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Post by djduncanjames on Oct 1, 2014 23:16:00 GMT
If and when we get there again, just watching the football today made me think that with our current squad we would really have a go in the Europa league if we had the opportunity. I know Tone was great at these one off matches but I really think Hughes can take us even further if we get the chance next season. To think we had players like Danny Pugh and Deano et al getting us to the Mestalla, where could we see ourselves with Arnie and Bojan?  |
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Post by Gods on Oct 1, 2014 23:50:40 GMT
Would we have to win the FA Cup to get in to the Europa or do the losing finalists still get in if the winners are Champs League qualifiers?
Do the League Cup winners still get in or was that a thing of the past?
Just trying to weigh up our options, and I think they lie with the Cup, a high enough league finish is little short of a pipe dream.
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Post by djduncanjames on Oct 2, 2014 0:16:32 GMT
Would we have to win the FA Cup to get in to the Europa or do the losing finalists still get in if the winners are Champs League qualifiers? Do the League Cup winners still get in or was that a thing of the past? Just trying to weigh up our options, and I think they lie with the Cup, a high enough league finish is little short of a pipe dream. We have many options going into next season GODS including a top 6 finish, league cup win, and also when we beat Arsenil in the FA Cup final we go into Europe. |
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Post by thedeadlyshart on Oct 2, 2014 1:18:17 GMT
Top 6 finish is very unrealistic. IMO it would be a miraculous feat to even finish 9th again. Especially after dropping 6 points at home, and another 2 away to qpr in what was one of our easiest parts of the schedule. Plus, we should have picked up another 2 more against 10-men at hull. Granted the 3 we got against citeh were unexpected. Still, any legitimate chance of securing a spot in Europe through our league standing will rely on is beating the weaker teams consistently, and I don't think we're there yet.
FA cup is a different matter. It's all about the draw.
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Post by boskampsflaps on Oct 2, 2014 1:48:50 GMT
Top 6 finish is very unrealistic. IMO it would be a miraculous feat to even finish 9th again. Especially after dropping 6 points at home, and another 2 away to qpr in what was one of our easiest parts of the schedule. Plus, we should have picked up another 2 more against 10-men at hull. Granted the 3 we got against citeh were unexpected. Still, any legitimate chance of securing a spot in Europe through our league standing will rely on is beating the weaker teams consistently, and I don't think we're there yet. FA cup is a different matter. It's all about the draw. I agree we won't be near a top 6 finish but I can't say I agree with you as to why, we dropped 6 points at home last season, 3 of them against a piss poor Norwich side, without checking I also think we are better off points wise than this time last season. |
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Post by thedeadlyshart on Oct 2, 2014 1:54:34 GMT
Top 6 finish is very unrealistic. IMO it would be a miraculous feat to even finish 9th again. Especially after dropping 6 points at home, and another 2 away to qpr in what was one of our easiest parts of the schedule. Plus, we should have picked up another 2 more against 10-men at hull. Granted the 3 we got against citeh were unexpected. Still, any legitimate chance of securing a spot in Europe through our league standing will rely on is beating the weaker teams consistently, and I don't think we're there yet. FA cup is a different matter. It's all about the draw. I agree we won't be near a top 6 finish but I can't say I agree with you as to why, we dropped 6 points at home last season, 3 of them against a piss poor Norwich side, without checking I also think we are better off points wise than this time last season. indeed we are better off, and did drop the points. But our schedule last season had an easy run in March/April and a tough run of competition in jam/feb. This season our easiest run is August/sept and our toughest month is December. Either way I think we agree that 9th will be a great finish and 6th would be a miracle. |
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Oct 2, 2014 5:42:19 GMT
I agree we won't be near a top 6 finish but I can't say I agree with you as to why, we dropped 6 points at home last season, 3 of them against a piss poor Norwich side, without checking I also think we are better off points wise than this time last season. indeed we are better off, and did drop the points. But our schedule last season had an easy run in March/April and a tough run of competition in jam/feb. This season our easiest run is August/sept and our toughest month is December. Either way I think we agree that 9th will be a great finish and 6th would be a miracle. What you say has some truth but the way we are set up at the moment, I wouldn't say that a spell in which we have a lot of games against the traditional top sides is necessarily as tough as we might think. I don't think it is a coincidence that our first win came against Man City or that our away form is stronger than our home form. We are now much more comfortable as a counter attacking team and that means against teams who attack us rather than park the bus. As a bonus, I suspect we'll prove to be a decent cup side as most of the Prem sides tend to try to win cup games rather than park the bus, as no one wants extra time disrupting their league program. Things may change, but this season I think we'll continue to be surprised by some good results in the "tough" games and, possibly, disappointed by some of the performances in, what on paper, are easier games. This may be a season unlike any other since promotion. |
