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Post by robstokie on Nov 30, 2023 16:45:37 GMT
Bit extreme ain't it? The last 7 years have been pretty fucking awful to be fair, but hate my club? No. I must still love them, or at least I am subconsciously discovering a hidden penchant for S and M (minus the fun). Hate the "process", and the various mercenaries who have conned a living out of us, both on and off the pitch? Absolutely, and the buck has to rest with the Coates family - they hired people who turned out to be mercenaries and they hired the people who hired other people who also turned out to be mercenaries. Yes, they love the club (well Peter does anyway) but their dithering on key decisions, loyalty to the wrong people and outdated model of running a football club has led us to the darkest days in our history. You can argue that we had success with Lou and TP, but I genuinely believe that was in spite of the Coates family. You weren’t around in early 90s then under Alan Ball when we finished 14th in Div 3? Our lowest ever position in the FL were our darkest days imo. Yes it’s dire at the present and we’ve been falling to this for 7 years but nowhere near the plummet from Div 2 we experienced in early 90s with home crowds regularly 10k and under and the humiliation of Vale finishing above us. I would argue that 97-98 was equally as bad as we fell to 3rd tier again. I'm 33 and been coming regularly since about 1997 with the odd game beforehand. I agree, we were an absolute mess at the time, and even the following season when we started well back in the third division but soon got found out - regular 4 goal hammerings by the likes of Bournemouth, Bristol Rovers and Gillingham were character building to say the least. The Point I'm making is that the Coates family owned the club back then too, when we fell into the old third division both in 1990 and 1998 so may dine off the prem promotion (and to a lesser extent under Lou) but have, over the course of time at least as much of a hindrance to as they have been a help.
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Post by robstokie on Nov 29, 2023 13:43:43 GMT
I got mistaken for Pearson in the bogs at full time Saturday if that counts? Haha you should take your boots next game man. Haha that's funny that is Of all the footballers that I could look like eh?... I am going Plymouth Saturday as it comes. I'm slightly overweight and like a cheeky ciggie too - so that puts me amongst our fittest players me reckons! Only problem is I'm about half a foot taller than Pearson 😂😂
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Post by robstokie on Nov 29, 2023 11:34:54 GMT
Bit extreme ain't it?
The last 7 years have been pretty fucking awful to be fair, but hate my club? No. I must still love them, or at least I am subconsciously discovering a hidden penchant for S and M (minus the fun).
Hate the "process", and the various mercenaries who have conned a living out of us, both on and off the pitch? Absolutely, and the buck has to rest with the Coates family - they hired people who turned out to be mercenaries and they hired the people who hired other people who also turned out to be mercenaries. Yes, they love the club (well Peter does anyway) but their dithering on key decisions, loyalty to the wrong people and outdated model of running a football club has led us to the darkest days in our history. You can argue that we had success with Lou and TP, but I genuinely believe that was in spite of the Coates family.
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Post by robstokie on Nov 29, 2023 11:25:52 GMT
Pearson reminds me of the kid who owns the ball That was me and I'm nowt like Pearson. Was robbed yesterday (us of the game not me of the ball) I got mistaken for Pearson in the bogs at full time Saturday if that counts?
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Post by robstokie on Nov 29, 2023 11:22:55 GMT
has to be out. Awful, regressive football without any semblance of the basics needed to compete in this league. No plan A, let alone plan B, we are going nowhere with this plum. Has shown nothing in the last 15 months to suggest he is the answer. Also awful recruitment - signed a load of identikit players in wide positions, neglecting shortcomings at centre half and left back, then pisses about playing narrow sideways and backwards, dare say the infamous 5 at the back will make an appearance again soon too.
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Post by robstokie on Nov 28, 2023 23:01:52 GMT
Absolutely fucking wank again tonight To be fair, he was just about the least culpable of our players tonight - if it wasn't for him, we could have been 3-0 down by half time. Made a few decent saves at 2-1 up too. Yes, the last goal was poor from him, but was offered zero protection tonight. Distribution set up a few counter attacks 1st half as well.
