Jump to content

Are Stoke the ugliest 'football' team in the Premier?


Norm

Recommended Posts

They don't play the best of football, as we all know, but they have some fairly decent players. Walters looked alright yesterday, plenty of running and Shawcross played fairly well too. Stand out player for me is Begovic - cracking keeper

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was a travesty that Stoke got anything out of that game given the style of football they play, but then they do have some good finishers and some real pace in the side. Trouble is they're told to play in a certain way by Pulis and that seems to be that. No wonder their own fans don't like him.

 

Well, he's gone now. Wonder who they'll bring in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With Pulis gone, only the once elegant school of football, the Hammers offer the Barclays Premier League neanderthal football for next season.

Still cant believe they renewed Fat Sam's contract.

 

He led them to a top 10 finish. It would have been insane not to have offered him a new deal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He led them to a top 10 finish. It would have been insane not to have offered him a new deal.

 

 

 

....and led Bolton to eighth, sixth, eighth, seventh in four straight seasons. Phenomenal.

 

Can you imagine the response if MP did that? Even two seasons at eighth would have half this forum pulling down the Bates statue and replacing it with a solid gold Cortese.

 

Big Sam gets results. He left us for dust this year, anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really? 'If' results had gone another way on the last day we'd have been level. Hardly 'dust'.

 

But they didn't.

 

Not sure we were ever above them all season.

 

And five points adrift is plenty. As many as we were to Wigan.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But they didn't.

 

Not sure we were ever above them all season.

 

And five points adrift is plenty. As many as we were to Wigan.

 

We were ahead of them on GD at the time we played them, though they had a game in hand (man u).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And back to the issue of Stoke City... with Pulis sacked I wonder if they could slide down the table into relegation trouble. While their style of play has not been pretty it has kept an average side in the Premier League for several seasons on a limited budget. If they are looking for a more attractive style of football you have to wonder whether they will be able to deliver the results in the light of their limited budget.

 

Personally, I am hopeful that with Pulis gone we might find playing Stoke a different proposition next season. If they try to play a more attractive style of football I believe that would suit us down to the ground - we do much better against ball-playing sides than against those that employ strong arm tactics and the long ball (though I am not suggesting that is all that there has been to Stoke's game - but it has been a significant part of it).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A mate in stoke phoned me earlier, all gleeful and saying "now lets see what Martinez can do..."

 

He seemed a bit crestfallen when I reminded him that the everton job was open. And when I mentioned poyet, I could hear him reaching for the prozac.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And back to the issue of Stoke City... with Pulis sacked I wonder if they could slide down the table into relegation trouble. While their style of play has not been pretty it has kept an average side in the Premier League for several seasons on a limited budget. If they are looking for a more attractive style of football you have to wonder whether they will be able to deliver the results in the light of their limited budget.

 

Pardon? They've spent loads of money in the last couple of years with little return on the pitch. Have the owners said they're cutting the supply off? Not the best way to go about looking for a manager if so.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It really depends on who takes the reigns but Pulis tried to change a winning formula to appease fans and was caught out.

 

Stoke dont have the personal to play like Arsenal and worked will with old school wingers, powerful strikers and an organised defence.

 

Whoever comes in has stick or twist, play a particular style of football and grind out results or take a risk to change the style of play and the playing staff.

 

If Rafa, bookies favourite, gets the job and Coates backs him I honestly think they'l surprise a few people. Despite whatever else they have one hell of a core with Begovic, Shawcross and Huth. Plenty of teams would kill for that!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If Rafa, bookies favourite, gets the job and Coates backs him I honestly think they'l surprise a few people. Despite whatever else they have one hell of a core with Begovic, Shawcross and Huth. Plenty of teams would kill for that!

 

If they can keep Begovic, of course.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pardon? They've spent loads of money in the last couple of years with little return on the pitch. Have the owners said they're cutting the supply off? Not the best way to go about looking for a manager if so.

 

Aren't they owned by a local guy who owns bet365? He's loaded compared to me, obviously, but their money supply isn't on a par with the really big clubs. I don't suppose he could keep up that funding level indefinitely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not on par with the big clubs obviously, but they've spent a lot on players recently. I doubt he'd be going for a fundamental change in footballing style, which requires a high personnel turnover, without investing in it. He has spoken about a focus on homegrown talent though, so perhaps he envisions that he won't have to spend so much in a few years' time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Even though he's a skate I think some of you are being a bit harsh on pulis. Took the club from near the bottom of the championship to FA cup final, Europa league and something like 6 seasons in the top flight . Thats a pretty decent record and you would have to be over 40 to remember their last spell in the top league. Not great football but I personally wouldn't want a league of arsenal clones. Overcoming hoof specialists is part and parcel of playing in this league.

 

Maybe it was time for a change and pulis had taken them as far as he could, but Charlton supporters said the same about curbishly .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Even though he's a skate I think some of you are being a bit harsh on pulis. Took the club from near the bottom of the championship to FA cup final, Europa league and something like 6 seasons in the top flight . Thats a pretty decent record and you would have to be over 40 to remember their last spell in the top league. Not great football but I personally wouldn't want a league of arsenal clones. Overcoming hoof specialists is part and parcel of playing in this league.

 

Maybe it was time for a change and pulis had taken them as far as he could, but Charlton supporters said the same about curbishly .

 

Pulis did a good job, without question. But Stoke did not play attractive football, whether he himself could've changed that or a new man was in fact needed is questionable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...