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Post by SamB_SCFC on Feb 19, 2024 21:51:28 GMT
For me it's definitely the worst in terms of enjoyment. The lows haven't yet been as low as the 90s, but the relentless, boring monotony of it all is definitely unsurpassed in recent memory. And of course we could well be about to sink to the third tier this season and equal those 90s lows anyway.
In the 90s even when we were suffering under Ball and Little there were better times not far away, or not far in the past. In the Ball years we had Macari and Stein just a year away and we had Biggins who was a decent striker. In the late 90s Little era it was only a couple of years since we'd reached the playoffs in 1996 with Sheron up front. And only a year or so away from getting to Wembley with Gudjon and Thorne banging the goals in.
This has just been unrelenting shitness. Year after year, utter averageness at best and absolute shite at worst. A constant lack of goals and never having a striker who offers any kind of goal threat. An absolutely disgraceful home record over a number of seasons. It's just so f*cking miserable and boring and I don't know how much more of it I can take.
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Post by lordb on Feb 19, 2024 21:55:00 GMT
For me it's definitely the worst in terms of enjoyment. The lows haven't yet been as low as the 90s, but the relentless, boring monotony of it all is definitely unsurpassed in recent memory. And of course we could well be about to sink to the third tier this season and equal those 90s lows anyway. In the 90s even when we were suffering under Ball and Little there were better times not far away, or not far in the past. In the Ball years we had Macari and Stein just a year away and we had Biggins who was a decent striker. In the late 90s Little era it was only a couple of years since we'd reached the playoffs in 1996 with Sheron up front. And only a year or so away from getting to Wembley with Gudjon and Thorne banging the goals in. This has just been unrelenting shitness. Year after year, utter averageness at best and absolute shite at worst. A constant lack of goals and never having a striker who offers any kind of goal threat. An absolutely disgraceful home record over a number of seasons. It's just so f*cking miserable and boring and I don't know how much more of it I can take. Yes that's what is Not the worst but the least enjoyable
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Post by smallthorner on Feb 19, 2024 21:57:34 GMT
For me it's definitely the worst in terms of enjoyment. The lows haven't yet been as low as the 90s, but the relentless, boring monotony of it all is definitely unsurpassed in recent memory. And of course we could well be about to sink to the third tier this season and equal those 90s lows anyway. In the 90s even when we were suffering under Ball and Little there were better times not far away, or not far in the past. In the Ball years we had Macari and Stein just a year away and we had Biggins who was a decent striker. In the late 90s Little era it was only a couple of years since we'd reached the playoffs in 1996 with Sheron up front. And only a year or so away from getting to Wembley with Gudjon and Thorne banging the goals in. This has just been unrelenting shitness. Year after year, utter averageness at best and absolute shite at worst. A constant lack of goals and never having a striker who offers any kind of goal threat. An absolutely disgraceful home record over a number of seasons. It's just so f*cking miserable and boring and I don't know how much more of it I can take. Sam... I've got a number you can ring for someone to talk to. Hold on... keep strong.
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Post by middleoftheboothen on Feb 19, 2024 22:05:05 GMT
From when we moved to the then 'Brit' and were relegated to when we went back up with Gudjon was bad but the wealth we now have and where we have fallen from makes it hard to argue against this being up there as the worst era.
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Post by Trouserdog on Feb 19, 2024 22:06:42 GMT
When would you say was worse. In a prolonged period of time? . Second half of the 80’s for me. Obviously it depends on your age and what you’ve seen as a Stoke fan. I’ve only ever known us as second or third tier so whilst we’ve declined in recent times, for me we’ve returned to where I’ve always known if that makes sense? And we peaked in the PL. Others will have followed us in the 70’s and see our place in the top flight maybe? The Mills era had one genuinely awful season at the end of it, but the four seasons before that were up and down. There were some really good runs of form in them and enjoyable games. What we are seeing now has been mainly all crap.
