Absolutely no doubt in my mind that with 11 men on the pitch throughout the game,Stoke would have got a result. We certainly don't look out of our depth in the Prem.
Whilst the commentary on Sky was somewhat patronising ( and their summariser a total pillock for my money...whoever he was!),MOTD was much more realistic,and what I particularly liked was that their pundits are coming round to the view that on current evidence Stoke will be no pushover for many teams...AND from Mr Lawrence,no less, Stoke are the most likely of the three promoted sides to survive!!!! Wow they're catching on.....
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Middlesborough 2 Stoke City FC 1
Stoke looked really comfortable at The Riverside,playing energetically,closing down their hosts very quickly.There was no real threat from'Boro until just after the half hour when Amdy Faye put in a two footed tackle and was promptly sent off by ref Mike Dean.
The resultant free kick, centrally placed just outside the box, was beautifully struck by Alves, apparently heading wide but at the last moment curling inside the post with keeper Sorensen a spectator.Stoke played out the remaining 12 minutes or so comfortably.
The second half was dominated by Boro with Sorensen making fine saves.Downing contrived to strike a penalty against the bar after Olofinjana had fouled Alves.Against the run of play Stoke equalised when defender Hoyte turned a Lawrence cross into his own net (70).
With the pressure on, 10 man Stoke were unable to hold out, Tuncay netting the winner (84) having been played onside by sub full back Wilkinson.
A case of what might have been...11 men on the pitch throughout could well have made the difference....c'est la vie....but no shame in this dogged performance.
The resultant free kick, centrally placed just outside the box, was beautifully struck by Alves, apparently heading wide but at the last moment curling inside the post with keeper Sorensen a spectator.Stoke played out the remaining 12 minutes or so comfortably.
The second half was dominated by Boro with Sorensen making fine saves.Downing contrived to strike a penalty against the bar after Olofinjana had fouled Alves.Against the run of play Stoke equalised when defender Hoyte turned a Lawrence cross into his own net (70).
With the pressure on, 10 man Stoke were unable to hold out, Tuncay netting the winner (84) having been played onside by sub full back Wilkinson.
A case of what might have been...11 men on the pitch throughout could well have made the difference....c'est la vie....but no shame in this dogged performance.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Royals Link.....Sonko To Join Kitson At Stoke?
If the papers are to be believed Ibrahima Sonko is to/has joined Stoke from Reading. The 27 years old defender would further increase the Senegal connection at Stoke.A fee of £2m has been mentioned.
Sonko has in the past shown himself to be somewhat uncompromising, and not a little headstrong.Most recently he was sent off last week against Plymouth, but Reading's midweek Carling Cup outing counted as his one match suspension.
I seem to recall that at the African Nations Cup he set about one of his own team's backroom staff on the touchline.Tony Pulis has shown himself well capable of handling impetuous players and bringing the very best out of them for the benefit of the club.
Other rumours suggest that Ledley from Cardiff and Walters from Ipswich could be about to join Stoke.
Sonko has in the past shown himself to be somewhat uncompromising, and not a little headstrong.Most recently he was sent off last week against Plymouth, but Reading's midweek Carling Cup outing counted as his one match suspension.
I seem to recall that at the African Nations Cup he set about one of his own team's backroom staff on the touchline.Tony Pulis has shown himself well capable of handling impetuous players and bringing the very best out of them for the benefit of the club.
Other rumours suggest that Ledley from Cardiff and Walters from Ipswich could be about to join Stoke.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Carling Cup...Stoke Through To The Third Round.....
Well that doesn't happen very often.....Cheltenham 2 Stoke City FC 3.....we progress on the back of goals from Whelan,Cresswell, and Parkin.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Stoke City FC 3 v Aston Villa 2..What An Afternoon That Was!
Villa,the pundits argue,are the team most likely to challenge the'Big Four'clubs this season....Stoke are the team most likely to go down.The former may indeed be true,but on today's showing The Potters did not look relegation material.
Tony Pulis rang the changes following the Bolton defeat,five players who started last week's match finding themselves on the subs bench today.The team had a solid look to it.
Stoke took the lead through a Lawrence penalty (30) after ref Mark Halsey judged Delap to have been fouled by Laursen.We continued to look good value for our lead for the remainder of the half,with Villa playing below par.
Manager O'Neill clearly had plenty to say during the break,with the result that Villa looked sharper and far more threatening in the second half.They deservedly equalised on 63 minutes when a well worked move set Carew free in the Stoke box to deliver with a powerful shot across keeper Sorensen into the corner of the net.
With ten minutes to go the Stoke midfield were gifted the ball by Gareth Barry..Liam Lawrence thread the ball to Ricardo Fuller who,with a deft flick,and turn accelerated away from his marker Laursen,before shooting across Friedel's despairing dive into the far corner of the net (80).A brilliant piece of individual skill this,which sent The Brit into wild celebration.
