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Post by lawrieleslie on Oct 28, 2024 17:43:37 GMT
A few mistakes by Farmer particularly dealing with high crosses which had always been a weakness. Then mishandling the low cross for their equaliser although the ball does appear to hit a divot and pop up and take him by surprise. Just wondering if this was the game that finally prompted Waddo to sign Shilton which he did 4 weeks later. I’m still in the camp that says we should have signed a decent striker instead of Shilton. Despite his weakness in dealing with crosses Farmer was a competent keeper a great shot stopper. This definitely signalled the end of John Farmer for Stoke. He was a decent enough keeper but there had been a few other wobbly moments. I think I'm right in remembering that we were prepared to buy a new striker as well as a keeper, so was it really a case of either/or? I'm not convinced it was. Wasn’t Peter Osgood being touted and almost signed but chose Southampton instead being "darn sarf". |
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Post by benjaminbiscuit on Oct 28, 2024 20:41:58 GMT
This definitely signalled the end of John Farmer for Stoke. He was a decent enough keeper but there had been a few other wobbly moments. I think I'm right in remembering that we were prepared to buy a new striker as well as a keeper, so was it really a case of either/or? I'm not convinced it was. Wasn’t Peter Osgood being touted and almost signed but chose Southampton instead being "darn sarf". I sat behind osgood when he was there to sign in a game we won handsomely he then left and chose Southampton |
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Post by march4 on Oct 28, 2024 22:37:53 GMT
Osgood did indeed choose Soton, but he failed to score all season and they were relegated. I’m not sure his signing would have helped.
From reading the press reports of the time, we were close to signing Ian Hutchinson from Chelsea as our new striker. He would have cost us a similar fee to Huddy. Something happened to make us change our minds and sign Shilton. I think it was a number of factors including Clough’s opinion and Farmer’s mistake against Chelsea. I half remember a story about Banksie pushing Waddo to sign Shilton.
The one person at the centre of all this who could tell us what happened is George Eastham. If only there was a way of asking him his memory of this decision.
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Post by lawrieleslie on Oct 29, 2024 7:43:35 GMT
Osgood did indeed choose Soton, but he failed to score all season and they were relegated. I’m not sure his signing would have helped. From reading the press reports of the time, we were close to signing Ian Hutchinson from Chelsea as our new striker. He would have cost us a similar fee to Huddy. Something happened to make us change our minds and sign Shilton. I think it was a number of factors including Clough’s opinion and Farmer’s mistake against Chelsea. I half remember a story about Banksie pushing Waddo to sign Shilton. The one person at the centre of all this who could tell us what happened is George Eastham. If only there was a way of asking him his memory of this decision. As with all managers who leave clubs I believe they sign none disclosure agreements which prevent them from talking about the club. It’s a great shame really because a lot more would be revealed regarding our demise over last 8 years by ex managers of our club. |
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Post by march4 on Oct 29, 2024 9:37:03 GMT
Had we signed Hutchinson, it would have been pretty disastrous as he barely played many more games and retired from professional football a couple of seasons later while in his mid-20s.
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Post by premieraj on Oct 29, 2024 9:54:28 GMT
Had Osgood have signed we may never have seen Ritchie get on his hands and knees to head in against Southampton I think it was?
