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That’s the end of that then.  It wasn’t a huge shock to be eliminated by Italy.  Going out to a team of their stature is certainly no disgrace.  But few could argue that for 120 minutes we were outclassed by  a much better team.  Had we prevailed in the penalty shootout we’d have seen, to quote Bill Shankly,  “A travesty of justice”.

Pleasingly, there isn’t as much filth and fury with this exit.  Great things weren’t expected from England in this campaign.  If anything we have actually exceeded expectations.  Winning the group in relative comfort was actually as impressive as it was surprising.  What wasn’t at all surprising is that as soon as faced a team with genuine aspirations to lift the trophy we were eliminated.  We were stretched  all over the pitch by Italy.  We clearly lacked  flexibility in the squad to make differences to our system.  This is where Roy Hodgson shouldn’t be heavily criticised.  The nature of English football doesn’t make for international success.  No manager can change an entire football culture in six weeks. That is the key issue. 

Spain have proven that a football culture can evolve.  The obsession with aggression has to develop into a more technical thoughtful game.   If England are to develop into a side capable of challenging the worlds best physical clashes and gritted teeth won’t be the primary requirement.

The problem is that we hype up the Premier League, import foreigners to make it  tactically astute and more technical  than the qualities we breed, sell it to almost 200 countries because of it’s physical conflict and fast pace  . . .  and delude ourselves that this makes the world tremble.  As we were delighted  to avoid Spain in the quarter final,  Italy were just as relieved to facing England not France.  Until the English game is prepared to implement the required changes, invest the time and finance to install them effectively we’ll continue to just lumber through tournaments hoping to somehow get lucky.

On the positive side England in  this tournament did keep the defensive discipline under pressure, apart from a quarter of an hour against Sweden of course.  When Hodgson was appointed we knew much of his style was about shape. There were signs that some of the work has paid off.  If attention to detail can be combined with fresh talent it will be a stepping stone to the required metamorphosis. 

While emerging talent is scarce we have to make the most of what we have.  With that in mind, as soon as Jack Wilshere is fully fit and available the England team must be built around him.  Wilshere is an exciting young talent and could lead an era of transformation.

The rest of the tournament will somehow limp on without England!  While Italy dominated against England, Germany will present a different challenge completely.  A well drilled defence combined with a pacy attack will put Italy on the backfoot.  If the game goes all the way German penalties will also be superior to the English variety.

Spain could make history by being the first European team to win three major international tournaments in a row.  It’d be a remarkable achievement… not least because as recently as 2006 they were universally regarded as the team that never fulfills potential.  In the semi final they face Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo. 

Hopefully it’ll be a more even contest than France’s meek attempt to challenge the holders.  Even allowing for Spanish brilliance the tepid French effort was a poor show.  The fascination will be to see how Spain handle being under sustained pressure.  Vincente del Bosque has acknowledged his squad is tired.  If fatigue could be exploited Spain could lose one of their titles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Here’s a new t shirt we’re working on.
The inspiration comes from a story recounted by Danny Higginbotham at the recent BBC Fighting Talk’s Big Day Out at the Britannia Stadium when he told the audience that Robert Huth had said “I Don’t Have Time To Bleed” when being attended to by Stoke City physiotherapist Dave Watson.

What do you think?

England have reached the quarter finals of the 2012 European Championship.  Surprisingly, it was achieved by winning the group. Seven points from nine is a very healthy return.