Big question...could we hold out? Quickly answered when Laursen netted (84) following a free kick routine which looked rather clumsy!
Many in the crowd were at this stage happy to settle for a point.The players clearly were not.All afternoon the Villa defence had difficulty coping with Rory Delap's long throw in to the penalty area.With his final throw in the 94th minute Stoke hit the jackpot.The ball found sub Mama Sidibe,who headed the ball on into the net,to trigger tumultuous celebration which lasted well beyond the final whistle.
Another great day to be a Stokie!!
Tony Pulis rang the changes following the Bolton defeat,five players who started last week's match finding themselves on the subs bench today.The team had a solid look to it.
Stoke took the lead through a Lawrence penalty (30) after ref Mark Halsey judged Delap to have been fouled by Laursen.We continued to look good value for our lead for the remainder of the half,with Villa playing below par.
Manager O'Neill clearly had plenty to say during the break,with the result that Villa looked sharper and far more threatening in the second half.They deservedly equalised on 63 minutes when a well worked move set Carew free in the Stoke box to deliver with a powerful shot across keeper Sorensen into the corner of the net.
With ten minutes to go the Stoke midfield were gifted the ball by Gareth Barry..Liam Lawrence thread the ball to Ricardo Fuller who,with a deft flick,and turn accelerated away from his marker Laursen,before shooting across Friedel's despairing dive into the far corner of the net (80).A brilliant piece of individual skill this,which sent The Brit into wild celebration.
Big question...could we hold out? Quickly answered when Laursen netted (84) following a free kick routine which looked rather clumsy!
Many in the crowd were at this stage happy to settle for a point.The players clearly were not.All afternoon the Villa defence had difficulty coping with Rory Delap's long throw in to the penalty area.With his final throw in the 94th minute Stoke hit the jackpot.The ball found sub Mama Sidibe,who headed the ball on into the net,to trigger tumultuous celebration which lasted well beyond the final whistle.
Another great day to be a Stokie!!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Andrew Davies Signs A Four Year Deal With The Potters
The 23 year old former England U 21 defender comes to us from Southampton where he clearly made an impression winning their player of the season award.
He has Premiership experience,but will not be able to put it to use immediately against Aston Villa on Saturday as he is recovering from knee surgery,and is still short of full match fitness.
The fee is officially undisclosed ( although the BBC reports a figure in the region of £1.3m). Maybe it's linked to appearances in some way.
He has Premiership experience,but will not be able to put it to use immediately against Aston Villa on Saturday as he is recovering from knee surgery,and is still short of full match fitness.
The fee is officially undisclosed ( although the BBC reports a figure in the region of £1.3m). Maybe it's linked to appearances in some way.
Monday, August 18, 2008
What's This All About?
I don't know much about betting but I was incensed and puzzled by the strap line (below) at the bottom of a Daily Mail Sports page today.
+++After Stoke's opening day defeat at Bolton, bookies Paddy Power have already paid out on bets that they would be relegated this season+++
From Google....
Paddy Power Pays Out On Stoke
PS It would appear that as a Stoke season ticket holder you can open an account,bet your £50 on anything you like,take your winnings(if..any!),and close the account.Surely there must be a catch somewhere.
+++After Stoke's opening day defeat at Bolton, bookies Paddy Power have already paid out on bets that they would be relegated this season+++
From Google....
Paddy Power Pays Out On Stoke
You may have heard over the weekend that we are paying out on Stoke City for relegation this season.
Even though we’re only one game into the season the favourites for the drop didn’t exactly inspire much confidence, shipping three goals to one of The Prem’s lesser lights Bolton.
Admittedly one of Bolton’s goals was an outrageous fluke but what do you reckon? Even though every pundit and every football fan in every pub up and down the country have tipped Stoke for the drop, have we got it right or will Paddy be eating humble pie by the end of the season?
Of course, some people seem to have been particularly upset by our move. But then not everyone likes to have a bit of fun with their football. Perhaps they’re not all aware of our Silver Lining offer…
To ease the pain of Potters fans Paddy Power are offering Stoke season ticket holders a no-strings attached FREE £50 bet."
Well fancy that! It's all about publicity for PP....great advertising you might say, but will the firm's gamble pay off amongst the Stokie ST betting fraternity.... tempted by the Silver Lining or not?
My silver lining...Stoke to stay up!!
PS It would appear that as a Stoke season ticket holder you can open an account,bet your £50 on anything you like,take your winnings(if..any!),and close the account.Surely there must be a catch somewhere.
An Interesting Take On Stoke's Prospects.
If you've not already seen Guy Melton's offering on Stoke's prospects this year it's well worth a look.
As a taster, to quote him directly..."Amazingly Stoke had the worst shot differential in the Championship, allowing 143 more efforts on goal than they attempted. The team with the worst shot differential in the Premiership (Derby) was relegated by April but somehow Stoke won promotion. How did they do it?"