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Post by march4 on Oct 29, 2024 10:41:14 GMT
Wasn’t Peter Osgood being touted and almost signed but chose Southampton instead being "darn sarf". I sat behind osgood when he was there to sign in a game we won handsomely he then left and chose Southampton We thrashed Soton the day Osgood made his debut with Ritchie getting the hat trick. There were stories that Osgood had said Big John could only score with his head so our Leader scored his final goal by getting on his hands and knees and heading the ball over the line. |
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Post by premieraj on Oct 29, 2024 11:33:58 GMT
I sat behind osgood when he was there to sign in a game we won handsomely he then left and chose Southampton We thrashed Soton the day Osgood made his debut with Ritchie getting the hat trick. There were stories that Osgood had said Big John could only score with his head so our Leader scored his final goal by getting on his hands and knees and heading the ball over the line. And in front of the Boothen end! Priceless memory! |
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Post by spitthedog on Oct 29, 2024 12:14:59 GMT
Had we signed Hutchinson, it would have been pretty disastrous as he barely played many more games and retired from professional football a couple of seasons later while in his mid-20s. Folk often go on about Shilton being a disastrous signing (which I really do disagree with) but some of the players we nearly bought at that time could have been far, far worse and people don't tend to remember that bit of the story. I dont think Osgood, Hutchinson or Chivers would have been much use. Charlie George, or Frances Lee seemed like good options that we missed out on. But saying that George only really had one good season at Derby and Frances Lee's form declined soon after that too and he was forced to retire at the end of 75-76. Derby only had one good season out of him too. Maybe the options weren't quite as good as is made out. edit: John Richards was a big favourite of mine but I don't think we would have got him from Wolves |
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Post by march4 on Oct 29, 2024 14:18:57 GMT
Had we signed Hutchinson, it would have been pretty disastrous as he barely played many more games and retired from professional football a couple of seasons later while in his mid-20s. Folk often go on about Shilton being a disastrous signing (which I really do disagree with) but some of the players we nearly bought at that time could have been far, far worse and people don't tend to remember that bit of the story. I dont think Osgood, Hutchinson or Chivers would have been much use. Charlie George, or Frances Lee seemed like good options that we missed out on. But saying that George only really had one good season at Derby and Frances Lee's form declined soon after that too and he was forced to retire at the end of 75-76. Derby only had one good season out of him too. Maybe the options weren't quite as good as is made out. edit: John Richards was a big favourite of mine but I don't think we would have got him from Wolves Lee was the obvious potential signing but perhaps he wasn’t the sort of big centre forward we wanted. Chivers was past it by 1975 and Hutchinson had a terrible time with injuries. We could have signed Bob Latchford for a similar fee to Shilton. Although things are easier with hindsight we could have spent £100,000 on an 18 year old banging in the goals in Scotland. His name? Andy Gray. |
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Post by smallthorner on Oct 31, 2024 20:14:41 GMT
Wasn't Ron Davies being touted as well?
Or am I imagining that.
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Post by spitthedog on Nov 1, 2024 11:55:06 GMT
Wasn't Ron Davies being touted as well? Or am I imagining that. I remember Davies being mentioned, he went to Man Utd for a season I think and was pretty much past it, retiring soon after. Some of these players used to be pretty much finished by the age of 32 in those days. No protection from refs, poor treatment of injuries, poor diet and playing on muddy pitches week in, week out must have taken its toll. |
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Post by march4 on Nov 1, 2024 12:59:04 GMT
Wasn't Ron Davies being touted as well? Or am I imagining that. I remember Davies being mentioned, he went to Man Utd for a season I think and was pretty much past it, retiring soon after. Some of these players used to be pretty much finished by the age of 32 in those days. No protection from refs, poor treatment of injuries, poor diet and playing on muddy pitches week in, week out must have taken its toll. He did indeed while they were in the 2nd Division. He didn’t play many games and was finished at the top level. |
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Post by march4 on Nov 2, 2024 11:01:49 GMT
