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Post by Davef on May 15, 2016 18:42:13 GMT
Of course we deserve to finish 9th. Out of interest, who deserves to finish above us? I can't be arsed go through every team but we have been lucky and you know it. If we'd have lost today there wouldn't be any positive threads but cause we somehow managed to win all of a sudden we deserve 9th? Not a chance. Some examples are the home wins over Villa, Newcastle, Norwich and even today, we were extremely poor and we were lucky, without Butland and Arnie I reckon anywhere between 14th to 18th this season. Roll on next season. Well if you can't be arsed, I'll tell you who deserved to finish above us: nobody.
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9th
May 15, 2016 18:42:53 GMT
Post by juiceandbits on May 15, 2016 18:42:53 GMT
Hughes has achieved what he set out to do: to establish us as a top ten team. The question is, can he establish us in the top 8 and push for the Europa League? Given the increased competitiveness of the league now, I think that has to be realistic. It will be for Southampton, West Ham and Everton. We just can't have a five-game winless run like we did this season. It puts too much pressure on the rest of the season and Hughes' idea that we can perform better in the second half of it, which I'm pretty sure has not panned out this season (though I haven't tallied the points up for each half).
Overall, I'm happy with how the squad is continuing to improve. If we can attract players of the quality of Marko, Imbula and - yes - Shaqiri in other key areas then we should be in good shape. I think improving the overall quality of the squad too is something that we need to address this season - particularly on the wings.
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Post by chuffedstokie on May 15, 2016 18:43:55 GMT
Mixed emotions to be honest. If you had offered me 3 top 10 finishes on the bounce which, for me, means we are an established prem team, on the bounce after Pulis left and everyone was tipping us to go down, I would have bitten your hand off. However, This was the season to really push on in the league and possibly win something. OK, we were unlucky in the league cup, but have we pushed on this year? the answer is, and has to be NO, considering the acheivments of Wet Sham and Soton, never mind Leicester. We have had at least three times the injuries that Leicester have had, FACT. Really happy with today, the way we fought back when I thought we were going to be well stuffed and finishing 9th, above Chelsea, giving the Wet Sham fans some abuse, cracking day all round for me and happy with the top ten finish. Also the question I have is if every team pushes on then we all win the Prem, how is this possible? The right signings and less injuries next season will see us alright. Your last sentence really hits the old nail on the head.
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9th
May 15, 2016 18:44:23 GMT
Post by agingerstokie on May 15, 2016 18:44:23 GMT
I can't be arsed go through every team but we have been lucky and you know it. If we'd have lost today there wouldn't be any positive threads but cause we somehow managed to win all of a sudden we deserve 9th? Not a chance. Some examples are the home wins over Villa, Newcastle, Norwich and even today, we were extremely poor and we were lucky, without Butland and Arnie I reckon anywhere between 14th to 18th this season. Roll on next season. Well if you can't be arsed, I'll tell you who deserved to finish above us: nobody. Whether they deserved to it not... they didn't.That's the end of the conversation really. I deserve to be a millionaire bedding multiple women a night while dining on the best money can buy. But I aren't.
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9th
May 15, 2016 18:46:36 GMT
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Post by milky on May 15, 2016 18:46:36 GMT
Lets be honest, not trying put a negative spin on this but going off the performances this season we don't deserve 9th, it's been such a poor poor league this season though. We've played well on about half a dozen occasions, even first half today West Ham should have had 3 or 4 at least and been out of sight. Yes we've had bad injuries but so have other clubs. It's a miracle we've finished 9th, it really is. No its not..We got 51 points which is about par the course for 9th place. You can dress it up as you want but after 38 games where you finish is where you deserve to finish.No one below us deserves to finish higher.
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Post by chuffedstokie on May 15, 2016 18:49:49 GMT
9th after that bleeding rollercoaster = result. Better than 19th and scrapping about. Talk about fucking nerves. Onwards. Clean slate and off we go again. See what the summer brings.
