|
Post by mystokebadge on Dec 3, 2011 15:20:06 GMT
Great post Luke, TONY PULIS one of the best things to happen to stoke city ever and thats a fact.
|
|
|
Post by matisfaction on Dec 3, 2011 17:36:36 GMT
I've got a feeling about this season - I think we can go a long way in the Europa League. We may struggle to rise above mid-table in the prem, but so what? As long as we survive, I'd take that were we to have a shot at Bucharest in May. The longer we are in it then the more the league form will suffer, that might not be enough for some to accept, but if we have a good run in Europe while managing to stay in the league pretty comfortably then it would still have been a fantastic season IMO. We're not in a position to have both a good run in Europe and a strong league position.
|
|
|
Post by march4 on Dec 3, 2011 21:15:14 GMT
I've got a feeling about this season - I think we can go a long way in the Europa League. We may struggle to rise above mid-table in the prem, but so what? As long as we survive, I'd take that were we to have a shot at Bucharest in May. The longer we are in it then the more the league form will suffer, that might not be enough for some to accept, but if we have a good run in Europe while managing to stay in the league pretty comfortably then it would still have been a fantastic season IMO. We're not in a position to have both a good run in Europe and a strong league position. Finishing 17th in the Prem for the next 25 years with a couple of cup wins thrown in would be magnificent for a club of our size.
|
|
|
Post by onionman on Dec 3, 2011 21:49:14 GMT
The longer we are in it then the more the league form will suffer, that might not be enough for some to accept, but if we have a good run in Europe while managing to stay in the league pretty comfortably then it would still have been a fantastic season IMO. We're not in a position to have both a good run in Europe and a strong league position. Finishing 17th in the Prem for the next 25 years with a couple of cup wins thrown in would be magnificent for a club of our size. Yes, that would be brilliant. The only thing I'd question is, if we end up getting sucked into a relegation battle, at what stage if any do you abandon ship on the Europa League? Hypothetical stuff but, if we're 18th with a quarter of the season left, and have a quarter-final Europa match on a Thursday, three days before a game against a relegation rival ... do you gamble our Premier League status and pick our strongest team in the Europa match?
|
|
|
Post by march4 on Dec 3, 2011 21:57:55 GMT
Finishing 17th in the Prem for the next 25 years with a couple of cup wins thrown in would be magnificent for a club of our size. Yes, that would be brilliant. The only thing I'd question is, if we end up getting sucked into a relegation battle, at what stage if any do you abandon ship on the Europa League? Hypothetical stuff but, if we're 18th with a quarter of the season left, and have a quarter-final Europa match on a Thursday, three days before a game against a relegation rival ... do you gamble our Premier League status and pick our strongest team in the Europa match? Let's hope that never happens!
|
|
|
Post by onionman on Dec 4, 2011 4:34:04 GMT
Yes, that would be brilliant. The only thing I'd question is, if we end up getting sucked into a relegation battle, at what stage if any do you abandon ship on the Europa League? Hypothetical stuff but, if we're 18th with a quarter of the season left, and have a quarter-final Europa match on a Thursday, three days before a game against a relegation rival ... do you gamble our Premier League status and pick our strongest team in the Europa match? Let's hope that never happens! But in theory that kind of thing is very likely to happen if we are to finish 17th in the Prem and have a great run in the Europa League, which as you suggest would represent one of the best seasons in our history. I guess it means there's an extremely thin margin between this season turning into one of the best seasons in the history of the club, and turning into a nightmare season. For what it's worth, I think we should go all out for the Europa League no matter what. As Del Boy said, he who dares. Also, I can't help but think, in the long-run, we'll end up mid-table in the Championship eventually, and probably in the third division at some point. At that stage I don't want to be looking back in despair at how one year we miraculously qualified for Europe, and then didn't give it our best shot. Yes, I'm a pessimist, but that's Stoke City's fault.
|
|
|
Post by Trouserdog on Dec 4, 2011 9:58:52 GMT
Finishing 17th this season, given our Europa involvement would be forgivable.
With the amount we've spent, finishing in that position for the next twenty years would be appalling.
|
|
|
Post by onionman on Dec 4, 2011 14:11:11 GMT
Finishing 17th this season, given our Europa involvement would be forgivable. With the amount we've spent, finishing in that position for the next twenty years would be appalling. Fair enough. I guess for a 20-year spell in the Prem to be a success, most seasons we'd either have to finish in a decent position in the league or have a famous cup run.
|
|