The newspapers are filled with stories of one of the biggest sporting events of all time - Muhammad Ali's stunning 8th round knock out of George Foreman in Zaire to reclaim the world title. The Manchester Evening News declares him the 'Greatest Sportsman the World has Ever Seen'. Meanwhile, after the midweek internationals, we are at home today against a struggling Spurs team. It has been a tricky week for the club with Huddy, TC and Josh away with their international teams and Dodd, Banks and Eastham all involved with England u23s. We lined up in front of a disappointing crowd of only 24,000; - Farmer, Marsh, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Dodd, Haslegrave, Greenhoff, Hurst, Hudson, Salmons. Sub; - Robertson. This wasn't a good game for John Farmer who was barracked by supporters as he seemed unsure whether to come for crosses. One of the linesmen also sparked the ire of the crowd for repeatedly flagging for offside. Stoke started well with Salmons lashing home a shot after 8 minutes. However, Stoke were stunned when Tottenham's new striker, John Duncan scored twice in 2 minutes. Both goals were down to hesitation in the Stoke defence. This was an end to end period and when Salmons burst past 2 men, his cross was fired home by Greenhoff. 2-2 and it was half-time. In the second half, a Greenhoff header was just wide and then Haslegrave failed to covert a straightforward looking chance. Farmer made good saves from Duncan and Chivers but there were to be no more goals and it was a point dropped. Terry Neill has made Spurs harder to beat but we are leaking too many goals in spite of our 10 game unbeaten run. Liverpool lost at Ipswich, so we are now 3 points off top spot in 5th place. Waddo blamed our sluggish performance on the international week and Josh had to be substituted just after half-time following his efforts for Wales. John Ritchie is back at the club starting gentle exercise, but his plaster cast will be on for at least another 2 months. Peter Shilton has asked Leicester not to play him again and sell him as soon as possible. Arsenal are believed to be interested but the Sunday papers are convinced that he is about to join Derby. In the USA, Nixon is thought to be critically ill again and doctors are striving to save his life. Closer to home, the sugar shortage has reached crisis point with none available in shops. Ted Heath has lost the support of some of his party's whips as the pressure builds on him to step down.  |
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Post by JoeinOz on Nov 3, 2024 2:04:38 GMT
The newspapers are filled with stories of one of the biggest sporting events of all time - Muhammad Ali's stunning 8th round knock out of George Foreman in Zaire to reclaim the world title. The Manchester Evening News declares him the 'Greatest Sportsman the World has Ever Seen'. Meanwhile, after the midweek internationals, we are at home today against a struggling Spurs team. It has been a tricky week for the club with Huddy, TC and Josh away with their international teams and Dodd, Banks and Eastham all involved with England u23s. We lined up in front of a disappointing crowd of only 24,000; - Farmer, Marsh, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Dodd, Haslegrave, Greenhoff, Hurst, Hudson, Salmons. Sub; - Robertson. This wasn't a good game for John Farmer who was barracked by supporters as he seemed unsure whether to come for crosses. One of the linesmen also sparked the ire of the crowd for repeatedly flagging for offside. Stoke started well with Salmons lashing home a shot after 8 minutes. However, Stoke were stunned when Tottenham's new striker, John Duncan scored twice in 2 minutes. Both goals were down to hesitation in the Stoke defence. This was an end to end period and when Salmons burst past 2 men, his cross was fired home by Greenhoff. 2-2 and it was half-time. In the second half, a Greenhoff header was just wide and then Haslegrave failed to covert a straightforward looking chance. Farmer made good saves from Duncan and Chivers but there were to be no more goals and it was a point dropped. Terry Neill has made Spurs harder to beat but we are leaking too many goals in spite of our 10 game unbeaten run. Liverpool lost at Ipswich, so we are now 3 points off top spot in 5th place. Waddo blamed our sluggish performance on the international week and Josh had to be substituted just after half-time following his efforts for Wales. John Ritchie is back at the club starting gentle exercise, but his plaster cast will be on for at least another 2 months. Peter Shilton has asked Leicester not to play him again and sell him as soon as possible. Arsenal are believed to be interested but the Sunday papers are convinced that he is about to join Derby. In the USA, Nixon is thought to be critically ill again and doctors are striving to save his life. Closer to home, the sugar shortage has reached crisis point with none available in shops. Ted Heath has lost the support of some of his party's whips as the pressure builds on him to step down. View AttachmentMy first game. I seem to remember Chivers missing some good chances. And the smell. It was a specific football match smell. |
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Post by march4 on Nov 3, 2024 9:44:13 GMT
