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Post by bagnallboothen on May 9, 2023 9:31:14 GMT
Is anyone not worried about the toll that this summer could potentially take on the manager? I've just finished watching the post match presser where, being brutally honest, he looks completely and utterly washed out. There he also talks about the effort required in the summer from him personally to get the squad up to shape for the new season. In his Radio Stoke interview he mentioned he was at the Training Ground until 11.30pm the other night. I get the impression that by August he'll need a holiday rather than a 9 month graft. That also adds weight to the argument that the club needs to modernise at the top end. It's really not healthy in my book to keep flogging managers like that. Yes, they get paid a fortune but seriously? Modern managers need more help than ever. He knew what he was signing up for and trebled his wage in doing so. So in short, no
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Post by stoke111 on May 9, 2023 9:57:32 GMT
The plan to remove the early bird window in the hope our form would pick up at the end of the season didnt work out too well. Last month will have put off many.
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Post by clintonbaptiste on May 9, 2023 9:58:02 GMT
Nope, but a good transfer window and pre-season quickly changes the mood.
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Post by somersetstokie on May 9, 2023 10:01:49 GMT
I might just get fired up for next season as long as there is some meaningful transfer activity and improvement. But at present my enthusiasm is at a very low ebb.
My attitude to the Watford game just about sums up where I am now. In the run up to the match I was thinking its a meaningless game, but its Stoke so I'll see how they get on. But initially I thought the match was on Saturday, and when I found out that it wasn't, I lost some more interest as the games are usually part of my Saturday routine. Then I thought well Sunday is ok, for a holiday weekend, but discovered late on that it wouldn't be Sunday either, so I lost a bit more interest. Well then it'll have to be Monday, and a sunny Spring Bank Holiday. But it was wet and miserable, and with so many other clubs having something to play for we seemeed to have no invitation to the party and were missing all the fun. By the time we got to the game I had so little interest and enthusiasm for it that it was like a pantomime Curtain Call that no one stays behind to watch.
Its going to be a very long close season.
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2023 10:06:16 GMT
I was excited to see the end of this season but I’m excited for the next. Mainly the unknown element. We’ll be going into next year with a completely new squad. We may very well fuck up the rebuild and doom ourselves for another 3/4 years at least, but who knows mayyybe we’ll do a decent job. Even if more through luck than judgment. It does happen; look at last season when Huddersfield rebuilt and made the playoffs.
Once summer hits full stride and we’ve all had a break then no doubt most here will start to miss it. Even if not for the footy specifically as much as the overall football weekend experience.
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Post by wuzza on May 9, 2023 10:10:30 GMT
Is anyone not worried about the toll that this summer could potentially take on the manager? I've just finished watching the post match presser where, being brutally honest, he looks completely and utterly washed out. There he also talks about the effort required in the summer from him personally to get the squad up to shape for the new season. In his Radio Stoke interview he mentioned he was at the Training Ground until 11.30pm the other night. I get the impression that by August he'll need a holiday rather than a 9 month graft. That also adds weight to the argument that the club needs to modernise at the top end. It's really not healthy in my book to keep flogging managers like that. Yes, they get paid a fortune but seriously? Modern managers need more help than ever. These were exactly my thoughts. He’s a relatively young man but just like his predecessors we seem to be doing a good job of grinding him into the dust. Surely it must suggest to someone that the whole management structure needs reviewing (although AN himself would undoubtably say that all is good and he wants this level of control)
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Post by Old School Stokie on May 9, 2023 10:35:42 GMT
What a load of doom mongers we have
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Post by stiggerstackle on May 9, 2023 10:49:43 GMT
The plan to remove the early bird window in the hope our form would pick up at the end of the season didnt work out too well. Last month will have put off many. Indeed. I'm yet to renew, I know I inevitably will, but just can't bring myself to do it until the 11th hour. Then I'll renew as ever, usually out of habit and blind optimism, but this year I'm putting it off as I know I'm going to feel like a fucking idiot for doing so.
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Post by marwood on May 9, 2023 10:52:26 GMT
Ashley Barnes is rubbing his hands with glee
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Post by GeneralFaye on May 9, 2023 10:56:16 GMT
What a load of doom mongers we have If my math is correct, we've won 73 out of 230 games in this league since relegation... you're right, we should be more grateful.
