Following that horrific display, expect lots of low numbers….
Lee Grant – 6
Couldn’t do anything with the goals. Questionable Kicking but made some superb saves to deny Kane a 4th and from Dier, yes the flag was up but Grant knew nothing about that. Can’t put any blame on him.
Phil Bardsley – 5
Wasn’t the worst defender on the pitch, caught miles away from his position numerous times yet made a couple of decent challenges and knocked the ball around well.
This Sunday the Potters are travelling down south to match up against Spurs.
Saido Berhanio is expected to get his first start for Stoke this weekend at White Hart Lane after looking sharp in training during the mid-season training camp in Dubai.
The lads spent a week away in Dubai, due to a lack of FA Cup action. This is the third successive season in Dubai following Hughes’ takeover at Stoke. Each training has been followed by an increase in form. In 2014, the following twelve fixtures produced seven wins, two draws and three loses. 2015, the next sixteen games produced seven wins, four draws and five losses. Last season there was four wins, three draws and five losses. A mixed bag of results but the management are adamant that the trip only produces positive effects.
It doesn’t take a footballing expert – and I am certainly not one of those – to recognise that Stoke have had better seasons in recent times. A less than gripping Premier League campaign, two rather embarrassingly premature domestic cup exits and a slightly less appealing style of football has resulted in a campaign filled with questions regarding whether the club are going backwards and whether some sort of radical action should be taken – and plenty of replies arguing against these ideas. It has, quite understandably, split the fanbase and, with views on social media becoming more significant and with the anxiety amongst fans having an effect on the general mood in the stands, it’s certainly not done any good for the club. Opinions, and the differences between others’, in football is one of the components that define “the beautiful game” and well formed arguments should always be listened to; however, some fan’s views have turned sour, nasty and frankly baseless. I’m here to try my best and argue for all sides of the debate and eliminate some of the unnecessary disparity between this, at it’s core, wonderful fan base.
One of the most predominant reasons, in my opinion, for Stoke’s slump over the last twelve months is due to an accumulation of a series of unfortunate events. It all began eleven months ago with Jack Butland’s serious injury whilst on duty for the England national side. Prior to this, a string of player-of-the-season worthy performances from the ‘keeper, amongst others, had Stoke one point behind Manchester United in sixth and pushing for European football, conceding just 37 goals in 31 Premier League games. Following that, Stoke were forced to rely on Jakob Haugaard and Shay Given, who managed to concede 32 goals between them in 12 league games – often four at a time. You can’t expect to win matches, or even play well, with that kind of record – we only won once in that period.
With the news that Stoke are willing to listen to offers for Bojan breaking late on Tuesday night there seems to be a feeling that this is the final nail in ‘Stokalona’s’ coffin. ‘Stokalona’ as a concept is hard to nail down and there’s plenty of places you can go and have the debate on what it was, but it certainly was one thing, exciting.
Excitement was the one word that could truly describe the brief Mark Hughes was given when he was hired as our manager. Crowd numbers were dwindling as the fans were no longer satisfied with grinding out a 1-0 win, we wanted to be entertained. And my God did Mark Hughes do that. We went from having scored 4 goals in a league match once in Pulis’ five years at the helm, to doing it twice in one month under Sparky.
Joe. Allen. Is. Not. A. Number. 10.
Right it’s time to admit it, the Joe Allen played as a number 10 experiment needs to come to an end, quickly. I love the Welsh Pirlo banging in goals as much as the next Stoke fan but he is truly wasted in that role. Don’t take this as a criticism of Allen, although he is not free from blame, it is more a focus on what skills he actually possess.
“Oh lay off it he scored at the weekend and we won” right I’m finished rolling my eyes, but thank you for that valuable input. The game last Saturday against Palace was the perfect example of Allen being wasted in the role. Allen scored a wonderful goal making a late, Lampard-esque, surging run into the box, something more akin to a box to box midfielders game than a number 10’s.
I’m tired and lacking motivation after watching that for 90 minutes, but a win is a win even if it was over the poorest side in the league at the moment. Anyways you know what I’m here to do by now, lets go…
Lee Grant – 7
Literally had nothing to do worth mentioning, not his fault in fairness, gave him the standard average goalkeeper performance rating. Can’t fault the man.
Phil Bardsley – 7
Zaha caused him a tiny bit of hassle but coped well the majority of what he played before going off injured.
Much like a three year-old toddler with a crayon and a colouring book, neither Stoke or Crystal Palace could keep within the lines today. The game was as stop start as a traffic jam on the a500, and we all know that burden.
There was a generic thought throughout the stadium today, it was that the game against Big Sam’s men was either going to be an eight goal thriller, or a 0-0 draw. Thankfully Joe Allen decided otherwise.
Well folks, I don’t know about you but I think this could be one of the most interesting matches we’ll see since the Sunderland game. The lads will also be looking for revenge following a dismal 4-1 defeat a Selhurst Park earlier in the season.
The Eagles currently find themselves in 19th, following a terrible run of form. Their season has been a shambles so far and even England’s, “best ever manager” with a 100%-win record, can’t turn things around. Many pundits are claiming the talented squad just don’t want to adapt to his all-or-nothing style of play.
Saturdays defeat against West Brom consigned Stoke to another season where the promised land of 7th place, and the hopes of European football that brings with it, is out of reach of the Potters. This season has seen a reversion to a more direct style, and with Bojan being pushed out of the club the movement known as ‘Stokealona’ is all but deceased. Yet this does not mean Hughes cannot reawaken the fluid passing football that he sought to bring to the Potteries, and doing so now will only be of benefit to Stoke.
It is undeniable that Hughes is beginning to upset some of the fan base with his move away from the flamboyant style. And this is no surprise, Hughes was supposed to be, and at a point he was the revolutionary to lead Stoke away from the long ball system we were synonymous with, and this style adhered many fans to Sparky. The reversion has not benefited Stoke, with the Potters being lower in the league than where they were at this time last year.
Well, there we are, another season, and more failures to beat a side managed by Tony Pulis. Everyone had so much hope before the game, day dreaming of a Berahino winner, in front of the away fans, letting Pulis know exactly what talent he had let go. Alas, it wasn’t to be and the capped one walked away with another three points from us.
I’m sure this one went down well on Twitter…
