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Post by ted1965 on Aug 23, 2018 7:58:48 GMT
The reality of our situation is beginning to become blindingly obvious for 25 minutes last night I was delighted we looked as if we had finally come to terms with what was required, we were outplaying Wigan and looked like a comfortable win was on the cards. Suddenly we concede and the wheels come off self-doubt flooded through the side and all the old demons came rushing to the surface. Though Gary Rowett has to share in some of this blame, players who have looked completely devoid of confidence or in some cases completely shot as a player were on the field when they shouldn’t be.
I don’t like attacking our players but would someone please tell me why Fletcher seems to be such a fixture in this side, he hasn’t looked like a player after the initial few games for us since his arrival. He was a great player before all the problems with illness he had a trophy laden career with Manure but please god it’s time to go. He simply can’t perform at this level anymore and we are suffering from it, managers are blinded by his achievements rather than actually evaluating how poor he has become. Joe Allen, where do we begin, he is a good player but he Is a very overrated one too. Pundits purr over him but again reality is he gives the ball away his first touch more often than not is appalling I have lost count of the times the ball bounces off him and we lose the ball and momentum, yet he still gets praised to the hilt in some quarters at the moment he’s not worth a starting place, maybe like many players he believes his own publicity so a period on the bench might give him the wakeup call he needs.
As for the defence, where do we begin, slow, headless chickens and lack of any confidence in each other it’s like watching a keystone cops movie a lot of running around and very little knowledge of how to defend. Rowett was a defender and a solid one what the hell is going on, surely he can organize them into a solid unit, after all that’s the reputation he comes with most of all. Why bring Martina in and not play him Tom Edwards is being thrown to the wolves and they are eating him alive. Pieter’s, just looks like a lost child at the seaside desperately searching for him parents and Ryan just seems to have lost it. That for me is so sad but injuries and more strict rules on what you are allowed to do in the penalty area seem to have taken his edge off.
The club looks a shambles from top to bottom and all we did during the summer was change the dressing on the wound we didn’t address the rotten flesh bellow and if you merely cover a wound it’s still festers away underneath until you lose a limb. A new manager was the least of our requirements we needed so much more. The recruitment of players has been shocking doe a few years now; the lack of what’s actually required is mind blowing. We still lack so many of the basics to address the issues yet once more the board and their stooges failed the supporters on a grand scale.
It’s not all about money it’s about building a team that we can be proud of again, at the moment we lack so many of the basic components it’s tragically funny.
When Mark Hughes lost the plot the board hesitated out of loyalty but the wound began to fester and they simply ignored it, finally they acted and promised a complete change of direction but it never came. They made some very encouraging noises in the press but I now ask was it all for show with absolutely no real intent behind it. Lambert came in and the wound began to fester more and relegation followed a decent manager with the fixtures remaining would have saved us just. Although, if the board had continued down their current path we may have outdone Derby this season in the Premier league.
If we are to turn this around it will now take positive action and no waiting but we neither have the time or the opportunities available even in the loan window. The only hope is when everyone is fit and ready things may change. The midfield is a joke, the defence is a mess and the morale of players and supporters are at a ten year low.
I wanted someone like Smith of Brentford but we got Rowett not asking for him to be removed that’s ridiculous but he needs to show he has a clue on what his best side is and he’s not afraid to bruise some egos. We need players with ambition and who want to succeed not based on performances right now not based on what they once were it’s time for changes and it’s time to shake this football club down from within.
The vast majority of supporters want the not so dynamic duo gone they make great money but when Gotham City is sinking into the sea they sit in the Prat cave and count their cash while seeing what deals Domino’s have for that afternoon. Twatman and Throbin please leave town and take the prat mobile with you.
Mr Coates if you want supporters to keep your legacy secure and forget the bad times then you need to act immediately because this is beginning to fester beyond mere bandages and hope and maybe a few amputations required and begin again are what’s required before the patient begins to fall into a coma again. I haven't written this season off but my God the improvements needed are there for all to see.
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Post by cerebralstokie on Aug 23, 2018 8:05:03 GMT
As usual, Ted, a very perceptive analysis as to what is wrong with our club at the moment.
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Post by philb on Aug 23, 2018 8:06:11 GMT
As usual, Ted, a very perceptive analysis as to what is wrong with our club at the moment. Or for the shortened version: We’re a complete shower of shit from top to bottom.  |
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Post by greenhuff on Aug 23, 2018 9:05:43 GMT
I am now in my 50th year of following Stoke.A journey of a few highs and some considerable lows.Some games stick in the memory for the right reason.The 5-0 demolition of Arsenal and a goal of the season from Terry Conroy , ending Leeds unbeaten run coming back from 2-0 down and of course more recently the 2-0 wins over City and Utd and frequent victories over Arsenal. There have also been some miserable defeats .Not just the 0-7 that everyone talks about but 0-4 at home to fellow strugglers Luton in the 84-85 season or going to Cambridge and being beaten up by John Becks side and going down 3-0 without a shot on target. In most cases we were fielding poor teams with poor players who just were not up to it and we did'nt have the money to replace them.
