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Post by burge2u on Aug 8, 2015 6:56:44 GMT
Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe Oh frabjous day halloo hallay. Thanks for that Benji. ......... one of your better contributions!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2015 6:59:59 GMT
I read the opening post at 11pm, and having had no sleep through constant worry and flash backs to the early 90's, can someone let me know where I return my Season Tickets to? The thought of such a long season with a limited squad is too much to face!
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Post by st4scfc on Aug 8, 2015 7:38:01 GMT
I think we will probably start with one new signing in the side on Sunday if Arnie is fit. I think that tells its own story about the window. Can't argue with this considering we have sold 2 of our best players and another 2 of our best players are injured, how many best players can we have left? There are though however 25 days of the window left, in saying that though it would of been nice to see us take the season seriously from day one of the season and look to make every game and point count to better our points total from last year.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2015 7:41:14 GMT
I think we will probably start with one new signing in the side on Sunday if Arnie is fit. I think that tells its own story about the window. t It says to me that Hughes will show faith with those that ended the season so well, and it's their shirt to lose.........
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Post by Davef on Aug 8, 2015 7:42:23 GMT
I think we will probably start with one new signing in the side on Sunday if Arnie is fit. I think that tells its own story about the window. Can't argue with this considering we have sold 2 of our best players and another 2 of our best players are injured, how many best players can we have left? There are though however 25 days of the window left, in saying that though it would of been nice to see us take the season seriously from day one of the season and look to make every game and point count to better our points total from last year. How about having a go at arguing with chiswickpotter's post...
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Post by sheikhmomo on Aug 8, 2015 7:52:07 GMT
That we are going into our first game of the season with such a limited first 11 We have dabbled, discussed and deturchitated an improved first 11 but clearly would rather take huge risks than financially shore up a very good first 11 Our support is more critical than ever but why we are left to be the 12th man when we should be looking to build on such strong foundations only the Coates family know. In Hughes we trust on a wing and a prayer One of the most I'll thought through posts I have seen . If this summer tells us anything it is how committed the owners and management are to building a sustainable, high quality club. Signing youth players from Real and barca is not cheap. Our goalkeeping strategy is incredibly forward looking, an experienced back up able to help a promising Number 1 and Number 3. We have added 2 Dutch, 1English and 1 German internationals plus a promising Spanish striker. Signing on fees and our wage bill will be swollen. Don't fall into the trap of looking at unconfirmed transfer fees, it is wages that drive performance. For a club with gates below 28,000 you should be amazed at the investment that has been made in wages and facilities. It's all a bit jam tomorrow though isn't it and certainly not what the club hierarchy were promising with their big balls talk in June.
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Post by malteser68 on Aug 8, 2015 8:02:07 GMT
Well compared to last years team we are short of 4 automatic names of the team list - bego, Ryan, nzonzi and Moses. Anyone who thinks that their loss will not be felt or that these have been, so far, all adequately replaced, is clearly delusional
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Post by bmstoke on Aug 8, 2015 8:08:09 GMT
Well compared to last years team we are short of 4 automatic names of the team list - bego, Ryan, nzonzi and Moses. Anyone who thinks that their loss will not be felt or that these have been, so far, all adequately replaced, is clearly delusional By the end of last season Bego wasn't an automatic name, he'd been dropped. Moses was back at Chelsea and had been for a while and Ryan was playing with a back injury. We seemed to do okay.
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Post by chiefdelilah on Aug 8, 2015 8:10:42 GMT
Well compared to last years team we are short of 4 automatic names of the team list - bego, Ryan, nzonzi and Moses. Anyone who thinks that their loss will not be felt or that these have been, so far, all adequately replaced, is clearly delusional By the end of last season Bego wasn't an automatic name, he'd been dropped. Moses was back at Chelsea and had been for a while and Ryan was playing with a back injury. We seemed to do okay. I think the lack of wing options actually hurt us at times towards the back end of last season. March and April was pretty wobbly before we came storming back in May.
