Mancini: Fight Fire With Fire!

[whydelilah]

I would say you are a million miles away from United, Arsenal and Chelsea.

I like your ambition though!!

A million miles away? Hardly. Granted we're not as good as them yet but we're not a million miles away

As it stands we're only 9 points behind Arsenal with a game in hand and 11 behind United with a game in hand. While we won't catch them this season to be that close after 2 thirds of the season already gone is not bad going and suggests we're closer to them than you think.

Infact we're closer to United and Arsenal and played a game less than you are to us and we've played the same number of games

In terms of points you are of course correct.

I also agree that we are a million miles away from you as well. Having spent the hundreds of millions that you have, that is something I’d fully expect though. I think the money you spent on Lescott covers the majority of our outlay since promotion.

The fact is though, money can’t buy you the mentality you seem to be lacking. Fair enough, Arsenal haven’t won anything for years but Man Utd and Chelsea have a winning mentality that you seem to lack in abundance.

That is something money can’t buy.

 

[MysticalDescent]

they're the last proper football team in the Premier League. We couldn't be prouder.

cor,bloody hell mate,look ive got nothing against stoke,im happy you lot are back in the top league,after a long absence,you are one of the old clubs who have a history within the game!.
but ffs you are NOT a proper football team at the mo,your style of play is crap!! (almost as crap as us at the mo!) hoofing the bloody ball up in the air and clogging opponents is not the way to go honestly! youve gotta admit these games with city have been a poor advert for the game havent they? cor can we pleeeeeease just have a decent game of footy tomorrow where we all can get a positive outcome from it??

good luck anyway an hope you lose!

Let me explain what I mean by proper football.

There is no such thing as 'the right way' to play the game in terms of style. An ineffective short passing game is as entertaining as an ineffective long ball game. Ultimately, the team fails to create chances and makes no real progress. There is no entertainment. An effective long ball team can create a lot of chances and score goals. This is much more entertaining than an ineffective short passing game. The game is about chance creation and it is this that makes it exciting. I don't know about you, but I don't put on a game of football on the TV so I can admire the teams that pass it around on the halfway line the best. Passing football is fine and dandy if you've got a midfield who are not only good at ball retention, but can get from box to box and pick out fantastic through balls every single game. Would we be able to create sufficient chances to stay up with the midfielders available to a team at our level? No, we wouldn't. West Ham have a 'cultured' midfield that play what is apparently tremendous football, and they're in a right old mess. Does having a player who can throw the ball 35 yards mean that we can create a chance every time we get into the opposition half? Yes it does, so why not? I can guarantee that if, say, SWP could launch a ball like that you'd have him taking throw-ins, because it's an opportunity for you to score and win the game. If you create chances and win, everyone goes home entertained. If you smack the ball long to nobody or play tippy-tappy on the halfway line, everyone is bored and dissatisfied.

There is, however, a spirit that the game was intended to be played in. People forget that we invented football in this country and that the Football League was founded by teams like Stoke, each advocating an honest, fair and physical game. Whilst not part of the Football League set-up, look at Corinthians, a team so sportsmanlike that they refused to score penalties, as they believed that the opposition could never intentionally foul them. Lately, however, some continental ideas have started to slip into our game. Spanish football is boring, because continental referees have turned their game into a non-contact sport where diving and cheating is encouraged. Now almost every team follows suit, from The Shit to Blackburn. Arsenal fans whine like little girls because the nasty Stoke thugs actually tackled their precious ickle starlets. That kind of attitude is sick, wrong and is cancerous. They believe that their team should be allowed to cheat, they truly believe that teams like Stoke should be banned. It's just plain wrong. So far as I can tell, Stoke are the only team in the division to reject this vile continental nonsense and to play the game in the spirit it was intended. Honest, hard-but-fair football.

