A tribute to IanRB (irony free!)

[kinnell]

Well, Ian predicted this and all hail him for that.

He repeated ad nauseam that Pulis's 'direct style' could, indeed would, get us out of this league.

And he's (almost) now been proved right.

And I've been proved wrong. ???

The most laudable thing about Ian for me, though, is that, unlike many, he's been HONEST about Pulis's style of play, never for one moment attempting to pretend that it's anything other than what it is and never for one moment railing against the meeja's misrepresentations.

Ian has also, unlike many, maintained a dignity and level of respect that both do credit to him and shame many others on the board. I have crossed swords with the man on many occasions and really can understand why Andy P, with whom I have much more in common, remains a friend. But then he DOES hail from my neck of the woods after all.

Of course, he can be frighteningly pedantic and sometimes speaks with an 'I speak your weight' machine's irritating blend of mechanistic certainty and lack of passion with a whiff of condescension thrown in for good measure. And he betrays precious little love for a game that really can be a thing of joy and beauty for so many of us, often deriding the efforts of, say, Ronaldinho and Messi, as 'tippy-tappy football'. No. I could never warm to Ian's view of the game which really does reduce things to a philosophy of 'winning at any cost'.I also believe that his narrowmindedness in accepting and embracing the 'continental approach',in other words a more methodical and intelligent game based on ball retention, tactical sophistication and individual skill, is the sort of thing that's held our national game back for decades.

BUT.....as far as Stoke is concerned, Ian has been proved resoundingly correct: this approach to the game HAS been successful in this league, as Ian predicted. What's more, Ian's powers of clairvoyancy are all the more remarkable given his strange obsession with synchronising the burnishing of his barnet with matchdays. I never thought it would happen. So, even though it's not the sort of football I personally can take much pleasure from watching, I was wrong.

So, Ian, you can send me that family-sized humble pie any time you like.

My preference is for a Wright's meat and 'tater. ;D

[sheikhmomo]

Only a freaking idiot would suggest we exclusively play hoofball.

Morning hudson.

[kinnell]

Sorry, Mo. But are you on the right thread there?

[Lakeland Potter]

We should faise funds for a statue of Ian to be erected alongside that of Banks and Sir Stan.

[kinnell]

Sitting in a barber's chair with 'Antoine' clippers poised and ready to strike?

[jpm64]

HG

Delighted to give you smite number 100

[kinnell]

Bastard.

[thepremierbanksy]

"a whiff of condescension thrown in for good measure"

Rather than the whole bottle of 'eau de patronise' from Mr Oxford-Man himself. But Kinnell, you should give youself some credit, with about four games to go last season you made a few "It could just work!" threads.

PS I think you should probably reference OldStokie here, or accusations of plagiarism may crop up!

[FullerMagic]

Karma for Ian's barber.




And The Scissor Sisters.

And Jeff Stelling.

[lordb]

I ought to declare an interest here:
I know Ian from skeweldayze & HG/Kinell has him spot on!

Ian overall has proved correct (fingers crossed) in that he always insisted TP could get Stoke promoted without changing his style (much) - although this TP side is different to the 1st time round in that it attacks (hoofball or not) a hell of a lot more than the uber defensive side that we saw previously
- imho those defensive tactics were essential in the survival campaign but a hinderance by the last season -

what Ian (& pretty much everyone else) didnt forsee was PC spending lots & lots of wonga (yes I know transfer fee's have been evened up since summer 06 with incoming fee's but other outgoings,wages e.t.c. e.t.c must have gone through the roof).

I still beleive that a Boscamp style aproach to football is preferable,& Ian would split his sides @ that,however I think TP's current Stoke side are on good days nowhere near as 1 dimensional as painted by his detractors. - on bad days (e.g. Sheff Utd &b Palace home games) we are EXACTLY as painted by the media lovies e.t.c..

thing is next year in the prem TP will surely revert to type & it will be uber defensive football again.
question: will that be the wrong approach?

[Pugsley]

Naahhhh fuck him. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.





;D

[followyoudown]

Apr 24, 2008 11:23:08 GMT Lakeland Potter said:

We should faise funds for a statue of Ian to be erected alongside that of Banks and Sir Stan.

