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Post by stokecitydom on Apr 2, 2016 17:00:15 GMT
When Shaq is back, we've got a bit of a dilemma. Not for me. Arnautovic Bojan Shaqiri Diouf Afellay is a competent understudy in any of the 3 midfield positions, but when everyone is fit & firing, the others just offer more
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Imbula
Apr 2, 2016 16:57:24 GMT
via mobile
Post by stokecitydom on Apr 2, 2016 16:57:24 GMT
One of the main reasons we threw that away today. He was completely anonymous, as much use as a chocolate tea pot defensively. Leroy Fer completely bossed the last 30 minutes as he was given about 30 yards of space every time he received the ball. He really needs to improve this side of his game. Time and again he failed to track runners. He looks great when things are going well. When it's backs to the wall stuff? Liability at the moment. Body language is awful. Get rid I'm not sure if you're being serious. There are definitely things to work on, but he's shown his class since arriving.
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Post by stokecitydom on Mar 14, 2016 19:09:45 GMT
The idiocy of the oatcake strikes again. Why just because I don't want a mard arse who shows up the odd game becoming our top earner? Half a good season and the sun shines out his arse from many supporters. And there's some games this season where he's been shit as well. We didn't go balls out for nzonzi in his last season and we shouldn't for arnie. There's better players in our squad who deserve to be or match the "top earners" Arnautovic is currently the only player who seems to want to score. He's constantly making runs & trying to get into goal scoring positions. At times he is single handily the goal threat. Wouldn't be sensible to get rid at all. First name in the team sheet for me. He may not play well every game (like on Saturday), but without him we are completely toothless.
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Post by stokecitydom on Feb 17, 2016 9:43:49 GMT
Butland
Johnson Shawcross Wollscheid Pieters
Cameron Imbula
Shaqiri Bojan Arnautovic
Then I just cannot decide who the forward should be. Nobody has really grabbed the opportunity & cemented the position as their own. You could argue for any of the forwards starting, depending on the opposition
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Post by stokecitydom on Feb 2, 2016 22:41:49 GMT
I agree mate. I mentioned Affelay & Whelan in another post. Complete lack of protection from them. I've not been massively impressed by Affelay as many on here. I think he's very neat & tidy, but not a defensive midfielder. He's not the defensive midfielder? Whelan is! You have to have 2 players in the middle of the park who can chip in with the dirty work. We don't have that, hence why we seem to get over run in there. Affelay is playing a deep role in central midfield & I feel must offer more.
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Post by stokecitydom on Feb 2, 2016 22:05:40 GMT
I just don't get why only two (one in particular) is being dug out from the attackig options. For me Affellay was our worst player by some distance tonighr. Offered nothing to an ailing defence, constantltgave the ball away, can't shoot and in the end took to just falling over! I agree mate. I mentioned Affelay & Whelan in another post. Complete lack of protection from them. I've not been massively impressed by Affelay as many on here. I think he's very neat & tidy, but not a defensive midfielder.
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Post by stokecitydom on Feb 2, 2016 22:00:07 GMT
Our top scorer last season.
Started the season brightly & obviously tragedy struck, but since then when he's played he's been hung out to dry on the wing.
If there was a striker worthy of a start then I'd understand. But the omission from the staring 11 up top is utterly bizarre.
We need pace & someone with a knack of being in the right place at the right time. We have that with Diouf, so lets get him on the field (in his natural position) & see what happens.
Zero shots on target & one goal in over 4 matches.
What have we got to lose?
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Post by stokecitydom on Feb 2, 2016 21:55:19 GMT
There was no other options for selection at the back & in the midfield. The lack of investment at the back is a question for another day. Where as we have options upfront. So surely that can be questioned? Zero shots on target tonight, toothless. Bojan, Arnie, and Affelay played. Well played fucking shit. I don't get it?
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Post by stokecitydom on Feb 2, 2016 21:52:27 GMT
Spot on. It was needed & worked. This week, we needed some pace, craft & technical ability. Utterly bizarre selection How is that the major contribution to tonight's result? Thinking our two remaining centre halves were invincible yesterday, dreadful performances from the rest of the back four, Affelay's worst game for us by a mile would all stand out more to me. There was no other options for selection at the back & in the midfield. The lack of investment at the back is a question for another day. Where as we have options upfront. So surely that can be questioned? Zero shots on target tonight, toothless.
