Is that the ****e side that beat you 4-0 at our place?? Also - Why would O'Neill go to Stoke? It's not exactly the centre of footballing excellence is it?
AND WE (Stoke) beat the Baggies away from home.. It was going to happen sometime get over it we got over that hammering at the SOL.. you we're s**** then we were worse end of.
Any manager that replaced Pulis would need plenty of time and money to practically buy a new first team. The team that Stoke have at the moment is perfectly suited to Pulisball; a new manager would need new fullbacks, centre midfielders, at least one winger and a top striker. The next manager is going to require a helluva lot of patience from the owner and the fans, unless it's Fat Sam of course.
Smit this poster is a Brummie fan A club that can not hold onto it's Manager for more than five minutes? TRY looking closer to home, as Stoke fans WE KNOW what's needed so jog off! End of, Tony Pulis got it bang on the money yesterday.. We didn't let Swansea get that close to scoring apart from injury time.. Agreed our midfield is non existant sometimes but we beat Swansea with ease and Jerome, Crouch, Fuller and Jones would WALK into Birmingham's team.. maybe not Jerome I forgot he's ex Brummie.
Your team may be sufficient playing that awful, ugly 'football' that you do, but if a manager wants to try and play properly, he's going to need a completely different team. Comprende?
It would appear that you are basing your comments on what you have read in the posts of other wums on here. The team plays the way they are instructed to, in order to gain enough points to avoid relegation (something Birmingham fans are familiar with), which doesn't mean they are incapable of playing any other way. Towards the end of last season, including the FA Cup semi final against Bolton, we were playing some great football which was both exciting and pleasing to watch. I'm hoping that once TP thinks we are safe from the drop, he allows the team to start playing that way again.
If I, or any other decent manager, took over at Stoke I'd want at least two ball playing midfielders, two attacking full backs, a creative, attacking midfielder and a pacy, skillful striker. You have none of those, bar maybe Palacios, who isn't very good.
We already have players who could fulfil those roles. Unfortunately, they're either played out of position or not played at all!
We have Shotton at right back, Wilson in midfield, Jones would have played well under MON; so we would need a left back (has been the case for four years) and maybe another striker, but he would have had twelve million or so to buy someone instead of Crouch and I think he would have had a blast at Stoke: The fans are loud, the money would have been available, he would have been given years and years to build a team. Something that irks me is that if we had got O' Neill before the transfer window, he may have bumped Marshall to the first team and we'd have the magic player out of no-where like you guys have with Maclean
Ifs and buts guys. The fact is that any manager (certainly of the calibre we are discussing with MON) would have achieved at least the same results and we all know the football would ahve been different! I noticed TP felt the need in press today to take a swipe at carpet football (Swancelona) and state his blind opinion that we Stoke fans (you know, the ones he doesn't answer to) wouldnt tolerate that style of football - LMFAO! Only a blind idiot could get Stoke relegated and TP has shown (certainly over the last 18 months) that he would have a bloody good go at it! If it wasnt for how bad the bottom 3 or 5 are he might get his just deserve!
Did you not notice us chanting "boring, boring" at Swansea? I'm pretty sure he was referring to our reactions to all the passing backwards and sideways. I highly doubt he thinks we wouldn't like to see a passing game, we all would! I know keeping possession aint our strong point, but when you're making no progress, I'd much rather see a hopeful ball forwards that 20 passes across the back line, just to keep it.
I'm interested in that thought process! So as a fan you would rather see an aimless and "hopeful" ball to be punted up to watch our team then spend the next 5 minutes working their nuts off to defend, rather than constructive pasing? Have you ever wondered why we conceed so many late goals, because were ****ed from defending against a 60%+ possesion opposition! I understand percentage football, the benefits and tactical advanatge especially at youth level where strength and technique are at a premium - but this isnt sunday lads and dads, this is the premiership!
Smither's although I'm one of the FIRST Stokie's on here to have a go a Pulis for our style or lack of .. Yesterday I looked at Swansea and WTF they try and dribble/pass the bloody ball out of their keepers hands? For all our lads bad faults.. first rule must be to clear the ball away? Jerome twice and Walters almost caught them out and they just hoofed it out for a throw in.. this was 2nd half? If I was a Swansea fan it's fine to pass it around but they hardly did threaten us.. I guess too a point that Pete D is right.. Wilson was way off it first half and got caught out. HAD we had a half decent passing midfield. I feel we could have had a field day yesterday. Just my own view but pretty passing like that with no end product would wind me up just as much as do our player's sometimes.. Agreed though that.. me or thee could keep that Squad of player's in this League with ease and we may well do that.. just hankers me when we all KNOW if what he said above is correct.. once again he is talking through his rear end. We got the win, it was not luck just doing what we should have done for the last few weeks.. close down opposition player's. And Pulis did mention that in his interview.
Potts - I agree that passing for the sake of passing is pretty pointless, but so is kicking it to the oppositions goal keeper! I just cant stand the fact that alot of Stoke fans (probably on;y 3 seasons old) seem to think its funny to scoff at teams that play football and brag about being compared to a rugby team! It was a fantastic novelty to mock Wenger inthe way we did but to continually chant "We play how we want" week in week out is just dragging our great club into the ground! We are better tha this Potts, we dont have to make do with percentage kick and rush football that you use for low skilled kids! Being compared to Wimbeldon is not great and it make me chuckle because they won - we will wim fuk all - so what do we have to be proud off? An identy of **** football, bully tactics and a kretin of a manager - how far we have come!
I KNOW Smither's IMHO NOT that far in honesty.. just could not understand WHY Swansea try to dribble out of defence and feck up mostly the 2nd half. That was my point is all. I'm all for flowing footie BUT sadly this idiot called Tony Pulis does NOT understand the word PASS to thy FELLOW team mate? BASIC football coaching which, should be the FIRST thing ANY parks player learns... As you said previously.. it's NOT good enough given "some of our player's ability" I'm the first to admit that Smither's. Honestly felt sorry for Upson yesterday, he was brilliant for me easily MOTM but.. he was far too often cool on the ball only having to HOOF it forward because. Like US, I think he knows how bad our midfield is i.e. passing is almost ZERO. I'm certain we "Stoke" have the least passes this season, the worst pass completion ratio as given but those.. Sky optic thing ma jigs? SURLY if you we're PULIS you would be looking at stats like this? I KNOW I would.. And I for one don't sing that stupid song we play how we want.. but I did start Sweet Chariot's for Arsene last season. That was mint... same again in a few weeks Smither's