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Post by Linx on Oct 2, 2014 5:53:24 GMT
Agreed, Lakeside. Plus the added factor that we can only get better as the season progresses. We might actually be on top form by December. I'm more anxious against the likes of Sunderland and West Brom than against Chelsea and Arsenal. I really feel that, once these guys click, we will see something really good, possibly the best football Stoke have ever played. (And I was there in the 70s)  |
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Oct 2, 2014 5:58:05 GMT
Agreed, Lakeside. Plus the added factor that we can only get better as the season progresses. We might actually be on top form by December. I'm more anxious against the likes of Sunderland and West Brom than against Chelsea and Arsenal. I really feel that, once these guys click, we will see something really good, possibly the best football Stoke have ever played. (And I was there in the 70s) Agreed - despite the frustrations of us missing chances, there have been moments in almost every game so far when we do something which is as good as I have ever seen from a Stoke side. It is as if we are playing like we did at our best in the 70s but with 50% more pace!  Grrrr - I have got used to being called Lake side by some on here - but I expected a teacher to get my board name correct!  |
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Post by thedeadlyshart on Oct 2, 2014 6:24:52 GMT
indeed we are better off, and did drop the points. But our schedule last season had an easy run in March/April and a tough run of competition in jam/feb. This season our easiest run is August/sept and our toughest month is December. Either way I think we agree that 9th will be a great finish and 6th would be a miracle. What you say has some truth but the way we are set up at the moment, I wouldn't say that a spell in which we have a lot of games against the traditional top sides is necessarily as tough as we might think. I don't think it is a coincidence that our first win came against Man City or that our away form is stronger than our home form. We are now much more comfortable as a counter attacking team and that means against teams who attack us rather than park the bus. As a bonus, I suspect we'll prove to be a decent cup side as most of the Prem sides tend to try to win cup games rather than park the bus, as no one wants extra time disrupting their league program. Things may change, but this season I think we'll continue to be surprised by some good results in the "tough" games and, possibly, disappointed by some of the performances in, what on paper, are easier games. This may be a season unlike any other since promotion. i agree, and share the same view about us being built for taking down the giants. I think we will be comfortably mid table because of this, but top six will be far fetched because in order to do that we will need to both challenge the top clubs and brush off those in the bottom half of the league consistently. As for the cup route, I believe a favorable draw is tantamount. To make it to the final we will probably need to scalp at least one top six club, but if two or three big clubs stand in our path we would need to get very lucky. I'm not saying this couldn't happen, it already has for us and Wigan and hull, it's just not very likely. |
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Oct 2, 2014 6:33:32 GMT
What you say has some truth but the way we are set up at the moment, I wouldn't say that a spell in which we have a lot of games against the traditional top sides is necessarily as tough as we might think. I don't think it is a coincidence that our first win came against Man City or that our away form is stronger than our home form. We are now much more comfortable as a counter attacking team and that means against teams who attack us rather than park the bus. As a bonus, I suspect we'll prove to be a decent cup side as most of the Prem sides tend to try to win cup games rather than park the bus, as no one wants extra time disrupting their league program. Things may change, but this season I think we'll continue to be surprised by some good results in the "tough" games and, possibly, disappointed by some of the performances in, what on paper, are easier games. This may be a season unlike any other since promotion. i agree, and share the same view about us being built for taking down the giants. I think we will be comfortably mid table because of this, but top six will be far fetched because in order to do that we will need to both challenge the top clubs and brush off those in the bottom half of the league consistently. As for the cup route, I believe a favorable draw is tantamount. To make it to the final we will probably need to scalp at least one top six club, but if two or three big clubs stand in our path we would need to get very lucky. I'm not saying this couldn't happen, it already has for us and Wigan and hull, it's just not very likely. Hughes made a good point in his press conference after the Citeh win. Since he has come to Stoke we have played Citeh three times. They have scored only one goal against us and the tally is won 1 drawn 1 lost 1 - and we were very unlucky only to draw our home game last season where we should have won comfortably with reasonable luck. Had this side faced Citeh at Wembley, the result might have been very different. |
