Oh I do hate the international break! A dull period with only momentary respite in the forms of international qualifiers that seem more early preseason than pinnacle of sporting accomplishment. With all the important insight about Stoke that is already on the blog I decided to have some fun and imagine which Pop stars some of our more prominent squad members would be. So let’s get into it (please excuse the awful photos, I think they’re funny).
The Premier League season has kicked off with referees and rule-changing being at the heart of Stoke’s campaign. Twice the Potters have been penalised for contact in the penalty area thanks to new referee enforcements, which don’t seem to be carried out consistently through the rest of the FA’s officials. The controversy was added this weekend with the release of Mark Halsey’s autobiography. He claims that officiating bodies have put him “under pressure” to change his decisions post match on whether he had seen incidents in a match and, in turn, allow the FA to proceed with retrospective punishments. The incident he refers to involves Stoke and therefore a lot of Potters fans have been made aware of this breaking news. There have been many interpretations to this story: some of which are true, some exaggerated and some completely false; it’s only fair that fans are painted the correct picture of the situation and not left angry or concerned about things that are non-existent.
Background
As mentioned earlier: former Premier League referee Mark Halsey released his autobiography recently and in it he writes a memoir regarding a certain situation concerning a match between Blackburn Rovers & Stoke City back in 2011. Playing for Rovers at the time was Steven N’Zonzi (who incidentally would join Stoke just months later) and in the game he was associated with two alleged incidents in which he elbowed two Stoke players. N’Zonzi was not punished by match official Halsey and was, controversially, not sent off for his actions. However, N’Zonzi was charged retrospectively by the FA for violent conduct and banned for three matches. The FA said that Halsey had not seen the incident and, looking back at video footage of the match, the governing body was able to enforce the ban on the Rovers midfielder.
Mark Hughes appears to be suffering from a lack of self-confidence and his recent squad selections and tactics have left a lot to be desired. But in the eat or be eaten nature of the Premier League is it time for Sparky to throw caution to the wind and finally leave his mark on the team. The best football we have seen in his 3 year tenure has come when players from the old regime have made way for those of Hughes’ choosing, and it is time again for Hughes to implement change.
Firstly let’s address the Peter Crouch issue. I was reluctant to see his name on the team sheet against Stevenage, as a good performance against a weak side may have forced Crouch into Sparky’s plans for Saturday. Lo and behold a hat trick ensured the Crouch’s name would be the first name on the team sheet for the trip to Goodison Park. His performance flatters to deceive against a poor League 2 side who would in no way play a similar way to Everton (if you disagree get on the blower to Coatesy to get Omar Bogle in). One Stoke fan with fantastic foresight (me) saw the issues that would arise after the performance on Tuesday night.
Recently there has been a large degree of criticism for our Dutch full back, summarised by Sky Sports awarding Pieters their lowest rating for all players involved on Saturday, a 4 out of 10. This reflects a feeling in the fan base that Pieters is one of our weakest links in the side. However, the statistics show that Erik Pieters is, on the contrary, one of the best players in our side.
In our two opening fixtures Pieters is statistically our best defender, along with Philipp Wollscheid (another player who often is unfairly criticised). Pieters has 4 tackles won, 3 interceptions and 5 successful aerial duels, whilst Pip has 3, 5 and 4 respectively. These are the best figures in the defence with no other defender making more tackles or interceptions, although Shawcross has 7 successful aerial duels.
Looking at the 5 goals that we have conceded so far, the furthest extent that Pieters has been involved is the giving away of the free kick for a foul on Navas for City’s second and getting turned by Friend’s ball to Ramirez for Boro’s opener. Neither of these mistakes have directly led to a goal scoring opportunity, and required other defenders to not fulfil their role to allow the Aguero and Negredo to convert.
This is defensive success is not short lived, as Pieters was without doubt the best defender in the squad last season. Erik made 91 tackles last season the 3rd best in the entire league (a stat I blurted out to a fan behind me when he questioned why Pieters had been given a new 5 year deal), behind only Kante and Gueye. At a time where our defence looked desperately inconsistent, Pieters fought against this tide and became the only Stoke defender to have a full quality season. His consistency and quality was recognised in March last year when his league form was rewarded with a call up to the Dutch national side. And this was nothing less than Pieters deserved from his performances last year.