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Post by st4scfc on Aug 8, 2015 8:21:00 GMT
That we are going into our first game of the season with such a limited first 11 We have dabbled, discussed and deturchitated an improved first 11 but clearly would rather take huge risks than financially shore up a very good first 11 Our support is more critical than ever but why we are left to be the 12th man when we should be looking to build on such strong foundations only the Coates family know. In Hughes we trust on a wing and a prayer One of the most I'll thought through posts I have seen . If this summer tells us anything it is how committed the owners and management are to building a sustainable, high quality club. Signing youth players from Real and barca is not cheap. Our goalkeeping strategy is incredibly forward looking, an experienced back up able to help a promising Number 1 and Number 3. We have added 2 Dutch, 1English and 1 German internationals plus a promising Spanish striker. Signing on fees and our wage bill will be swollen. Don't fall into the trap of looking at unconfirmed transfer fees, it is wages that drive performance. For a club with gates below 28,000 you should be amazed at the investment that has been made in wages and facilities. Just to please Davef, it's the revenue from T.V that has made this possible for the most part, attendances count for less these days with the vast amount of t.v money coming in. Our Goalkeeping strategy is a legacy from the Pulis era in that he had the foresight to see Butland as one for the future and it's for that reason we are in safe hands now, we all know Pulis signed worthy Goalkeepers and centre halfs as that was his forte and insurance policy [if little else was]. Shawcross, Huth, Cameron & Wilson (The good cover) were all Pulis buys. The German international caps won by Wollscheid at this moment look as credible as Tom Cleverly and Jamie Vardy winning theirs for our poor excuse of a national team, Glen Johnson's England caps were questioned every single time he pulled on a shirt for England and still are now, he didn't get a sniff when Gary Neville was fit and will never get a sniff now Clyne has emerged, that lad from Spurs Walker even looked infinitly better and he's shit. If you would like me too I'm sure I could find numerous threads on the Oatcake about the incompetence of Johnson in an England shirt, but now he's suddenly a man with 50 England caps because he's signed for Stoke and all is rosey. Considering England have been shit for years it's hardly a claim to fame to say you have 50 caps for a poor international team. When all is said and done we have signed 8 players so far this window, seven of those have it all to prove in English football, we have sold 2 proven high standard Premiership players. Whilst it's all well and good signing youth players for the future when you interfere with a spine of a side that has bought consistent success to a club over a period of time it has to be replaced with proven players of the same standard before you start talking in the media about how you are planning to get into Europe etc. For a club that has been in the league 7 years and looking to improve next season on last season, signing a striker that has an exotic name but a goals ratio to rival Sidibe ( maybe a bit extreme but you get my point) and expecting to turn into a goalscoring machine overnight looks a bit naive when there are players like Charlie Austin currently sitting in the league below. Whilst We in my opinion will start with a £500k purchase of Whelan and Sidwell in midfield on Sunday after seven years of Premiership football, the Sidwell of which wasn't good enough to start any league game before N'Zonzi last season by the way, Crystal Palace will have Yohan Cabaye starting for them today, they have been in the league for two seasons. It kind of raises the question, if MVG is as highly rated as we are making out surely we will throw him straight into the team as a ready made replacement for N'Zonzi? The signings that have come in might be just but for me personally a little more ambition could of seen us do better in filling certain positions
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Post by Clem Fandango on Aug 8, 2015 8:42:51 GMT
One of the most I'll thought through posts I have seen . If this summer tells us anything it is how committed the owners and management are to building a sustainable, high quality club. Signing youth players from Real and barca is not cheap. Our goalkeeping strategy is incredibly forward looking, an experienced back up able to help a promising Number 1 and Number 3. We have added 2 Dutch, 1English and 1 German internationals plus a promising Spanish striker. Signing on fees and our wage bill will be swollen. Don't fall into the trap of looking at unconfirmed transfer fees, it is wages that drive performance. For a club with gates below 28,000 you should be amazed at the investment that has been made in wages and facilities. Just to please Davef, it's the revenue