BeloEmre Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 at the back end of last season we were playing better football than nearly everyone in the league. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Spaceman Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Pulis basically created the "on-loan" template Yes, sure he did Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sifu Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 The fact that Rory Delap is still starting PL games speaks volumes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponsaelius Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Loads of Pulis out threads and post on there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtype Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 That is a really, really long list of mediocre players for 3~5m. Looks like one of those FM savefiles where you get promoted to the Premier League and end up spunking your initial budget on a bunch of players who you just kno will end up with something like a 6.7 average rating because you can't get anyone decent. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brummie Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Stoke really are a pox on English football. Last time we played them at our place they were time wasting from 30 mins onwards (their goalkeeper booked for it in the first half), and the most cynical, horrible bunch of arseholes I've ever had the misfortune to see. If they went down, I doubt there'd be many neutrals who would mourn their passing. Horrible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenBartonCentrePartin Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 walked down to Sainsbury's in the town centre last night as the shuttle busses from the Shitannia were coming back. They all got off looking glum as fuck. It put a smile on my face. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Heneage Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Stoke have been in the Premier League since 2008. This is their 4th season in the top flight and really what change or evolution have we seen in them? A few new faces perhaps (Walters, Wilson, Pennant for example) but little else. They still pick Rory Delap purely because he can throw the ball a certain way. Even against us, when the throw up high wasn't working, we saw them try to bullet throw the ball in low. As a few of the posters on that message board have alluded to, a lot of those players have actually left the club. Kitson, Lawrence, Tonge all players that aren't really going to offer you more than hard work. I think it speaks volumes that Jermaine Pennant is one of their most technically gifted players. Even this summer, Crouch for £10m, Jerome for £4m, who was signing these cheques? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sifu Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I think simply put, if Stoke want to progress, a change of manager is probably needed. Pulis seems too stubborn to change his ways/tactics. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interpolic Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I think simply put, if Stoke want to progress, a change of manager is probably needed. Pulis seems too stubborn to change his ways/tactics. It's more that he can't change his ways, he's shite and one-dimensional. Same as when fat heed used to say he'd play carpet football if given the resources. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wormy Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 How did Stoke play when they got promoted, out of interest? Any better, or just hoof/throw ball? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chubby Jason Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I'll never forget Martin Samuel proclaiming Stoke to be "real contenders" for top 4 this season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sifu Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I'll never forget Martin Samuel proclaiming Stoke to be "real contenders" for top 4 this season. What? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chubby Jason Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I'll never forget Martin Samuel proclaiming Stoke to be "real contenders" for top 4 this season. What? He said it not long ago on the Sunday Supplement. Almost all journalists seem to love Stoke with a passion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sifu Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I'll never forget Martin Samuel proclaiming Stoke to be "real contenders" for top 4 this season. What? He said it not long ago on the Sunday Supplement. Almost all journalists seem to love Stoke with a passion. Oh dear. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newcastle Fan Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 How did Stoke play when they got promoted, out of interest? Any better, or just hoof/throw ball? Exactly the same, they had Mamady Sidibe who was a beast in the championship (now replaced by Crouch or Jones) and Fuller who was their pacy yet tough partner to him (Now Walters) and they just hoofed their way to the Premier league, actually had Shola with them at one point that season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chubby Jason Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Why shouldn't Stoke aim for the Champions League? Last updated at 1:58 AM on 14th September 2011 Comments (46) Add to My Stories Share If Arsenal were playing Stoke City on Saturday, who would you back to win? Not easy, is it? Stoke’s status has taken them beyond being cast merely as a clever money bet. These days, a lot of punters would make them favourites. Yet still many find it hard to believe in Stoke as contenders this season. Not for the Premier League title, obviously, but for that much coveted fourth spot. Nobody would peg Stoke above Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea, but Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur? Why not? FA Cup finalists last season, in the Europa League this year, Stoke’s trajectory under the able stewardship of manager Tony Pulis and chairman Peter Coates would make fourth place the logical target were it not for one thing: they’re Stoke. And, as we have been taught, clubs like Stoke cannot rise above their station in the Premier League. We ignore Everton’s fourth place in 2005, or that Charlton Athletic were fourth with 10 games to go in 2004. If Tottenham had achieved Stoke’s results this season, a draw with Chelsea, victory over Liverpool, home and away wins against Hajduk Split of Croatia, they would be taken seriously. Why not Stoke? The only way is up: Jon Walters salutes his winning goal against Liverpool This is a club who have outspent the traditional dark-horse challengers, such as Everton, and embarrassed those clubs whose boardroom promises have proved empty, like Blackburn Rovers. They have fought off competition from supposed superiors like