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9th
May 15, 2016 19:34:11 GMT
Post by robstokie on May 15, 2016 19:34:11 GMT
Mixed emotions to be honest. If you had offered me 3 top 10 finishes on the bounce which, for me, means we are an established prem team, on the bounce after Pulis left and everyone was tipping us to go down, I would have bitten your hand off. However, This was the season to really push on in the league and possibly win something. OK, we were unlucky in the league cup, but have we pushed on this year? the answer is, and has to be NO, considering the acheivments of Wet Sham and Soton, never mind Leicester. We have had at least three times the injuries that Leicester have had, FACT. Really happy with today, the way we fought back when I thought we were going to be well stuffed and finishing 9th, above Chelsea, giving the Wet Sham fans some abuse, cracking day all round for me and happy with the top ten finish. Also the question I have is if every team pushes on then we all win the Prem, how is this possible? The right signings and less injuries next season will see us alright. I wasn't comparing us to Leicester. I was talking about the likes of West Ham and Soton who managed to push themselves onto the coattails of the European chase when the chance came (i.e. the 'Big' teams had poor seasons). As for the injury crisis, it explains that we haven't really had a settled spine, but it doesn't excuse the dire performances, particularly at home, against the likes of Everton, Soton, Watford, City, Liverpool, Spurs and Palace. At the very least, every player, whether they are a regular or not should know exactly what they should be doing and where they should be. Even the last 15-20 mins of the 1st half today, West Ham were opening us up with ease. The performance 2nd half showed a lot of character, especially how crap weve been over the last few months, and im delighted that weve managed to salvage 9th place despite a dire run-in. However, we need to get ourselves organised at the back and work on attacking with more penetration for next season, or we will stagnate and possibly struggle next season if we replicate recent performances.
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Post by benjaminbiscuit on May 15, 2016 19:38:53 GMT
Have to say 9th is a fantastic finish . The Second half put a few doubts to bed and MH can enjoy his summer with three consecutive 9th placed finishes tucked away and no one can deny the day he came we would have killed for that .
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Post by lancer on May 15, 2016 19:55:35 GMT
Mixed emotions to be honest. If you had offered me 3 top 10 finishes on the bounce which, for me, means we are an established prem team, on the bounce after Pulis left and everyone was tipping us to go down, I would have bitten your hand off. However, This was the season to really push on in the league and possibly win something. OK, we were unlucky in the league cup, but have we pushed on this year? the answer is, and has to be NO, considering the acheivments of Wet Sham and Soton, never mind Leicester. Got any stats on the injuries to Wet Sham, Soton and Leicester this season?
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Post by march4 on May 15, 2016 19:58:04 GMT
A fine finish to the season. 3 successive 9th finishes is a good achievement.
All doubts about LMH should be put to one side after that 2nd half come back.
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9th
May 15, 2016 19:58:42 GMT
Post by lancer on May 15, 2016 19:58:42 GMT
I can't be arsed go through every team but we have been lucky and you know it. If we'd have lost today there wouldn't be any positive threads but cause we somehow managed to win all of a sudden we deserve 9th? Not a chance. Some examples are the home wins over Villa, Newcastle, Norwich and even today, we were extremely poor and we were lucky, without Butland and Arnie I reckon anywhere between 14th to 18th this season. Roll on next season. Well if you can't be arsed, I'll tell you who deserved to finish above us: nobody. Spot on.mate. The only teams that deserve to be above us are the teams above us, because like us, they won enough games to be where they are.Every team, top, bottom or mid table, is where they deserve to be. That's a fact, that's how it works.
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9th
May 15, 2016 20:01:12 GMT
Post by ryan4england on May 15, 2016 20:01:12 GMT
Good position on paper, more than plenty of room for improvement and Hughes will know it
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9th
May 15, 2016 20:03:04 GMT
Post by Deleted on May 15, 2016 20:03:04 GMT
The league table at the end of the season doesn't lie. We have finished 9th which after 38 games is where we deserve to be. But for anyone who doesn't go to away games the fayre on offer at home has been pretty poor. We need less tippy tappy bollocks and more pace and directness and before anyone starts that doesn't mean a return to hoof ball.
