Jack Butland – 6
Rarely called into action and couldn’t do much about both goals despite one going through his legs although it was from close range and hit with some pace.
Glen Johnson – 6
Can’t really fault anything that he did, good going forward and did he job defensively.
Jack Butland – 7
Made some superb saves and showed his lightning reflexes. Could question his passing at times and was lucky to get away with a miss kick.
Glen Johnson – 5
Went forward well but lacked any end product apart from a nice ball into Allen who couldn’t convert. Lost possession a few too many times and was defensively poor.
This weekend we host the Hammers at the Bet365.
West Ham are currently lying in 14th place, just only one point behind Stoke. The last time the two sides met at the London Stadium, it finished 1-1. With Glen conceding an own goal, and Bojan equalizing.
The season is nearly over and with that comes the accusation that mid-table sides, such as Stoke, are ‘already on the beach’. And as fans all we want is the players to show that they are fighting against this, and it is normally the leaders on the pitch whose duty it is to motivate the side and remind them that there are still points to play for.
It is expected that this leadership will come from the domestic older players in the side, who have plied their trade at the club for many years and understand what the fans demand. Yet the past few months have seen the exact opposite in Stoke’s side. It has been the young, relatively recent, imports who have been the source of motivation to go out and seek as many points as possible.
Finally brought myself to watch the game and write a blog on it, oh my, lets get this over and done with….
Jack Butland – 7
Left with no chance with the Llorente header and couldn’t be blamed for the Carroll goal after the wicked deflection, made a wonderful save to prevent Carroll getting a second. Done all the other basics well, Lovely to see him back.
Glen Johnson – 6
Average defensive display but made good progress down the right although it came to absolutely nothing.
This weekend we’re heading to Swansea to face the Swans at the Liberty City Stadium.
Swansea are currently in the relegation zone, two points from safety. With only five games left this season, the Swans are fighting for their place in the Premier League next season and feeling the pressure. With Swansea manager, Paul Clement calling the match a ‘must-win’ immediately following their defeat to Watford. He went further to say it’s Swansea’s biggest match since the play-off final in 2011.
WE WON! Let’s rate….
Lee Grant – 7
Made two good stand out saves, nearly ended up having a brawl with Pieters due to some silly miscommunication that could’ve cost us big time, couldn’t do much with Hull’s goal due to the deflection.
Ryan Shawcross – 7
Nearly got himself a cheeky assist after a ball into Berahino who finished but went just a few seconds early. Solid enough at the back too.
This weekend we host Hull City at the Bet365 Stadium.
The Tigers currently lie in 17th, only two points above the relegation zone. They come into this game after a 3-1 beating to Manchester City. They’ve won three in the last five and are looking in better shape since Silva took the managerial position. Stoke are on a 4-loss losing streak at the moment, and will look to turn things around this weekend.
Hull have picked up an average of 0.31 points on the road this season, and their recent away form hasn’t looked much better. The last four losses for Hull have all been on away days. They’ve lost 81% of away games, compare that to our 31%.
Just over a year ago, Stoke City were the best they ever have been in the Premier League: playing swashbuckling football which caught the attention of the world’s media, disposing some of England’s greatest football teams with ease and, following the 2-1 win over Watford last April, Stoke were just one point behind Manchester United who were in sixth place. We were talked about as genuine contenders for European qualification and we seemed almost unstoppable. Mark Hughes was being lauded with getting the best out of a promising side and was even being linked with big jobs away from Stoke. Fast forward twelve months and the Potters’ fortunes have been turned on their head: we are one of the lowest goalscorers, play some of the most tepid football and have been on the wrong end of humiliating scorelines on a regular basis. What on earth has happened?!
I wrote a blog just over a month ago defending Stoke City and that we’ve been on the end of some truly rotten luck. Losing Jack Butland to injury led to an incredibly tough period where we didn’t have a Premier League standard goalkeeper. Other injuries such as Ibi Afellay, Xherdan Shaqiri, Geoff Cameron and Glen Johnson depleted the squad to it’s bare bones and halted any soaring form that the team picked up. Having to run through undulating periods of tough fixtures means that it’s easy for the team’s morale to dip. Despite this, I also said that this does not mean that Stoke should not hide behind these excuses and that they need to recover from the slump should they want to reach the heights that they have been known to achieve.
Another defeat that can only be blamed on some stupid choices from Hughes….
Lee Grant – 6
Made some decent saves and stood no chance with both goals. Again, could question his distribution.
Glen Johnson – 7
Much better than his performance against Leicester, went forward well and did his defensive duties to a good standard. Linked up with Shaqiri well.
