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Post by jokker on Jan 9, 2024 23:45:22 GMT
If I never hear the words ‘ Gianni Imbula’ again it will be too bloody soon. Then don't click on a thread which has his name in it and save yourself the pain!
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Post by terryconroysmagic on Jan 9, 2024 23:56:21 GMT
If I never hear the words ‘ Gianni Imbula’ again it will be too bloody soon. Then don't click on a thread which has his name in it and save yourself the pain! He said “hear” not read 😆
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Post by pottersrule on Jan 10, 2024 0:07:01 GMT
I blame the bloke who signed him, and the people who sanctioned the deal. You didn't have to even scratch the surface to find out what kind of character this waster had. Yep! Due diligence was sorely lacking in this instance,to the point of negligence.
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Post by tommycarlsberg on Jan 10, 2024 0:19:46 GMT
Got a degree in it as it goes. Yeah right Give me the salami tactics of Mátyás Rákosi and the Hungarian Communist Party in the late 1940s any day of the week. The history of Stoke City Football Club from September 2016 to December 2023, no thank you.
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Post by iglugluk on Jan 10, 2024 1:30:08 GMT
Yeah right Give me the salami tactics of Mátyás Rákosi and the Hungarian Communist Party in the late 1940s any day of the week. The history of Stoke City Football Club from September 2016 to December 2023, no thank you. Shades of Ukraine. All history is a lie based upon the bias of the dominant recorder of the time and the selective memory of those who choose to absorb it's words as truth. Indeed the history of SCFC between those years is one of travail yet the words of some of the participants are none the less of interest .. well to me at least. What a dull life it would be if we all agreed on everything.
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Post by RF10 on Jan 10, 2024 2:09:23 GMT
While we as fans never know the full story and background of players, see the tragic Deli Ali situation, it's always seems the case that on most of these stories it ultimately is someone else's fault why they don't succeed at the club.
He had all the credentials to make a top top player but instead couldn't be arsed.
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Post by dirtclod on Jan 10, 2024 3:48:39 GMT
Few years from now: Inquiring Stoke fan: "What the hell's an Imbula?"
Me: "Oh man that was a piece of shite Chevrolet model - total lemon, recalls, lawsuits etc."
Inquiring Stoke fan: "Aye had forgotten about those! Me uncle had one. Utter piece of sh*t. Ran only briefly, then the blasted thing ultimately blew itself up while parked the next week."
Me: "Something only Mr. Bean would drive then. Don't think we ever had a PLAYER called that though. Well, at least not a real one."
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Post by jokker on Jan 10, 2024 8:42:08 GMT
I blame the bloke who signed him, and the people who sanctioned the deal. You didn't have to even scratch the surface to find out what kind of character this waster had. Yep! Due diligence was sorely lacking in this instance,to the point of negligence. Sometimes - especially when a transfer window is closing and all your surroundings, especially fans, are screaming 'marquee singning imperative' - there just isn't time to "scratch the surface", you have to go with your gut instinct, which was MH's thing, and it had worked splendidly when signing Bojan, Arnie, and others. He was very lucky those players worked out so well, especially Arnie who was known to be 'Big trouble', although in the end that's exactly what he turned out to be. But relying on luck and gut instinct is a very risky business, and his luck ran out - don't know if his gut took a tumble too...
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2024 8:49:13 GMT
Yep! Due diligence was sorely lacking in this instance,to the point of negligence. Sometimes - especially when a transfer window is closing and all your surroundings, especially fans, are screaming 'marquee singning imperative' - there just isn't time to "scratch the surface", you have to go with your gut instinct, which was MH's thing, and it had worked splendidly when signing Bojan, Arnie, and others. He was very lucky those players worked out so well, especially Arnie who was known to be 'Big trouble', although in the end that's exactly what he turned out to be. But relying on luck and gut instinct is a very risky business, and his luck ran out - don't know if his gut took a tumble too... Difference being Arnie and Bojan were low risk punts as they cost peanuts compared to this particular waster we are talking about, who we all know came for a mouth watering club record fee.
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Post by jokker on Jan 10, 2024 8:51:49 GMT
Sometimes - especially when a transfer window is closing and all your surroundings, especially fans, are screaming 'marquee singning imperative' - there just isn't time to "scratch the surface", you have to go with your gut instinct, which was MH's thing, and it had worked splendidly when signing Bojan, Arnie, and others. He was very lucky those players worked out so well, especially Arnie who was known to be 'Big trouble', although in the end that's exactly what he turned out to be. But relying on luck and gut instinct is a very risky business, and his luck ran out - don't know if his gut took a tumble too... Difference being Arnie and Bojan were low risk punts as they cost peanuts compared to this particular waster we are talking about, who we all know came for a mouth watering club record fee. That's what Hughes was expected to bring in, a record fee, to prove how big Stoke had become. Only we were the emporor without clothes.
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Post by spiderpuss on Jan 10, 2024 9:23:49 GMT
Comments from Spiderpuss: "do one". Sadly a player that sums up the modern era and what we saw in the Chelsea side last night. Tattoos and hair-dos but little else.
