Stoke's Premier League Record Month by Month - Stat Attack

[knowles]

August has finished, so I thought I'd investigate Stoke's record per month in the Premier League.

The good news is that things tend to improve as the season goes on...

Hope you enjoy the stats.

[johnmarshcardschool]

Brilliant bit of analysis, thanks for that Knowlsey. I'm feeling better about the rest of the season already...

One thing that I have noticed about our fixture lists is a tendancy to give us the same teams at similar times each season - but the respective performances of the two managers are not affected by these patterns, (apart from them both being equally poor in January).  I suppose that ties in with MH getting better results against the top teams, but our woeful performances in some easier matches.

[darksideofthemoon]

Thanks for the analysis....just wait until 'the biscuit' weighs in, now

[Gods]

I like it.

Deducing anything meaningful from it is probably about as scientific as reading your Star Sign to see if you are going to pull in any given month or not, but hey, it's fun and a nice look back!

[redstriper]

Interesting.

Could it be that TP's constant focus on the target for the season being 40pts meant that after we reached that figure the players think their target is reached and mentally went on holiday ?

whereas the MLH focus on at top ten finish means the players have to go for it right up to the end of the season ?

[cheeesfreeex]

Nice stats Knowles cheers.

The 'better in the second half of the season' is both reassuring and frustrating in equal measure.

Our consecutive Top 9 finishes have been achieved largely without much post-xmas Cup distraction.
I hope the squad is now deep enough to cope with any casualty list, and to give us the opportunity to still be in the Cups April/May.

I was hoping that there was enough momentum built up at the tail end of last season to carry us through the early adjustments that have been needed.
I hoped the extra quality of Shaqiri {and Afellay} and Diouf and Arnie looking more settled would have been enough to convert early losses into draws, draws into wins etc. It sort of worked with Shaqiri's free kick against Norwich, and the 'if only' Arnie free kick at the weekend.
It's frustrating.
We all knew N'Zonzi would leave a hole initially, but however good he was, he wasn't the difference of a six goal turnaround vs Liverpool.

The performances are far better this year despite the results. Five points from the next three games would make things much calmer.
And a stronger base from which to kick on.
Hopefully this break has fallen at the right time. A chance for management analysis and reflection, an opportunity for key players to play into some form, and for Erik to have a rest.

I'm sure we'll head to the Emirates and give it a go, there isn't the fear and trepidation about going away.
At times I've wondered whether there isn't a touch of arrogant complacency in our game. Like they've only got to turn up and play and they've won. Takes a kick in the nads to get them going. We certainly don't seem to resort to the darker arts of game management as readily as our opposition do. They are awesome when they're in full swing and it's a joy to witness. {and Bojan is still to return.}
Certainly an interesting journey, No way of knowing what will pan out, but I remain optimistic that we'll be pushing for Europe rather than clenching cheeks come spring. No doubt I'll do some teeth gnashing until then.
Hopefully with Shaq on board I won't need to keep banging on about attacking set pieces no more.

[stokesaint1]

Knowles, again an amazing bit of analysis. You should send this information to Mark Hughes. To me, it demonstrates that he needs to look at how he prepares for seasons. Perhaps he should do away with giving our players a close season and keep them going straight through to maintain the late season impetus. (Smiley thing)

[cheeesfreeex]

Sept 6, 2015 18:27:38 GMT stokesaint1 said:

Knowles, again an amazing bit of analysis. You should send this information to Mark Hughes. To me, it demonstrates that he needs to look at how he prepares for seasons. Perhaps he should do away with giving our players a close season and keep them going straight through to maintain the late season impetus. (Smiley thing)

Is that what you'd do?

[stokesaint1]

Sept 6, 2015 21:08:14 GMT cheeesfreeex said:

Sept 6, 2015 18:27:38 GMT stokesaint1 said:

Knowles, again an amazing bit of analysis. You should send this information to Mark Hughes. To me, it demonstrates that he needs to look at how he prepares for seasons. Perhaps he should do away with giving our players a close season and keep them going straight through to maintain the late season impetus. (Smiley thing)

Is that what you'd do?

Cheesfreeex, If I knew what to do, I'd be managing Stoke City, rather than answering questions about comments that end in a smiley thing.

[knowles]

I agree with a few of the above comments.

Taking the foot off the pedal may well be a reason for the Pulis sides having a poorer second half of the season, redstriper.

And yes, cheeesfreeex, little cup distraction under Hughes has probably made it easier for him to solely focus on the league (although the fact Pulis' best second half of the season was when we reached the FA Cup Final partly shatters that theory).

So...I'm going with Gods conclusion- very little can be made from it, although I think it's an interesting look back at how we have got on since promotion.

Ultimately, every season is different.

[Somebody_Told_Me]

Great work,

I think I'll go away for October!!

[cheekymatt71]

We should have half the squad running up Austria mountains in pre-season.

The other half can go and play beach football and build up their stamina during the season.

End Result = 2PPM for the whole season.

Hughes philosophy gains more points over the course of a season as has been proven, but it needs some Pulis style tweaking in my opinion

[cheeesfreeex]

Sept 7, 2015 7:42:44 GMT knowles said:

I agree with a few of the above comments.

Taking the foot off the pedal may well be a reason for the Pulis sides having a poorer second half of the season, redstriper.

And yes, cheeesfreeex, little cup distraction under Hughes has probably made it easier for him to solely focus on the league (although the fact Pulis' best second half of the season was when we reached the FA Cup Final partly shatters that theory).

So...I'm going with Gods conclusion- very little can be made from it, although I think it's an interesting look back at how we have got on since promotion.

Ultimately, every season is different.

They were just a few general observations rather than drawing any conclusions from the stats.
I thought it was a bit mean to state that all your hard statting means nothing!
There are so many variables, and two years at the helm doesn't really give enough time to impute 'trends'.
I was surprised to see Hughes' 50% August win rate, and indeed there seems to be a bit of truth in what T.S Elliot once said, "April is the cruelest month."
At least in the second half of the season.

I'd got it into my head that in the Cup Final season we'd got key players injured and were like a squad of walking wounded by the end, and the Prem season fizzled out. So I've googled it, it must have been the deflation after the Cup final and that woeful final day loss to Wigan that clouded my memory.
We did tail off but not as badly as I thought.
"Stoke ended a successful season with a disappointing 1–0 defeat at home to Wigan Athletic. Hugo Rodallega scored the only goal of the match in the second half to keep Wigan in the Premier League. Stoke finished the season in 13th place due to losing, had they won they would have been 9th." Wiki.

There's no science in it, {or at least none that I've seen}: for some teams a prolonged string of Cup wins rubs off onto League form, for others it jiggers them up. I'm hoping that 'the better in the second half of the season' starts translating into Cup runs too. We should get stronger in the latter rounds.
I was just pondering how Hughes would manage an extended Cup run, rather than predicting that it would necessarily be detrimental to League form.
It's interesting to see how it pans out.
I suppose the important thing is the ability {and a bit of luck} to keep key players fit.

Keep them stats coming Knowles. {I enjoy the ex-Stokie updates too.}