beardofzeus
Youth Player
By the Beard of Zeus...
Posts: 376
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Post by beardofzeus on Jan 28, 2009 8:44:22 GMT
Cresswell isn't the answer to the question 'Why were Stoke so bad?' but he is the answer to the question 'Why aren't we attacking?'
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Post by rorymscfc on Jan 28, 2009 9:02:29 GMT
There were too many poor performances last night to pin the blame on one person. Ab Faye was below par and while Ryan's tackling and commitment were first class, he was part of a unit that just wasn't functioning. Both fullbacks were poor - Higgy's distribution was simply shocking! The entire midfield was dreadful with Amdy Faye, Whelan and Delap unable to pass to a player in a yellow shirt more than once in every 4 attempts. Etherington was very subdued and seemed to go missing for long spells (as West Ham fans warned that he is prone to do!) Cresswell proved yet again that he is just not good enough in any way - did he actually touch the ball in the first half? Not to mention the missed header in the second!
For me Beattie was the man of the match. Worked tirelessly, tracked back and took his goal superbly. Hopefully more to come from the lad.
We had (another) very bad day at the office last night away from home and need to improve markedly on Saturday.
RoryM
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Post by PottersBrim on Jan 28, 2009 9:13:46 GMT
I don't blame Cresswell. It's not his fault he doesn't have the talent or ability to play at this level.
I am a little unsure why Pulis keeps selecting him though....
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Post by Smudge_SCFC on Jan 28, 2009 10:11:33 GMT
I don't blame Cresswell. It's not his fault he doesn't have the talent or ability to play at this level. I am a little unsure why Pulis keeps selecting him though.... That really sums it up. It is the manager who is culpable on this, not the player. I have nothing but respect for Cresswell and his genuine efforts. He just isn't good enough to cut it at this level.
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Post by Pugsley on Jan 28, 2009 10:22:23 GMT
I don't blame Cresswell. It's not his fault he doesn't have the talent or ability to play at this level. I am a little unsure why Pulis keeps selecting him though.... That really sums it up. It is the manager who is culpable on this, not the player. I have nothing but respect for Cresswell and his genuine efforts. He just isn't good enough to cut it at this level. Absolutely right - the berating of Cresswell is totally out of order, especially for a bloke who (I'm cringing here) 'puts a shift in'. The manager must take the flack on this one.
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Post by rabbigan on Jan 28, 2009 10:23:29 GMT
Right 624. You don't go 3-0 down to Spurs because the manager preferred Cresswell to Fuller No you dont go 3 nil down because of that but it is indicative of brainless team selection and absolutely zero tactical thinking. Post match comment " I dont know whether the trip to Dubai contributed to our loss because I had never done it before". Then why do it unless he was sure of positive results. Why is Lenny still getting piles on the bench. How will he ever get match fitness. Other teams play players who have been injured. That gets them fit. The midfield is poor compared with other premiership teams but it is not helped when someone totally unsuited to that role like Cresswell is played there. Making our ground postage stamp size was a typical negative piece of thinking because we go away on proper sized pitches and cant cope with the wide open spaces. We have started slowly every time we have played away. Not my words Tony Pulis speaking last night. He's the manager why has it not been sorted. Hoofing it has proved a spectacular failure why not practice a bit of passing. Delap lacks speed and stamina in midfield and we should not be relying on throw ins at this level.
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Post by rabbigan on Jan 28, 2009 10:24:26 GMT
Right 624. You don't go 3-0 down to Spurs because the manager preferred Cresswell to Fuller No you dont go 3 nil down because of that but it is indicative of brainless team selection and absolutely zero tactical thinking. Post match comment " I dont know whether the trip to Dubai contributed to our loss because I had never done it before". Then why do it unless he was sure of positive results. Why is Lenny still getting piles on the bench. How will he ever get match fitness. Other teams play players who have been injured. That gets them fit. The midfield is poor compared with other premiership teams but it is not helped when someone totally unsuited to that role like Cresswell is played there. Making our ground postage stamp size was a typical negative piece of thinking because we go away on proper sized pitches and cant cope with the wide open spaces. We have started slowly every time we have played away. Not my words Tony Pulis speaking last night. He's the manager why has it not been sorted. Hoofing it has proved a spectacular failure why not practice a bit of passing. Delap lacks speed and stamina in midfield and we should not be relying on throw ins at this level.
