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Post by JoeinOz on Jan 21, 2020 21:57:42 GMT
I wouldn’t call it a dramatic transformation. It’s been more of a steady one.
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Post by nickpowellgoals on Jan 21, 2020 21:58:01 GMT
Fantastic transformation under Sir MoN! Long may it continue!
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Post by scfc75 on Jan 21, 2020 22:55:52 GMT
Apparently the only man on the planet who could save us, isn’t the only man on the planet who could save us. MON has saved us then? Good to know Yep.
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Post by mrcoke on Jan 22, 2020 0:53:40 GMT
Glad to see the bouquets being handed out to MON on this thread. A lot different to after we gave away the lead at Hull in his 5th match and his 3rd defeat in a row. There were posters spitting venom on here that evening. Questioning his choice of MFs and subs. How has he done it? Calm management, picking players in their best positions, not using players who are not good enough or don't want to be here, and most importantly largely sticking to the same core set of players and tweaking as he saw fit. He has also given some hope to the younger set, that they will have their chance to get into the team in due course. There may also be some of that best ingredient of all, the luck of the Irish.
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Post by christhepotter on Jan 22, 2020 6:57:29 GMT
Notice March as been absent a lot recently since O’Neil as turned things around 😁🤣🤣
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Post by salopstick on Jan 22, 2020 7:16:19 GMT
MON is now one game shy of the 14 that Nath had prior to getting the axe. The turnaround in fortunes is quite unbelievable, especially when you look at it in terms of raw stats. Nath Played 14 Won 2 Drew 2 Lost 10 Win percentage 14% Average points per game 0.57 Goals scored 13 (0.93 per game) Goals against 25 (1.77 per game) MON Played 13 Won 6 Drew 2 Lost 5 Win percentage 46% Average points per game 1.54 Goals scored 21 (1.62 per game) Goals against 15 (1.15 per game) That makes for staggering reading. Based on those averages over the course of a full season, we'd have finished with just 26 points under Nath (enough for rock bottom 24th position, based on last seasons table). Under MON, we'd have 71 points, enough for an 8th place finish in the 2018/19 campaign. And he's done it all with the complete and utter shambles he inherited. He's doing it with the squad that Nath put together, most of which were consigned to the scrap heap (even by Nath himself during the end of his tenure). Last night we won away from home against top of the league, and we did it with the likes of Smith, Lindsay, Powell, Cousins and Gregory all involved. Hes turning water into wine!! We had just 8 points from 14 games when Jones left. We were dead and buried and I for one couldn't see how that squad of players could find a way of avoiding relegation. MON deserves massive credit for the job he has done. Those players must have been completely shot of confidence. He's picked them up and got them playing as a team again. He's restored the togetherness and the fight that has been devoid for so long. Just imagine what he could do with a couple of windows under his belt, and an opportunity to create a squad of his own vision? It's been a while since I had any genuine optimism about where we are heading, but the signs are a lot more positive now. Hes such a calming influence too. No arm waving or chest banging required. Hes got us organised and he managed the game last night to perfection. It appears we finally have a top drawer manager at the helm. Long may the revival continue. Over a season it may be better as winning increased confidence and we would probably win more
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Post by LGH87 on Jan 22, 2020 8:17:32 GMT
Had we sacked Jones in the international break after Birmingham away, I genuinely believe we’d have an outside chance of the play offs now.
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Post by Veritas on Jan 22, 2020 8:42:19 GMT
I wouldn’t call it a dramatic transformation. It’s been more of a steady one. From the state we were in the fact that we have any improvement seems pretty dramatic to me.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2020 8:44:27 GMT
Notice March as been absent a lot recently since O’Neil as turned things around 😁🤣🤣 Probably joined that other massive Stoke fan stokelad84 on another clubs forum. Maybe they are the same person
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Post by JoeinOz on Jan 22, 2020 8:50:30 GMT
I wouldn’t call it a dramatic transformation. It’s been more of a steady one. From the state we were in the fact that we have any improvement seems pretty dramatic to me. Dramatic suggests quick and sudden. This has been a considered balanced evolution.
