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Post by superstokiejon on Oct 21, 2014 9:22:23 GMT
Generally I'm quite happy - eight games in, 11 points. We probably should have had at least a couple more points at this stage, though.
I'd say our three best players have been:
1) Peter Crouch
2) Victor Moses
3) Ryan Shawcross
Scoring goals remains the biggest problem, and even though defensively we haven't looked totally solid, we actually have one of the best defensive records in the league!
In terms of points, it's our second best start to a Premier League season after eight games, although we've had a relatively decent run of fixtures so far:
2014/15: 11 points - 10th
2013/14: 8 - 16th
2012/13: 8 - 13th
2011/12: 12 - 7th
2010/11: 10 - 9th
2009/10: 9 - 11th
2008/09: 7 - 18th
If only we'd held on against QPR and avoided defeat against Villa and/or Leicester!
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Post by stokiesteve on Oct 21, 2014 9:29:46 GMT
Not bad and extremely frustrating all rolled into one.
I think Geoff Cameron is vital to the team as an anchor midfielder giving the likes of Charlie more room to roam.
That way our lack of goalscoring prowess won't be as much of a problem. I was so chuffed to see him again on Sunday.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2014 9:30:10 GMT
Happy enough, although I think we missed a trick with the Hull and QPR results, and also Leicester.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2014 9:39:27 GMT
Could and should be better. You would of expected something out of Villa or Leicester. Should of beat QPR and Hull were there for the taking. The fine Man City result compensates us a bit but I still feel we could and should be 2/3 points better off.
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Post by superstokiejon on Oct 21, 2014 9:41:15 GMT
Just two more points (which we should have had - at least!) would see us sitting joint fourth now.
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Post by AlJolson on Oct 21, 2014 9:46:37 GMT
Frustrating, inconsistencies in performances yet we are still mid table. Imagine if we'd sneaked a few of those lost points. We'd be sitting pretty in the top 4 or 5.
But I bet most teams can say that, after all its football and some games hinge on a decision or one moment of madness.
We always seem to play much better after xmas so I'm confident we can improve on last season.
But once again if we have a blip and it looks bleak for a bit I for one wont be suicidal.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2014 10:19:16 GMT
On paper we should have had quite a few more points considering the opposition.
Our performances have generally been disappointing compared to the 2nd half of last season.
To sum up I'd say we've been less than convincing so far and need to improve quite a bit if we're going to have a top half finish
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Post by metalhead on Oct 21, 2014 10:23:16 GMT
Annoying in the sense that we know we should be higher. We should have taken 3 points of QPR, we were very unlucky against Leicester and we just didn't show up against Villa.
We weren't exactly on the lucky side of Sunderland either, 3 shots, 3 goals.
Still, I'm in no doubt that Southampton's excellent start will trail off so hopefully we can capitalize.
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Post by maninasuitcase on Oct 21, 2014 10:23:14 GMT
Could and should be better. You would of expected something out of Villa or Leicester. Should of beat QPR and Hull were there for the taking. The fine Man City result compensates us a bit but I still feel we could and should be 2/3 points better off. This ^^^ Losing to villa and Leicester annoyed me big time. The win at citeh will go down as the best premier league away day for a long time and have the scarred shins as a memento. Still think we need to have a few more goals though. |
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Post by davejohnno1 on Oct 21, 2014 11:05:02 GMT
Could and should be better but the positives are;
1) we are already pulling away from the bottom 3 places despite not playing consistently well
2) We have had a decent enough start despite being hit by injuries to key players
3) Despite not playing consistently well, we have clearly been a better side than those teams that have happened to get a result from us
We will go on to have a decent season but competition for that top 10 spot will be harder this season with the likes of Southampton, Swansea, West Ham and Hull all looking like decent sides.
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Post by dirtygary69 on Oct 21, 2014 11:16:44 GMT
I think the league as a whole is much more open (again). Chelsea and possibly Man City (after a dodgy start) aside, every side has looked vulnerable. Liverpool and Arsenal have both gotten worse and Spurs are as indifferent as they've ever been. With that said, it is a little bit disappointing that we're not a little higher up the league as we could very easily be in the position of Southampton and West Ham.
That's football though. If we'd have beaten Leicester, QPR and Hull then there's no doubt that we would have dropped other points elsewhere.