from T.V that has made this possible for the most part, attendances count for less these days with the vast amount of t.v money coming in. Our Goalkeeping strategy is a legacy from the Pulis era in that he had the foresight to see Butland as one for the future and it's for that reason we are in safe hands now, we all know Pulis signed worthy Goalkeepers and centre halfs as that was his forte and insurance policy [if little else was]. Shawcross, Huth, Cameron & Wilson (The good cover) were all Pulis buys. The German international caps won by Wollscheid at this moment look as credible as Tom Cleverly and Jamie Vardy winning theirs for our poor excuse of a national team, Glen Johnson's England caps were questioned every single time he pulled on a shirt for England and still are now, he didn't get a sniff when Gary Neville was fit and will never get a sniff now Clyne has emerged, that lad from Spurs Walker even looked infinitly better and he's shit. If you would like me too I'm sure I could find numerous threads on the Oatcake about the incompetence of Johnson in an England shirt, but now he's suddenly a man with 50 England caps because he's signed for Stoke and all is rosey. Considering England have been shit for years it's hardly a claim to fame to say you have 50 caps for a poor international team. When all is said and done we have signed 8 players so far this window, seven of those have it all to prove in English football, we have sold 2 proven high standard Premiership players. Whilst it's all well and good signing youth players for the future when you interfere with a spine of a side that has bought consistent success to a club over a period of time it has to be replaced with proven players of the same standard before you start talking in the media about how you are planning to get into Europe etc. For a club that has been in the league 7 years and looking to improve next season on last season, signing a striker that has an exotic name but a goals ratio to rival Sidibe ( maybe a bit extreme but you get my point) and expecting to turn into a goalscoring machine overnight looks a bit naive when there are players like Charlie Austin currently sitting in the league below. Whilst We in my opinion will start with a £500k purchase of Whelan and Sidwell in midfield on Sunday after seven years of Premiership football, the Sidwell of which wasn't good enough to start any league game before N'Zonzi last season by the way, Crystal Palace will have Yohan Cabaye starting for them today, they have been in the league for two seasons. It kind of raises the question, if MVG is as highly rated as we are making out surely we will throw him straight into the team as a ready made replacement for N'Zonzi? The signings that have come in might be just but for me personally a little more ambition could of seen us do better in filling certain positions N'zonzi wasn't high premiership standard when we signed him though was he? I know I was massively underwhelmed when he signed. Also if we'd have signed Yarmo, Kono or Shaqiri would you be posting the same despite the fact that all 3 have never played in the prem and 2 of those come from a league which historically has produced players that have struggled in the prem.
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Post by st4scfc on Aug 8, 2015 8:49:05 GMT
Just to please Davef, it's the revenue from T.V that has made this possible for the most part, attendances count for less these days with the vast amount of t.v money coming in. Our Goalkeeping strategy is a legacy from the Pulis era in that he had the foresight to see Butland as one for the future and it's for that reason we are in safe hands now, we all know Pulis signed worthy Goalkeepers and centre halfs as that was his forte and insurance policy [if little else was]. Shawcross, Huth, Cameron & Wilson (The good cover) were all Pulis buys. The German international caps won by Wollscheid at this moment look as credible as Tom Cleverly and Jamie Vardy winning theirs for our poor excuse of a national team, Glen Johnson's England caps were questioned every single time he pulled on a shirt for England and still are now, he didn't get a sniff when Gary Neville was fit and will never get a sniff now Clyne has emerged, that lad from Spurs Walker even looked infinitly better and he's shit. If you would like me too I'm sure I could find numerous threads on the Oatcake about the incompetence of Johnson in an England shirt, but now he's suddenly a man with 50 England caps because he's signed for Stoke and all is rosey. Considering England have been shit for years it's hardly a claim to fame to say you have 50 caps for a poor international team. When all is said and done we have signed 8 players so far this window, seven of those have it all to prove in English football, we have sold 2 proven high standard Premiership players. Whilst it's all well and good signing youth players for the future when you interfere with a spine of a side that has bought consistent success to a club over a period of time