Stoke City ventured into the Europa League for the first time this season and many thought the distraction would disrupt their league form.
Tony Pulis's side have dismissed such talk already and the boys from the Britannia Stadium have allowed their army of followers to enjoy one of the most exciting starts to a season in the Potters' history.
August
August was busy month both on and off the pitch for Stoke City as they progressed in the Europa League qualifying round after completing a 2-0 aggregate win over Hadjuk Split.
Meanwhile, Pulis's side began steadily in the league, with two draws in their opening two games against Chelsea and Norwich City.
The Potters completed the signings of former Tottenham duo Peter Crouch and Wilson Palacios on deadline day to add to the transfers of Matthew Upson, Cameron Jerome and Jonathan Woodgate among others.
Stoke succeeded in the Europa League again, as they comfortably defeated FC Thun 5-1 on aggregate to qualify for the group stages of the competition.
They finished August by claiming their first league win of the campaign against West Brom, thanks to a late goal from Ryan Shotton.
September
A penalty from Jonathan Walters gave Stoke City a 1-0 win against Liverpool at the beginning of September to continue their good form from the previous month.
The team then travelled to Ukraine for a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Dynamo Kiev, and the effects of European football could be seen the following weekend as they slumped to a dismal 4-0 defeat to Sunderland.
Success in another competition came Stoke's way in September too as they knocked Spurs out of the Carling Cup on penalties, and they continued their form against the bigger teams with a 1-1 draw against Manchester United in the league.
Stoke finished the month on another European high as they beat Turkish side Besiktas 2-1 thanks to goals from Crouch and Walters.
October
October started with a new Europa league hangover for Pulis's men, slumping to a 2-0 defeat to Swansea before recovering once again to beat Fulham by the same score at home.
The highlight of October for Stoke came in Europe as they beat Maccabie Tel-Aviv 3-0 despite being down to ten men for much of the match. Stoke struggled after a midweek match again as they were beaten 3-1 at the Emirates by Arsenal.
The Potters were knocked out of the league cup by Liverpool after a Luis Suarez brace and suffered a third defeat in ten days as a Demba Ba hattrick earned Newcastle a 3-1 win during Stoke's toughest spell of the season.
November
November began with more European delight as Stoke defeated Maccabi Tel-Aviv for the second time, but their league form continued to suffer and a woeful 5-0 defeat to Bolton was partnered by a home loss to QPR as Pulis's side lost their fourth league game in a row.
Crouch netted for the Potters again as they ended their poor run with a 3-1 Premier League victory against struggling Blackburn.
December
Stoke enjoyed a brilliant start to December as a draw against Dynamo Kiev meant the club qualified for the European knockout stages for the first time in their history.
The fans finally saw this form carried into the league as they enjoyed wins against Everton and Spurs in successive matches.
The Potters suffered their first loss in Europe as they slumped to a 3-1 loss away to Besiktas but they went on to win their fourth league game in a row by beating Wolves 2-1 at the Molineux.
After being drawn against Valencia in the Europa League, Stoke were brought back down to earth by league leaders Manchester City as they suffered a 3-0 loss and then a goalless draw against Aston Villa.
Callum Mulvihill
