Stoke City FC – March Player Of The Month Vote

  With the two week international break that I lamented in my previous article in action, there’s not much going on around Stoke City at the moment, so I though I’d use this chance to introduce something I’ve been considering for a while, a player of the month vote. Can anyone who reads this please post a comment at the bottom of the article with which of the options they vote for, or if it’s someone else, who and why. Any feedback as to whether this is a worthwhile feature to continue with in the future would be appreciated. Thanks

  March has been a good month for the club, seeing us pulling away from the relegation zone at the foot of the Premier League, towards the promised land of lower mid-table, which we’d all so happily accept as the result of our first season’s efforts after promotion from the Championship to the Premier League. Starting in stunning fashion, with a late, late fightback to earn a 2-2 draw at high-flying Aston Villa, and ending with a vital 1-0 home victory over Middlesbrough, Stoke’s record in March is pleasing, with two wins, a draw, and just a single defeat coming from the four games played in the month.

 
From the excellent comeback at Villa to the crucial win over Middlesbrough, March has been a good month for Stoke

Here are the five players who I believe are most deserving of nomination for the player of the month award:

Option One: James Beattie
Though Beattie scored just once in march, a well-taken goal in the win against Bolton, he certainly showed his class in other ways, with several impressive performances and a superb assist for Ryan Shawcross’s goal at Aston Villa.

Option Two: Ryan Shawcross
The month culminated with an England Under 21 call-up for the young defender, and deservedly so, as he put his costly late own-goal against Portsmouth last month behind him to make several classy and commanding displays in March. He has also found his goalscoring touch at just the right time, scoring three times in the month, including the vital winner late on against Middlesbrough, having not netted for a year previously.

Option Three: Thomas Sorensen
The Danish ‘keeper was at his best with clean sheets achieved against Bolton and Middlesbrough. he did have a poor game in our loss at Everton though, making two costly mistakes, but happily this seems not to have affected his confidence.

Option Four: Glenn Whelan
Having been a fringe player for most of the season, the Irish international seems now to have established himself in the Stoke midfield, having featured heavily in all four games in March. His strike right at the death at Villa, which was excellently taken given the highly pressured circumstances, could be seen to have kick-started our season. He also provided a clever header assist for Beattie’s goal against Bolton.

Option Five: Andy Wilkinson
Looking more and more the Premier League player with every match, Wilkinson has had another fine month, dealing well with quality wingers like Ashley Young and Stewart Downing. Already Stoke’s longest serving player, aged just 24, he has also said this month that he wishes to remain at Stoke for the rest of his career. I hope he does.