[BaggieSteve]

I may be wrong, and if I am I'm sure I'll be corrected, but Tony Pulis does not seem to ever have had a desire to bring through young players, either at Stoke or certainly with us. Rather he'd prefer to buy experienced players - also known as seasoned pros - whom he probably trusts more to do a job for him and play to his set pattern. My problem with that is this brings us players such a Rikki Lambert and, according to rumour, possibly Peter Crouch, two players approaching mid 30, with no pace and questionable desire. Meanwhile, young players such as Roofe and Nabi, nurtured through our acclaimed Academy, are let go with no opportunity. I appreciate the argument that we don't see what goes on behind the scenes or in training but, on that basis, Lambert must be playing like Messi on the practice pitch. You wonder if Berahino would ever have played under Pulis if he had not already been a first XI squad player