The prospect of Wayne Rooney’s return from suspension dominated the build up to the Ukraine game. Before the match Roy Hodgson had to consider all options.  Would it be wise to break up the forward line that beat Sweden?  In his autobiography Gary Neville states clearly that insisting on accommodating big names has been a fault of England managers.  Aragones’ omission of Raul was the pivotal point which  led to Spain’s recent trophy haul.  And, of course, in 1966, Alf Ramsey chose to continue with Geoff Hurst leaving a fully fit Jimmy Greaves on the sidelines.  Few would suggest Hurst was actually a better player than Greaves, but for the good of the team, the manager made a bold decision… which proved priceless.  In picking Rooney to start Hodgson must have been aware of these factors.  When it was Rooney who missed the best chance of a tight edgy first half Roy could have been forgiven for feeling let down by his big name striker.  Quite simply, he should have scored.  Thankfully he redeemed himself by being on hand to score the winner shortly after half time. Although, it’s fair to say he couldn’t miss from there!  Not a memorable goal but the fact is that when England clinched top spot in the group we beat Ukraine 1-0 and Wayne Rooney scored the winner.  And Roy’s decision was justified.

England play Italy next.   If we were to progress to the semi final it would be regarded as something of a suprise by planet football.  The point has to be made however that we have already achieved more than many expected in this tournament.

Our progress has underpinned by preparation and application. Unlike in other tournaments this England squad seems to be focused on the job in hand.  It’s pleasing that Hodgson’s experience and wisdom has removed the circus that surrounds the England set up.  Another aspect is that the build up to the tournament was low key.  No overblown statements or bombastic posturing…  from fans press or players.  This time we are aware of our failings and have finally scaled down expectations accordingly.

Why are England traditionally dogged with such ridiculous levels of expectation?  There is absolutely nothing to justify the notion that England are a superpower.   Our record since 1966 isn’t great. In the last 46 years we have reached a World Cup semi a Euro semi and several World Cup quarter finals. In the same period Holland have reached three World Cup Finals   semi and won the European Championship. Bulgaria got to a WC semi. Sweden have got to a WC semi and a Euro semi. Poland reached a WC semi and finished 3rd in 1974. Belgium have reached a Euro final and a WC semi. Turkey have reached a WC semi and a Euro semi and, of course, Greece were European champions.  That’s only the middle ranking European sides.

Since 1966* our record, when compared to other European football nations, gives new meaning to the word average. Yet English people get annoyed because, for example, ‘We’ll never ‘win anything with Capello.’ Or, ‘We’ll never win anything with Sven’.  Its unlikely we’ll win a competition whoever the manager is. We’d all love to but to actually expect England to win a tournament is based on wishful thinking. There is  no great tradition to justify a demand like that.  We should keep our hopes in perspective.   When we are knocked out of this tournament will we see the same filth and fury that often accompanies an England exit?   I’m certainly not saying we shouldn’t try to win tournaments.  But I am saying we should keep our hopes in perspective.   Personally, I always look at getting through the group then take it from there. Usually as soon as we face a side with genuine aspirations to win the tournament we get knocked out.  1990  was great fun but, with all respect, Belgium and Cameroon weren’t contenders to lift the trophy.   *Our record before 66 wasn’t great either…Bela Horizonte anyone?

On the subject of  genuine football superpowers I  believe Germany will lift the trophy.  To now they been the best team in the competition.  While every team in a tournament like this will cause problems they will know it could have been a harder quarter final than Greece.   Sixteen years without a trophy will be hurting.  For a nation of their football stature it’s too long.   It’s worth pointing out that in these sixteen years they have reached a World cup final and a European Championship final.

Nicklas Bendtner has been banned for one match and fined 100,000 Euros for showing the sponsored waistband of his underpants. Bendtner did indeed break rules but the real story is that UEFA have made it abundantly clear by this that they regard upsetting sponsors as a bigger evil than the racism which is endemic in some nations.  The Croatian FA has been fined a lesser amount for their fans racist chanting at a Euro 2012 match.   UEFA and FIFA have both been in a strong position to take decisive action on racism for years yet they continue to shy away.   Hopefully the ruling bodies  will be spare us  any glib fatuous statements about global harmony.

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Michael Owen Signs – Pic in Strip and Interview

Ex Liverpool, Man United, Newcastle and England International talks about signing

Litany of errors though it undoubtedly was, beating Sweden is a huge step towards the quarter finals.  It was a  strange match in which neither team actually played with cohesion or incisive power.  The second half must have been a thriller for neutrals.  Infuriating for England and Sweden fans but thrilling for neutrals!