The newspapers are filled with stories of one of the biggest sporting events of all time - Muhammad Ali's stunning 8th round knock out of George Foreman in Zaire to reclaim the world title. The Manchester Evening News declares him the 'Greatest Sportsman the World has Ever Seen'. Meanwhile, after the midweek internationals, we are at home today against a struggling Spurs team. It has been a tricky week for the club with Huddy, TC and Josh away with their international teams and Dodd, Banks and Eastham all involved with England u23s. We lined up in front of a disappointing crowd of only 24,000; - Farmer, Marsh, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Dodd, Haslegrave, Greenhoff, Hurst, Hudson, Salmons. Sub; - Robertson. This wasn't a good game for John Farmer who was barracked by supporters as he seemed unsure whether to come for crosses. One of the linesmen also sparked the ire of the crowd for repeatedly flagging for offside. Stoke started well with Salmons lashing home a shot after 8 minutes. However, Stoke were stunned when Tottenham's new striker, John Duncan scored twice in 2 minutes. Both goals were down to hesitation in the Stoke defence. This was an end to end period and when Salmons burst past 2 men, his cross was fired home by Greenhoff. 2-2 and it was half-time. In the second half, a Greenhoff header was just wide and then Haslegrave failed to covert a straightforward looking chance. Farmer made good saves from Duncan and Chivers but there were to be no more goals and it was a point dropped. Terry Neill has made Spurs harder to beat but we are leaking too many goals in spite of our 10 game unbeaten run. Liverpool lost at Ipswich, so we are now 3 points off top spot in 5th place. Waddo blamed our sluggish performance on the international week and Josh had to be substituted just after half-time following his efforts for Wales. John Ritchie is back at the club starting gentle exercise, but his plaster cast will be on for at least another 2 months. Peter Shilton has asked Leicester not to play him again and sell him as soon as possible. Arsenal are believed to be interested but the Sunday papers are convinced that he is about to join Derby. In the USA, Nixon is thought to be critically ill again and doctors are striving to save his life. Closer to home, the sugar shortage has reached crisis point with none available in shops. Ted Heath has lost the support of some of his party's whips as the pressure builds on him to step down. View AttachmentMy first game. I seem to remember Chivers missing some good chances. And the smell. It was a specific football match smell. Bovril and Woodbines. |
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Post by march4 on Nov 9, 2024 20:26:21 GMT
A week full of transfer speculation ends with a visit to Maine Road and title contenders, Man City. We lined up; - Farmer, Marsh, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Dodd, Haslegrave, Greenhoff, Hurst, Hudson, Salmons. Sub; - Conroy. The Stoke squad had been affected by 'flu in the run up to the game and Haslegrave had to be subbed within the half hour due to symptoms. Huddy started the game with a thigh injury which noticeably hampered him. Consequently, this was a poor performance and if it hadn't been for the inspired goalkeeping of Farmer, our opponents would have been out of sight by half-time. In the end Man City scored only one goal following a catalogue of slip ups from Dodd, Smith and Mahoney and Rodney Marsh applied the finish. In the second half we were more settled without really threatening. In front of England assistant manager Les Cocker, Smith and Farmer were our only players to catch the eye. Rodney Marsh said after the game that he was surprised how poorly Stoke played particularly the lack of attacking threat. He had plenty of praise for Farmer's performance. Man City go top and we are down to 8th, 4 points behind. And next up it is a cup tie against those lovely fellows from Ipswich. The transfer speculation involved a £250,000 bid for Martin Chivers. Spurs claimed Stoke were making an underhand approach and had not approached them officially. Their manager Terry Neill and Waddo did meet during the week at an event in London and the following day Stoke announced they had no interest in Chivers. It looks like Chelsea are about to bring back Peter Osgood. Earlier this week, Lord Lucan disappeared following the murder of the family nanny. Agriculture minister, Fred Peart admits Britons might have to become accustomed to life without sugar for the foreseeable future. The so called 'milk street mafia' group of Tory MPs move to remove Ted Heath as leader. IRA terrorists throw a bomb through the window of a pub in Woolwich, killing one and injuring many off duty soldiers. Meanwhile the courts find a woman guilty for the IRA M62 coach bombing. 8 people died during a 2am fire in a cafe in Islington. The Daily Mirror beg the miners to co-operate with Harold Wilson's government and not set up for further industrial action.  |
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Post by NassauDave on Nov 11, 2024 2:34:26 GMT