Well as neither of them actually played at the Britannia stadium I guess there's no reason why we can't have a statue of someone who doesn't visit the stadium that often either

[caliban]

I was gonna post, but HG put "Irony Free!".... so I cant.

[**** Pulling Himself Off]

We aren't second in the league this year from playing nothing but Hoofball.

You were also wrong about Pulis being a cancer who was slowy destroying Stoke City from within.

[super tony pulis]

long live tony pullis and peter coates.

[Pugsley]

Apr 24, 2008 12:23:42 GMT super tony pulis said:

long live tony pullis and peter coates.

How soon 25 years of neglect is swept away.

[mermaidsal]

kinnell and irony-free in the same sentence? Honestly?? I think Ian's been loyal to the point of daftness at times but well done Ian all the same

[mcf]

Better footballers make better teams.

Tactics, styles, systems are just part of it and you have to vary them depending on the quality of the footballers you have.

Pulis always knew this as did many of the Rimmers who knew that better times would be ahead of us if Coates was serious about funding those better players.

Hardly rocket science and this is what makes the Pulis Hating Wankstains look so utterly stupid.

Part of Pulis' success is probably based on the fact that he knows he can do only so much like any manager, ultimately its the players that will decide.

He held his nerve when others would have rushed out and bought shite....his timing from beginning to end of this season has been pretty good. He was absolutely slated at the beginning of the season for not bringing in players but 46 games is a long time and he has got it just about spot on from the look of it.

No doubt he will have got lucky though.

[Jimbo]

Tony Pulis is a very stubborn manager, but some of the most successful ones are! He knows the style of play he wants. It means that Stoke aren't one of the prettiest sides in the league to watch. But really, apart from WBA, who is? There aren't any others in the league who play carpet football.

We get the ball forward quickly and play our football in the final third. Added to that, he works incredibly hard on set-pieces.

Whilst I've had plenty of moments where I've found TP an incredibly frustrating manager, credit where it's due. We're a nightmare to play against, we attack and we have goals all over the pitch - even from Sidibe now.

[daverichards]

how you typed that with a straight face I will never know


if the weather man says it'll be sunny every morning he's bound to get it right eventually

[kinnell]

Huh?

[trebor63]

Oh dear ID, what a very strange arguement!

Kinnel has got it right about Ian his trust in TP remained steadfast when many more people with a good understanding of football (I believe the PHWs call them rimmers) were doubting themselves.

TPs success has been quitre breathtaking with year on year improvement for whuch all Stoke fans will be eternally grateful cos the biggest stepping stone in thew recent history of Stoke looks distinctly possible

[tom1potter]

karma for Kinnel for giving some praise

[daverichards]

Hit trust in TP followed him to Plymouth thankfully he was the only rimmer to do this, wish he had stayed .

TP's success whilst welcome is hardly "year on year" as you claim

[kinnell]

I bet Ian's hair is a wonder to behold.....anybody got a picture?.....I see it as maybe a cross between an Amy Winehouse beehive and a Kajagoogoo shagpile....but every last hair impeccably arranged.... ;D

But has he washed out those Plymouth green highlights?.......that's what I want to know.......

[kinnell]

Dave's right, Trebor. You're right about Ian, wrong about Pulis methinks!
;)Cheers Tom.

[swampySCFC]

One thing that Pulis should be credited with is finally giving the club some fucking respect after all these years.

[kinnell]

A 'hair today, gone tomorrow' manager, Swampy? Or will he achieve promotion by a hairsbreadth? We'll find out soon enough!

PS Is that long ball of yours slapping against your arse cheek? I've been wondering that for weeks. Must be damned uncomfortable. Do you have to have underpants specially made?

[trebor63]

His first year we were in a major relegation battle and just survived the next three seasons were spent pretty much in the middle despite the Icelanders pulling the rug from under him and buying crap players for him etc (plus also Boscamps year) Then it was just outside the play offs then automatic!

That seems like a fairly steep improvement curve from one end of the table to the other and this included one particularly negative season both on and off the pitch and whatever you think of TP his hands were well and truly tied!

[kinnell]

Let's not dig that old chestnut up again, Trebor

Come on out Ian and take a bow!

Dave, I think you're being just a little churlish here.

I don't believe I'd be likely to agree with the guy on much but give him his due.