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Post by This is the year on Feb 28, 2017 9:40:51 GMT
Crisis now imminent , big buys sold , chairnsm in the media and 4 defeats out of the next 5 virtually assured What do you actually bring to this board bar being a negative fuck ?
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Post by davejohnno1 on Feb 28, 2017 9:42:31 GMT
Why? After 3 games, he can't even get on the pitch for a mid-table Bundesliga team. Bojan, certainly at the minute, clearly isn't anywhere near as good as people are making him out to be and is nowhere near as good as everyone hopes he can be. He's our only properly creative central player, and I very much doubt we'll find better for anything other than a huge transfer fee. If we do by the way, I'm more than prepared to eat humble pie, it's really what I'm relying on. So take away our only creative central player, meaning the midfield is an engine room, i.e. the cage. and our play comes from balls over the midfield, i.e. long diagonals. We have some skill on the wing, but thats stopped far too easily by sticking two men on each winger. I'd argue that Shaqiri, Arnie and Ramadan are creative. I'd also argue that Afellay can be a creative influence as well, as is Stephen Ireland when fit. To say Bojan is our only creative player is plain wrong but also ignores the fact that when playing as badly as he was, his creativity was practically zero anyway.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2017 9:42:46 GMT
Maybe you just don't know your football, ever thought that might be the answer?? :-) Helpful, mate. Genius. How about some insight. Some are saying 'off the field' reasons... Hard to give insight as I'm not involved in training sessions, sat in the dressing room or privy to Imbula's personal circumstances in regards how well he has/hasn't settled. Boring answer I know but what else can I give?
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Post by pavel on Feb 28, 2017 9:51:09 GMT
I have absolutely no idea what is going on at Stoke at the moment in terms of succession planning, all I see is muddle. We talk about bringing the age of the squad down but extend or talk of extending contracts to Johnson, Walters, Crouch and god knows who else. We single out players such as Bojan and Imbula who have underperformed but are at least still fairly young, at least in the terms of our ageing squad, yet other underperforming players seem to be picked week after week despite glaringly obvious weaknesses. It seems there is one rule for the old guard and another for newer recruits who get little game time nowadays, even when things are going drastically wrong as at Spurs, they seem to be the fall guys for the malaise at this club at the moment.
The Spurs game, for me, was not a accident waiting to happen but a nailed on certainty caused by the failure to address our central midfield pairings obvious weaknesses of pace, energy, guile, mobility, technical ability and above suitability for the modern game. Is this a failure in the transfer market, a misplaced loyalty to the old guard, a reaction to a poor start or more disturbingly a lack of nous on how to integrate new players into the team in a coherent manner.
Certainly to transform Allen into a number 10 (which he never will be and never was) from the player he was for Wales, playing as a holding midfielder, with energy, mobility and the ability to move the ball forward is strange, a policy that has come unstuck, unbalanced the team, lessened creativity in a key area and has perhaps accelerated the demise and disillusionment of Bojan. The Spurs game showed that having a "luxury" player in the number 10 role is not the problem, an ageing central midfield pairing that lacks the qualities required for the modern game is. Playing Allen in the number 10 role helps neither the attack nor defence, apart from that short purple patch he had and even then it just masked the problems and it was showed up perfectly in the Spurs match.
Regarding Imbula, have we ever given him a platform to play his game, in many ways he is similar to Pogba and Ya Ya Toure, though of course, not in the same class. All switch off, are deemed a bit of a liability defensively, can seem lazy and were criticised earlier in the season yet two of them have been persevered with and a way has been found to integrate them into their respective teams to great effect.
The Spurs game isn't a blessing in disguise, a wake up call or anything of the sort, it has been glaringly obvious to most supporters that we have an ageing squad (well the one that plays), that we lack pace all over the pitch and have reverted to "safety first" football. There has either been either a misguided and incoherent transfer policy in some areas or a lack of nous in integrating these new players into the team in a coherent manner, it's probably a bit of both and it reflects badly on many areas of the clubs management.