Roy Hodgson acknowledged before the game that England needed a more attacking set up against the Swedes.  It wasn’t a major shock to see Andy Carroll start the game.  The inclusion of Carroll was due to Sweden’s inability  to defend against crosses.  This observation  proved to be  unfathomably wise when Carroll’s brilliant glancing header put us ahead.  It also silenced the doubters who have felt aggrieved by the exclusion of Peter Crouch.  The only problem with Carroll’s involvement is that it is too tempting to hit long balls to him… long balls that too often get comfortably dealt with by the opposition.  The start of the second half was calamitous for England.  For fifteen minutes we were completely overwhelmed and our players looked woefully out of their depth.  It’s difficult to give Sweden too much credit for finding their way into the game as it was almost entirely due to England’s careless avoidable errors.  The equaliser came from a free kick given because Carroll inexplicably lunged and gave a free kick away.  Defending at the free kick itself  was slapdash and clumsy.  The kick itself was poor and his straight into the wall.  The ball was hit back into the dangerzone and,  for no apparent reason, Glen Johnson didn’t push out and we were exposed.  A few minutes later we feared the worst when Milner foolishly lunged at Olsson.  Fears were justified when Mellberg gratefully headed home a free header.  From being in control of the game we’d become a shambles.

It’s to Hodgson’s credit that he had the nous to change things immediately. Theo Walcott’s introduction immediately changed things.  Fortuitous though his equaliser was it boosted his confidence immeasurably.  It was Walcott’s burst of pace and skill that led to Welbeck’s wonderfully improvised winner.  Some of the criticism Theo has received in recent years has been over the top to say the least. Making the difference in such a big game may be a pivotal point in him starting to fulfill his considerable potential.  It was disappointing to look around the internet and see suggestions that Welbeck’s goal was a fluke.  If a Spaniard or Brazilian had done that we’d look on with admiration and envy. An England player does it and we try to pick fault. Give credit where it’s due. Well done Danny Welbeck!!  Our players made it hard for themselves but we won the because we were incisive in the attacking third and the substitutions  were good decisions.  Positive changes from Roy Hodgson were decisive.  Wayne Rooney will finally make an appearance in the Ukraine game.  It presents the manager with the problem of who will be replaced.  It’ll be a tough decision but that’s his job.

To progress to the quarter final we need a draw against Ukraine in the final group game.  It may seem to be a simple task but like everything with England, don’t expect it to be straight forward.  That may seem excessively gloomy but there is a precedent to reflect on.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80hZNGOY_g8&feature=related  It’s fair to say that should we reach the knockout stage the powerhouse nations have little to fear from us.  It should be noted however that England have already had a better tournament than many dared to wish for.

 

 

1947 – no it’s not two minutes after an evening kick off, it’s the year that Stoke City very nearly won the football league.  Yes read that again,

WE NEARLY WON THE LEAGUE.

The season kicked off on the 31^st August 1946 when the Potters had a 2-2 draw at home to Charlton Athletic.

Fast forward through an awful winter that saw many postponements to the 31^st May 1947 when Liverpool went top of the First Division (the top league in the UK before the Premier League was dreamt up) with a 2-1 away win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.  The scousers then had a long wait until Sheffield United met Stoke.

The 14^th June  in the 1946–47 season(yes they played in the summer back then) a Stoke City team travelled to Bramhall Lane, roared on by a travelling army of 10,000 followers in a crowd of 30,000,

The Potters needed nothing less than a victory to clinch the title, any other result against Sheffield United would see the title go to Liverpool. However the Blades were far too sharp (sorry, too obvious a pun to drop) for the Potters despite our dominance in the game. In wet and heavy pitch conditions, echoes of a game at Vale Park some years later (when Dave Regis saw his shot stick in the mud) a Freddie Steele header stopped on the line with George Mountford hitting the bar.

