Martyn Cooke: Which Stoke Forward Can Solve Our Striking Issues?

Peter Crouch’s midweek hat-trick in the comfortable victory over League Two side Stevenage Borough in the EFL Cup has once more brought the topic of strikers to the forefront of Stoke City supporters minds over the last couple of days.

It seems that the only thing more divisive than a good old-fashioned discussion regarding Tony Pulis’ dress sense is the on-going debate regarding who should be leading our forward line. Crouch’s hat-trick, presumably, will put him in pole position to start against Everton on Saturday yet there are many supporters who feel that his inclusion would be a step backwards in terms of our footballing evolution.

Diouf has started the two opening Premier League fixtures and has had the same amount of success as you would expect a stonemason to have using a plastic knife. What about Bojan in the false-nine role? Maybe we should look to Walters? Has anyone even seen Joselu alive since last year?

The views and opinions of Stoke City supporters regarding our current crop of strikers vary completely. It seems that the only thing that we can agree on is that The Potters are not offering enough of a goal threat in the Premier League.

The solution for many is to purchase a new striker. Mark Hughes has very publically been chasing Berahino around for the majority of the summer but, very much like a dog chasing its own tale, we appear no closer to actually closing the deal. Are there any other players in the pipeline? With Benteke and Remy both seemingly bound for Palace and West Ham in talks with Bony you sense that the pool of obvious options is starting to get smaller.

So let me propose a scenario: Stoke fail to bring in a new striker before the transfer window closes at the end of the month – who then, do we place our faith in to fire us into Europe?

Mame Diouf

The Senegalese forward really does seem to be splitting opinions between supporters more than most at the moment. He has pace, power and athleticism whilst you cannot deny that he has a fantastic work ethic. The problem, however, is that technically he is not wonderful and his involvement in our build up play, especially in terms of holding the ball up, is almost none-existent. Watching Diouf receive a pass to his feet is a little like watching a bouncy-ball rebound off a brick wall at times.

What about his goal scoring record then? Well if you look at his first season at the club, where Hughes actually deployed him regularly in his favoured position as a striker, Diouf found the net roughly once every three games, which is not bad. However, he is far from clinical and you sense that Mame will need to have three good chances before he converts one. 

Peter Crouch

The ex-England international offers obvious advantages and detriments to the team when he plays due his height and build. Unsurprisingly, at 6 foot 7 inches the big man is good in the air and, more surprisingly, he is pretty nifty with his feet (and I do not include robot dance moves in that category). The problem with Crouch is that he has the same mobility as a brick house. Watching him chase after a ball is a little like watching someone wade through knee-deep mud in slow motion.

He has been very much on the periphery of the team over the last eighteen months, yet Hughes has been unwilling to allow him to leave. If Crouch is to flourish as a striker then he needs quality balls into the box – the question is would we provide him with that?

Joselu

Missing in action!

Joselu comes across as a good, all-round forward player. He has work ethic and technical ability, he is good in the air and can finish. However, he has consistently failed to make the most of the playing time that has been afforded to him. Yes, he has come off the bench a number of occasions and looked dangerous, but whenever the Spaniard has started a fixture he has been completely ineffective.

Considering the price tag, it is disappointing that Joselu has now dropped so low in the pecking order and quite where he figures in Hughes’ plans is anybody’s guess. A move to Deportivo has been touted before the deadline, and it may be best for both parties if a move were to materialise.

Bojan

For a brief period during last season we employed the ‘false-nine’ formation, utilising Bojan as the more central figure. In terms of technical ability and movement off the ball the little Spanish wizard is lightyears ahead of the vast majority of our squad, and when he linked up superbly with Arnoutovic and Shaqiri during the Manchester City game before Christmas it looked as if Hughes had stumbled upon a masterplan.

However, the problems began to arise when Stoke were required to go more direct or clear the ball long in later games. Due to his diminutive stature, Bojan needs the ball into feet or not at all and he certainly is not going to be capable of competing aerially or physically against most Premier League central defenders.

Jonathan Walters

You have to love Super Jon. Not only because of his work rate but because he is an expert in the dark arts of winding up opposition defenders. He is just an annoying, physical pain in the backside. But is he centre forward material? Probably not on a permanent basis. You see, Walters may well be a suitable stopgap, but he does not possess the technical ability, movement or clinical finishing to warrant a weekly starting position as Stoke’s main striker.