All I know is that the noises coming out of the club at the moment don't fill me with confidence, for all our "comfortable" position in the league we seem to be a club who has lost its way a little and which doesn't seem to have a clear strategy moving forward. Muddled and making do after 4 seasons is worrying to say the least.
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Post by robwahlmann on Feb 28, 2017 9:54:53 GMT
I still think both Bojan and Imbula will come good, but if we get decent bids for the pair I would let them go anyway! Bojan because he is too weak and hasn't enough pace and Imbula because it seems so difficult to adapt for him. He really has everything in his locker to be a very good player, but with him it seems very difficult to tell why he can't succeed at the moment. If he can learn to pass the ball earlier and learn to tackle I really can't see why he can't become a success in the PL!? The question is always about how many chances should a player get before being sold, and for both these players I think we can agree that this season has been a big let down from both. As a result they need to be sold if we can recoup decent money of course!
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Post by sufolkstokie on Feb 28, 2017 10:06:13 GMT
I have absolutely no idea what is going on at Stoke at the moment in terms of succession planning, all I see is muddle. We talk about bringing the age of the squad down but extend or talk of extending contracts to Johnson, Walters, Crouch and god knows who else. We single out players such as Bojan and Imbula who have underperformed but are at least still fairly young, at least in the terms of our ageing squad, yet other underperforming players seem to be picked week after week despite glaringly obvious weaknesses. It seems there is one rule for the old guard and another for newer recruits who get little game time nowadays, even when things are going drastically wrong as at Spurs, they seem to be the fall guys for the malaise at this club at the moment. The Spurs game, for me, was not a accident waiting to happen but a nailed on certainty caused by the failure to address our central midfield pairings obvious weaknesses of pace, energy, guile, mobility, technical ability and above suitability for the modern game. Is this a failure in the transfer market, a misplaced loyalty to the old guard, a reaction to a poor start or more disturbingly a lack of nous on how to integrate new players into the team in a coherent manner. Certainly to transform Allen into a number 10 (which he never will be and never was) from the player he was for Wales, playing as a holding midfielder, with energy, mobility and the ability to move the ball forward is strange, a policy that has come unstuck, unbalanced the team, lessened creativity in a key area and has perhaps accelerated the demise and disillusionment of Bojan. The Spurs game showed that having a "luxury" player in the number 10 role is not the problem, an ageing central midfield pairing that lacks the qualities required for the modern game is. Playing Allen in the number 10 role helps neither the attack nor defence, apart from that short purple patch he had and even then it just masked the problems and it was showed up perfectly in the Spurs match. Regarding Imbula, have we ever given him a platform to play his game, in many ways he is similar to Pogba and Ya Ya Toure, though of course, not in the same class. All switch off, are deemed a bit of a liability defensively, can seem lazy and were criticised earlier in the season yet two of them have been persevered with and a way has been found to integrate them into their respective teams to great effect. The Spurs game isn't a blessing in disguise, a wake up call or anything of the sort, it has been glaringly obvious to most supporters that we have an ageing squad (well the one that plays), that we lack pace all over the pitch and have reverted to "safety first" football. There has either been either a misguided and incoherent transfer policy in some areas or a lack of nous in integrating these new players into the team in a coherent manner, it's probably a bit of both and it reflects badly on many areas of the clubs management. All I know is that the noises coming out of the club at the moment don't fill me with confidence, for all our "comfortable" position in the league we seem to be a club who has lost its way a little and which doesn't seem to have a clear strategy moving forward. Muddled and making do after 4 seasons is worrying to say the least. Absolutely spot on. The only thing sadly with Bojan is that that injury seems to have robbed football of a very good talent if his current sitting on the subs bench at yet another club is to go by? Imbula. Well him not coming on second half at Spurs to give him a run round signalled to me that he is gone in the managers mind. Bony I thought he was a good gamble. That one is down to Bony I believe But the ageing squad and looking at keeping Crouch, Walters, Whelan and Johnson on is crazy to me as good as servants as 3 of them have been Playing Allen out of position is also down to the manager It really feels mixed up at the moment and the regression is there for all to see if they could take their red and white glasses off
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Post by Fred Merger on Feb 28, 2017 10:06:36 GMT
If this is true about Imbula leaving,then serious questions need to be put to the management team!