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Post by The Toxic Avenger on Jan 22, 2020 8:56:11 GMT
He's sensible while being prepared to make bold calls on and off the pitch. I questioned a lot of his early calls when results and performances were still in the toilet but it's difficult to think of much he's got wrong since the Blackburn game.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2020 8:57:07 GMT
I have to admit I was distinctly underwhelmed when MON was appointed mainly because I had no confidence that the Board would finally "get it right" this time based on their previous appointments as manager.
Since then I've become increasingly impressed with the improvement under this manager. Yes we've had a few poor results, and should possibly have got more out of a couple of games, but overall the transformation has been mightily impressive considering the players that he has at his disposal.
The Northern Ireland fans were effusive in their praise of him and told us we'd got a top manager, which I think the more wary of us didn't really believe.
Well the proof is there for all to see and I think he's doing a terrific job.
I think he'll keep us up this season, we'll see a big improvement next season, and have a full blown promotion challenge the season after.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2020 8:59:44 GMT
As Joe says not dramatic at all. There's been ups and downs and there will continue to be. Anyone who thinks we're safe and the only way is up is either an extreme optimist or deluded. We are still in a relegation fight and will be for a while yet, possibly until the last couple of games unless we DO see a dramatic transformation from here on in.. O'Neill is doing a good job, just be happy with that
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Jan 22, 2020 9:58:01 GMT
As Joe says not dramatic at all. There's been ups and downs and there will continue to be. Anyone who thinks we're safe and the only way is up is either an extreme optimist or deluded. We are still in a relegation fight and will be for a while yet, possibly until the last couple of games unless we DO see a dramatic transformation from here on in.. O'Neill is doing a good job, just be happy with that I don't see many people on the board claiming we are safe. Quite clearly we are only 1 position and 4 points above the drop but, having said that, pretty well every stat has improved dramatically under MON. 13 league games isn't long to turn things around. That our stats have improved so markedly in MON's 13 games in charge I'd say does represent a dramatic improvement. OK, if we had won virtually every game, you could say the improvement would have been more dramatic. But, considering how deep in the doo doo we were under Jones and how lacking in confidence the players were and how many times we were making really daft mistakes to concede goals combined with an inability to create many chances, I doubt if anyone could have come in and made a more dramatic improvement without even bringing in any new players to the club. You can't ask much more of any manager that he improves chance creation and goal scoring. That he dramatically improves the defensive record and that he turns most fans from being vocal pessimists into quiet optimists about our future. And all that has been done in in just over a quarter of a season without spending a bean.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2020 10:21:55 GMT
Updated.....14 games apiece now....
NJ Played 14 Won 2 Drew 2 Lost 10 Points 8 PPG 0.57 GS 13 (0.93 PG) GA 25 (1.78 PG)
MON Played 14 Won 7 Drew 2 Lost 5 Points 23 PPG 1.64 GS 23 (1.64 PG) GA 15 (1.07 PG)
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Post by scfc75 on Jan 26, 2020 10:27:54 GMT
Those 5 MON defeats have also been by a single goal, none by 2 or more goals. We’re definitely harder to beat. Fair to say he’s improved every single metric.
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Post by Billy the kid on Jan 26, 2020 11:42:08 GMT
A goal difference of just -6 now.... that has been some achievement.
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Post by pmjh on Jan 26, 2020 15:00:45 GMT
Almost 3 times as many points in the same number of games. I'd call that pretty dramatic.
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Post by Linx on Jan 26, 2020 15:09:32 GMT
Clearing your lines instead of fannying about at the back has also helped as well Spoken like a Pulista!