Onto the next myth of Erik Pieters, that he is in no way creative enough. Well this would initially appear to have some fact, he hardly appears to be the pacey fullback who constantly overlaps his inside forward to deliver balls into the box. However the stats, once again prove this wrong. Last season Johnson, the archetypal pacey full back, had two more assists than Pieters, however this is a misleading statistic, due to the lack of control the ‘assistor’ has over the potential ‘assistees’ finish. A much better indicator is chances created, Pieters created 19 chances whilst Johnson only created 18 (according to Squawka, who define a chance created as “a pass that leads to a shot on goal”). Yes Johnson may have played less football than Pieters but per 90 mins Johnson created 0.74 chances and Pieters 0.55, hardly the vast difference talk on the terrace would suggest.
In fact this season Erik Pieters is currently leading chances created in the entire Stoke squad, with 3 opportunities provided. His next nearest competitor being Marko Arnautovic on 2. Pieters created one of only two clear cut chances for the Potters against Man City. His excellently weighted ball to Phil Bardsley was volleyed straight into Guardiola’s favourite Willy, and this led to Joe Allen’s claim for a clear penalty that was, unfortunately, not given. This suggests that if any criticism of the former PSV player’s creativity has not fallen on deaf ears, with himself and Sparky having focused on adding this element to his game.
Despite not having the best performances to open his 2016-17 season, Pieters is a pivotal part to our side, the most consistent member of the defense in recent times and a man who certainly provides plenty going forward. Most criticism has been unwarranted and I am certain Pieters will show this over and over again this season. If you disagree with me please write to me by scribbling your thoughts onto any piece of paper, screwing them up into a ball and depositing them in the nearest recycling bin; I will try to get back to you as quick as I can!
Before I start some may find this article controversial and a degree insulting, but it is something that needs to be addressed. Our home fans have been nothing short of awful for a minimum of 18 months. The ferocious atmosphere that was once associated with the Britannia Stadium is gone. Replaced with a hostile environment where any poor performance will be harshly criticised from the stands, whereas good performances are met with muted appreciation.
Let’s start on positive note, the away fans. The Potters who travel around the country do so in fine voice and represent the club excellently (on a whole). Constant chanting irrelevant of the result, and encouraging players to perform rather than criticising their mistakes is the norm. We travel fantastically, with nearly 3000 fans making the 163 mile trip up north to Middlesbrough last weekend. Clearly this is helped by the free coach travel, and the board have to be commended for keeping to this pledge.
But back to the issue at hand, the awful home “support”. Obviously at times the Brit has been bouncing over these recent 18 months, but these have been an anomaly. We need to be rid of the expectant atmosphere that surrounds the club, and acknowledge that as fans we have a role to play in the team’s performance. Yes we are attempting to progress forward to the European places, but this does not entitle us as fans to sit back and expect the team to create the atmosphere in the ground. Our aims will certainly not be met if fans continue to attack, criticise and demotivate players who they perceive to be performing poorly.
Instead it is more valuable to support a player who is struggling and in a rut. The best example of how supporting a player improves performance is our mercurial winger Marko Arnautovic. Many times we see Arnie beating himself up for making a mistake (figuratively, not literally like Jamie Vardy). And one thing always brings him back into the game, a roar from the crowd, normally causing the Austrian to sprint back down the line to dispossess the full back who tackled him earlier. This treatment should be afforded to all players, as it will certainly improve performance.
I understand that many fans can feel angered at a bad performance, and obviously there is nothing wrong with feeling this but expressing this anger is best left to after the match. Inside the ground we owe support to the players and to encourage them to perform to the best of their abilities.
The other element we need to see return is the ‘The Bear Pit’, a cauldron of loud passionate fans who want nothing more than their team to be victorious. The atmosphere is currently one of quiet expectance, we wait to be entertained and once a goal has been scored the atmosphere picks up only to peter out into near silence once again. In the past we have scared teams into losing even before the match kicks off, yet now we let the away fans dominate and often urge their team to success.
It is undeniable that our home form has dwindled of late, and it has done so at the same time as home support has decreased in volume and quality. The two are clearly related, and it will come at no loss to the fans to attempt and bring back this atmosphere to help improve performances. For the good of the club we need that atmosphere, our title of the loudest fans is in crisis and winning it back should be our main aim this season. So come on let’s turn the bet365 into our new Bear Pit!
So what do you think? Any solutions to the problem? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!
