Thought this may be of interest and bring a few comments. CAMERON Jerome's reward for scoring Stoke's dramatic winner against Newcastle is likely to be a return to the subs' bench. The 26-year-old striker also created Stoke's equaliser during a frenetic finale on Wednesday. ​Cameron Jerome scored the winner against Newcastle on Wednesday. But while he has been assured he is high in the management's thinking, that is unlikely to earn the £4m recruit a starting place at West Brom tomorrow (3pm). Jerome's pace marks him out from the rest of Stoke's stable of strikers, but he had gone three months without making a Premier League appearance before Wednesday's inspired introduction. "What we saw on Wednesday is exactly what we want him to do because he can score," said Stoke assistant manager Dave Kemp. "You're obviously pleased for him when he takes his opportunity like that, and hopefully it gives him a lift. "There's competition for places, but there is certainly a role for Cameron here and there always has been." Jerome is likely to step up the pecking order tomorrow because Kenwyne Jones seems certain to start for the first time this season in place of the injured Peter Crouch. "Kenwyne has had some good sub appearances lately, including Wednesday, when he also made the kind of impact we want," added Kemp. "But if he gets the nod, he's got to take that chance and show he can be consistent." Crouch was due to undergo dental surgery today after losing three teeth when struck in the face by Fabricio Coloccini's flailing arm on Wednesday. "He's going to see a top dentist and I'm sure he will sort things out for Peter," said Kemp. "Peter was in some pain, but I'm afraid that kind of thing is part and parcel of the game." Crouch's absence also increases the chance of Michael Owen being included on the bench for the first time since October 27. The one-time England striker has sat out Stoke's last five fixtures with hamstring trouble, but has stepped up his training regime this week.
Its a difficult one this - yes he should get a start and yes he should get a run in the team. If he played in a 4-4-2 with Crouch and 2 wingers we would create more I have no doubt! However, WBA is a difficult one - they are likely to play us off the park and I wouldnt blame TP to go there and try and shut the game down (Fuk me I cant believe I said that!) which will mean a 4-5-1 with KJ upfront! On the flip side, Jerome should have been given a run a long time ago in the place of the woeful Walters!
Hi guys copied this quickly this morning from daily emails I get from 'This is Staffordshire.' I hope we do play Jerome but really doubt it. Proud I hope you enjoyed the last 1 2minutes of the game on Wednesday!
Sorry Cris But Dave Kemp and Pulis need their heads read? in short for me it's laughable to read that . No offence but For Christ's sake WHY not give the lad a chance?
Its probably the wrong game to be jumping up and down about - especially as our Form would indicate that TP has got it right - I know some of us are still concerned, me included. The issue is not whether or not Jerome should be playing come Saturday, but why he didnt play more last season, earlier this season and the fact that TP would probbaly snap up a loan offer if they would cover his wages! For me its another master class of financial and professional abuse by TP, waste of transfer fee (4 Million), waste of wages (2 years at 25K) and waste of the guys potential and hence affecting his career!
I'm thinking like Smithers, 4-5-1 may get brought on last 15 to freshen things up, it's a shame really as he's been treated like crap I know Walters has got a couple recently but prior to that his form was useless and Cameron should have been played!!
Yep, Jerome will not start a game until Walters gets injured, personally I would start Jerome as he definately earned it the other night.
I don't mind so much when Jerome doesn't start a game, but he needs to be coming off the bench, preferably for more than 10 minutes. He's shown he can come on and change a game, and its at the end of a match that we drop off and normally lose all attacking intent. I'd like to see him start a few games, but he's proven he can come off the bench and make a difference, so he should definitely be played more often/ for longer.
Who knows what goes on in his head, StokieLad! Best of it is, every season we got stories about trying to sign Jerome, with that phase 'long time admirer' popping up all the time, we were all moaning saying he's not worth it, won't be happy if we sign him. Then we do sign him, and now we're all dying for him to play, but TP won't pick him!
I certainly enjoyed the later stages. I was sat high up in block 20 of the boothen end and so had a very good view of the game. The atmosphere in the boothen end was electric and reminded me of the days of the old boothen end at the Vic. I have now sat in all 4 areas of the Brit. As for the game, both teams were poor in the first half. Newcastle were there for the taking in my opinion but we couldn't create anything going forward. Adam was running around like a headless chicken. When Newcastle were gifted their goal I feared we would not get anything from the game. The subs made all the difference and when we equalised I thought we would go on to win. The Toon defence were poor and the introduction of some pace allowed us to press them and they eventually collapsed.
