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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 16, 2011 19:17:10 GMT
This time last year we were saying we could aspire to be on a par with Everton and Villa... and, erm, look at the table! Realistically neither is likely to finish above us and Villa would need major surgery to challenge for Top 6 for a while.
So, what other clubs can we honestly aspire to right now? I feel like we're on a par with Bolton and Blackburn, with Sunderland running a little ahead - but have we almost hit our natural level of aspiration now, with maybe a tilt at 5th not beyond the realms in the next couple of seasons?
Or is this such an untypical Prem season that it's too early to say??
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Post by sufolkstokie on Jan 16, 2011 19:22:37 GMT
I still think it is Everton, but with money. On their day very few were surprised if they beat anyone home or even away. Still a very good team ,but losing some key players and no forwards and no money is hurting them this year and you do wonder where it might end (not this year) if they have no money despite selling Lescott
So Everton with money and we would be a very good side for a long time to come
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Post by scfc2010 on Jan 16, 2011 19:22:50 GMT
Blackpoool ;D
in all seriousness i wish we attacked home and away like they do
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Post by stokeyhunter on Jan 16, 2011 19:23:35 GMT
i still think everton and villa could pick it up and finish above us
we have finished above bolton two years running and they have had a good season this year but we can still finish above them easily
how far we progress i think is down to how much cash they will spend but we should look at how fulham managed to go to the europa league final and think anything is possible
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Post by reddipotter on Jan 16, 2011 19:25:34 GMT
Arsenal, obviously.
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Post by stokemark on Jan 16, 2011 19:42:15 GMT
Blackpoool ;D in all seriousness i wish we attacked home and away like they do They havent survived one season yet - People should give Blackpool huge credit but not at the expense at what Tony and the team at Stoke have acheived |
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Post by Irish Stokie on Jan 16, 2011 19:43:03 GMT
It's a strange season and the table tells it's own story with some big clubs at the wrong end. I think rather than looking at teams we should be looking at league position and target top 10 this year and with the right additions we could push on to maybe top 8 in a season or two.
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Post by Cityfullergoals on Jan 16, 2011 19:45:21 GMT
We may be role models for others now
Get promotion, word aaarrrd, and you"d be surprised at where you may get to
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Post by chattyladypotter on Jan 16, 2011 19:46:36 GMT
spurs
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Post by Cartman on Jan 16, 2011 19:47:16 GMT
Sunderland, Bolton, Blackburn, Everton......
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Post by apb1 on Jan 16, 2011 19:52:39 GMT
We are in a slightly false position - let's see where we are after home and away games are equal. Win at Fulham and a point at Liverpool please.
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Post by gibby1409 on Jan 16, 2011 19:59:20 GMT
Everton are the ones for me! Established Prem Team, in the running for Cups, loads of credibility, and bouncing between upper and mid table! Forget this year, they will be mid table by the end of the season!
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Post by Los Alfareros on Jan 16, 2011 19:59:56 GMT
Jarvis Cocker
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Post by youareallwrong on Jan 16, 2011 20:02:33 GMT
We should aspire to be Stoke, Stoke and nothing but Stoke. Fuck the rest of them, there's nothing to aspire to but for us to be the best we can be.
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Post by rorymscfc on Jan 16, 2011 20:02:53 GMT
The club has made enormous strides over the last 3 years or so but there are still areas where we can improve. Our youth and academy needs to produce players who can make the step upto premier league football on a regular basis - clubs like Boro and Man City have done this well in the past. The other area that desperately needs to improve is our overseas scouting network and Wigan would seem to be the most obvious role models in this respect.
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Post by KDT_SCFC on Jan 16, 2011 20:04:01 GMT
West Brazil-if only we could play like them ;D
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Post by alster on Jan 16, 2011 20:14:18 GMT
I think we should just aspire to keep improving our offensive game. This season has seen us pose much more of a goal threat and thats backed up by the fact that we are no longer one of the lowest scorers in the league. To be comfortable in the premier league whist offering a better level of entertainment value is No1 priority for me. I'm not over keen on the Europa league, its a bit of a distraction with little kudos or value. real full backs that push on, a creative central midfielder and a predatory striker would be really nice. Not expecting miracles overnight but we all have to hope for something.
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Post by lawrieleslie on Jan 16, 2011 21:56:20 GMT
Hope you are joking. A drunken tramp sucking diarrhoea through a sweaty sock would be a better role model than that bunch of half-wit moronic inbreds. |
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Post by lancer on Jan 17, 2011 14:08:48 GMT
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Post by bettsy on Jan 17, 2011 14:31:56 GMT
Sunderland, Bolton, Blackburn, Everton...... bolton, blackburn  i think most will agree and say we are now better than them 2 , i think everton like most have said |
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Post by mark71 on Jan 17, 2011 14:40:20 GMT
We need to establish ourselves in the upper part of mid table. We've had 3 very good years but we mustn't start getting ahead of ourselves.