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Post by robstokie on Nov 28, 2023 22:39:30 GMT
where will it put us? In the exact same position that Jones and O’Neil found us in. We will here talk off the new manager needs time, maybe two transfer windows to bring his own players in. Meanwhile the backroom staff has another mass overhaul, costing the club god knows how much. If he doesn't hit the ground running the knives will be out straight away. The best i hoped for this season was a top 10 finish, any suggestion of the playoffs was always far fetched. We need to ride it out, players coming back into fitness will help, with hopefully some additions in January. On a side note Hoever needs fucking off back to Wolves asap. Absolutely shite!!! Difference is that MON came in and performed miracles considering where we were at that time, looking dead certs for relegation and hamstrung by FFP and having an over-bloated squad full of mercenaries, over hyped names and journeymen who were not good enough. Yes, he lost his way towards the end, but, arguably wasn't given the opportunity that Spud had to rebuild a squad in his own image - having to rely on kids and plodders looking for one last pay-day. AN barely kept us up last season, only thanks to that great run in March where for a few weeks we actually looked like a good side, and Reading having a points deduction which condemned them in the end. Other than that, with one or 2 exceptions (home to Rotherham and Away to Middlesbrough) we have looked turgid, without the ability for the most part to grind out results. There seems to be no change to the same ineffective one dimension slow paced playing style to last season, even though we don't have the movement off the ball or the technical ability on it to be able to build effectively from the back. Our shape behind the ball is awful too - we sit off teams and continually fail to close down space effectively, forcing us to be pinned back and, on the occasions we win the ball back, we give it away lazily in dangerous areas and lack the composure to break up play or relieve pressure effectively. A few stats 15 home league defeats out of 29 Failed to score in 13 of our last 25 league games 18 wins in 58 league games - drawn 13, lost 27 Haven't won a single home game after conceding first. As for Nutty Nathan, we should never have dithered - it was eye bleedingly obvious he was out of his depth after 4-5 games of that season (a series of unconvincing draws and a flukey win over Leeds led most of us to give him the benefit of the doubt the previous season) and was concerning we persisted for so long, even when the dithering played a not-insignificant role in our relegation in the first place. The worry now is that those upstairs have still not learnt their lesson, will dither on until the point of no return and will then make another awful decision in who to replace him, and will dither again with the next manager too.
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Post by robstokie on Nov 28, 2023 22:28:54 GMT
Dire ref, but dire substitutions by us. Yes, the ref was appalling, particularly the two decisions regarding the pen and the 2nd yellow, but could also be argued for a so called "experienced player" in Stevens, he was not streetwise at all. Also, our game management was so negative and allowed QPR to push us further and further back, eventually leading us to capitulate. Add to that bringing on Johnson and Hoever, who between them offered nothing and were a liability, Hoever getting caught out with schoolboy errors and Johnson hardly bust a gut and wasted possession on the rare occasions we had it. At 2-1, I would have bought Thompson on at Left-Back in place of Bae, Laurent on for Mmaee and Leris for Campbell. I would have gone 4-3-1-1, packed the middle of the pitch with Pearson just behind Burger and Laurent with Vidi at the top of the diamond and Leris as a mobile focal point - maybe bringing on Wesley in last 10 for Vidi and dropping Leris to the top of diamond to add extra legs to a press on the halfway line. When in possession, instruction would simply be to play balls into the corners, press them backwards and set up in the middle of the pitch, squeezing the middle third and forcing them to punt long balls into Dykes with the midfield 3 sitting in to mop up any second balls.
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Post by robstokie on Nov 28, 2023 21:42:02 GMT
Gutless, spineless shite. Fuck off Neil you baldy fucking fraud, take your mates Gayle, Johnson, Hoever and Stevens with you.
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Post by robstokie on Nov 28, 2023 21:39:35 GMT
Hoevers a Liability, fuck him back off to the dingles in Jan. Spud has cost us again with negative, reactive subs and sitting off yet another bang average team allowing them to build a head of steam and waiting until it's too late yet again to try and change it.
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Post by robstokie on Nov 28, 2023 21:36:24 GMT
5 minutes too late Alex you idiot. Same old ain't it? He's never pro-active, always reactive, negative and about 15 minutes too.
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Post by robstokie on Nov 28, 2023 21:10:09 GMT
Great pro - think we generally looked our most defensively solid with his experience in alongside a younger quicker player ala Wilmot. Also a great role model for our youngsters to look up to.
Have a great retirement Phil - you deserve it.
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Post by robstokie on Nov 28, 2023 21:07:40 GMT
Yesssssssssssssss!!!!! Lettuce appreciate that for a moment - a goal to relish!!
