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Post by Ddraigcoch on Apr 8, 2009 21:11:24 GMT
this season?
I was confident that we'd get more than 11 points but have spent most of the season in hope and am only know becoming expectant that we will be staying up.
I guess that how most are feeling right?
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Post by ti on Apr 8, 2009 21:14:46 GMT
i think most people who watched them were confident of out performing em!
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Post by dozintheseventees on Apr 8, 2009 21:17:49 GMT
Anything that any of us says now sounds tainted by the benefit of hindsight, but I always thought that we would be strong enough to survive. The fact is we HAVEN'T survived yet and I'm not going overboard about our chances. However, it has to be said that we have given ourselves an excellent chance. That, I believe is down to a fantastic team spirit, bucketloads of hard work from the players and a sensible approach to the games we have played. There are many who will disagree but, for what it's worth, that's my take on the situation.
Derby were a disperate collection of individuals with little or no team spirit or work ethic and the result was always predictable.
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Post by Ddraigcoch on Apr 8, 2009 21:24:30 GMT
Anything that any of us says now sounds tainted by the benefit of hindsight, but I always thought that we would be strong enough to survive. The fact is we HAVEN'T survived yet and I'm not going overboard about our chances. However, it has to be said that we have given ourselves an excellent chance. That, I believe is down to a fantastic team spirit, bucketloads of hard work from the players and a sensible approach to the games we have played. There are many who will disagree but, for what it's worth, that's my take on the situation. Derby were a disperate collection of individuals with little or no team spirit or work ethic and the result was always predictable. Fair enough that fella. The aarrd work, team spirit and good man management have served us well so far. The dressingroom spirit must be buzzin right now. Everyone should be wanting a game itching to get on that pitch and prove we are good enough and mentally tough enough to handle this and see it through as soon as is possible. |
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Post by sheikh al dubai bin stokie on Apr 8, 2009 21:26:25 GMT
i was very worried that we wouldnt get a point before christmas... this is stoke we are talking about. but that was the old stoke  |
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Apr 8, 2009 21:29:27 GMT
I never thought we'd do a Derby and I always thought we had a better than even chance of staying up. What has surprised me is just how many clubs in the Prem don't seem to be much ahead of us. Below the top 7 or 8 clubs there doesn't appear to be much to fear and that DOES surprise me.
EDIT - the Baggies present position comes as no surprise at all!
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Post by harryh157 on Apr 8, 2009 21:31:10 GMT
Never thought we would 'do a Derby'; always though we would be top of the promoted sides. That was based on Hull not having the start they had, who could have predicted that, but looking good now.
Harry
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Post by 4thMarch1972 on Apr 8, 2009 21:34:43 GMT
I think many of us were concerned about staying up but always felt we would surpass Derby's efforts. To win just one game out of 38 takes a special kind of ineptitude.
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Post by Ddraigcoch on Apr 8, 2009 21:35:55 GMT
I think many of us were concerned about staying up but always felt we would surpass Derby's efforts. To win just one game out of 38 takes a special kind of ineptitude. ;D ;D ;D |
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Post by trebor63 on Apr 8, 2009 21:37:39 GMT
I said it loads of times before a ball was kicked and am definitely not being smart with hidsight but I knew none of the promoted teams would 'do a Derby'
Derby had horrendous preperation with their manager close to walking out before the season started and things looked iffy before the season started.
I also said West Brom would do the worst and we'd do the best out of the promoted teams and I've certainly got the WBA bit right and it looks like I might be right about us too.
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Post by crimesy on Apr 8, 2009 21:38:13 GMT
After watching them get thumped by Villa it made me near certain that we wouldt be that bad, ten when we beat villa i was sure we were in with a decent chance of survival. Its only now, however, that i am beginning to expect us to stay up.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2009 21:41:10 GMT
In August I remember commenting on the Guardian's 'Premier League preview No15: Stoke City' that "Stoke may get relegated. But it is not such a certainty as assumed by all the pundits. It is far more likely that West Brom will go down." I thought our defence would be more robust than it has been, but all in all I was not too far off the mark tinyurl.com/cmx3ln (On the Guardian I go by the name of Pyrus) |
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Post by crimesy on Apr 8, 2009 21:45:41 GMT
"Every pundit who comments on Stoke's promotion says the same thing ...Stoke are big and nasty, commit heinous crimes against the beautiful game and have had the affrontery to offend West Brom (a team who has failed to take more than two points off Stoke in ten years - I wonder why they don't like Stoke?). They all agree that Stoke will get relegated. So much so, that it is practically a self fulfilling prophecy. Who is going to transfer to a team that everyone says will get relegated? But no one has really analysed how Stoke managed to win promotion. Judging by the commentary, you would have thought that Stoke won their promotion in a tombola rather than by automatic right. Apparently Stoke play a long ball to big forwards who score scrappy goals and by some accident of mathematics this got them promoted. But this is not borne out by the facts. Most of their goals come from midfield. Stoke got promoted, not because they bully the ball into the opposition net, but because they do not lose often. True, they are tough, do not give up, they don't tire at the end of the season, but most of all, they are difficult to beat. As a Premiership strategy, this is likely to be more successful than trying to outplay more skillful players (e.g. in the way we are led to believe that West Brom are planning to do). Teams like Bolton and Wigan have proved this. So, yes, I agree; Stoke may get relegated. But it is not such a certainty as assumed by all the pundits. It is far more likely that West Brom will go down." Well said Malvern |
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Post by apb1 on Apr 8, 2009 22:19:10 GMT
Before this season I was petrified we'd be down by, say, this point, and had a nagging fear we'd do reach some new depths of Derby-ness, yes.