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Post by sufolkstokie on Feb 28, 2017 10:09:19 GMT
If this is true about Imbula leaving,then serious questions need to be put to the management team! It is more of a concern that we can't off load him because him not coming on against Spurs to give him a run shows he has gone in the managers head Playing him next Saturday when he has no game time for yonks would be stupid which means a plodding midfield again
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2017 10:10:03 GMT
Peter Coates must be asking questions about this one, surely. A player that was being mentioned in the Yaya Toure class when he first arrived, now not looking like getting a game. Strange, even though I think that he's a fair weather player!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2017 10:13:45 GMT
F'ing Stephen Ireland. F'ing fairy feet. Worst thing that happened with him, is the injury. Otherwise Mark Hughes would have gotten rid. Waste of space IMHO! It was patently obvious that there were too many slow players on show against Spurs. Clear out needed! I support Mark Hughes, but if he and his transfer team do not sort this squad out, he can go for me! I'd had enough of Pulis at the end of his tenure. I'm feeling the same way now! Sorry folks, but this season has been far less entertaining, than I wished for!
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Post by FullerMagic on Feb 28, 2017 10:13:58 GMT
Getting harder to work out why we didn't let him go on loan to Torino. Nobody is winning from this permanent exile. He's played one minute since Christmas.
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Post by pavel on Feb 28, 2017 10:14:09 GMT
I have absolutely no idea what is going on at Stoke at the moment in terms of succession planning, all I see is muddle. We talk about bringing the age of the squad down but extend or talk of extending contracts to Johnson, Walters, Crouch and god knows who else. We single out players such as Bojan and Imbula who have underperformed but are at least still fairly young, at least in the terms of our ageing squad, yet other underperforming players seem to be picked week after week despite glaringly obvious weaknesses. It seems there is one rule for the old guard and another for newer recruits who get little game time nowadays, even when things are going drastically wrong as at Spurs, they seem to be the fall guys for the malaise at this club at the moment. The Spurs game, for me, was not a accident waiting to happen but a nailed on certainty caused by the failure to address our central midfield pairings obvious weaknesses of pace, energy, guile, mobility, technical ability and above suitability for the modern game. Is this a failure in the transfer market, a misplaced loyalty to the old guard, a reaction to a poor start or more disturbingly a lack of nous on how to integrate new players into the team in a coherent manner. Certainly to transform Allen into a number 10 (which he never will be and never was) from the player he was for Wales, playing as a holding midfielder, with energy, mobility and the ability to move the ball forward is strange, a policy that has come unstuck, unbalanced the team, lessened creativity in a key area and has perhaps accelerated the demise and disillusionment of Bojan. The Spurs game showed that having a "luxury" player in the number 10 role is not the problem, an ageing central midfield pairing that lacks the qualities required for the modern game is. Playing Allen in the number 10 role helps neither the attack nor defence, apart from that short purple patch he had and even then it just masked the problems and it was showed up perfectly in the Spurs match. Regarding Imbula, have we ever given him a platform to play his game, in many ways he is similar to Pogba and Ya Ya Toure, though of course, not in the same class. All switch off, are deemed a bit of a liability defensively, can seem lazy and were criticised earlier in the season yet two of them have been persevered with and a way has been found to integrate them into their respective teams to great effect. The Spurs game isn't a blessing in disguise, a wake up call or anything of the sort, it has been glaringly obvious to most supporters that we have an ageing squad (well the one that plays), that we lack pace all over the pitch and have reverted to "safety first" football. There has either been either a misguided and incoherent transfer policy in some areas or a lack of nous in integrating these new players into the team in a coherent manner, it's probably a bit of both and it reflects badly on many areas of the clubs management. All I know is that the noises coming out of the club at the moment don't fill me with confidence, for all our "comfortable" position in the league we seem to be a club who has lost its way a little and which doesn't seem to have a clear strategy moving forward. Muddled and making do after 4 seasons is worrying to say the least. Absolutely spot on. The only thing sadly with