The newspapers are filled with stories of one of the biggest sporting events of all time - Muhammad Ali's stunning 8th round knock out of George Foreman in Zaire to reclaim the world title. The Manchester Evening News declares him the 'Greatest Sportsman the World has Ever Seen'. Meanwhile, after the midweek internationals, we are at home today against a struggling Spurs team. It has been a tricky week for the club with Huddy, TC and Josh away with their international teams and Dodd, Banks and Eastham all involved with England u23s. We lined up in front of a disappointing crowd of only 24,000; - Farmer, Marsh, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Dodd, Haslegrave, Greenhoff, Hurst, Hudson, Salmons. Sub; - Robertson. This wasn't a good game for John Farmer who was barracked by supporters as he seemed unsure whether to come for crosses. One of the linesmen also sparked the ire of the crowd for repeatedly flagging for offside. Stoke started well with Salmons lashing home a shot after 8 minutes. However, Stoke were stunned when Tottenham's new striker, John Duncan scored twice in 2 minutes. Both goals were down to hesitation in the Stoke defence. This was an end to end period and when Salmons burst past 2 men, his cross was fired home by Greenhoff. 2-2 and it was half-time. In the second half, a Greenhoff header was just wide and then Haslegrave failed to covert a straightforward looking chance. Farmer made good saves from Duncan and Chivers but there were to be no more goals and it was a point dropped. Terry Neill has made Spurs harder to beat but we are leaking too many goals in spite of our 10 game unbeaten run. Liverpool lost at Ipswich, so we are now 3 points off top spot in 5th place. Waddo blamed our sluggish performance on the international week and Josh had to be substituted just after half-time following his efforts for Wales. John Ritchie is back at the club starting gentle exercise, but his plaster cast will be on for at least another 2 months. Peter Shilton has asked Leicester not to play him again and sell him as soon as possible. Arsenal are believed to be interested but the Sunday papers are convinced that he is about to join Derby. In the USA, Nixon is thought to be critically ill again and doctors are striving to save his life. Closer to home, the sugar shortage has reached crisis point with none available in shops. Ted Heath has lost the support of some of his party's whips as the pressure builds on him to step down. View AttachmentMy first game. I seem to remember Chivers missing some good chances. And the smell. It was a specific football match smell. Bass flavoured farts. |
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Post by march4 on Nov 12, 2024 14:35:17 GMT
Stoke were again left seething after yet another controversial visit to Portman Road; this time in the League Cup. For this battle, we lined up; - Farmer, Lewis, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Dodd, Robertson, Hudson, Moores, Greenhoff, Salmons. Substitute; - Haslegrave. Waddo dropped Hurst after his recent anaemic performances and so a start for Moores who spent the 90 minutes running around eagerly without making much impact. This wasn't a game for raw youth. Marsh failed a late fitness test and Kevin Lewis deputised. Waddo warned the players not to become involved in a vendetta following the shocking game at the same venue a couple of months earlier. Ipswich didn't seem to hear the plea and committed 23 free kicks during the game. Robertson was booked for retaliating after being scythed down and Hunter was booked for a dangerous challenge on Greenhoff. Nevertheless, all went well for the first hour. We showed a dogged determination and the referee was mostly wise to Ipswich's approach. Greenhoff was crash tackled by the already booked Hunter when clean through and seconds later our striker hit a fierce shot against the post. A Smith header clipped the top of the bar and then Denis had a shot cleared off the line by Mills. If only we'd had a centre forward to put the ball in the net. Inevitably, Ipswich scored against the run of play and it was as controversial as it was unexpected. Hamilton was in acres of space in the Stoke penalty area and looked miles offside. We moved Smith into attack and Ipswich scored again with an even more offside goal than the first. Johnson appeared to be yards and yards offside as he ran clear. Pejic was booked for dissent and the game was halted as the Stoke players berated the officials but we were 2-0 down with time running out. Robertson did pull a goal back from a Salmons' corner but we had suffered a bitter 2-1 defeat. Waddo was furious after the game about the nature of Ipswich's goals. We need a striker to replace Big John and we need one quickly before this season slips away from us. Huddy has retained his place in the England squad and likewise Dodd with the u23s. John Gidman of Aston Villa has had to withdraw after being hit in the eye by a firework on bonfire night. 4th Division Chester knocked Leeds out of the cup with a stunning 3-0 victory. A bomb explodes in Coventry killing a man who is believed to be the bomber. This is a story that will run and run.  |
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Post by jimmygscfc1234 on Nov 12, 2024 14:47:17 GMT
When did we hit top spot, or have I missed that?
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Post by march4 on Nov 12, 2024 17:02:58 GMT
When did we hit top spot, or have I missed that? Patience! |
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Post by jimmygscfc1234 on Nov 12, 2024 17:27:34 GMT
I remember seeing the League table with us top and thought it was towards the end of November...