Stoke have generally managed to fulfil, if not exceed, all my worst expectations, and until that win over Villa I had no reason to doubt they would do it again this season!
Now I am beginning to believe we might just do eet...but all this optimism still doesn't feel right.
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Post by PickSCFC on Apr 8, 2009 22:21:18 GMT
i never thought we would do a derby but i thoght we would really struggle and only get about 25 points
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Post by DannyStokie on Apr 8, 2009 22:47:26 GMT
I was a bit nervous before the season started, i thought we'd most likely struggle.
I remember feeling shit at half time at bolton, i couldn't believe it, everyone in the concourse was in shock. We all thought we were in for a right tough time.
God, that seems like just yesterday, how quick it's been, i cant believe it.
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Post by Stokester on Apr 8, 2009 23:50:55 GMT
Me, I was soo nervous before the Bolton game, and when we were 3-0 down I must admit I did think oh here we go...!
Come to think of it my mate who's a Liverpool 'fan' txt me that day saying "and Stoke are relegated..." probably should txt him back now, t**t haha!
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Post by JoeinOz on Apr 9, 2009 7:27:07 GMT
It crossed my mind at HT in that first game. Couldn't believe how shit we were. We have a good chance of staying up now though and thats a staggering achievement. It's not as clear cut as some on here sem to be making out though. Long way to go.
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Post by assessornum1 on Apr 9, 2009 7:40:30 GMT
Not a Derby, a stoke ala 1984 was what worried me!
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Post by salopstick on Apr 9, 2009 8:30:21 GMT
the way our fixtures were laid out said to me it was never going to happen
ffs big 4 (except ars away) done and dusted before end of jan. which meant mini runs could always happen
i bet next year we wont be so lucky
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Post by euan ouzami on Apr 9, 2009 8:35:17 GMT
Not a Derby, a stoke ala 1984 was what worried me! Me too. That season still haunts me |
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Post by Smudge_SCFC on Apr 9, 2009 8:37:04 GMT
NEVER a Derby!!!
I was though prepared for a season of being anchored in the bottom three... West Brom's season I suppose.
But I always knew that any side of TP's would fight, fight and then fight some more.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2009 8:42:27 GMT
I never thought we’d do a Derby.
I must admit when we went in 3-0 down at half time against Bolton (a team which I had down as relegation strugglers at the time) I had a brief moment (or 2!!) of doubt and wondered what we were in for this season!!
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Post by stan on Apr 9, 2009 8:44:53 GMT
Not a Derby necessarily, but, coming out of Fratton Park, I was very worried we were out of our depth. We took a mauling that day and had very few points (4 from 7).
The job's not done yet -lose on Saturday and we're right back in the mix- but it's remarkable that we've done so well. We are actually above seven other teams (and that's with starting the season with a very weak side).
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Post by RAF on Apr 9, 2009 8:49:25 GMT
I never thought we would 'Do a Derby' but I do remember saying at the start of the season that if we got over 24 points we will have done well.
So we have done well.
H
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Post by mcf on Apr 9, 2009 8:56:53 GMT
It all depended on the financial backing that TP was given and then on how well he would use it.
£20-£30m is the going rate to just give yourself a fighting chance if its your first time up to transition your squad.
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Post by carverdoone on Apr 9, 2009 9:12:11 GMT
I really thought we would struggle like Albion. I am absolutely overjoyed with this season. I think we have performed heroically.
To be 11, 8 and 6 points ahead of the teams in the relegation zone with just 7 games remaining is wonderful.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2009 9:16:06 GMT
I was quite shocked at how convinced everyone was that we would be annihilated in this league. It has taught me that football commentators are not as clever as I thought they were. Punditry is all smoke and mirrors, it dresses up hindsight as insight and presents stereotyping as analysis.
In reality, doing a Derby was only a feint possibility, but it was spun so hard by other teams fans, knowledgeable journos and pundits plus the press in general, that a lot of us began to think there must be something in it.
With thirty games gone I now find myself laughing at sports radio stations, feeling smug about newspaper reports and going out to make a cuppa during the 'analysis' between games on MOTD.
Doing a Derby was last year's thing. The question now is, are any of the teams coming up this year capable of doing a Stoke?
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Post by Harpoon Louie on Apr 9, 2009 9:21:01 GMT
Ive never done anyone from Derby in my life, I have some taste you know |
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Post by castlerockstokie on Apr 9, 2009 9:28:55 GMT
As has been said by others here - I feared the Stoke of 84 and that era - nothing like seeing your heros done over by Irish part-timers in a preseason to depress the hell out of you. And yes at 3-0 down to Bolton I also feared the worse. However after the 1st 2 games and it became apparent that we were going to be able to score in the premiership I took great confidence - but the team and fans have been immense. The surprise is how ordinary the vast majority of the premiership is - money has really skewed the top 6 imho
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