Bojan is that that injury seems to have robbed football of a very good talent if his current sitting on the subs bench at yet another club is to go by? Imbula. Well him not coming on second half at Spurs to give him a run round signalled to me that he is gone in the managers mind. Bony I thought he was a good gamble. That one is down to Bony I believe But the ageing squad and looking at keeping Crouch, Walters, Whelan and Johnson on is crazy to me as good as servants as 3 of them have been Playing Allen out of position is also down to the manager It really feels mixed up at the moment and the regression is there for all to see if they could take their red and white glasses off Yeah, agree with all that and like you I'm not knocking the old guard, it's just that their time has come (and gone in some cases). Agree with Imbula, there was no risk in playing him second half at Spurs, so as you say, he's gone in Hughes's mind, the question is why have him as a sub in that case.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2017 10:26:30 GMT
F'ing Stephen Ireland. F'ing fairy feet. Worst thing that happened with him, is the injury. Otherwise Mark Hughes would have gotten rid. Waste of space IMHO! It was patently obvious that there were too many slow players on show against Spurs. Clear out needed! I support Mark Hughes, but if he and his transfer team do not sort this squad out, he can go for me! I'd had enough of Pulis at the end of his tenure. I'm feeling the same way now! Sorry folks, but this season has been far less entertaining, than I wished for! The irony of your post is that a fit Stephen Ireland ran rings round Spurs last time we took points off them!
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Post by thepremierbanksy on Feb 28, 2017 10:29:36 GMT
For me it feels like Hughes just gave up on Imbula far too easily.
He is positionally ill-disciplined and has some work rate issues, both of which are things you'd like to think you could at least partially address with a bit of coaching and motivational work, but it just seems to me that Hughes chucked him on the scrap heap all too quickly for a player who is our record signing with a whopper of a contract.
Perhaps Imbula does have an attitude problem, but didn't we already know this when we signed him after he was dropped following only half a year at Porto? If you think you can do a dog's home type job on him then you have to show some patience and some careful management surely.
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Post by peterthornesboots on Feb 28, 2017 10:36:37 GMT
I would agree with most of the assumptions made in the article.
We need a clear out both of ageing players and those that aren't performing.
Imbula could still come good but if a decent bid comes in I would take it.
Bojan has shown minimal consistency since recovering from injury and has resumed his place as an unused substitute for Mainz.
Afellay, Given, Johnson, Ireland - you could argue that all should be replaced with younger models (to different extents).
Muniesa can't stay fit and can't get in the team. Joselu doesn't look like he will force his way into our starting eleven when he returns in the summer.
We need to freshen things up.
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Post by crouchpotato1 on Feb 28, 2017 10:41:09 GMT
If this is true about Imbula leaving,then serious questions need to be put to the management team! Thats were a good media person comes in to ask these sort of questions but sadly we don't have any and for me this is where Hughes gets a free ride
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Post by Paul Spencer on Feb 28, 2017 10:46:01 GMT
I have absolutely no idea what is going on at Stoke at the moment in terms of succession planning, all I see is muddle. We talk about bringing the age of the squad down but extend or talk of extending contracts to Johnson, Walters, Crouch and god knows who else. We single out players such as Bojan and Imbula who have underperformed but are at least still fairly young, at least in the terms of our ageing squad, yet other underperforming players seem to be picked week after week despite glaringly obvious weaknesses. It seems there is one rule for the old guard and another for newer recruits who get little game time nowadays, even when things are going drastically wrong as at Spurs, they seem to be the fall guys for the malaise at this club at the moment. The Spurs game, for me, was not a accident waiting to happen but a nailed on certainty caused by the failure to address our central midfield pairings obvious weaknesses of pace, energy, guile, mobility, technical ability and above suitability for the modern game. Is this a failure in the transfer market, a misplaced loyalty to the old guard, a reaction to a poor start or more disturbingly a lack of nous on how to integrate new players into the team in a coherent manner. Certainly to transform Allen into a number 10 (which he never will be and never was) from the player he was for Wales, playing