The Stoketshirts.co.uk blog

From the moment new signing Charlie Adam was introduced in Saturday’s game against Wigan, Stoke played with increased  creative energy.  We carried the game to the opposition and  showed much more fluidity.  Even at this early stage we could all see that Charlie can provide that craft and guile we’ve been looking for.  Combine that with his natural tendency to be industrious and cover ground, we may have finally found the missing link in our evolution.  It could prove to be a masterstroke from Tony Pulis.

The first half was tale of two penalties, both correctly awarded.  Having got to half time on level terms it was infuriating to again fall behind early in the second half to such a sloppy goal.  Our defence got dragged all over the park.  It was a decent finish by Di  Santo but from our perspective it was catastrophic that he managed to get such an opportunity.  For a side like Stoke, known for defensive organisation, it was an awful way to fall behind.  To our players credit they drove forward in search of the equaliser.  The deserved leveller eventually arrived in the 76th minute through Peter Crouch.  It was pleasing for Crouch to get on the score sheet as so far this season he’s rarely had a sniff of goal.  However, Saturday proved that with service he’s still a huge asset and our most likely scorer.  The remainder of the game saw us pressing for the winner.  We’d have snatched the victory but for Ali Al Habsi’s remarkable reflex save from Charlie Adam’s free kick.  All in all a draw was a fair result.  Most pleasing is that in Charlie Adam we finally have a playmaker.   A refreshing performance from The Potters.

 

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice for Real Madrid but celebrated neither goal.  After the game he told the press “It could be because I am a bit sad. That is the only reason. When I don’t celebrate goals, I am not happy.”  Predictably,  his words sparked a barrage of intrigue.  Is he trying to manipulate a transfer?  Unless he’s prepared to take a pay cut there may only be two clubs in the world who could afford him.  If Paris Saint Germain aren’t prepared to splash out he could be moving back to Manchester… and he wouldn’t be wearing red this time!

Bizarrely, head of UEFA Michel Platini has welcomed the influx of QSI (Qatar Sports Investments)  money to PSG.  This is in contradiction to the financial fair play rules he’s instigating.  Platini and Qatar seem to have a thing for each other.  Platini also voted for Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup.  Platini and Qatar could be seen as a love wholesome and pure… until you remind yourself that Laurent Platini, son of Michel, is QSI’s legal advisor.  Platine was a truly great player but once he became a powerbroker he dipped his head in the trough…. just like the rest of them.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has received a two match touchline ban for pushing assistant referee Paul Kirkup.  Two matches is remarkably lenient.  Since the incident Pardew has been humble and apologetic but manhandling officials should be treated with utmost seriousness.  Referees should unite and take action about this episode.

Attention now turns to the forthcoming World Cup qualifying matches.  England’s preparation has been disrupted by injuries to Wayne Rooney and Andy Carroll.  Roy Hodgson took the odd step of choosing not to replace Carroll in the squad.  Rooney’s absence could be a blessing in disguise.  Statistics show that England are more likely to win without Rooney in the team.  Since illuminating the  the 2004 European Championship, Rooney has played in three tournaments and made little impression.  While few would doubt he is the outstanding English player of his generation, at international level he can’t be trusted to deliver. One factor is everything England do goes through him, which seems to inhibit his colleagues.  There is a precedent we can reflect on.  In one of his early press conferences as Spain manager Luis Aragones was forcefully questioned about the omission of Raul.  Aragones reached breaking point and asked the gathered media how many tournaments Raul has played in and how many of them had Spain won?  When the answer was that with Raul Spain had won nothing Aragones turned the questions back on his inquisitors by demanding to know why they insist on Raul.  That was one of the pivotal points that turned Spain into football’s dominant power. If the games against Moldova and Ukraine go well, and Rooney is fully fit for the qualifiers in October, Roy Hodgson would be wise to copy Aragones’ strategy.  It’d be a huge decision but management involves making those decisions.  Reputations alone shouldn’t make an automatic starter.