United took the lead but Alex Ormston levelled to make the half time score 1-1. The dreadful conditions saw Stoke defender John McCue slip and Jack Pickering put Sheffield 2 – 1 up, a lead they held onto for the remainder of the game.

So there we have it, if that header had gone over the line and the bar hit had been inches lower then Stoke City would have held the honour of being champions of English Football. As a Stoke fan I’m fully used to what ifs? and maybes? Seems our fore fathers were too.

Amazingly from being so close to winning the title, we ended up in Fourth as Man. United and Wolves finished in second and third respectively.

Sheffield United were a bit of a bogey side for Stoke that season as they also knocked us out of the FA Cup in the fifth round!

 

The Final Table

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	F	A	GA	Pts
1	Liverpool	42	25	7	10	84	52	1.615	57
2	Manchester United	42	22	12	8	95	54	1.759	56
3	Wolverhampton Wanderers	42	25	6	11	98	56	1.750	56
4	Stoke City	42	24	7	11	90	53	1.698	55
5	Blackpool	42	22	6	14	71	70	1.014	50
6	Sheffield United	42	21	7	14	89	75	1.187	49
7	Preston North End	42	18	11	13	76	74	1.027	47
8	Aston Villa	42	18	9	15	67	53	1.264	45
9	Sunderland	42	18	8	16	65	66	0.985	44
10	Everton	42	17	9	16	62	67	0.925	43
11	Middlesbrough	42	17	8	17	73	68	1.074	42
12	Portsmouth	42	16	9	17	66	60	1.100	41
13	Arsenal	42	16	9	17	72	70	1.029	41
14	Derby County	42	18	5	19	73	79	0.924	41
15	Chelsea	42	16	7	19	69	84	0.821	39
16	Grimsby Town	42	13	12	17	61	82	0.744	38
17	Blackburn Rovers	42	14	8	20	45	53	0.849	36
18	Bolton Wanderers	42	13	8	21	57	69	0.826	34
19	Charlton Athletic	42	11	12	19	57	71	0.803	34
20	Huddersfield Town	42	13	7	22	53	79	0.671	33
21	Brentford	42	9	7	26	45	88	0.511	25
22	Leeds United	42	6	6	30	45	90	0.500	18

England played with refreshing discipline against France.  Our players kept focus and came away with a  deserved point.  It was particularly pleasing to see the midfielders protect the defence properly.  Steve Gerrard didn’t stray forward and Terry and Lescott were solid.  If we continue to defend with such composure the kerfuffle over Rio Ferdinand’s absence will soon be forgotten.  Our forward play caused France problems, but we lacked that extra bit of craft and confidence on the ball to sustain pressure.  When Rooney returns against Ukraine he will provide our attacking play a much needed extra dimension.  It is worth noting however that despite France dominating possession, it was England who created the clearest chance of the game.

While lacking the style and panache of the 98 and 2000 sides, France have improved greatly since 2010’s catastrophic World Cup campaign. On Monday we got a draw against Europe’s in form team.  When he was appointed we knew that Roy Hodgson would put emphasis on shape.  It’s pleasing to see positive results.

When the draw was made back in December it was surprising that much of the media seemed to regard England’s qualification for the quarter finals of Euro 2012 as a formality.  Every side you face in a tournament will cause you problems.  When England beat Sweden in a friendly in November it was the first time we had defeated them since 1968.  If anyone becomes complacent and believes a corner has been turned, bear in mind that England have never beaten Sweden in a competitive match.  Ukraine are the final opponents and facing the hosts always provides an extra challenge.  We have made an encouraging start to the campaign but the notion that England will easily reach the quarter final is naive.  Long way to go.

Elsewhere in the tournament the Dutch appear to be on their way home.  For all their skill and style they have failed to defend properly.  Germany‘s two goals were brilliantly created and taken but their opponents helped them along.  For his first goal Gomez found acres of space between the two German central defenders. Schweinsteiger’s ball was incisive  but why were Holland so generous? They still have a chance of reaching the quarter finals but need to defend as a unit.  The rumours of player unrest in the camp hardly inspires confidence.