as a holding midfielder, with energy, mobility and the ability to move the ball forward is strange, a policy that has come unstuck, unbalanced the team, lessened creativity in a key area and has perhaps accelerated the demise and disillusionment of Bojan. The Spurs game showed that having a "luxury" player in the number 10 role is not the problem, an ageing central midfield pairing that lacks the qualities required for the modern game is. Playing Allen in the number 10 role helps neither the attack nor defence, apart from that short purple patch he had and even then it just masked the problems and it was showed up perfectly in the Spurs match. Regarding Imbula, have we ever given him a platform to play his game, in many ways he is similar to Pogba and Ya Ya Toure, though of course, not in the same class. All switch off, are deemed a bit of a liability defensively, can seem lazy and were criticised earlier in the season yet two of them have been persevered with and a way has been found to integrate them into their respective teams to great effect. The Spurs game isn't a blessing in disguise, a wake up call or anything of the sort, it has been glaringly obvious to most supporters that we have an ageing squad (well the one that plays), that we lack pace all over the pitch and have reverted to "safety first" football. There has either been either a misguided and incoherent transfer policy in some areas or a lack of nous in integrating these new players into the team in a coherent manner, it's probably a bit of both and it reflects badly on many areas of the clubs management. All I know is that the noises coming out of the club at the moment don't fill me with confidence, for all our "comfortable" position in the league we seem to be a club who has lost its way a little and which doesn't seem to have a clear strategy moving forward. Muddled and making do after 4 seasons is worrying to say the least. Excellent post.
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Post by FullerMagic on Feb 28, 2017 10:46:44 GMT
For me it feels like Hughes just gave up on Imbula far too easily. He is positionally ill-disciplined and has some work rate issues, both of which are things you'd like to think you could at least partially address with a bit of coaching and motivational work, but it just seems to me that Hughes chucked him on the scrap heap all too quickly for a player who is our record signing with a whopper of a contract. Perhaps Imbula does have an attitude problem, but didn't we already know this when we signed him after he was dropped following only half a year at Porto? If you think you can do a dog's home type job on him then you have to show some patience and some careful management surely. Hard to judge without knowing what his attitude is like and how receptive he is to advice about what he needs to do to improve the ugly side of his game. Hughes know it's going to be a huge black mark against him if he has to wash his hands of him this early, but he still seems to have basically given up. Which does seem to say quite a lot. Porto seem to have done the same (although it does help when you can make a profit). There seems to be a suggestion he still can't speak any English which also isn't a good sign, and probably adds to the frustrations, especially as he seems a pretty quiet character It's a shame because some of his qualities are pretty rare and really make you think 'if only.....'.
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Post by Mr_DaftBurger on Feb 28, 2017 10:49:37 GMT
I know we're all experts and see what we think is right but Joe allen or Imbula in the advanced midfield role? This a damning indictment of the recruitment policy and you have to wonder if Cartwright and his team are really up to this job at a Premiership level? Hughes is a difficult one as his profile has, no doubt, contributed to us being able to attract higher profile players. He just doesn't seem to fancy the ones we have got. Is it he who identifies the players or Cartwright going to him and say we can get X player and Hughes saying yes go get them? Yes, I know, I'm going round in circles in a chicken and egg scenario no one knows the answer to! What we do know is that this policy is now shitting on the so called previous policy of buying players with potential re-sale value which seems to have failed and isn't Cartwright responsible for carrying out this policy? Re-signing older players smacks of 'doing it on the cheap' and the club being happy with achieving 40 points and survival. It is also a policy, IMHO, that will eventually lead to us dropping at some point. Then again it could be the policy of signing these players waiting for the Academy apples to drop. Whatever it is the halcyon days of hope and excitement, beating the Shit, Citeh and Everton 'seem like a dream to me now'. St Peters latest outburst seems to be a warning shot across the bows and he seems as frustrated, as a fan, as any of us. OldStokie good ship Stoke City seems to be on a windless sea going knowhere.