He looks far more effective playing from wider areas and he has one hell of a job to force himself past Arnoutovic, Shaqiri and Sohbi in the pecking order in the coming months.

…So there we have it. We are stuffed!

In truth, we have plenty of attacking options and each player has the potential to offer something different when utilised as a striker. There are players with pace (Diouf), aerial ability (Crouch), movement and technique (Bojan), physicality (Walters), and Houdini impersonations (Joselu). We have personnel that can be applied to any different situation or context and yet we still seem unable to find a solution to our goal scoring issues.

Which leads me nicely to my conclusion. Maybe the issue is not the lack of a Premier League striker. Maybe the issue lies elsewhere.

I think that we have more than enough quality and goals in the strikers that are already at the club. However, in my opinion, we simply do not provide the selected personnel with the right kind of service on which they will flourish. For example, to maximise the attributes of Diouf we need to utilised quick, forward passed to exploit the space behind opposition defences and get the ball into the box where he can sniff out chances from short range.

  Instead, we play slow, predictable build-up play that allows opposition defences to minimise space in-behind whilst we show a complete reluctance to put the ball into the box with any quality. Our current playing style limits how effective Diouf can be on the pitch because we do not play to his strengths.

Strikers need service. It does not matter how much we try and spend on a new centre forward, if we are not able, or prepared, to provide forward players with the correct sort of service then their price tag be irrelevant. Our lack of goal threat will not necessarily be solved by splashing the cash, it may be on the training ground that more attention needs to be paid.

My Pick – Mame Diouf

He may be frustrating to watch from a technical perspective but, if provided with the right kind of service and a decent run of consecutive starts, the Senegalese striker has proven that he can hit double-figures in terms of goals scored.

 

Martyn Cooke is a Research Associate and a Postgraduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at the Manchester Metropolitan University where he is a specialist in Sport & Leisure History. His current research focuses on the development and growth of football in the Potteries and the history of clubs around the region. Martyn also writes extensively on local football stories across Staffordshire.

@cooke_martyn                              martyn.cooke@mmu.ac.uk

Middlesbrough vs Stoke Guest Preview: OneBoro

With the season opener just days away, OneBoro talk us through the Middlesbrough team ahead of the 2016/2017 campaign kick-off…

Boro make their long awaited return to the Premier League this weekend, having been away since the 2008/09 season. There is sure to be a great atmosphere inside the Riverside Stadium, as the anticipation of Premier League football reaches fever pitch. 

However, the time for celebrating is over and the serious business of performing well and getting three points on the board is the order of the day.

Preseason has seen some good results and we’ve been very active in the transfer market, some of which offer great experience at the top level of the game. Middlesbrough FC fans are eyeing the first four fixtures (Stoke, Sunderland, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace) as an opportunity to get some points on the board early.  However, as we know, Stoke are not a team to be taken lightly.

Boro boss, Aitor Karanka, has a number of selection issues ahead of the game and with Bernard Espinosa and Daniel Ayala both out, it looks as though Ben Gibson and Antonio Barragan will be playing in the centre of defence. The latest Boro news circulating today is that Fábio da Silva is set to join from Cardiff and could head straight into the squad. Victor Valdes has started in the most recent friendly fixtures and could continue, although if fitness is a problem, Brad Guzan could step in. 

The central midfield area looks more certain, with new signing Marten De Roon and Adam Clayton continuing their partnership as the holding midfielders.  Moving to the attacking midfield and Karanka has a number options, including Cristian Stuani, Albert Adomah, Stuart Downing, Gaston Ramirez and Viktor Fischer, all battling for three spots in the team.  With one striking position available, it will be a choice between Jordan Rhodes or Alvaro Negredo, with whoever misses out, likely to feature from the bench.

 

Although we know this is a step up in class, Boro were tight at home last season and Stoke were not very prolific on the road. In addition, towards the end of last season, Stoke struggled to keep teams out on their travels and there is every possibility we can take advantage of this and make a great start to the Premier League season. 