‘Arry has left Spurs.  Who could have predicted that at Christmas?   Fabio Capello’s departure co-incided with Redknapp being found not guilty of tax evasion  and it seemed his stars were aligned to light the path to manage England.   Unfortunately for Arry the speculation about managing England led to a serious dip in Spurs form.   He was sacked over a contract dispute.  Despite what he said it’s hard to believe Champions league qualification wouldn’t have helped his cause.    Will he manage in the Premier League again?   He may fancy a lucrative contract overseas.

I’ve been busy looking at statistics of all things to do with Stoke City Football Club and thought it good to share this list of hat tricks scored by Stoke players since 1946.

Can you remember any of them and which was your favourite?

Date	Player	Opponents	Home or Away	Result	Score	Comment
07/09/1946	Freddie Steele	Middlesbrough	Away	Lost	4-5
05/10/1946	Alex Ormston	Chelsea	Away	Won	5-2
12/10/1946	Freddie Steele	Sheffield United	Home	Won	3-0
14/12/1996	Sid Peppitt	Brentford	Away	Won	4-1
04/04/1947	Freddie Steele	Grimsby Town	Away	Won	5-2
29/03/1948	Sid Peppitt	Burnley	Home	Won	3-0
25/12/1948	Frank Bowyer	Burnley	Home	Won	3-1
28/12/1953	Johnny King	Swansea Town	Home	Won	5-0
09/01/1954	Frank Bowyer	Hartlepool United	Home	Won	6-2	4 goals
25/08/1954	Johnny King	Nottingham Forest	Away	Won	3-0
02/10/1954	Harry Oscroft	Lincoln City	Away	Won	4-1
25/12/1954	Johnny King	Bury	Home	Won	3-2
19/02/1955	Frank Bowyer	Lincoln City	Home	Won	4-2
20/08/1955	Johnny King	Doncaster Rovers	Away	Won	4-2
15/12/1956	Neville Coleman	Middlesbrough	Home	Won	3-1
23/02/1957	Neville Coleman	Lincoln City	Home	Won	8-0	7 goals
21/09/1957	George Kelly	Rotherham United	Home	Won	4-1
30/11/1957	Neville Coleman	Fulham	Away	Won	4-3
09/12/1957	George Kelly	Swansea Town	Home	Won	6-2
25/01/1958	Dennis Wilshaw	Middlesbrough	Home	Won	3-1
04/01/1959	Dennis Wilshaw	Oldham Athletic	Home	Won	5-1
16/09/1959	Dennis Wilshaw	Lincoln City	Home	Won	6-1
17/12/1960	Johnny King	Plymouth Argyle	Home	Won	9-0
16/01/1961	Bill Asprey	Charlton Athletic	Home	Won	5-3
12/09/1962	Dennis Viollet	Charlton Athletic	Home	Won	6-3	4 goals
02/03/1962	Jackie Mudie	Walsall	Home	Won	3-0
16/11/1963	John Ritchie	Sheffield Wednesday	Home	Drew	4-4
21/03/1964	Dennis Viollet	Ipswich Town	Home	Won	9-1
10/04/1965	John Ritchie	Sheffield Wednesday	Home	Won	4-1	4 goals
12/02/1966	John Ritchie	Northampton Town	Home	Won	6-2	4 goals
10/12/1966	Harry Burrows	Aston Villa	Home	Won	6-1
23/04/1968	Peter Dobing	Leeds United	Home	Won	3-2
23/09/1972	Jimmy Greenhoff	Manchester City	Home	Won	5-1
16/03/1974	John Ritchie	Southampton	Home	Won	4-1
22/03/1975	Terry Conroy	Carlisle United	Home	Won	5-2
11/09/1974	Terry Conroy	Halifax Town	Home	Won	3-0
18/03/1978	Garth Crooks	Blackburn Rovers	Home	Won	4-2
15/11/1980	Lee Chapman	Norwich City	Home	Won	3-1
14/02/1981	Lee Chapman	Leeds United	Away	Won	3-1
12/05/1984	Paul Maguire	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Home	Won	4-0
22/11/1986	Keith Bertschin	Reading	Home	Won	3-0
21/12/1986	Nicky Morgan	Leeds United	Home	Won	7-2
27/12/1986	Carl Saunders	Sheffield United	Home	Won	5-2
20/01/1993	Steve Foley	Barnet	Home	Won	4-1
11/11/1995	Simon Sturridge	Southend United	Away	Won	4-2
04/03/2000	Peter Thorne	Chesterfield	Home	Won	5-1
01/04/2000	Peter Thorne	Bristol Rovers	Away	Drew	3-3
03/05/2000	Peter Thorne	Bury	Home	Won	3-0
30/04/2006	Adam Rooney	Brighton & Hove Albion	Away	Won	5-1
22/12/2007	Ricardo Fuller	West Bromwich Albion	Home	Won	3-1
26/12/2007	Liam Lawrence	Barnsley	Away	Drew	3-3