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Post by sheikhmomo on Feb 28, 2017 10:50:10 GMT
For me it feels like Hughes just gave up on Imbula far too easily. He is positionally ill-disciplined and has some work rate issues, both of which are things you'd like to think you could at least partially address with a bit of coaching and motivational work, but it just seems to me that Hughes chucked him on the scrap heap all too quickly for a player who is our record signing with a whopper of a contract. Perhaps Imbula does have an attitude problem, but didn't we already know this when we signed him after he was dropped following only half a year at Porto? If you think you can do a dog's home type job on him then you have to show some patience and some careful management surely. Hard to judge without knowing what his attitude is like and how receptive he is to advice about what he needs to do to improve the ugly side of his game. Hughes know it's going to be a huge black mark against him if he has to wash his hands of him this early, but he still seems to have basically given up. Which does seem to say quite a lot. Porto seem to have done the same (although it does help when you can make a profit). There seems to be a suggestion he still can't speak any English which also isn't a good sign, and probably adds to the frustrations, especially as he seems a pretty quiet character It's a shame because some of his qualities are pretty rare and really make you think 'if only.....'. It's not really a surprise though is it. He came with a massive health warning at the time of the incredible fee we paid for him.
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Post by cheekymatt71 on Feb 28, 2017 10:54:26 GMT
There will always be a buyer for Bojan just because he comes with such good pedigree. We will still be able to get the best part of 10 mill for him whatever he does or doesnt do at Mainz.
Imbula though is a big problem and we will be lucky to get half his transfer fee back.
Imbula + Bojan cost us 18M + 1M so a total outlay of 19-20M.
I think we could sell Imbula for 7-8M and Bojan for 9-10M. So at the end we would be about breakeven and Hughes would get away with this in Coates eyes Im sure.
You win some and lose some. The key is to keep the books balanced.
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Post by mrred on Feb 28, 2017 11:09:35 GMT
There's a great deal wrong with out club and it starts with the manager. I was a big advocate of his evolution, his recruitment (Sidwell be damned) and his gameplan. The nurturing of Bojan in particular saw the start of some incredible football.
But last season something changed. I'm not against implementing 'the old guard' for their experience. But his reliance on them as a crutch, along with forgetting how to play decent football (Christ know's we're capable of it)- is a fucking farce to be truthful. We're just a shit imitation of what came before him. I hate to sound like a broken record but I threw the towel in last season as I thought I could see this coming. I didn't expect to be as bad as the situation we find ourselves in.
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Post by Ex-term-oat-cake on Feb 28, 2017 11:17:03 GMT
I have absolutely no idea what is going on at Stoke at the moment in terms of succession planning, all I see is muddle. We talk about bringing the age of the squad down but extend or talk of extending contracts to Johnson, Walters, Crouch and god knows who else. We single out players such as Bojan and Imbula who have underperformed but are at least still fairly young, at least in the terms of our ageing squad, yet other underperforming players seem to be picked week after week despite glaringly obvious weaknesses. It seems there is one rule for the old guard and another for newer recruits who get little game time nowadays, even when things are going drastically wrong as at Spurs, they seem to be the fall guys for the malaise at this club at the moment. The Spurs game, for me, was not a accident waiting to happen but a nailed on certainty caused by the failure to address our central midfield pairings obvious weaknesses of pace, energy, guile, mobility, technical ability and above suitability for the modern game. Is this a failure in the transfer market, a misplaced loyalty to the old guard, a reaction to a poor start or more disturbingly a lack of nous on how to integrate new players into the team in a coherent manner. Certainly to transform Allen into a number 10 (which he never will be and never was) from the player he was for Wales, playing as a holding midfielder, with energy, mobility and the ability to move the ball forward is strange, a policy that has come unstuck, unbalanced the team, lessened creativity in a key area and has perhaps accelerated the demise and disillusionment of Bojan. The Spurs game showed that having a "luxury" player in the number 10 role is not the problem, an ageing central midfield pairing that lacks the qualities required for the modern game is. Playing Allen in the number 10 role helps neither the attack nor defence, apart from that short purple patch he had and even then it just masked the problems and it was showed up perfectly in the Spurs match. Regarding Imbula, have we ever given him a platform to play his game, in many ways he is similar to Pogba and Ya Ya Toure, though of course, not in the same class. All switch off, are deemed a bit of a liability defensively, can seem lazy and were criticised earlier in the season yet two of them have been persevered with and a way has been found to integrate them into their respective teams to great effect. The Spurs game isn't a blessing in disguise, a wake up call or anything of the sort, it has been glaringly obvious to most supporters that we have an ageing squad (well the one that plays), that we lack pace all over the pitch and have reverted to "safety first" football. There has either been either a misguided and incoherent transfer policy in some areas or a lack of nous in integrating these new players into the team in a coherent manner, it's probably a bit of both and it reflects badly on many areas of the clubs management. All I know is that the noises coming out of the club at the moment don't fill me with confidence, for all our "comfortable" position in the league we seem to be a club who has lost its way a little and which doesn't seem to have a clear strategy moving forward. Muddled and making do after 4 seasons is worrying to say the least. At last. Some constructive comments on here.