A decent enough start, probably there or thereabouts where you'd hope to be points wise but, judging by the way the league is, we could have capitalised a hell of a lot more. Chelsea aside, there's nobody to particularly fear.
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Post by superstokiejon on Oct 21, 2014 11:17:05 GMT
Agree with that Dave, there are plenty of positives.
Sunday was a huge three points - if we'd lost I think we'd be able to say it had been a very disappointing start, but three points means it has fallen in the 'quite pleasing but with work to do' category.
I'm not expecting anything from Southampton on Saturday - but hopefully we can go there and give it a right go. We've certainly got the attributes to do that these days.
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Post by apb1 on Oct 21, 2014 11:45:10 GMT
We don't deserve to be on any more points than we are, no massive decisions against us. While I thought we'd be better off given the games (6 of our opponents so far are below us, i.e. in the bottom half), I think we will start playing better soon, and when we do, we are building on a solid foundation in terms of our position and our points tally. My big worry is Diouf looks hopeless on the right (I know he's injured) when we're at home. Wingie was so influential in the way he carried the ball and made things happen. Like Pennant in his early days, only with added goal threat. West Ham and Burnley home games are both winnable, and we could nick a point at Spurs. I'd take 5 from the next 4 to keep up momentum, then a big run of horrible games starts. Oh and if can get 5 points and beat Soton in the Cup, even better  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2014 11:53:43 GMT
Not bad, in fact pretty decent, but with some real missed opportunities already this season, it could have been an amazing start.
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Post by mattythestokie on Oct 21, 2014 11:56:28 GMT
Ups and downs.
Let's not forget, we couldn't really have asked for an easier start. However, there have been some really promising results and performances. Especially from the likes of Moses and Crouch.
Onwards and upwards.
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Post by davejohnno1 on Oct 21, 2014 12:00:04 GMT
Agree with that Dave, there are plenty of positives. Sunday was a huge three points - if we'd lost I think we'd be able to say it had been a very disappointing start, but three points means it has fallen in the 'quite pleasing but with work to do' category. I'm not expecting anything from Southampton on Saturday - but hopefully we can go there and give it a right go. We've certainly got the attributes to do that these days. I don't think we'll lose on Saturday. |
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Post by superstokiejon on Oct 21, 2014 12:04:02 GMT
If Arnie is back firing on all cylinders, I'd be tempted to play him on the left with Moses on the right. I like Diouf, a lot - but not sure right wing suits him either. We'll have to see. I'd like to see him playing off Crouch, but that'd mean changing things round formation wise which won't happen.
If I rated our games so far this season I'd go:
Villa (h) - 3 out of 10 - poor performance against a resolute Villa
Hull (a) - 4 out of 10 - not much better but a welcome point on the road
Man City (a) - 10 out of 10 - an historic victory that is one of our highlights of being in The PL
Leicester (h) - 5 out of 10 - We didn't actually play that badly and deserved something, but a hugely disappointing defeat
QPR (a)- 6 out of 10 - I thought we looked excellent on the counter. Poor finishing cost us three points
Newcastle (h) - 7 out of 10 - could easily have been 3 or 4-1
Sunderland (a) - 4 out of 10 - Terrible defending and not good enough
Swansea (h) - 5 out of 10 (1st half) 8 out of 10 (2nd half) - we just edged it to deserve the win against a decent Swansea team, an enjoyable match
I think it's fair to say it has been a real mixed bag so far!
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Post by superstokiejon on Oct 21, 2014 12:06:43 GMT
Let's hope so Dave - a point would be a cracking result.
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Post by reddipotter on Oct 21, 2014 12:10:35 GMT
I'd add Whelan to that list of successful players so far this season.
The constant changing of personnel (some of it caused by injuries) and tinkering with the formation means we have looked uncertain. What style is it that we are actually trying to play? I have found large parts of the home games so far boring.
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Post by Kjones9 on Oct 21, 2014 12:15:07 GMT
Indifferent.
It's the inconstancy of our play that's the most frustrating. In my opinion we played better against Villa and Leicester than we did against Newcastle and Swansea.
The league is that open we could've been 2nd with a win against Villa and Leicester.
