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Post by pottersfan on Feb 7, 2008 13:16:08 GMT
Last season Tony Pulis was the loan arranger at Stoke City, but now he has been given the funds to have a proper go at winning promotion.
Pulis is not having to beg, steal and borrow any more. The chairman has given him money to spend on good players and because of that I'm not surprised to see them sitting in the play-off positions.
One of his best buys has been Ryan Shawcross from Manchester United and he looks like he's going to be a fantastic player. He's a big centre-half who can play football and can even score goals; people like that are hard to come by.
Manchester United keep a close eye on their youngsters and are not stupid with those they decide to sell. They clearly decided he wasn't 100 per cent right for their squad and the chances of him getting in their first team were very remote, but that doesn't mean he might not come back to haunt them in the future.
Stoke did very well to convince United to sell him, but they had to pay a premium for the education he received at Old Trafford.
They also signed Glenn Whelan from Sheffield Wednesday on deadline day and he's a player I like very much. He gets stuck in, he has a fantastic engine, but he can play some good football as well.
I was surprised to see John Eustace leave for Watford, but obviously Pulis has decided that Whelan is a better player and he must think he will give him that bit extra. For a captain to be told that he is leaving the club when he wanted to stay is surprising, but those are the decisions that managers are paid to make.
Forked out
They forked out good money for Leon Cort, who has been another good signing from Crystal Palace, and the loan deal for Paul Gallagher from Blackburn looks like another terrific move.
Gallagher has been on loan at Preston this season and I like him a lot. He's got a fantastic future, but he will face big competition to get in the side at the moment. He's got to get past the likes of Ricardo Fuller, Richard Cresswell, Jon Parkin and Mamady Sidibe and that kind of competition for places can only be good for Stoke.
It is the first time in a long time that the club have really splashed out and given themselves a chance of going up and Pulis has been very shrewd with the players he has signed.
He has built a big, strong side and they certainly play to their strengths. People accuse them of playing long-ball, but there's no point in playing tippy-tappy football if you've got the players they've got.
Pulis has got an objective to get to the Premier League and there is nothing wrong with going about things the way they have.
And to be honest, I don't think they are as direct as everybody says they are. People look at them and see a big strong side and form an opinion of them without seeing the qualities that they have. But I have seen them a few times and they are all footballers who like to play.
It's just that they don't mess about with the ball in their own half and they concentrate on playing football in the final third. It reminds me of the way we used to play at Leeds and it has to be done at times.
Fear
Everybody fears Stoke City now and nobody in the Championship thinks they'll get a comfortable game when the Potters come to play.
They should be getting a lot more credit for what they're doing, but they are probably happy to go quietly un-noticed and slip into fourth place, which is where they are now. They'll be quite happy for people to sit up and take notice after they've been promoted.
The foundations are there to restore the club to the glory days of yesteryear. The facilities are fantastic, they've got a beautiful stadium and they have players who are the envy of a lot of the clubs in the Championship.
They also have a fantastic support, which often goes un-noticed. Stokeys love their football and they will turn out in numbers if there's half a chance of them getting to the Premier League.
Everything is in place for the first time in a long time and things are looking pretty positive for the Potters.
Interesting read!
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Cabby_Shunt
Youth Player
Press My Smite Button! I Dare You!
Posts: 277
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Post by Cabby_Shunt on Feb 7, 2008 13:17:49 GMT
Is that from TeamTalk?
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Post by stokecityscott on Feb 7, 2008 13:18:35 GMT
Its from sky sports
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Post by Birchesheadpotter on Feb 7, 2008 13:19:10 GMT
No its from the skysports website and its already been on here at least twice ;D
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Cabby_Shunt
Youth Player
Press My Smite Button! I Dare You!
Posts: 277
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Post by Cabby_Shunt on Feb 7, 2008 13:19:12 GMT
Who wrote it?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2008 13:19:38 GMT
Kamara
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Post by Birchesheadpotter on Feb 7, 2008 13:20:01 GMT
Balls beat me to it!
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Cabby_Shunt
Youth Player
Press My Smite Button! I Dare You!
Posts: 277
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Post by Cabby_Shunt on Feb 7, 2008 13:20:49 GMT
He's trying to make up for giving us the worst 14 games ever seen at Stoke.
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Post by pottersfan on Feb 7, 2008 13:23:11 GMT
oooooops sorry gang didn't know it had been on here already... I stand corrected ;D
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Post by Stick It On Cort's Head on Feb 7, 2008 13:25:26 GMT
Kamara has only done that because people got on his back.
Still a cunt in my eyes ;D
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2008 13:25:31 GMT
He’s trying to make up for pissing 500k down the drain in signing Lightbourne!!!
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Post by 'i'mnaked' on Feb 7, 2008 13:51:15 GMT
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Post by Adster on Feb 7, 2008 13:59:30 GMT
thats a nice wheel, where did we find this one from? ;D
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Post by 'i'mnaked' on Feb 7, 2008 14:13:43 GMT
google images, its in beijing!
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Post by lordb on Feb 7, 2008 14:30:25 GMT
For the umpteenth time Kamara did NOT sign Lightbourne ,Moxey did.
Kamara had no say in the matter.
it was SCFC's way of pretending selling Griffin on installments when Arsenal were offering more (& upfront) was a: a good idea & b:not dodgy @ all,no sirree.
fortunatly Coates doesnt need other clubs catering contracts any more so such deals are a thing of the past
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Post by Caerwrangonpotter on Feb 7, 2008 15:46:10 GMT
..and from what i remember, Kamara showed a hell of a lot of passion when at Stoke. Id rather remember him as the player, than the manager
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Post by JoeStoke on Feb 7, 2008 16:53:57 GMT
old post
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