Predicted XI

Guest preview written by oneBoro.co.uk – you can also find them on Twitter

Sliding Into Stoke City’s DMs

With the summer transfer window open and the remnants of last season’s performances fresh in the memory, Jase has opted to delve into the defensive midfield role at Stoke. To get a greater understanding of its importance in the team, key players surrounding the role and where improvements could be made.

What Is A Defensive Midfielder?

“As a defensive midfielder you must be tactically aware. You’re at the heart of the team so you have to hold everything together and allow other players to express themselves. To do this you need to talk a lot and use your brain, because quite often you have to be in the right place at the right time. You have to cover the gap between the midfield and the back four, cover the left and right full-backs when they go forward and the central defenders when they push further up the pitch.” – Patrick Vieira

I was going to go for a long winded explanation as to what a defensive midfielder is, but thankfully a former elite did it for me.

The Resurgence Of The Defensive Midfielder

The rise of interest on the defensive midfield role has come in alongside a gradual shift in tactics across the top leagues over the past decade or so. Traditionally the Premier League saw a 442 style approach to matches, with the odd 433 or 451 for good measure. But they were very much solid units, two up top with wide midfielders very much going wide and crossing for the forwards. Central midfield shared responsibility for possession, chance creation and the general marshaling of the centre of the pitch.

Now, we are seeing 4231 formation as a more common approach in key leagues. One central forward expected to lead the line, with an attacking midfielder to buzz around and provide the spark in the final third. Wingers can either be “chalk on the boots” style wide players, but it’s more likely to see them cut inside and offer support to the forward in attacking instances.

With wingers moving inside, this allows for full backs to become wing backs and overlap to reinforce the attack to devastating effort. This is where we begin to paint a picture of the renewed importance of the defensive midfielder, as alluded to by Mr Vieira earlier in the piece.

The Implications For Stoke City

Sound familiar? It should! We’ve just described the set up that Stoke City have deployed over the past 2-3 years, as Mark Hughes shifted the style of football at the club. Where some of Europe’s best sides succeeded with two defensive midfielders as such, or at least two with defensive acumen, Stoke currently only have one within their ranks at present – Glenn Whelan. Often paired alongside January recruit Giannelli Imbula, Whelan has become a fans favourite since his arrival almost a decade ago for his grit and battle on the pitch. One of the few remaining survivors from the original promotion squad, Whelan still holds his place as the defensive midfielder.

Who Isn’t A Defensive Midfielder At Stoke?

There is a long-standing quote that Glenn Whelan has fought off every competitor to remain as the number one defensive midfielder at the club – I would contest that, as have a few others on social media. There hasn’t been, Palacios aside, a genuine defensive midfielder for Whelan to fight off thus far – certainly not in the Mark Hughes era.

Giannelli Imbula – despite some confusion prior to his arrival, Imbula certainly isn’t a defensive midfielder. His entire style is to pick up the ball and run with it, taking on anyone in his path as he runs towards goal. Imbula is a Box to Box midfielder by name and nature. He couldn’t be a defensive midfielder as, frankly, his defensive game is underdeveloped.

Geoff Cameron – Geoff was an interesting choice – his athleticism makes him a prime contender for the role and he indeed formed a key back five which helped Butland towards numerous clean sheets before Christmas. However Cameron often bombs forward in a similar ilk to Imbula, therefore he would be more of a Box to Box midfielder as well. If he were a midfielder…truth be told Geoff’s position is an enigma to me.

Charlie Adam – Adam made his name at Stoke as more of an advanced midfielder, a #10 as such, playing behind the forward and chipping in with a handful of key goals over the years. The Scotsman has a terrific array of passing that allows him to operate deep with great effect, and his range of through balls have helped to create many opportunities when counter-attacking. But you just try attacking without him – he will always be there to offer a helping hand towards goal, whether it be from ten yards or thirty. Adam won’t sit back in the holding role throughout the game, and his tackling is less than impressive at times. For those reasons he wouldn’t be a defensive midfielder – although he’s quite close to fitting the bill.

Glenn Whelan In The Hughes Era

Glenn Whelan’s Strengths In Defensive Midfield

Role Discipline – A defensive midfield destroyer, which Whelan is, must have discipline to the role. This isn’t the position for heroic box to box runs all game. Some of the best and rising stars across the continent – Busquets, Casemiro, Dier to name a few – realise the importance of sitting deep and allowing the creative outlets in the side to do their bit in the attacking third. Whelan does it very well, moving in between the split centre halves when the push a higher line and providing cover. This is especially important when Stoke are on the receiving end of a counter attack, which has become more prominent since Hughes shifted Stoke towards a possession-based style.

