WENGER MANIA SWEEPS POTTERIES AGAIN

STOKE CITY FC 0 ARSENAL 0

There is little doubt that Arsene Wenger is a big favorite in Stoke,a real crowd pleaser if ever I saw one.The match itself was something of a stalemate,no goals,and neither keeper seriously bothered.  

But our Arsene has the ability to liven up proceedings.He did not remonstrate half as much yesterday as he did last April,but he did provide some opportunities for gleeful Stokie mischief.Doing the Wenger was much more fun than the offerings on the pitch.

It might be my imagination but I think I saw Stokie Steve Bould in the Arsenal back four.They showed much greater resolution than on their earlier visit,surely a reflection of Bould's coaching skills and defensive bent.

Wenger has picked up a midfield gem in Cazorla,Stoke ,for their part,have added the talented Cameron to the squad.Both I suspect will make major contributions this season.Both forward lines fired blanks,and not particularly frequently at that.Stoke did have the ball in the net.Walters netted from one of the few clean nod downs that Crouch was permitted,but the would be scorer was adjudged offside.

Pennant should have had a penalty when he was nudged over by Gibbs,but Ref Mason saw nothing amiss.

Honours just about even against the European Championship qualifiers..

ROYALS RESCUE

READING  1  STOKE CITY FC  1

Stoke opened the season with a visit to newly promoted Reading.Kightley opened his Stoke Premiership goal account with a scuffed shot which stand in keeper Frederici ought to have dealt with.



Reasonably even exchanges followed,with Reading being increasingly influential after the introduction of winger McCleary down the right.



Stoke looked to be coming away from 'The Mad Stad' with all three points until our old Friend Kevin the ref made his customary intervention.In the 90th minute he awarded the home side a penalty red carding the luckless Whitehead.Le Fondre converted the kick.The Royals duly rescued a point.

TONY PULIS' FLYING CIRCUS

STOKE CITY FC  2  BOLTON WANDERERS  2

Not wishing to belittle the effort which our team put into this match,it had many of the ingredients of pure circus.Bolton simply had to win,but nothing looked less likely for the first 35 minutes or so.Stoke's opener,would you believe on THIRTEEN minutes,was pure slapstick.Jon Walters has not been able to buy a goal in recent weeks.Imagine,if you will,two clowns in the circus ring amiably jostling and joshing each other.So it was in the Bolton 6 yard box,Walters,playfully,bumping into Bogdan,the keeper throwing the ball into the net for our amusement,or so it seemed.There were at least 4,000 peoplewho did not see the funny side,most of us felt Ref Foy would be sure to rule the effort out,but he entered into the spirit of things on a fine sunny afternoon.Nothing to see,the goal stood!

In the final 10 minutes of the half we had rich entertainment,side splitting stuff,if you had the humour to cope with it.Kevin Davies hit our bar,Bolton's confidence rose.On 39 minutes they created a kerfuffle in our six yard box.Robert Huth sped to the rescue,gave the ball an almighty clout,directly against Michael Davies' legs.The ball entered our net like a rocket,past bemused keeper Sorensen.You could argue that our Danish international keeper was still in shock six minutes later.Bolton skipper Kevin Davies received the ball far out on our right.There seemed little danger as he launched the ball toward our goal mouth,no other Bolton forward in sight.Sorro rose majestically
extending his arm (as if to acknowledge the crowd) before clattering into the goal post as the ball sailed into the net to give the visitors a halftime lead,and every hope of surviving in the Premiership.

Stoke pushed and probed,Ricardo Fuller took his leave of us,but still no real opening against a poor Bolton defence until 76 minutes.Peter Crouch,who had a pretty good match overall,received the ball in the Bolton penalty area.His shot was well saved by Bogdan,but the ball broke loose,and as Crouch pursued it he was brought down by the keeper,more an accidental tangling of legs rather than a deliberate trip,but a penalty was awarded.

Jon Walters made no mistake,converting from the spot.This,plus news from elsewhere,knocked what little wind there was out of Bolton's sails.After 11 seasons they slipped back into the Championship.For our part the final position 14th in the table on 45 points might be viewed as something of a disappointment.