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Post by Caerwrangonpotter on Jan 28, 2009 10:34:50 GMT
I dont like to tar players at any point, but from commentary & looking at some pics on Sky....Poor performance. Would ideally be suited going back to Championship
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Post by The man from Utch on Jan 28, 2009 11:27:40 GMT
For me tonight, only Ryan can hold his head up high from that performance, I suppose to be fair, Beattie took his chance well. However, whilst tonight was a bad performance for most, there are two players who are putting in such performances week in week out, and they are Cresswell and Whelan. Both have a good work ethic but in all honesty neither are Premiership players, and their continued selection will cost us dear. Never understood Whelan's adulation on here , he's about as creative as my Granny's toe nail.
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Post by tazi on Jan 28, 2009 11:59:19 GMT
The way Tony Pulis sees it is that what we have we aim to keep 'i.e 1 point before any match particularly away from home against the supposed better clubs' and he plays Cresswell due to the ammount of backtracking and work that he gets through. Personally speaking not only do i see nothing at all wrong with it but in my opinion Tony Pulis has to do what he sees fit in order to keep our Premier League place and whether it's by nook or by crook i couldn't give a so called flying fuck as long as it's achieved come the end of the season. Not only that but if i was manager i would employ exactly the same tactics in relation to playing Cresswell.
One thing i believe that Pulis should have done was after we had conceded the second goal then we should be looking at bringing on the likes of Fuller/Kitson for Cresswell because quite frankly Cresswell is not going to win you games, draws maybe, but not wins.
Edit - In addition as such Tony Pulis should not be judged until our Premier League position is finally decided.
I have no doubts that Stoke WILL stay up and that Pulis will THEN push us on even further.
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Post by sheikhmomo on Jan 28, 2009 12:19:15 GMT
We've known Cresswell has been shit for a very long time. Last night, any lingering doubt on whether Whelan is shit or not was removed. He is very, very, shit.
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Post by rorymscfc on Jan 28, 2009 12:41:21 GMT
Tazi, while Cresswell may do work and backtracking in the world, his his inability to control, retain or pass the ball renders it worthless. When you couple this with the fact that he presents absolutely no goal threat whatsoever at this level then you really have to wonder what TP sees in him.
I agree that TP should be allowed to do what he feels is best but as paying supporters we have the right to question his decisions. I'm not sure if you were at the game last night but Cresswell was truly woeful (he wasn't alone in that though).
The concept of "what we have we hold" is fine but that will only work if it is carried out with some degree of competence on the pitch. Too many times this season we have looked disorganisedand timid away from home and some of the blame for this has to be levelled at the manager who prepares the team. I know that you're TP's biggest supporter on this board but surely even you have to concede that what we are doing away from home is simply not working. 3 draws all season tells you all you need to know.
RoryM
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Post by stoke624 on Jan 28, 2009 12:42:36 GMT
i can't understand the "cresswell puts in a shift" crap. Just running aroung aimlessly is not really what hard work is about--it's actually contributing positively to the team which cresswell does not do at all and has not done whether playing up front or in midfield(!!)this season. TP doesn't seem to realise we need better to compete in this league and despite signing replacements who are "better than what we've got",he doesn't play them. for the first goal,cresswell had a simple ball to feet played to him and just needed to knock it back 5 yards to rory but as usual did not reach and spurs knocked it about before scoring.On numerous occasions in the second half he let his player pass and move(do we ever do this??) and go beyond him and while he gave up the chase they created more problems.His heading ability is nil,cannot tackle,pass,cross etc etc and always gives away uneccesary free kicks because his awareness levels aren't sharp enough and then gets his booking in most games---at least he'll be suspended soon!!!!
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Post by th05 on Jan 28, 2009 12:44:18 GMT
Cresswell isn't the answer to the question 'Why were Stoke so bad?' but he is the answer to the question 'Why aren't we attacking?' True.
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Post by mikeyb99 on Jan 28, 2009 12:48:01 GMT
To return to something Smudge mentions - its Pulis that picks the team, and Pulis that chooses the way we play.
You can't blame Cresswell for not being a good enough player, but you can question the logic behind playing him. I honestly think our problems lie much deeper than any individual (whether that be Cresswell, or Wilko), and if we approach games in the wrong way it won't matter which players make up the starting XI.
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