Tidy Passer – the numbers speak for themselves. There is very little in the way of defence splitting passes from Whelan, but that isn’t his role. The passing requirements of a defensive midfield “destroyer” are twofold. Whelan will come short to provide a passing outlet for Stoke’s centre halves when building from the back, which is commonplace in Stoke City’s style nowadays. Whelan will then move the ball around to others and generally manage possession and maintain a tempo to the game. When Stoke are needing to defend, Whelan’s role is a simple break up of play, and smart pass to the box to box midfielder (Imbula) or the winger to break forward and create goalscoring opportunities.

Work Ethic – Whelan combines role discipline with a real drive to own “his” area on the pitch. Hassling and harrying the opposition, Glenn does attempt to press hard on attackers in order to force errors. His communication amongst players and efforts on the pitch also endear him to the Stoke City support, providing a lift when needed.

Glenn Whelan’s Weaknesses In Defensive Midfield

Mobility – Glenn was never the quickest player on the pitch, and his ability to break up play and influence games from the DM role is testament to his positional play. However as time goes on, it is becoming more and more of an issue during the game. Whelan is the only DM at Stoke, meaning he plays every game and thus it leaves him “leggy” at times. His inability to keep up with play on occasion leads to an all-or-nothing charge towards the man on the ball on order. Should the play bypass him, this can leave a gap in midfield for the opposition to capitalise on when moving forward on the break.

Physicality – Standing at just under 6ft tall, Whelan isn’t the most physically imposing player on the pitch – despite his tackles trying to convince you otherwise! With footballers evolving more and more into athletes with each growing season, the physical battles are becoming far more intense on the field of play. This is highlighted by Bojan, Muniesa and Shaqiri’s training regimes to bulk up in order to transition to the Premier League.

The rise of larger defensive midfielders such as Eric Dier and Jan Kirchoff, alongside existing DM’s such as Mile Jedinak, highlight Whelan’s disadvantage to compete aerially and meaning that he often won’t compete –  leading to dangerous flick ons. It may not be the most pressing issue in the role, but it’s certainly advantageous to those players mentioned.

Age – As alluded to, Glenn isn’t getting any younger. At 32, he looked dead on his feet towards the end of the season and the fatigue even began to creep in again at EURO 2016. If an upgrade isn’t a priority in the summer, then competition and rotation potential for the role most certainly is. Whelan can definitely offer something for Stoke in the coming season but he is at his absolute best and most imperious when he is fully fit and well rested, which he hasn’t been for the last 12 months.

Imbula – This is a tad unfair as it isn’t Whelan’s fault, but he is doing the defensive work of two players for large majorities of the match in midfield, particularly from January onwards following Giannelli Imbula’s arrival. Gifted on the ball, tricky and strong, Imbula could be Stoke City’s most talented midfielder for decades. However his defensive side of the game is lacking, and his discipline for the role is nowhere near where it should be. The biggest impact to our midfield can be done by teaching Imbula the defensive side of the game, which will help to alleviate the stress on the DM and settle central midfield on and off the ball.

Potential To Change The Role

Mark Hughes seemed to be leaning towards a flatter central midfield towards the end of the season, operating a 433 with Whelan Imbula and Afellay all featuring in the middle – each of which provided their own traits to the position.

“If you’re playing the holding role in a central three in midfield, you’re screening the two centre-halves and stopping the service getting to the opposition’s forwards. If the game is being played at 100mph, don’t get carried away with what’s happening – positioning is the key. If you can get on the ball and support the attack then go for it, but be aware of where the danger is if the move breaks down. If they counter-attack you’ve got to be able to get in a position to help the defence.” – Michael Carrick

As Carrick explains, there isn’t too much of a difference with regards to the role of a holding midfielder in such a formation. With the right players in front of them, the defensive midfielder could have more support defensively when the opposition move forward – for example having Cameron and Imbula tracking back to help Whelan would suffocate the attack outside Stoke’s area, and this may cause opposition attacks to break down.