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Post by robstokie on Nov 28, 2023 21:03:09 GMT
It's a silly lunge there from Stevens, not what you expect from an experienced head. Saying that, it is a soft decision, but Stevens made the ref make a decision there.
He's a Liability - why the hell we sold a younger, more dynamic, more versatile player in Tymon
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Post by robstokie on Nov 28, 2023 20:59:32 GMT
Bae, Campbell and Ryan have linked well and look like they could strike a good understanding with a run of games. The defense , Bonham apart, and the two defensive midfield players have been shakey as fuck. QPR are piss poor though. Hopefully Clark will get better with regular minutes and offer the leadership we lack across the back line, and organised whoever is in alongside him. We need to find ways to get the ball forward quicker, utilising width and pace into the channels and looking towards the midfielders to offer extra bodies and movement between the oppositions lines. Playing percentages when there's nothing obvious on will at least allow us to control territory, pin the opposition back and turn them back towards their goal meaning we can then look to gain a foothold and control the narrative of games more effectively.
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Post by robstokie on Nov 28, 2023 20:24:10 GMT
Who are all these proper championship players we lost? The same ones who got us to the mighty heights of 16th. .... Brown tymon Powell smallbone all walk onto this team Brown, Tymon, Powell definitely. Smallbone was just as dithery, feeble and ineffective as what we have now in the main.
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Post by robstokie on Nov 28, 2023 20:21:35 GMT
67% possession 3 shots 1 on tgt. Shiiiite. QPR 33% 4 and 3 on tgt. That's stoke summed up away versus struggling sides. And home too
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Post by robstokie on Nov 28, 2023 19:52:53 GMT
Sloppy there - we need to stop making silly errors trying to play it out and learn when to play percentages.
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Post by robstokie on Nov 28, 2023 19:50:49 GMT
Can't complain too much at that side - I was convinced that AN would go back to a back 3/5.
I personally would have had Junior in at right back if available - he's looked promising in the few appearances he has had, plus offers both an attacking threat and a defensive solidarity that Dyson doesn't offer. Gooch for me is a sensible kind of signing, problem is that we don't really know what is his strongest position is (I would hazard a guess he's best in a flat midfield 3). Also would have been tempted to go with Wesley up top, if only to help the ball stick and look to play Tye and Vidi off him. Be interested to see Bae in his natural position again, the lad has shown quality at times (particularly off the bench) and has looked enthusiastic whenever he has gotten game time, but question marks remain for the moment about his ability to handle the physical element of championship football, plus was flogged on saturday out wide.
Would also rather see Lowe/Tez/Sol/even DWP on bench over Gayle but if the younguns are getting minutes in the u23s then i can live with that.
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Post by robstokie on Nov 13, 2023 14:33:33 GMT
It's a tough gig up there me reckons - they just haven't got the resources or the fan base to compete at this level, plus there must be an added element of pressure seeing how well Luton and Bournemouth have done in recent years given they are clubs of similar stature. They've done well to be competitive at this level - apart from us and Watford the other day, they generally only tend to lose by the odd goal, and they do pick up results here and there too to give them at least a fighting chance of staying up. Odds on Warnock fancying a final hurrah to try and keep them up? Or do they go down the continental route, picking up a young head coach style appointment and look more long term, implementing a style of play and identity?
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Post by robstokie on Nov 13, 2023 9:15:41 GMT
....to extend our unbeaten run to 15! Blackburn H 3 QPR A 3 Plymouth A 1 Sheffield Wednesday H 3 Swansea H 3 West Brazil A 0 Unbeaten run comes to an end! Millwall H 3 Brum A 1 Watford A 0 Ipswich H 3 20/30 Blackburn H - 3 QPR A - 1 Plymouth A - 0 Sheffield Wednesday H - 3 Swansea H - 1 WBA A - 1 Millwall H - 1 Brum A - 0 Watford A - 3 Ipswich H - 1 So 14 points from the next 10, meaning we will be smack bang in the middle of the table. Don't think we will concede too many, particularly if we can keep the spine of the team fit, but can't see us scoring too many either - hopefully we can nick a few off set pieces and pick up a few more points than above.
