There was no real goal threat. Emile Heskey was well marshalled by the Potters defence and Amr Zaki was below par.
He did however pull off a fantastic saving tackle at the death. The Egyptian sprinted the length of the pitch to tackle Richard Creswell after the former Preston and Leeds striker had cut inside Valencia and was ready to pull the trigger.
The introduction of Henri Camara for Emile Heskey in the second half stopped the temptation to hoof the ball forward and we played some much better attacking football.
However this was not to say all was well. Yes, Stoke defended well and threw their bodies on the line, but the out and out goal threat was absent from the line-up.
Jason Koumas was lost in the first half and whilst he bucked up his ideas in the second half, the Welshman looks a shadow of the player Chris Hutchings paid £5.5 million for just over a year ago.
On the other flank, Antonio Valencia was below par and the final twenty minutes aside, he did not worry Danny Higginbotham enough.
On the positive side, Emmerson Boyce had Ricardo Fuller in his back pocket for the duration of the game and Titus Bramble lost one header all game.
Mario Melchiot once again offered plenty going forwards and we miss his attacking influence when the Dutchman is out of the line up.
The dreaded Rory Delap throw in was also a big anti-climax as Bruce's men dealt admirably with every thing that was throw at them.
In terms of the table, things do not look to clever and it appears that once again, for all the pre-season optimism, we are left wondering what might have been.
Should we fail to pick up a few points pre-Christmas it could well be another relegation battle for the Latics.
Player Ratings
Chris Kirkland 6, Mario Melchiot 7, Emmerson Boyce 7, Titus Bramble 8, Maynor Figueroa 6, Antonio Valencia 6, Wilson Palacios 6, Lee Cattermole 7, Jason Koumas 6, Emile Heskey 6 (Henri Camara 6), Amr Zaki 5.
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