Although Stoke are not the prettiest team to watch, and are not exactly everyone's cup of tea when it comes to the manner in which they conduct themselves on the pitch (with Robert Huth not doing them any favours with his elbow early on in the game at the weekend), they certainly had earned the right to get to the final of the FA Cup.
With this in mind, one must take a moment to empathise with Stoke fans, who travelled to Wembley to watch their team fail to turn up and perform in a way they are capable of doing in a showpiece game that they are very unlikely to reach again for a long time. No one made Stoke betting tips to win the cup, but they should have pushed harder.
However, while Stoke may not be heading to another FA Cup final any time soon, it is testament to the progress that the club has achieved that they enjoyed a run in the FA Cup this season and did not see their league form crumble in a way that many other mid-table sides would have suffered. Those following the Premier League betting odds will have been impressed by their efforts.
With Tony Pulis having really brought a sense of belief and confidence to the Stoke squad, he must now show he has real management skills by picking his distraught players back up and getting them to go out and finish a successful season on a high while not allowing themselves to follow in Arsenal's footsteps by falling apart after a Cup final defeat.
Should Stoke end the season in the top half of the table and with a bit more cash to spend on the squad, they will really be able to continue their promising transition from a small club to one that is starting to compete with the big boys for real.
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