Filed under: Stoke City, Sunderland, Football
As the Britannia Stadium erupted at the final whistle, after Stoke had secured a place in the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1972, one player trudged off the field with the air of a man who wanted to be somewhere else.He wasn't wearing the away strip of West Ham either. While the rest of his team-mates bounced off the field in triumph Ricardo Fuller appeared frustrated and angry, and custard-pied Gerry Francis when the mulleted Stoke coach attempted to high-five him.
After playing such a major role in establishing Stoke as a Premier League mainstay, beating West Ham to book a trip to Wembley should have been a proud moment for the Jamaican.
But it is appearing increasingly certain that events in the January transfer window will ensure that Fuller, arguably the club's No. 1 terrace idol, will go through the exit door at the end of this season.
It is a headache manager Tony Pulis can do without as he attempts to secure survival. He already has a problem with Kenwyne Jones and his off-field issues and Fuller's body language over the last seven weeks or so has suggested all is far from well.
Fuller came agonisingly close to ending his five-year association with the club in the New Year. He passed a medical at Sunderland after a fee of around £3 million was agreed, but the move collapsed after Stoke allegedly tried to waive payments owed for Jones and Dean Whitehead.
It is understood that Fuller's desire to leave was fuelled by Stoke's delay in offering him a new contract. When no other clubs came in for him in January, it left Pulis with a bitterly frustrated player who believes his club have betrayed him.
Since January Fuller has appeared fleetingly, and not made a single start. Pulis had implored the 31-year-old to "get his head down" until the end of the season and put any bitterness behind him when the window slammed shut.
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/03/15/despite-cup-success-ricardo-fuller-adds-to-tony-pulis-headache/
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