To All That Hate Stoke City

[Top Stopper]

Finally, a club to upset the apple cart. Our one dimensional, boring football is beating your samba style of play week in and week out, obviously this is upsetting.
A supporter of Wolves watched our game against Watford and could not see what the hype is about, regarding our orrible football!
Where would every manager of the 21 teams below us rather be?
Sour grapes people, you have pissed money up the wall, been made false promises and generally are just a bunch of muppets.
The teams you talk about are the teams not playing well but coming away with a point or three from a game, that make strides in the league.

No wonder they all hate us.

Do me proud you mighty mighty potters!


It pisses me off how we get no recognition, last week a scouse fan went 'oh look your winning'when we played Tesco, my reply obviously being and?
This coming from a fucking team that only just beat Derby??

Rant Nearly Over!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you all of Stoke City Football Club to enable me to smile and say nothing.

[stokecityscott]

Good post

[mermaidsal]

Great post, have some karma

[Pretty Little Boother]

Fair play, our football may be crap but at least we're pushing our way to the front of the queue! I'm not gonna call Tony my messiah yet, I'm not gonna get carried away, but it's in the face of adversity that community is strengthened and the more other clubs slag us off the more we will unite to give them two massive fingers up when we win the fucking league. :-)

[mumf14]

'The Messiah' is Copyrighted @mumf.co.uk/Legend.
So is 'Darkside'............

[JoeinOz]

Tough game home to QPR mumf. Sturrocks doing well there though you must be pleased.

[Pretty Little Boother]

Oh sorry Mumf... I guess that means I will never call him Messiah. Glad you sorted that one out for me!

[stokecityscott]

QPR? Think you mean Plymouth

[mumf14]

Joe....You should 'come out' and admit your allegience more often..I doubt if Pulis is your preferred choice.

Edit 'DOUBT' ..Insert 'Know'.!

P.S...How many games have you seen this season....or indeed praised the manager..?

[JoeinOz]

Mumf, I've supported the manager all along. As you would know if you'd been reading. Threads with titles like "Well done Tony Pulis and the players" should have given away the fact I was praising the manager.

The thread I've started about dodging a bullet isn't slagging the manager off either. Its a reasonable observation and from the post match interview Tone knows what I'm on about.

I have supported Tone when I've had doubts about him and said so on here. As I've said before he'd done well for us and the nature of some the criticism he's received on the oatie board is scandalous. If ever I do change my mind about him it won't be because of a sarcastic comment in a radio interview or a bad result.

I'm not on about the manager anyway mumf....I'm on about you wanting Stoke to lose a game. Did you not "rejoice" when Plymouth beat us?

[JoeinOz]

mumf, by the way, on what are you basing the idea that I don't think Tone is right for Stoke? Because I was disappointed Plymouth beat us when he was managing them?

[mumf14]

Yes I did rejoice and you know why....Fucking good choice of manager isn't he.?

Tell me I'm wrong...?

Tell me 'you were wrong to want Pulis's Plymouth' to beat Stoke back then...

Or should we roll out the Boss Fat argument...?

[JoeinOz]

IMHO Boskamp was an oaf.....as I've told you dozens of times. He's got nothing to do with anything.

I think Alex Ferguson is one the greatest managers ever. Possibly the greatest. But will I want Man yoo to beat us when we play them again?

So you allowed your love of Tony Pulis to exceed the health of Stoke City.

[mumf14]

I allowed my Knowledge of of what was good for for Stoke City to exceed the health of one game against Plymouth, over and above the mediocre season endured under Bossfat.

I rest my case.

The health of Stoke City resides in Stoke -on-trent(ieTony Pulis)...Not cheap inuendo in Australasia.

Remember that...and you won't go far wrong.!

Goodnight.!

[JoeinOz]

So you wanted Stoke to get beaten despite, at that point, there being no suggestion whatsoever that Tone would ever return. So we get beaten and you think the powers that be at SCFC will suddenly decide to get him back? What a load of utter bollox. You were a manager supporter not a Stoke supporter. Lou was brilliant and popular. Yet how many Stokies wanted Huddersfield to beat us when he brought them to Stoke? None is my guess.

I strongly suspect you wanted to gloat on the m/b that we lost to a Pulis team and therefore imply that you were right about him. Which makes you no different than those anti Pulis ones who seem to take pleasure in a defeat. You regarded your own agenda to be more prominent than the good of SCFC. Thats is despicable. By the way, don't mention that I live in Australia, like you often do, to try and twist the conversation around because its irrelevant.

You still owe me a pint by the way.

[vientianescfc]

Turtleton,
Couldn't agree more! As much as the 'bullying' and 'physical' tags maybe annoying and the kind of crap spoken by the opposing managers 'our pure football will shine thorough' etc. It's also pleasing in many ways to read as it's obvious that teams are fearing to play us.

They also seem to upping their aggression to 'compete' and playing right into our hands scything down Fuller and Co and giving away dangerous free kicks or as last night penalties. Fortunately this season, in particular with Liam, we have someone who can actually deliver a decent free kick something we have lacked for a long time.

Not only do we have goals pretty much everywhere in the team, we have the one man army Fuller upfront! It's no wonder opposing team have to started to put out preprepared excuses for if/when we beat them!

