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Post by dutchstokie on Jan 18, 2017 21:46:50 GMT
What a ridiculous & pointless thread this has become. In 15 pages, we've gone from arguing about recent performances under Hughes to debating Pulis' legacy. Pulis was a great manager for us & so is Hughes & they both rank among our greatest ever managers. Lets just leave it at that. Good luck with that !!!!😄 ( I agree with you btw)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2017 21:49:40 GMT
As I said further up, if huge numbers don't renew at the early bird stage you'll be right and I'm sure questions will be asked and decisions made just as they were with Toxic. What you say tho, appears to be somewhat at odds with the demand that seems to be there on the Travel and Tickets section of this mb. Where is the evidence that 'large swathes' would not have renewed in 2013? The only thing to come out of the club was that 'early birds' were down on the record sales of the previous year. Pulis wasn't sacked because of season ticket sales and nor will Hughes. If you really want to go with the bums on seats argument though look at those who have paid for season tickets who just can't be arsed this season. Every game is all but sold out officially yet there are hundreds of empty seats all over. We sold 2,000 less season tickets compared to previous seasons. That was evident in Hughes first season when we were getting 25,000 ish instead of 27,000. The crowds rose towards the back end of the season before the early bird sales for 2014/15 went back up again. Are you honestly saying that wasn't people not taking up the early bird option on the back of Pulis' woeful last season that caused the downturn?
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Post by peterthornesboots on Jan 18, 2017 21:50:39 GMT
As I said further up, if huge numbers don't renew at the early bird stage you'll be right and I'm sure questions will be asked and decisions made just as they were with Toxic. What you say tho, appears to be somewhat at odds with the demand that seems to be there on the Travel and Tickets section of this mb. Where is the evidence that 'large swathes' would not have renewed in 2013? The only thing to come out of the club was that 'early birds' were down on the record sales of the previous year. Pulis wasn't sacked because of season ticket sales and nor will Hughes. If you really want to go with the bums on seats argument though look at those who have paid for season tickets who just can't be arsed this season. Every game is all but sold out officially yet there are hundreds of empty seats all over. In actual fact, the number of season tickets that we sell has minimal impact on the club financially. Most of our income comes from TV revenue. The number of fans inside the ground is unlikely to influence major decisions from a business point of view.
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Post by sheikhmomo on Jan 18, 2017 21:57:28 GMT
Where is the evidence that 'large swathes' would not have renewed in 2013? The only thing to come out of the club was that 'early birds' were down on the record sales of the previous year. Pulis wasn't sacked because of season ticket sales and nor will Hughes. If you really want to go with the bums on seats argument though look at those who have paid for season tickets who just can't be arsed this season. Every game is all but sold out officially yet there are hundreds of empty seats all over. We sold 2,000 less season tickets compared to previous seasons. That was evident in Hughes first season when we were getting 25,000 ish instead of 27,000. The crowds rose towards the back end of the season before the early bird sales for 2014/15 went back up again. Are you honestly saying that wasn't people not taking up the early bird option on the back of Pulis' woeful last season that caused the downturn? I'm disputing 'large swathes' but most of all I'm disputing that's why he was sacked. That's utter horse shit. When Pulis took over there were 11,000 in the ground, when he left there were nigh on 28,000. That might be a more lasting attendance legacy when it comes to the fickle world of Stoke City fans.
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Post by sheikhmomo on Jan 18, 2017 22:00:05 GMT
Where is the evidence that 'large swathes' would not have renewed in 2013? The only thing to come out of the club was that 'early birds' were down on the record sales of the previous year. Pulis wasn't sacked because of season ticket sales and nor will Hughes. If you really want to go with the bums on seats argument though look at those who have paid for season tickets who just can't be arsed this season. Every game is all but sold out officially yet there are hundreds of empty seats all over. In actual fact, the number of season tickets that we sell has minimal impact on the club financially. Most of our income comes from TV revenue. The number of fans inside the ground is unlikely to influence major decisions from a business point of view. Absolutely. Nor will the fact that a fair few games now end in front of a half full stadium.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2017 22:00:32 GMT
We sold 2,000 less season tickets compared to previous seasons. That was evident in Hughes first season when we were getting 25,000 ish instead of 27,000. The crowds rose towards the back end of the season before the early bird sales for 2014/15 went back up again. Are you honestly saying that wasn't people not taking up the early bird option on the back of Pulis' woeful last season that caused the downturn? I'm disputing 'large swathes' but most of all I'm disputing that's why he was sacked. That's utter horse shit. When Pulis took over there were 11,000 in the ground, when he left there were nigh on 28,000. That might be a more lasting attendance legacy when it comes to the fickle world of Stoke City fans. Football is a fickle business that's just how it is, it's not just Stoke fans. Will I always be grateful for what Pulis did for the club? Fuck yes. Was it the right time to get rid of him? Absolutely......
