Waddo, Potts Have a look at these. This was the group I was with out in Spain. We packed in a lot before returining on Friday night! Cris
The link of course is: http://oatcakefanzine.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=multimedia&thread=187364
I think its good to sit in different areas of the ground as it does give you a different perception of how we are playing - you know how we question what game the same set of fans are at - perception is reality and all that! In relation to TP I have never seen a manager moan and whine as much as he does, he continues with the most stupid of comments and statements to the players like "try and score" etc..and the way he yells and yells and yells and yells and yells and yells like a broken record demanding that they stand on a particluar blade of grass - FFS they are proffesional footballers who work on set plays all the time - they are not kids! I could give you a list as long as my arm, but the key issues for me is that you can see the man panic under pressure, cant make a decession or renaid on it because of an incidient in the game. His negativity in selecting subs (like a rabbit in the headlights) is so amateurish and is failure to change soemthing that is obviously broke is so frustrating when you are trying to be positive and support the team. For me the biggy is the way he singles out and brakes down a player over weeks and weeks. he shuns them with his body language and speaks to them like the lowest of the low. However, when the manager shakes his head when the crowd sings a players name, or that said player scores a goal - that is a disgrace and thats when I lost all respect for him as a man. What do we get in return for these flawed traits - we get to listen to him priase his favourites week in week out and shout at and blame other players for their failures! He offers no consistencey or principles except the old dictatorship view of "I'm big your small" and if you dont like it then fuk off! Like I've said on another thread I could recognise only a handful of season ticket holders at the end of last season compared to the championship campaign - those were the real fans! Not these token idiots who have bought a season ticket in the last couple years and never once went to a lower league game! I know hundreds of fans who went to the Wembley games and some who went to Valencia who are not season ticket holders, never have been - yet coment on how far we have come? They didnt go for the football or the club - they went for the piss up! Just like the idiots at the home games who always come in 10 minutes after kick off (pissed) block your view and then leave 5 minutes before half time! They then come back 10 minutes into the second half (even more pissed) blocking your view again and then leave before the end of the game so they can get to the pub or stand outside the away end and hurl some abuse! Oh but its all right, because they sing their hearts out and ask TP to give them a wave? The true fans will be the ones who sit there (like alot of us did on here well before the prem days) and watch them in the cold when we no longer have TP or Coates or premership football. However, I hope that day never comes, for the sake of the club and the city!
Thanks for sharing those photo's Cris Like Waddo, really wish I could have made the trip! Smither's... fully agree with Nicky b FANTASTIC post and only a REAL fan could have written it in the way that you have.
I just find the constant moaning and whining even after Stoke win a game really depressing. I for one don't care what kind of person our manager is, I'm not ever going to be sat down chatting with him in the pub enjoying a pint. Doesn't bother me in the slightest what he says in the press or what he doesn't say. These days you can't say anything without offending someone anyway. I find Harry Redknapp to be a bit of a slimy bloke but wouldn't mind him managing Stoke! The only thing I care about is Stoke playing top clubs and getting results. If a goal comes from a long throw and headed in at the back post I celebrate just as much as a goal from open play (I think, it’s been a while) I agree with everyone that we are going through a bad patch at the moment but we have still had some good results this season. Draws against Chelsea and Manu and wins against Spurs and Liverpool springs to mind. Another win this weekend and we could be back up to 8th again. We had a bad run early on in the season and then went on to win four on the trot. Realistically I don't think we can hope to finish any higher than 8th no matter who managers Stoke. I haven’t been to a game for a while because I don't live in the UK anymore but I do get to see every game live on TV in HD on my 42" so If people say I’m not a REAL fan because I’m not sat at the ground freezing my bollocks off week in week out, I say nonsense. I was born in Stoke, grew up in Stoke, moved to a sunnier climate and don't miss a game.
Wow what a turn on, a full frontal, ranting, dribbling Pulis in 42" HD, onanism must be rife Prof! By the way, are you the ex DJ from Los Angeles, who then went to Oz?? He too had an unhealthy infatuation about Pulis! Anyway SIS, it isn't about Pulis not caring about England, but: Does he care about STOKE, or just his ego/reputation!!!! Quotes from the Master: There are NO big time Charlies at Stoke We are Stoke City andwe don't complain Oh yea!!
