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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 9, 2018 22:59:47 GMT
...tonight on Talk Shite I think he made a very valid point He posed the question: "name any players that have improved at Stoke under the coaching of Mark Hughes" To be honest, I can't...and thereby hangs a big part of our problem The SOLE exception is arguably Joe Allen, altho he came off the back of a cracking World Cup. For EVERYONE else it was worse than not improved. No coincidence that our best spell earlier this season was when a clutch of new signings were thrown in and played their own games. Soon as they got their orders from Leslie and Bowen, their form plummeted. That says everything Whereas, to be fair, when Leslie first arrived and everyone was let off the Pulis leash we saw some amazing improvements. Still don't fully understand why it worked so well then and so badly later - maybe Tone had built a better balanced squad but tbh it wasn't that well balanced by the time he went.
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Bilic
Jan 9, 2018 20:17:15 GMT
Post by mermaidsal on Jan 9, 2018 20:17:15 GMT
I personally don't think he's the type of manager that's bursting with ambition to lift this team. It's like swapping Hughes with Hughes again. We need a go getter. The kind of of manager that will bring the morale back to a very flat squad. Billic looks very conservative as a person, and that's one thing we don't need right now. I'd still back him if he becomes manager though. Agree with this - wouldn't be an awful appointment (unlike Lambert, who's a lunatic idea and belongs at Vale Park or similar) and part of me is fascinated to understand what magic exactly Bilic wove when it worked for him at Wet Sham. Unfashionably Michael not Martin O'Neill is my top choice from the names around the frame.
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 8, 2018 20:21:38 GMT
Watch and see who'll play for the new manager, to game plans they understand and respect, and I reckon there'll be a few pleasant surprises.
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 7, 2018 20:45:30 GMT
The guy we had on loan who kicked somebody in the bollocks. I've sadly forgotten their name. I think he played under Alan Ball. Classic Oatie post
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 7, 2018 20:37:52 GMT
Southall Steve Parkin Michael Duberry Paul Williams Kevin Wimmer Bjarni Gudjonsson Tony Kelly Charlie Adam Winston Palacios Saido Berahino Jon Parkin I'm sure that lot could steamroller a few sides Can we add an extra rule here that you can't nominate players who weigh less than the person nominating?
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 7, 2018 19:33:10 GMT
This thread's replacing the one that got embarrassing. If you reckon Kay and her husband are good folks and worth a bit of help when they need it, please donate. If you don't think that, feel equally free to walk on by. xx Sally Just Giving link below: Not sure if this belongs in this forum or "everything else" but lots of us know Kay on the Oatcake Boat really well from matchdays so I figure people will want to know. There was an accident at Etruria earlier today while they were trying to remove some wire from around the propeller. They ended up taking on 3 feet of water in the front section of the boat and very nearly sinking it, from what I hear. Some of Kay's friends are rallying around and trying to be helpful and a fundraising page has been set up to try to raise £200 to sort some of the immediate needs www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/caz-collinsAdmin feel free to move (or pin) this as you see fit. Read more: oatcakefanzine.proboards.com/thread/275283/oatcake-boat-accident-today?page=1#ixzz53WrmOrpD
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 7, 2018 16:32:21 GMT
There clearly has to be criticism of the entire transfer and recruitment team, and I know that the pizza boys will never be popular on here. All of that is probably justified to one extent or another. But it is worth remembering that Hughes did have a pretty big say all the same throughout his entire tenure, for better and worse. It was, objectively, Mark Hughes who signed his old pal Stephen Ireland and used his historic Barca contacts to sign Muniesa and Bojan. It was, as a matter of historic fact, Mark Hughes who signed Imbula on the basis of him playing well against us in a pre-season friendly. It was Mark Hughes who chased Berahino for three transfer windows and hailed him as the goalscorer who would take us to the next level. In the coming weeks, I 100% guarantee that Hughes' media cronies (particularly Robbie Savage) will argue that Hughes didn't have enough say in the transfers as an excuse for his performances in the last 18 months. I wouldn't pay too much attention to a lot of it. Do the transfer team deserve legitimate criticism? Yes. Was it the transfer team who coached a side who conceded 47 goals in 22 Premier League games? No. Great post. I needed to sleep on it before deciding if any part of me feels sorry for Leslie and in the end, hinestly I donlt really. History is full of examples of managers with the decency and respect for a club to reign when it's clear to everyone they've taken it as far as they can or are stuck too deep in a pattern that just doesn;t work. He;s not a poor man, it's not as if he had to keep the job to pay for the children's breakfast. I don't doubt that Sparky remains a good bloke but for the sake oif his own self-respect, not to mention his own future in the game he should have resigned three months ago. Or if he truly knew the Cartwright systenm was a disaster (I just think it's averagely bad), he should have gone even sooner. I'll never stop thanking him for those three fantastic seasons though. Just sorry it had to end this way - Smudge said it all on 5Live really.