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Post by march4 on Nov 12, 2024 18:18:11 GMT
I remember seeing the League table with us top and thought it was towards the end of November... You might just be right. |
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Post by roylandstoke on Nov 12, 2024 18:55:08 GMT
Stoke were again left seething after yet another controversial visit to Portman Road; this time in the League Cup. For this battle, we lined up; - Farmer, Lewis, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Dodd, Robertson, Hudson, Moores, Greenhoff, Salmons. Substitute; - Haslegrave. Waddo dropped Hurst after his recent anaemic performances and so a start for Moores who spent the 90 minutes running around eagerly without making much impact. This wasn't a game for raw youth. Marsh failed a late fitness test and Kevin Lewis deputised. Waddo warned the players not to become involved in a vendetta following the shocking game at the same venue a couple of months earlier. Ipswich didn't seem to hear the plea and committed 23 free kicks during the game. Robertson was booked for retaliating after being scythed down and Hunter was booked for a dangerous challenge on Greenhoff. Nevertheless, all went well for the first hour. We showed a dogged determination and the referee was mostly wise to Ipswich's approach. Greenhoff was crash tackled by the already booked Hunter when clean through and seconds later our striker hit a fierce shot against the post. A Smith header clipped the top of the bar and then Denis had a shot cleared off the line by Mills. If only we'd had a centre forward to put the ball in the net. Inevitably, Ipswich scored against the run of play and it was as controversial as it was unexpected. Hamilton was in acres of space in the Stoke penalty area and looked miles offside. We moved Smith into attack and Ipswich scored again with an even more offside goal than the first. Johnson appeared to be yards and yards offside as he ran clear. Pejic was booked for dissent and the game was halted as the Stoke players berated the officials but we were 2-0 down with time running out. Robertson did pull a goal back from a Salmons' corner but we had suffered a bitter 2-1 defeat. Waddo was furious after the game about the nature of Ipswich's goals. We need a striker to replace Big John and we need one quickly before this season slips away from us. Huddy has retained his place in the England squad and likewise Dodd with the u23s. John Gidman of Aston Villa has had to withdraw after being hit in the eye by a firework on bonfire night. 4th Division Chester knocked Leeds out of the cup with a stunning 3-0 victory. A bomb explodes in Coventry killing a man who is believed to be the bomber. This is a story that will run and run. View AttachmentFolk sometimes ask why Ipswich are on my list of hated clubs; a read of this thread gives the answer. |
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Post by smallthorner on Nov 12, 2024 20:50:45 GMT
Bastards.
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Post by march4 on Nov 12, 2024 21:49:35 GMT
Stoke were again left seething after yet another controversial visit to Portman Road; this time in the League Cup. For this battle, we lined up; - Farmer, Lewis, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Dodd, Robertson, Hudson, Moores, Greenhoff, Salmons. Substitute; - Haslegrave. Waddo dropped Hurst after his recent anaemic performances and so a start for Moores who spent the 90 minutes running around eagerly without making much impact. This wasn't a game for raw youth. Marsh failed a late fitness test and Kevin Lewis deputised. Waddo warned the players not to become involved in a vendetta following the shocking game at the same venue a couple of months earlier. Ipswich didn't seem to hear the plea and committed 23 free kicks during the game. Robertson was booked for retaliating after being scythed down and Hunter was booked for a dangerous challenge on Greenhoff. Nevertheless, all went well for the first hour. We showed a dogged determination and the referee was mostly wise to Ipswich's approach. Greenhoff was crash tackled by the already booked Hunter when clean through and seconds later our striker hit a fierce shot against the post. A Smith header clipped the top of the bar and then Denis had a shot cleared off the line by Mills. If only we'd had a centre forward to put the ball in the net. Inevitably, Ipswich scored against the run of play and it was as controversial as it was unexpected. Hamilton was in acres of space in the Stoke penalty area and looked miles offside. We moved Smith into attack and Ipswich scored again with an even more offside goal than the first. Johnson appeared to be yards and yards offside as he ran clear. Pejic was booked for dissent and the game was halted as the Stoke players berated the officials but we were 2-0 down with time running out. Robertson did pull a goal back from a Salmons' corner but we had suffered a bitter 2-1 defeat. Waddo was furious after the game about the nature of Ipswich's goals. We need a striker to replace Big John and we need one quickly before this season slips away from us. Huddy has retained his place in the England squad and likewise Dodd with the u23s. John Gidman of Aston Villa has had to withdraw after being hit in the eye by a firework on bonfire night. 4th Division Chester knocked Leeds out of the cup with a stunning 3-0 victory. A bomb explodes in Coventry killing a man who is believed to be the bomber. This is a story that will run and run. View AttachmentFolk sometimes ask why Ipswich are on my list of hated clubs; a read of this thread gives the answer. That isn’t the end of Ipswich this season. They have one more ‘treat’ for us. |
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Post by spitthedog on Nov 13, 2024 10:50:21 GMT
Reading this excellent thread I'm amazed we ever made it to the top (sorry for the spoiler!) considering the amount of points we dropped.