it has to be replaced with proven players of the same standard before you start talking in the media about how you are planning to get into Europe etc. For a club that has been in the league 7 years and looking to improve next season on last season, signing a striker that has an exotic name but a goals ratio to rival Sidibe ( maybe a bit extreme but you get my point) and expecting to turn into a goalscoring machine overnight looks a bit naive when there are players like Charlie Austin currently sitting in the league below. Whilst We in my opinion will start with a £500k purchase of Whelan and Sidwell in midfield on Sunday after seven years of Premiership football, the Sidwell of which wasn't good enough to start any league game before N'Zonzi last season by the way, Crystal Palace will have Yohan Cabaye starting for them today, they have been in the league for two seasons. It kind of raises the question, if MVG is as highly rated as we are making out surely we will throw him straight into the team as a ready made replacement for N'Zonzi? The signings that have come in might be just but for me personally a little more ambition could of seen us do better in filling certain positions N'zonzi wasn't high premiership standard when we signed him though was he? I know I was massively underwhelmed when he signed. Also if we'd have signed Yarmo, Kono or Shaqiri would you be posting the same despite the fact that all 3 have never played in the prem and 2 of those come from a league which historically has produced players that have struggled in the prem. No I wouldn't be as dissapointed with the window as a whole if we had signed one of them but at this moment in time we havn't, I'm aware there is still time but it's hard to watch a defence weaken no matter who you bring in attacking wise as that's been the foundation of our success. I'd be happy with Traore alone without the other two but the defence and lack of real proven quality in the centre of the field in a now footballing team is a concern for quite a few people. Is it too much to ask to spend a bit more cash on proven players in key positions to give us the boost needed instead of chancing it?
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Post by hatchett on Aug 8, 2015 8:56:29 GMT
I'm concerned as our spine has gone. We have not replaced Nzonzi of last season, who was our best player. MVG is not proven in the premier league (I hope I'm proven totally wrong) we seem to be building for the future, but that should be balanced with here and now. The window is still open and if we get off to a stinker I would say, Hughes will bring in a CB as it's too much risk to go with what we've got. Don't see anyone coming in though to CM, so let's see what MVG proves out to be.
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Post by dadofsam on Aug 8, 2015 8:56:34 GMT
"Shocked and stunned" - are we back to Kempy reading out Tone's team selections again?
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Post by cousindupree on Aug 8, 2015 9:09:34 GMT
For a club like Stoke the self sufficiency model will always mean saleable assets being sold to fund the bills so we need to get used to our top players moving on. We just have to be wary of turning into a yo yo club as the quality of the team gets marginally eroded. One thing for sure is that you can't get to the 'next level' by selling your best players and replacing them with freebies and loans. Its no coincidence that the top teams spend uber millions.
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Post by Clem Fandango on Aug 8, 2015 9:20:09 GMT
N'zonzi wasn't high premiership standard when we signed him though was he? I know I was massively underwhelmed when he signed. Also if we'd have signed Yarmo, Kono or Shaqiri would you be posting the same despite the fact that all 3 have never played in the prem and 2 of those come from a league which historically has produced players that have struggled in the prem. No I wouldn't be as dissapointed with the window as a whole if we had signed one of them but at this moment in time we havn't, I'm aware there is still time but it's hard to watch a defence weaken no matter who you bring in attacking wise as that's been the foundation of our success. I'd be happy with Traore alone without the other two but the defence and lack of real proven quality in the centre of the field in a now footballing team is a concern for quite a few people. Is it too much to ask to spend a bit more cash on proven players in key positions to give us the boost needed instead of chancing it? What proven players could we have bought though? Centre backs wise whose moved that we should have been in for? I'm not sure Caulker or Dawson are big enough improvements over Wollscheid, Wilson and Cameron to warrant upsetting them. If we bought in somebody else who would you sell? Cameron and Wilson figured an awful lot last year. Wollscheid would have been the obvious one but we're not going to sell somebody we've just bought (the terms of which we're unsure of).
