Just back

[HerefordCanary 0]

Just back from the game, nearly 4 years to the day since we didn''t score at a game I''ve been to. No surprise its last on the running order for motd tonight, very poor game. We failed to have any real attempts on goal other than a tame Surman free kick. Stoke in my opinion were also poor but were slightly better at being poor than us. We tend to edge around the box waiting for the perfect opportunity sometimes to play the ball in which doesn''t always arrive. Howson showed some decent passes but also looked off the pace with his first touch, I''ll put that down to his injury.

Our best player today was Ruddy who pulled off a couple of brilliant saves and dealt with the threat from the throw ins quite well. Elliot Bennett I also felt didn''t have a bad game and I also feel Bradley Johnson was ok, not brilliant but not awful at the same time, broke up Stoke attacks quite well.

Other things that annoyed me include the arctic temperatures in the ground and Jon Walters showing us how happy he was with the victory just before he headed down the tunnel, the most annoying thing though was after a couple of late challenges went in. Pulis was always calling for cards and the players were surrounding the ref straight away.

Also, a word for Michael Oliver and his officials again, another poor game, today it seemed he was having about ten minutes in favour of one team until the fans get on his back then he switched sides, then kept switching throughout the game without getting anything right.

Overall very disappointed with my day out, but I won''t get on the players backs too much as we are still 10th in the Premier League, I just felt with Liverpool losing at lunch we could have closed the gap on them ;)

[Jules 0]

Also just got back from the game. Boy, was that turgid! Not surprised it''s last on the MOTD list. Barely any goal mouth action to speak about. Poor passing by both sides throughout the whole game got me feeling very frustrated. The disjointed feel to the game wasn''t helped by the refereeing. Constant start, stop. Plus Stoke took several minutes with every attacking throw in, breaking the flow. We coped well with their aerial threat though. I thought Zak Whitbread played very well today. Ruddy too. But should Stoke been able to score at his near post like that?

Nice to Howson on his debut. Some potential there I think.

[HerefordCanary 0]

Forgot to mention Whitbread who was fairly solid today, probably because we are getting used to it now. I travelled up with my dad (Norwich fan) who went in the home end with his mate (Stoke season ticket holder) and I was in the away end. They had a better view of the goal and as I got in the car for the journey back I was saying Ruddy shouldn''t have been beaten at the near post but they were saying it seemed like he was going to play it across goal and that was what probably caught Ruddy out, it was a good finish to be fair but I was sceptical as to how it got in at the near post.

[Nuff Said 5,131]

HC, when I was walking away from the Siberian Britannia, the phrase that occurred to me was we were both poor, Stoke were just slightly less poor. Personally  I thought Bennett was impotent (in the niceest possible way) and I couldn''t decide which was more annoying, the three officials or the constant massive overreaction from the Stoke fans to the most innocuous of incidents. [:@]

[lake district canary 0]

Last time I went to Stoke  (2003?)  1-1,  all I can remember of that match apart from the score is talking to a Stoke supporter in the car park.  I didn''t meet any Stoke supporters  this time so I think this one will quickly fade into insignificance too..............

 

 

[CantonsHero 0]

To be fair to Elliot, there were a lot of anonymous players on both sides today, but Stoke played very aggressively today and it meant that the slighter, more technical players like Wes and Bennett, Pilks and Jackson were always going to struggle today. Lambert obviously knew this to an extent as Wes was benched.

I won''t be going up there again. Horrible area, matched by a horrible team who literary play at arms length, because, as we saw today, dare to encroach on that area and the ref will blow.

Quite simply, refs need to be taught how to ref against specific teams/play styles. Michael Oliver had no idea how to ref that game today and was all over the place.

[fellowyellow 0]

Couldn''t bear to watch Stoke every week. Truly awful team to watch and unfortunately Norwich got dragged down to their level. And although we sprung into action for the last ten minutes, it just left me wondering what would have happened if we had kept the ball on the floor a bit more.

Thought defence played well against the predictable and very boring aerial onslaught. For me, Zak was Norwich man of the match.

[farley 0]

I asgree totally that we got dragged to Stoke''s level. The defence were superb but a bit of a mistake was always going to be the difference in today''s game. We couldn''t create much as Stoke seem to keep their shape at the back, tempting you to put the ball into the box in the air. Then they just clear it.However, I left the game feeling almost depressed due to Stoke''s Anti-football. It was horrendous. SO much time waiting for throw in''s and corners. No urgency and the predictability of it all. They are an embarassment to the greatest league in the world. The fact that football couldn''t triumph over such negative tactics was sad. Also, they must be the ugliest people i have ever seen. There is a serious obesity problem in the potteries! [;)]

[Shack Attack 0]

[quote user="lake district canary"]

Last time I went to Stoke  (2003?)  1-1,  all I can remember of that match apart from the score is talking to a Stoke supporter in the car park.  I didn''t meet any Stoke supporters  this time so I think this one will quickly fade into insignificance too..............