By this stage of the season we had only won 6 games out of 15 which seems like disappointing form overall. A lot of draws.
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Post by lordb on Nov 13, 2024 12:25:27 GMT
Reading this excellent thread I'm amazed we ever made it to the top (sorry for the spoiler!) considering the amount of points we dropped. By this stage of the season we had only won 6 games out of 15 which seems like disappointing form overall. A lot of draws. 2 points for a win so draws had greater value |
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Post by spitthedog on Nov 13, 2024 17:51:27 GMT
Reading this excellent thread I'm amazed we ever made it to the top (sorry for the spoiler!) considering the amount of points we dropped. By this stage of the season we had only won 6 games out of 15 which seems like disappointing form overall. A lot of draws. 2 points for a win so draws had greater value Yep, somehow its hard to get my head around that one now! The shift to 3 pts made such a huge difference. |
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Post by march4 on Nov 15, 2024 21:01:00 GMT
Tomorrow we welcome bottom club Luton to the Victoria Ground as we lined up; - Farmer, Marsh, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Dodd, Robertson, Greenhoff, Hurst, Hudson, Salmons. Sub; - Moores. The attendance was a very disappointing 20,000. This was a sloppy Stoke performance that had supporters tearing out their hair for the first hour of the game. Huddy did give us an early lead in the 3rd minute, but then we witnessed panic stations in our defence as Luton's ordinary looking attack swarmed all over us. Anderson ran from his own half unchallenged to fire past Farmer and it should have been two for our visitors with Marsh clearing off the line, Anderson hitting the underside of the bar and Farmer making a superb reflex save. A 1-1 score at half-time was not what supporters wanted to see and the team were booed off at the break. The ineffective Hurst was substituted at half time by Moores for his home debut and the 20 year old lanky striker immediately began causing Luton problems. It took until the hour for Robertson to nod home to make it 2-1. Within 15 minutes, Greenhoff had added 2 more, Smith had a header unwittingly blocked on the line by a Stoke player and Moores saw a header tipped onto the bar. It was a devastating spell of pressure and Luton wilted. Amazingly we then went back to our sloppy play and allowed Luton back into the game. We allowed Garner to score with an unmarked header before they fired in shot after shot at our goal. Stoke nerves became frayed with Farmer visibly annoyed by the defenders in front of him. Our defensive frailty is a real concern and the Sentinel letters blames our lack of a proper defensive midfielder. A 4-2 win that was more nervy than it should have been. Thankfully Greenhoff has now scored 6 goals in the last 11 games and with Derby in 10th place only 2 points behind table toppers Ipswich, we are right in the mix in 6th. We also have a game in hand on most of the teams in the top 10. Our midweek game at Ipswich now has further repercussions as Pejic's booking for dissent has been adjudged by the FA to be a most serious offence and with his two previous bookings this season, he is suspended for 2 games. Huddy is with the England squad where he has suffered an injury in training and TC is with the Ireland team. Josh is with Wales and Doddy is on duty with England u23s, where Banksie and Eastham continue to manage. On Tuesday, Stoke are due to play in Alan Kelly's testimonial at Preston. Waddo plans to field as many first teamers as possible as he seeks to find a replacement for Pej's left back spot. Alan Bloor's injured knee is no better and he has had a cartilage operation in an attempt to save his career. The IRA man killed by his own bomb in Coventry is refused a Catholic funeral by the Archbishop of Birmingham, George Dwyer. I attended a carol concert shortly afterwards where Dwyer was guest of honour. The security surrounding him was unprecedented. In the midst of this news, 2 pubs in Birmingham are bombed killing 21 people. Out of the blue, on Thursday 21st November, Stoke sign Peter Shilton for a world record fee of at least £320,000. Although Shilton had been available for a while, the signing seemed to take everyone by surprise. He is due to make his debut at Wolves.  |
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