The Stoketshirts.co.uk blog

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?

It wasn’t a classic, but all the same, mission accomplished!  For the second year running we are through to the fifth round of the FA cup.  Our hopelessness in the competition has been genuine and legendary but it seems we are starting to change.  On Sunday it took some grinding and battling but in the end Huth’s header and Sorensen’s spot kick saving expertise saw us deservedly go through.  Not that the Wolverhampton public seem too concerned by their exit.  The lousy crowd of 11,967 was disappointing to say the least.  They may well have relegation avoidance on their mind, but all the same,  it was a poor showing.  I’d like to think that had it been a home tie we’d have had more interest than that. 

Whilst attempting to avoid  prematurely evaluating the quantity of poultry, the fifth round draw could have been much harder.  Brighton is a game we will understandably expect to win.  That was the good fortune we lacked three times last season!  If we can get through to the quarter final and receive another favourable draw we could soon hear the taste of  Wembley in our red and white nostrils.  But we are still Stoke in the FA Cup….. more likely we are a goal down to Brighton after ten minutes and laboriously struggle to an 80th minute equaliser then lose the replay on penalties.  That’ll teach us for allowing a rare streak of optimism to infiltrate our psyche!

The transfer window came and went.  For Stoke City it was a subdued affair.  Tony Pulis and Peter Coates made it clear that a deluge of new signings was unlikely and so it proved.  The main focus of our attention was the possible sale of Ricardo Fuller.  For various reasons players do well at some clubs but can struggle at others and for Stoke Fuller has been very good indeed. We’ve managed to keep hold of him which is a relief.  We could debate and consider the reasons for his near departure but the fact is we may never know the whole story.  There are so many factors (many financial) in why a player chooses to leave or remain at a club it’s too hard to speculate on.  Suffice to say it’s good news to keep him for at least another six months.  How Fuller feels himself at staying with us is another thing we may never know fully!  It’d be harsh if any Stokies wished Tuncay anything but best wishes on his move to Wolfsburg.  While his form was sometimes patchy he gave us some great memories.  As for another departure…..  in years to come we’ll reflect on the Gudjohnsen situation and wonder what that was all about.  An expensive and baffling little episode, and again, we may never know the full story about his time with us.   

The most damaging aspect of Gray and Keys comments about females in football is that, being a human being, Sian Massey will at some stage  make a mistake.  That mistake will receive excessive media scrutiny and put increased  pressure on her.  It could lead to some asserting that females don’t understand the offside law after all…. oblivious to the fact that plenty of male officials make errors.  The Sky boys club could have a lot to answer for.

The story of Stoke and Kris Commons sums up the progress we’ve made. Six years ago he left us and some of us were disappointed. But now, despite him being an international and  the prestige that comes with it, very few of us would want him back. This symbolises how far we’ve come.  A talented player, who is still only 27 now isn’t good enough for us.  His move to Celtic also symbolises how short of financial clout the Scottish League is.  For a club of Celtic’s size and stature to buy a player from the English Championship isn’t necessarily  a compliment to the player, it’s a sign of how Scottish clubs are having to make do and mend with little light at the end of the tunnel.

The final of the Asian Cup between Australia and Japan was how a cup final should be.  Neither side was paralysed by fear and both played attacking football, which might not seem to be the case for a game which ended 0-0 after 90 minutes.  They each created chances but couldn’t quite get the finish right,  Harry  Kewell squandering the best chance of all.  Japan’s late winner came from a technically excellent volley but you have to wonder why at such a crucial stage the Australian defence went walkabout.  So a 0-1 defeat for Australia but there are plenty of positives to be taken.  It’s all part of a learning curve and the experience of playing in an international final has a multitude of benefits.  In the same tournament in 2007 Lucas Neill arrogantly inexplicably made public an expectation of winning the tournament without losing a game.  That was based on nothing and when Japan put a poor Australian campaign out of it’s misery  by winning the quarter final on penalties justice was done.  Four years later Australia underrated nobody and did a professional job throughout.  Not quite having the armory to lift the trophy is frustrating but nothing to be too downcast about.  This campaign proved how much  the national side here has improved.    It’s also worth remembering that losing to a team of Japan’s stature is nothing to be ashamed of.  They have much more international experience and in the final perhaps it was that extra experience that made the difference.  From the local perspective it’s pleasing that some of the A-League players made the step up, Brisbane Roar’s Matty Mckay in particular… but I’m biased of course! 

