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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2013 12:48:49 GMT
www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2013/may/24/tony-pulis-stoke-cityBeyond this bracingly simple sense of physical contrast there is the misconception that Stoke have been less enjoyable to watch than other teams, chided by the chin-stroking armchair purist and routinely relegated to last spot on Match of the Day. And yet at times in the flesh Stoke could generate perhaps the most boisterously entertaining atmosphere in the Premier League, all geared towards the rare spectacle of the trademark Stoke goal-scramble, a battlefield scene of tumbling bodies, butchered Orcs, air-hoof clearances, shrieks, roars, and the eventual bundling in of the ball via some heroically extended earlobe, all set to a rising tide of delayed close-range hysteria.And perhaps as the Stoke-ball shaped hole at the heart of the Premier League begins to make itself felt, there might even finally be a little sympathy for Pulis himself. Loathe his tracksuited creed if you must, but in its cracked and wonky ideology there is at least a sense of both conviction and contrast. And the fact remains that in a sense that he is a kind of British footballing everyman, that on some distant footballing level we are all Tony Pulis. I'm Tony Pulis. You're Tony Pulis. Tony Pulis is Tony Pulis. And if these really are the last days of disco for English football's last-century methods, it is tempting to think that one day they might just come again, that four years of Pulis-ball Stoke were just too great and too much fun to be gone for ever.
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Post by Will_75 on May 24, 2013 13:22:31 GMT
"Even as the good times first began to roll Pulis felt the need to go out and sign the Turkish midfielder Tuncay Sanli in much the same way a socially aspirational 18th century farmer might have imported at vast expense a clankingly useless Austrian harpsichord that nobody within 300 miles can actually play and which ends up being used to prop the parlour door open."
arf!
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Post by mcf on May 24, 2013 13:27:49 GMT
quality
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Post by stokemark on May 24, 2013 13:28:35 GMT
Its quite good in parts but Ronay remains a neauveaux football loving prick and sums up why Im 'Against Modern Football'
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Post by Gods on May 24, 2013 13:29:05 GMT
Makes you realise Coatesy getting rid of him egged on by puffed up, overpaid men in suits was bordering on criminality  |
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Post by foxysgloves on May 24, 2013 13:32:56 GMT
Fooking hell.
That's possibly the best piece I've read about Stoke by a non-Stokie. Very impressed.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2013 13:36:45 GMT
Its quite good in parts but Ronay remains a neauveaux football loving prick and sums up why Im 'Against Modern Football' I entered with some trepidation as Ronay (an Arsenal fan) has often been, lets say, less than complimentary about Stoke / Pulis / Shawcross. Good piece though. |
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Post by tuum on May 24, 2013 13:37:24 GMT
The first paragraph that you have quoted above is what footy is all about. I hope we don't lose that intensity with the new manager. Having said that, scoring goals is what it is all about at the end of the day. If we do that more often without shipping too many at the other end then I think most of us will be happy.
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Post by snapper23 on May 24, 2013 13:38:24 GMT
Its quite good in parts but Ronay remains a neauveaux football loving prick and sums up why Im 'Against Modern Football' Absolutely pathetic |
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Post by elystokie on May 24, 2013 13:39:06 GMT
"Even as the good times first began to roll Pulis felt the need to go out and sign the Turkish midfielder Tuncay Sanli in much the same way a socially aspirational 18th century farmer might have imported at vast expense a clankingly useless Austrian harpsichord that nobody within 300 miles can actually play and which ends up being used to prop the parlour door open." arf! Got to give him his dues, that's good. |
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Post by Squeekster on May 24, 2013 13:44:43 GMT
The analogy of Tuncay was brilliant.
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Post by TheWiseMaster on May 24, 2013 14:10:58 GMT
The End Of An Error What a great punch line!  |
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Post by Pricey on May 24, 2013 14:19:48 GMT
Errrrrr....yeah, very good.
But we've been in the Prem five years, not four, "Barney Ronay" (if that is your real name).
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Post by CrazyPotter on May 24, 2013 14:21:33 GMT
The words 'absolute whopper' sprung to mind as I began to read that.
No thanks.
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Post by sheikhmomo on May 24, 2013 14:43:44 GMT
The best piece on the whole matter I have read and very funny.