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Post by mickmacc on Feb 28, 2017 11:23:37 GMT
Imbula and Bojan leaving is down to what happened in the dressing room at half time at the Wolves game.
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Post by edaboagenawo on Feb 28, 2017 11:29:32 GMT
There will always be a buyer for Bojan just because he comes with such good pedigree. We will still be able to get the best part of 10 mill for him whatever he does or doesnt do at Mainz. Imbula though is a big problem and we will be lucky to get half his transfer fee back. Imbula + Bojan cost us 18M + 1M so a total outlay of 19-20M. I think we could sell Imbula for 7-8M and Bojan for 9-10M. So at the end we would be about breakeven and Hughes would get away with this in Coates eyes Im sure. You win some and lose some. The key is to keep the books balanced. Boyan for 9-10M. Are you on something ?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2017 11:29:57 GMT
I have absolutely no idea what is going on at Stoke at the moment in terms of succession planning, all I see is muddle. We talk about bringing the age of the squad down but extend or talk of extending contracts to Johnson, Walters, Crouch and god knows who else. We single out players such as Bojan and Imbula who have underperformed but are at least still fairly young, at least in the terms of our ageing squad, yet other underperforming players seem to be picked week after week despite glaringly obvious weaknesses. It seems there is one rule for the old guard and another for newer recruits who get little game time nowadays, even when things are going drastically wrong as at Spurs, they seem to be the fall guys for the malaise at this club at the moment. The Spurs game, for me, was not a accident waiting to happen but a nailed on certainty caused by the failure to address our central midfield pairings obvious weaknesses of pace, energy, guile, mobility, technical ability and above suitability for the modern game. Is this a failure in the transfer market, a misplaced loyalty to the old guard, a reaction to a poor start or more disturbingly a lack of nous on how to integrate new players into the team in a coherent manner. Certainly to transform Allen into a number 10 (which he never will be and never was) from the player he was for Wales, playing as a holding midfielder, with energy, mobility and the ability to move the ball forward is strange, a policy that has come unstuck, unbalanced the team, lessened creativity in a key area and has perhaps accelerated the demise and disillusionment of Bojan. The Spurs game showed that having a "luxury" player in the number 10 role is not the problem, an ageing central midfield pairing that lacks the qualities required for the modern game is. Playing Allen in the number 10 role helps neither the attack nor defence, apart from that short purple patch he had and even then it just masked the problems and it was showed up perfectly in the Spurs match. Regarding Imbula, have we ever given him a platform to play his game, in many ways he is similar to Pogba and Ya Ya Toure, though of course, not in the same class. All switch off, are deemed a bit of a liability defensively, can seem lazy and were criticised earlier in the season yet two of them have been persevered with and a way has been found to integrate them into their respective teams to great effect. The Spurs game isn't a blessing in disguise, a wake up call or anything of the sort, it has been glaringly obvious to most supporters that we have an ageing squad (well the one that plays), that we lack pace all over the pitch and have reverted to "safety first" football. There has either been either a misguided and incoherent transfer policy in some areas or a lack of nous in integrating these new players into the team in a coherent manner, it's probably a bit of both and it reflects badly on many areas of the clubs management. All I know is that the noises coming out of the club at the moment don't fill me with confidence, for all our "comfortable" position in the league we seem to be a club who has lost its way a little and which doesn't seem to have a clear strategy moving forward. Muddled and making do after 4 seasons is worrying to say the least. At last. Some constructive comments on here. You're after insight when none of us are privy to what goes on behind close doors though so what exactly are you expecting? Great post above but also littered with supposition and guesswork.....
