Tempted at all, Gary?

Our manager's star is rising faster than the bile in 666's gizzard at every defensive masterclass provided by our current captain. Useless pundits like Mark Lawrenson have suggested that he would be the right manager for Stoke at this point. He may or may not be someone they are considering but if they did come a-calling and you were Gary.....

Pros:

1.It's Premiership! Pay rise presumably. A confident lad like Gary would look at the state of other teams in the bottom half and think he has what it takes to get Stoke above at least three of them. He's in the big time, quaffing extortionately expensive bottles of red wine with the Joses of this world twice weekly rather than a lukewarm cup of Bovril with the Nigels.

2. Nice chairman. Only seems to sack managers as a last resort, in contrast to the fruitcake owners of Brummigham, and, lest we forget, our own trigger-happy overlord. Rowett knows it doesn't take more than a few bad results at Derby for Mel's trigger finger to start contracting uncontrollably.

3. Derby might not go up this year, or next year, and his star will begin to sink again, faster than 666's moobs which are already at knee level. This may be be his best chance at a crack at the big time.

Cons:

1. Have you actually BEEN to Stoke?

2.Toxic, entitled set of fans who have forgotten quite how far above their weight they have been punching all these years and who had their fill of functional football with Pulis. They will have their Tippex poised in one hand and their Sharpies in the other in no time, ready to replace "Hughes"with "Rowett"on their pathetic hand-scrawled protest sheets of A4.

3. It's Stoke FFS.

Is he Our Gary or are we a step on his ladder, with Stoke half a rung higher at the moment?