 

As Tony Pulis carried the olympic torch through the City Centre Hanley, Stoke – on – Trent on it’s way towards Cobridge, Burslem and Middleport a photographer captures an apt picture. I wonder if it’s a reflection on Port Vale’s last few seasons?

Have England ever entered a tournament with expectations so low?  It’s hard to find anyone prepared to confidently predict progress to the quarter final.  With England fans now having such a cautious view we can hope it alleviates some of the overwhelming pressure that stifles the England team.

In the midst of the Rio Ferdinand & John Terry controversy, the issue of how to cope without Wayne Rooney for two games has been all but forgotten.  Hodgson could have created more options for himself by copying Marcello Lippi.  The notion of Italy’s habitual caution is genuine and legendary.  It’s proved fatal on several occasions. But Lippi, wily old warhorse that he is, contradicted this regular policy of football suicide by taking six forwards to Germany in 2006. SIX. and more to the point, in the semi against Germany used five of them. That Italy side was there to attack. And it proved fruitful. Like Enzo Bearzot 24 years before, breaking the fear led them to victory. There was a lesson for Roy to take on board in all that. Instead of filling the squad out with holding midfielders take an extra attacker. Take 5 forwards. You can’t have too many attacking options.  It would have addressed the issue of Rooney’s absence with positive sympathy.

While lacking the diversity of a World Cup, one great thing about the European Championship is the sheer quality on offer.  There are few dud teams in the Euros and many have genuine aspirations to win the trophy.  Enjoy this tournament because in 2016 that will change.  The decision to expand the finals competition to 24 teams will dilute the quality.   Did they do it because the cash cow that is England didn’t reach the 2008 finals?  I’m guessing it’d be a significant factor. There doesn’t seem to be any other reason.  UEFA forget that England didn’t qualify because we simply weren’t good enough. Europe has 52 nations and almost half of them will be in the tournament.  Financial gain may be assured but stripping the prestige away could prove to be self defeating.  There are already problems finding bidders to host for the 2020 competition.  UEFA’s number crunchers are clearly oblivious to the current precarious state of the global economy.

The issue of racism has dominated the build up. Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s families have decided  not to travel  over fears for their safety.  Mario Balotelli has stated that if he is the subject of racial abuse he’ll walk off the pitch.  Michel Platini has stated that any player walking off the pitch will receive a yellow card, adding that only referees have the authority to halt a match.  He did emphasise that if  referees choose to delay a match for this reason, UEFA would support them.  How can the black players trust the relevant bodies to protect them when for so long they proved themselves to be inept?  Both UEFA and FIFA have paid vacuous lip service to the subject for years.  During the bidding process for the 2018 World Cup, delegates were even instructed not to take racism into account when voting.  The result being that Russia will host.  Russia where racism in football crowds is sickeningly prominent.  If a player does have the courage to walk off the pitch the ruling bodies will have to face up their own responsibility in failing to adequately address the issue for so many years.