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Post by robstokie on Nov 13, 2023 9:09:21 GMT
So far we've only scored 16 goals in 16 games- and 4 of them were in one game against Rotherham. We've conceded 18, which is actually the 6th or 7th best in the league. Thankfully, our defence, after a rather porous start, has tightened up considerably as the players have got used to each other. A big part of that is Stevens coming back and a CB pairing getting a run of games together. I'm still not convinced by Hoever's defending on the right, but considering how toothless our attack looks, picking him is probably the right call on balance. The worry is the front 4. Vidigal on the left is literally the only goal threat we have. He started the season well, but teams know all about him now- he likes to cut in onto his right and also drifts into the centre to finish off crosses from the right. Opposing teams are all going to be aware of that now. He's not really looked like scoring since he came back from injury. Leris on the right lacks quality on the ball. He'll run all day and is good in the air, but he's not creative enough. He's a poor man's Jacob Brown, which is not exactly a ringing endorsement. Johnson is another runner, but isn't going to put a through-ball on a plate for a striker, and doesn't seem to be much of a goal threat himself either. I've covered the strikers in another thread. I'm not convinced any of them are the answer. This isn't just a reaction to two 0-0 draws on the bounce, looking at the team as it stands, I don't know where a goal is coming from. It's wonderful that the backline has tightened up, but it's still got mistakes in it. Five games unbeaten is a positive, but I can see plenty of 0-1 defeats on the cards with what we're doing at the moment. The problem for me is that we seem to lack a mobile focal point that can retain possession high up the pitch - theres Wesley that AN sees purely as a plan B, and I guess at a push Mmaee, though he's been injured more often than not. And, considering the amount of pacey wide options that we bought in through the summer, we still play reasonably narrow and slow with the 'wide players' playing more as inverted strikers, with the one player who can play as an actual winger, DJ, being played as either a 10 or as the most advanced of a midfield 3. Add to that we chop and change the front 3 (some of it enforced admittedly) then it's difficult for players to build up relationships and establish effective patterns of play that compliment what we have. Furthermore, we don't seem to regain possession high up the pitch often enough, the strikers press well enough but the midfield doesnt follow, allowing space between the lines for the other team to break the press and when we do turn it over our midfield runners are so far away, we then kill the tempo having to wait for supporting runners allowing the opposition chance to set behind the ball, close down spaces between the lines and either win the ball or force us backwards, conceding the territory. We also miss having a midfielder who can run from deep - Pearson shows it in flashes but is predominantly playing a Whelan type role and Burger is ok at popping up and recycling the ball, but yet to be convinced by him running from deep with the ball at feet. It's concerning that we did not address it more thoroughly in the summer as we had this same problem breaking down teams, particularly at home, last season - and if Gayle is the answer, fuck knows what the question is? With what we have, would it be worth either playing Leris through the middle as a potential focal point with Vidi and one of Haksa/Mmaee playing either side with Johnson/Bae playing just off Leris with the instruction to run at the opposition to win free kicks and pen them in. Or playing Bae as a false 9 with a fluid 3 behind him looking to run on behind.
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Post by robstokie on Oct 31, 2023 18:01:28 GMT
And it's almost all down to Ben Pearson! 😁 To be fair, it's a team effort - Pearson is of course our main man, but has been ably assisted by his understudy Jordan Thompson who, if you judge it on bookings per minute played, would have an even more impressive record of finding the referees book! Special mentions to the rest of the midfield too - Johnson getting high numbers for a flair player, Burger adapting to the physicality and shithousery of the league with distinction and to the captain, who has played like he's 3 steps behind pretty much all season yet just early enough to catch opponents and contribute to our bookings tally!
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Post by robstokie on Oct 28, 2023 16:03:39 GMT
Brilliant result again today - against all odds but superb to a man, defended excellently on the whole and maybe should have put the game to bed, but outstanding. Credit to Neil, I was skeptical of him, but we seem to have turned a corner, players who were injured returning helps but we suddenly look a lot more coherent from back to front, we are starting to gel and can hopefully start to look onwards and upwards again! Goarnnnnnn Stoke!
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Post by robstokie on Oct 8, 2023 4:56:44 GMT
It's all about being there through the shit times as they are the times that make the (very) rare good times feel so good! Plus, it can be used as a great tool to build character in your lad!
What's the point of being a glory hunter anyway? What kind of joy could a bindipper or a Manure fan get out of getting to Wembley? They are there every other season at worst.
I get it, it's dispiriting at the moment, it's been 7 years of almost constant shit, shit football, shit performances, shit results and shit running of the club. However, I think us football fans are somewhat perverse in that we take some weird pride (that gloryhunters, casual followers and those who dont watch football will never understand) in being present at the lowest points in our history. Just keep the faith, and pray that it will turn around soon.