I'm not moaning, we won and by all accounts it was an improved performance. This debate on TP's ability/tactics/team selection dates back to our first blip earlier in the season and has been a constant debate over our last 10 home games which have resulted in a very poor run of form. Just because we win doesn't make it all right! Form League (last 10 games) 16th Villa 10 Points 17th Stoke 9 Points 18th Wolves 8 Points 19th Wigan 7 Points 20th QPR 5 Points Wolves manager has been sacked, Wigan are probably prepared to go down, QPR have recently chnaged their manager and Villa are under pressure with theirs! Notice how we are below Blackburn & Bolton in the form table and both of their managers are under pressure! Puts things into perspective a little. Anyway as I ahve said before, I would rather be safe and put up with TP than be relegated!
I've never sat close enough, enough times to notice that, although I do get annoyed sitting behind the bench sometimes, like you say when he's repeating the same thing over and over, combined with how loud his voice is, starts to go through me after a bit! And I know what you mean about him seeming to target certain players, I'd like to know what's gone on behind the scenes to cause things like that. From what I've seen it's all about attitude, there have been a few fallouts and "troublemakers" about, but only some of them get the full on Pulis treatment, I think it must be down to their attitude and how they've reacted to their bollocking. On the whole, I don't think his (as you've put it) "dictatorship view" is a bad way of going, but Pulis takes it to an extreme, which can be damaging to some players' morale. I think I'm quite lucky where I usually sit, I'm about halfway back, so I get to hear all the pissheads gathered up there having a sing song, but infront of me is mainly groups of families, who tend to stay sat, so my view isn't blocked. Personally I prefer to stand at the match, but the bloke behind me doesn't so I have to respect that. Oh, and r.e "try and score", one of my old coaches used to use that one! . It sounds daft, but it was an instruction from free kicks/ corners, directing a certain player to go for the ball, rather than block defenders runs, or even running the opposite way, in hope you can take a defender with you.
I think once a person hits your nerve it is very difficult to change your view. I was a massive fan of TP when he came back and also with our fantastic promotion year, Our 1st Prem year was awesome and I think he suprised everyone and did an excellent job, but since then I have felt a change in his attitude towrads players, fans, press etc.. and I know it is a very difficult job to do, but none of the players, coaching staff or senior club members have a god given rite to be in this league and I just feel that some poepl within the club seem to be a little arrogant in how far we have come in such a short space of time. I agree that we will never know waht goes on between manager and player, but there is the best part of 10 players that have fallen foul of TP's wrath - thats a little too many for my comfort zone. I take your points on board and respect your opinions, most of which I agree with.
Smither's I've mentioned this before and i have met Tony Pulis twice.. and he is genuinely "A really nice guy" BUT some of his team selections I will NEVER agree with. As a person he was fantastic, easy too get along with.. did not talk down to me. In fact it was quite the opposite.. thanked me for supporting the club/team for so long. I even asked him about his wife, family and so on.. he is in fact a really nice person.. I went on too tell him about the earlier years i.e. for me the 70s and beyond. Makes me wonder sometimes if " The pressure and it is there" to keep us in this league does take it toll eventually? He is certainly so so different when he is interviewd. Just a thought as I am as guilty as the next Stokie too get on his back at times.. are some of being too hard on him.. I sometimes wonder if we are.. still it does'nt stop us having an oppinion does it! Thoughts ??
I dont think we are too hard, ultimatly he gets paid to make decessions which either bring results or not. Like I said above, our form over the last 10 games is akin to that of a team who are fighting relegation and all those managers are either under pressure or have been sacked. In relation to how he is viewed, thats different! He does seem to have a nack of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and he does have a reputation for seeing his arse if the press dont portray him and the team in a positve light - I think thats why P&G and sentinel sit on the fence so much. I'm sure he is a great bloke and genuine with it (although I know someone who worked very close to him recently who say otherwise) but for me there are too many personality clashes and player issues for him to be classed as a good man manager. My personal opinion and I'm sure alot of what is percieved is driven by the pressure of the job!
The whole anti-English thing from the Celtic nations is mostly just banter. Yes, I had a little dance in the living room when Holland scored tonight, but I'm sure all of you would do the same if it was, say, France, or Germany who had lost. Does that mean you hate France or Germany, or have a chip on your shoulder? No. Does that mean that the French and Germans should be outraged with your reaction? Of course not!
