'Stokelona' strategy garnering results

Think of Stoke City over the last past decade, and what immediately springs to mind is a physical, powerful team, gritty soccer and Rory Delap's long throw.

That has all been consigned to the past during a season in which the transformation of Stoke's playing approach rivals Leicester's rise and Chelsea's decline as the story of the 2015-16 English soccer campaign.

After dismantling the two Manchester giants at home and Everton away in impressive Premier League victories in December, Stoke was tagged with a nickname few can ever have imagined - 'Stokelona' - in reference to Spain's Barcelona.