A humbling day for Struber's side and yours truly

AFTER three wins on the bounce, with five goals scored and just one conceded, I headed up the M5/M6 on Saturday feeling quietly confident.

- Matthew Withers

The day before, I'd given a lift back home to Bristol to a mate of mine from a hospital appointment he had in Oxford, and we were talking all things football. My mate is an Ipswich Town fan and, while we were chatting, I was lauding Radek Vitek after the start to his Bristol City career and was also saying how poor I thought striker George Hirst was for his Tractor Boys. Note to self, you know nothing and keep your mouth shut! Vitek had a nightmare in the Potteries, and Hirst bagged a brace in Ipswich’s 4-1 win at QPR. Football has a way of humbling you, and as a Bristol City fan, just when things look up, reality bites.

I'm not going to get too carried away. It was a really bad day at the office for Gerhard Struber and his side. Players who had been performing at a high level had poor games. Too many were just nowhere near the levels needed to stop a rampant Stoke side from taking all three points. In the end, it was a canter for Mark Robins's team, and we were soundly beaten.

The starting lineup is pretty much picking itself, with only Mark Sykes and Ross McCrorie rotating. Struber would start rejuvenated front man, Sinclair Armstrong over fit again Emil Riis and as it was Struber gave Sincs the nod.