His analysis of The Potters heroic promotion effort last season is quite revealing,and he links it through to our likely fortunes this season in the Premiership.
Link : Stoke City FC Prospectus
***
As a taster, to quote him directly..."Amazingly Stoke had the worst shot differential in the Championship, allowing 143 more efforts on goal than they attempted. The team with the worst shot differential in the Premiership (Derby) was relegated by April but somehow Stoke won promotion. How did they do it?"
His analysis of The Potters heroic promotion effort last season is quite revealing,and he links it through to our likely fortunes this season in the Premiership.
Link : Stoke City FC Prospectus
***
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Fuller Nets Potters Consolation...Bolton 3 Stoke City FC 1
Stoke looked reasonably comfortable for the opening 30 minutes of their Premiership campaign.They then proceeded to ship three goals in the run up to halftime.
Bolton fullback Gretar Steinsson scored the first,advancing down the right his intended cross flew over keeper Sorensen into the Stoke net.A seemingly shellshocked Stoke defence then marked up poorly at two free-kicks leaving Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander with straightforward headers for their goals.
The second half was a tighter affair,something of a spirited fightback,which culminated in Fullers goal in added on time.
A baptism of fire then and defeat against a team which the pundits expect to struggle against relegation.As many fans suspected the defence will need reinforcements.Some have already been recruited but did not play today....others will probably sign next week.
Quite a few fans have expressed disappointment that the team did not look a great deal different to the one that finished last season,criticising the manager for his team selection.Looked at a different way this is a manager who is loyal to his players,giving them every chance of making it at the top level (whether we think they are good enough or not)having got the team to where they are today.Equally having done that,he will not be slow to make changes where they are revealed to be necessary.I suspect the players know that,will respect any changes,without damaging the team spirit built up over the last two years.
Potters 2008 - 9 still very much a work in progress and certainly not disgraced!!!!
Stoke: Sorensen ,Wilkinson ,Cort ,Shawcross ,Griffin ,Delap ,Olofinjana ,Whelan ,Cresswell ,Kitson ,Sidibe
Subs: Simonsen,Lawrence,Pericard,Diao,Amdy Faye,Dickinson,
Bolton fullback Gretar Steinsson scored the first,advancing down the right his intended cross flew over keeper Sorensen into the Stoke net.A seemingly shellshocked Stoke defence then marked up poorly at two free-kicks leaving Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander with straightforward headers for their goals.
The second half was a tighter affair,something of a spirited fightback,which culminated in Fullers goal in added on time.
A baptism of fire then and defeat against a team which the pundits expect to struggle against relegation.As many fans suspected the defence will need reinforcements.Some have already been recruited but did not play today....others will probably sign next week.
Quite a few fans have expressed disappointment that the team did not look a great deal different to the one that finished last season,criticising the manager for his team selection.Looked at a different way this is a manager who is loyal to his players,giving them every chance of making it at the top level (whether we think they are good enough or not)having got the team to where they are today.Equally having done that,he will not be slow to make changes where they are revealed to be necessary.I suspect the players know that,will respect any changes,without damaging the team spirit built up over the last two years.
Potters 2008 - 9 still very much a work in progress and certainly not disgraced!!!!
Stoke: Sorensen ,Wilkinson ,Cort ,Shawcross ,Griffin ,Delap ,Olofinjana ,Whelan ,Cresswell ,Kitson ,Sidibe
Subs: Simonsen,Lawrence,Pericard,Diao,Amdy Faye,Dickinson,
Friday, August 15, 2008
Amdy Faye Joins Up On One Year Deal :Abdoulaye Faye In For Three Years!
Stoke City concluded the signings of two Senegalese internationals today.
Stoke have signed the 31 year old Senegalese midfielder Amdy Faye from Charlton,the fee undisclosed.He has been training with the Stoke squad and featured in the friendly against Ossasuna.
Is the one year deal a reflection of his age or that he does not wish to tie himself in too closely with The Potters?
He was followed in by Abdoulaye Faye,30,from Newcastle United,the fee just over £2m.As I recall another big lad, he was the pick of a poor Newcastle team holding things together for them in the goaless draw cup match at the Brit in January.
Who's next to arrive with Premiership experience?
Stoke have signed the 31 year old Senegalese midfielder Amdy Faye from Charlton,the fee undisclosed.He has been training with the Stoke squad and featured in the friendly against Ossasuna.
Is the one year deal a reflection of his age or that he does not wish to tie himself in too closely with The Potters?
He was followed in by Abdoulaye Faye,30,from Newcastle United,the fee just over £2m.As I recall another big lad, he was the pick of a poor Newcastle team holding things together for them in the goaless draw cup match at the Brit in January.
Who's next to arrive with Premiership experience?
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