Fabio Capello‘s Russia start their campaign with a match against Northern Ireland.  Capello sat down with Andrei Arshavin recently to tell him he would be continuing as captain.  When the squad was announced Arshavin hadn’t been selected.  Following the ongoing traumas in his previous job it does raise the question…. what is it with Capello and captaincy?

 
 

When the Vale went bust for the second time in 10 years this is the list of people that they left out of pocket. From  £1.8m owed to Stoke-on-Trent City Council (us the council tax payers) to expenses of £14.80 from former Vale chief executive Perry Deakin,

ADT Fire & Security, Halesowen £2,379.91

Advanced Card Bureau, Dorset £153.11

Afford Rent-a-Car, Fenton £129

AMS Securities, Baldwins Gate £0

AP Designs, Sutton Coldfield £1,284

Atlasco Construction, Chesterton £12,137.10

Azure Support Services, Macclesfield £39,791.46

Alextra Accountants, Crewe £1,214.40

Bakers Coaches, Biddulph £0

BGC, Burslem £65

BHygienic, Trentham £21

Blythe Pictures, Longton £375.60

Booker Cash & Carry, Stoke £190.53

Bowcom Florence Works, Cardiff £40.99

British Telecom, Gateshead £429.74

British Red Cross, Paisley, Scotland £1,824

BSI Company, Taunton, Somerset £37.70

Bluefin, Surrey £1,445.28

C.J. Bayley, Burslem £628.68

Campey Turf Care Systems, Macclesfield £417.12

Card Express, Ossett, W Yorks £604.25

Cavalier Studios, Stockport £1,929.60

City of Stoke rates, Stoke £3,199.87

City Locks & Ironmongery, Tunstall £78.00

Control Energy Costs, Surrey £3,130.93

City of Stoke Local Tax Office, Stoke £17.35

Continental Solutions Limited, Gibraltar £277,734

Demonprint, Stafford £72

Dimensions, no address given £2,199.78

Dr Phillips & Partners, Shelton £2,586

David Lee, Baldwins Gate £42

Dr G V Reddy, Shelton £7,975

Edge Creative, Sutton Coldfield £450

FWB Products, Stoke £508.68

Gazprom, Kingston-Upon-Thames £3,723.02

George Green Solicitors, Cradley Heath £32,453.40

GTEQ Solutions, Macclesfield £0

Health On-Line, Tunbridge Wells, Kent £1,337.74

Health Partners Europe, Belmont, Surrey £466.69

Heritage Leisure Designs, Basford £8,420.86

Hollywood Monster, Birmingham £1,230.00

HSBC £275.08

HM Revenue & Customs ICHU £0

HMRC Debt, Enforcement & lnsolvency £189,965.21

Jessops, Leicester £9.07

J-Media, Wilmslow £3,681.54

Jeff Vernall, Kidsgrove £340

Paula Jones, Kinver, Staffordshire £0

Lloyds MOT Test Centre, Tunstall £4

Louis Taylor, Hanley £625

Maverick Promotions, Grantham, Lincs £2,182.25

Modern Engraving, Stoke £127.20

Morplan, Harlow, Essex £49.12

Martin David Morris, Basford £264

MWay, Bucknall £2,819.76

Newcastle College £4,176

NPower Direct, Leeds £6,679.06

Nuffield Proactive, Surbiton, Surrey £15.60

Nuprint Lithographic, Newcastle £108

Orona, Sheffield £1,069.99

Perry Deakin (expenses), Burntwood, Staffs £14.80

PC World Business, Bury £60.87

PHS Washrooms, Caerphilly £248.40

Plan 4 Sport, Lichfield £2,700

Portakabin, York £1,091.97

PRM Sport, Lichfield £4,999.20

Protec Fire, Nelson, Lancs £65.35

Rangers FC, Glasgow £3,550.56

Redsquid Communications, Hertford £36

Regal Sports Press, Denbigh East, Bucks £5,443.20

Rubicon Digital, Chesterfield £281

Keith Ryder, no address given £100,000

Sporting Logic, Alvechurch, Birmingham £1,512

Stephen G Plant Consultant, Bagnall £240

S&A Pet Discs, Pontypridd £70

S.A.B Risk Management, Stafford £6

SAS Refrigeration, Adderley Green £213

Sage UK, Newcastle-upon-Tyne £309.42

Sales Pitch (Patrick Mews), Staffordshire £1,147.20