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 7, 2018 16:07:03 GMT
I'm torn about this. Ryan has been a cracking skipper for a long time and this latest injury isn't a bad one. Tough call for the new manager but I'd keep him as captain till the end of the season. He has such pride in us being a Prem club, he's been right at the heart of it since the promotion season and that's now unique, no-one has more motivation to keep us up.
If not, and looking to the future anyhow, if Jack doesn't move on this window I'd be bold and go for a keeper-captain. He's our best leader on the pitch, it's been done beore and worked.
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 7, 2018 16:01:57 GMT
Always good to read your haikus Ted Agree with most of the analysis but I'd say November was the time to be bold and change manager - then we could have picked up momentum, swung back and looked to get a decent season out of this. Waiting till now means survival will be an achievment. That's my worry in general about the Board right now, winners read the game several moves ahead and we've read this one several moves behind.
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 6, 2018 20:28:04 GMT
Still on strike with the thread but let's just go through the motions for, hopefully, one last time.
IT IS A TOTAL, OBSCENE OUTRAGE BY THE BOARD THAT SPARKY WAS STILL IN CHARGE FOR THIS GAME.
The lads would have done better today without any manager at all.
Nothing else to say.
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 6, 2018 15:18:50 GMT
Sad but true Couple of wins and some nice sunny days would help... It's not just on here tbf Sal, it's on Facebook, Twitter and the comments page of most daily and local newspapers. Noticed it a lot more in the last couple of months - particularly when it's related to our football club - that bit's unsurprising of course but the level of vitriol when it comes to all subjects is definitely on the rise. Yet, face to face, people are generally nice as pie. Funny isn't it? That is so true. We could always mention austerity and the Tory govt here too.
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 6, 2018 14:37:58 GMT
"Over the past week i've been watching a few Elvis Concerts on BBC 2, The '68 comeback speacial and Live from Hawaii.
I noticed that both Moz and Elvis seem to have many things similar, the way the hold the microphone, the way they move about the stage, the interaction with the audience between songs, the shaking of hands with the audience and the staring whilst singing directly at the audience.
anyone else think the same "
There's a few apparently. Read on.
www.morrissey-solo.com/threads/morrissey-and-elvis-similarities-live.106426/
This is Elvis's manky grey ganzy and talking out of his arse period we're talking about?
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 6, 2018 14:31:42 GMT
Agreed f (and hiya, ltns ), if we can't land a bigger fish Coleman is high on my list too.
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 6, 2018 14:30:18 GMT
It's Tony Mowbray, Blackburn's manager. Christ on a bike no, whatever club he's prteneding to manage atm please please stay there.
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 6, 2018 14:28:13 GMT
Can't see what all the fuss is about. Because it's not on my route I've never once used the boat, but I very probably would if it was on my way to the match. So, the naive, stupid OS has just jumped out of his old Fiat Punto and donated a tenner. Why? Simple. They're fellow Stokies who're in a spot of bother and a tenner will neither make me or break me and it might just alleviate some of the shit they're in. And I couldn't give a shit if they're insured or not. Anybody who has dealt with an insurance claim will know the first thing that happens is that they come running to you with wads of cash to help out - not! To those who run the boat... I hope you get things sorted, folks. All best, OS. It's the jumping part that worries me xx
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 6, 2018 14:26:36 GMT
Why do people need to be so nasty and bitter. It's very much the 'in' thing these days. Nastiness and bitterness are all over this forum, and the EE board as well. Sad but true Couple of wins and some nice sunny days would help...
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 6, 2018 14:22:19 GMT
I'm trying to imagine wtf dialogue could result in LMH still in charge/ Somehow I doubt if football played a massive part. Best I can come up with is:
- Does the club have £6.5 million of liquidity right now to pay LMH off?
- No.
- Is Denise prepared t release £6.5 million from the core business to pay LMH off?
- No.
- Is LMH prepared to take a penny less?
- No.
- Mr Hughes, you continue to be SCFC's manager.
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 6, 2018 1:10:18 GMT
Fuck me. It's all going wrong at the moment. The hippo's going to be next. Please God no, we'll be needing the Hippo as manager next week since apparently Stoke wonlt be able to find anyone else better then Leslie...
