GettyImagesJack Collison scores for West Ham against Stoke

It was West Ham who took the initiative as they came away with all three points in a game lacking any real quality, beating an unconvincing Stoke side 1-0 at the Britannia Stadium.

- Allardyce delighted to end poor away form

West Ham are another side with a horrible away record, in fact before Saturday they had taken only one point from their last 24 on the road. Despite that record and despite losing two players in the first ten minutes to injury they swept the Potters aside with ease and perhaps should have scored at least one more.

I wrote earlier in the week about Tony Pulis' comments criticising the fans and they left him under no illusions as to their feelings, booing both half and full time, ironically cheering the substitutions and even a brief 'Pulis Out' banner in the South Stand. This clearly irked the manager as his post-match comments included a swipe at those who dare question him. He is a man under pressure and it's starting to show in his words.

The main talking points are as follows:

Team Selection/Tactics - I was buoyed by the sight of Cameron Jerome in the starting XI and was pleasantly surprised at him being used (for the most part) as the furthermost striker. What didn't please me though was Jerome being moved out wide despite him proving a valuable asset up the pitch, turning aimless hoofs into opportunities. To see Kenwyne Jones and Jerome in their own half with Peter Crouch 30 yards ahead of them was soul destroying and immediately nullified Stoke's main attacking asset.

Defence - The boys at the back suffered in the absence of Robert Huth as you might expect. Asmir Begovic looked uneasy, even away from the challenges of Andy Carroll, dropping the ball on at least three occasions. In fact Stoke's aerial presence at the back was virtually non-existent, winning only two out of 15 headers challenged for - both of those were by Ryan Shawcross, meaning Marc Wilson, Ryan Shotton and Andy Wilkinson won nothing in the air all game. Shotton though, to his credit, had a good first half marshalling Matt Jarvis well but struggled more after the break, Wilkinson was steady enough but neither are good enough for a team with top ten aspirations and sadly that proved to be the case in front of them too.

Midfield - The side would struggle with two below par full-backs but with two below par wingers in front of them and a poor again Glenn Whelan in the middle, there was little hope of controlling the game. It was left to Steven N'Zonzi to carry the can of his colleagues and he was so embarrassed he hid behind a mask. Whelan's consistency is a real concern, I would have said he was Stoke's second best player up until Christmas such was his form but since then his decline has been remarkable. Adam looked lively when he came on and even managed to win a couple of tackles as he took up a deeper position to launch long balls in the general direction of the plethora of giants tasked with getting the men in red and white back into the game.

Strikers - Regular readers will know that I don't rate Crouch in Pulis' system but on Saturday he looked better as he took up the deeper role, allowing Jerome to chase his flick-ons up field. That said, his touch was woeful, the second of which was often a tackle as the ball failed to stick and his reluctance to attack the ball under challenge continues to frustrate. Jerome however firmly put to bed the notion that he is just an impact player as he ran the channels like a young Fuller forcing West Ham into a number of errors winning his side free kicks, throws and corners from nothing. His exile to the wing leaving Crouch up top meant Stoke were going to struggle to score, especially with the aerially unimposing Crouch the focus of the majority of the howitzers launched up there.

This loss is significant, any loss at home has to be given Stoke's away form and with a trip to Newcastle on the horizon, it's not inconceivable to think the club could find themselves only three places off relegation come next Sunday evening. Some fans have used the fact that Stoke have been tenth in the league to stand up for the manager in recent weeks but whilst the side struggled to get four points from 21 in that period of false 'security' those lower down the league were slowly but surely reducing the points deficit. Stoke now have 10 games to ensure they remain at the top table next season and whilst Pulis will have to be the man to ensure that this term, whether he should continue past that point is another question altogether.

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