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Post by jpm64 on Oct 2, 2014 9:06:35 GMT
Agreed, Lakeside. Plus the added factor that we can only get better as the season progresses. We might actually be on top form by December. I'm more anxious against the likes of Sunderland and West Brom than against Chelsea and Arsenal. I really feel that, once these guys click, we will see something really good, possibly the best football Stoke have ever played. (And I was there in the 70s) Agreed - despite the frustrations of us missing chances, there have been moments in almost every game so far when we do something which is as good as I have ever seen from a Stoke side. It is as if we are playing like we did at our best in the 70s but with 50% more pace! Grrrr - I have got used to being called Lake side by some on here - but I expected a teacher to get my board name correct! I think people get mixed up with your previous incarnation |
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Post by StokieAsh13 on Oct 2, 2014 9:39:00 GMT
Top 6 finish is very unrealistic. IMO it would be a miraculous feat to even finish 9th again. Especially after dropping 6 points at home, and another 2 away to qpr in what was one of our easiest parts of the schedule. Plus, we should have picked up another 2 more against 10-men at hull. Granted the 3 we got against citeh were unexpected. Still, any legitimate chance of securing a spot in Europe through our league standing will rely on is beating the weaker teams consistently, and I don't think we're there yet. FA cup is a different matter. It's all about the draw. I agree we won't be near a top 6 finish but I can't say I agree with you as to why, we dropped 6 points at home last season, 3 of them against a piss poor Norwich side, without checking I also think we are better off points wise than this time last season. I think it could be a special season in all fairness mate if we learn how to put teams away. |
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Post by boskampsflaps on Oct 2, 2014 10:42:02 GMT
I agree we won't be near a top 6 finish but I can't say I agree with you as to why, we dropped 6 points at home last season, 3 of them against a piss poor Norwich side, without checking I also think we are better off points wise than this time last season. I think it could be a special season in all fairness mate if we learn how to put teams away. It won't be top 6 special. |
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Post by StokieAsh13 on Oct 2, 2014 10:45:45 GMT
I think it could be a special season in all fairness mate if we learn how to put teams away. It won't be top 6 special. No but it could be good mate. |
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Post by Gods on Oct 2, 2014 12:20:13 GMT
I agree we won't be near a top 6 finish but I can't say I agree with you as to why, we dropped 6 points at home last season, 3 of them against a piss poor Norwich side, without checking I also think we are better off points wise than this time last season. indeed we are better off, and did drop the points. But our schedule last season had an easy run in March/April and a tough run of competition in jam/feb. This season our easiest run is August/sept and our toughest month is December. Either way I think we agree that 9th will be a great finish and 6th would be a miracle. If we are ahead points wise from where we were after 6 games last season then it can't be by many. We won 2 of the first 3 games last season against Palace and away at West Ham so we definitely had 6 points from the first 3 games. We only have 8 points from 6 games now. We won't repeat the stunning run we put together Feb-April last year so we really needed to be cashing in now and it just hasn't quite happened for us. |
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Oct 2, 2014 12:24:44 GMT
indeed we are better off, and did drop the points. But our schedule last season had an easy run in March/April and a tough run of competition in jam/feb. This season our easiest run is August/sept and our toughest month is December. Either way I think we agree that 9th will be a great finish and 6th would be a miracle. If we are ahead points wise from where we were after 6 games last season then it can't be by many. We won 2 of the first 3 games last season against Palace and away at West Ham so we definitely had 6 points from the first 3 games. We only have 8 points from 6 games now. We won't repeat the stunning run we put together Feb-April last year so we really needed to be cashing in now and it just hasn't quite happened for us. We are 1 point (=14%) and 4 places higher than last season after 6 games. link |
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Post by Gods on Oct 2, 2014 12:32:19 GMT