Still I'm pretty sure its the sort of disappointment Bolton fans could do with right now!!

AND ANOTHER EARLY POST....MAKE OF IT WHAT YOU WILL

MONDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2006

Ricardo Fuller

A thought or two about Stoke's 26 year old Jamaican forward......

First, at around £500,000, he is beginning to look like a particularly sharp piece of business by Manager Tony Pulis.

Second the way he took his goal against Norwich on Saturday marked something that we have not had at Stoke for a while : a striker who does NOT panic and shoot wildly wide or over the top if the goalmouth beckons.

From our viewpoint on Saturday he seemed to be closed down as he moved along the 6 yard line, not once, but twice. He had the cool and confidence to push the ball each time before popping it skillfully into the net.

Hopefully he will steer clear of injury.....if he does then Pulis's prediction of 15 to 20 goals this season will not be far wide of the mark.

FIRST POST ON HERE ....5½ YEARS AGO

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2006

Leeds Utd 0 Stoke City 4

Died and gone to Heaven.One swallow does not make a summer but....not only did they take the lead today but they had every intention of increasing it by all accounts. No way back for Leeds,unlike teams in earlier away matches this season.Loanees all made a substantial contribution.....and Fuller 2 in 2....if he stays fit could he be our first20 goal a season striker for a good while? Sincerely hope so.

ONE GET OUT OF JAIL CARD PROVIDED.....ANOTHER NEXT SUNDAY?

QUEENS PARK RANGERS  1  STOKE CITY FC  0

Stoke continue to limp toward the finishing line,providing succour to others as they go.This was a must win game for QPR.Now whether the home side were just nervous or just dire it took them along time to overcome a jaded looking Stoke outfit.

Ricardo Fuller,sad to say,is not the player he was before his recent major injury.Two or three seasons ago he was capable of changing the course of a game with his mesmeric skills.I think we have just witnessed the swan song of a fine player,one to whom we owe a great deal.

Cameron Jerome got his wish.He started the game but was unable to deliver the goods on this occasion,before being subbed with 12 minutes to go.His best chance spurned within four minutes of the start.Crouchie and Walters continued below par.

Whilst for the most part sound at the back,restricting QPR to relatively few chances,we were undone late in the day,when Cisse finally netted with a minute of normal time to go .

So one lifeline provided.QPR on 37 points could well escape the drop,even though they face a more than tricky final day fixture at Manchester City.

On 35 points Bolton's position is now desperate,just as Wigan's was when they came to The Brit for the final game last season.

With Wigan and QPR already on 37 points anything less than a win against us and the trapdoor opens for them.

Where would you put your money?

Surely not two escape acts at the same ground,on the last day of successive seasons........

EVEN STEVEN AT THE BRIT

STOKE CITY FC  1  EVERTON  1

This was a fair result.Neither side really looked likely to score,despite much hustle and bustle,until Crouch ,as the announcer put it,'unfortunately 'headed the ball into his own net just on the stroke of halftime..Everton nullified Etherington,often with three men marking when he had the ball.

Crouch teamed up with Kenwyne Jones and Walters.The latter made little impression to begin with,but once head-bandaged after a collision, even less seemed to go for him.Everton's strong central pairing got a grip on Crouch,but less so on Jones.Our only real and consistent threat came from Delap long throws.

Stoke did not look like retrieving the situation,until Tony Pulis subbed three players on 67 minutes,with Fuller,Jerome,and Whelan replacing Walters,Crouch,and Delap.The effect was more or less immediate.Jerome received a ball from Upson over the top.He hustled through the attentions of two defenders,driving powerfully down the centre of the field,before shooting over keeper Howard into the net for the equaliser.

Stoke looked a much livelier outfit over the last 20 minutes,with Fuller,Jerome,and Jones in harness.Right at the death a Huth freekick from outside the box could well have brought us the additional two points.Unfortunately from our point of view his goal bound shot was deflected into the grateful arms of keeper Howard.

This point takes up one place to 13th in the table....hopefully it will be lucky for some,as we go into our final two games.

STOKE CROWD DOING 'THE WENGER' !!!