There is also the opportunity to use a “Regista” in the defensive midfield position, as opposed to a midfield Destroyer. The best example of this role would be Andrea Pirlo. Godlike on the ball, with the ability to sweep passes in all directions to cause havoc in attacks; however you wouldn’t see him chase a man 40 yards to go up for many aerial headers! I feel this role wouldn’t work in a two man midfield at Stoke, mainly due to Imbula’s defensive deficiencies. Unless of course you operated in a three man midfield, as just explained, and offered two players to do the dirty work for such a player. However this has a knock on effect to the #10 position, meaning no Bojan.

The various permutations of changing the role are quite interesting – it does emphasise how key the position is to the team.

What I Want From A Defensive Midfielder

I like the two man midfield approach with a defensive destroyer to break up play and a box to box midfielder to carry the ball in the immediate aftermath. I would like us to maintain this midfield pairing in terms of roles, and look for a similar player to Glenn Whelan for the upcoming season. The new defensive midfielder would offer more mobility and athleticism to cover ground and reach the danger quicker than Whelan currently does. He would be able to offer suitable competition for the opposition aerially and provide physical battles for players of all sizes on the ground too. Whelan has offered the blueprint for the defensive midfield role at Stoke – there is no reason to change it, merely to add new players to the role.

Are There Any Academy Players Likely To Break Through?

I wouldn’t expect anyone to break through into the first team to challenge Whelan this coming season, although here are the closest contenders:

Sergi Molina – The Real Madrid U19’s captain joined Stoke City’s U21 team last summer and has settled into the heart of its midfield. Molina is billed as a tidy passer of the ball who does the simple bits well – possession play in particular. However onlookers suggest he doesn’t excel in tough-tackling, which may be an issue in the role – without it he sounds like more of an upgrade to Ibrahim Afellay in the long term.

Eddy Lecygne – The most experienced man in the academy system, the Frenchmen is quite the opposite of Molina – known for his fierce tackling and breaking up of play. Moz here at Wizards loves Eddy and feels he could make the step up to Stoke’s first team squad; however it would be now or never. He remains an outside possibility for the role but if an opportunity arose for him to move to a Football League club in order to establish himself in a first team, you certainly couldn’t discourage him from moving on.

Full Time

So there you have it. We have discussed the role of the defensive midfielder at Stoke City, offered insight into Glenn Whelan’s performances in the role and provided potential ideas for who or what could fill the position in future.

Feature: The Great European Relegation Transfer Spree

As it is summer, we wanted to dig ourselves deep into transfer pieces. Who would join, who would leave and so on and so forth. But it’s being done to death everywhere, so how could we make our next feature a little different? So Sam came up with a fun twist on the regular “who should we sign?” articles. We were each assigned a league:

• Premier League – Moz
• Serie A – Sam
• Bundesliga – Chris
• Ligue 1 – David
• La Liga – Jase

The task was simple – pick two players from each relegated side, and make a case for them to be (semi) viable targets for Stoke in the upcoming summer transfer window. So without further ado, let’s delve into the Premier League…

Premier League – MOZ

NEWCASTLE UNITED

andros townsend

Age: 24

Position: RW, LW

A player I have personally liked for a long-time is the former Spurs man. He has been one of the few shining lights of their season and his form was so good he has come back into the England fold.

He became a regular at Newcastle with 13 appearances, scoring 4 goals and had 2 assists which is a really good return in such a small amount of time.

With a rumoured £8m release clause, I think we should be all over that as we could be possibly in dire need for two wingers.

JAMAAL LASCELLES

Age: 22

Position: CB

A player highly regarded during his time at Nottingham Forest had found his chances at Newcastle very slim, until injuries to a couple of centre halves he was given his chance under Rafa Benitez and had several good performances.

Not one to slide in, but more of a game reader which Hughes’ has been signing since he arrived; however he does have the build and strength like Ryan.

A big centre back, a future captain and still really young, could be a well worthy long-term scoop.

norwich city

nathan redmond

Age: 22

Position: RW, LW, AM

A player we have been strongly linked with us already this Summer. A quick, a winger who likes to cut in, very much like Arnautovic; so you can see why Hughes has kept a close eye on the ex-Birmingham City player.

Last season he scored 6 goals and assisting 2, which for a low scoring team is a decent effort.

