Stoke post match thread

[inchy14]

Agree with your analysis but what about this. Why did we spend a large shed full of money on a central defender who is not fit to face half the teams in the league because he is shite in the air?

Because he's young, still learning and not suited to the style they play? It's why you have a squad of different options.

 

[Father Paul]

We always miss a plan B a tall striker up top who can score with his head that Sane chance at 93 mins would have been headed straight into the back of the net by even Bony.

Not sure about Bony but a plan B is probably required.

 

[Father Paul]

The worst thing about last night was it was preventable. Just what is Guardiola thinking when assumes that playing a weakened team against a side coming for a draw is going to work! If anything it gives them initial hope they can last 90 minutes without conceding, and then as the game progresses it cements that hope into absolute belief.

In short, squad rotation (weakening your team in a calculated gamble) doesn't work. Play your best team all the time.

On pitches like ploughed fields, Forest won the League over a 42 game season using just 14 players. It was the days of little protection for players.

Our squad change gamble last night was about appeasing squad players who seldom play rather than servicing any supposed tiredness in those rested.

If I thought we'd learn from it then I'd be philosophical and accept it as a case of Pep not understanding Stoke City's ideology and Mark Hughes' dogged determination to get at City, however I'm not convinced.

You will find most teams only used 14 or 15 regulars in those days and that was the way things were. But like so much of life football has changed drastically over the last 30 years. It is just not possible to play the same 11 all the time these days if you only have 2/3 day breaks between games. That is the way things are and you are only deluding yourself if you think otherwise. Unless you are in Chelsea's position or Liverpool/Spurs now with European football you must rotate.

 

[inchy14]

You will find most teams only used 14 or 15 regulars in those days and that was the way things were. But like so much of life football has changed drastically over the last 30 years. It is just not possible to play the same 11 all the time these days if you only have 2/3 day breaks between games. That is the way things are and you are only deluding yourself if you think otherwise. Unless you are in Chelsea's position or Liverpool/Spurs now with European football you must rotate.

I replied to his post earlier but left that part out, 30/40 years ago players were all on the piss after games and training suppose we should bring that in to.

 

[Blue Hefner]

Our squad isn't good enough to be rotated. See last night and Huddersfield away for recent examples

The trouble is that we have internationals on the bench who need game time so they are thrown in but don't really have any motivation - In my opinion, rotation will only work with young, hungry reserves who a genuinely challenging for places as the hierarchy in our squad in too established for the like for Fernando, Navas etc to ever become regulars or even start 6 or 7 games if they impress

 

[Chi-town blues]

Stoke went back to factor default settings. Boring and thuggish but they were playing good football last season.
This fantastic runs we've enjoyed had to come an end . We should have bagged all 3 points but given the circumstances fair play.
The team looked burned out and got some big games ahead.
Come on city.

 

[City_Sean]

Stoke went back to factor default settings. Boring and thuggish but they were playing good football last season.
This fantastic runs we've enjoyed had to come an end . We should have bagged all 3 points but given the circumstances fair play.
The team looked burned out and got some big games ahead.
Come on city.

We lost our winning run because the manager was a clown who played a ridiculous side which offered Stoke a massive incentive before the game even kicked off. Pep's team was awful, and to compound it he didn't even have the bollocks to change it.

 

[gocity]

Stoke got away with it but, sadly, teams have a chance of doing so at City by parking the bus because the team, whoever is fielded, is not clinical enough, often enough. This is a player problem primarily: it is about players failing to execute consistently enough and will ultimately require personnel changes in the squad.

I thought Nacho's miss may have had something to do with Shawcross holding a big chunk of his shirt but have not kept a recording of the game and couldn't be bothered anyway to go back and try and study exactly when Shawcross grabbed Nacho's shirt but he certainly had a good hold on it; not that the ref noticed...

The ref didn't notice a lot of that going on. Just like he didn't notice them gaining yards on every throw in, however he did notice when we did it once!

 

[inchy14]

We lost our winning run because the manager was a clown who played a ridiculous side which offered Stoke a massive incentive before the game even kicked off. Pep's team was awful, and to compound it he didn't even have the bollocks to change it.

Ridiculous side?? Are you for fuckingvreal?
Only navas was what most would call an inferior player, so if you think that makes the whole side inferior then god help you.
One draw and all the usual suspects come back out of the woodwork, clown ffs, for resting a player.

 

[GaudinoMotors]

We lost our winning run because the manager was a clown who played a ridiculous side which offered Stoke a massive incentive before the game even kicked off. Pep's team was awful, and to compound it he didn't even have the bollocks to change it.

He got it wrong last night, but comments like clown are uncalled for and don't help the debate.