Stoke City home

[JHRover]

Fun fact of the day.

In their previous two away games Stoke had conceded 8 goals. 4 at QPR and 4 at Derby....

[Bigdoggsteel]

33 minutes ago, Amo said:

The obvious answer is that teams are the reflection of their manager. 

It's the reason Fergie's United side would harass and pester referees when anything went against them.

Mowbray doesn't want any badboys in his team. He wants nice, cosy, son-in-law material.

Whats the crowds excuse 

[Bbrovers2288]

I find it funny how fans always have a couple of players that can do no wrong- travis and rothwell and some that can do no right- gallagher and evans.

i thought trav was poor last night, passing wasn’t to scratch when we needed an unlocker. I have set high standards for him because I believe he can reach those, he was below par for me.

likewise rothwell flatters To deceive. To me he is a league 1 show pony where he could look amazing for 10 mins then hiding for 80. Needs to grab these opportunities and take a game by the scruff of the neck- failed last night. 
 

downing was another who was poor last night and I feel he has been for a number of weeks. Over used perhaps but he is meant to be a creator and he created nothing. 
 

gallagher for me was more involved than Armstrong last night , he ran his channels well, drew fouls , got some headers on target. He was unlucky when Butland made a smart save when he was played through on the angle. Watch around 74 mins, he takes an amazing take down, beats his player and fires a lovely cross in , Armstrong wasn’t anticipating it and the chance was lost. I maintain there is a player there is managed correctly and given the right personnel to work with. A goal sniffer like Rhodes would love working with gallagher as he will set them up and take the big hits. For all armstrong has improved he doesn’t score the close up goals and doesn’t anticipate like a box poacher. 
 

stoke aren’t the worst team to be honest, I think they are in a false position and having a terrible season but still some very good players there Id have here. It’s just in our situation we need to be turning these games into wins 

[Bigdoggsteel]

Just now, JHRover said:

Fun fact of the day.

In their previous two away games Stoke had conceded 8 goals. 4 at QPR and 4 at Derby....

Ya, so O'Neill obviously worked religiously on their shape and defending before playing us. Unfortunate. A goal would have opened things up and they might have actually pushed put. 

[oldjamfan1]

13 minutes ago, JHRover said:

Fun fact of the day.

In their previous two away games Stoke had conceded 8 goals. 4 at QPR and 4 at Derby....

A team letting shed loads in three games on the trot is probably quite rare. 

Another fun fact of the day - we also let 4 in at QPR....

[Dreams of 1995]

Took me most of the day to try and get over last night I am not gonna lie. Absolutely gutted is an understatement. It was such a missed opportunity. We'd have put ourselves within a win of the play offs and the teams above us have some difficult games coming up next week. An absolutely turgid first half performance it has to be said. Gallagher was poor, Rothwell ok in spells, Downing poor until he started passing it about in the last 30 mins. The only player worth a mention really is Travis.

The second half we did much better but Stoke defended well. 2 banks of 4 and the odd long ball is all they aspired to after about 55 minutes. A horrible performance from frankly a horrible team - never had much time for Stoke.

Swansea is key now. We need a win in this game. JRC looked good when he came on - he did a one-two with Bell I think it was and Bell was about 5 seconds behind his thinking...shock. I'd start with JRC and Samuel over Gallagher and Rothwell next game personally. Or, move Downing into midfield and drop Johnson, although I am starting to like his absolute shit house performances he puts in...proper midfield stuff.

I had such a sinking feeling last night but at the end of the day every team above us lost and we gained a point. Not good enough but not the end of the world yet. PNE / Brentford / Bristol are all dropping points like us. If we can get ourselves within a point of them it's game on. Bristol have Milwall away on Saturday and we could leapfrog them if we win and they don't- for me that's the goal now. One team at a time. 

 

[Sparks Rover]

19 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Whats the crowds excuse 

All the nasty barstewards are in the pub, had enough of the girlie team

[Bigdoggsteel]

6 minutes ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

Took me most of the day to try and get over last night I am not gonna lie. Absolutely gutted is an understatement. It was such a missed opportunity. We'd have put ourselves within a win of the play offs and the teams above us have some difficult games coming up next week. An absolutely turgid first half performance it has to be said. Gallagher was poor, Rothwell ok in spells, Downing poor until he started passing it about in the last 30 mins. The only player worth a mention really is Travis.

The second half we did much better but Stoke defended well. 2 banks of 4 and the odd long ball is all they aspired to after about 55 minutes. A horrible performance from frankly a horrible team - never had much time for Stoke.

