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Post by mermaidsal on Dec 2, 2017 17:45:52 GMT
Still getting over the fact that Bony knows where the goal is (but sadly, aware Ryan made it easier for him )... so 3 really important points, a win, a confidence boost and maybe the start of some momentum... but they were abject to be fair and look doomed even by December. We managed to hold on though after our goals, shakily sometimes but we haven't been able to do it in recent weeks so a plus to Sparky for that. Does today make me more convinced about LMH after the thrre previous games especially? Honestly no, but he got the main decisions right for me and maybe earns a couple more chances to prove us wrong. Really hope for encouraging news about BMI, thinking of you matey. xx 6* * if you were there please
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Post by mermaidsal on Nov 29, 2017 23:07:13 GMT
He said Car Share was coming back to show what happened, after the Car Jam and then there was going to be a 30 min unedited version of them in the Car together. TEST Ladies, have any of us not secretly been learning the Sian Gibson power squeak?
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Post by mermaidsal on Nov 29, 2017 23:01:14 GMT
A question to all the supporters who thinks Hughes will turn this mess around.I would like to know what argument/evidence do you have that he will? Well, tonight is when this remianer got off the fence. Taxi for Mr Hughes time, I'm sorry to say.
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Post by mermaidsal on Nov 29, 2017 22:59:58 GMT
and Martin Atkinson.
But a bent ref's no excuse for tonight really, ok we played well for periods of the game and Sparky made some positive decisions as well as some dodge ones, and yes we weren't the luckiest but yet abloodygain we're falling so far short in terms of basic competence it's woeful to see - not just defensively but that's where it hurts most obviously. Yet abloodygain
Wish there was any other way of seeing it but we're deservedly in a relegation dogfight - whatever Crouchy says, right now we are among the four or five weakest sides in the Prem, the table tells no lies by December.
Two weeks ago I still thought Leslie was worth giving the chance to get us out of this. I reckon tonight is where the tide turns.
4* from me
* if you were there please
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Post by mermaidsal on Nov 26, 2017 1:25:33 GMT
Damn well hope so but I doubt it We haven;t ever been truly safe at the back the whole time we've marked zonally, it only work for us with a 5+ man defence and the majority of those 5 playing out of their boots. God knows I'm not Dave Kemp's biggest fan but he's out of a job right now and I would be so glad to see him back here till the end of the season as defensive coach. Kempy's enjoying retirement. One of the best defensive coaches around. Hi Dave xx
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Post by mermaidsal on Nov 25, 2017 23:15:34 GMT
No way is it as bad as the binary season or the zero-ideas hissy fit last months of Tone's reign (and that comes form someone who was a Pulista till late on).
If we'd done the relatively few key extra things right to come away from this week with two away wins, we'd be talking about a team finding where the goal is and on the up and so would the media circus.
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Post by mermaidsal on Nov 25, 2017 23:12:07 GMT
Damn well hope so but I doubt it We haven;t ever been truly safe at the back the whole time we've marked zonally, it only work for us with a 5+ man defence and the majority of those 5 playing out of their boots. God knows I'm not Dave Kemp's biggest fan but he's out of a job right now and I would be so glad to see him back here till the end of the season as defensive coach.
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Post by mermaidsal on Nov 25, 2017 23:08:53 GMT
don't even think it's cynical to say the upcoming window is a big reason for his excellent form right now, just how the biusiness works these days. but then, surely his and his agent's agenda coming to Stoke in the first place was always to put him in the shop window for a Top 6, Euro-qualified club?
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Post by mermaidsal on Nov 25, 2017 19:25:22 GMT
Quite a scathing review to round off with a 6, that. I know! Was scratching my head over the number because taken in isolation, if we'd been on a good run you'd probably say ah well, an unlucky game, couple of errors and we got punished, move on - trouble is you can't take it in isolation
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Post by mermaidsal on Nov 25, 2017 19:19:59 GMT
We didn't play badly. We could have won the game. And that's just the point, we've thrown away 4 points this week and those may prove vital. We're just not doing the things you do when you win football matches. We're not sufficiently ruthless, either with an opposition or ourselves. When a certain situation happens in game, taking the lead for example, the lads out there must know what's expected next, how we close an opposition down for a period or whatever Leslie's game plan is. It's not working, he's not connecting with team well enough, something continues to be badly wrong on the training ground, or in the space between training and a competitive game. I no longer believe the current backroom team is capable of sorting that, I think Leslie's been too loyal to his trusties for too long and it may cost him his job at Stoke if he doesn't take action.
For today, 6 from me.
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Post by mermaidsal on Nov 20, 2017 21:58:22 GMT
Good point, good performance for a lot of the game - we were creative and sometimes even bold (take a bow Shaq, especially) against a useful side away from home. All the same imho we could and should have closed them down and held it at 2-1. So yet again I'm saying defensive routines are badly in need of work. Yet again it's basic training ground stuff letting us down too often.