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Post by mickstupp on Feb 19, 2024 22:10:10 GMT
. Second half of the 80’s for me. Obviously it depends on your age and what you’ve seen as a Stoke fan. I’ve only ever known us as second or third tier so whilst we’ve declined in recent times, for me we’ve returned to where I’ve always known if that makes sense? And we peaked in the PL. Others will have followed us in the 70’s and see our place in the top flight maybe? The Mills era had one genuinely awful season at the end of it, but the four seasons before that were up and down. There were some really good runs of form in them and enjoyable games. What we are seeing now has been mainly all crap. After that horrible relegation in 84/85, Mick finished 10th, 8th, 11th and 14th. 14th is our highest league finish in 8 years.
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Post by jay1610 on Feb 19, 2024 22:16:38 GMT
For me it's definitely the worst in terms of enjoyment. The lows haven't yet been as low as the 90s, but the relentless, boring monotony of it all is definitely unsurpassed in recent memory. And of course we could well be about to sink to the third tier this season and equal those 90s lows anyway. In the 90s even when we were suffering under Ball and Little there were better times not far away, or not far in the past. In the Ball years we had Macari and Stein just a year away and we had Biggins who was a decent striker. In the late 90s Little era it was only a couple of years since we'd reached the playoffs in 1996 with Sheron up front. And only a year or so away from getting to Wembley with Gudjon and Thorne banging the goals in. This has just been unrelenting shitness. Year after year, utter averageness at best and absolute shite at worst. A constant lack of goals and never having a striker who offers any kind of goal threat. An absolutely disgraceful home record over a number of seasons. It's just so f*cking miserable and boring and I don't know how much more of it I can take. This sums it up nicely. It has been so bad for so long that I genuinely struggle to name a single thing I like about the club. It’s just habit at this point. And even that’s waned.
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banksie66
Academy Starlet
So that's two Prawn Goebels, A Herman Goerring and a Colditz Salad
Posts: 180
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Post by banksie66 on Feb 19, 2024 22:23:47 GMT
For me it's definitely the worst in terms of enjoyment. The lows haven't yet been as low as the 90s, but the relentless, boring monotony of it all is definitely unsurpassed in recent memory. And of course we could well be about to sink to the third tier this season and equal those 90s lows anyway. In the 90s even when we were suffering under Ball and Little there were better times not far away, or not far in the past. In the Ball years we had Macari and Stein just a year away and we had Biggins who was a decent striker. In the late 90s Little era it was only a couple of years since we'd reached the playoffs in 1996 with Sheron up front. And only a year or so away from getting to Wembley with Gudjon and Thorne banging the goals in. This has just been unrelenting shitness. Year after year, utter averageness at best and absolute shite at worst. A constant lack of goals and never having a striker who offers any kind of goal threat. An absolutely disgraceful home record over a number of seasons. It's just so f*cking miserable and boring and I don't know how much more of it I can take. Yes that's what is Not the worst but the least enjoyable ONE of the least enjoyable. I remember Gordon Marshall in goal with John Clark at left-back. 😱
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Post by PotterLog on Feb 19, 2024 22:27:30 GMT
This thread is confirming something I’ve suspected for a while - a lot of Stoke fans are in denial about just how bad things are right now.
It’s something like “reverse nostalgia” - just as we look back on the 70s or the Vic through rose-tinted lenses, people tend to think of those periods of the 80s/90s/00s as the “bad old days”, something consigned to our history that we have overcome and can’t go back to. Maybe it’s because we’ve had a recent spell in the top flight and it doesn’t seem feasible that things can turn so quickly.. maybe it’s because the owners are rich now, maybe it’s because you can buy tickets online and we have a modern(ish) stadium and nice natty shirt designs, but people don’t seem to realise we are right on the brink of being every bit as bad as the very worst periods in our history. It’s a hair’s breadth away and something really fundamental has to change to arrest the slide and turn it around.
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Post by owdestokie2 on Feb 19, 2024 22:36:20 GMT
I think the title of the post certainly raises interesting questions. Some answers will be based upon fact and others on opinion.