For me the most pleasing part of this season is the work ethic of the team - it easily matches the Macari era - they don't stop and if they go a goal down they are up for the fight to turn it around. Which is shown in this stats: stats.football365.com/dom/ENG/D1/ptsgain.html

In 6 games when we have been losing we've turned around 5 to victories and 1 to a draw - so of our 16pts have been gained from matches which we were losing! I don't care whoever the team is that is a bloody impressive stat!

Just to add to this already exciting time we have Diao waiting in the wings and come next Tues hopefully a few more additions. This season we really should be expecting nothing less than Play-offs and should be pressing for a top 2 spot - personally I think Watford are starting to wobble and might just fall away from the top 2 ala Charlton did earlier this season.

The Crystal Palace juggernaut is picking up speed also - I pretty much expect them to be in the top 6 come the end of season. Although I will be surprised if Bristol City go the distance and I don't think they have any kind of cash to strengthen in Jan. My prediction for the top 6 spots will be made up from Stoke, West Brom, Watford, Charlton, Crystal Palace and either Ipswich or maybe Bristol.

I just hope the fans start putting on a collective unified front as the players have and start filling the Brit and adding even more of a buzz. I remember the atmosphere in last 3 months or so at the Vic in the Div 2 title season, it was fantastic every game we expected nothing less than a victory and the place really was our fortress. I just hope for the rest of the season the Brit will be the same.

[CalgaryPotter]

The noise was impressive for the WBA game and rightly so. If there were only 16k there its surprising. Is Pete fiddling those turnstyle numbers again

I think you'll struggle to get the fortress that was the Vic, it was scary for opposition but there ain't no harm in trying ;D

[lancer]

It's true some of our football is les than 'carpet football, and if we do get promoted, which we very well might, we all know that we'll have to bring in better player. The same applies of course, to any other team that might get promoted, otherwise, down they come.
For now, I'm more than happy to be winning games, the better football can wait.
Don't really think that other suppoprters hate us because we're boring/dirty/ physical, they hate us because they can't beat our style of football. Rather than point their finger at their own shortcomings, they make us the scapegoat.
Who gives a bugger. There are teams below us whose fans who would love to be where we are, regardless of the football being played.

[Lakeland Potter]

Excellent post Vientiane, I agree with every word of it.

[mark71]

Don't you just love being a Stokie ;D
Happy days.

[StokieSC]

Nore karma for Mr vientiane

[OldStokie]

Excellent post Vientiane, I agree with every word of it.

John, I think Vientiane's post is an excellent one and he speaks for most of us with his appraisal and judgement of the situation, but it has one glaring error in it......

Not only do we have goals pretty much everywhere in the team,.....

That is definitely not true. Our central midfield pairing of Eustace and Delap has yielded how many goals? One of our main forwards is woefully lacking in the goals department although I think he does a fine job as a foil for others. Our fullbacks rarely score either. That's six out of eleven who are not contributing if we include the keeper who none of us expect to be included in the summary.

I don't expect the fullbacks to be top scorers in a Pulis team but other areas I've mentioned need to be addressed. Our need in January is to address the glaring goal drought from midfield. If Salif slots in, in front of the back four, then we need A.N.Other as a box to box central midfielder who can score regularly. That, IMHO, will ensure success.

Vientiane....my words are not an attempt to restrict fredom of speech. Respectfully, they're just to correct a glaring error in your otherwise excellent post.

OS.

[Olgrligm]

OS,

I'd rather hope that if Diao plays with Eustace, Eustace will have a bit more freedom to get forward and do some more attacking.

[Parksy]

mark71scfc said:

Don't you just love being a Stokie ;D
Happy days.

Must say Mark I cannot wait for the next game now, I haven't felt like this for a long time about my football. I love it!!! ;D

[Lakeland Potter]

I agree about the lack of goals from midfield, Mick - oh for the John Eustace of his first season!

Against that, of course, we have to remember that we could be looking at 15 - 20 goals from central defence, which would be some sort of a record, I should think. All the more reason to get a creative, goalscoring central midfielder and a winger with pace to add the final pieces to what is already a free scoring side.

One thing I do hope is that the presence of Diao when fit will steady a defence which seems to have become a bit rocky in recent matches. He should steady the ship if he plays like he did last season.

Plenty of reasons for optimism, methinks. ;D

[OldStokie]

Mystical, maybe, but I think we need someone in the mould of Brynjar as he's playing now....strong in the air, gets forward quickly and is not afraid to have a go. I don't think John is as good as he was. The Eustace of old would have been fine.

Parksy...I feel just like you do now. It's great to be a Stokie at the moment.

OS.

[Joey Starr]

Its a good strategy to be hated - in the short term.

One or two on here have rightly highlighted the value in our lack of regard and respect in the media, particularly the local media of teams we are succeeding against - that it enables us to stay under the radar and avoid too much scrutiny and study. Also being made out to be something we are not - one dimensiaonal bullies - can be an advantageous cloak. The weekly sour grapes are enjoyable to hear from our point of view because they bolster a self-image of being a hard working, no nonsense team and place (working class?) and getting up the nose of pretentious liberal wanabees (middle class attitude?) - and this places us closer to our loved teams of old - and the inaccuracy of the insults serves us with a real strategic benefit as in:

"The skilful in attack are those whose opponents do not know what to defend."

"Pretend inferiority and encourage your oponents arrogance with which they will first frustrate and then defeat themselves"

Good times

No one does seem to like us (The Times are a notable exception) but eventually they will all have to love us.