Having witnessed prob the worst prem performance by Stoke tonight .. IMO since we went up ! I wonder what simply went wrong ? Is it the fact we still have no class whatsoever in midfield ? Crouch very lightweight ? Walter s not enuff quality ? Centre Halves that swap around like playin cards or is it the fact we dont have any fullbacks in the club ? Square pegs again come to mind ! Strange considering we do have a good squad now but is Europe taking over if so stick it cuz that tonight was ****e full stop !
I forgot to mention how tedious are rorys time takin throws becoming ? !!! Im not a TP disliker hes been top drawer but Newcastle have totally highlighted just exactly what is wrong at the moment !
What went wrong? Simply everything. We played with Woodgate who has the turning pace of a tortoise, played Wilson out of position, didn't play our 2 best centre backs, couldn't pass to save our lives, created zero opportunities, we're picking a guy in midfield who is past it. You'd hope after 3 and a bit seasons and over £70m spent we wouldn't still have to resort to aimless hoofs up the pitch to a pair of donkeys up front. Pulis had the opportunity last night to play Jerome as he is suspended for Thursday but no that would mean playing someone who would run at the defence with pace, and we can't have that in a Pulis side can we?
Main issue is not have the correct players for the positions - regardless of ability and the management having no flexibilty or variance! Broken down simply, not having effective Full Backs mean that you invite pressure. You cant adavnce the ball out of your own half with a flat back 4! Becasue the full backs dont overlap, you are effectively playing with 2 less players in attack compared to most teams and hence do not have a numerical advantage - which inturn means that we cant work the ball into stronger positions! No central link player who can carry the ball 10-15 yards, suck the opposition in and then feed the ball. We play in straight lines, not angles - anyone who plays/coaches a team sport that involves the movement of a ball knows this! Finally - TP said in an interview at the end of last begiining of this season, that "we set up our team to suit us and nothing to do with who we are playing" - how sunday league!