Last night I rate as possibly the worst of the lot .We have , or had as we are now finding out maybe not a highly paid experienced squad whom should have knitted together to play some decent football.Instead individuals we hoped would perform are having nightmares and new signings either don't seem to fit in or are not able to produce for us.To cap it all we have apparently a number of players whom are effectively on strike trying to seek a move away . Most alarmingly there seemed to be no pattern of play or cohesive tactics and often the only option was to bunt it hopefully forward route 1 looking for the lucky touch in to find a player .These are dinosaur tactics. Wigan adopted what I call the modern style of play.Moving the ball quickly from man to man and pressing our team whenever possible. They had pace all over the park and exposed us for a bunch of plodders. At the moment we look out of our depth as we have has been tactically outhought and outfought by teams that have a real hunger and desire to prove themselves. I have a further observation in that when I was a young un I seemed to remember the idea of preseason was to sort out your tactics , formation and playing style to be ready to go in August .It seems now pre season is nothing but a fitness session and we start the season effectively as 11 strangers in search of a formation with a manager unsure of what his team should be.This is criminal in itself .This season is going to be a test of all our resolve and I am steeling myself for some wilderness years as we try to come to terms with what has been over the last two and a half seasons a progressive sleepwalk into disaster.I won't have another 50 years in me to follow Stoke but I hope to get in another 30 .Over those 50 years we have had in all honesty about 3 -4 decent managers . Most of the others have pissed money away on bad transfers and then been sacked as we rotated through a further series of bang average to poor managers .I really hope history is now not going to repeat itself again !
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Post by ted1965 on Aug 23, 2018 15:11:43 GMT
I totally understand greenhuff, I have been following Stoke for almost as long and there have been plenty of ups and a lot of downs but that's football and as supporters we simply buckle in for the ride and accept so much false hopes and nearly dreams on the way.
I really hoped that when the owners talked of change after last seasons debacle we would get real change, we got a new manager which is fine but it needed real change from top to bottom. The squad is full of players who are living on yesterday and hoping for tomorrow well the club can't wait for tomorrow we need change now.
I don't have an issue with GR he has only been here for 5 minutes and like all managers needs time to stamp his style on this club but with a lot of the players we have will he be able to get them on side or in some cases do they have the legs or the willingness to bust a gut for the cause. the recruitment has been pathetic we signed players who were simply out for a fast buck before anyone thinks I am naive enough to believe players want to play for a club like ours for love unless they are local and stood on those terraces I don't. I do however believe learning something of a players character is vital, find out what makes a player tick, is he suited to how we want him to play and does he have ambition beyond his wallet.
we need young hungry players who want success and want to be part of a winning side. We have so many players who live on their past and seem to have no ambition to achieve in the future. When you are comfortable in life, you sometimes lose that desire and hunger for achievement if Rowett can't instill that in this squad then we are in big trouble.
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Post by Clayton Wood on Aug 23, 2018 15:26:32 GMT
When you are comfortable in life, you sometimes lose that desire and hunger for achievement if Rowett can't instill that in this squad then we are in big trouble. Taken to it's logical conclusion; if Rowett can't instill that in this squad then.... Fill in the blanks. |
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Post by podolipotter on Aug 23, 2018 15:31:51 GMT
Well said Ted. Yesterday morning, full of optimism that our form was going to change and we would hit 4 against Wigan (my score for the prediction lot), I relented and bought Sky sports. I watched the first 20 minutes on TV and the game reminded me of so many games I have seen at Stoke in the past, slow, pedantic and dull. Sure Ince ran too far with the ball once and shot way over, and Afobe cleared a golden chance for a headed attempt by McLean (the fastest I had seen him move in the 20 minutes), but overall it was the old division 2 football. Shocked and saddened, I switched channels and had barely done so when my mobile uttered that dreadful moan - we had conceded. Sickeningly, the moan was repeated a few minutes later, so I turned that off as well as the tv. There is clearly something dreadfully amiss with the atmosphere in the dressing room - as highlighted by the tunnel fracas, last night. The Manager, and the board should sort this out now, for make no mistake, Division 1 beckons Stoke City already, and the supporters need to see quick tangible action to get this bunch of players motivated sufficiently to achieve some sort of cohesion and actually score and win a game or two. That might be too optimistic.
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Post by Danstoke82 on Aug 23, 2018 15:38:36 GMT
Cracking post as always Ted
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Post by Mr_DaftBurger on Aug 23, 2018 15:55:54 GMT
The squad is full of players who are living on yesterday and hoping for tomorrow well the club can't wait for tomorrow we need change now. They're not worried about tomorrow and in some cases tomorrow for 4 years! But yes, you are right, millionaires who don't give a shit! Some of these leeches will be ruining us until 2021/22. There's no solution other than losing millions. Don't know how accurate this is www.spotrac.com/epl/stoke-city-f.c/contracts/ but................... Clucking Bell! |
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