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Post by dirtygary69 on May 9, 2023 11:02:53 GMT
Really does depend on the comings and goings. If we sign some proper physical, quick players that fit a stlye/plan, then come August I'll be raring to go and there should always be optimism at the beginning of any season. However, if we are scratching around for players late in the day, I really would fear the worst for us. Especially if we sign another load of plodders who struggle to match the physical side. I said it last year, or maybe the year before, we need "proper" Championship players - not the likes of Gayle & Jagielka on their way down, or mountains of loan players who aren't really committed beyond the season (although we evidently needed some in this year!).
We need a squad of committed players, used to performing at this level, and those performing at a high level in the leagues below if they are up to it. Easier said than done, and no doubt everybody would suggest the very same model, but we have to move away from signing these has-beens and get a proper hungry squad together. We don't even need to be brilliant, just be better. If you look at the teams who make, or nearly make, the play-offs each season, lots of them aren't actually very good, but they just find something that works for them. We have never done that since we came down, other than when MON saved us and we were one of the best teams in the country in points taken (in 2020 I think) only behind Brentford or someone.
Sign some pace, power and make us hard to beat and hard to defend against. We're soft as shit.
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Post by jokker on May 9, 2023 11:14:26 GMT
You're always excited on matchday 1 of a new season, even if expectations for the season are low. But now, no.
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Post by orfyboothen on May 9, 2023 14:12:35 GMT
Exactly where I'm at. 6th wouldn't surprise me. Nor would 16th. And therein lies the irrestible pull of it all! 6th? Don’t drink any more tonight mate. Club is only heading one way…. Football is way more complicated and unpredictable than that mate as you well know! MON proved he could galvanise an underachieving squad but he failed to build one of his own. AN has mostly failed to galvanise an average squad but has not yet had the chance to build his own. His CV suggests it could happen...
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Post by somersetstokie on May 9, 2023 15:25:30 GMT
The news is not all bad. We will probably get a Stoke Match at Southampton, and a trip to St Mary's is nearer to me than a home game at the BET365. So is Bournemouth, but that will have to wait a season!
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Post by pavel on May 9, 2023 15:45:07 GMT
I might just get fired up for next season as long as there is some meaningful transfer activity and improvement. But at present my enthusiasm is at a very low ebb. My attitude to the Watford game just about sums up where I am now. In the run up to the match I was thinking its a meaningless game, but its Stoke so I'll see how they get on. But initially I thought the match was on Saturday, and when I found out that it wasn't, I lost some more interest as the games are usually part of my Saturday routine. Then I thought well Sunday is ok, for a holiday weekend, but discovered late on that it wouldn't be Sunday either, so I lost a bit more interest. Well then it'll have to be Monday, and a sunny Spring Bank Holiday. But it was wet and miserable, and with so many other clubs having something to play for we seemeed to have no invitation to the party and were missing all the fun. By the time we got to the game I had so little interest and enthusiasm for it that it was like a pantomime Curtain Call that no one stays behind to watch. Its going to be a very long close season. I felt exactly the same, only travelled to Watford from South London, nearly 2 hours mind end to end and the closer the game got the more apathetic I got. I’ve been watching Stoke for nigh on 64 years and rode with the bad times galore but never been so dissillusioned with the football and performance of the club top to bottom. We’ve had worse teams, managers and players but we had an excuse, we were broke. However no one at the club has any excuse for the shitshow that last five years have been, least of all the owners. Yep it’s going to be a long, long close season and an even longer football season if we get it wrong.
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Post by chumley on May 9, 2023 15:59:58 GMT
I got very optimistic when Nathan gave us his outburst with all the athletes and leaders he had signed, so not being pessimistic but just take a day at a time and see what happens. When we are top 6 with 2 games left then maybe...
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Post by stonescfc on May 9, 2023 16:05:27 GMT
I'm absolutely dreading it! If it's as bad as this one just gone, it’ll break me. There's is something deeply wrong at the club which is well hidden / disguised.
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Post by Vadiation_Ribe on May 9, 2023 16:33:19 GMT
I was cautiously optimistic about next season when we had that mini good run, but now I'm not looking forward to it at all.
I agree that we could still challenge for promotion though - that's how crazy the Championship is.
It's also the biggest clean slate squad-wise one of our manager's has had in many years (maybe early on in Pulis' second spell?), so hopefully that'll work in our favour.
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