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Post by greyman on May 24, 2013 14:58:23 GMT
Makes you realise Coatesy getting rid of him egged on by puffed up, overpaid men in suits was bordering on criminality Option b) There's no way Pulis dug his own hole. So I'll devise some conspiracy so I can come up with some other reason. And if that doesn't work, I'll come up with another one. |
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Post by sheikhmomo on May 24, 2013 15:01:59 GMT
"And yet at times in the flesh Stoke could generate perhaps the most boisterously entertaining atmosphere in the Premier League, all geared towards the rare spectacle of the trademark Stoke goal-scramble, a battlefield scene of tumbling bodies, butchered Orcs, air-hoof clearances, shrieks, roars, and the eventual bundling in of the ball via some heroically extended earlobe, all set to a rising tide of delayed close-range hysteria."
It's just a shame we stopped doing the above very well. I'd have watched that for another 6 years.
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Post by okeydokeystokie2 on May 24, 2013 15:17:35 GMT
I can remember Ric scoring against Wigan in our first season. He charged into the box with the ball, twisting and turning, hammering shots away that were blocked. But he never gave up and was so determined that the defenders just couldn't get the ball off him or away from him or stop him or even knock him down. At about his third or fourth attempt he inevitably smashed the ball into the net.
Kind of sums up that successful period. Ricardo and "Pulisball" were made for each other.
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Post by greyman on May 24, 2013 15:24:15 GMT
"And yet at times in the flesh Stoke could generate perhaps the most boisterously entertaining atmosphere in the Premier League, all geared towards the rare spectacle of the trademark Stoke goal-scramble, a battlefield scene of tumbling bodies, butchered Orcs, air-hoof clearances, shrieks, roars, and the eventual bundling in of the ball via some heroically extended earlobe, all set to a rising tide of delayed close-range hysteria." It's just a shame we stopped doing the above very well. I'd have watched that for another 6 years. I'd watch the way we played at the end of the 2011 season for a good while and not much resembled Helm's Deep. We had it all, including an attacking mindset, power, guile and some skill. God knows why we decided we needed to remove the wingers and introduce Peter Crouch. |
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openg
Youth Player
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Posts: 264
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Post by openg on May 24, 2013 15:33:11 GMT
It reads like it was written by a thick fuck off here. Not to say I disagree with the sentiments, but God Damn! Is there anyone following stoke, who fancies their hand at media, that isnt as thick as fuck?
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Post by Gods on May 24, 2013 15:57:36 GMT
It reads like it was written by a thick fuck off here. Not to say I disagree with the sentiments, but God Damn! Is there anyone following stoke, who fancies their hand at media, that isnt as thick as fuck? You've lost me there mate. It's beautifully crafted, eloquent, evocative, passionate and very amusing. It tells a story which has a beginning, a middle, an end and a purpose. I'm sure there is lots of criticism you could level at it but the suggestion that this man can't write is fanciful. |
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Post by nott1 on May 24, 2013 17:25:56 GMT
Grovel at TP's feet PC and get him back!
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2013 17:29:03 GMT
Grovel at TP's feet PC and get him back! Give it a fucking rest will you? |
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Post by GrandStokie on May 24, 2013 17:38:38 GMT
I like how a lot of the comments refer to us in the past tense.....as if we've been relegated already??
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Post by OldStokie on May 24, 2013 17:55:51 GMT
I'm sure I could write a piece about the romanticism of a shift in the crut down Florence pit very much similar, but I doubt many people would find anything romantic if they had to fucking do one.
OS.
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Post by stokemark on May 25, 2013 10:13:52 GMT
Its quite good in parts but Ronay remains a neauveaux football loving prick and sums up why Im 'Against Modern Football' Absolutely pathetic What ? Having an opinion ? |
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Post by MarkWolstanton on May 25, 2013 10:23:58 GMT
Makes you realise Coatesy getting rid of him egged on by puffed up, overpaid men in suits was bordering on criminality There is nothing like a good myth and it becomes believable if you keep repeating it. Peter Coates sacked Tony Pulis. |
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Post by ColonelMustard on May 25, 2013 10:29:36 GMT
Makes you realise Coatesy getting rid of him egged on by puffed up, overpaid men in suits was bordering on criminality There is nothing like a good myth and it becomes believable if you keep repeating it. Peter Coates sacked Tony Pulis. true for so many posts - and posters |
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Post by Gods on May 25, 2013 12:42:03 GMT
Makes you realise Coatesy getting rid of him egged on by puffed up, overpaid men in suits was bordering on criminality There is nothing like a good myth and it becomes believable if you keep repeating it. Peter Coates sacked Tony Pulis. 'Egged on' was the phrase I used and that notion has been backed up in several newspaper reports. But you knew that really. |
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Post by Trouserdog on May 25, 2013 15:32:07 GMT
Barney Ronay is the best football writer in Britain. If you don't appreciate prose like that then it might be better to stick with The Beano.
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