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Post by pottersrule on Jan 10, 2024 13:43:14 GMT
Comments from Spiderpuss: "do one". Sadly a player that sums up the modern era and what we saw in the Chelsea side last night. Tattoos and hair-dos but little else. Makes you appreciate the Salah's and Bellingham's of the world doesn't it.Some of today's players are so bloody vane.When they walk out on the pitch,I sometimes ask myself "Am I at a football match or a fashion parade"
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Post by jokker on Jan 10, 2024 14:22:56 GMT
Comments from Spiderpuss: "do one". Sadly a player that sums up the modern era and what we saw in the Chelsea side last night. Tattoos and hair-dos but little else. Maybe you should follow your own advice. I watched the same game last night, but only the first half (as the connection was wanted by someone else). There was certainly a lot more on display including two players getting injured on the job and other forms of bravery from Boro (a mediocre championship side like ourselves). The reason they needed to be so brave was because a second string Chelsea team put them to the test. Was it a classic? No. But if all you saw was tats and the latest hair fashion you should maybe ask yourself if you're capable of watching a game without prejudice, and if your attention span lasts more than two seconds...
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Post by cvillestokie on Jan 10, 2024 15:11:08 GMT
Not surprised he has no regrets. He’s built a fortune as a part time footballer. I wouldn’t have regrets either.
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Post by spiderpuss on Jan 10, 2024 15:12:49 GMT
Comments from Spiderpuss: "do one". Sadly a player that sums up the modern era and what we saw in the Chelsea side last night. Tattoos and hair-dos but little else. Maybe you should follow your own advice. I watched the same game last night, but only the first half (as the connection was wanted by someone else). There was certainly a lot more on display including two players getting injured on the job and other forms of bravery from Boro (a mediocre championship side like ourselves). The reason they needed to be so brave was because a second string Chelsea team put them to the test. Was it a classic? No. But if all you saw was tats and the latest hair fashion you should maybe ask yourself if you're capable of watching a game without prejudice, and if your attention span lasts more than two seconds... They didn't win though.... all that money. Nada, zilch nothing. I'll stick to my theory. Now do one.
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Post by noustie on Jan 10, 2024 15:46:10 GMT
Was genuinely excited to see the fella play following the build up and can't remember what game it was (Boro away?) but he carried the ball forward like the opposition wasn't there, lost it on the edge of their box then just stopped. They broke down the other end with Diouf sprinting back to cover for him - when we turned the ball over and played it forward he was just sauntering back to get into midfield without a care in the world.
Continually got caught in front of the ball because he couldn't be arsed as soon as he lost it and came across as the kid in the playground who was only interested once the ball was at his feet. Hughes is to blame for that too in that he could have fitted the formation around it but it looks like within the space of a month or two he'd given up on us and us on them despite the price tag.
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Post by jokker on Jan 12, 2024 11:28:58 GMT
Was genuinely excited to see the fella play following the build up and can't remember what game it was (Boro away?) but he carried the ball forward like the opposition wasn't there, lost it on the edge of their box then just stopped. They broke down the other end with Diouf sprinting back to cover for him - when we turned the ball over and played it forward he was just sauntering back to get into midfield without a care in the world. Continually got caught in front of the ball because he couldn't be arsed as soon as he lost it and came across as the kid in the playground who was only interested once the ball was at his feet. Hughes is to blame for that too in that he could have fitted the formation around it but it looks like within the space of a month or two he'd given up on us and us on them despite the price tag. Did you ever see Messi, Ronaldinho, Netzer, Platini, Laudrup, di Stefano and all the other great midfield schemers rush back to defend after a raid going forward had been stopped? Of course you didn't, so why should Imbula? The problem to some extent was that he was launched as a 6, but he was a 10. Hughes thought he might have been a Kante type of anchor behind his other great artists. He clearly wasn't, and maybe Hughes couldn't explain to him what was expected of him or maybe Imbula didn't hear or didn't want to hear those things. He wasn't the first or the last player in the universe who had his own ideas on what to do. When it worked people were excited to see him, when it didn't he was a lazy lay about. A bit like England managers looked upon Hudson, le Tissier, and Hoddle. I think you are right in suggesting that communications broke down after a couple of months. In fact, I'd venture that communication never worked at all between him and the club. Once they'd paid for their marquee signing, they lost interest. Communication didn't work, because he had never learned English, and when he came, the club didn't offer him any help by employing an interpreter, apart from Diouf, or send him on a language course, like they do at big clubs in other countries. With Stoke never having been a big club, the very idea was foreign to them. He didn't know the language, so how was he supposed to find any himself? These are little things which could have been done to make his transition to a, to him, foreign culture smoother, but the Stoke hierachy just didn't care. Nor did his "colleagues", except Diouf. So perhaps it wasn't surprising that he reacted to the cold shoulders by treating the club the way they treated him. He didn't gp on strike, but he did walk off the pitch in that pre season game. Depending on your point of view that was like an act of desperation asking for help or it was 'he couldn't be arsed' which is the phrase so many use.
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Post by Staffsoatcake on Jan 12, 2024 13:19:55 GMT
In his early games for us,I thought this guy could take us places,like a top 6 spot,or even some Cup success.
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Post by iglugluk on Jan 12, 2024 13:30:56 GMT
In his early games for us,I thought this guy could take us places,like a top 6 spot,or even some Cup success. Yes it did seem like that. His integration into the club was unfortunately poor though. He was obviously a difficult personality type and it's certainly possible, I think, that the Hughes laissez faire approach didn't help with that either. Pity really for us and him personally.
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