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Post by estp1863 on Dec 17, 2017 9:30:07 GMT
Dunna worry we always best west brom.. Oh hang on a minute
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Post by greenhuff on Dec 17, 2017 9:37:20 GMT
I think as a subsiduary of BET365 we have probably been deemed not worthy of further serious investment. Any advantages that came with advertising the brand have long since gone given the subsequent success of the company. This has been evident for some time in demands that the club be self sufficient .That might just have worked if we had also been blessed with a canny transfer team but I feel for them its just a job at the end of the day .It might just have worked if we had an equally tactically astute manager.It appears the current template for Premier League success for mid table sides has completely bypassed Mark Hughes.Defend in depth and break at pace .
Having followed Stoke since 1968 I have seen a few relegations and this one feels very much like 76-77. We weren't relegation favourites at the start of that season but after a couple of wins we started to drift down towards the bottom.It was difficult to find a win , difficult to find a goalscorer and no money was being made available. When we did have periods of dominance in games we huffed and puffed but just could not find the way through defences and two crucial home matches against fellow regulation strugglers saw draws instead of wins. It had an inevitability about it.Right now this feels the same and we are trying to get by on the cheap .
A caller on 606 yesterday made a very good comment.Hughes initial success was built on the bedrock of the teams spine provided by Pulis and then overlaid that with some quality attractive attacking options.Now all those players have moved on and we have not replaced them through a combination of cost cutting and poor purchases.
If as apparently announced there is no significant money for players in January then it seems to financially the board have already decided its really not worth further significant investment and if not happy , at least find acceptable from a business viewpoint that we go down .We will lose bar the parachute payment most of our revenue which means an entirely new squad will have to be created as those who can will leave ( unfortunately we might not even be able to give away the likes of Imbula or Berahinho by then)
By then Hughes if he hasnt already walked will go and hopefully the club can appoint a young energetic manage to rebuild us.
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Post by boweryboy on Dec 17, 2017 10:19:44 GMT
Are we going to say this about every game we play now till the end of the season.....Jesus Christ !!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2017 10:25:28 GMT
Well Salah, Mane, Coutinho and Firmino couldn't score past them, so I'm expecting another defeat.
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