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Post by sheikhmomo on Jan 18, 2017 22:02:25 GMT
I'm disputing 'large swathes' but most of all I'm disputing that's why he was sacked. That's utter horse shit. When Pulis took over there were 11,000 in the ground, when he left there were nigh on 28,000. That might be a more lasting attendance legacy when it comes to the fickle world of Stoke City fans. Football is a fickle business that's just how it is, it's not just Stoke fans. Will I always be grateful for what Pulis did for the club? Fuck yes. Was it the right time to get rid of him? Absolutely...... I don't argue with any of that but the attendances card simply doesn't wash when analysing Pulis's time here.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2017 22:11:47 GMT
Football is a fickle business that's just how it is, it's not just Stoke fans. Will I always be grateful for what Pulis did for the club? Fuck yes. Was it the right time to get rid of him? Absolutely...... I don't argue with any of that but the attendances card simply doesn't wash when analysing Pulis's time here. Not necessarily the attendance per se as someone above said financially it's such a fraction of our income these days. But a 2,000 drop in early bird sales on the back of a frankly underwhelming season would have absolutely created debate at board level and set alarm bells ringing. The price of tickets didn't change so the only conclusion could be people voted with their feet.....
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Post by sheikhmomo on Jan 18, 2017 22:16:39 GMT
I don't argue with any of that but the attendances card simply doesn't wash when analysing Pulis's time here. Not necessarily the attendance per se as someone above said financially it's such a fraction of our income these days. But a 2,000 drop in early bird sales on the back of a frankly underwhelming season would have absolutely created debate at board level and set alarm bells ringing. The price of tickets didn't change so the only conclusion could be people voted with their feet..... It was a power struggle mate, pure and simple and he lost the struggle.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2017 22:21:16 GMT
Not necessarily the attendance per se as someone above said financially it's such a fraction of our income these days. But a 2,000 drop in early bird sales on the back of a frankly underwhelming season would have absolutely created debate at board level and set alarm bells ringing. The price of tickets didn't change so the only conclusion could be people voted with their feet..... It was a power struggle mate, pure and simple and he lost the struggle. Agree mate. The time was right and I think if Pulis was honest he'd admit that too.
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Post by alster on Jan 18, 2017 22:21:33 GMT
I don't argue with any of that but the attendances card simply doesn't wash when analysing Pulis's time here. Not necessarily the attendance per se as someone above said financially it's such a fraction of our income these days. But a 2,000 drop in early bird sales on the back of a frankly underwhelming season would have absolutely created debate at board level and set alarm bells ringing. The price of tickets didn't change so the only conclusion could be people voted with their feet..... Its a nonsense argument anyway. Whatever the finances if you lose the fans you lose your job its only a matter of time football reality now as ever.
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Post by Pugsley on Jan 18, 2017 22:35:58 GMT
I know this really rankles with rimmers, the fact that his name wasn't chanted, home or away. He wasn't universally loved - end of, and he knew it. That's rather odd for someone who brought success to the club. He was respected and did a great job in getting us in the PL and the Cup Final. To me though, his methods were abhorrent and from what I've heard about him since it rather cements my view that he is a colossal wanker. Chanted about as regular as Hughes's. Very infrequently and with no real heart. That's true. Hughes isn't particularly lovable either!!!!
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Post by cheeesfreeex on Jan 19, 2017 1:29:24 GMT
Pulis over his two stints in charge dragged us out of the endless doldrums we found ourselves in - let's not forget when he joined not only was the Premier League just something that some faraway clubs were involved in, but we were also looking certs for a plummet to the third tier. Pulis sorted all that out and then got us hanging around with the big boys. I predicted we'd gone up a couple of seasons too early, that we wouldn't be ready....however I was happily proved wrong. The ensuing few seasons were the best of times for all sorts of reasons. Then it all went a bit stale and reluctantly I had to agree it was time for him to move on. In came Hughes and confounded expectations by pushing us up a notch or two in terms of the type of football played and also the league position. No arguing with three ninth place finishes, it's an awesome achievement and one of which Sparky can be justifiably very proud. Both the two managers mentioned above are all time Stoke City heroes in my eyes. You still get fans who bang on about Lou Bloody Macari, well I'm sorry these two far outshine anything he did for us. In the future we should have statues of them both outside the ground! That said - it is to me becoming obvious that we're back in the same sort of rut we were at the end of the Pulis reign and I'm not certain that Sparky is able to turn it round. I'm sure he'll keep us up, but I suspect a lower league finish is on the cards and frankly the football we're playing and the team itself is just....well, not exactly healthy at the moment. The way the rest of the season pans out will dictate what happens, but I really think Hughes will be gone in the summer, as things stand right now. I hope he turns all this round properly because I like him - but I liked Pulis and yet he still ended up having to go. Get a fucking grip. Or back your shite up with some evidence. You're up and down like an whooors' droowers.
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Post by kustokie on Jan 19, 2017 2:06:47 GMT
Hold on a cotton picking minute! This last 12 months or so has been shit bar a midgets handful of games, both in terms of entertainment and results and we've looked no more likely to beat a top six side than the Vale have. We don't have Charlton now though, we have 'realistic expectations', 'we're only Stoke City'. Boeuf et frites if you will! Same message, same hypocrisy! Bollocks. We are 9th currently. What the hell do you want? Get a grip of yourself pal SGS The problem is we are so inconsistent. One week we play like Barcelona, the next week we look like a pub team that just met 30 minutes before KO. So the results average out to a mid-table team that ranges between challenging for Europe and winning a cup on the one hand to getting knocked out in the third round and getting relegated on the other. I have seen them both in the past couple of years: home to Leicester, Wolves, Newcastle and Villa when were poor and away to Chelsea and West ham when we were fantastic. There's a trend developing here - I may have to rethink my plans to come over watch them play Liverpool, Hull and Swansea.
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