STOKE CITY FC  1  ARSENAL  1

Stoke cleared their heads after last week's snooze in Geordieland,swiftly getting down to business.Ref Foy,too,got off to a flier unjustly booking Dean Whitehead within 3 minutes.

Early on Arsenal looked uncomfortable faced with the high ball.On 10 minutes Matty Etherington swung over a cross from the left,Peter Crouch was there to meet the ball heading into the Arsenal net to the keeper's left for the opener.

We did not have to wait long for a response from the 3rd placed team.They moved the ball around,probing for a weakness in Stoke's defences.Right back Ryan Shotton proved to be that weakness,as he failed to clear a ball into the crowd.From the resultant loose ball Rosicky was put in possession.He moved a little infield before skillfully clipping the ball into the Stoke box where Van Persie stole in to net past Begovic(15 mins).

Both sides had further chances but could not make anything of them.The pattern was pretty much the same for the whole of the second half.With Huth switching to right back and Upson on for Shotton Stoke looked defensively tighter.Late in the half Jon Walters spurned a chance which he would have gobbled up last season,coming onto the ball from the left,but directing the ball outside Arsenal's right hand post.At the end of the game a 'proper' long throw by Delap himself reached the Arsenal six yard box,caused the customary chaos,but unfortunately for us Sagna was on hand to clear.

Honours even,a fair result,but the real highlight of the afternoon was provided by the crowd.We are all used to seeing Arsene Wenger whinging on the touchline.His frequent protests about real or imagined injustices against his team,gesturing towards an official (or indeed no-one in particular) arms outstretched,palms upwards are familiar.

Imagine 24,000 people, all around the ground ,all making the same gestures in unison each time AW protested.As he became more heated (with increasing frequency too) so the Stokie crowd had their fun,gleefully reflecting his mannerisms back to him (his own reserves on the bench were chuckling too!).Thousands stood,arms outstretched,palms upward 'DOING THE WENGER' !!  Brilliant,absolutely brilliant fun!

I suspect he absolutely hates this fixture!

SPORTS DIRECT ARENA NON-EVENT

NEWCASTLE UNITED  3  STOKE CITY FC  0

Newcastle very much in form,Stoke coming to the end of a very long season.Newcastle looking sharp and genuine top four material,Stoke looking leggy,and unlikely to rise above their current position.

The difference according to the manager was that Newcastle took their chances,but Stoke did not.The story is a little more complicated than that.As we have seen on several occasions this season our midfield whilst acceptable is not as creative as it needs to be.For Newcastle Tiote and Cabaye outshone our midfielders,the latter notching two goals.

Up front we did have chances,but our finishing lacked sharpness.Not so Newcastle.Although Demba Ba did not reach the heights he scaled at The Brit,his front partner Cisse continued his fine scoring run.

So never really at the races in this one,still14th in the table,still with a target of 50 points.reaching that total is beginning to look problematic.

HONOURS EVEN AT VILLA PARK

ASTON VILLA  1  STOKE CITY FC  1

One slick move from the home side in the first half was the difference between Stoke taking all three points and the one that they actually got.Throughout the game Stoke looked the stronger team,against a poor Villa outfit.overall the game was mediocre.

Weimann netted for Villa in the 32nd minute. He played a one two with Stephen Ireland on the left, then clipped skillfully over the helpless dive of Begovic  from 20 yards out, the ball dipping into the far corner of the net.

From then on Stoke were mostly in the ascendancy.We had to wait until 71 minutes for that to be translated into goals.Jermaine Pennant, on as sub, collided with Gardner,to earn a freekick from Ref Mike Dean.Pennant crossed the ball into the goalmouth from the left. Huth met the ball,heading powerfully into the net from close range for his second goal in 48 hours.

SAFETY.....NOW FOR THE TOP HALF OF THE TABLE !!

STOKE CITY FC 2 WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 1


We didn't get off to the best of starts,with Wolves looking the sharper team. Particularly they put together dangerous thrusts down both flanks with Kightly and Jarvis probing. Begovic's area was not threatened seriously until the 26th minute, when Wolves were gifted the lead . Kightly was allowed to advance towards the Stoke area from the right.His flicked cross was missed by Dave Edwards.This mislead Asmir Begovic, and to his embarassment the ball carried on into the net.