I still see our rivals as Sunderland, Bolton, blackburn etc.
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Post by apb1 on Jan 17, 2011 14:43:34 GMT
no-one right now who our profile (current and next) really fits with
For what we are hoping to achieve, look back to Blackburn under Jack Walker, although even they had won a few cups and championships a hundred years earlier. Same with Chelsea prior to their big money investment. Perhaps Middlesbrough when they got in a few cup finals and got the new stadium and some top players is the closest analogy.
All points to the fact that our day in the sun may be temporary...
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Post by sihanouk on Jan 17, 2011 14:47:19 GMT
Being above Everton/Villa etc is great and shows har far we've come but let's not fall into the trap of thinking we are better than them etc and it's a permanent fix.
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Post by ladyinred on Jan 17, 2011 15:55:46 GMT
Whoa, steady there!
Since Promotion,
Have we won at Villa Park? - No
Have we won at Goodison Park? - No
Have we won at The Reebok? - No
Have we won at SoL - No
Everton/Villa - having poor (by their standards) seasons, but they both tend to have a blip every half a dozen seasons - But both have been in the Premier League since it began, and top-flight for a long time before that. SCFC are NOT at that level yet - so to say that we have surpassed them on the basis of half a season is just foolish.
Bolton/Sunderland - much more realistic comparisons. Sunderland have had their ups and downs over the years, but are STILL stronger than us as a club with the wage structure that they have and their ability to attract top players. Bolton - steady PL club, diced with relegation a few times, but a decade as a steady Prem club - SCFC don't have that - Yet!
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Post by basingstokie on Jan 17, 2011 17:42:57 GMT
We may be role models for others now
Spot on, a couple more years in Prem and people will talk about 'doing a Stoke' Just like they used to talk about 'doing a Charlton' (preferably Suzanne!) Let Charlton be a salutory lesson to us As for who our role model should be I'd still say Everton, they are having a bad season but are still a decent club If you take some sort of average Premiership season for most clubs in the Prem I'd say we are on a par with Sunderland, Blackburn and Bolton. Aspiring to Villa and Everton |
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Post by stokelad84 on Jan 17, 2011 17:47:26 GMT
The club has made enormous strides over the last 3 years or so but there are still areas where we can improve. Our youth and academy needs to produce players who can make the step upto premier league football on a regular basis - clubs like Boro and Man City have done this well in the past. The other area that desperately needs to improve is our overseas scouting network and Wigan would seem to be the most obvious role models in this respect. Players like Rooney, Fabregas, Walcott and Bale were all outstanding at 16 years old. Improving our training pitch will not turn a good prospect into an outstanding prospect. Sometimes, you just have to drop on the right player at the right time. |
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Post by trebor63 on Jan 17, 2011 19:23:53 GMT
I think we are very much on a par with clubs like Blackburn, Bolton, Sunderland, West Ham and Fulham and we are still behind the likes of Villa Everton Liverpool and the current top five.
I'd pretty much ignore the table at the moment cos it's too tight to draw any real conclusions from. We had people (including some Stoke fans) telling us Hull were doing it better than us (they never were) our steady but undeniable progress is the way we need to keep going.
When we have a dodgy season (or start to a season) its important that us, the fans, don't try and throw the baby out with the bathwater!
If we finish in the top ten (or there abouts) for ten years or so there will be a whole generation of kids who will grow up just assuming Stoke are one of the biggest and best clubs in Britain, when we get there we can raise our sights even higher!!
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Post by Ddraigcoch on Jan 17, 2011 19:30:23 GMT
Barcelona!!
For the people by the people!!
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Post by GrandStokie on Jan 17, 2011 19:42:18 GMT
We should aspire to be Stoke, Stoke and nothing but Stoke. Fuck the rest of them, there's nothing to aspire to but for us to be the best we can be. ;D very true and I prefer a comparison to aspiration! |
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Post by maximusdickie on Jan 17, 2011 19:47:02 GMT
Even though Everton and Villa are having bad seasons, they are still the type of club we can aspire to be, Bolton are no better than us, niether are Blackburn, and sunderland are a medioka side with a good strikeforce, but nothing special, its a funny season, one in which we could finish higher than expected if we keep our heads on, then again i would be happy with 10th. 9th or 8th would be brilliant.
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