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Post by st4scfc on Aug 8, 2015 9:28:12 GMT
No I wouldn't be as dissapointed with the window as a whole if we had signed one of them but at this moment in time we havn't, I'm aware there is still time but it's hard to watch a defence weaken no matter who you bring in attacking wise as that's been the foundation of our success. I'd be happy with Traore alone without the other two but the defence and lack of real proven quality in the centre of the field in a now footballing team is a concern for quite a few people. Is it too much to ask to spend a bit more cash on proven players in key positions to give us the boost needed instead of chancing it? What proven players could we have bought though? Centre backs wise whose moved that we should have been in for? I'm not sure Caulker or Dawson are big enough improvements over Wollscheid, Wilson and Cameron to warrant upsetting them. If we bought in somebody else who would you sell? Cameron and Wilson figured an awful lot last year. Wollscheid would have been the obvious one but we're not going to sell somebody we've just bought (the terms of which we're unsure of). Cabaye & Austin are two players who would of moved us up a notch for a start. It's hard to doubt Hughes on spotting a Striker but if this Joselu has been bought in in line with a budget and not personal preference that's a different matter. I don't believe for one minute Hughes had these visions on the final day of last season. On the subject of finding players, if it was my full time job I'm certain I could unearth a fair few, as it happens it isn't. It just seems to me we have established ourselves and now we have done the hard part the club is looking to bring in players on the cheap, hope they do well and sell on to the highest bidder. Of course that's not a bad thing but when you start replacing key positions with 'options' you are asking for trouble
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Post by werrington on Aug 8, 2015 9:35:22 GMT
What proven players could we have bought though? Centre backs wise whose moved that we should have been in for? I'm not sure Caulker or Dawson are big enough improvements over Wollscheid, Wilson and Cameron to warrant upsetting them. If we bought in somebody else who would you sell? Cameron and Wilson figured an awful lot last year. Wollscheid would have been the obvious one but we're not going to sell somebody we've just bought (the terms of which we're unsure of). Cabaye & Austin are two players who would of moved us up a notch for a start. It's hard to doubt Hughes on spotting a Striker but if this Joselu has been bought in in line with a budget and not personal preference that's a different matter. I don't believe for one minute Hughes had these visions on the final day of last season. On the subject of finding players, if it was my full time job I'm certain I could unearth a fair few, as it happens it isn't. It just seems to me we have established ourselves and now we have done the hard part the club is looking to bring in players on the cheap, hope they do well and sell on to the highest bidder. Of course that's not a bad thing but when you start replacing key positions with 'options' you are asking for trouble Austin I may just give you But are you advocating Stoke City FC pay £100k per week as well as the transfer fee on a 30 year old midfield player who will have no resale value ? What are your opinions on what went on at Leeds and Portsmouth ?
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Post by bmstoke on Aug 8, 2015 9:36:17 GMT
How are the club trying to bring players in on the cheap when they're trying to sign the players they want for millions.
Just because they're not spunking money up the wall on any old shit just to say look how much we've spent doesn't mean the money's not there.
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Post by liamo on Aug 8, 2015 9:44:27 GMT
Why would we waste money on a CB when Ryan is only out temporarily? It would massively affect the rest of the players and what do we do with the replacement when Ryan is back? We're not low on players that can play CB for now, we all soaked it up when Pulis was playing Huth at right back but you won't trust Sparky to make the right choices now?