I’ve witnessed our ups and downs since the 60’s. Without quoting stats my personal thoughts are our downfall started with the employment of Mark Cartwright in December 2012. The difference between previous decades was our financial clout and continued earning potential from our snout being in the EPL trough.
Unless someone writes a book we as supporters will never know the rationale behind his appointment, all you need to do is fact find his age at the time of his employment, his experience to suggest he was worthy of his recruitment into a highly responsible position by an established EPL club.
Since 2013 we’ve had 7 different managers who brought in their own back room teams (except Lambert), six of which have been paid off, wasted millions on poor recruitment, employed a new TD and we find ourselves (or it seems) light years away from being real promotion contenders.
So my answer to the original post title is for the last 11 years is ….Yes Absolutely!!
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banksie66
Academy Starlet
So that's two Prawn Goebels, A Herman Goerring and a Colditz Salad
Posts: 180
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Post by banksie66 on Feb 19, 2024 22:37:02 GMT
This thread is confirming something I’ve suspected for a while - a lot of Stoke fans are in denial about just how bad things are right now. It’s something like “reverse nostalgia” - just as we look back on the 70s or the Vic through rose-tinted lenses, people tend to think of those periods of the 80s/90s/00s as the “bad old days”, something consigned to our history that we have overcome and can’t go back to. Maybe it’s because we’ve had a recent spell in the top flight and it doesn’t seem feasible that things can turn so quickly.. maybe it’s because the owners are rich now, maybe it’s because you can buy tickets online and we have a modern(ish) stadium and nice natty shirt designs, but people don’t seem to realise we are right on the brink of being every bit as bad as the very worst periods in our history. It’s a hair’s breadth away and something really fundamental has to change to arrest the slide and turn in round. I wouldn’t put it on a par with the pinstripe top relegation season in the 80s or the Alan Ball relegation season. The back-end of the club, however, with RM and his player signings record still in place, well that aspect actually scares the 💩 out of me. x.com/liamshaw1992/status/852135556989538304?s=46&t=smc8k9cGzj8zljqjYidkzA
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Post by hoppo96 on Feb 19, 2024 22:45:47 GMT
If we finish in the league position we are now this would be the 11th worst season post war according to league finish. And two of the 10 lowest include promotions.
And perhaps the most boring of our lot, and coming off some of our more expensively assembled squads.
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Post by hoppo96 on Feb 19, 2024 22:47:00 GMT
This thread is confirming something I’ve suspected for a while - a lot of Stoke fans are in denial about just how bad things are right now. It’s something like “reverse nostalgia” - just as we look back on the 70s or the Vic through rose-tinted lenses, people tend to think of those periods of the 80s/90s/00s as the “bad old days”, something consigned to our history that we have overcome and can’t go back to. Maybe it’s because we’ve had a recent spell in the top flight and it doesn’t seem feasible that things can turn so quickly.. maybe it’s because the owners are rich now, maybe it’s because you can buy tickets online and we have a modern(ish) stadium and nice natty shirt designs, but people don’t seem to realise we are right on the brink of being every bit as bad as the very worst periods in our history. It’s a hair’s breadth away and something really fundamental has to change to arrest the slide and turn it around. for me now is the worst, even worse than those eras because at least back then we were sort of skint, you could sort of understand what happened to us. To go from the highs of 2015 to this in nine years is unbelievable.
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Post by andromeda on Feb 19, 2024 22:47:26 GMT
I think the title of the post certainly raises interesting questions. Some answers will be based upon fact and others on opinion. I’ve witnessed our ups and downs since the 60’s. Without quoting stats my personal thoughts are our downfall started with the employment of Mark Cartwright in December 2012. The difference between previous decades was our financial clout and continued earning potential from our snout being in the EPL trough. Unless someone writes a book we as supporters will never know the rationale behind his appointment, all you need to do is fact find his age at the time of his employment, his experience to suggest he was worthy of his recruitment into a highly responsible position by an established EPL club. Since 2013 we’ve had 7 different managers who brought in their own back room teams (except Lambert), six of which have been paid off, wasted millions on poor recruitment, employed a new TD and we find ourselves (or it seems) light years away from being real promotion contenders. So my answer to the original post title is for the last 11 years is ….Yes Absolutely!! I think Mark Cartwright gets a bad rep but the former Leek Town goalkeeper absolutely shits all over the current incumbent. He seemed to often take a backseat to the managers when it came to signing players whereas it looks like Tricky has too much power.