Nearly a 7 but we need to be raising the bar now, so it's 6 from me.
* if you were at the game please
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Post by mermaidsal on Nov 17, 2017 16:26:58 GMT
Boringly, I just am a happy person most of the time, doesn't take a special event, those are just the icing on the cake.
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Post by mermaidsal on Nov 17, 2017 16:23:25 GMT
I would seriously never have stopped picking him. Show me any England player with a better atittude, more consistent eye for goal and great fitness levels age regardless in the time, I don't know one. Ok he'd be coming off the bench in Russia but cos he's been off the international scene so long, opponents wouldn't lnow how to play him.
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Post by mermaidsal on Nov 17, 2017 16:19:56 GMT
I only started following Stoke last season, so I have a lot to learn about the club's history. I have learned a lot reading this forum, including hours spent going through old threads. Here are some questions I have based on what I've read. 1) What did Peter Coates do in his first spell as chairman that upset so many people? 2) What was the Mama role? 3) I've known about the 0-7 defeat against Birmingham for a while, but only recently read a comment that suggested the players were upset and sort of threw the game. Please explain? 4) Why, how, and when did the Pulis hating wankstains vs rimmers divide happen? Does the divide on this board reflect the divide among fans in general, or is it magnified on this board? 1) Rightly or wrongly, the perception of Coates' first coming was as a vampiric presence who either couldn't or wouldn't put money into the club, had zero ambition for the club and who all too readily sold off the club's best players to the first bidder. The most famous example being the sale of Paul Peschisolido in 1996 when it seemed the team was genuinely in with a chance of promotion to the Premiership. 2) The Mama role was a key position in TP's version of 4-4-2 which involved one striker playing behind the other and doing all the dirty work, dropping in as an extra midfielder when we didn't have the ball, winning flick-ons and creating space for his strike partner, in Mama's case the extraordinary Ricardo Fuller. Mama Sidibe was limited but he performed this role selflessly and brilliantly. As weird as it sounds for a striker, he really wasn't in the team to score goals. Gifton Noel-Williams played the role as a sort of proto-Mama before him. Jon Walters was the sort of T-1000 Mama to Mama's T-800. More gifted strikers who actually wanted to score some goals tended to struggle with it. 3) The players found out on the Monday before the game that nine of them had been put on the transfer list. They found this out by picking up The Sentinel and seeing it on the back page. The idea that they proceeded to down tools that weekend is a fairly reasonable one I think. 4) It was in place from the get-go in 2002. People on both sides shifted allegiance more than once. It developed partly because he felt like such an underwhelming appointment at first (and he'd had a bit of a pop at us when he chose Bristol City over us a couple of years prior) and festered because he has a tendency, with his football and his ways, to rub some folk up the wrong way. I think the divide on the board did reflect the crowd, and it generally is a decent thermometer for supporter feelings in general. Hang on, you just got all the answers pitch perfect. Are you in fact, God?
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Post by mermaidsal on Nov 5, 2017 13:48:39 GMT
A dour home 0-0 with Liverpool the day after I was born, story of my life...
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Post by mermaidsal on Nov 4, 2017 15:40:30 GMT
He was really strong early last season too, great to see him back to that standard or even better - hopefully he has the right mix round him to keep on doing what he does best the whole season this time, God knows we need you Joe!
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Post by mermaidsal on Nov 4, 2017 15:37:01 GMT
Game of two halves is an understatement, Leslie wtf was that first half about? It was like we were goldfish (or you were) who'd immediately forgotten the last week's lessons. We failed to close Leicester down, we didn't stop them playing their game, for spells in the first half we made them look a way better side than they are (altho Vardy had a great game by any standard imo).
Second half, it was like we actually arrived in the stadium. Brilliant spirit, creative, combative, lot of pressure and we got a point out of it - not what we wanted but a lot better than it could have been.
I have absolutely no idea which Stoke we're likely to see next week but for today - second half deserves higher than this, first half deserves lot less - on balance it's
6* from me
* if you were there please
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Post by mermaidsal on Nov 4, 2017 15:30:32 GMT
So, so sorry to hear this news RIP to a brilliant brave young lad Love and condolences to those left behind xxx
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Post by mermaidsal on Oct 28, 2017 16:05:39 GMT
Glory be we closed a good team down and stopped them playing the way they intended. We had a game plan and it worked. With v few exceptions everyone on the park knew what they were trying to do - not least Sir Ryan, right back to his best just when we needed him most. Not to mention three cracking away points.
Objectively, not a genius SCFC performance but a really strong solid one and after the last two, that's massive. Sparky sorted pretty much everything we were close to despairing about last week so for me that's worth an easy
8
* if you we were at Vicarage Rd.