We have a decent squad and we need to remember that we are Stoke City, not Chelsea or Barca, we can't just name our targets and wait for them to turn up to sign a contract, N'zonzi and Begovic fucked off, we've replaced them, that's really all there is to it, did you think we'd bring in Xabi Alonso? Khedira? We are Stoke City and only Stoke City, it means a lot to us but not much to top tier players, Sparky has done immensely well since arriving, this window we've got rid of Palacios and brought in Afellay
Simply put; Chill your tits
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Post by Clem Fandango on Aug 8, 2015 9:45:19 GMT
What proven players could we have bought though? Centre backs wise whose moved that we should have been in for? I'm not sure Caulker or Dawson are big enough improvements over Wollscheid, Wilson and Cameron to warrant upsetting them. If we bought in somebody else who would you sell? Cameron and Wilson figured an awful lot last year. Wollscheid would have been the obvious one but we're not going to sell somebody we've just bought (the terms of which we're unsure of). Cabaye & Austin are two players who would of moved us up a notch for a start. It's hard to doubt Hughes on spotting a Striker but if this Joselu has been bought in in line with a budget and not personal preference that's a different matter. I don't believe for one minute Hughes had these visions on the final day of last season. On the subject of finding players, if it was my full time job I'm certain I could unearth a fair few, as it happens it isn't. It just seems to me we have established ourselves and now we have done the hard part the club is looking to bring in players on the cheap, hope they do well and sell on to the highest bidder. Of course that's not a bad thing but when you start replacing key positions with 'options' you are asking for trouble Lets see what happens with Austin first before we speculate that he would have moved us on because he had a great season last year no doubt but he's only played 1 season in the prem and why replace Diouf with Austin? if we signed Austin for no doubt more than we paid for Crouch he'd expect to start. Can we afford to have a 12 mill striker on the bench? Of course Joselu was in bought in on a budget otherwise Hughes would be targeting the top strikers in Europe. What Hughes is after I think is somebody to compliment Diouf to be a plan B to Diouf's A or vice versa for all we know he could have looked at a dozen strikers all more expensive than Joselu but he liked him the most. So far I've seen very little evidence of the club doing any poor business under Hughes. Last summer and this summer for me have been some of the most exciting in terms of getting in players with a bit of mystery about them.
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Post by st4scfc on Aug 8, 2015 9:46:31 GMT
Cabaye & Austin are two players who would of moved us up a notch for a start. It's hard to doubt Hughes on spotting a Striker but if this Joselu has been bought in in line with a budget and not personal preference that's a different matter. I don't believe for one minute Hughes had these visions on the final day of last season. On the subject of finding players, if it was my full time job I'm certain I could unearth a fair few, as it happens it isn't. It just seems to me we have established ourselves and now we have done the hard part the club is looking to bring in players on the cheap, hope they do well and sell on to the highest bidder. Of course that's not a bad thing but when you start replacing key positions with 'options' you are asking for trouble Austin I may just give you But are you advocating Stoke City FC pay £100k per week as well as the transfer fee on a 30 year old midfield player who will have no resale value ? What are your opinions on what went on at Leeds and Portsmouth ? I'm not saying we should do it reguarly but when certain players become available that are head and shoulders above the rest you poses in a key area I think you should take the short term financial loss due to wages to ensure the long term financial gain and stability. Cabaye would of taken our play to a whole new level and it would of been worth every penny in my opinion on the pitch and not least raised the profile of the club to help attract further top level quality. can you imagine a MH team with him behind Bojan with Traore on the right, Austin up top and Arnautovic on the left. The only reason it can't be is ambition, only that ambition could guarantee future Prem revenue for the next god knows how long, so where is the loss risk compared to chancing our status with 'options'? Ambition and spending can also as good as guarantee you Premiership status if the right man is in charge and can you honestly see Mark Hughes relegating Stoke with that kind of ambition?
