Stoke preview

Mick McCarthy had a much better squad than Paul Lambert has now. That 2012/13 team was pretty average and stuffed with several mercenaries, but there were good players in that side and we had proven goalscorers. Aaron Cresswell, DJ Campbell, Daryl Murphy, and Carlos Edwards, I'd even throw in a younger Luke Chambers and David McGoldrick (even Michael Chopra, who bagged several goals and had a proven goalscoring record at this level).

In this squad, who are the stars? An out-of-form Bart? A fading Edwards? An in-form Sears? And then you're just banking on potential from the youngsters. It's a mess. The squad is an absolute mess. We've got plodders like Chambers, Spence, and Knudsen at the back (who have been absolutely terrible the last few games and, in an ideal world with an ideal squad, would be dropped). Our goals are coming from Freddie Sears, who was fourth choice striker last season. Granted, he's hit a purple patch, but for how long?

Agree - it was a much better squad in relation to the league in 2012/13.
 
Spence should be nowhere near the first team. The players we have are capable but not of the type of form we require now and certainly not playing the way we are, which has nothing to do with personnel.

Agreed, I'd personally pick Donacien there for the away trip to Stoke.

I think the new system is benefiting our midfielders and strikers, who are fashioning more goalscoring opportunities. What the system clearly does not do is benefit our defenders, such as Chambers, Spence, and Knudsen, who all lack technical ability and cannot play the ball from the back. If we're going to continue this attacking, high-energy, play-from-the-back approach, then Donacien / Emmanuel, Woolfenden, and Kenlock would be a better combination. Of course, do that and you lose a significant amount of experience from the defence. However, for the sake of the system, the second line-up would better complement what we're trying to do and this experienced back-four are hardly in form.
 
Well in this case it I don’t think it is and if you were going to double your money or better it would be worth it. But the bookies aren’t stupid.

Haha well they are clearly going to offer odds that they feel is relevant. Hardly going to offer even money. To anyone saying ' we're down ' - go make some easy £££. Ahhhh I forget, being a keyboard warrior on a forum is easy but having a pair is more challenging.

Myself, I couldn't put 1p on us to go down yet because I don't think we're 100% down. While likely, we're not yet.

Joys of the internet. Is the world any better in 2018 than the 90s when people did without. Not so sure it is.
 
Haha well they are clearly going to offer odds that they feel is relevant. Hardly going to offer even money. To anyone saying ' we're down ' - go make some easy £££. Ahhhh I forget, being a keyboard warrior on a forum is easy but having a pair is more challenging.

Myself, I couldn't put 1p on us to go down yet because I don't think we're 100% down. While likely, we're not yet.

Joys of the internet. Is the world any better in 2018 than the 90s when people did without. Not so sure it is.
Westy if you think many people have thousands of pounds lying around to do that with you live on another planet.

There’s no such thing as easy money in gambling. That’s why if something is very likely you’ll get **** odds for it.
 
The only chance I would give us of us staying up would be if there were a new owner or manager in the next month or so. I doubt that will happen though.
 
Westy if you think many people have thousands of pounds lying around to do that with you live on another planet.

There’s no such thing as easy money in gambling. That’s why if something is very likely you’ll get **** odds for it.

You're saying we're down - therefore it's NOT a gamble it's a ££££ making opportunity.

Doesn't matter if its £1 / £5 / £10 / £50 / £500 / £2000 / £5000 - it's the same %%%% tax free coming back to you in May.

Why not get involved seeing as we're down - free ££££.
 
You're saying we're down - therefore it's NOT a gamble it's a ££££ making opportunity.

Doesn't matter if its £1 / £5 / £10 / £50 / £500 / £2000 / £5000 - it's the same %%%% tax free coming back to you in May.

Why not get involved seeing as we're down - free ££££.
Westy if you would like me to prove the point I’ll happily give you a hundred quid if Town stay up. I can’t be bothered with all the rigmarole for no worthwhile return
 
30 seconds work “rigmarole”, crikey.

Nah you’re fine, sounds like rigmarole to me.

It’s never 30 seconds to set up an account and payment details for something like this. Handing over your personal details to a betting company so they and everyone else can spam you to oblivion is never a great idea.
 
You don't have to set up an account, you just walk in the betting shop and hand over your stake money, no risk there.

I’m assuming westy used an oddschecker. You probably won’t get the best odds in a bookies. Then again I can’t find any ‘survival’ odds, only ‘relegation’ odds, not the same thing.
 
Gentlemen...as much as i enjoy some of the banter on here, please please please could you refrain from advocating gambling!!
There are lots of us out there with a gambling problem (me included), and i don't want to come on here and seeing and hearing odds being banded about.
If you want to discuss gambling and the odds on us staying up/going down,please use the private messenger facility.
 
Survival odds are 7/2. That would be a very worthwhile return Westy why don’t you put all your money on that?

Unlike you, Mr ' we're already down ' - I'm not entirely sure where we're going to be. Therefore, on that logic, why would I ' put all my money ' on that ?

You, by contrast, have said we're ' already down ' - yet won't put 1p on it.

You would get the same price instore as on oddschecker - correct - I used this - give or take a fraction - so if it' signing up and putting your ££££ on - no worries - just go into a shop.

Many around Hampy.

Sorry to hear that Stretchy and that's the end of me on this topic.
 
Gentlemen...as much as i enjoy some of the banter on here, please please please could you refrain from advocating gambling!!
There are lots of us out there with a gambling problem (me included), and i don't want to come on here and seeing and hearing odds being banded about.
If you want to discuss gambling and the odds on us staying up/going down,please use the private messenger facility.

Yes quite. Nobody wins apart from the house and that’s why I don’t get involved in such things.

Sorry you are going through this, stay strong and of course we are all right behind you stretchy.