Swansea is key now. We need a win in this game. JRC looked good when he came on - he did a one-two with Bell I think it was and Bell was about 5 seconds behind his thinking...shock. I'd start with JRC and Samuel over Gallagher and Rothwell next game personally. Or, move Downing into midfield and drop Johnson, although I am starting to like his absolute shit house performances he puts in...proper midfield stuff.

I had such a sinking feeling last night but at the end of the day every team above us lost and we gained a point. Not good enough but not the end of the world yet. PNE / Brentford / Bristol are all dropping points like us. If we can get ourselves within a point of them it's game on. Bristol have Milwall away on Saturday and we could leapfrog them if we win and they don't- for me that's the goal now. One team at a time. 

 

Oh my god I f**cked Bell out of it when he did that. He could have crossed first time or taken a touch and then crossed. He took a few touches and ran straight into the only Stoke player within 5 yards. Such needless over complication. 

[JHRover]

19 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Ya, so O'Neill obviously worked religiously on their shape and defending before playing us. Unfortunate. A goal would have opened things up and they might have actually pushed put. 

Can't have worked that religiously on it given the second of those hammerings was 10 days ago and they've also had Cardiff to play since then.

The alternative is that we are too easy to predict and set up to defend against and have no plan B.

[Colt Seavers]

12 hours ago, Wood26 said:

Johnson flags for sure, but he has experience, puts his foot on ball and is a good Ariel presence for us.

Why, does he wash the kits?

[Bigdoggsteel]

Just now, JHRover said:

Can't have worked that religiously on it given the second of those hammerings was 10 days ago and they've also had Cardiff to play since then.

The alternative is that we are too easy to predict and set up to defend against and have no plan B.

I don't get you? If they had 10 days, of course they could have worked religiously on it. That blanket defence is how O'Neill made his name at NI. Did you ever watch them play? Did you watch either of the 2 games you mention where they conceded 4? 

We lacked a bit of quality, no doubt, but they defended very, very well. Organised, disciplined with a solid keeper. They will get more points away if they defend like that. 

[Sparks Rover]

4 minutes ago, Colt Seavers said:

Why, does he wash the kits?

That's a Bold statement 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

36 minutes ago, Bbrovers2288 said:

I find it funny how fans always have a couple of players that can do no wrong- travis and rothwell and some that can do no right- gallagher and evans.

i thought trav was poor last night, passing wasn’t to scratch when we needed an unlocker. I have set high standards for him because I believe he can reach those, he was below par for me.

likewise rothwell flatters To deceive. To me he is a league 1 show pony where he could look amazing for 10 mins then hiding for 80. Needs to grab these opportunities and take a game by the scruff of the neck- failed last night. 
 

downing was another who was poor last night and I feel he has been for a number of weeks. Over used perhaps but he is meant to be a creator and he created nothing. 
 

gallagher for me was more involved than Armstrong last night , he ran his channels well, drew fouls , got some headers on target. He was unlucky when Butland made a smart save when he was played through on the angle. Watch around 74 mins, he takes an amazing take down, beats his player and fires a lovely cross in , Armstrong wasn’t anticipating it and the chance was lost. I maintain there is a player there is managed correctly and given the right personnel to work with. A goal sniffer like Rhodes would love working with gallagher as he will set them up and take the big hits. For all armstrong has improved he doesn’t score the close up goals and doesn’t anticipate like a box poacher. 
 

stoke aren’t the worst team to be honest, I think they are in a false position and having a terrible season but still some very good players there Id have here. It’s just in our situation we need to be turning these games into wins 

Travis will never be an " unlocker " if he lives to be a thousand, that's not his game, just like Savage wasn't a playmaker..

Edited February 27, 2020 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[Pedro]

13 hours ago, Tom said:

Funny how we all see it different, Bell was one of our better players for me, put 4-5 really decent balls into good areas that just weren’t attacked and won a few corners on top.

Both he and Nyambe looked our most likely route to something happening 

It is funny because, personally I wanted to jump on the pitch, ram those gloves up his arse and give him a damn good shaking - he was playing so cowardly.  The players themselves weren't passing out wide to him because they probably knew a feeble cross would come in or he'd lose possession and from memory, his best cross was a low mis-hit effort in the second half - after he scuffed the ball and it caught the defender out.  

 

It's splitting hairs though because too many didn't turn up last night.  If they put in as much fight and effort as Travis, we'd be turning teams over.

[Bbrovers2288]

Just now, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Travis will never be an " unlocker " if he lives to be a thousand, that's not his game, just like Savage.