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Post by crouchpotato1 on Feb 28, 2017 11:30:04 GMT
Imbula and Bojan leaving is down to what happened in the dressing room at half time at the Wolves game. So we can expect all 11 to leave after last Sunday then and what happened at half time😄
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Post by bayernoatcake on Feb 28, 2017 11:30:19 GMT
I have absolutely no idea what is going on at Stoke at the moment in terms of succession planning, all I see is muddle. We talk about bringing the age of the squad down but extend or talk of extending contracts to Johnson, Walters, Crouch and god knows who else. We single out players such as Bojan and Imbula who have underperformed but are at least still fairly young, at least in the terms of our ageing squad, yet other underperforming players seem to be picked week after week despite glaringly obvious weaknesses. It seems there is one rule for the old guard and another for newer recruits who get little game time nowadays, even when things are going drastically wrong as at Spurs, they seem to be the fall guys for the malaise at this club at the moment. The Spurs game, for me, was not a accident waiting to happen but a nailed on certainty caused by the failure to address our central midfield pairings obvious weaknesses of pace, energy, guile, mobility, technical ability and above suitability for the modern game. Is this a failure in the transfer market, a misplaced loyalty to the old guard, a reaction to a poor start or more disturbingly a lack of nous on how to integrate new players into the team in a coherent manner. Certainly to transform Allen into a number 10 (which he never will be and never was) from the player he was for Wales, playing as a holding midfielder, with energy, mobility and the ability to move the ball forward is strange, a policy that has come unstuck, unbalanced the team, lessened creativity in a key area and has perhaps accelerated the demise and disillusionment of Bojan. The Spurs game showed that having a "luxury" player in the number 10 role is not the problem, an ageing central midfield pairing that lacks the qualities required for the modern game is. Playing Allen in the number 10 role helps neither the attack nor defence, apart from that short purple patch he had and even then it just masked the problems and it was showed up perfectly in the Spurs match. Regarding Imbula, have we ever given him a platform to play his game, in many ways he is similar to Pogba and Ya Ya Toure, though of course, not in the same class. All switch off, are deemed a bit of a liability defensively, can seem lazy and were criticised earlier in the season yet two of them have been persevered with and a way has been found to integrate them into their respective teams to great effect. The Spurs game isn't a blessing in disguise, a wake up call or anything of the sort, it has been glaringly obvious to most supporters that we have an ageing squad (well the one that plays), that we lack pace all over the pitch and have reverted to "safety first" football. There has either been either a misguided and incoherent transfer policy in some areas or a lack of nous in integrating these new players into the team in a coherent manner, it's probably a bit of both and it reflects badly on many areas of the clubs management. All I know is that the noises coming out of the club at the moment don't fill me with confidence, for all our "comfortable" position in the league we seem to be a club who has lost its way a little and which doesn't seem to have a clear strategy moving forward. Muddled and making do after 4 seasons is worrying to say the least. At last. Some constructive comments on here. Tbh, it's what a few of us have been saying for the past few months/year.
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Post by nutterpotter on Feb 28, 2017 11:34:40 GMT
Imbula and Bojan leaving is down to what happened in the dressing room at half time at the Wolves game. Well go on then. What happened?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2017 11:36:04 GMT
Imbula and Bojan leaving is down to what happened in the dressing room at half time at the Wolves game. Well go on then. What happened? They stormed off in a huff after being substituted and left the ground without watching the second halfThey stood in the tunnel and watched the second half
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