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Post by whalebfooked on Mar 10, 2008 20:32:00 GMT
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Post by fullerlegend on Mar 10, 2008 20:33:12 GMT
yeah i've read. hope TP does get more strict though!  |
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Post by Fenparkpotter on Mar 10, 2008 20:34:19 GMT
“I know refs have a hard job but I would say that maybe 90 per cent of the free-kicks went against us."
Maybe because 90% of the fouls in the game were deliberate attempts to stop Fuller from doing anything with the ball...
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Post by daverichards on Mar 10, 2008 20:35:15 GMT
Stoke 1 Burnley 1
LIAM LAWRENCE reckons it is time for Tony Pulis to ditch the softly-softly approach and give his Stoke team a kick up the backside.
The City winger fears they may miss out on promotion unless boss Pulis dishes out a few rollickings after three games without a win.
Pulis went into the match refusing to lose his rag on the back of two successive defeats.
And he insisted City could afford a couple more losses this season and still go up with no need for the hairdryer treatment.
It was his way of easing the pressure on his stuttering side with their top-flight bid in the balance.
But the result was a frustrating display that required a bizarre last-gasp spot-kick to rescue a point and stretch Stoke’s unbeaten home record to 11.
Lawrence was the pinball wizard as his controversial penalty hit the post and bounced in off Clarets keeper Gabor Kiraly’s head as Pulis got lucky.
Stoke climbed back into the top two — but Lawrence believes it would do no harm to read the riot act in the dressing room. He said: “I’d rather the boss was on my case at this stage of the season to be honest.
“I definitely like to be kept on my toes.
“A few of us need a kick up the backside.
“We have to start winning again. But games are running out for us, it could be too late if we keep on playing like this.
“Now we need to dig in for the last nine games. I hope we have had our little slip and that it has stopped the rot.
I'm top scorer
“But now I’ve got a two-game suspension coming up after getting 10 bookings.
“And probably nine of those were for dissent so that will definitely get me a b******ing off the gaffer!”
Burnley hotly disputed Howard Webb’s penalty decision after Jon Harley was ruled to have pushed over Richard Cresswell. But Lawrence wants to claim his 14th goal of the season despite the ball hitting the hapless Kiraly.
He said: “The penalty was close but Harley nudged him in the back — he could have been sent off as he’d already been booked.
“I’m claiming the goal even though it hit the keeper.
“I’m joint top scorer now but that comes second to us getting results.”
Northern Ireland star Kyle Lafferty’s third-minute goal — his first in almost three months — looked to have boosted Burnley’s play-off hopes. Former Stoke star James O’Connor set him up to fire low past Carlo Nash from 18 yards.
But soon after striker Ade Akinbiyi wasted a golden chance to seal the points when he sliced his shot in front of goal.
At the other end Ricardo Fuller should have done better for Stoke on the hour when he fired wide.
But despite soaking up the pressure, Owen Coyle’s side could do little about the outcome, which left midfielder O’Connor fuming at Webb.
He groaned: “To say we were fed up at the end is being polite.
“Cruel is not a strong enough word. People have seen the replays and said it wasn’t a penalty.
“I know refs have a hard job but I would say that maybe 90 per cent of the free-kicks went against us.
“We defended resolutely which is why it’s so hard to take. Before the game we would have taken a point — but the way things turned out it left a bitter taste in our mouth.”
And if the Dublin-born O’Connor was astonished at Stoke’s penalty award, the crazy goal crushed him again. He added: “You couldn’t make it up could you? Was it an own goal?
“I think you’ll find Liam Lawrence will argue about that!
“It will make us stronger but it took a while for me to sit down and enjoy my Saturday night.”
SUN STAR MAN
CLARKE CARLISLE (Burnley). Stood up to virtually everything to keep Stoke at bay.
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Post by ChepstowStokie on Mar 10, 2008 20:40:52 GMT
there was a very similar article on the match report in the mirror today aswell. i don't think lawrence was criticising pulis as such but he does need to be careful with what he says.
but i do agree from the display against burnley there are several players who need to step up there game.
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Post by potters11 on Mar 10, 2008 20:51:04 GMT
There have been several key players off the pace for the past couple of weeks now! It needs adressing!
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Post by ukstoke1 on Mar 10, 2008 22:12:45 GMT
Has he got a tan?
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Post by ukstoke1 on Mar 10, 2008 22:13:52 GMT
Hope he was wearing sun tan lotion
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Post by Danstoke82 on Mar 11, 2008 8:07:16 GMT
Lenny has a point though.
Although absolutely ripping your players apart in the dressing room (Mike Bassett - England Manager GREAT FILM) doesnt really help that much, if Tone would get a little more pissed off when we are playing badly, it may give players the kick up the arse they need.
Sometimes being nice all the time don't get you anywhere, Tone needs to bring on the iron fist and take on Lenny's comments.
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Post by falirakipotter on Mar 11, 2008 9:29:38 GMT
Holloway has done nothing but rip his players apart after each game, does not seem to have done any good.
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Post by ted1965 on Mar 11, 2008 9:59:11 GMT
The art of management is knowing who you need to kick up the backside and which players need an arm around the shoulder and a little gentle encouragement. That’s what man management is about, there are players who you could yell at till the cows come home but it will not make them concentrate more or play better, it’s about knowing your players.
I think good managers choose their moments for a team rollicking, usually best done in the privacy of the dressing room and the details kept private. That doesn’t mean a manager can’t come out and say, that performance wasn’t acceptable and we have discussed it and everyone knows where they stand.
I don’t think crucifying individual players in public is ever a trait of a good manager, usually it’s a sign of desperate managers under extreme pressure and not coping very well with their own faults.
The manager can show his strength by leaving out players who simply aren’t putting it in, that Is where the real kick up the backside comes and I honestly hope it will from Tone tonight.
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Post by RAF on Mar 11, 2008 10:37:00 GMT
It's a sad indictment when the players are actually asking for a kick up the arse.
I mean for fucks sake if you can't motivate yourself when you are 2nd in the league and challenging for automatic promotion, when the fuck can you?
H
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Post by JoeinOz on Mar 11, 2008 11:07:59 GMT
I mean for fucks sake if you can't motivate yourself when you are 2nd in the league and challenging for automatic promotion, when the fuck can you?
Agree 100% RAF. Its indicative of the pampered sheltered unreal existence footballers have.
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Post by Baggs on Mar 11, 2008 12:47:31 GMT
Agree - fact is, I can honestly look at any of the 9 games we've got left and see us winning any of them. Perhaps not all of them, but they are all winnable. It's not like needing 20 points from the last 9 games to stay up and having to play Arsenal, Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool all away - it can be done!
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Post by sheikh al dubai bin stokie on Mar 11, 2008 12:54:01 GMT
too much coverage for Lawrence at the moment if you ask me
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Post by Top Stopper on Mar 11, 2008 16:59:19 GMT
too much coverage for Lawrence at the moment if you ask me Agree there mate his is getting about a bit. Internet City eh, how I miss the traffic getting to Standard Chartered Bank! How is Dubai still gridlocked? I used to live on Meadows 5, the best thing about the place was the curry place in Dubai Marina (forgot the name) and the fact I could twat my car all around the place for 10 quid a tank! ;D |
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