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Post by chiefdelilah on Aug 8, 2015 9:49:00 GMT
Why would we waste money on a CB when Ryan is only out temporarily? It would massively affect the rest of the players and what do we do with the replacement when Ryan is back? We're not low on players that can play CB for now, we all soaked it up when Pulis was playing Huth at right back but you won't trust Sparky to make the right choices now? We have a decent squad and we need to remember that we are Stoke City, not Chelsea or Barca, we can't just name our targets and wait for them to turn up to sign a contract, N'zonzi and Begovic fucked off, we've replaced them, that's really all there is to it, did you think we'd bring in Xabi Alonso? Khedira? We are Stoke City and only Stoke City, it means a lot to us but not much to top tier players, Sparky has done immensely well since arriving, this windows we've got rid of Palacios and brought in Afellay Simply put; Chill your tits How long is 'temporarily' though? Two months? Six months? A year? I don't know if it would 'massively affect the rest of our players' more than the defensive rock of the side being out long term. Forgive me but isn't having a decent defence more important than hurting Geoff Cameron's feelings?
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Post by Clem Fandango on Aug 8, 2015 9:51:00 GMT
Austin I may just give you But are you advocating Stoke City FC pay £100k per week as well as the transfer fee on a 30 year old midfield player who will have no resale value ? What are your opinions on what went on at Leeds and Portsmouth ? I'm not saying we should do it reguarly but when certain players become available that are head and shoulders above the rest you poses in a key area I think you should take the short term financial loss due to wages to ensure the long term financial gain and stability. Cabaye would of taken our play to a whole new level and it would of been worth every penny in my opinion on the pitch and not least raised the profile of the club to help attract further top level quality. can you imagine a MH team with him behind Bojan with Traore on the right, Austin up top and Arnautovic on the left. The only reason it can't be is ambition, only that ambition could guarantee future Prem revenue for the next god knows how long, so where is the loss risk compared to chancing our status with 'options'? Ambition and spending can also as good as guarantee you Premiership status if the right man is in charge and can you honestly see Mark Hughes relegating Stoke with that kind of ambition? Traore is totally unproven in the league he's only played for Barca B and is far from the finished article. While he is a very talented lad he's only a bit further ahead than Moha in his development he probably wouldn't hit the ground running.
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Post by st4scfc on Aug 8, 2015 9:52:23 GMT
At the end of last season we posessed a squad that was a certain fixture in Premiership football for the forseeable future, if we had added to that real quality we wern't going down for the next god knows how long. Spending stupid money with a rush of blood to stay up to turn a fragile squad into a squad that will stay up is a different subject complketely though.
I'd argue atthe end of last season we were solid enough in the league to splash some cash without worrying about financial oblivion should we go down because we wern'yt going to go down this season.
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Post by Clem Fandango on Aug 8, 2015 9:53:58 GMT
Why would we waste money on a CB when Ryan is only out temporarily? It would massively affect the rest of the players and what do we do with the replacement when Ryan is back? We're not low on players that can play CB for now, we all soaked it up when Pulis was playing Huth at right back but you won't trust Sparky to make the right choices now? We have a decent squad and we need to remember that we are Stoke City, not Chelsea or Barca, we can't just name our targets and wait for them to turn up to sign a contract, N'zonzi and Begovic fucked off, we've replaced them, that's really all there is to it, did you think we'd bring in Xabi Alonso? Khedira? We are Stoke City and only Stoke City, it means a lot to us but not much to top tier players, Sparky has done immensely well since arriving, this windows we've got rid of Palacios and brought in Afellay Simply put; Chill your tits How long is 'temporarily' though? Two months? Six months? A year? I don't know if it would 'massively affect the rest of our players' more than the defensive rock of the side being out long term. Forgive me but isn't having a decent defence more important than hurting Geoff Cameron's feelings? I agree Rob but hasn't Hughes got to give them a go first otherwise wouldn't they get demotivated?