Scottish Power, Glasgow £5,611.57

Security Plus, Uttoxeter £60.60

Security Services, Stoke £672

Staffordshire Sentinel, Etruria £0

Seven L, Chorley, Lancs £0

Severn Trent Water, Coventry £17,588.92

Silver Fox, Rough Close £65

Simmons of Stoke-on-Trent, Etruria £1,586.14

Sky Business, Livingston, West Lothian £0

Sneyd Building Contractors, Cliffe Vale £82.24

Sporting ID, Newcastle-upon-Tyne £644.52

Stadium Experience, Hampshire £236

Staffordshire FA, Stafford £285

Stage Management Services, Bentilee £0

Strata Window World, Etruria £135.60

Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Stoke £1,859,000

T.G. Baker (Sound), Blackburn, Lancs £5,385

George Hotel, Burslem £780

Tarmac Building Products, Buxton £242.40

The Stanland Group, Thornaby £699.93

Thor Lightning Protection, Hanley £180

Titanic Brewery, Burslem £210.42

TLC Cleaning, Biddulph £504

Travis Perkins, Northampton £2,650.84

Co-operative Bank, Stafford £42,007.51

Vandanel Premier, Loughton, Essex £161.69

Vodafone, Newbury £2,045.54

West Midlands Ambulance, Worcester £0

Witan Creations, Stafford £2,595.53

TOTAL £ 2,688534.09

It took a while to actually get around to this one as I hate losing especially against lower league opposition and it is a massive de motivator. Anyway here we go!

Reasons To Be Cheerful

Team selection – initially I thought TP had picked a strong side, a lot stronger than I initially thought it would be. Surely it would be a formality with the line up selected! How wrong could I have been

The Weather – Watching footie at the Brit in my shirtsleeves at nearly 10pm, there won’t be many more days like that this season.

Talking of 10 – We only need 10 men – Well that was I note I made when Crouch equalised in extra time!

A decent away following from Swindon.

Di Canio – great passion and desire, good moves, be great on Strictly Come Dancing!

Before they scored there was some nice one touch exchanges between Whitehead and Jones which resulted in a sweet volley but it was straight at the keeper.
Another couple of examples of easy on the eye football was when Jones should have done better with a Pennant cross a minute later. Also later in the game when Geoff Cameron decided to take the game to Swindon and carried the ball forward.

Half Time seemed a bit surreal and it inspired me to tweet, “Dare I suggest that this is what u get when we rest super Johnnie Walters 🙂 woeful performance NO Desire.” At least he spiced it up a little when he came on with his endless chasing down.

Cameron was decent in patches.

A few players were found wanting and should become surplus to requirements – Sorensen, Shotton & Upson can be counted in that number. Get ’em moved on Tone!

Strange observation was that six of the seven goals were at the Boothen End!

Good physio work on the left back in extra time

Now I should be able to fill a page. Heavens Knows I’m Miserable Now

Sorensen looks off the boil, a poor kick and droppping the ball to gift the goal. He’s a good shot stopper as he proved to save Shotton’s blushes and again later in the game but I’d prefer a keeper that is a steady eddie and is consistent everywhere.

Misplaced passes
Again – where do I start? Shotton, Huth, Whitehead were just a few of the players that were guilty. We were made to look the league one side when Swindon showed how it should be done. Someone said he didn’t think Di Canio would pick some of our players in his side as they haven’t got the basic skill set he demands, I reckon he’s not far wrong.