Aston Villa and Sunderland for England striker Peter Crouch, and are increasingly alone in that rump of mid-table Premier League clubs in aiming high. Like many efficient clubs beyond the Champions League elite, Stoke’s success is built on strong defence. They have played eight games in all competitions this season and conceded just two goals, one of which was in the 77th minute of a Europa League second-leg tie against FC Thun of Switzerland, with Stoke already leading 5-0 on aggregate. Placed fifth and travelling to Sunderland at the weekend, they are in impressive form. Having watched the weekend defeat of Liverpool, Gary Neville caused jaws to drop in the living rooms of Britain by comparing Stoke to Barcelona, not in artistry, but the way they press in numbers, even when reduced to 10 men by a temporary injury to Matthew Etherington. More from Martin Samuel... So when did rules crush kindness?17/11/11 Martin Samuel: Martin Johnson... a giant reduced to humbling exit 16/11/11 Martin Samuel: Returning England captain Terry now immune to the boos crews of Wembley 15/11/11 Martin Samuel: Pardew's a winner by anybody's reckoning for his work at Newcastle15/11/11 Andy Murray comes out fighting in his most revealing interview yet, with Martin Samuel14/11/11 Martin Samuel: Summer invasion for kids catches a rather bad cold13/11/11 Martin Samuel: England's win was a triumph for thoughtful football13/11/11 Martin Samuel: A simple switch that may secure Capello's legacy11/11/11 Martin Samuel: Our boys united in a moving and noble gesture10/11/11 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE Neville said most teams in that situation would sit back and regroup, but Stoke continued chasing Liverpool down, forcing elementary mistakes out of good players. Right now, everything about Stoke suggests progress. There have been three seasons of consolidation in the Premier League, 12th, 11th and 13th, 45, 47 and 46 points, before the change in emphasis this summer. David Dein, the former Arsenal vice-chairman, said that once established there comes a moment when every club must try to take a step up, and perhaps reaching the FA Cup final was the catalyst for Stoke. Certainly, recent arrivals such as Crouch, Matthew Upson, Jonathan Woodgate and Wilson Palacios suggest a club targeting the next level. The trip to play Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League would have been unthinkable three years ago. Pulis has done an outstanding job redirecting the careers of players like Etherington and Jermaine Pennant, while Ryan Shawcross is a brave and often uncompromising centre half, and Robert Huth was the joint highest-scoring defender in the Premier League last season (with Brede Hangeland of Fulham). Like the old Wimbledon side to which they are often compared, there is a lot more talent in Stoke’s ranks than their detractors wish to believe. Stoke’s average gate this season, 27,507, puts them top of the bottom half of the Premier League attendance table, but the numbers do not take into account the raucous passion of the Britannia Stadium. Few opponents enjoy going there and not just because of Rory Delap’s long throws or a back four that invariably includes three bruising centre halves. Not so quiet revolution: Tony Pulis (centre) has overseen a transformation at the Britannia In an age when a trip to Old Trafford or the Emirates is ticked off by tourists much like Madame Tussauds or the London Dungeon, the atmosphere at Stoke games is a throwback to the days of local owners and local teams for local people. It can intimidate, but in a good way, reminding that not every new venue has to be a soulless bowl, its inhabitants distant and subdued. This is an unusual year in English football with so many of the traditional elite in a state of flux. Will the hurried restoration of Liverpool under Kenny Dalglish have time to settle, can Arsene Wenger rebuild spirits at Arsenal, is Tottenham’s investment enough to improve on last season’s fifth place? There are few guarantees, making the fight for the final Champions League spot as open as it has ever been. And then there are Stoke. Unfancied, unsung, the random factor. They might just do it. And wouldn’t it be wonderful if they did? Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-2037037/Martin-Samuel-Why-shouldnt-Stoke-pop-Champions-League.html#ixzz1eHkWNgK4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponsaelius Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Another corker from Martin Samuel. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Heneage Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I think simply put, if Stoke want to progress, a change of manager is probably needed. Pulis seems too stubborn to change his ways/tactics. It's more that he can't change his ways, he's s**** and one-dimensional. Same as when fat heed used to say he'd play carpet football if given the resources. Then bought Smith. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdckelly Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 90m on that?! good lord Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiresias Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Realistically Stoke got as high up the league as they feasibly could with their style, much higher than many predicted (or hoped), and in a way it's admirable commitment to the most awful 1 dimensional footy imaginable, but that said it's easy to be snooty about how 'footy should be played', whatever gets results really. Pulis promised that it would take 3 seasons iirc to cement position in league then he would try and adapt to better footy to push on, but the problem is, when he's taken that style of footy as far as it will go, the players are totally unadapted to a better breed of footy, so they'd actually need to do worse before they can do better if you see what I mean, which might spare the rest of the league the boredom of watching their team play them. Doubt it'll happen though. Anyway that's a bit off topic from transfers... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdckelly Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I'm really hoping that they've finally been found out Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sifu Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I'm really hoping that they've finally been found out Same.` Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dokko Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Having to play extra games and on two different pitches at home really is taking it out of them. They've also been lucky over the past couple of seasons, bit like us this season, riding the luck now and then which does keep confidence up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gggg Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Habib 'forgot he existed' Beye gone to Doncaster. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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