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Post by chrisparker on May 15, 2016 20:04:50 GMT
Over the course of a 38 game season, luck plays virtually no role. We are exactly where we deserve to be, Southampton are exactly where they deserve to be & Leicester are deservedly top of the league. The teams below us are below us because they've been less consistent than us & have won fewer games. 9th is where we belong & it's a damn good position if you ask me, especially considering our injury crisis this season.
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Post by Davef on May 15, 2016 20:05:12 GMT
Mixed emotions to be honest. If you had offered me 3 top 10 finishes on the bounce which, for me, means we are an established prem team, on the bounce after Pulis left and everyone was tipping us to go down, I would have bitten your hand off. However, This was the season to really push on in the league and possibly win something. OK, we were unlucky in the league cup, but have we pushed on this year? the answer is, and has to be NO, considering the acheivments of Wet Sham and Soton, never mind Leicester. Got any stats on the injuries to Wet Sham, Soton and Leicester this season? I think somebody has already pointed out that Southampton's season pretty much kicked in when Fraser Forster returned from injury. They were 13th when he made his first appearance of the season in January. Our season collapsed when we lost Jack Butland. Saints kept six consecutive clean sheets when Forster returned, almost the same as when Ryan returned for us. Some people seem to think that we are the only club who suffer when their best players is missing.
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2016 20:12:06 GMT
Well done Stoke great second half and proved a few wrong with another 9th place finish.
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Post by charlesjefferson on May 15, 2016 20:31:06 GMT
I like to look at it like this, we finished 9th in the top flight so we are the 9th best team in the whole of England.
I enjoy thinking of it that way as it makes me very proud. To put it into context, the English football league system houses in excess of 7,000 football teams and approximately 140 individual leagues containing 480 divisions.
Stoke City are 9th FFS!
I think that calls for a pint of Bass.
Please note: I have not counted all the leagues and clubs up, I found those numbers via the magic of looking. If I tried to count them all i'd still be here come the start of next season, so if my figures are wildly innaccurate then who cares? We're 9th FFS. FFS is of course short for Facial Feminization Surgeon.
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9th
May 15, 2016 20:32:28 GMT
Post by Staying up for Grandadstokey on May 15, 2016 20:32:28 GMT
I wonder if any team has ever finished as high as 9th with a GD of -14 in the Prem. Not as I'm complaining mind
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9th
May 15, 2016 20:38:57 GMT
Post by chrisparker on May 15, 2016 20:38:57 GMT
I wonder if any team has ever finished as high as 9th with a GD of -14 in the Prem. Not as I'm complaining mind If I'm not mistaken, Moyes once finished in the top 7 with a goal difference of -17.
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Post by Davef on May 15, 2016 20:39:46 GMT
I wonder if any team has ever finished as high as 9th with a GD of -14 in the Prem. Not as I'm complaining mind Newcastle finished 10th with -16 three seasons ago.
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Post by swampySCFC on May 15, 2016 20:44:12 GMT
I wonder if any team has ever finished as high as 9th with a GD of -14 in the Prem. Not as I'm complaining mind Newcastle finished 10th with -16 three seasons ago. That minus GD is a concern to me. We've been pasted and therefore not competed a several games. Not like us at all and something we need to address
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9th
May 15, 2016 20:57:14 GMT
Post by alsagerstokie on May 15, 2016 20:57:14 GMT
So it's the end and we have finished 9th.
Good season overall and we have finished above Chelsea.
Big summer needed imo. Another Center Half A winger A midfielder and most importantly a fox in the box who knows how to put it in the net. Big seasons for Shaq and Imbula next season
Looking for Bojan to get back to his best.
Sign the deal Arnie
Bar the injuries we would have finished a bit higher I think they cost us.
It's been a very bad run up until a good win today. We must learn next season how to control games when we take the lead.
Overall though well Done Coates Hughes the players and the fans
Let's go again in the Bet 365 Stadium (Still the Brit) next season.
Euros soon look forward to it.
Now seasons over time for me to play watch the second best sport Golf.
Have a good summer fellow Stokies.