 

[Dubai Blue]

You're not unique you know. Your style of play has been tried many times and, fair play, it gets results. If you're happy watching that week in week out, good luck to you. We're struggling with the challenge of competing with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, United and Liverpool. Maybe one day you'll be fortunate enough to be in the same situation, and if you are, I can absolutely guarantee that your website will be busy with supporters of rival clubs whose teams get results with 'up and at em' tactics, giving it large about how proud they are with their mid table cloggers. The first couple of times it happens you'll find it quite amusing, but after a while it will really piss you off. Trust me.

I would say you are a million miles away from United, Arsenal and Chelsea.

I like your ambition though!!

We'd be even further away from them if we resorted to playing the way Stoke do.

What hgblue said is spot on. Your style of football works, but only to a certain extent. Our ambitions lie further up the table than finishing in 12th place. When yours do too (and they undoubtedly will in the next year or two), you will appreciate the limitations of the way you play.

Stoke fans are still giddy following their promotion to the Premier League 20 months ago, and fair play to you for that. But let's see how many are still going week in, week out and being the "loudest fans in the country" when you've had five consecutive years of finishing in the bottom half and only getting excited when you have a throw in.

Even Wigan fans managed to get excited for a bit when they first got promoted, so you're not the first and you probably won't be the last. Another couple of years of mind-numbingly dull football at the Brit and i expect your crowds to be back down to the 15,700 you managed for a crucial game against Crystal Palace just 4 weeks before your promotion. Stoke City supporters; the very definition of fair-weather fans.

 

[MysticalDescent]

...I remember when Chelsea were taken over by the Russian, I would often say very similar things to the ones you've said about our club. But deep down inside I always knew that I would've swapped places with them in a heartbeat. I'm sure it's the same for you...but keep fighting the good fight. We know who's position you'd rather be in...;- )

Don't get me wrong here. Peter Coates is a very wealthy man and is a more than adequate backer, but I would love it if he had the same money as your Arabs. I would just hope that our club continues to be run professionally and that while we may bring in better players, we don't lose the attitude and work ethic that we have right now.

I also hope that we'd never, ever employ a man like Gary Cook.

 

[Failsworth_Blue]

A million miles away? Hardly. Granted we're not as good as them yet but we're not a million miles away

As it stands we're only 9 points behind Arsenal with a game in hand and 11 behind United with a game in hand. While we won't catch them this season to be that close after 2 thirds of the season already gone is not bad going and suggests we're closer to them than you think.

Infact we're closer to United and Arsenal and played a game less than you are to us and we've played the same number of games

In terms of points you are of course correct.

I also agree that we are a million miles away from you as well. Having spent the hundreds of millions that you have, that is something I’d fully expect though. I think the money you spent on Lescott covers the majority of our outlay since promotion.

The fact is though, money can’t buy you the mentality you seem to be lacking. Fair enough, Arsenal haven’t won anything for years but Man Utd and Chelsea have a winning mentality that you seem to lack in abundance.

That is something money can’t buy.

I'm not so sure it's down to the mentality more to do so with us not having the right balance in the squad to compete with the likes of Arsenal, United and Chelsea at this present time however the gap is closing and as soon as we get the right balance and add some more players to the squad we'll keep closing the gap

Look at Arsenal, most of their players haven't won much during their career (In terms of honours at the top level) but they're still in the title race despite a lack of players with a winning mentality so to speak. It's all about having the quality throughout the squad and while we have excellent players we're still missing something especially in the centre of midfield. All top teams have a player who can play deep and control the game with his use of the ball while also getting forward and making things happen and we've not got that player (Lampard, Fabregas, Scholes, Xavi etc)

 

[80s Shorts]

they're the last proper football team in the Premier League. We couldn't be prouder.

cor,bloody hell mate,look ive got nothing against stoke,im happy you lot are back in the top league,after a long absence,you are one of the old clubs who have a history within the game!.
but ffs you are NOT a proper football team at the mo,your style of play is crap!! (almost as crap as us at the mo!) hoofing the bloody ball up in the air and clogging opponents is not the way to go honestly! youve gotta admit these games with city have been a poor advert for the game havent they? cor can we pleeeeeease just have a decent game of footy tomorrow where we all can get a positive outcome from it??

good luck anyway an hope you lose!

