Thanks, you guys are on an impressive run. I suppose at least for us it is a game we don't expect to win so anything is a bonus. Really depends on what side and tactics we deploy, or otherwise you could have a stroll on the park.
No way was it an 'absolute howler' or a ' huge cock up ' Oli - should have done a bit better with it perhaps but you are making too much of it for my money. But as always we all see things differently.
On the other hand as HistoryRepeating and others have pointed out De Gea, Green and Hart all made mistakes on the same day in difficult conditions. You never know Davis may save us on Saturday .
Just come across some Cameron-related stats. He has made the joint 6th most interceptions in the PL this season, with 50 (Morgan is 4th, with 55), and joint 6th most tackles in the PL this season, with 63 (Morgan is 1st, with 72 - six ahead of anyone else).
This match has been described as a banker for Stoke. Other teams have overturned games like this (see Sunderland v Man City for example), so it's going to be our turn.
More likely we will get ourselves into a great position, then let it slip. I know I know, miserable bugger at the moment, I'll get my coat.......
Villa beat Liverpool 3-1, then lose 8-0. Stoke beat Liverpool 3-1, then....... Well you never know. No reason why we can`t get something from this game, so long as we don`t gift them a head start.
Stoke have a good defence and ours is...improving. Shall I tempt fate and say that it won't be a goal fest.
Stoke will be forced into two changes against Southampton this weekend as Ryan Shawcross and Geoff Cameron are suspended.
he Saints chief is thought to be on the look-out for new midfield options in light of skipper Adam Lallana's injury absence because of knee ligament damage. The England international has already sat out two games and is not likely to be available to Adkins over the next few weeks. There could be an opportunity for Adkins to bolster his squad when the transfer window opens for business next week, but he is not letting anything out of the bag. "He's not going to play against Stoke and that is all we're going to talk about," said Adkins in the Daily Echo, when asked for an update on Lallana. "We are not going to speculate about anybody. It is fair to say in January all teams will be open for business." Adkins has also had problems in the goalkeeper department this season as he has not been able to find a settled number one out of Kelvin Davis, Paulo Gazzaniga and Artur Boruc. But he would not be drawn on fresh reports linking him with a bid for Blackburn's Paul Robinson. "There is speculation about everybody, I don't know where it comes from half the time," he added. "We've got three goalkeepers vying for the positions. I have high hopes for Paulo and two experienced goalkeepers. "On the training ground they are working really hard and Kelvin has got the shirt at the moment." Looks like its KD tomorrow!
Yep, just in time for Cazorla. On a side note, just seen a stat that we've had the least shots from counter-attacks of any team in the League with just 3, but we have scored from one of those, which 8 other teams haven't. Does that add credence to the idea we need to attack a bit quicker and hurry things up when we get the ball?
It is no coincidence that we score fewer goals now our defence has improved. We started in the PL with the same flamboyance as we played in the Championship and lost! Adkins and team have decided to build from the back and this has resulted in more points and getting out of the relegation zone (though I wouldn't be surprised to see us drop back into zone at least briefly). Sometimes pragmatism is the answer.