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Post by Davef on May 15, 2016 20:58:31 GMT
Newcastle finished 10th with -16 three seasons ago. That minus GD is a concern to me. We've been pasted and therefore not competed a several games. Not like us at all and something we need to address The GD was -3 when we lost Butland and brought a struggling Shawcross back into the team. It's no coincidence that our GD has deteriorated since then. Hughes has to address the defence and bring an able and experienced deputy in for Butland during the summer, but I really don't think we'd have ended with a -14 GD had Butland not been injured.
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9th
May 15, 2016 21:06:18 GMT
Post by lordb on May 15, 2016 21:06:18 GMT
The league table at the end of the season doesn't lie. We have finished 9th which after 38 games is where we deserve to be. But for anyone who doesn't go to away games the fayre on offer at home has been pretty poor. We need less tippy tappy bollocks and more pace and directness and before anyone starts that doesn't mean a return to hoof ball. You get the same points away as you do at home however vast majority of fans primarily watch the home games. If we need minimum ten points next season to reach Europe so three more home wins would go a long way. If you want less tippy tally (I call it passing but hey) but not hoof ball then I guess you want a player or two who will take players on. I think Shaqiri can do more of that for sure and would expect our new striker to do some if that too. Fullback who can cross might be nice
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9th
May 15, 2016 21:49:16 GMT
Post by hchpotter on May 15, 2016 21:49:16 GMT
Superb effort to finish 9th with the injuries we've had. However we cannot gloss over the last 4 months.
We have got to be more fluid in our play. We take an age to play the ball out of the back which allows teams to get men behind the ball. We therefore struggle to break teams down. So we don't score many.
We have to find more pace. We need Bojan to be sharper and to give us more than 60 minutes every week. We need Shaqiri to show something, anything, more than once a month.
We need to find an attacker the manager trusts. Joselu, Diouf, Crouch, Walters - does Leslie trust any of them?
We need a centre half alongside Ryan and we need to pray that Ryan stays injury free. If Butland, Shawcross, Johnson and Piters put together a decent run of games our new much needed centre half will slot in more smoothly.
If Arnie goes we need at least 2 wide men and we don't want to spend 4 months chasing Yarmolenko up a cul de sac. We've got to negotiate a decent fee for any leavers.
We have to find better back up keepers.
We need to start practising set pieces tomorrow. Hughes needs to go on a course entitled "Making effective use of substitutes".
And we need a lot more luck than we've had this season.
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9th
May 16, 2016 2:43:24 GMT
via mobile
Post by mattface on May 16, 2016 2:43:24 GMT
Lets be honest, not trying put a negative spin on this but going off the performances this season we don't deserve 9th, it's been such a poor poor league this season though. We've played well on about half a dozen occasions, even first half today West Ham should have had 3 or 4 at least and been out of sight. Yes we've had bad injuries but so have other clubs. It's a miracle we've finished 9th, it really is. Slow start terrible finish but the middle run of 26 games had us 4th best over those 26 games. Based on that 9th feels about right. It was a time we had out injured players back and confidence was high. Imagine a whole season of that.
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9th
May 16, 2016 5:00:13 GMT
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Post by chuffedstokie on May 16, 2016 5:00:13 GMT
Just reflect on the number of occasions when we've managed to claw a point from the jaws of victory in the last 5 minutes of games. Holding on and closing out games requires the mental toughness to get the job done. Which then obviously translates into points. But 9th again with all that has happened including being one kick away from cup glory, i'd say result.
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9th
May 16, 2016 5:41:39 GMT
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mattface likes this
Post by milky on May 16, 2016 5:41:39 GMT
Lets be honest, not trying put a negative spin on this but going off the performances this season we don't deserve 9th, it's been such a poor poor league this season though. We've played well on about half a dozen occasions, even first half today West Ham should have had 3 or 4 at least and been out of sight. Yes we've had bad injuries but so have other clubs. It's a miracle we've finished 9th, it really is. Slow start terrible finish but the middle run of 26 games had us 4th best over those 26 games. Based on that 9th feels about right. It was a time we had out injured players back and confidence was high. Imagine a whole season of that. Unfortunately there are a few who don't want to acknowledge those 26 games you mention. Doesn't suit em...
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