Stoke started to come into the game with Wolves defensive frailty becoming apparent. Eight minutes before half-time Matthew Etherington,s free-kick was only half-cleared. Ryan Shawcross chested the ball to Robert Huth to hammer for a close-range finish through keeper Hennessey's legs.

On 61 minutes Jermaine Pennant was fouled on the right.He took the freekick curving the ball over the Wolves defence to Crouch to the left.His fine header looped over the keeper into the top corner of the net.A fine finish for the winner,41 points,and safety for another season.

POTTERS SLUMBER AND STUMBLE

WIGAN ATHLETIC  2  STOKE CITY FC  0

This was a  flat and lifeless performance from Stoke,with too many players below their best .The whole game saw the home keeper threatened just twice.Wigan clearly looked to build on their win at Liverpool,moved the ball around confidently,and if anyone was going to score it was going to be them.

The first half finished scoreless although Beausejour ought to have opened Wigan's account.He made amends on 54 minutes,managing a wonderfully firm cross from the left into the Stoke box,where Alcaraz headed crisply into the net.Beausejour found himself with an open goal minutes later but failed to convert.

As Stoke pressed forward in the 4 minutes added on time Wilkinson was sloppy,Moses took the ball from him headed off for goal,rounded Begovic,and with Wilko still in attendance,rolled the ball into the Stoke net ,to put matters beyond doubt.

Crouch and Walters were largely anonymous.Etherington was taken out of the game once more.Pennant had one or two good touches.The midfield was simply not good enough,seemingly incapable of mounting any threat.Our passing at times would best be described as slipshod.

Jerome and Palacios coming on as subs injected a little more energy and purpose.The other sub Ricardo Fuller was hardly seen until the last couple of minutes.He wriggled his way to the byline,cut the ball across.In the resultant chaos the ball came back to him.A short pass to Jerome provided an excellent chance of an equaliser,but he skied the ball over the net.

Some stats,which if we had studied them closely would have provided pointers to the outcome of this game.

Wigan had only won once at home this season,way back last August.
This was the first time this season that they had won two matches on the bounce.
When did they do that the last time? You guessed..the last two games of last season....courtesy of...STOKE!!

So this leaves us 13th on 38 points.We really didn't look up for this one!

PETER CROUCH.....PREMIERSHIP GOAL OF THE SEASON??

STOKE CITY FC  1  MANCHESTER CITY  1

Well this was a game which was not for the purist ( witness BBC commentator - I'll be as lazy not bothering to remember his name  as he was lazy describing events - the gist of which was not much of a game,scrappy) but what we were treated to was end to end stuff,plenty of excitment, the visiting fans adding tremendously to the pulsating atmosphere inside The Brit.

Our commentator was clearly at a different match than the one that we attended,the editors,as ever doing Stoke no favours.But then again we should be pleased that we were not last up ( I know, because its Man City, not us!!) because some of the comments suggested that we ought to have been.

Both sides defended when they had to,but both probed continually for openings,and there was no doubt that right to the final whistle both were going for the win.

Roberto Mancini's team is full of clever players,some of whom seem sometimes that they cannot be bothered,before suddenly bursting into life to cause a real threat.One such was Balotelli,who really does not like The Brit or its denizens.We couldn't manage any snow for him this visit,but the fading Spring sunlight and warmth persuaded him to up his game only occasionally.Yaya Toure is without doubt our Man City bogeyman,some player though.He ambles about from side to side,before sliding a killer pass in toward goal,or even bursting into goalward sprint,which takes those around him by surprise.Silva is a class act,but today was knocked off his game by a collision with Dean Whitehead.

Stoke worked hard and made chances which they were again unable to take.John Walters shot wide of the post again when in on goal,but,that said,he was a thorn in the visitors side throughout,involved in much link play.Cameron Jerome was busy,his highlight being an attempted bicycle kick when faced with an open goal.No real contact,but a bold effort.

