Stoke improve despite Thomas exit

[Shutterstock]Stoke City began life without Sorba Thomas in the perfect way, recording their first win of the season and putting in a defensive performance reminiscent of the better parts of last season.Thomas has been their main attacking outlet over the past year and his departure brought about a change in formation and a need for greater variety going forward. While there were teething problems for the 3-4-3 Stoke deployed in Tuesday's 1-0 win against Norwich there was plenty to be optimistic