Not wanting it
No desire in the side, It looked like Swindon had been in our dressing room and stolen all the bottles labelled “PASSION, DESIRE, COMMITMENT”  They played with our passion and got a deserved result.

Sorro’s handling – The back four don’t seem as confident around him as they do Begovic.

Shotton defending the diagonal long ball. Sorensen redeemed it, then we concede a real cheap goal from the resulting corner.

The atmosphere – AWFUL! Leave the Seddon open even if the crowd is a sparce one or price the tickets to fill the place!

A fiver a seat wouldn’t have gone amiss!

The Result

Jamie Ness debut – injury stricken midfielder gets an injury shock!

Team Line Ups

Stoke City
29 Sorensen
02 Cameron
04 Huth
12 Wilson
20 Upson
30 Shotton (Ness – 77′ )
07 Pennant
18 Whitehead
21 Kightly
09 Jones (Crouch – 77′ )
33 Jerome (Walters – 77′ )

Substitutes
27 Nash
17 Shawcross
28 Wilkinson
14 Ness
24 Delap
19 Walters
25 Crouch

Swindon Town
01 Foderingham
03 McEveley (Thompson – 98′ )
04 Flint
05 Devera
06 Navarro
10 Ritchie
12 McCormack Booked
18 Miller
09 Collins
16 Williams
23 De Vita (Ferry – 73′ )
Substitutes
30 Bedwell
15 Thompson
32 Smith
07 Rooney
08 Ferry
13 Risser
20 Storey

 

It was a game of two halves and a bit more!
First half we were woeful, second half we improved, the bit more was more of the same with Swindon deservedly getting through to the next round.

To use a football cliche, our draw with Arsenal brought the reward of a ‘hard earned point’.  We rarely looked likely to trouble the Arsenal goal, similarly, our opponents were stifled by our characteristic tenacity. There were several phases of the game during which our midfield  struggled to handle Arsenal’s movement but our back four were focused and played with discipline.  The one worrying aspect of our defensive play is how often we lunge into tackles.  At Reading Dean Whitehead saw red for two unnecessary challenges.  On Sunday Huth and Wilkinson steamed into tackles and, as well as receiving cautions, gave away free kicks in very dangerous territory.  Wilkinson stayed on his feet, had he slid in his may well have been a straight red.  As a team we are physical but that needn’t equate to recklessness.


 
Geoff Cameron made an encouraging start to his Stoke City career. He broke Arsenal’s midfield play up well and made simple passes to maintain possession.  Again it was Michael Kightly who looked our most potent attacking threat.  Kightly also threaded a defence unlocking ball  through for Jon Walters… a rare delight from a Stoke player!

So, two games gone and two points earned.  A solid if unspectacular start to our season.  Meanwhile Arsenal will be painfully aware that the season has barely begun and they are already seven points behind the leaders.

The next league game is at Wigan.  In all fairness it’s a game we should set out to win.   The away form must improve and Saturday will be a good way to send the message out that we are no longer a soft touch on our travels.  It’d be a relief if we have some new personnel in time for that game.

Last week Football Federation Australia appointed ex rugby league supremo David Gallop as their new CEO. Gallop is an established respected sports administrator having held the same role as head of the National Rugby League.  The move has been generally well received.  While it does seem to be a good appointment the whole spectre of administration of football in Australia continues to be draining.

On arrival here in 1996 I was looking forward to acquainting myself with the Australian game.  The main TV show which covered local football issues was an hour long magazine programme on a channel called SBS on Monday nights.  The first time I watched, most of the show was taken up with a radical discussion regarding an internal issue in the corridors of power.  Over 16 years later the ongoing internal wrangling in football’s corridors of power continue to cast a dark shadow over our game.   The game here won’t fulfill it’s rich potential until headlines are made by players instead of administrators.  I hasten to add that I, along with all football supporters, wish David Gallop every success in his new role.