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Post by mermaidsal on Oct 28, 2017 15:46:00 GMT
Bera I;d have scored that
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Post by mermaidsal on Oct 28, 2017 15:45:06 GMT
Absolutely outstanding from our captain today, had fat Deeney in his back pocket! Ryan is the just the bloody best human being, to come roaring back from the injuries and some of the dog's abuse he gets, often through playing when way short of fit. The guy in a lion.
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Post by mermaidsal on Oct 28, 2017 15:43:20 GMT
Does anybody know how I can get in touch with the disabled rep on the supporters council, I think his name is mick Barnett. thanks if you can help So, yep Mark Barnett is your man, if for any reason he's not around I'm not an official disability rep but always happy to try and help x
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Post by mermaidsal on Oct 24, 2017 19:52:37 GMT
Puel 1/6 for Everton, so unlikely to be Dyke leaving. Something tells me Hughes or Pulis could be moving on. 400/1 on the two of them swapping jobs...
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Post by mermaidsal on Oct 24, 2017 19:50:09 GMT
I don't see why Coates would have waited until the middle of the week. Surely yesterday would have been the day to do it? Unless someone has suddenly come available? Just don't see it though. But would PC have let the Sentinel run that back page interview today if he meant to act within 24/48?? Not sure. Haven't known him make a false move with the media for a long time, he has great instincts... But yep, something's on the move for sure is the feeling in my bones too.
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Post by mermaidsal on Oct 22, 2017 20:46:30 GMT
In previous seasons under Hughes, including this season, after 9 matches we had the following points: 8 11 12 9 8 He has never made a good start to a season at Stoke, but have we ever seriously looked like being relegated? No, you're right, we have never seriously looked like being relegated. Until now! Ish... remember Tone's final season, when he went into a sustained hissy fit (which I swear is what really happened) after being denied his transfer targets in the January window? We were incredibly lucky to stay up that year, however rough this season is so far we're better than that.
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Post by mermaidsal on Oct 22, 2017 20:37:17 GMT
At least the 2008/09 team had a bit of heart and charisma. EVERY player in a Stoke shirt in 2008/9 knew EXACTLY what was expected of them EVERY time they stepped out onto the pitch. That's the biggest differenc in management for me. I'm not saying we haven't taken massive leaps forward since then, under Sparky especially (when he's on a good streak that is) but there are so many vital lessons 2017/18 SCFC not just could but MUST go back and learn from the 2008/9 lads. And what I wouldn't give for Ryan to get his 2008 body back He still has the heart, he's the biggest link with those days, just wish getting through 90 minutes wasn;t agony so often for him. Always hopeful, but...
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Post by mermaidsal on Oct 22, 2017 13:47:24 GMT
In terms of raw talent it's arguably the best! That's the whole tragic mess of this
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Post by mermaidsal on Oct 21, 2017 19:59:48 GMT
Oh please God no Or Gordon Strachan. As for Big Sam yes he'd shore us up for a couple of seasons but once he moved on I wouldn;t fancy picking up from there - yesterday's man and a short-term option only for me. UNLESS he was prepared to commit to a 5-year contract and make us his last club, in which case he would be a really serious contender. I'd take a chance on Chris Coleman tho, his contract's up soon and he has to be considering other options surely.
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Post by mermaidsal on Oct 21, 2017 18:20:56 GMT
From the vantage point of today (cheers btw Albert x) what I don't get is how the **** we looked so good a few weeks ago - and we truly did for maybe three, four games.
Just rudderless, planless and gutless today. One side had a quality manager, we had Sparky Hughes on one of his bad runs. The gulf in quality and commitment speaks for itself.
I would still love Leslie to prove this can work, he's earned that right - but not for too much longer imho.
2* from me
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Post by mermaidsal on Oct 15, 2017 15:54:42 GMT
Fair comment but the quality of the Citeh onslaught still doesn't explain how the players looked to understand the game plan two weeks ago but then today looked so lost much of the time. I'm NOT pressing the Hughes Out button by any means, just want to get what's going on in his head - and how that does and doesn't communicate to the lads. Sal when we win it takes you hours to start this thread. When we lose it’s like you have typed it at half time waiting to press “post” on the final whistle. Man Citeh made a team (Liverpool) that just thrashed arsenal 4-0 look like complete garbage with a 5-0 win in a week. Stoke are not unique in that. Man City were world class today. No arguing with the world class part, it was a joy to behold but would gave been more of a joy against some other opposition! As for when I start Rate Hughes threads ... if you stalked me a bit more closely, it's simply cos I go to most home games (where we often get to win) and generally come home via mum and dad's, specially when I've had dad with me, whereas I only get to a few aways so can start the thread earlier cos I've been watching ona stream or sometimes just listening to the Nige version.
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