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Post by st4scfc on Aug 8, 2015 9:54:17 GMT
I'm not saying we should do it reguarly but when certain players become available that are head and shoulders above the rest you poses in a key area I think you should take the short term financial loss due to wages to ensure the long term financial gain and stability. Cabaye would of taken our play to a whole new level and it would of been worth every penny in my opinion on the pitch and not least raised the profile of the club to help attract further top level quality. can you imagine a MH team with him behind Bojan with Traore on the right, Austin up top and Arnautovic on the left. The only reason it can't be is ambition, only that ambition could guarantee future Prem revenue for the next god knows how long, so where is the loss risk compared to chancing our status with 'options'? Ambition and spending can also as good as guarantee you Premiership status if the right man is in charge and can you honestly see Mark Hughes relegating Stoke with that kind of ambition? Traore is totally unproven in the league he's only played for Barca B and is far from the finished article. While he is a very talented lad he's only a bit further ahead than Moha in his development he probably wouldn't hit the ground running. I've seen enough of that Traore to suggest he would be a big hit in our team playing how we play, the lad has everything needed to be a success in English football in my opinion and he will only get better playing competitive Top Flight English football
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Post by chiefdelilah on Aug 8, 2015 10:00:47 GMT
How long is 'temporarily' though? Two months? Six months? A year? I don't know if it would 'massively affect the rest of our players' more than the defensive rock of the side being out long term. Forgive me but isn't having a decent defence more important than hurting Geoff Cameron's feelings? I agree Rob but hasn't Hughes got to give them a go first otherwise wouldn't they get demotivated? Using that logic though Dan you'd never sign anybody for fear of upsetting the existing squad would you? This isn't a situation where, say, we're playing Marcus Hall on the left wing instead of Kris Commons and ignoring perfectly good options - the cover we've got is no better than ok. Are you confident to rely on what we've got? At a push I'd be ok with Wilson partnering Muniesa, but the other two give me kittens.
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Post by liamo on Aug 8, 2015 10:00:47 GMT
Why would we waste money on a CB when Ryan is only out temporarily? It would massively affect the rest of the players and what do we do with the replacement when Ryan is back? We're not low on players that can play CB for now, we all soaked it up when Pulis was playing Huth at right back but you won't trust Sparky to make the right choices now? We have a decent squad and we need to remember that we are Stoke City, not Chelsea or Barca, we can't just name our targets and wait for them to turn up to sign a contract, N'zonzi and Begovic fucked off, we've replaced them, that's really all there is to it, did you think we'd bring in Xabi Alonso? Khedira? We are Stoke City and only Stoke City, it means a lot to us but not much to top tier players, Sparky has done immensely well since arriving, this windows we've got rid of Palacios and brought in Afellay Simply put; Chill your tits How long is 'temporarily' though? Two months? Six months? A year? I don't know if it would 'massively affect the rest of our players' more than the defensive rock of the side being out long term. Forgive me but isn't having a decent defence more important than hurting Geoff Cameron's feelings? Not just about Geoff, the whole team takes a hit if they see Sparky trying to sign a long term replacement for Shawcross, as it is now they just have to patch it up for a couple of months until he's back, there's a sense of togetherness at Stoke, fans included and that takes a hit too when you try to buy a replacement for your injured captain Not only that but what about Shawcross in the long term? Out injured for 2 months and he's replaced? Hardly paying loyalty with loyalty is it? Might be the type of situation that makes him question his future and where it lies..
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Post by chiefdelilah on Aug 8, 2015 10:02:46 GMT
How long is 'temporarily' though? Two months? Six months? A year? I don't know if it would 'massively affect the rest of our players' more than the defensive rock of the side being out long term. Forgive me but isn't having a decent defence more important than hurting Geoff Cameron's feelings? Not just about Geoff, the whole team takes a hit if they see Sparky trying to sign a long term replacement for Shawcross, as it is now they just have to patch it up for a couple of months until he's back, there's a sense of togetherness at Stoke, fans included and that takes a hit too when you try to buy a replacement for your injured captain Not only that but what about Shawcross in the long term? Out injured for 2 months and he's replaced? Hardly paying loyalty with loyalty is it? Might be the type of situation that makes him question his future and where it lies.. Shawcross will walk back into the team once he's fit regardless of who comes in. Doesn't the team take a hit when its inspirational captain is out for a period of time and there's nobody else who comes remotely close to him to step up to the plate? What if he isn't back in a couple of months? What if it's Christmas? What if it's longer?
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