It is final. Matthew Etherington is the new winger for Stoke City. Etherington will be making his debut this Saturday against Liverpool. It is believed that Stoke and West Ham have agreed on a £3million fee. Etherington then signed a 3-year deal. Although Etherington has been well known for his gambling problems, Pulis is confident that a change of scenery will be just what the 27-year-old winger needs.

Etherington will be received well immediately by his new home crowd. The fans at Britannia Stadium could use every last boost of confidence possible…

Aston Villa striker Marlon Harewood is on somebody’s radar. No, it’s not Martin O’Neill offering to give him a lot more playing time. It’s Stoke City, believe it or not.

Harewood’s agent, Phil Sproson, told The Sentinel that, “Stoke are showing an interest in the player, but they will have to buy because Villa won’t loan him.” Sproson continued to say that, “[Villa] are looking to sell him in this window if they can, or in the summer if not, but Marlon’s contract runs until the end of next season. Villa will listen…

With one month of Premiership action out of the way, Premiership Talk reviews all twenty teams and grades them based on their early season performances.

Manchester United

The defending Premiership champions are perennial slow starters, and this year is no different. Even with their slow start, though, United are in a good position - still without a loss this year. Albeit, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men have only played two games, their last match in August was postponed due to the Super Cup. A home draw against Newcastle opened the season, and an unconvincing…

Winners

Stoke City. The newly promoted club gained a momentous first victory in the Premier League. As Aston Villa were coming off of a huge 4-2 win over Manchester City, the club from Birmingham were looking like they’d easily steamroll over Stoke. This was not the case, however, as Mamady Sidibe grabbed a stoppage time winner. This win means that Stoke already have as many wins as Derby County had all season - now let’s see if they can build on it and survive in the world’s best league.

Felipe Scolari and Deco.…

Part 8 of Premiership Talk’s season preview features Stoke City and Sunderland.

Stoke City
Best Case: 16th place. Stoke finished in second place in the Championship last year, ensuring automatic promotion to the big time. Their squad, however, is full of Premiership rejects. Their main addition of the summer is former Reading striker Dave Kitson, who surely doesn’t have enough to single-handedly keep the club in the Premier League. This absolute best case scenario banks on the fact that Stoke’s rivals Hull, West Brom, Wigan, and Bolton falter while Stoke have lady luck on…

Stoke City are on the verge of a great transfer coup as Liverpool have accepted their £4 million bid for goalkeeper Scott Carson. Carson is a full English international and would be a great addition to the newly promoted Premier League side.

Carson is coming off of a successful loan spell at Aston Villa last season and had made it clear that he wanted to make that move permanent. Villa, however, were put off by the £10 million asking price set by Liverpool. As the summer wore on, however, Liverpool’s demands faltered,…