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Post by mrcoke on Dec 8, 2015 8:35:00 GMT
Yes McGrory's post war team was within 1 match of being Champions of England. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_McGroryStoke then went into their final match of the (1946-47) season against Sheffield United knowing if they win they will be champions, they lost 2–1.That team had a number of great players but notably Matthews and Franklin were 2 of the greatest ever according to their peers (Wright, Finney, later Pele).
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Post by underdog on Dec 8, 2015 8:40:49 GMT
Time will tell....we lack consistency...if he can sort that out, then yes.
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Post by haway on Dec 8, 2015 8:42:22 GMT
Pulis has achieved more (getting to Wembley) - then again, you's are only one tie away.
Hughes is very good though, and it's only the Wembley achievement making me rank Pulis higher than him as a neutral.
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Post by WoodbineWright2@ on Dec 8, 2015 8:44:23 GMT
I would say personally that the order would go as follows... Most successful manager
1 Waddo - 1 promotion, 1 League Cup winners & 1 League Cup runners up. 2 Pulis - 1 promotion & 1 FA Cup runners up. 2 Macari - 1 promotion & Autoglass Trophy winners. 3 G.Thordarsson - 1 promotion & Auto Windscreens Shield winners.
Best manager in terms of technical and tactical abilities.
1 Waddo 2 Hughes 3 Macari 4 Pulis
I believe Hughes will prove to be every bit as good as Waddo, whilst IMO Macari was far superior to Pulis in terms of being a tactician and wider abilities as a manager. And with the kind of funds Tone had at his disposal, Lou could have achieved even more success at Stoke City than he did and would have got us to the Premier League within a few years of our 92/93 promotion. It's no slur on Pulis who is the master of what he does best but is also very limited by his own methods.
But this is only opinion .
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Post by stokey127 on Dec 8, 2015 8:47:50 GMT
No not yet Tony Waddington no1 that said lets win capital cup have a great run in the Fa Cup and finish in the top 6, we could then have a rethink.
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Post by senojbor on Dec 8, 2015 8:50:48 GMT
No not yet. Far too early to say that MH is 'best ever' but it looks like we have a stable manager and is putting together a very good side. Based on length of service, success ect
Waddington McGrory Mather Pulis Macari
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Post by apb1 on Dec 8, 2015 8:57:52 GMT
He is laying the groundwork to be the best ever. If he can win a trophy and maintain us as a top flight club for 4-5 years, with a cheeky 5th or 6th placed finish one season, then he will be the best I have witnessed. If he gets to a final and/or we get in Europe he will be up there with Pulis.
Why people are denigrating Pulis is mystifying, he's clearly in the top two of the last 50 years. But then people also seem to love spouting bile about our own players too.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2015 9:14:03 GMT
In my lifetime it's;- 1. Tony Waddington 2. Mark Hughes 3. Lou Macari Can't comment on Bob McGrory as before my time but I guess he was closest to winning the league? BM Stop it Mick, you know some people can't handle this sort of thing. Too bastard right! No room for Durban?
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Post by Bombus on Dec 8, 2015 9:17:57 GMT
The two Tony's are still miles in front of him, in my opinion.
I still fully expect him to become "the best" though - fantastic times ahead.
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Post by Pugsley on Dec 8, 2015 9:25:56 GMT
If you're basing it on stone cold results then Pulis is second. If you're basing it on personal experience and a few other things like the style then Pulis is way down for me.
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Post by lastoftheldk on Dec 8, 2015 9:29:57 GMT
Could prove to be
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Post by foxysgloves on Dec 8, 2015 9:30:20 GMT
I'm very tempted to say yes, even more tempted to say he will prove to be in the next five years.
But I know if I do then he'll suddenly be poached by a "big" club.
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Post by foxysgloves on Dec 8, 2015 9:33:20 GMT
I think last Saturday was actual genius. Not just the points and the performance. Also to play that front 4 for the first time against his old club who were top of the table in a televised kickoff. It couldn't have worked better to raise the clubs profile. And his for that matter. It was as close to a perfect managerial performance as you'll get. And classy in his after match interviews too. The bloke is pure class all around as far as I can see. We are very, very lucky to have him and those who made what was a brave appointment in many ways deserve massive praise.
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Post by vahl on Dec 8, 2015 9:48:30 GMT
More recently, TP is a hard act to follow for a club in our position unless we break the top 7 barrier or win a domestic cup or 2. What TP put in place for us allowed Sparky to run with it. Sparky barely makes the top 5 yet, for reasons already explained on this thread.
He is steadily creeping up to becoming a real Stokie legend though. I am pretty confident about winning a trophy and, dare I say it, turning in to a club that plays in European cups regularly. People talk about ceilings and stuff but I think if you're good enough, you can do anything in football.
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Post by The Drunken Communist on Dec 8, 2015 10:10:03 GMT
He's certainly damn close. The 'glory years' under Waddo were slightly before my time so I can't really comment, that leaves it a two horse race between Pulis & Hughes.
