Hi guy's Well the shock for me this weekend is that Norwich have the odds on their side. I know we have been poor away from home in the past, however a Stoke team that can brag of 4 clean sheets in 4 competitive games so far, and all against 3 team who are more established in football than Norwich. On paper I would say man for man Stoke are a much stronger outfit, add to that the recent arrival of Woodgate and Upson our defensive line is among the strongest in the Premier league. Norwich feel they have the upper hand playing in front of their home faithful, however Stoke are known for their great support and are officially still the loudest fans in England. I think Norwich will come back down to reality this Sunday, and I expect yet another clean sheet for Asmir Begovic. my prediction : Norwich 0-2 Stoke City
The only thing I will predict is... ALL games are tough, it's the Premier League and anything can happen. Good luck to Norwich, after Sunday of course. 2-0 When is the last time we scored twice away from home John in the Premiership? And won! Nice to see a newbie who's so confident I hope your predition is correct
Hi potts I understand where your coming from, however the lads look confident and I feel they will be raring to show all teams in the league they are no pushovers away from the Brit. Because respectively that's what teams tend to think about us. Most of us that watch Stoke on a regular basis know we will be sitting ducks for the majority of the game. We like to absorb pressure and then break with the likes of Pennant, Etherington and Walters. For some stupid reason I can see a slight alteration happening away from home this coming season. Against Fc Thun we had more than half of the possession, I know this is Europa league but also against Split we showed signs of change. Now we know Pulis well enough to see he won't alter the style to much. If we can bring in a top CM like Parker who can pass a ball and has great vision we may see major changes in style. Also a striker to play off Kenwyn or Walters in the "Defoe" mold we have never really had a striker with quick movement who can sit on the opposition defensive line. I feel this is a must over the brawn we usually bring inn. Potts I was on the old 606 but have only recently found not606. Nice to see a couple of familiar names on here.
All the above makes perfect sence, however there is one issue "IF"! That is the biggest word in any Stoke City supporter's Vocab! In relation to our away form, the prem is a totally different scenario to the europa games, style, pace, strength etc! So whilst i agree that Stoke are by far the better team, we have a habbit of not performing to our best against lower position teams (look at lasy years table and who we lost to), especially away from home! So for me, a 0-0 drwa would be excellent as I cant see us creating more goal opportunities than them - something that has hindered us home away since our promotion - and i wouldnt like to get into an open game with any team in this league - its just not our strength!
I predict a boring draw. Stoke really hard to break down at the moment but lacking fire power up front. With last nights hard fought game I think TP will be parking the bus again!
