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Post by TheWiseMaster on Mar 9, 2004 13:30:09 GMT
Macari watched Stoke against Ipswich and likes what he sees - especially Ade's finishing
As he says - if Stoke can come through March still in touch then they have every chance
And even TP knows that there is no chance of the drop now
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Post by Linx on Mar 9, 2004 13:35:16 GMT
SSSSHHHHHH!!!!   |
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Post by romfordstokie on Mar 9, 2004 13:38:18 GMT
Lou’s being a little two faced here. I was listening to Sky and the radio last week and the Five Live man was giving us lots of praise, whereas Lou was basically saying that Ipswich were completely murdering us and were simply long ball merchants. Make your mind up Lou!
Of course he may well have had a punt on Ipswich which was clouding his judgement....
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Post by seth on Mar 9, 2004 13:40:14 GMT
Hmm, a bit rich Lou accusing us of being long ball merchants.
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Post by TheWiseMaster on Mar 9, 2004 13:46:54 GMT
Yep - Lou - the original percentage man
You can play football - but never in your own half was Lou's motto
I reckon he and TP are very similar
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PerthPotter
Academy Starlet
Posts: 119
Location: Perth, Western Australia
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Post by PerthPotter on Mar 9, 2004 14:06:26 GMT
Lou’s being a little two faced here. I was listening to Sky and the radio last week and the Five Live man was giving us lots of praise, whereas Lou was basically saying that Ipswich were completely murdering us and were simply long ball merchants. Make your mind up Lou! I saw that too and was thinking exactly the same when I was reading TWM's initial post |
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Post by GlennA on Mar 9, 2004 14:31:20 GMT
To be fair to Lou, he makes it clear in his article that Ipswich were the better 'footballing' team but that it was Stoke who did the damage in the right areas. Which is difficult to argue with
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Post by TheWiseMaster on Mar 9, 2004 15:10:35 GMT
Here is the story..... (wouldn't copy earlier)
Stoke City for the play-offs? They'd have carted you off to the funny farm for suggesting that a few weeks ago.
But there they are, well and truly in the shake-up with around 10 other clubs all jockeying for position. It's a long shot, true, but not one you would discount judging by their unbelievable form over the past two or three months.
I can understand Tony Pulis playing it down to keep pressure and expectation off his players, but even he must realise there's no chance of the drop now.
It's clearly a big month for Stoke, with games coming up against Reading, Sunderland, West Brom and Norwich before March is out.
This month will certainly sort the men from the boys, I would think, and the top end of the First Division will really take shape.
I reckon current leaders Norwich are a safe bet for automatic promotion because of their tight ground, good support and choice of strikers. I feel there's a much bigger question mark over West Brom in second because of their habit of spluttering and losing silly games on their own pitch.
And you can bet there will be plenty of unlikely results between now and the end of the season as the pressure begins to tell.
Only on Saturday we saw Wigan - a home banker against Crewe - come a cropper all of a sudden when they had a player sent off.
Stoke would feel more confident if it was the Walsalls, Gillinghams and Rotherhams ahead of them in the table rather than the greater resources of clubs like Sunderland, Sheffield and West Ham.
But they are the form team and the one others will be starting to take them really seriously.
I watched Stoke's win over Ipswich last Tuesday and must admit that Ade Akinbiyi has come on with his finishing.
He confidently scored the kind of one-on-one I'm sure he might well have fluffed before getting his career going again at Stoke.
Ipswich may have been the silkier-looking team, but it was Stoke doing all the damage in the areas which count.
My message to Stoke is the play-offs are definitely achievable - especially if they get through March unscathed.
And they should be playing under less pressure than most because no-one, surely, ever expected to see them up there.
Lou Macari
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Post by ucheterstokie on Mar 9, 2004 15:25:28 GMT
Cheers Lou ;D
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Post by dude on Mar 9, 2004 15:34:14 GMT
I personally couldn't give a fuck what Macari thinks.
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Post by ucheterstokie on Mar 9, 2004 16:02:54 GMT
oh behave ;D
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Post by dude on Mar 9, 2004 16:08:36 GMT
Sorry but he has the Garth Crooks effect on me. Seedy little fella.......him not me |
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Post by RipRoaringPotter on Mar 9, 2004 16:14:11 GMT
How come ya don't like him JR? P.S. If ya can't be arsed to get into a big discussion, send us a PM, if ya can be arsed |
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Post by tubes on Mar 9, 2004 16:50:41 GMT
I should think it has something to do with the fact that Macari tried to sue the club, and as such threatened our very existance should he have won
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Post by POS51 on Mar 9, 2004 17:21:01 GMT
Lou's comments are a wee bit vague.
Its like saying 'If you win all your games, you'll get promoted'
Still, i think its worth a couple of quid on us reaching the play-offs down the bookies. Cant hurt can it? Plus i bet the odds are pretty goos right now ;D
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Mar 9, 2004 17:59:09 GMT
I don't know if Lou writes his own column or if it is "ghosted" based on an interview. Either way this article wasn't particularly well written. But he does try to make a valid point.
Form the first publication of the fixture list, March always looked to have the hardest run of fixtures. None of us kenw of course just how significant March could become for us. By the end of the month we can't cement our playoff position but we sure as hell could be waving our hopes goodbye. If we are in a top 6 position by the end of the month then I would start to think that we WOULD make the playoffs.
Looking at the next two games they may set us up for the rest of the month. We need to average at least two points a game between now and the end of the season. The classic way to do this is to win your home games and average 1 point away. Two points from the Reading and Sunderland away games would keep us in the hunt, three points or more and we'd be flying. Less than two and it will be difficult to regain sufficient momentum.
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