It’s only February but there is little doubt that Real Madrid’s defeat at Osasuna was exceptionally good news for Barcelona.  There many points still to play for but it’s increasingly clear that  it’ll be the European Cup which determines whether or not Mourinho’s season is a success or failure.   Whether he stays at the Bernebau for a second season remains to be seen.  Mourinho has already been saying how much he misses working in England but who in the Premier League could realistically afford to employ him?  The only real possibility would be if Man City failed to reach 4th spot and the owners wield the oilstained axe.   But it speaks volumes for the stature of the self proclaimed special one that should he feel the blade on his neck in Madrid it’ll hardly dampen his employment prospects. 

One of the weekends bizarre football moments came in Germany where Arjen Robben clouted teammate Thomas Muller.  Here it is in installments!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlCcpENytr4

Bunny’s Rabbit

A piece written exclusively for Stoketshirts.co.uk by former A View to a Kiln Editor Anthony Bunn

“Life’s not about how good you were. It’s about how good you looked”.

Eccentric ex-Van Halen  frontman David Lee Roth muttered that quote sometime in the mid-80’s, and for the twelve months and two weeks we’ve been in the Premier League we’ve had to endure various media hacks having cheap digs at us on a regular basis. No worries, as said hacks looked rather foolish from up there in 12th position. But that was then…..

With the squad at our disposal, and it’s a squad that TP has built himself, we are forced to play in a certain way. That style of playing lends itself more to a) home games, b) home games and, er, c) home games, where the opposition are at the mercy of a small pitch, the Brit climate, and a team that’s driven by as hostile and vociferous a crowd that resides in this country.

Our problem last year – and, with just one addition to the squad since May it’s still apparent – is that once again, we are banking on Europa League home form simply to keep us up. Sooner or later a lack of away points catches up with you. And let’s face it, you can’t simply rely on repeating the heroics of last year’s performances in ST4.

We’re not suddenly going to go out and buy a new first eleven, so the style we play will hardly change, and it doesn’t have to at home. But what we have to do is to have a re-think about just how we’re going to play away from home in the next nine months.

The one glaring facet lacking in our play away from the Brit is our seemingly unwillingness, or inability, to pass the ball and retain possession.

To do that with one up front doesn’t work for me, especially with midfielders who very rarely get anywhere near, never mind in front of, the lone striker. And if we are going to play a lone striker it simply has to be Ricardo Fuller, who often single-handedly terrorises defences in the ‘channels’.

But what is imperative is finding those key players who are comfortable in possession, can take an extra touch, and pass it. We now have a little more pace in the team with Matthew Etherington, and it would be quite nice to see us pass the ball to him. At present, only Glenn Whelan looks capable of filling that role in my opinion. Who plays next to him?

Well, such is our lack of a cutting edge in open play that Rory Delap HAS to have a place in the starting line-up. He brings energy, drive and a willingness to track back, and despite the media hype, you simply can’t overlook the fact that his throw-ins and goals last season made-up virtually a third of our goals. No team can afford to leave a player out with those stats.

That might mean a bench spot for Dean Whitehead, but I don’t like going into any game with two holding central midfielders. We got away with handing the lion’s share of possession over to the opposition last season, but can we tweak our style slightly so that we get our fair share of the ball this time around?

Anyone who thinks we can go anywhere (never mind Anfield!) and bomb at teams is living on Planet Deluded. But what we can do is make sure that we add a touch of ball retention onto the many positives we do have.

Dave Lee Roth was wrong. Style isn’t everything. Some will never have style – just take a look at Phil Brown’s embarrassing ‘jumper-draped-over-the-shoulder-man-at-C&A’ get-up on Sky Sports last Sunday morning. Style isn’t just something you climb in the countryside, Phil! But you can change mindset and add that touch of quality that makes all the difference at places like St Andrews, where yet again the output from centre midfield was basically nil as an attacking or footballing force.

This season’s Premier League has started in a wide-open manner. Burnley have beaten two of last season’s top five and Wolves and Brum have done okay for themselves. I still think tow of those three will go down, but the Sunderland home game is already a massive one for us, especially when you see just who we have coming up after them.

If we don’t have at least one major signing that will improve the team, never mind the squad, and another couple of half-decent players (a full back and a nippy centre forward for me) then I feel that we might be hoping for the January window to come around as quickly as possible.

We are a team that cannot play at anything less than 110%. We don’t have the quality to make up for any lowering in passion and spirit and there will be some time – maybe this season, maybe next – when we don’t just have to have a Plan B, but to possibly rip up Plan A and devise a totally new one.

Is the above criticism of TP? Not really, no. He’s done a superb job and the least he deserves is our trust and patience. But as supporters, we also have the right to want our club to be as good as it possibly can be. When that ceases, then so does our progression.

Bunny

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