Let me explain what I mean by proper football.

There is no such thing as 'the right way' to play the game in terms of style. An ineffective short passing game is as entertaining as an ineffective long ball game. Ultimately, the team fails to create chances and makes no real progress. There is no entertainment. An effective long ball team can create a lot of chances and score goals. This is much more entertaining than an ineffective short passing game. The game is about chance creation and it is this that makes it exciting. I don't know about you, but I don't put on a game of football on the TV so I can admire the teams that pass it around on the halfway line the best. Passing football is fine and dandy if you've got a midfield who are not only good at ball retention, but can get from box to box and pick out fantastic through balls every single game. Would we be able to create sufficient chances to stay up with the midfielders available to a team at our level? No, we wouldn't. West Ham have a 'cultured' midfield that play what is apparently tremendous football, and they're in a right old mess. Does having a player who can throw the ball 35 yards mean that we can create a chance every time we get into the opposition half? Yes it does, so why not? I can guarantee that if, say, SWP could launch a ball like that you'd have him taking throw-ins, because it's an opportunity for you to score and win the game. If you create chances and win, everyone goes home entertained. If you smack the ball long to nobody or play tippy-tappy on the halfway line, everyone is bored and dissatisfied.

There is, however, a spirit that the game was intended to be played in. People forget that we invented football in this country and that the Football League was founded by teams like Stoke, each advocating an honest, fair and physical game. Whilst not part of the Football League set-up, look at Corinthians, a team so sportsmanlike that they refused to score penalties, as they believed that the opposition could never intentionally foul them. Lately, however, some continental ideas have started to slip into our game. Spanish football is boring, because continental referees have turned their game into a non-contact sport where diving and cheating is encouraged. Now almost every team follows suit, from The Shit to Blackburn. Arsenal fans whine like little girls because the nasty Stoke thugs actually tackled their precious ickle starlets. That kind of attitude is sick, wrong and is cancerous. They believe that their team should be allowed to cheat, they truly believe that teams like Stoke should be banned. It's just plain wrong. So far as I can tell, Stoke are the only team in the division to reject this vile continental nonsense and to play the game in the spirit it was intended. Honest, hard-but-fair football.

God, you cant half type quickly. Must be all them fingers ;-)

 

[whydelilah]

In terms of points you are of course correct.

I also agree that we are a million miles away from you as well. Having spent the hundreds of millions that you have, that is something I’d fully expect though. I think the money you spent on Lescott covers the majority of our outlay since promotion.

The fact is though, money can’t buy you the mentality you seem to be lacking. Fair enough, Arsenal haven’t won anything for years but Man Utd and Chelsea have a winning mentality that you seem to lack in abundance.

That is something money can’t buy.

I'm not so sure it's down to the mentality more to do so with us not having the right balance in the squad to compete with the likes of Arsenal, United and Chelsea at this present time however the gap is closing and as soon as we get the right balance and add some more players to the squad we'll keep closing the gap

Look at Arsenal, most of their players haven't won much during their career (In terms of honours at the top level) but they're still in the title race despite a lack of players with a winning mentality so to speak. It's all about having the quality throughout the squad and while we have excellent players we're still missing something especially in the centre of midfield. All top teams have a player who can play deep and control the game with his use of the ball while also getting forward and making things happen and we've not got that player (Lampard, Fabregas, Scholes, Xavi etc)

You mean someone like Delap?

;-)

 

[hgblue]

In terms of points you are of course correct.

I also agree that we are a million miles away from you as well. Having spent the hundreds of millions that you have, that is something I’d fully expect though. I think the money you spent on Lescott covers the majority of our outlay since promotion.