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Post by scfcno1fan on Feb 19, 2024 22:51:18 GMT
If someone can find a period where we scored 8 goals in 16 home league games, I’ll be absolutely flabbergasted.
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Post by Marc01 on Feb 19, 2024 22:54:29 GMT
It feels worse because it’s so soulless Yes it's not the worst but it's the most soulless And everyone has been able to sit down to help provide maximum enjoyment! 🙂
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Post by owdestokie2 on Feb 19, 2024 23:02:30 GMT
I think the title of the post certainly raises interesting questions. Some answers will be based upon fact and others on opinion. I’ve witnessed our ups and downs since the 60’s. Without quoting stats my personal thoughts are our downfall started with the employment of Mark Cartwright in December 2012. The difference between previous decades was our financial clout and continued earning potential from our snout being in the EPL trough. Unless someone writes a book we as supporters will never know the rationale behind his appointment, all you need to do is fact find his age at the time of his employment, his experience to suggest he was worthy of his recruitment into a highly responsible position by an established EPL club. Since 2013 we’ve had 7 different managers who brought in their own back room teams (except Lambert), six of which have been paid off, wasted millions on poor recruitment, employed a new TD and we find ourselves (or it seems) light years away from being real promotion contenders. So my answer to the original post title is for the last 11 years is ….Yes Absolutely!! I think Mark Cartwright gets a bad rep but the former Leek Town goalkeeper absolutely shits all over the current incumbent. He seemed to often take a backseat to the managers when it came to signing players whereas it looks like Tricky has too much power. “A backseat”? He was the Technical Director
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Post by stantheman on Feb 19, 2024 23:05:47 GMT
Last time we dropped into the 3rd tier was a relegation party at Brighton. I can't see that happening this time. It will be more like rotten vegetables being thrown at players than beach balls and pink panthers
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Post by jesusmcmuffin on Feb 19, 2024 23:10:04 GMT
If someone can find a period where we scored 8 goals in 16 home league games, I’ll be absolutely flabbergasted. Last 9 away league games under Macari we scored once An OG in a 2-1 loss at Southend
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Post by Marc01 on Feb 19, 2024 23:30:05 GMT
If someone can find a period where we scored 8 goals in 16 home league games, I’ll be absolutely flabbergasted. Last 9 away league games under Macari we scored once An OG in a 2-1 loss at Southend That run had escaped my memory! We even had Sheron in the team. Obviously: 0 wins 1 draw 8 defeats 1 scored 13 conceded Still managed to finish 12th on 64 points, but nicely warmed up for relegation the next season… first at the Brit!
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Post by onionman on Feb 19, 2024 23:31:45 GMT
Last 9 away league games under Macari we scored once An OG in a 2-1 loss at Southend That run had escaped my memory! We even had Sheron in the team. Obviously: 0 wins 1 draw 8 defeats 1 scored 13 conceded Still managed to finish 12th on 64 points, but nicely warmed up for relegation the next season… first at the Brit! It was pretty grim but we did win most of our home games at that time, including Vale and West Brom.