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Post by stokecitydom on Feb 2, 2016 21:41:46 GMT
Just because Crouch and Walters was what was needed last week didn't make them the right option tonight. Baffling selection. Spot on. It was needed & worked. This week, we needed some pace, craft & technical ability. Utterly bizarre selection
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Post by stokecitydom on Feb 2, 2016 21:39:57 GMT
Be great to have a captain That's super Glenn. The midfield destroyer
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Post by stokecitydom on Feb 2, 2016 21:21:39 GMT
No it's one of though, and a missing midfield. Is it getting overrun again? Ha ha, I remember we mentioned it after the Leicester game. Once again, central midfield offers no protection.
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Post by stokecitydom on Feb 2, 2016 21:20:06 GMT
Be nice for the Defensive midfielders to chip in knowing our position at the back. Pathetic stuff from everyone. Bang on the money. Too often the central midfields have avoided criticism this season. It's just so easy to get at our defence. Offer little or no protection too often this season. Hopefully Imbula will add abit of much needed muscle in there.
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Post by stokecitydom on Feb 2, 2016 21:15:28 GMT
Seeing Crouch and Walters starting knocked the enthusiasm out of me for this game I'm afraid, quite surprised at Sparky there, United's defence is the shakiest it's ever been. Did you say that at Liverpool? The thing is, against Liverpool it was a good idea. Liverpool have been a shambles with balls into their box. It worked well for that one game. Usually when Crouch plays, we go one dimensional & have absolutely no mobility or pace. To then play Walters aswell is just baffling. That's exactly what has happened tonight & we are just so so slow & laboured in attack.
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Post by stokecitydom on Feb 2, 2016 21:00:17 GMT
Crouch off, Walters off. Shaqiri & Diouf on, fucking bomb forward and win 14-2. Easy, why aren't I the manager? Bringing them 2 on would mean adding pace to the team. We seem determined to field a team lacking any kind of pace. Which is quite frankly bizarre.
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Post by stokecitydom on Feb 2, 2016 20:46:03 GMT
Who told Pieters that he could take a set piece?
Utterly bizarre that he now seems to be out set piece taker.
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Post by stokecitydom on Feb 2, 2016 20:27:04 GMT
First goal was Afellay ball watching.
Second goal was poor from Pieters. Got dragged to the ball when he wasn't needed, should have gone with Rooney. Class finish though.
Some basic defending really that has let us down.
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Post by stokecitydom on Jan 24, 2016 10:58:01 GMT
With how we lined up yesterday, our whole attacking threat was going to have to come from Shaqiri. It didn't happen for him & therefore we had nothing as an attacking unit.
For me Shaqiri has played his best football when linking up with Glen Johnson on the right. Due to our lack of options Hughes decided to play him through the middle.
Then we had Walters & Diouf on the wings, which has never worked. Neither are wingers, they just simply do not have the technical ability to take a man on/whip in a good ball.
So yesterday we had a 80% fit Shaqiri, playing in a unimaginative front 4, in a position where he has hardly featured for us.
Give the guy a break, play him on the right & when we have players who make runs (eg Arnie who he seems to be on the same wavelength) we see his quality.
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Post by stokecitydom on Jan 23, 2016 17:37:22 GMT
Totally agree. We are just weak in the central midfield. Completely lost the battle in there too. I've thought it for a long time, it's just simply too easy to get at our centre halves. I think we need a defensive midfielder who is tough & nasty & can impose himself on the game & grab the team by the scruff of the neck if it isn't going well. Like Whelan ? Not for me. Must improve in the central midfield if we are ever going to push on.
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Post by stokecitydom on Jan 23, 2016 17:34:07 GMT
Amazing, two weeks ago we din't need anyone, now we need at least four. Our support is riddled with babies who can't take a poor display and result. I'd be surprised if there was anyone who honestly believed that we didn't need anyone. For me we've needed a central midfielder & a winger since August. Games like this just highlight the issues we have when we have an injury/dip in form (Arnautovic & Bojan).
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Post by stokecitydom on Jan 23, 2016 17:27:36 GMT
He's been a good servant & value for money, but we must upgrade in that position. Its an unpopular opinion to have, but I truly believe we need a better defensive midfield.
