While the arrival of Eidur Gudjohnsen provides a healthy dose of excitement and creativity down at the Britannia, the Icelandic import could be little more than an ash cloud that conceals potential elswehere.
Matt Etherington has long been the main creative source in the Stoke lineup and while the tricky left-winger has just an assist to show from three matches so far, his form has demonstrated potential that could well be realised over the next month.
Etherington has put in 6 successful crossed balls from open play with a further 16 attempts. That total of 22 crosses is only bettered by Villa’s Stewart Dowining and matched by United’s Nani.
Despite Stoke making the second fewest passes in the Premier League, Etherington has not lacked in this area and his return of 7 key passes (passes leading to goal attempts) is only surpassed by five other midfielders and they include Steven Gerrard, Mikel Arteta and Ashley Young. He keeps good and expensive company then but at 5.8 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL), he’s placed firmly in the mid-price bracket.
Etherington brought in 5 goals, 9 assists and a haul of 13 FPL bonus points last term and while continue to look hard to come by, there’s every suggestion that he can better last season’s assist count – particularly if Stoke can improve on their current conversion rate of 2 goals from 27 goal attempts. Gudjohnsen has been brought in to address that exact problem.
His role at set-pieces can only help – so far Etherington has put in 9 of Stoke’s 12 corners won. When you consider that Stoke’s aerial threat in terms of aerial duels won (57%) is bettered only by Bolton, the odds on a set-piece goal with three home fixtures in four look good.
Those fixtures with Villa, West Ham and Blackburn visiting Britannia in the next four gameweeks offer potential for Etherington to kick-start his Fantasy season. His constant supply of service from the left and assured set-piece delivery could certainly overshadow the impact of Gudjohnsen when it comes to returns over the next month, keeping Etherington on our Watchlists as a mid-price offering for many gameweeks to come.