The fact is though, money can’t buy you the mentality you seem to be lacking. Fair enough, Arsenal haven’t won anything for years but Man Utd and Chelsea have a winning mentality that you seem to lack in abundance.

That is something money can’t buy.

I'm not so sure it's down to the mentality more to do so with us not having the right balance in the squad to compete with the likes of Arsenal, United and Chelsea at this present time however the gap is closing and as soon as we get the right balance and add some more players to the squad we'll keep closing the gap

Look at Arsenal, most of their players haven't won much during their career (In terms of honours at the top level) but they're still in the title race despite a lack of players with a winning mentality so to speak. It's all about having the quality throughout the squad and while we have excellent players we're still missing something especially in the centre of midfield. All top teams have a player who can play deep and control the game with his use of the ball while also getting forward and making things happen and we've not got that player (Lampard, Fabregas, Scholes, Xavi etc)

This is where Stevie Ireland comes in. He's frustrating the life out of me this season because I know he can do it. Is it a self confidence issue with him? Does he really believe he can dictate games in the Premier League? OK, Tevez came in and his preferred position in the team was gone. It seems Hughes asked him to adapt his game and play a deeper role in the team. I believe this was done in good faith by Hughes because he wanted the lad in the team. Did Ireland grasp this nettle or did he sulk that he was being played out of position? I wish he'd stop pining for that preferred position of his and get his head round maybe playing alongside Barry.

 

[lionheart]

I only read the first six pages but thought it would be worth reminding everyone that a draw followed by extra time and a penalty shoot-out starring the best shot-stopper in the Premiership might not be a surprising outcome. After all, Poke and City have drawn 10 league games each, the highest number in the division.

 

[MysticalDescent]

Let me explain what I mean by proper football.

There is no such thing as 'the right way' to play the game in terms of style. An ineffective short passing game is as entertaining as an ineffective long ball game. Ultimately, the team fails to create chances and makes no real progress. There is no entertainment. An effective long ball team can create a lot of chances and score goals. This is much more entertaining than an ineffective short passing game. The game is about chance creation and it is this that makes it exciting. I don't know about you, but I don't put on a game of football on the TV so I can admire the teams that pass it around on the halfway line the best. Passing football is fine and dandy if you've got a midfield who are not only good at ball retention, but can get from box to box and pick out fantastic through balls every single game. Would we be able to create sufficient chances to stay up with the midfielders available to a team at our level? No, we wouldn't. West Ham have a 'cultured' midfield that play what is apparently tremendous football, and they're in a right old mess. Does having a player who can throw the ball 35 yards mean that we can create a chance every time we get into the opposition half? Yes it does, so why not? I can guarantee that if, say, SWP could launch a ball like that you'd have him taking throw-ins, because it's an opportunity for you to score and win the game. If you create chances and win, everyone goes home entertained. If you smack the ball long to nobody or play tippy-tappy on the halfway line, everyone is bored and dissatisfied.

There is, however, a spirit that the game was intended to be played in. People forget that we invented football in this country and that the Football League was founded by teams like Stoke, each advocating an honest, fair and physical game. Whilst not part of the Football League set-up, look at Corinthians, a team so sportsmanlike that they refused to score penalties, as they believed that the opposition could never intentionally foul them. Lately, however, some continental ideas have started to slip into our game. Spanish football is boring, because continental referees have turned their game into a non-contact sport where diving and cheating is encouraged. Now almost every team follows suit, from The Shit to Blackburn. Arsenal fans whine like little girls because the nasty Stoke thugs actually tackled their precious ickle starlets. That kind of attitude is sick, wrong and is cancerous. They believe that their team should be allowed to cheat, they truly believe that teams like Stoke should be banned. It's just plain wrong. So far as I can tell, Stoke are the only team in the division to reject this vile continental nonsense and to play the game in the spirit it was intended. Honest, hard-but-fair football.

God, you cant half type quickly. Must be all them fingers ;-)

;D