stoke entering your style of play ??? .relying on set pieces for goals ,long crosses into the area, or is this just me being picky ???
Absolutely correct: We exploited the weakeness that was found during the match: it's called adaptation!
I think any team in the PL needs a variety of methods to succeed: a good disciplined defence for a start, good passing and possession, a variety of attacking options and, yes, the ability to score from set pieces (especially against elite PL defences). CH is developing all of these, but Stoke's lack of variety often limits what they can do. This, IMO, is why City is still developing and why Stoke, though succeeding to a point, is not.
I think this thread, whilst being a [very] poor wumming attempt raises a good point - We play a very flexible system which lets us mix up our style of play even during matches. It's almost a jack-of-all-trades situation where we're not as good at hoofball as Stoke, and not as good passers as Arsenal, but better than both at their weakness. We're similar to Man U in that respect perhaps, although clearly not as technically able. Contrast this with Swansea who admirably stick steadfastly to their ethos of pass pass pass. Whilst Swansea are doing exceptionally well (fair play to them) I think the ability to vary styles of play is essential over a long season.
You describe the jack-of-all-trades (masters of none) situation well...but then you said that you're similar to Man Ure...
Haha, the versatility aspect is what I was getting at. I did say we aren't as technically capable as them... Having said that NCFC 1 MUFC 0
Exactly and I think that is what CH is instilling in the team and why we'll hopefully still be playing in the PL next season!!!