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Post by stokecitydom on Jan 23, 2016 17:23:14 GMT
Affelay is decent, but very rarely plays a truely penetrating pass.The only one I can think of was to Arnie for the penalty at Everton, and that still leftArnie with Stones to bear. For me, he is tidy and competent but I am not sure that he is qquite as good as we would like to think. Perhaps he will dictate at Liverpool on Tuesday. I totally agree. He is neat & tidy, but not really offering an awful lot else. I was a big fan of N'Zonzi but he got quite a lot of stick for playing safe passes, yet Afellay is similar in that regard but it doesn't seem to get mentioned. He needs to have more of an influence, take a few risks etc. Personally I think we need better central midfielders if we are going to push on.
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Post by stokecitydom on Jan 23, 2016 17:15:28 GMT
Totally agree. We are just weak in the central midfield. Completely lost the battle in there too. I've thought it for a long time, it's just simply too easy to get at our centre halves. I think we need a defensive midfielder who is tough & nasty & can impose himself on the game & grab the team by the scruff of the neck if it isn't going well. Apparently, we've got one.......... Who?
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Post by stokecitydom on Jan 23, 2016 17:08:48 GMT
No Shawcross, we concede 3. Perhaps there does need to be a Centre Half signed- we seem to have lost all defensive organization. Midfield has been very disappointing today. Shawcross was the real reason for our improvement in recent times. Our midfield offers no protection and gets overrun too often. This is a huge wake up call. Totally agree. We are just weak in the central midfield. Completely lost the battle in there too. I've thought it for a long time, it's just simply too easy to get at our centre halves. I think we need a defensive midfielder who is tough & nasty & can impose himself on the game & grab the team by the scruff of the neck if it isn't going well.
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Post by stokecitydom on Jan 23, 2016 15:54:24 GMT
No tempo to our play today.
We are just so slow when in possession, allows them to get every man back behind the ball, then we haven't got the quality to do anything.
I'd bring Adam on for Walters. & put Affelay & shaqiri on the wings.
At least Adam has abit of attacking intent & drive
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Post by stokecitydom on Sept 12, 2015 16:11:54 GMT
I'm just not sure what he is. He doesn't seem to offer an awful lot.
He doesn't put his foot in, he doesn't keep the ball well, he doesn't drive us forward. Just abit puzzled by him at the minute.
There must be a decent player in there somewhere, so time will tell. But for now I'm underwhelmed & think he's lucky to be starting.
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Post by stokecitydom on Aug 29, 2015 18:02:52 GMT
Hughes said after that Arnie's last 2 performances didn't warrant a starting place but he did very well today when he came on.Must agree about Affelay though because at the minute i'm really struggling to see what he offers us. I can understand the logic behind that. However what exactly has Affelay done to warrant his continued place in the team? When I saw the teams i was annoyed that Arnie had been dropped, as there was no like for like replacement & no one who deserves to replace him.
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Post by stokecitydom on Aug 22, 2015 16:43:24 GMT
Hmm Shocking at the back today,little protection mind. If we can sneak Lescott, or similar ,in then might be a plan. Good job I'm not a manager! I find it hard to cristice the centre halves today. We we just so open through the middle. There were runners from midfield who were not tracked & we were just over run. Obviously there were times when Muniesa & Cameron could have done better, but the central midfield needed to tighten up. With 10 minutes to go we were struggling to hold on & Adam comes on for MVG who I thought was poor. I think it just shows that we are a defensive minded midfielder short.
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Post by stokecitydom on Aug 22, 2015 16:37:07 GMT
Too many weak players. Afellay and MVG need a month in the Bojan gym regime before they play again. I think this is the first time I've agreed with something March has written. We are just so lightweight in the middle of the park. Would love us to buy abit of a bruiser for the midfield. We really need that bit of fight & bite to balance the attacking flair.
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Post by stokecitydom on Aug 15, 2015 17:14:38 GMT
Firstly, great comeback & in the end it was thoroughly deserved. Special mention to Ireland & Arnautovic who I thought were superb. I just think we still lack that presence in the centre midfield. Someone who can impose themselves onto the game. Someone who can stick his foot in when we're up against it, but on the other hand keep us ticking over when we are in control. As I type this it dawns on me that I'm describing N'Zonzi, but I'm just not convinced we have adequately replaced him. It's all well & good having the flair & skillful players like Arnie, Bojan & Shaqiri but if we cannot keep the ball & get it to them, then they become ineffective. why not give the man that turned the tide in the second half a run of a few games , I don't think starting the odd game here and there helps a player so as I say give Ireland a chance imo I like Ireland & I think he's a useful player, especially away from home. However, when everyone is fit then surely you'd expect Bojan to be in that attacking midfield role. I don't think Ireland would be the man to be sit alongside Whelan.
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