It’s disturbing to see the pre season here in Australia  tarnished by crowd violence. In Australia some youngsters have a sickening infatuation with the whole culture of football related thuggery.  I overheard some talking excitedly about trouble at a game and asked them why they were so fascinated by people bashing each other peoples heads in…… they didn’t know.  As a teenager, many of my contemporaries regarded becoming involved in fighting almost as a natural progression…. as if it was a rite of passage.  I specifically remember, even as a nine year old, standing in Glebe Street watching Millwall and Stoke’s hooligans fighting and being confused that so many people felt the need to smash people’s faces in over what was, essentially, wanting a different team to win a game of football.  Violence at football has resulted in lives damaged, people even killed.  It has given police the excuse (but not justification) to treat supporters as second class citizens.  There is nothing positive about football violence.

Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid have made a shaky start to the season.  A defeat and a draw are not what was expected at the Bernabeu.  While they were crowned champions last season, Mourinho was appointed to bring the European Cup to Madrid.  The semi final exit to Bayern Munich hangs in the air.  If form doesn’t improve quickly the managers position may be called into question.  What could save him could be the huge question of who could possibly replace him.  At Real Madrid  style and panache are as important to the culture of the club as their illustrious historical trophy haul.   In choosing Mourinho they  effectively made a U turn.  Mourinho’s brilliance is motivation and tactical manoeuvring.  His teams, as successful as they are, haven’t always played exhilarating thrilling football.  The pragmatism and attention to detail being the cornerstones of his glittering career.  Real Madrid is known to be a notorious  managerial graveyard.  If the internal politics become too much and he walks away he’ll be able to do so with reputation intact and will still be able to pick up a job at another  European powerhouse.  When he was appointed the Galactico was the manager.  He  was the one that couldn’t possibly fail….. and nobody is more aware of that than Mourinho himself.  That Jose isn’t stupid!

 

Intentons are that just a few of my thoughts from every game I attend this season will be published as a blog.
These will take the form of positive and negative thoughts and observations, Reasons to be cheerful, Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.

Not sure how long I’ll keep it up for but as The Ramones once said Hey Ho, Let’s Go!

Reasons To Be Cheerful

KIGHTLY very comfortable on the ball, could be the start of a fresh Pulis approach for potters football. It was great to see the ball bought down and possession retained during the midfield melees.

CAMERON again comfortable with the ball, seemed unusual for Pulis to trust a newbie in such an important game but his presence paid off. Some nice touches, not 100% certain that he was the best player on the pitch but can’t think of many more players that could have took the man of the match award.

LAME SUBSTITUTIONS
To be honest, most premier league teams would love the ability to have Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott being impact substitutions. Wenger launched all three and they were about effective as an ashtray on a motorbike.

PROGRESSION

Was Begovic playing the ball short to the back four real progression or just a tactic to draw Arsenal out from their own half while we lumped it forward? It seemed awkward at times and we nearly got caught short when there was an awkward short back pass. The jury is out on this currently!

THE WEATHER

The heat of the sun on the walk on home will be all but a distant memory in a couple of months. It’s a rare occasion when the sun shines on Ice Station Britannia so let’s hold the memory of that warmth for now.

Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now
I would have involved Delap and the monster longthrow at some point. Okay I accept that he’s seen better days and is a squad player now but that the Longthrow has always been Arsenal’s weakness at the Brit and we never really had a quality low trajectory throw that tested their dodgy defence out.

Arsene wearing an invisible straight jacket. We love his histrionics as he bounces up the touchline trying to take off, flapping his duvet, but today he held back and seemed to have his hands tied back as if he’d been Christian Grey’s latest conquest (a reference for the ladies! 50 shades of grey)

Progression

I know it was a reason to be cheerful or is it? We had a year known as the binary season – Most games ended 1-0, 0-0, 0r 0-1. Is this season a return to that style? Not the most entertaining but at least the consistency meant you could make a few quid at the bookies!