Over the last decade or so what is to be expected from a full back has significantly changed. During the Pulis era the full backs were deployed as out and out defenders; two conventional wingers in the form of Etherington and Pennant meant there wasn’t too much space for a full back to overlap anyway. The conventional role for a full back in the modern game is to hold the defensive line when the team is without possession and to maraud forward, overlapping the winger, when with possession. Pochetinno’s Tottenham are a fantastic example of this system, using the full backs to overlap in attack, Guardiola’s Bayern Munich, and now Manchester City, have the full backs come inside to take up the position of a conventional holding midfielder when with the ball, and some systems, such as Antonio Conte’s Italy, have the wide defenders in an even more attack orientated role as wing backs. Hughes’ system requires the two full backs to adventure forward to help aid attacks similar to Spurs, but at the moment the system is nowhere near as successful as it could be.
The system should work that when Stoke have possession of the ball on the wing, either Pieters or (for last week at least) Bardsley, give Shaq or Arnie another option by overlapping around the opposition full back. This can then create several options for the next phase of the attack. The simplest is for the winger to play the ball through for the full back to run on to and then cross into the box. If the defending full back follows the overlap run, then this opens up a second avenue for success. The defender moving away gives Shaqiri or Arnautovic the space they crave to set in motion their fortes. The cut inside. What they choose to do in this moment is up to them. They will often shape to shoot, perhaps dink the ball into the box or go for a gallivant into the box. Whatever they do, the fact that the full back overlapped can often be the catalyst for chance creation.
And breathe…. The Premier League is back, I’m back and After the Whistle is back… Let’s do this!
Yesterday nearly 3,000 Stoke fans made the 3-hour journey up to the North East to see our opening day fixture against newly promoted Middlesborough. While it wasn’t exactly a footballing masterclass or a game that any of us will be talking about in a few months time, it was still a classic Stoke game. Going behind early on, playing poor for one-half and playing well for the second, a weak team effort with a few standout performances who carried us through the game, it couldn’t be more like Stoke right? Well, no matter the performance, good or bad, worldie or typical Stoke, I will be here every week to do some nit-picking and point out 5 (Give or take) areas that Stoke could have improved on.
So let’s get moaning…
1.) Our Defence
Okay, it’s one thing that Johnson was out injured for the first game of the season, but I know I’m not alone in saying that my worry levels increased drastically once we found out that Butland had injured himself in training a mere day before our first match.
In another article focusing on Stoke’s tactical shape I look at the 433’s beautiful offspring, the false nine. Rising to prominence in December of last year, in the Potteries at least, it was eventually scrapped after a lack of rotation led to two poor results. But with no movement on the striker front in the transfer window so far, could the return of this formation get the best out of the current crop of players?
Last season the formation had a mixed bag of results, but this included two stand out, and I really mean stand out, performances against the two Manchester clubs. In both of these fixtures Stoke looked like the former league champions and made their opponents look like middling clubs who had no hope of winning the league. There is no debate that these are the two best performances I have ever seen from a team in Red and White stripes. Both games could have finished as cricket scores due to the abundance of the chances created, and this all came from the false 9. The fluidity of attacking movement left opposition defences exposed and weakened, whilst an additional centre midfielder provided defensive cover to nullify the opposition.
Our magnificent Spaniard is set to light up the Premier League in his best season to date. After having a tough spell being in and out of the side, Bojan is now truly ready to cement himself into the history books at Stoke. Don’t believe me? Well here are my 5 reasons as to why this is Bojan’s big year.
1. A full pre-season
Prior to this campaign Bojan had not completed a full pre-season in the Potteries, and this is clearly something that affects from a players performances do fitness. Way back in 2014 Bojan signed in late July, and entered a squad that had only one compatriot (Marc Muniesa) and must of been a hard place for Bojan to settle into. The ferocity of the Premier League, mixed with a squad that still held a lingering scent of Tony Pulis, was slightly too much for Bojan and he didn’t truly have affect in the league until November. Last preseason was marred with injury as he attempted to make a recovery from his ACL tear. Despite having some involvement it was not in a full capacity, and Bojan was not truly match fit until his heart warming return against Leicester in September. This season he has been with the squad since day one, and the ex Barcelona player will reap the benefits. Clearly Hughes has had a problem with Bojan’s fitness levels, he didn’t complete 90 minutes once last season, and a full preseason will be guaranteed to improve this.
Recently a father, 24 years young and with a smile that could melt Carl Dickinson’s heart on a bad day, the Spaniard is held in high regard by many Stoke City fans. I include myself in that bracket. I’ve literally got been there and got the t shirt.
However, in the last week or so, dark thoughts have manifested in my mind. Is this season make or break for young Marc Muniesa? Let’s take a closer look at things.
