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Post by Scrotnig on Jul 22, 2020 22:56:37 GMT
I am genuinely stunned at how good a job he has done from such a terrible starting point. Impressive beyond comprehension.
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Post by mtrstudent on Jul 22, 2020 22:57:02 GMT
Only Leeds and Brentford have scored more goals. This is mental. There's no way we're anywhere near premier league quality right now. MON's worked another miracle with us. I was worried NI was just a one shot thing.
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Post by bolders on Jul 23, 2020 5:42:09 GMT
Five more wins and we would of been in the playoffs that’s mental
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Post by BristolMick on Jul 23, 2020 6:46:01 GMT
Well you know how depressed we all were after losing at Wigan. Here’s another remarkable stat;
BM
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Post by cobhamstokey on Jul 23, 2020 6:53:48 GMT
The great thing about him is he’s fast to act if things aren’t working.
This is the most positive I’ve felt about Stoke in a long time. We can’t underestimate Davies part in this either. The defence have been rejuvenated since he’s come in. In the last 2 games Batth and Chester have improved massively.
2-3 additions in the first team and we could be flying.
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Post by scfc75 on Jul 23, 2020 6:58:53 GMT
Well you know how depressed we all were after losing at Wigan. Here’s another remarkable stat; BM Can’t have ever happened before surely?
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Post by scfc75 on Jul 23, 2020 7:00:15 GMT
We’re pretty much all or nothing - very few draws in there. Turn some of those spankings we took into draws, and we’re a top 6 side.
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Post by zerps on Jul 23, 2020 7:09:20 GMT
Well you know how depressed we all were after losing at Wigan. Here’s another remarkable stat; BM The odds on that must have been a million to one
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Jul 23, 2020 7:09:28 GMT
Only Leeds and Brentford have scored more goals. This is mental. There's no way we're anywhere near premier league quality right now. MON's worked another miracle with us. I was worried NI was just a one shot thing. Very few teams are Prem quality when they get promoted from the Championship. For most promoted teams it is how well they buy in their first summer and January windows which decides whether they are strong enough to survive in the Prem. It was true when we last got promoted and no doubt it will be true when/if we next get promoted.
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Post by Gods on Jul 23, 2020 7:26:54 GMT
Well you know how depressed we all were after losing at Wigan. Here’s another remarkable stat; BM Owes something to the Wigan points deduction but none the less amazing @
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2020 7:33:43 GMT
I still can't believe how far off the bottom three we've finished, especially after the Wigan game.
I was convinced we were dead and buried after that night.
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Post by redwhitesingfight on Jul 23, 2020 7:36:17 GMT
Is Wimmer still here? Fucking hell. Has Imbula left yet? I'd sell Butland as well tbh. We need to get the next couple of months right and we have a real chance next season. Butland has to go. We are a different side with Davies in goal.
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Post by FullerMagic on Jul 23, 2020 7:44:37 GMT
Barnsley and Luton both escaping is absolutely wild.
Got to say Barnsley have looked a damn good side in recent weeks. There's no way they're in the 3 worst sides in the league (although they certainly looked it against us)
I haven't seen much of Luton, but you've got to give Nath a hell of a lot of credit too as much as it really irks me to do so!
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Post by partickpotter on Jul 23, 2020 7:45:51 GMT
This is mental. There's no way we're anywhere near premier league quality right now. MON's worked another miracle with us. I was worried NI was just a one shot thing. Very few teams are Prem quality when they get promoted from the Championship. For most promoted teams it is how well they buy in their first summer and January windows which decides whether they are strong enough to survive in the Prem. It was true when we last got promoted and no doubt it will be true when/if we next get promoted. That January window I reckon is particularly important for newly promoted teams. It certainly was for us.
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Post by FullerMagic on Jul 23, 2020 7:49:23 GMT
We’re pretty much all or nothing - very few draws in there. Turn some of those spankings we took into draws, and we’re a top 6 side. Looks like we had the most draws in the league last season ( a crazy 22) - and the fewest this season (a bonkers 8)
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Post by mrcoke on Jul 23, 2020 8:04:49 GMT
SuperMON has achieved an amazing turn round.
One thing the stats shout is our poor defending. All successful teams are built on a sound defence. Poor defending has been our biggest problem since Hughes penultimate season. Even when Lambert and Rowett concentrated on defensive play, we leaked goals and dropped points from winning positions.
Defending is very much about organisation, which SuperMON has brought to the squad, but we are lacking individuals with the required talent, particularly speed and the ability to turn quickly. Put the ball over or behind our back 4 and we get beaten to the ball time and again.
Put our defending right and we will be challenging for promotion, until then we will suffer defeats like the Leeds and Wigan ones.
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Jul 23, 2020 8:10:39 GMT
I agree about our poor defending and, as you say, it stands out clearly in the goals against table. One chink of light is that the defence does look more confident with Davies behind it rather than Butland. It still needs an upgrade in terms of personnel but the goals against figure HAS improved quite dramatically since they played with a keeper who they seem to trust.
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Post by rickyfullerbeer on Jul 23, 2020 10:29:30 GMT
Barnsley were in the bottom 3 from early September until the 90th minute of last night's game. Madness.
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Post by zerps on Jul 23, 2020 10:33:11 GMT
This will be one of our most memorable seasons I’d say.
Bonkers but turned out pretty good.
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Post by peekay67 on Jul 23, 2020 10:50:16 GMT
And that's walking into a club on its knees.
It really is a remarkable effort MON and his team have achieved.
If the board back him, and are prepared to take a massive hit on players we need to move on, we could build something special possibly.
We deserve a good season. And once we hit a run of form and fans are allowed in the ground we could once again be the club no one wants to play.