I’d kind of disagree with that, has the ability to drive at defences with his ball carrying and he has shown he can score from around the edge of the box. If he isn’t then we have two sitting defence ball winning midfielders which is useless when we don’t even have wingers to give it to

[Pedro]

7 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

I don't get you? If they had 10 days, of course they could have worked religiously on it. That blanket defence is how O'Neill made his name at NI. Did you ever watch them play? Did you watch either of the 2 games you mention where they conceded 4? 

We lacked a bit of quality, no doubt, but they defended very, very well. Organised, disciplined with a solid keeper. They will get more points away if they defend like that. 

They didn't need to defend well because we were so slow and gave possession back time after time. The keeper was worked once by Gallagher on that 1  on 1, the rest were poor, paceless efforts that any dad could save.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, Gavlar Somerset Rover! said:

Deffo Trav. Johnson if he's had a lay in before his commute from Derby.

The only two players that Mowbray has signed in 3 years that appear to like the physical side of the game are Johnson ( when he can be bothered ) and Smallwood.  The rest of of his signings are just nice lads who haven't got a streak of malice in them.

[ben_the_beast]

Just now, Pedro said:

It is funny because, personally I wanted to jump on the pitch, ram those gloves up his arse and give him a damn good shaking - he was playing so cowardly.  The players themselves weren't passing out wide to him because they probably knew a feeble cross would come in or he'd lose possession and from memory, his best cross was a low mis-hit effort in the second half - after he scuffed the ball and it caught the defender out.  

 

It's splitting hairs though because too many didn't turn up last night.  If they put in as much fight and effort as Travis, we'd be turning teams over.

I agree. I thought Bell was woeful last night. He has improved a lot defensively. But he didnt have much defending to do. Going forward he was just abysmal. Poor crossing, constantly turning back or hitting the first man. The only time he didnt hit the first man there was no whip on the ball. Just a soft dink across which was easy to clear. I really think considering the lack of attack from stoke we should have shifted downing to left back and put Buckley into midfield 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 minute ago, Bbrovers2288 said:

I’d kind of disagree with that, has the ability to drive at defences with his ball carrying and he has shown he can score from around the edge of the box. If he isn’t then we have two sitting defence ball winning midfielders which is useless when we don’t even have wingers to give it to

He can run with it after a fashion but the next Bohinen, Berkovic,or  Dunn he isn't.

[neophox]

Martin Oneill says we are one of the best teams in this division.....

[Dreams of 1995]

Just now, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

The only two players that Mowbray has signed in 3 years that appear to like the physical side of the game are Johnson ( when he can be bothered ) and Smallwood.  The rest of of his signings are just nice lads who haven't got a streak of malice in them.

Johnson is a proper shit house. Always falls on his player with his forearm out right into their back / neck. When he got cracked in the back yesterday he got up and you saw him fly into the next tackle.

I like him. I think him and Travis are a good partnership. That said Evans looked good next to Travis so maybe it's him who makes those better around him. I can't remember an Evans / Johnson partnership ever being as good as one of them paired with Trav.

If we had direct wingers either side of them it is literally a perfect midfield. Johnson and Travis winning the ball and any footballer can make that angled pass behind the full back to a winger.

[neophox]

I would say Stoke are harder to beat than Swansea. But who will play with Tosin?

[Bigdoggsteel]

1 minute ago, Pedro said:

They didn't need to defend well because we were so slow and gave possession back time after time. The keeper was worked once by Gallagher on that 1  on 1, the rest were poor, paceless efforts that any dad could save.

"They didn't need to defend well" Ok, lets leave it at that. If people refuse to acknowledge how well organised, disciplined and hard working Stoke were in defence, there is really nothing to discuss. It's difficult to play against. I should know, it's what Ireland do to teams. We controlled the game, we needed more from the likes of Rothwell and Downing , but with Stoke so, so deep it nullified Armstrong a lot. They maintained their focus and crucially made no individual errors to let us in. They have top level players to be fair. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

9 minutes ago, Pedro said:

It is funny because, personally I wanted to jump on the pitch, ram those gloves up his arse and give him a damn good shaking - he was playing so cowardly.  The players themselves weren't passing out wide to him because they probably knew a feeble cross would come in or he'd lose possession and from memory, his best cross was a low mis-hit effort in the second half - after he scuffed the ball and it caught the defender out.  

 

It's splitting hairs though because too many didn't turn up last night.  If they put in as much fight and effort as Travis, we'd be turning teams over.

Ya, it seems some player won't pass it out to bell , I can kind of understand why. 

I noticed on a number of occasions Downing wouldn't pass to Johnson either

[Bigdoggsteel]

4 minutes ago, neophox said:

Martin Oneill says we are one of the best teams in this division.....

*Michael, easy mistake to make

Well you could tell the respect they had by the way they set up.