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Post by maninasuitcase on Jan 26, 2020 16:39:20 GMT
Jones believed in a god MON is a god. 🙂
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Post by StoKeith on Jan 26, 2020 17:12:23 GMT
Here’s a 10 match moving average of this season. You can see the major problem in games 1-10 was that we were conceding 1 goal per game more than expected from chances created and scoring slightly fewer too. It was improving slowly under Jones, but MON has come in and just made everything better. Average goals for/against: Average xG for/against: Goals minus xG (are we doing better or worse than expected?):
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Post by Miles Offside on Jan 26, 2020 17:27:52 GMT
I knew nothing about him before he was announced as our manager. Didn't even know what he looked like. Then, after he came here and I saw his first interview, my first instinct was I was glad Jones had gone but thought it was a big gamble recruiting a guy who had spent most of the last decade managing an international team that played about 6 times a year.
MON made a good impression early on, especially winning his first couple of games, but I was still cautious. We've had so many flash-in-the-pans (remember Little winning his first 6 games? But as the weeks have rolled by I've become increasingly impressed and optimistic that the Board have at last got it right. If they have, then credit to them, because they get the flack when it goes wrong.
When Jones left I honestly thought we'd had it. It felt odds-on that he left a ramshackle team heading for relegation. And, although we're not completely out of the woods yet, we're now looking like a team that can more than hold its own.
Never thought I'd be saying this, but it's become a pleasure to watch us again and I'm feeling confident now that we'll stay up.
Well done MON and the Board.
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Post by hotterpotter on Jan 26, 2020 17:42:51 GMT
I would go with dramatic considering where we were when he came in (we were pretty much doomed) compared with where we are now after relatively few games. I certainly see the transformation in the attitude of the players as pretty darn dramatic!
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Post by milky on Jan 26, 2020 18:02:27 GMT
If you look a bit closer they are even more impressive.
4 of the wins we have scored 3 or more goals ( including a 4 and 5 away from home ) and 3 of the wins we have come from behind to claim the 3 points.We have also scored 3 or 4 times from the 90th minute onwards.
In such a short time ( relatively speaking ) we have gone from being a rudderless rabble to a team to be proud of again.
A bit of perspective is needed though.There will be setbacks and we will in all likelihood lose games and play poorly but if we carry on like we have been relegation should not be a worry.
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Post by chumley on Jan 26, 2020 19:33:41 GMT
Don't know who employed him or chose him or who had final say in him or nathan but with regards to MON , gotta say,so far bloody well done old chap
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Post by Pugsley on Jan 26, 2020 22:47:23 GMT
5 points adrift... 14 games later 7 points clear. Pretty dramatic to me.
Organised a complete shower of shit, got footballers playing better football and has united the club. An amazing job so far.
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Post by pembo82 on Jan 26, 2020 22:57:02 GMT
The best appointment we have made in a long time, didn’t need to come here and was a messiah for Northern Ireland fans.
Has really shown the poor management from predecessors and the belief that there methods could be replicated wherever they were and have the same success rather than actually using what they had in front of them effectively.
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Post by GoBoks on Jan 26, 2020 23:25:40 GMT
'Hes turning water into wine!!'That'll account for the red nose too then! 😁 I can turn wine into water! Or at least pee.
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Post by GoBoks on Jan 26, 2020 23:27:31 GMT
It's as much testament to Nathan's ineptitude really isn't it. I genuinely think I could have done better than him and I know fuck all. On balance MON has done a professional, competent job so far, and long may it continue. "Staggering turnaround" is over-egging it a bit yet. Not really, Hughes, Lambert, Rowett, Jones, None of them could stop the malaise. This team looks like it wants to play and as far as I'm concerned, that's what I expect from a Stoke team.
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dally
Lads'n'Dads
Posts: 79
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Post by dally on Jan 27, 2020 0:08:32 GMT
Looks like we are safe and heading up the table. Lets hope now there is some thought being taken to assembling a team to compete next year to give us a chance of a return to Premier League.
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