Rainy Day

Stoke have today announced the signing of left sided winger Matthew Etherington from Premier League rivals West Ham. The 27 year old joins on a three and a half year deal for an undisclosed fee reported to be around 3 million.Etherington, who will wear the number 26 shirt Etherington, who has a somewhat checkered past, with a history of gambling problems, having as much as 800,000 gambling debt at one time, had fallen down the pecking order at West Ham since the appointment of Mike Bibby Jersey Gianfranco Zola as manager, and after recent injuries will look for a fresh start at Stoke, something that is in keeping with Tony Pulis reputation as a manager who can kick-start a players faltering career, with Liam Lawrence, who was filmed having sex with a sixteen year old girl before moving to Stoke being a prime example. The former England Under 21 international began his career at Peterborough United before impre sive performances earned him a 500,000 move to Tottenham in the year 2000. Three mediocre years, which included a loan spell at Bradford, later, Etherington made the move from North to East London, signing for the Hammers as a makeweight in the deal for Frederic Kanoute who moved in the other direction, where he spent a succe sful five and a half years, making 165 league appearances and scoring 16 goals before his transfer to Stoke.Etherington in his early days at PeterboroughIn my eyes Etherington is a very good signing for Stoke, he is of proven Premier League cla s without costing too much. He will definitely strengthen our squad, and will solve our left wing problems nicely. Ill be happier still if we have two or three more deals sewn up by the end of the month though. I only hope Etherington will be given the freedom to play as an attacking winger, rather than having to do the large amount of tracking back usually expected of a Stoke wide man.Finally, Id like to give a shout-out to my fellow Stoke City blogger Richard and nudge everyone in the direction of his site, . Josh Jackson Jersey