Great to hear from you Nick A lot of water ( vodka here ) has passed under the bridge since we last chatted notably the superb semi which in effect was our final and the transfer saga Drove the wife mad checking the PC throughout the day for news but should have realised it would be last minute. com again with TP but to be fair some good signings in the end even if we did pay top whack in some cases. Upson and Woody if he is fit were sensible buys Do not see much of Palacios and Jerome out here to comment but I think Crouchie will do well if his wife is settled and he gets used to our one dimensional style of play but with good service from Matty and Jermaine Walters and Jerome could feed off Crouchie's knock downs Brilliant battling performance last night against one of Europes former top teamsWe rode our luck deservedly for the performance but IMo we defended far too deeply Once you retreat to the 18 yard line with the number of bodies in and around the box you risk deflected goals penalties fouls in dangerous positions which happened right at the end and the momentary loss of concentration with so many to mark which cost us the goal Not to dertact from the performance but with their missed chances the shot that hit the bar and a couple of spills by Sorro that could have been costly we could have lost 4/5 1 My concern is that if we continue to defend so deeply sooner or later our luck will run out and/or the back 4/5 will be worn out with the pressure of continual defending and we will get mullered Now to be contraversial and I accept that I am leaving myself wide open for criticsm because I can not get to the games and have to rely on TV but I have my doubts about Ryan. I know so many sing his praise but to me on last night's showing he is a no frills raw boned stopper and not in the class of Upson say. If we are offered £15/20m in January I think we should take it and invest in midfield creativity and another experienced CB Huth and Upson could form a good partnership as long as Huthy does not elbow him again and I fear that Ryan could injure himself badly before long with his mistimed challenges and reduce his saleability Tin hat on ready for the attack!!! UTP and KTF StokieinSpain
Morning StokieinSpain, Indeed, lots of liquid under the bridge!! I agree with your match review, sums not just last night but the way we normally play. I think that Palacios will turn out to be a star buy, not so sure about Crouch though. Ryan is viewed on here as virtually untouchable and in my opinion quite rightly so, I do accept your opinion - he can be a little rash. If we can keep Woodgate fit that will be great as I believe and have said on here, that when he IS fit, he is the best english 'footballing' centre half if not in Europe. £20 mill for Ryan, yes please! All the best Nick
StokieinSpain,I sort of broached this subject during the transfer window( go to page 7 of the posts) and you will see that most people were against the idea. Having listened to the points of view offered and taking into consideration that Ryan is still very young for a centre back, I don`t think we should sell him unless it`s for some silly amount like the fee paid for Lescott( about £25 mill I think). He`s been playing well this season and he certainly embodies Stoke `grit`! Can`t think of an experienced CB who is better than him,they`re very thin on the ground,just ask Whinger! Like nick I have doubts about Crouch,and we definately paid too much for him!!Palacios could potentially be a great buy ,hasn`t shown a lot yet but I think he will fit in well.If Jerome plays like he did last night he will be a very good buy,cos he`s got a lot of pace and seems willing to do a lot of running.The whole `ard` work ethic seems to be having a positive effect on Jones as well.I thought he put himself about quite a bit the other night.
Agree with both ONB and J3W I thought Jones deserved a goal for all his hard work virtually on his own and had he managed to beat the last ditch tacle it would have been a terrific goal Back to MOTD tomorrow night if I can stay up that long as we are an hour ahead and you can bet we will be the last match unless we score a hatfull of goals LOL SiS
I wouldnt say it was just the last ditch tackle that prevented him from scoring mate, I dont think Kenwyn ever had the ball under control, he never looks comfortable with the ball at his feet. He did play well though and hope he kicks on from that performance.
Agreed Ricc from what I have seen on TV he is best with his head but so very strong on the ground in one to ones if he is up for it Lets hope that is the case tomorrow if included or will Diao be used as a striker!!!!!
Diao a striker, please SIS - don't ruin my day. Hang on though, a couple of seasons ago he scored the winner at Portsmouth!!!!!
Yes if I remember rightly it was a fluke and surprised everyone even him I assume that he was on the pitch on Thursday night because he got booked I reckon despite hanging my boots up when you still put dubbin on them to soften them ( well not quite that long ago ) I could still skin him and wouldnt mind his wage for doing nothing SiS
