Stoke City chairman Peter Coates says the failure of Dave Kitson to live up to his price-tag is no-one's fault.
Kitson was offloaded to Portsmouth last week.
Coates told The Sentinel: "Kitson came with a reputation after scoring 15 goals for Reading in the Premier League, but it didn't work out for him here.
"Transfers are always risks, however, and they cannot all come off."