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 6, 2018 1:08:49 GMT
Happy to pin this Steve, wishing Kay all the best, cheers for letting us know.
xx Sally
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 1, 2018 22:55:40 GMT
Listen I don't mean to fall out with a fellow Stokie, blood should be thicker than water at a time like this. I'm just really upset like a lot of people and because you're not yet a regular poster I don't happen to know you as well as many others on here (and trolls do emerge when the team's in trouble, sadly). Please don't feel you're unelcome on the Oatie - but my personal opinion does remain that if the Board leave Sparky in charge for our next Prem game and enough fellow supporters feel the same way, yes I would join a mass bycott if I thought there was a serious chance it would make the Coates family finally see sense.
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 1, 2018 22:50:34 GMT
I know keeper captains aren't a straightforward option but one thing we should be doing right now, whoever the manager is by the time of our next Prem game, is making Jack skipper for the rest of the season. If one player can drive us there by passion and leadership (and being an excellent reader of the game), that man is Jack Butland.
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 1, 2018 22:39:40 GMT
84 posts and throwing your weight around? Call yourself a troll?? What significance does number of posts mean? Is it a badge of honour? Does it mean you are a better supporter than me? I'd wager that I've seen more relegation scraps than you and have never gone down the route of boycotting games. Pathetic. I'm cringing in shame, not sure I can bear this humilitation - so we must have been sat next to each other when we lost 0-7 to Birmingham then, is that right? I'm shouting boycott or similar now if the Board don't take action because the stakes are so massively higher and because I and many more Stokies have been there for the long and at times nightmare journey to the Prem. The thought of blowing it all at this point, when it's still salvageable, breaks my heart and I want to do something about it if I possibly can. Sorry if that makes me pathetic, I wish I was such a hero as you xx
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 1, 2018 20:21:26 GMT
I've never even thought of boycotting games before but this may be the time. What a boardroom of witless fucking ostriches if this is really true. Boycott games? Call yourself a Stoke supporter. Jesus wept. 84 posts and throwing your weight around? Call yourself a troll??
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 1, 2018 20:21:16 GMT
I've never even thought of boycotting games before but this may be the time. What a boardroom of witless fucking ostriches if this is really true. Boycott games? Call yourself a Stoke supporter. Jesus wept. 84 posts and throwing your weight around? Call yourself a troll??
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 1, 2018 18:25:39 GMT
I've never even thought of boycotting games before but this may be the time.
What a boardroom of witless fucking ostriches if this is really true.
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Post by mermaidsal on Jan 1, 2018 17:00:53 GMT
This thread is officially on strike till we have a new manager - caretaker will do - to rate. I'm just so sorry it had to end like this for Sparky and hope he has the decency in him to force the Board's hand by resigning tonight, there's surely no other honourable course.
If we go down, I'm pointing the finger firmly at the Board: this should never, ever in 1000 years have been allowed to go on past around mid-November very latest.
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Post by mermaidsal on Dec 30, 2017 17:01:54 GMT
Do we ever practise it in training. We don't do it in the match thats for sure. Gouranga. Looking up in the sky, whistling and running sideways when the ball comes near is what we do in training. Truth. It just can't possibly be anything else, our stats prove it.
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Post by mermaidsal on Dec 30, 2017 16:58:26 GMT
Really? Rate that?? I gave Sparky a decent mark for the last two games because he gave it a decent go but put us up against a quality side and we're right back in it, feebler than ever and with our GD even further down the toilet. Leslie Mark Hughes should not have been in charge of Stoke City FC for this game of football and he certainly shouldn't be in charge next week. Sir Peter, Denise, John, please take your heads out of that large mound of sand, you've given the guy so many reprieves but you must surely accept now there is nowhere else left to go down this road.
For today, a generous 2 from me since it's Christmas
add * if you were there in person please
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Post by mermaidsal on Dec 27, 2017 14:27:48 GMT
Poor guy tho, this has to feel desperate for Ryan. He's played on thro so many injuries and in the end, that's always when you get injured worse At this age the shadow's always there, one more bad one and you're likely to be off down the divisions.
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Post by mermaidsal on Dec 27, 2017 14:24:14 GMT
Game to game says it all - the WBA and Huddersfield results I strongly suspect will keep Sparky his job till the end of the season now. Personally I wish the Board had been more assertive sooner and I'd much prefer to be going into the window under new management. Things being as they are, I'm totally behind the lads of course but I can't see any way the rest of the this season isn't game to game, with a lash up first XI - what matters from here for me isn't so much new players as keeping the ones we have fully motivated and knowing what the hell they're meant to be doing out there from one week to the next. It's not too late, even Scrooge changed his ways in the end: FFS SPARKY PLEASE ABANDON ZONAL MARKING.
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