If we are ahead points wise from where we were after 6 games last season then it can't be by many. We won 2 of the first 3 games last season against Palace and away at West Ham so we definitely had 6 points from the first 3 games. We only have 8 points from 6 games now. We won't repeat the stunning run we put together Feb-April last year so we really needed to be cashing in now and it just hasn't quite happened for us. We are 1 point (=14%) and 4 places higher than last season after 6 games. linkThanks. It seems in the first 6 games of last season we had played Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool whereas our first 6 games this season have only seen us play Man City of the proper teams. So in real terms we are a little bit behind last seasons early pace which wasn't great and quickly got worse itself. |
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Oct 2, 2014 12:36:41 GMT
We are 1 point (=14%) and 4 places higher than last season after 6 games. linkThanks. It seems in the first 6 games of last season we had played Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool whereas our first 6 games this season have only seen us play Man City of the proper teams. So in real terms we are a little bit behind last seasons early pace which wasn't great and quickly got worse itself. On the other hand our record against teams in the top half of the table is better than our record against teams in the bottom half - so things should improve as the games get harder! scroll to bottom of this linked page! |
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Post by Gods on Oct 2, 2014 12:42:47 GMT
Thanks. It seems in the first 6 games of last season we had played Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool whereas our first 6 games this season have only seen us play Man City of the proper teams. So in real terms we are a little bit behind last seasons early pace which wasn't great and quickly got worse itself. On the other hand our record against teams in the top half of the table is better than our record against teams in the bottom half - so things should improve as the games get harder! scroll to bottom of this linked page!I salute you for that exercise in straw clutching |
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Post by thedeadlyshart on Oct 2, 2014 13:23:03 GMT
indeed we are better off, and did drop the points. But our schedule last season had an easy run in March/April and a tough run of competition in jam/feb. This season our easiest run is August/sept and our toughest month is December. Either way I think we agree that 9th will be a great finish and 6th would be a miracle. If we are ahead points wise from where we were after 6 games last season then it can't be by many. We won 2 of the first 3 games last season against Palace and away at West Ham so we definitely had 6 points from the first 3 games. We only have 8 points from 6 games now. We won't repeat the stunning run we put together Feb-April last year so we really needed to be cashing in now and it just hasn't quite happened for us. I feel the same way. With this season's schedule if we were to be in the top half at the end then we should have gotten results to put us there at this moment. |
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Post by djduncanjames on Oct 2, 2014 13:52:55 GMT
I guess the intent of my original post was more about the fact I think our current squad and manager could do even better in Europe than the last time out, as I don't think the lads or Mark and his staff really fear any team. I'm not saying we can finish top six, just think we can compete in the Europa league. Bring on the Saints |
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Post by Linx on Oct 2, 2014 16:36:48 GMT
Agreed, Lakeside. Plus the added factor that we can only get better as the season progresses. We might actually be on top form by December. I'm more anxious against the likes of Sunderland and West Brom than against Chelsea and Arsenal. I really feel that, once these guys click, we will see something really good, possibly the best football Stoke have ever played. (And I was there in the 70s) Agreed - despite the frustrations of us missing chances, there have been moments in almost every game so far when we do something which is as good as I have ever seen from a Stoke side. It is as if we are playing like we did at our best in the 70s but with 50% more pace! Grrrr - I have got used to being called Lake side by some on here - but I expected a teacher to get my board name correct! I was typing it over breakfast and I was fresh out of bran flakes. Somehow, malt loaf doesn't quite cut it. My apologies. |
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Oct 2, 2014 16:44:29 GMT
Agreed - despite the frustrations of us missing chances, there have been moments in almost every game so far when we do something which is as good as I have ever seen from a Stoke side. It is as if we are playing like we did at our best in the 70s but with 50% more pace! Grrrr - I have got used to being called Lake side by some on here - but I expected a teacher to get my board name correct! I was typing it over breakfast and I was fresh out of bran flakes. Somehow, malt loaf doesn't quite cut it. My apologies. What? You've finished work already? Every teacher I know claims they work a 12 hour day with all the after school clubs and preparing for Ofsted inspections and stuff! |
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Post by Linx on Oct 2, 2014 17:11:47 GMT
How do you know I have finished work? The kids may have gone, but education never sleeps...........  |
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