Frustration over his game-time and rumoured Swansea City interest has thrown Crouch’s future into a state of immediate uncertainty. His five-year stint at the Britannia Bet365 Stadium has given us a total of 44 goals, and a selection of fairly funny tweets to accompany them. Without further ado, here are a few of the best tweets from everyone’s favourite 6’7” striker, who may or may not be in the red and white stripes come the start of next season.
There was the time he went to the races and found out just how big he is…
It is often sighted by managers and fans alike that nothing should be taken from preseason, however one thing seems prominent in our pre-season which is worth discussing. No I am not talking about Arnie’s hair, instead the formation that Sparky has preferred for every starting line-up, the 343. Now this could all be purely speculation (and we may actually only be accounting for the fact that Arnie is our only genuine match fit winger) but it appears that this formation may slowly make its way into our match day line ups. So therefore it will be useful, to look at what the formation could bring to the side.
This tactical shape is having some form of a renaissance after it was used so effectively by Wales and Italy in the Euro’s. Chris Coleman used the extra central defensive player to ensure his team were tough to break down. This defensive rigidity allowed Wales’ best players Bale and Ramsey to not overly concern themselves with tracking back. This meant they were always available on the counter attack and both were key to every Welsh attack. Also essential to this formation was our own new signing ‘Wee’ Joe Allen, whose tenacious ball recovery meant he had more interception than any other midfielder and won himself a spot in the squad of the tournament.
The Welsh and Italians used this formation in a war of attrition as they soaked up pressure from the opponent and sought to break with speed. Personally I do not see Stoke using this formation in the same way. Our 433 and 4231 formations have both seen great success in the use of the counter attack and you only have to look at performances against both Manchester clubs and nearly every away win to evidence this. Instead it appears to me that Sparky is attempting to use this formation against weaker sides who attempt to sit deep and soak up our pressure.
One of the biggest questions looming over Stoke during the transfer window is how do we fix the defence that has not kept a clean sheet since the 2nd of March. Many fans have looked towards the centre back position and suggested that this is the area that is most in need of improvement. However this is an argument that I cannot find myself agreeing with, as I believe our resources would be much valued elsewhere, due to our strength and depth in this role.
First look at the current selection of centre backs we have, with our dear sweet prince Teixeira leaving (well we think he’s leaving, he was spotted at the Burton game?) we have 5 centre backs. 4 of whom are full internationals with 73 caps between them and the other a former member of the Spanish under 21’s. This of course is Muni who played a role in the Spanish youth side who were crowned Euro under 21 champions in 2013, conceding only 5 goals in 14 games in the qualification process and finals tournament. At only 24 the ex Barca player is yet to reach the age where a defender comes into his prime and time, along with game time, will see the Spanish defender flourish.
Much like Hamlet’s famous soliloquy, the question over the introduction of standing terraces is an indicator of the much larger existential crisis relating to the role of the fan in modern football. In England the rise of the ‘prawn sandwich’ fan is unquestionable, modern stadia and rising ticket prices have caused a gentrification of the beautiful game. This has led to many of the more traditionally working class fans to feel isolated, ignored and disillusioned.
Many have enviously looked over the channel to mainland Europe (a somewhat ironic statement in light of recent political events). Specifically to Germany where ticket prices are phenomenally low and the vast majority of grounds have a substantial section of the ground allowing the more energetic, passionate and loud fans to stand. This leaves English fans and the FA with a very difficult question of can we introduce this rail seating system into the English game.
First it is worth looking at the system itself and what it could bring to the ‘Official Stoke City Sport Stadium and Large Events Hub brought to you by Bet365’. The system incorporates a fold down chair attached to a tall barrier behind it. The structure stands above two steps, this means that when down the chairs will occupy one step allowing the spectators legs to rest on the lower one. When in the vertical standing position the steps form two rows of terraces allowing spectators to stand on each. In Germany the seats are left down for European matches to meet UEFA requirements, and are folded up and locked in place for domestic games.
Dom Telford is a name Stoke supporters should get familiar with if they somehow aren’t already. The 19-year-old striker/attacking midfielder signed for Stoke from Blackpool last summer and got off to a tremendous start, knocking in 13 goals across all competitions for the Stoke U21 side over the course of the 2015-16 season. The Bear Pit TV had a chance to sit down with him (I was sitting on my couch in America, I can’t confirm whether or not Dom was sitting) to talk briefly about his first year in The Potteries and his thoughts about the future.