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Post by tazi on Oct 21, 2014 12:15:59 GMT
Could and should be better but the positives are; 1) we are already pulling away from the bottom 3 places despite not playing consistently well 2) We have had a decent enough start despite being hit by injuries to key players 3) Despite not playing consistently well, we have clearly been a better side than those teams that have happened to get a result from us We will go on to have a decent season but competition for that top 10 spot will be harder this season with the likes of Southampton, Swansea, West Ham and Hull all looking like decent sides. Number 3.......oh, right, yeah ok. |
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Post by scfcbiancorossi on Oct 21, 2014 12:21:26 GMT
Could and should be better but the positives are; 1) we are already pulling away from the bottom 3 places despite not playing consistently well 2) We have had a decent enough start despite being hit by injuries to key players 3) Despite not playing consistently well, we have clearly been a better side than those teams that have happened to get a result from us We will go on to have a decent season but competition for that top 10 spot will be harder this season with the likes of Southampton, Swansea, West Ham and Hull all looking like decent sides. Great summary Dave |
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Post by davejohnno1 on Oct 21, 2014 12:54:50 GMT
Could and should be better but the positives are; 1) we are already pulling away from the bottom 3 places despite not playing consistently well 2) We have had a decent enough start despite being hit by injuries to key players 3) Despite not playing consistently well, we have clearly been a better side than those teams that have happened to get a result from us We will go on to have a decent season but competition for that top 10 spot will be harder this season with the likes of Southampton, Swansea, West Ham and Hull all looking like decent sides. Number 3.......oh, right, yeah ok. Its not like you to disagree with something I write but in my opinion we were/are a better side than Villa, Leicester and Sunderland, were vastly superior to QPR and are a better side than Hull, though they seemed to have strengthened further since we played them. The 3 games we've won have been against much better sides than those we've dropped points to. Villa did a good job on us but the worst result we should have got was 0-0. Leicester fluked their win and if we played the exact same way against them 10 times we would win 9 of them. Hull scored with their only shot at goal, we battered QPR and should have won handsomely and whilst we were really poor at Sunderland, they were only marginally better than us at our worst on the day. Newcastle, Swansea and Man City all showed qualities in defeat which none of those sides showed when taking points off us. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2014 12:59:34 GMT
Just two more points (which we should have had - at least!) would see us sitting joint fourth now. Which makes the Villa & Leicester defeats even harder to swallow...They were realistic home wins in my opinion, and truly 6 points dropped. |
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Post by Pugsley on Oct 21, 2014 13:05:56 GMT
Our second ever best start to a PL with new players, lots of injuries, a liability at centre half, no goal threat, irreplaceable players missing. And coming off the best ever season in the PL.
Hughes out.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2014 13:36:51 GMT
The real optimism is we've done reasonably well without things really clicking in the final third yet
When we hit form we're going to be really really good.
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Post by mrcoke on Oct 21, 2014 15:23:38 GMT
After 8 games I agree it is time to start assessing the team's ability and reflect on the opening months of the season.
My basic gut feeling is disappointment and frustration at lost opportunities. The team are playing better than they did at the start of last season, but not as good as they did at the end of last season.
They are creating plenty of opportunities to score but failing to do so and are the 6th worst scoring team in the Prem. Crouch and Diouf don't look like they have many goals in them.
The defence is generally good and have conceded the 4th least number of goals in the Prem., but they have let in a number of soft goals and goals from set pieces which should have been prevented.
Stoke could so easily be 3 points better off and sitting in 4th place had events gone slightly better.
Key issue is scoring goals; I argued that Sidwell should have been given a go last Saturday, having seen Cameron make such a difference, maybe MH will give him his chance to drive the team forward.
We need one of the forwards to start finding the net regularly and Stoke could be a top 8 side.
So I feel frustrated, but I must add I enjoy MH's way of playing the game, his team selection, and on Saturday he got the substitutions bang on, and the team do give us excitement as well.
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Post by superstokiejon on Oct 21, 2014 15:56:16 GMT
Just going back to the Diouf situation - it'll be interesting to see if his long term future is at right wing.
I can't see him displacing Crouch as the main striker.
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Post by mickstupp on Oct 21, 2014 15:59:01 GMT
Hit and miss, but it's always the case with mid table teams.
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Post by superstokiejon on Oct 21, 2014 16:04:39 GMT
I think it needs to be mentioned that we've hardly spent a penny either, yet improved the squad considerably.
If we could name our strongest XI, our bench would look so strong.
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