dylanisabaddog 4,867 Posted November 5, 2019 I watched them lose to WBA last night who were good but nowhere near as good as us last year. Stoke were absolutely awful and the fans that used to make a huge noise were almost silent. It perhaps shows how well we did last season but more importantly we need to learn the lesson for next season. We need to plan for relegation Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BobLoz3 492 Posted November 5, 2019 Oh maaaannnn! Boy am I getting fed up of all this relegation talk. Yes we look a bit pants at the moment but we still have plenty of games left and some life in the legs yet! I am sure that the management set-up have planned for varying eventualities. They don't just sit around going "we're in the Prem now, we can relax! DELIA! Bring us a slice of that cake, will ya?" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gordon Bennett 780 Posted November 5, 2019 My guess would be too many players on big money who don’t have the necessary hunger, a couple of disastrous managerial appointments and for this season the absence of Shawcross as their leader and defensive lynchpin. Just goes to show if a club gets in a rut and can’t find the right manager to get them out of it then it can result in absolute free fall however good the squad might look on paper. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ian 1,129 Posted November 5, 2019 Yes, I think we should definitely plan for relegation after 11 games... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nuff Said 5,089 Posted November 5, 2019 Is Alex Neil still favourite to go there? I can imagine he’d give them a bit of a kick up the ****. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TIL 1010 4,722 Posted November 5, 2019 This thread is meat and drink for the careful what you wish for posters who i am sure will be forming a queue to post. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nuff Said 5,089 Posted November 5, 2019 1 minute ago, TIL 1010 said: This thread is meat and drink for the careful what you wish for posters who i am sure will be forming a queue to post. As a vegetarian, I’m not sure where that leaves me? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
......and Smith must score. 1,334 Posted November 5, 2019 This does illustrate how few teams can ever feel established in the Premier League. Stoke have been members for years and now find themselves heading for League One with just one more year of parachute payments to come. If it’s happened to them and Sunderland it can happen to anyone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nutty nigel 7,509 Posted November 5, 2019 16 clubs who have been relegated over the last 10 years are currently outside the PL. There are at least another six with investor type owners who haven't even managed to make it to the PL in that time. 42 into 20 doesn't go. So for me it's not "be careful what you wish for" it's more "appreciate what you have" 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pete 318 Posted November 5, 2019 This fall from grace can happen to any club. Don't believe we are likely to be in this position if the R word happens. We do not have players on huge salaries and we ought to have relegation clauses to bring salary levels down to last season. If you become established or get the wrong sort of players i.e. those with a high opinion of themselves but cannot do it on the pitch a la Naismith you are in trouble ability wise and financially. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ec-p 90 Posted November 5, 2019 And yet they were ‘bored’ with season after season in the Premier League with Pulis or Hughes grinding out results. be careful what you wish for. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Icecream Snow 761 Posted November 5, 2019 Jack Butland's been awful for them. Two or three absolute howlers that have cost them matches. Nathan Jones' appointment felt like Brendan Rodgers at Reading, a talented manager with a set formation, and not really having the players to make it work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mello Yello 2,280 Posted November 5, 2019 7 hours ago, Nuff Said said: As a vegetarian, I’m not sure where that leaves me? With lettuce leaves?....... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hogesar 9,618 Posted November 5, 2019 5 hours ago, nutty nigel said: 16 clubs who have been relegated over the last 10 years are currently outside the PL. There are at least another six with investor type owners who haven't even managed to make it to the PL in that time. 42 into 20 doesn't go. So for me it's not "be careful what you wish for" it's more "appreciate what you have" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dylanisabaddog 4,867 Posted November 5, 2019 On 31/10/2019 at 01:06, KiwiScot said: Could also be the two non-sacked players could be moved on at some point where they would be stuck with Keogh. 5 hours ago, nutty nigel said: 16 clubs who have been relegated over the last 10 years are currently outside the PL. There are at least another six with investor type owners who haven't even managed to make it to the PL in that time. 42 into 20 doesn't go. So for me it's not "be careful what you wish for" it's more "appreciate what you have" Thank you for an intelligent and reasoned response! Anyone who thinks we shouldn't be dreading the inevitable at the moment is seriously deluded. We needed a relatively injury free season to survive but fate has conspired against us. I hope for a miracle but fear the worst 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bill 1,788 Posted November 5, 2019 1 hour ago, dylanisabaddog said: 😁Thank you for an intelligent and reasoned response! Anyone who thinks we shouldn't be dreading the inevitable at the moment is seriously deluded. We needed a relatively injury free season to survive but fate has conspired against us. I hope for a miracle but fear the worst the inevitable - get a grip as to Stoke then look who beat them, WBA...Swansea seem to have picked up so some you win some you don't as to their plight being the same as Sunderland then the warning is not to play in red and white stripes...as Southampton will testify to and " It was 30 years ago this week that the Potters sacked Mick Mills and put another former England international in charge. But the late Alan Ball failed to save them from the drop in May 1990. " If Bally had have kept them up it would have been by a narrow squeak (😁 ).... and what happened to that other chap ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bradwell canary 109 Posted November 5, 2019 Not a great fan of Tony Pullis.........but.... three team went backwards after he left them, Stoke, WBA and Middlesbrough. Most of them during his time in charge were always in a decent league position. Never popular with any of their fans, but shows you have to be careful what you wish for, how many Stoke fans now wish he had never left? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,777 Posted November 7, 2019 On 05/11/2019 at 22:45, Bradwell canary said: Not a great fan of Tony Pullis.........but.... three team went backwards after he left them, Stoke, WBA and Middlesbrough. Most of them during his time in charge were always in a decent league position. Never popular with any of their fans, but shows you have to be careful what you wish for, how many Stoke fans now wish he had never left? There's a positive and a negative side to this. On the one hand, it shows that he's good at getting results by organising a solid defensive side who are very resilient and hard to beat. But the flip side is that he leaves a squad that is bereft of creativity and technical skill. So unless he's followed by another Pulis-style manager it's going to be a problem, and no club appoints another Pulis after the original goes because the fans demand the polar opposite. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites