WHEN Rory Delap side-footed home from a couple of yards against Spurs a fortnight ago, it signalled not only the last Premier League rites of Juande Ramos, but also the full footballing rehabilitation of our ever-reliable midfielder.

Last Friday, I extolled the virtues of our mercurial Jamaican striker, Ricardo Fuller, and if Ric is a player so blessed with natural talent that you'd possibly name a baby after him, Delap is the Stoke player who'd buy you a beer down your local.

That's not to say that Delap has extra-curricular habits that would shock all Stokies.

Rather, that he's the sort of good honest, dependable bloke who would probably shun the trendy bars and red carpets so beloved by many a 20th century footballer, and instead settle down for a pint of best, a bag of pork scratchings and a chinwag about nogger.

For almost two years ago to the day that Rory was notching the winner against Spurs, he lay in agony in a local hospital, with his tibia and fibula broken, and his professional career in the balance. And it was Wednesday's opponents Sunderland who played a key role in this.

The Black Cats were the team from whom he was on loan to us and the team that he broke his leg against in his home debut on that October night in 2006.

Our second-half battering of Roy Keane's men was overshadowed by an injury so bad that a number of Stoke and Sunderland players were visibly shaken as Delap lay in agony with a leg that resembled something you would more often see in a car crash than on a football pitch.

And it should not be forgotten that City acted with sheer class and dignity in how they dealt with the injury, and Rory's career.

We immediately announced our intention to honour our agreement with Sunderland that we would buy him – just how many other clubs would do this with the player suffering a double fracture?

At the time, it did raise a few eyebrows with many Stokies, not least because in this day and age in football, 'doing the right thing' is not often the done thing.

Strange isn't it, how a certain manager made less than complimentary remarks to the national media about how we handled another transfer with one of his players (Marton Fulop) later down the line, this after the way we went out of our way to honour our agreement over Delap?

All I can say is a) congratulations to Stoke on how they handled the Delap (and the other) situation and b) thank you to Rory for being the consummate professional, and the most consistent Stoke player in the last 12 months.

Yes, I hold my hands up, there were times when he first came back into the side at the start of last season when I felt Rory wasn't worth his place.

More fool me, as when his fitness was regained, Rory was the heartbeat of a promotion-winning Potters side.

Unfortunately for Rory, it seems that the whole footballing nation only wants to talk about how far he can chuck a football, but Delap is possibly the first name I'd have down on my team sheet.

The bloke surely possesses an extra lung, and no matter what position he is asked to play, he puts in a shift and a half and seems genuinely thrilled just to be playing football.

I want to see Delap's energy used in a more central position, especially as we have gifted centre midfield territory and possession over to the opposition too many times this season.

He might not win too many marks for artistic merit, but Delap might just be the key to our future.

He has shown that good guys do sometimes win and he's fast turning from a cult-hero into a bit of an icon with a City support who love those who sweat blood.

In today's 'bling-when-you're-winning' football climate, Delap is a throwback (excuse the pun) to how it used to be.