Rumour Mill
Asmir off to Chelsea with Daniel Sturridge being loaned to Stoke.

Song of the Day
“Robin Van Persie – He Would Have Scored That”

Most Mentioned non Stoke City Player

Michael Owen who sat on the Goals on Sunday Settee

Line ups
Stoke City:

Begovic, Wilkinson, Huth, Shawcross, Wilson, Pennant, Cameron, Whelan, Kightly, Walters, Crouch.

Subs: Sorensen, Palacios, Jones, Upson, Delap, Shotton, Jerome.

Arsenal:

Mannone, Jenkinson, Vermaelen, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Podolski, Diaby, Arteta, Cazorla, Gervinho, Giroud.

Subs: Martinez, Santos, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey, Djourou, Coquelin

 

Enjoy a few snaps from the day below

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome back into my life football. My friend, my strength, my infatuation and, of course, my eternal frustration!  Weekends are  inconsequential without you football my darling.   The big kick off symbolises a  return to midnight (or 1am) kick offs before retiring to bed usually accompanied by liberal doses of fatigue and deflation.   It’s August, time to start all over again.

Every game has it’s own story.  The story behind our 1-1 draw at Reading is a tale of Stoke City’s two dropped points.  The match started with a familiar look as we defended deeply and struggled to impose ourselves on the game.  For all Reading’s possession they rarely threatened to unlock us and as the first half wore on we were increasingly comfortable.  After half an hour we started to carry the game forward and we quickly found the ultimate reward.  The ball dropped in the box to Michael Kightly who tried a shot.  Fortuitously, Reading keeper Federeci completely misjudged the scuffed effort and the ball bobbled guiltily into the net.  Fortunate or not it was great to be ahead away from home and fantastic that Kightly could mark his debut with a goal.  For over an hour it seemed likely to be the winning goal.  Until the 89th minute we defended our lead in comfort and controlled the game.  We put pressure on Reading and while we didn’t create much we still looked more likely to add a second goal than Reading were to equalise.  Then came that fateful 89th minute.  We were caught out at the back and Dean Whitehead’s lunge resulted in the penalty that provided Reading their escape route to retrieve an unlikely draw.  As a result we got one point from a match we should have won comfortably.  The very simple lesson to be learnt is that if you fail to finish games off whilst on top in them you’ll be vulnerable to sucker punches.   Reflecting on the entire game we really have nobody to blame but ourselves for those two dropped points.  And that is the story of Reading v Stoke City.

As an aside it was pleasing to see Robert Huth start the game and compete as vigorously as ever.   Less than a fortnight ago our very own Berlin Wall was in hospital with a serious illness.  It’s just so frustrating that we couldn’t mark his rapid recovery with a clean sheet and three points.

Our next challenge arrives in the shape of Arsenal.  Last season’s game was marred by tasteless chants regarding the Shawcross Ramsey incident.  That incident occured two and a half years ago. It’d be a refreshing change if everybody dropped the vitriol so that terrible moment can be well and truly  confined to history.   There are some aspects of football that are truly awful and that was  horrible for all concerned.   It’d be a refreshing change if everybody just let it go and concentrate on supporting their team.  Please, no more.

The London Olympics contained many special moments.  For many football supporters the most poignant moment was Sepp Blatter being roundly booed before the womens gold medal match.  Despite the  hostility Sepp generates he clings on to his prestigious role like grim death.  Only last week his bruised battered organisation announced further investigations into the activities of disgraced ex official  Mohamed bin Hammam.  This is merely shooting fish in a barrel hoping it’ll deflect from other more relevant discrepancies. For the good of the game Blatter and his sycophantic cronies should be dragged from the trough and replaced as soon as possible.