Pulis gave us pride back in our club after years of being complete & utter nobodies to the wider footballing world. He also gave us some of the best days we'll ever have, promotion, staying up, the Cup semi/final, a trip into Europe... That entire first season back, the land of the giants, the Delap throw that made mugs of the entire league, Villa home & away, bullying Arsenal, the atmosphere at the matches which was like nothing anyone had ever wittnessed before. Fantastic stuff which I'd sooner remember him for than it all fizzling out towards the end.
Hughes has still got a slight way to go to pass that yet, but he is rapidly closing in with every game that goes by! The fact that we're now in a League Cup semi-final & we're not only beating your Arsenal's, Liverpool's & Man City's of this world, we're actually tearing them apart & destroying them... By the end of this season I think & hope that yes, Mark Hughes will be the best manager we've ever had!
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Post by silverdollar on Dec 8, 2015 10:14:00 GMT
He's 2nd on the list id say equal second. Even if the football wasn't as silky...promotion, FA Cup Final and Europe knockout stages surely stand for something? I much prefer MH as our manager but you cant deny Pulis's achievements at the club. My memory isn't too great! Could you list Tony Pulis's "achievements for me?
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Post by BristolMick on Dec 8, 2015 10:43:35 GMT
More recently, TP is a hard act to follow for a club in our position unless we break the top 7 barrier or win a domestic cup or 2. What TP put in place for us allowed Sparky to run with it. Sparky barely makes the top 5 yet, for reasons already explained on this thread. He is steadily creeping up to becoming a real Stokie legend though. I am pretty confident about winning a trophy and, dare I say it, turning in to a club that plays in European cups regularly. People talk about ceilings and stuff but I think if you're good enough, you can do anything in football. People talk about ceilings? Peter Coates doesn't, Mark Hughes doesn't. The only person who banged on about ceilings and spent most time managing expectations whilst reading out his CV and talking about Steak and Chips is long gone. Thank the Lord! BM
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Post by foxysgloves on Dec 8, 2015 10:45:22 GMT
id say equal second. Even if the football wasn't as silky...promotion, FA Cup Final and Europe knockout stages surely stand for something? I much prefer MH as our manager but you cant deny Pulis's achievements at the club. My memory isn't too great! Could you list Tony Pulis's "achievements for me? Errrrr....did you read his post?
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Post by potterinleeds on Dec 8, 2015 10:47:34 GMT
If you're basing it on stone cold results then Pulis is second. If you're basing it on personal experience and a few other things like the style then Pulis is way down for me. A succinct summary of why there is probably no definitive answer to the OP's question, and probably never will be - not that that is any reason not to discuss it. If twenty five years as an archaeologist has taught me one thing, it is that for many questions, there never will be a definitive answer. I know all about Waddo's results, but I never saw his team play. In the far future, when all of us who have actually watched Hughes' team play are dead, people will only have the results to go on. It's a continual process of re-assessment. What was that computer called in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that took millions of years to come up with the answer to the meaning of life? Maybe we should ask it.
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Post by foxysgloves on Dec 8, 2015 10:47:39 GMT
More recently, TP is a hard act to follow for a club in our position unless we break the top 7 barrier or win a domestic cup or 2. What TP put in place for us allowed Sparky to run with it. Sparky barely makes the top 5 yet, for reasons already explained on this thread. He is steadily creeping up to becoming a real Stokie legend though. I am pretty confident about winning a trophy and, dare I say it, turning in to a club that plays in European cups regularly. People talk about ceilings and stuff but I think if you're good enough, you can do anything in football. People talk about ceilings? Peter Coates doesn't, Mark Hughes doesn't. The only person who banged on about ceilings and spent most time managing expectations whilst reading out his CV and talking about Steak and Chips is long gone. Thank the Lord! BM Is any discussion of MH's greatness doomed to become another opportunity to stick the knife in to our former manager who did a pretty decent job himself? Pretty sad if that's the case.
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Post by PerCyfilth ....Captains Log on Dec 8, 2015 10:49:19 GMT
I hope he will be but has a way to go yet to pass Waddo & Macari. In terms of style he is probably there but achievement wise its Pulis.(although i hated every minute of Pulis method).
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Post by gibby1409 on Dec 8, 2015 11:14:21 GMT
Waddo is still number one. He got us promoted and built a fine team out of aging stars and established us as a division one team. He then built the early 70's team of Banks Dobing Burrows Eastham Conroy Richie and Greenhoff. Plus he'd got the home grown defence full of assassins! This team won the league cup, and got to two FA cup semi finals, a great achievement. He then built another great team, he brought in Hudson and Salmons and promoted Mahoney to replace Dobing Bernard and Eastham. Geoff Hurst and Jimmy Robertson arrived, as did what looked like the final piece of the jigsaw, Shilton. For two seasons we were incredible with Alan Hudson being the best Stokie it's been my pleasure to see. We went close in 74/75, in fact we should have won the league that season. Then along came the storm of January 76, and the rest is history. So Waddo was responsible for building three teams that got progressively better, and in my opinion is our best ever, for now!
TP for all his faults got us promoted and established us as a team no one wanted to play, and it was fantastic seeing all those big stars being intimidated when they came to the Brit. TP got us to a FA cup final and we also had the memorable day out at the semi final. We went on a European adventure that will live long in the memory. So in my opinion TP is sat in second position.
