Huthy Ma Lady who saw the game with me yesterday said exactly the same thing.. I also point out, she's attended that last two home games and even she said quote.. "It's like watching two different teams" Best bit was when she said "Why can't we play Man Utd every week" end of quote. CLASSIC!! women what do they know.
Haha. The lad is finished. Should just retire! Him, Perch, Ranger, Ameobi, Lovenkrands. Take your pick haha
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/story-13505028-detail/story.html? Tony Pulis won't be happy with Stoke's away form and it is an area in need of improvement. But that task is not as easy as some people might think. Very few teams come to the Britannia Stadium and win, so why do we expect to go anywhere else and win? Playing at home always has been and always will be a considerable advantage and no-one should forget that. OK, every game is played on a piece of grass with white lines on and, apart from getting booed a bit in away games, there shouldn't be a lot of difference. But players are human beings and, like the rest of us, they feel more comfortable in their own surroundings. They aren't robots, they are complex characters and the mental approach to away games can be all important. Managers try all sorts of things to improve away form. I had 25 years of management and, of course, there were spells where my teams struggled on the road. You look at how you set up your side and different formations. You ask yourself if you should go more defensive or try to take the game to the opposition, but the overriding factor is it is tougher to play away from home. I'm sure Pulis was ready to pull out what little hair he has left after Sunday's defeat at Swansea. I'm sure he would have gone there expecting to get at least a point, but who is to say Swansea won't be the next Stoke? It's a tough place to go to, with an atmosphere similar to the Brit, and Ryan Shawcross gave Swansea a massive lift by making an awful challenge and conceding a penalty. Ryan is having a very good season, but that incident led to Swansea taking an early lead and it gave their players and fans a huge boost. Stoke still managed to come back well and a lot of these games are down to fine margins. We've hit the woodwork twice and then Swansea have caught us on the break with a second goal right at the end. Of course, a lot has been made of the fact Stoke have lost at Sunderland and then Swansea after playing in the Europa League on the Thursday preceding those games. There can be no doubt that does make a difference, particularly from the mental aspect. The players can handle the physical side, but building yourself up mentally for games which come in quick succession is tough because sharpness and concentration levels can be affected. Anyone who finds that hard to accept should imagine they are preparing for any really big occasion, like making a different speech every two or three days. They would have to learn their lines and get it just right, which isn't easy. Travelling abroad in the Europa League also makes it especially difficult to prepare for games on the following Sunday. Pulis prepares for every game religiously and he doesn't get the time with his players to do that. I know he leaves five or six players at home when Stoke play abroad, but they can't work on the patterns of play like they would if the manager and the rest of the players were with them on the training ground.
Sgt Thanks for posting that.. I had not seen it myself. BUT, havin read your thread then the link for the sake of repeating myself.. we KNOW it's not easy, we KNOW it's not always going to be a cake walk away from home. We KNOW we're in Europe and YES it's even tougher that it may have been originally before we qualified to play every Thursday then Sunday whenever, wherever we DO play. Is it TOO much to EXPECT one Stoke player to atually PASS to his fellow team mate! As Nick would say It's easy "init" IF we can not keep the ball, basically away from home we are well and truly shafted. I respect the fact that some player's might be tired, air sick, Jet lagged or simply useless when it's a basic skill for even a Sunday League player to be able to PASS the ball. P.S. Sgt Who wrote that piece mate? I didn't bother to look. But, it's stating the obvious don't you think so.
No idea Potts. It doesn't say. It just says "The Sentinel". So I'd guess a regular Sentinel journalist.