But ....let's enjoy our survival. And make sure we are not in the same position again.
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Post by mickmillslovechild on Jul 23, 2020 10:58:17 GMT
To do what he's done in a league that's soooo tight that 11 out of the 12 games last night had something riding on them, a league where 2 games ago we were in a real dogfight but if we'd won 3 or 4 more over the season we'd have been battling for the playoffs and a league where the team who were in 17th with little to play for, could crown the champions at the weekend and then determine the play off places last night, is an amazing achievement!
The league is so much tighter and more competitive than the Prem, with very little room for error given how close teams are on points over the season. To take a team who have been nothing but absolutely strewn with error after error for 3 years and achieve what he has in possibly the most hard fought league in English football, is astonishing.
Cap doffed accordingly. Take a bow Mr. O'Neill
Comfortable mid-table next season is fine with me, then push on from there. Fewer heart attacks that way at least!
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Post by greenhoff74 on Jul 23, 2020 11:00:28 GMT
Before that, the 4-1 against Villa in 2014 maybe? oh yes wern't we described by villa fans as "Real Stoke"
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Post by chigstoke on Jul 23, 2020 11:36:30 GMT
Before that, the 4-1 against Villa in 2014 maybe? oh yes wern't we described by villa fans as "Real Stoke" Haha, I believe we were!
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Post by lordb on Jul 23, 2020 11:41:11 GMT
SuperMON has achieved an amazing turn round. One thing the stats shout is our poor defending. All successful teams are built on a sound defence. Poor defending has been our biggest problem since Hughes penultimate season. Even when Lambert and Rowett concentrated on defensive play, we leaked goals and dropped points from winning positions. Defending is very much about organisation, which SuperMON has brought to the squad, but we are lacking individuals with the required talent, particularly speed and the ability to turn quickly. Put the ball over or behind our back 4 and we get beaten to the ball time and again. Put our defending right and we will be challenging for promotion, until then we will suffer defeats like the Leeds and Wigan ones. It's not just speed it's awareness/reading of the game All our defenders turn off too often
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Post by markby on Jul 23, 2020 12:07:22 GMT
It really is a remarkable effort MON and his team have achieved. If the board back him, and are prepared to take a massive hit on players we need to move on, we could build something special possibly. The board may be "prepared" to back him/take a hit etc, but will they be allowed to under FFP?
As against that, something which is very often overlooked is that the best managers (coaches, actually) don't just sign good players, but they make better players out of the ones they have.
Take Gareth Bale, for example. He signed for Spurs for £5m (rising to £10m) in May 2007 as a promising young LB. But injury, lack of form, limited opportunity etc meant he wasn't fulfilling his promise. So that soon after Harry Redknapp took over in October 2008, the club was thinking of selling him. He didn't really break into the team until January 2010 and then only to replace their injured LB, Assou-Ekotto. Then when Assou-Ekoto was fit again the following season (August 2010), Redknapp restored him to LB, moved Bale to Left Wing and the rest, as they say, is history.
The point being that whatever else you might think about Redknapp (don't let him near the club chequebook!), he has always been a very good coach, especially for attacking play (he was a winger himself), who improved a lot of the players in his care. Which is one reason why so many were prepared to follow him from club to club.
And if you listen to NI's players, they all acknowledge how much Michael did for them, even with only 7 or 8 games a season.
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Post by tuum on Jul 23, 2020 13:22:26 GMT
I really really really hope we win the league, but it'll be a very good season if we challenge for the playoffs. I doubt anyone at the club will be silly enough to think we're going to walk it after the past two seasons, and I hope O'Neill drills it into every player that we need to fight our damndest for every point and every win. Win the league and then give Etebo and Ndiaye a 3yr extension to their contracts because they are happy to stay and play for us in the Premier League. Wouldn't that just be the Stoke way?
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Post by Hiram on Jul 23, 2020 13:39:59 GMT
I haven't seen much of Luton, but you've got to give Nath a hell of a lot of credit too as much as it really irks me to do so! Sometimes, there's just a 'fit' between a club and a manager. I bear Nathan no ill will. He wasn't the right fit for Stoke. MON seems to be and with luck, it'll be a long term fit.
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Post by senojbor on Jul 24, 2020 11:56:04 GMT
Let's face it, Nathan Jones' was a car crash of an appointment as it proved The club still has a pool of very good players and things should improve next season. It's easier said than done though to move some of the under-performing players on that are sitting on contracts. Butland in particular needs to be off loaded, he's been at fault for many goals. He needs another club to motivate him, we need a keeper who's reliable. So fingers crossed the club can finally come out of the mess and move on next season. Promotion next season is on next season under MON
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Post by mrcoke on Jul 24, 2020 12:29:43 GMT
Let's face it, Nathan Jones' was a car crash of an appointment as it proved The club still has a pool of very good players and things should improve next season. It's easier said than done though to move some of the under-performing players on that are sitting on contracts. Butland in particular needs to be off loaded, he's been at fault for many goals. He needs another club to motivate him, we need a keeper who's reliable. So fingers crossed the club can finally come out of the mess and move on next season. Promotion next season is on next season under MON I agree. I still cannot believe we were so bad, and MON has demonstrated how poor Jones was. Jones tried to get the players he inherited playing a way they just couldn't. He brought in bunch of poor players bar a couple of exceptions. But the crassest decision ever made by a Stoke manager was to loan out our only LB. That took the biscuit. He obviously could not manage Pieters; he was "too big" for him.
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Post by skip on Jul 24, 2020 13:32:38 GMT
Stoke gave the rest of the league a third of a season head start. Staggering really.
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