Lou gave us some great times and I think could have got us to the Prem if he'd stayed. But I'd got Lou at number three until what Hughesy has given us over the past two and a half seasons.
Hughesy is marginally behind TP based on achievements to date. But this season could see him overtake TP and challenge Waddo. We could win a cup, and we could have our third top ten finish in a row. I look forward to every game nowadays, because whoever we play and wherever it's at, I feel we have a chance. We're deffo playing the most exciting football since the Hudson/Greenhoff days, and it's getting even better,with last Saturday being the best yet.
So the running order today, in my opinion, based on the above is:
1 Waddo 2:TP 3:Hughesy 4: Lou
But Hughesy will almost certainly be number two by the end of the season, and could be number one.
Great days to be a Stokie ????
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2015 11:37:07 GMT
All he needs is a trophy. I was speaking to one of my neighbours (a staunch rugby league fan), and he admitted that he can take football or leave it. He decided to watch the match on Saturday, and he thought that we were absolutely fantastic, saying there was an element of the Real Madrid's and Barcelona about it. He said it was the most entertaining game that he'd seen for years! Praise indeed!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2015 11:45:58 GMT
He is by far the greatest manager Stoke have ever had that is not called Tony...
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Post by metalhead on Dec 8, 2015 12:09:47 GMT
I remember when Tony Pulis left that I said on here that it would take someone very special to eclipse what he had achieved. Let's not forget that Tony not only got us promoted, but took us on a brilliant FA Cup run and a Europa season to boot. Yes, Tony should have left at least 12 months earlier, but his overall lasting legacy was that Stoke were a solid, established lower mid-table Premier League club. Unfortunately, his less desirable legacy is that Stoke had no real pull for flair players, and a reputation that has taken a long time to shift. However, I felt that to achieve what Tony achieved at this club would take something rather extraordinary.
Almost three years down the line, Hughes has attracted some unbelievable flair players in Shaqiri, Arnautovic (yes, I know he came first when our reputation was still hit and miss), Bojan, Afellay etc. There are undoubtedly more around the corner. He has also gone some way to shifting the hoof ball tag that Pulis earned us. The tide is turning; Stoke are becoming an attractive proposition for skilful players and the ugly reputation that many of us suggested may take up to a decade to move has taken a huge blow after Saturday's unbelievable performance, comprehensively dismantling one of the very best teams in the world.
In that regard, Hughes' reign has the potential to absolutely eclipse anything and everything Pulis achieved. Not only are we in with a shout at silverware this season with the league cup, we are now a solid and dependable top 10 team with potential to hit Europa. Furthermore, while Tony's lasting legacy was fundamentally Premiership stability at all costs, Hughes' legacy will go far beyond just football. Our reputation as a club has already been greatly enhanced under Hughes. Our global identity will grow under Hughes and we will continue to raise eyebrows when we take apart top teams like Chelsea. When the day comes that Hughes does leave (and I hope it's a long long time away), his lasting legacy will far outweigh anything that Tony left us with and that in itself, is why Mark Hughes WILL go on to be one of our greatest ever managers, if not our greatest.
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Post by stokiejohnss on Dec 8, 2015 12:19:50 GMT
Waddo is clearly the best manager Stoke have ever had, in most of our lifetimes at least. My second is Macari , without him god only knows where we could have ended up. Hughes gets my third place as he is bringing in footballers (amazing isnt it ! ) and we can begin to look forward to games again , entertainment !!
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Post by StokieBoy31 on Dec 8, 2015 12:35:58 GMT
He's 2nd on the list id say equal second. Even if the football wasn't as silky...promotion, FA Cup Final and Europe knockout stages surely stand for something? I much prefer MH as our manager but you cant deny Pulis's achievements at the club. I'll agree with you then, an equal second, until the 28th February
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Post by thevoid on Dec 8, 2015 12:48:29 GMT
I'll admit, I wasn't over the moon when we appointed MH, but my God he's proved me wrong.
Sparky's worked a minor miracle- don't forget he hasn't had the money to spend that the previous incumbent had (Shaq apart). He's made it enjoyable watching Stoke again- the buzz is back (just like when Lou had the support buzzing in the 90s, with his 'scared of no-one' approach).
TP raised the bar for himself with the Boxing Day win over Liverpool, and he got scared by the increased expectation. He couldn't adapt. The difference is, MH saw his team's potential after the thrashing of Liverpool and has quietly gone about assembling a side to carry on that legacy.
Rather than 'being lucky enough to be on the same pitch' as Citeh, Citeh were glad to get OFF the pitch Saturday.
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Post by bayernoatcake on Dec 8, 2015 12:50:58 GMT
No and nor was the last bloke.
Both good though.
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Post by cooper67 on Dec 8, 2015 12:54:12 GMT
If you're basing it on stone cold results then Pulis is second. If you're basing it on personal experience and a few other things like the style then Pulis is way down for me. What a shock! I bet you even booeed after we beat Bolton 5-0?
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