Tony Pulis was a busy man this summer adding real quality to his squad of hungry players with points to prove.
Former Tottenham and England striker joined the club on transfer deadline day alongside his old team-mate Wilson Palacios and ex-Birmingham City marksman Cameron Jerome. They joined former England defenders Jonathan Woodgate and Matthew Upson at the Britannia revolution and Tony Pulis now has competition for places throughout his team.
But who will end the season as the Potters’ top goalscorer?
Former Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones was the club’s top scorer last season with nine, but Bet365 believe Peter Crouch will take that title off him in May. The former Liverpool and Portsmouth man is 6/5 to outscore Jones, although he’s only managed 12 goals in the past two seasons at White Hart Lane.
Jones already has one goal to his name after salvaging a point against Norwich City recently and is desperate to smash through the double figure barrier after just missing out on consecutive seasons with nine. If you think he will be Stoke’s top scorer you will get odds of 11/8.
However, rule out former Ipswich striker Jon Walters at your peril. The robust hitman scored 12 in all competitions last season and has been a real acquisition to the team. He’s 7/1 at Bet365, just ahead of Cameron Jerome on 8/1.
The former Birmingham striker, who cost Stoke £4 million, is an experienced pro but he only managed three Premier League goals last season. That was five fewer than Craig Gardener and one fewer than Lee Bowyer and Seb Larsson. That’s not exactly the best of returns for a striker, but maybe Pulis can get the best out of him.
Robert Huth was on target six times for the Potters last season and if you think he will show Crouch and Jones and co a thing or two in front of goal you can get odds of 20/1 while star winger Matthew Etherington, who is more used to setting up goals for his striking colleagues, is 25/1. Considering he got five last term and was top scorer with five in 2009/10 that could well be worth a punt.
Who is your money on ?