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Post by owdestokie2 on Feb 19, 2024 23:54:11 GMT
I think the title of the post certainly raises interesting questions. Some answers will be based upon fact and others on opinion. I’ve witnessed our ups and downs since the 60’s. Without quoting stats my personal thoughts are our downfall started with the employment of Mark Cartwright in December 2012. The difference between previous decades was our financial clout and continued earning potential from our snout being in the EPL trough. Unless someone writes a book we as supporters will never know the rationale behind his appointment, all you need to do is fact find his age at the time of his employment, his experience to suggest he was worthy of his recruitment into a highly responsible position by an established EPL club. Since 2013 we’ve had 7 different managers who brought in their own back room teams (except Lambert), six of which have been paid off, wasted millions on poor recruitment, employed a new TD and we find ourselves (or it seems) light years away from being real promotion contenders. So my answer to the original post title is for the last 11 years is ….Yes Absolutely!! I think Mark Cartwright gets a bad rep but the former Leek Town goalkeeper absolutely shits all over the current incumbent. He seemed to often take a backseat to the managers when it came to signing players whereas it looks like Tricky has too much power. Check this out congletonhigh.com/about-us/our-alumni/mark-cartwright. congletonhigh.com/about-us/our-alumni/mark-cartwright
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Post by jesusmcmuffin on Feb 19, 2024 23:56:26 GMT
Last 9 away league games under Macari we scored once An OG in a 2-1 loss at Southend That run had escaped my memory! We even had Sheron in the team. Obviously: 0 wins 1 draw 8 defeats 1 scored 13 conceded Still managed to finish 12th on 64 points, but nicely warmed up for relegation the next season… first at the Brit! Many don't realise what freefall we were in when Lou left. Were in a right mess A couple of home wins papered over it
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Post by hamsta2 on Feb 19, 2024 23:59:35 GMT
No.
Ask me again in May.
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Post by generationex on Feb 20, 2024 0:15:43 GMT
No one mentioning the ‘binary season’ anymore eh?
Halcyon days 😁
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banksie66
Academy Starlet
So that's two Prawn Goebels, A Herman Goerring and a Colditz Salad
Posts: 180
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Post by banksie66 on Feb 20, 2024 0:21:07 GMT
No one mentioning the ‘binary season’ anymore eh? Halcyon days 😁 The dressing room was in order then….whereas this season?
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Post by jesusmcmuffin on Feb 20, 2024 0:25:44 GMT
No one mentioning the ‘binary season’ anymore eh? Halcyon days 😁 The dressing room was in order then….whereas this season? No one knows what goes on in the dressing room to be fair Some reacted to some comment at the weekend as if it was gospel when in fact it went against everything we've done the last few weeks so made no sense Someone then threw out the great cliche about the manager losing the dressing room
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banksie66
Academy Starlet
So that's two Prawn Goebels, A Herman Goerring and a Colditz Salad
Posts: 180
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Post by banksie66 on Feb 20, 2024 0:38:47 GMT
The dressing room was in order then….whereas this season? No one knows what goes on in the dressing room to be fair Some reacted to some comment at the weekend as if it was gospel when in fact it went against everything we've done the last few weeks so made no sense Someone then threw out the great cliche about the manager losing the dressing room I haven’t used fan reaction for my view. The current season has the club-confirmed Mmaee exclusion and Tricky Ricky as D of F.
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Post by PotterLog on Feb 20, 2024 0:48:51 GMT
Christ, to go back to the five-year rolling average league position thing, look at this pattern:
the 2001/02 season was the final season of our WORST EVER post-war five-year period (73rd of 73). From then on:
02/03 - 72nd 03/04 - 67th 04/05 - 65th 05/06 - 61st 06/07 - 54th 07/08 - 45th 08/09 - 40th 09/10 - 34th 10/11 - 27th 11/12 - 16th 12/13 - 11th 13/14 - 9th 14/15 - 5th 15/16 - 2nd 16/17 - 1st - the final season of our BEST EVER post-war five-year period (1st of 73)
So we improved absolutely consistently, every year, from our dead worst post-war period to our very best, in the space of fifteen seasons. I don't need to tell you that we're currently tumbling back down the other way at an even faster rate. We don't do "bobbing around" do we.
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Post by FranktheRabbit on Feb 20, 2024 1:23:51 GMT
I take it, you did not watch Stoke in the late 80s and 90s. During those times though, there were no more than a couple of consecutive seasons that were bad. This has been 4 years of mostly absolute shite. And the rest.
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