for the end of the season but there’s nobody else we would play there. Literally nobody.

The other side of the Potter’s defence we looked remarkably solid with Robert Huth at right-back, as we did when he moved out there against Arsenal. This is in no small part to another excellent display from Matthew Upson and I expect Pulis will persist with this back-four in the last two games (which hopefully won’t annoy the German so much that he leaves in the Summer).

Are you Wenger in disguise?

We looked better in the second half but still didn’t make much happen. From where I stood it looked as though Kenywyne Jones was hauled down in the opposition box a couple of times, the last one even resulted in his illustrious dreadlocks being pulled loose. We were never going to get a penalty however and it would have been much more pleasing to see Jones actually use that strength he supposedly has and stay on his feet. The only joy to be found was at Moyes expense, his histrionics on the touchline prompting a loud chorus of ‘Are you Wenger in disguise?’ and a few people attempted ‘Let’s all do the Moyesey’ which was about a thousand times less amusing than the Wenger.

So it went until Tony Pulis pulled out one of his triple substitution specials. They are a rare sight at the Britannia, Pulis usually views substitutions as a way to give somebody a rest of hold on to what we’ve got (even if we are losing 1-0 at the time). The introduction of Jerome, Whelan and especially Ricardo Fuller, back for the first time since he inexplicably stamped on Branislav Ivanonvic, brought a standing ovation from the home crowd. Dear God, he’s actually going to give it a go.

The rest of the second half was marvellous, there was a ripple of anticipation every time Fuller got the ball and he didn’t disappoint. At the first opportunity he kept the ball under the close attention of several Everton players and would later skip past Tony Hibbert with ease on the left flank. Whelan gave us a bit more imagination in the middle than Delap and Jerome would go on a Fuller-esque run of his own to score the equaliser. It was clear however from Pulis’ post-match comments that the former Birmingham striker would need to be content with a spot on the bench still despite his heroics.

Fair’s fair in love and hoofball

All in all a draw was a fair result, Everton dominated the first half, Stoke the second. On the way home I would hear a couple of embittered Toffees on the radio saying that they ‘Don’t know how Stoke fans can watch that every week’. Personally I’ll happily pay money to see Huth or Shawcross make a brilliant tackle, Whitehead bust a gut to chase down every ball, Etherington waltz past two defenders and deliver a pinpoint cross, Crouch show some ridiculous skill and Fuller or Jerome produce a moment that I’ll remember long after any hopeful punt forward.

Ultimately though the easy response is that it’s different when it’s your team.

Add that to the hatred towards Arsene Wenger following his rugby jibes (prompting a pre kick-off Swing Low, Sweet Chariot and numerous inflatable rugby balls to be bounced around the stands) about Stoke’s style of play in previous seasons and the leg-breaking incident involving Ryan Shawcross and Aaron Ramsey and you have a scenario that brings out the best and worst of the Stoke following. This Saturday was no exception.

Oh Foy, oh Foy

Referee Chris Foy aided proceedings by letting the game flow in curious fashion. He seemed to set precedent by booking Dean Whitehead for a robust challenge on Alex Song, who of course rolled around in agony. Yet when a similarly strong challenge went in on Song later in the game he was left to roll around whilst Foy let the game continue resulting in that always embarrassing moment when a player looks up and realises nobody is watching his dramatics and he’ll have to continue without the magic sponge. Arsenal seem to have learned their lessons somewhat and gave as much as they got in the air and on the ground making for a much better game.

The Arsenal away following started out in surprisingly loud voice. Normally one of the quieter away contingents, it was perhaps a sign of their side having considerably more to play for at the end of the season than Stoke. Peter Crouch’s 9th minute headed goal from a Matthew Etherington cross soon ended their initial enthusiasm and ignited the Stoke crowd into the usual bursts of ‘Oh when the Reds’ and ‘Delilah’. The pendulum swung back the other way when Van Persie equalised only 5 minutes later and the taunts were fired back from the away section.

Those early goals set the scene for what was to follow. Renditions of the oft-heard ‘Arsene Wenger, you’re a w*nker’ were interspersed with ‘Robin Van Persie, you’re going abroad’ in relation to rumours that The Gunner’s talisman (Robin Reliant, anyone?) won’t be around at the start of next season. Nothing too surprising or original there.

The elephant in the room

It wasn’t until the second half that the elephant in the room reared it’s ugly head. This was the first time Shawcross and Ramsey had lined up against each other on Stoke soil and the debate over whether the former is ‘that type of player’ is unfortunately never going to go away as far as Arsenal fans are concerned. It’s understandable that they would defend one of their own and equally as understandable that Stoke fans will do the same. There were boos for both players (and for every Arsenal player when their possession was become increasingly irritating, it should be noted). A few pundits have claimed Ramsey was subjected to ‘vitriolic abuse’ from the Stoke support and Wenger would afterwards ask them to have a long, hard look in the mirror.

Sorry to get as childish as you can be, Arsene, but you guys started it. When Shawcross flew into a brilliant challenge on an Arsenal player (I forget who) in the Stoke six-yard box the away support were outraged and the home support enamoured. It was perhaps the starkest indication that these are two clubs with very different philosophies. What is admired by one is demonised by the other in almost every aspect of the game. It caused the away support to chant ‘Ryan Shawcross, you know what you are’ at our captain. A taunt recently aimed at both John Terry and Luis Suarez in the wake of their alleged racist comments. This is what brought it all back. The Arsenal support were no longer understandably booing a player for seriously injuring one of their own, they were casting aspersions on his character. It caused a very loud and very proud rendition of Shawcross’ name to ring around the blustery Brit and ensured that everybody was on edge for the rest of the game. It’s a sideshow that should be laid to rest by now but likely never will be. Neither Ramsey nor Shawcross deserved to be booed but this is football, crowds will ruthlessly take advantage of anything they can to get inside their opponents heads and give their own players a psychological advantage.

Let’s all do the Wenger

The crowd were not the only ones to become aggravated. In true pantomime villain fashion Wenger began waving his arms around frantically in a rage at every decision that didn’t go his sides way. This prompted a number of Stoke fans in the stand behind him to get up in a mock impersonation of the Frenchman. When he did it again only minutes later the rest of the home support followed suit and soon the whole crowd was on their feet waving their arms about and singing ‘Let’s all do the Wenger’ to the tune of the other recent mass-mockery of Man City’s Poznan celebration. You might feel sorry for him if he hadn’t brought the whole thing entirely upon himself (his post-match interview blindness over the years prompting a round of ‘Arsene Wenger, he didn’t see that’ in reaction to two Arsenal yellow cards). His comments pre and post match about Stoke were surprisingly gracious suggesting that he has perhaps come to accept that their are allowed to be philosophies different to his own. Instead he focused entirely on the Stoke supporters ensuring another 90 minutes of abuse on his next visit.

The game itself was rightly a draw, both sides had further chances, Arsenal dominated the first half without ever really breaking through and Stoke bossed the second without ever really getting a clear sight on goal.