***Official Stoke v City Match Thread***

[Original Dub]

i feel i'm one of the more quick to jump on mancini's back, but second half today we played well we had them pinned back for the whole game, deserved our goal (very clever by micah). what i don't like about city is we have a tendancy to try and score perfect goals, which means we don't create many chances even if the ones we do are gilt edged. this is fine if you take them but it's obviously also a big gamble because it means that teams like stoke can get a result with one chance. we need someone who can strike from distance, balotelli has a good shot on him but he looked clueless today. i know it's early days but he didn't seem too keen. not pissed off with this result it's very hard to win down there and we're still fourth :)

Excellent post my friend.

Last week was a clear sign we are/can be a top team. Today showed me little to disagree with that fact on a poxy pitch against a very in form rugged side.

I just hope people realise that when the likes of your good self has a go at mancini its not because we lose or draw, its because we didn't ry to do things the right way and I'll fight anyone who says that about the manager on this occasion.

[aaron bond]

Strange set of stats to sum up the season so far. Ultimately we are no better than last season; just lucky that the rest of the title challengers have all got less points than they had this time last season.

• 26 points this season
• 26 points against the same teams last season
• And also 26 points collected last season from the first 15 games.

More interesting is that last season the manager was sacked when he reached 29 points.
Mancini has 2 games to get 4 points otherwise he could be axed (trajectory and all that) ;-p

that is so crazy! good work keeping all this up-to-date. I wonder just out of interest how pearce's wonder half-season compares to this too?

Why is it that when we drop points against teams people generally say it's because Mancini fucked up or a certain player cost us the game? But if it's one of our rivals it's just down to luck on our part.

You can't really compare this season to last season. At this moment we are doing well and holding a top 4 position, and within touching distance of the top of the league. This time last season we were not at all. If you have to compare the seasons, that's what you look at, not the points tally.

The league in general is closer this season, and has been going that way over the last couple of seasons. Teams at the bottom can win/draw with the top teams and it's not a major surprise anymore. Yet many people still say Utd, Chelsea or Arsenal just had an off day if they lose points. We're not lucky if they drop points, it's just that the gap between the best and worst in the Prem isn't as big as it was a couple of years back.

[zuricity]

It stinks to be honest.

If Stoke players can spend on average 23 seconds wiping a football to take a throw in. It stinks. Yes it Stinks......


If a goalkeeper only 'legally' is allowed six seconds to distribute the ball, once it is in his hands.

All that complete and utter time wasting, mardarsing and wiping a football to get better grip is a load of bollocks.
It has absolutely nothing to do with football and is pure gamesmanship. So the sooner Stoke f*ck off back to the nether lands
the better. Has absolutely nothing to do with football.


By the way . The Referee was biased and a C*nt today . How the foul on Milner is not a penalty, is unfathomable and is beyond belief.

I can only conlude that the PL is corrupt.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

The Milner one did look a good shout but how Huth got away totally with that nasty one from behind is beyond me. A booking at least I thought.

When their keeper was set to lauch that last drop kick why were we as deep as the edge of our box? Absolutely ludicrous to be that deep when the one thing you don't want is for them to get in shooting range. And when they only have 3 decent players how come we let one of them a free run to score. Nigel was the man to cover him but he switched off for just that second because he didn't think Tuncay was thinking of the pass he made.

Bigger errors by a mile for me than Kolo lumping the ball like he did.

[Ted Hughes]

The Milner one did look a good shout but how Huth got away totally with that nasty one from behind is beyond me. A booking at least I thought.

When their keeper was set to lauch that last drop kick why were we as deep as the edge of our box? Absolutely ludicrous to be that deep when the one thing you don't want is for them to get in shooting range. And when they only have 3 decent players how come we let one of them a free run to score. Nigel was the man to cover him but he switched off for just that second because he didn't think Tuncay was thinking of the pass he made.

Bigger errors by a mile for me than Kolo lumping the ball like he did.

These are the kind of things that happen in the last minute of games when some knobhead gives the ball straight to the opposition. It happens in the Prem almost every week & has happened before at Stoke. Everone knows that, so why give it back to them when we've just had a 40 pass move a minute or so earlier? Why not justpass it again? Was it not Kolo that missed the header when the ball came back too? For what it's worth I actually think it was a pretty well worked goal once the ball landed; a clever touch from Tuncay. They should never have had it in the 1st place though.

[saulman]

Strange set of stats to sum up the season so far. Ultimately we are no better than last season; just lucky that the rest of the title challengers have all got less points than they had this time last season.

• 26 points this season
• 26 points against the same teams last season
• And also 26 points collected last season from the first 15 games.

More interesting is that last season the manager was sacked when he reached 29 points.
Mancini has 2 games to get 4 points otherwise he could be axed (trajectory and all that) ;-p

that is so crazy! good work keeping all this up-to-date. I wonder just out of interest how pearce's wonder half-season compares to this too?

