Stoke City nailed it with £2m transfer – He was a major influence at the club

Stoke City nailed it with £2m transfer – He was a major influence at the club

In the January transfer window of 2009, mid-way through their first ever Premier League campaign, Stoke City pulled off a transfer that not many Potters supporters would have realised would have ended up being so special and important.

Tony Pulis’ side, as they sought to propel themselves to safety in the second-half of the campaign having managed just five victories in their opening 23 matches, brought in left-winger Matthew Etherington from West Ham United for a fee believed to be in the region of £2 million.

Upon his arrival, the Truro-born winger made 14 appearances in their final 17 games of the campaign as Stoke moved themselves into the middle-of-the-table with six wins in their final 11 games.

It was the following couple of seasons, though, that saw Etherington really begin to shine for Pulis’ Potters, as he became a focal point of a Stoke side that managed to establish themselves as a Premier League stalwart.

Matthew Etherington was Stoke’s point of difference

Stoke gained a reputation in the Premier League for an overt physicality that would often ruffle the feathers of some of the leading clubs, with Rory Delap’s long throws, a brute-ish back-line and industrious attack; Stoke were horrible to play against.

The one man that didn’t necessarily fall into the stereotype was the flying winger, Etherington.

Capable of jinking past players almost at will, Etherington had an excellent left-foot that could deliver pin-point crosses to the so-called ‘big men’ of Stoke’s defence and attack, whilst also being able to carry the ball up the pitch to provide a point of difference to Stoke’s means of getting at an opponent.

In the 2009/10 season, as Stoke finished 11th in the top-flight and reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, Etherington finished up as Stoke’s top scorer in the league with five goals, whilst also providing nine assists over the course of the league campaign.

A special season for Stoke City and Matthew Etherington

The 2010/11 campaign is perhaps one of the more memorable in Stoke’s history as they once again finished firmly in the middle-of-the-table, but also reached the final of the FA Cup.

Etherington was once again efficient and effective for the Potters, particularly in the first-half of the campaign, as he scored four goals and provided eight assists in his first 22 games that season.

In the cup, though, is where he perhaps shone brightest with brilliant performances against both Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United in the fourth round and quarter-finals, respectively.

Then, at Wembley Stadium in the semi-finals of the cup, Stoke ran riot as they hammered Bolton Wanderers by five goals to nil with Etherington beginning the massacre after just 11 minutes with an excellent turn and finish from outside of the box, pouncing on a Paul Robinson mistake, before then being awarded Man of the Match.

Etherington, who had represented England at U16, U18, U20 and U21 level, went on to play until the end of the 2013/14 campaign and eventually made 177 appearances for the Potters in total.

For a relatively small fee, Stoke signed someone who could be a key attacking and creative spark to go with their relentlessly hard-working mentality and that raising of the quality helped them truly establish themselves in the top-flight.

Get more related news on: https://sportviewers.com