The Bear Pit TV: How have you enjoyed your time in Stoke so far?
Dom Telford: I absolutely loved it. Great set of lads, great staff, and great facilities! I couldn’t be at a better club.
Our lord and saviour Peter Coates must be disappointed with the news coming from the recent referendum. The vote to leave the EU has left many intelligent people scratching their heads wondering what the hell do we do next? In Stoke 69% of people voted in favour of leaving, and in Newcastle 63% were in favour of leaving. In fact all the surrounding areas were in favour of leaving. This clear expression cannot be undone, so there for it is important that we look forward. What will football in the UK be like now that we have voted to leave the European Union? What will the team be like? How much will we be paying in transfer fees? Will we have to deport Bojan? Well this post will try and answer some of the question people may have about the future of Stoke. I should mention that all this is speculation and no one and I mean no one can predict what will happen.
It’s common knowledge that whilst we are still in the EU, players from EU countries could come and play for teams with out any barriers. Where as players from outside the EU have much stricter restrictions. We all remember the trouble we had when we tried to sign Juan Agudelo. The law states that an International player must have played in 75% of their nations games with in the past two years, these games have to be at first team standard. The games must be played in reputable competitions set down by FIFA (I also see the irony in saying that FIFA competitions are reputable). This limitation on international players was to encourage teams to foster home grown talent, forgetting the fact that Europe has the highest concentration of footballing talent anywhere in the world.
Euro fever is well a truly upon us, and I for one am relishing waking up to 6 hours of football every day. As I recovered from the mayhem of Thursdays home nations clash I watched the Czech Republic Croatia match, and felt a very familiar style present in the game. This style came from Croatia who seem to play exactly the same way the Potters themselves have tried to set up for the majority of matches this season.Aside from the Red and White, the tendency to self-implode in spectacular fashion and the shock victories over tournament favourites, the Croatians seem to play an identical style to Sparky’s preferred tactic. They set up in a reasonably structured 4-2-3-1, with player roles mirroring that of their Premier League counter parts.
In defence two pragmatic no nonsense centre backs sit in the centre, whilst they are overlapped by full backs who seek to support the attack, not to create it as England’s two wing backs do. For both the Turkey and Czech Republic matches, the Croatian captain Srna has reminded me of Glen Johnson. Not blessed with lightening pace Srna sits wide of his inside forward, getting on the overlap seeking to provide pivotal balls into the box. This is mirrored to a lesser extent by Strinić on the left hand side, who plays a more defensive role due to the presence of a very attacking winger ahead of him, a relationship similar to that of Arnie and Pieters.
Stoke one game away from being Alternative Premier League Champions!
Despite the entire of Europe (and the Americas) being engrossed in this Summer’s Championships, I invite you to take a trip back to our beloved Premier League and witness the unbelievable drama that would have taken place should the FA have decided to tweak how the league table works. I’m a big fan, as most of us fans are, of an unexpected underdog win. However, I feel these wins are not sufficiently rewarded when it comes down to the nitty gritty when the season ends. Well, what if a team in bad form conquers a team in good form? Let’s see how this Alternative Premier League takes place.
Football plays itself as normal; however I have taken the results from each day of fixtures and, rather than allocate points, introduce the following scenarios to the league table:
Club A v Club B
Club A higher than Club B
Club B higher than Club A
Club A Win
League positions remain
Club A swap with Club B
Draw
League positions remain
League positions remain
Club B Win
Club B swap with Club A
League positions remain
For example, if Stoke (sitting in 9th) beat West Ham (sitting in 4th), Stoke will go to 4th and West Ham will go 9th. However, should Stoke have instead drawn or lost to West Ham, their league positions will stay the same.
August 13th, the date in everybody’s calendar, the date that our gladiators go to battle once again and the date that a brand new Barclays Premier League begins for Stoke City.
By now I’m sure that most of you have seen the fixture list which was announced earlier today, and I’m sure that a number of you have even gone as far as to study the entire thing, from week 1 to week 38, in enough detail to feel as though you’ve already lived the season.
But if you haven’t then don’t worry because that’s exactly what I’m going to attempt to do for you all right now. So without further ado let’s look at how Stoke’s season has been laid out and what we can take away from the fixtures.
This is it. We’ve gathered the best (and worst) Stoke City internet brains and asked them four simple questions about our season. Some were positive, some were negative, some probably couldn’t care less anymore. But we asked them to be honest and let rip.
