Source: Team_Talk
Pulis tells fans to Stoke up flames
Tony Pulis hopes Stoke's fans use their current sense of injustice to create a siege mentality against Birmingham at the Britannia tonight.[LNB] Pulis was left infuriated by the latest refereeing decisions to go against his side in their fourth straight Premier League defeat at Sunderland on Saturday.[LNB]Pulis claims the smaller teams in the division get a raw deal from officials, but accepts his Stoke side will have to deal with it without help from outside the city.[LNB]"We know now that nobody gives a damn about Stoke City except ourselves and we've got to get everybody behind the lads," he said.[LNB]"The supporters will be massive for us now. We need them behind us raising the roof on Tuesday night. It is a big game for us, and what concerns me is that we have played well in the last five games and got nothing to show for it.[LNB]"We have got to stick together - myself, the players and the supporters. Nobody gives a damn about Stoke except everybody connected with the club."[LNB]In the wake of Saturday's match, in which the Potters were denied a penalty for a clear handball on the line by Lee Cattermole, Pulis suggested a new system which would see clubs rate referees and relegate those who perform badly.[LNB]"Over the weekend I have thought about it and I want to be constructive, so I think we should put in place a system where every Premier League club has a vote at the end of the season on referees, and the bottom three referees should be relegated to the Championship and the top three referees from the Championship should be promoted," he said.[LNB]"And you can mark referees at the end of a game."[LNB]Pulis was at least able to joke when asked about Cattermole's handball, which was worthy not only of a penalty but also a red card.[LNB]"It was unfortunate that Cattermole dropped it," Pulis said.[LNB]"What concerns me is that Martin had a good view. It looked like it could have been behind the line, but maybe that was tough for the referee to see.[LNB]"How he didn't see the handball, I just don't know. Cattermole actually handled it twice, so for him not to see either offence is quite remarkable.[LNB]"He would have been sent off, we would have had a chance to level it up at one apiece and I am sure Ryan Shawcross wouldn't have got sent off later."