 

[/quote]I was at that game too. It was a Bank Holiday Monday and Drury scored for us. I wasn''t there today but I doubt very much that I would remember it even one year later if I had have been there.

[Joanna Grey 0]

I have to pity the Stoke fans if that''s the type of thing they pay to watch every week.

[YellowBlood 0]

Spent £50 today to watch that shower of sh!te and I wish i hadn''t bothered. I wouldn''t pay 5p to watch Stoke play again, the most boring and pathetic minded team I''ve ever seen. The sooner they are relegated back to the Championship, the better for the Premier League. At least we tried to play football at times but also found it impossible due to the sheer physical presence Stoke possess. As an earlier poster said, it''s sad that the side who tried to play football succumbed to such mind-numbingly awful play. Definitely not travelling up to that sh!thole to watch that utter sh!t again.

[JF 694]

Yes Stoke''s style of play was awful but we were no better, in fact I would say we played like a worse version of them. That was the worst game I can ever remember watching and BOTH teams contributed to that with the style of play. We could have tried getting the ball down and playing football but we resorted to long hopeless punts up the field from the 1st minute. Clueless hoofball.

[ZLF 274]

Not a good game of football - but they completed more passes than us - how bad is that?? Sums it up really, we were simply poorer than stoke at football yesterday...

[Herman 9,756]

[quote user="YellowBlood"]Spent £50 today to watch that shower of sh!te and I wish i hadn''t bothered. I wouldn''t pay 5p to watch Stoke play again, the most boring and pathetic minded team I''ve ever seen. The sooner they are relegated back to the Championship, the better for the Premier League. At least we tried to play football at times but also found it impossible due to the sheer physical presence Stoke possess. As an earlier poster said, it''s sad that the side who tried to play football succumbed to such mind-numbingly awful play. Definitely not travelling up to that sh!thole to watch that utter sh!t again.[/quote]

I think they are here for a while unfortunately.They have a game plan,stick to it,and it works.At least we don''t have to play them again this season.

[Jacko 0]

I am not actually surprised they completed more passes than us. I think when teams go to Stoke it is a mental challenge as much as a physical one. Stoke will pick you off if you suddenly think you have to change and adapt your game to their style. Of course you have to be strong from the inevitable barrage of set players and throw ins but you also need courage. By that I don''t mean flying into 50/50s, I mean having the courage to get the ball down and to play your own game. Unfortunately we didn''t manage to do that today. It became a war of attrition, which Stoke were always likely to win given that they are at home and it suits them. Lets be honest our success has not been built on attritional 1-0 victories!

[Old Shuck 183]

And you know what, come the first day of next season, it''ll be....

 

Stoke City vs Norwich City

 

It''ll be bloody freezing there even in August-must be the souls of the dead chilling the air, their lamentations for the cold, sterile football they are watching, even in the footballing afterlife, condeming them to an icy eternity at the Britannia...

[Nuff Said 5,131]

The consensus sees to be that we should have played to our strengths more and tried to out-pass Stoke - but isn''t that what Swansea tried, and failed at?

[fellowyellow 0]

[quote user="Nuff Said"]The consensus sees to be that we should have played to our strengths more and tried to out-pass Stoke - but isn''t that what Swansea tried, and failed at?
[/quote]

I think there''s a difference between Swansea''s normal game of passing ad nauseum regardless of whether it''s getting you anywhere and Norwich''s (normally) more incisive game. Stoke are just spoilers with their stop/start pump it up in the air rubbish and fouling/pushing anyone who jumps anywhere near the ball. Michael Oliver must have seen the constant fouling by Crouch and Walters. Unfortunately, we tried similar tactics, but aren''t as good (bad?) at it. It was only when Norwich started playing the ball along the floor in the last ten minutes that we looked anything like our normal selves. I couln''t watch Stoke every week even for free. Even so, a point was there to be had. A pity we couldn''t hold on.

[Aggy 755]

I''m surprised more hasn''t been made of Ruddy''s efforts for the goal. Maybe Etherington did shape to go across the goal, but regardless of that, a keeper shouldn''t be beaten at his front post from that sort of angle. And Ward''s feeble effort to clear the ball was also very poor from a centre half - go with your head, either you win the ball, or you get a freekick when he kicks you in the face - either way it''s better than conceding!

[Jim Smith 2,317]

Agree with the post above. By all accounts Stoke were actually poor against Swansea just as they have been against most teams they have played recently. We all know however that Swansea lack a bit of a cutting edge at times particularly away from home. Normally we don''t.

I genuinely believe had we played our own game on Saturday we could have beaten a very average Stoke team. Once Fox came on we had them pinned back in their own area and looked a genuine threat as we were controlling the possession and able to build some pressure for the first time in the match. Up until then we were not able to build any pressure or create anything of note because we had no meaningful possession. The centre backs, starved of their normal outball to Fox (or indeed Jackson in the first half) were just lumping it up to Holt and the ball was not sticking. Instead it jusyt kept coming back at us which enabled them to build pressure through a succession of throw ins in our half.