As the cliche states it’s early days for Brendan Rogers at Liverpool.  Even bearing that in mind few could argue that the 0-3 defeat at WBA was an horrendous start to his reign. While at Swansea, many were impressed by his teams style of play and the confidence they showed in their first top glight season.  To receive similar plaudits at Anfield he’ll need some resilience to accompany panache.  At The Hawthorns his team waved the white flag as soon as the ref waved the red card.  It looks as if some of their players are too comfortable.  A huge clearout is required.  It’ll be a long painful process but the powers that be must be  prepared to give the manager time fulfill his vision.

 

The greatest team ever?  There is no doubt that Spain are the outstanding team of the modern era.  The graceful dismantling of Italy leaves no doubt over the current status of this remarkable football team.  The statistical bombardment we received during Euro 2012 became tiresome.  However, one unmistakable piece of data is that Spain have achieved something no European nation has done before in winning three consecutive tournaments.

A recurring point of discussion throughout the tournament was Vincente del Bosque’s decision to  pick his team without a recognised forward.  Surprising though it was, it hardy merited the incredulous responses it generated.  Several years ago Carlos Alberto Parreira predicted that in the future football teams would be deployed without strikers.  His words resulted in raised eyebrows. It suggested a dull defensive future where rigid shape would exceed invention.  In reality, if Spain’s dazzling display of kaleidoscopic movement is a template, we may have a lot to look forward to.  And Parreira’s words will be proved to be prophetic.

The participation of Team GB in the Olympic football tournament finally arrived…. and left. For Britain it’s been a phenomenally successful Olympic Games.  For all the achievements of the British sporting fraternity nothing has united the nation as the football did….. when GB were knocked out  on penalties the Welsh Scottish and Northern Irish learned how it feels to be English!  The whole air surrounding British participation was laced with negativity. After several years of discussing whether it undermines the individual status of the home nations,  it was eventually decided to field a team.  Again, after much  discussion and media speculation Stuart Pearce was appointed head coach and hurriedly assembled a team.  Did anything arise from GB’s involvement that would encourage the populace to demand involvement in future Olmpic football tournaments?  Probably not.  London hosting meant clubs were preared to allow players to miss a significant part of pre-season, it’s hard to imagine them being so compliant in the future.  Combine that with the political implications of a GB team.  Could it lead to  FIFA demanding a united Britain team?  In short there would be too many obstacles and not a great deal to gain.  So that’s the end of that.

As far as Stoke City are concerned this could be the most low key build up to a football season ever. The signing of Michael Kightly has livened things up slightly but it’s hard to remember a pre season so devoid of activity.  Peter Coates has made public his understandable instruction that to bring players in we must reduce the wage bill.  For too long we have had players clogging up the squad who are clearly not going to take part in league matches.  We are approaching our fifth consecutive season in the top flight.  To put it bluntly, it’s time to cut out the deadwood.

One thing that is clear is that if we start the coming season as we finished the last one we could find ourselves in serious trouble.  In 2012 we have only won four league games.  Throughout last season the quality of our play deteriorated.  Our attacking play constantly lacked any  fluidity and we rarely played well for an entire 90 minutes.  Any team with a competent defence can handle our forward play.  A series of balls hit long, usually to Peter Crouch, who may or may not flick a header onto a teammate.  The teammate in question is double marked and stifled.  Our midfield rarely pushes forward quickly enough to effectively support the attack so within seconds the ball comes straight back at us and we are under pressure again.  We aren’t creative enough we aren’t positive enough.  We’ll always be eternally grateful to Tony Pulis for taking us to the Premier League and keeping us here but things have got to change.  In 2012/13 can we have a Stoke City with a precise cohesive attacking plan that approaching games with a fresh philosophy please?  This road has become dark.  A brighter route is required  or we could pay the ultimate heavy price.

It was alarming to hear that Robert Huth  is in hospital with suspected meningitis.  We have to hope he makes a full recovery and is back to playing as soon as possible.  Good luck Rob.

 

 

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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