Why is it that when we drop points against teams people generally say it's because Mancini fucked up or a certain player cost us the game? But if it's one of our rivals it's just down to luck on our part.

You can't really compare this season to last season. At this moment we are doing well and holding a top 4 position, and within touching distance of the top of the league. This time last season we were not at all. If you have to compare the seasons, that's what you look at, not the points tally.

The league in general is closer this season, and has been going that way over the last couple of seasons. Teams at the bottom can win/draw with the top teams and it's not a major surprise anymore. Yet many people still say Utd, Chelsea or Arsenal just had an off day if they lose points. We're not lucky if they drop points, it's just that the gap between the best and worst in the Prem isn't as big as it was a couple of years back.

Amen. Hallelujah praise the lord.

Well said geezer.




Work-in-progress + Patience = :)

[Swales4ever]

wrongly posted on Mancini thread. Still sleeping. Pls mods delete as appropriate.

He made too many changes to start with & it cocked up the rhthm of the team but he changed it to the Fulham formation for a while & it settled us down. Definitely came out better after his team talk & baring in mind the rugby team & the slippery pitch, it was a great 2nd half til the end. By the end we could have done almost anything & it was all clicking nicely as far as passing goes. Until someone kicked it to Stoke for no reason.

The main thing was, we were positive, getting players forward all the time & playing to win throughout. That's all I ask for.

You did anticipated my very minded assessment of yesterday... :-), so hat off as usual, Master.
Would also merge an important point rised from Erik: i.e. the last pitch where to be short of the YAYA's big presence and footy brains is the frozen Britannia.
All in all a good step further to the Team seniority, a nice and composed handling of their staminal aggressivity on the first half, keeping shape composedly before turning more aggressive when the opponents naturally are going to fade: a very nice blend of italian cynicism and British braveness.

As, per Erik again, very unlucky bitter end, though the equalizer was a decent piece of skill.

[brite blu sky]

wrongly posted on Mancini thread. Still sleeping. Pls mods delete as appropriate.

He made too many changes to start with & it cocked up the rhthm of the team but he changed it to the Fulham formation for a while & it settled us down. Definitely came out better after his team talk & baring in mind the rugby team & the slippery pitch, it was a great 2nd half til the end. By the end we could have done almost anything & it was all clicking nicely as far as passing goes. Until someone kicked it to Stoke for no reason.

The main thing was, we were positive, getting players forward all the time & playing to win throughout. That's all I ask for.

You did anticipated my very minded assessment of yesterday... :-), so hat off as usual, Master.
Would also merge an important point rised from Erik: i.e. the last pitch where to be short of the YAYA's big presence and footy brains is the frozen Britannia.
All in all a good step further to the Team seniority, a nice and composed handling of their staminal aggressivity on the first half, keeping shape composedly before turning more aggressive when the opponents naturally are going to fade: a very nice blend of italian cynicism and British braveness.

As, per Erik again, very unlucky bitter end, though the equalizer was a decent piece of skill.

Having never heard of this condition, thought a quick googly thing might shed some light.. look what came out top o' list.

the female structures are mostly hidden inside the staminal column.

Whatever way or language you look at it, i think that makes the point quite well.

well done mancio4

[Swales4ever]

wrongly posted on Mancini thread. Still sleeping. Pls mods delete as appropriate.

He made too many changes to start with & it cocked up the rhthm of the team but he changed it to the Fulham formation for a while & it settled us down. Definitely came out better after his team talk & baring in mind the rugby team & the slippery pitch, it was a great 2nd half til the end. By the end we could have done almost anything & it was all clicking nicely as far as passing goes. Until someone kicked it to Stoke for no reason.

The main thing was, we were positive, getting players forward all the time & playing to win throughout. That's all I ask for.

You did anticipated my very minded assessment of yesterday... :-), so hat off as usual, Master.
Would also merge an important point rised from Erik: i.e. the last pitch where to be short of the YAYA's big presence and footy brains is the frozen Britannia.
All in all a good step further to the Team seniority, a nice and composed handling of their staminal aggressivity on the first half, keeping shape composedly before turning more aggressive when the opponents naturally are going to fade: a very nice blend of italian cynicism and British braveness.

As, per Erik again, very unlucky bitter end, though the equalizer was a decent piece of skill.

Having never heard of this condition, thought a quick googly thing might shed some light.. look what came out top o' list.

the female structures are mostly hidden inside the staminal column.

Whatever way or language you look at it, i think that makes the point quite well.

well done mancio4

Prrrrr........ :-)

You fucking know how to bite my arse!

[Nick]

Not gonna lie, three minutes left in work i was shitting it and i keep refreshing on here and some of you lot think we've won! You bastards cursed it!