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Post by robstokie on Oct 7, 2023 16:44:39 GMT
I think that, as it stands (and it can all change can't it - remember us, Luton and Barnsley were all cut adrift by Christmas and we all stayed up a few years back) then I would have to say that Sheffield Wednesday (absolute basket case there) and Rotherham (they just don't have the quality or the clout to consolidate long term at this level, they are punching well above their weight just getting here) look like goners. The third spot will be one of us or QPR - Huddersfield and maybe Watford could get dragged into it too.
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Post by robstokie on Oct 7, 2023 16:29:50 GMT
It's looking pretty desperate for us ain't it? Starting to look like Wurzels away was a flash in the pan, anemic at home to a very poor Southampton side (albeit with a very poor ref who, at times acted as a 12th man) and lost today to a Leicester side who didn't have to get out of second gear. Yes, we have had injuries, but surely you use what you have got, and with what we have got is a top heavy squad so we should have gone for the throat and forced the game (some people would call today a bonus game), but it was the same tepid negative shite with the same negative subs when the game was dead. I get that going out completely gung ho would have been suicide today, but sitting in so deep allowed Leicester to build a head of steam without really breaking sweat and trying to play it out from the back allowed them to press and recover possession time and again. As soon as Leicester picked it up a little, they should have put 4 or 5 against us.
We look an absolute shambles - no quality in the final third, weak and reactive in midfield without width despite setting our with a shape that should utilize the flanks especially against their 3 at the back that they started with and leaky in defence - for a team that played with a low block we let them just walk through us at will for both the goals and got done by a simple flat long ball on a number of occasions. Not good enough, and sick of the hard luck stories and excuses that slap head wheels out each and every week, when we inevitably find another way to lose. We stink of relegation, and the stats back that up.
3 wins in 18 games. 12 points in same period, with a lot of winnable games over that period (4 points in last 8 games). Failed to score in 10 of those games. 2 clean sheets in 18 games. 7 home wins in 25.
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Post by robstokie on Oct 3, 2023 23:46:01 GMT
Abysmal refereeing tonight. Think you've got to look at the figures (fouls 17-2 to us) and that is pushing towards investigation time, especially if theres any truth in that the PGMOL have apologised to us on no less than FIVE seperate occasions for stonewall pens that we havent been given before tonight.
Also think that if the Liverpool game is ordered to be replayed, then we have a cast iron case for ours to be replayed too given that the ref treated offences from both teams disproportionately, to the point of showing a clear bias against us (didnt he high 5 the Southampton players at the end? Again, if true, blatant bias that doesn't even pretend to make it even look like a fair fight), even fouling our own player meaning we lost possession, yet turning a blind eye to Nathan Lowe being rugby tackled by their centre half (regardless of whether Lowe was going to make it on the end of the cross he was impeded with brute force with a cynical and blatant attempt to stop his run - therefore its a penalty every time) Manning stamping on Burger and their shithouses grabbing our keeper around the throat and pushing him to the ground at full time. And that's just a few flashpoints.
No doubt that the result will stand regardless as the FA doesn't care for the smaller clubs at best, and that's if they ain't going out of their way to chuck clubs outside the big 6 under the bus. Watch them bend over to Liverpool and brush us under the carpet.
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Post by robstokie on Sept 30, 2023 17:03:09 GMT
Has to be a 10 - to be 2-0 down to 2 absolutely shit goals and get a reaction like that was incredible - right subs at the right time, and great to see our players, when we were in the back foot second half and under constant pressure to but themselves on the line any which way but how to stop anything getting through.
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Post by robstokie on Sept 30, 2023 16:29:13 GMT
Let's just enjoy tonight, it's been a long long time coming. Fair play to AN, I've been as critical as anybody, but today we saw a team willing to fight for him, fight for each other and not let the heads drop despite a shambolic opening quarter of an hour! We have got to use this as a springboard to push on - to come from 2-0 down away from home against a decent team like the Wurzels to win it is one hell of a result. Made the right subs at the right time - Tchamadeu looked ace again, Bae came in and made the difference with his runs into pockets and Nathan Lowe of course was in the right place at the right time, so Neil deserves all the credit for showing the balls to bring him on instead of Gayle! Have a sneaking suspicion that baldy might just be here a few more games now too... 😉
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