Peter Crouch impresses me more each time I see him play.His instant control of the ball,his hold up play,his ability to see what is on ,are first class.Going forward so much seems to revolve around him.BUT ABOVE ALL HE HAS THE ABILITY TO PRODUCE THE UNEXPECTED.

Now when Begovic punts the ball out to the edge of the opposing penalty area to a Stoke striker we've got used to a header on for someone to chase.What we got in the 59th minute yesterday was SPECIAL.Peter Crouch took the force out of the keepers kick with a gentle nod on to Jermain Pennant.He nodded the ball back.Ball still in the air,Crouch flicked it up a little,before volleying right footed,from at least 25 yards out.The ball looped over helpless England keeper Hart into the far corner of the net.A BRILLIANT GOAL FROM OPEN PLAY BY A STOKE PLAYER.So exciting that some Stoke fans celebrated with a 'POZNAN'!!

For 20 minutes Man City probed without being able to convert the chances they were carving out.It was beginning to look as though it might be our day,until Yaya Toure stirred himself,centrefield,and mustered a shot from well outside the penalty area.Begovic was wrong footed when Shawcross got a deflecting touch on
the ball.Although the keeper adjusted,getting both hands to the ball,he could not keep it out of the net (79mins).

A further 15 minutes were played,both sides chasing the win.Stoke sub Palacios was in the thick of it bursting forward on three occasions,and also shooting narrowly over at the death.

No Cup revenge this time,but a well earned point,and 12th in the table.

Crouch goal.... |Linky Thing to .gif

STOKE SO NEARLY REGISTER THEIR FIRST DOUBLE AGAINST SPURS

TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS 1  STOKE CITY FC 1

Stoke arrived at White Hart Lane where Saturday’s traumatic event was fresh and raw. Warming was the shared hope expressed by the teams for a full recovery for Fabrice Muamba, and also the prolonged applause from the crowd.

Stoke gave as good as they got for the first 25 minutes or so, with good chances falling to Cameron Jerome and Peter Crouch. Spurs gradually came into the picture, and were in control as the half came to an end.

The Potters held firm from the beginning of the second period, growing in strength. Spurs were clearly frustrated, pushing men forward in an effort to break through the Stoke rearguard. Stoke themselves looked increasingly strong on the break.

We were well worth our goal on 74 minutes. A freekick from the left outside the Spurs penalty area, was flighted in beautifully by Jermaine Pennant. It seemed as though Robert Huth got a head on the ball, but it was a lightening dart forward from Jerome that culminated in him stretching out a foot to push the ball into the net between keeper Friedel and his post.

Despite some, but hardly concerted, Spurs pressure, we looked likely to take three points, until 3 minutes into the 6 minutes of added on time, when Bale fired in a dangerous cross which Van der Vaart headed home to take a share of the points.

Still one point means we’re up to 11^th again. Time to take Man City on with confidence on Saturday,blacksheep Tevez an’ all.

WHY,WHY WHY....RICARDO?

Chelsea are not the team they used to be at the moment.The team rebuild that Villas-Boas was attempting is no more,unwisely I suspect.Di Matteo is unlikely to be given the time or money for the major surgery that is necessary.His inclination for this match was to bring back into the side some of the players who have caused AVB to fall short.

Stoke, you felt,had their best chance to take points away from Stamford Bridge since promotion to the Premiership.Certainly,looking at the teamsheet they were set  to do so.We rode our luck early doors,looked to be blunting the home side's edge,when Ricaro Fuller - so often our saviour over six wonderful years - applied a one man wrecking ball to our masterplan.

So often he has turned a game in our favour with his magical skills, close control,and eye for goal.Selected to start the game perhaps he could snatch a goal from nothing as he has done so often.No-one who has seen him play could have been in any doubt that he has a short fuse.

Only he can know what was going through his mind,when, following several niggles with Serbian defender Ivanovic,following a further challenge on 25 minutes, our man turned back and stamped on his man.An immediate red card,and realistically an end to our chances of getting anything from this match.

Chelsea were poor,taking a further 40 minutes to break the ten men down.Mata put Drogba in to score from close range on 65 minutes.