I have seen several people say that playing Fox and/or Hoolahan would have been risky as they would have been out muscled but i don''t agree. Stoke don''t overrun you in the midfield and I think its an area where you can starve them of the ball and put them on the back foot. Fox when he came on had plenty of space to operate in. he is also good at finding that space unlike Johnson who gave the centra backs no options and who actuially makes less tackles in most games he plays than Fox, Hoolahan or Surman.

Anyway best to draw a line under it and move on. Lambert will get the team right next week i''m sure. I would rather just put Saturday''s "match" out of my mind as it was one of the worst games of football i have ever seen. I am sure Stoke fans will say they don''t care as it works but their style of football is appalling to watch and I don''t think i could watch it every week even if they have been moderately successful. Just a shame that Lambo allowed us to be dragged down to playing the same way!

 

 

[nutty nigel 7,531]

This is one of the imponderables of football Jim. Back in the late 80s we played the best football in the country. Yet games against Wimbledon were usually dire wars of attrition in which we rarely played any of the football we were famous for. Now I''m not saying that Stoke play the same way as Wimbledon did. Just pointing out that we could never stamp our authority on the game by playing the football we played so successfully against other teams.

 

 

[Bill 1,788]

"Now I''m not saying that Stoke play the same way as Wimbledon did."Agree, Stoke seem to have little of the refinement Wimbledon did I remember watching us at the old Plough Lane v Wimbledon, first year back in the top flight mid 80''s, beaten 2-0 and I stood behind the goal on some gawd awful open terrace watching Wimbledon continously pass the ball back to Beasant so he could launch it to land just outside the City box - thank god the back pass rule was brought in, so that sh!te had to stopHopefully Stoke will go belly upas well at some point

[BlyBlyBabes 0]

[quote user="Jim Smith"]

Agree with the post above. By all accounts Stoke were actually poor against Swansea just as they have been against most teams they have played recently. We all know however that Swansea lack a bit of a cutting edge at times particularly away from home. Normally we don''t.

I genuinely believe had we played our own game on Saturday we could have beaten a very average Stoke team. Once Fox came on we had them pinned back in their own area and looked a genuine threat as we were controlling the possession and able to build some pressure for the first time in the match. Up until then we were not able to build any pressure or create anything of note because we had no meaningful possession. The centre backs, starved of their normal outball to Fox (or indeed Jackson in the first half) were just lumping it up to Holt and the ball was not sticking. Instead it jusyt kept coming back at us which enabled them to build pressure through a succession of throw ins in our half.

I have seen several people say that playing Fox and/or Hoolahan would have been risky as they would have been out muscled but i don''t agree. Stoke don''t overrun you in the midfield and I think its an area where you can starve them of the ball and put them on the back foot. Fox when he came on had plenty of space to operate in. he is also good at finding that space unlike Johnson who gave the centra backs no options and who actuially makes less tackles in most games he plays than Fox, Hoolahan or Surman.

Anyway best to draw a line under it and move on. Lambert will get the team right next week i''m sure. I would rather just put Saturday''s "match" out of my mind as it was one of the worst games of football i have ever seen. I am sure Stoke fans will say they don''t care as it works but their style of football is appalling to watch and I don''t think i could watch it every week even if they have been moderately successful. Just a shame that Lambo allowed us to be dragged down to playing the same way!

 

[/quote]

 

Agreed Jim.

 

Horrible place, horrible match, horrible performance, horrible result.

 

I think I would have switched off the TV after 30 minutes if City weren''t playing, Although I do find it interesting on occasion from a tactical point of view watching Stoke discombobulate a big team, but even then it''s grim fare.

 

OTBC

[nutty nigel 7,531]

[quote user="City1st"]"Now I''m not saying that Stoke play the same way as Wimbledon did."

Agree, Stoke seem to have little of the refinement Wimbledon did

I remember watching us at the old Plough Lane v Wimbledon, first year back in the top flight mid 80''s, beaten 2-0 and I stood behind the goal on some gawd awful open terrace watching Wimbledon continously pass the ball back to Beasant so he could launch it to land just outside the City box - thank god the back pass rule was brought in, so that sh!te had to stop

Hopefully Stoke will go belly upas well at some point
[/quote]

They do both play to the same end but with different means. The end is to get big players in the box and hope something drops. Hope may be a dis-service because I''m sure they have a plan. Where as Wimbledon used to rely on the good old fashioned "launch it" hoof style Stoke play more for throw ins and other set pieces. But it''s percentage football relying on getting the ball in the box asap. I remember Bobby Gould talking about some university study which vindicated his Wimbledons tactics.

 

The biggest surprise for me is Peter Crouch being happy to be part of this. In the past Crouch has always played for proper football teams where his skills on the ground were important. I doubt playing for Stoke will improve his England chances.