Best mates with Jack Butland and a player Stoke have tried to sign before, being from Birmingham also. You do feel as long as Norwich and Stoke can agree to a deal, it will happen.

TIMM KLOSE

Age: 28

Position: CB

A January signing and one who had impressed for the Canaries before an injury.

A big, no-nonsense CB is what many Stoke fans are crying out for. With rumours of the Wollscheid possibly returning to Germany, and with the injury concerns our defence has had all season, a new CB is a very high possibility and there is a very decent one in the Swiss International.

aston villa

jordan ayew

Age: 24

Position: CF, RW, LW

The only player who proved himself to have any form of talent. Quick, pacy, tricky and an eye for goal with 7 goals in 28 games for such a pathetic side is some real effort.

He is still only 24 and plenty of years left in him, there is no doubt he will be moving on from Villa Park, and one I believe Hughes should be looking at, will certainly be a lot cheaper than brother Andre.

JORDAN AMAVI

Age: 22

Position: LB

He only played 10 games before getting a season ending injury, but he showed himself to be capable, speedy, likes to get forward and more importantly Pieters needs competition at LB.

Amavi was highly rated in is his native France, but his injury is going to take a long time to get over fully and at the age of 22 he has plenty of time to improve; could be a shrewd move albeit a hefty gamble.

 

Serie A – SAM

“Pickings are slim in Italy. All three relegated teams were pretty poor, especially going forward. However here are six of the not worst.”

Verona

Matteo Bianchetti

Position: CB

Age: 23

Bianchetti is a CB for Hellas Verona, he’s a no-nonsense defender who loves a good tackle. While not a cultured defender in the mould that Mark Hughes has looked for at Stoke there is certainly a need for a back up option for Ryan Shawcross.

Last season was Bianchetti’s first as a regular in the first team, starting 19 games and coming on as a sub in a further 6. There’s a lot of room for this young defender to grow and he could be a fairly cost effect option for Stoke.

Federico Viviani

Position: DM

Age: 24

An all-round midfielder, Federico Viviani is probably the pick of the bunch from Serie. In 20 games last season for Verona he contributed 3 goals and 6 assists in a poor campaign for the Gialloblu.

Viviani comes in the same mould as Italy most successful midfielders. While he’s no Pirlo or Verratti he offers a similar style of the play to the two. A great passer of the ball Viviani is decisive in key situations, is a hell of a threat from set pieces – that’s right, this guy can actually get a corner past the first man – and more than willing to put a challenge in. Viviani would be the perfect solution to Stoke’s porous midfield.

Frosinone

Nicola Leali

Position: GK

Age: 23

Cheating a bit here, as Leali is on loan from Juventus but with Shay Given’s injury problems this season and Jakob Haugaard struggling after being thrown to the wolves it’s not inconceivable that Stoke could look for goalkeeping help in the summer.

Leali is young enough to improve and despite some lapses in concentration he has a number of appealing traits. The Italian is athletic and has shown the ability to command his box, he’s also impressively accurate with his goal kicks.

Luca Paganini

Position: RW, CF

Age: 22

Paganini, best described as a right sided forward, is a product of Frosinone’s youth academy and has an impressive 82 games under his belt at the age of 22. Certainly not prolific by any means with just 2 goals and 2 assists in 27 games this season he does however show a number of desirable attributes.

He’s an impressive player in terms of work rate, something that Jon Walters currently offers Stoke and something that they’ve tried to bring into the team with a number of players. Not least Jonathan Calleri last summer. His position in the Stoke squad would be as an understudy on the right wing, but there’s room for him to grow.

Carpi

Simone Romagnoli

Position: CB

Age: 26

In a similar manner to Bianchetti, Romagnoli would be an interesting option for Stoke to pick up as a potential squad player covering for Ryan Shawcross. He’s older and so offers less room for improvement but is more of the finished product anyway.

Playing in 33 games last season for Carpi Romagnoli displayed great aerial ability as well as the athleticism and instincts to make multiple crucial blocks on shots.

Kevin Lasagna

Position: CF

Age: 23

Let’s face it. He was the top scorer for Carpi but he’s only in here because his name is Lasagna. WhoScored, whose metrics I’m using because I can’t remember seeing him play, state his weaknesses as finishing, offside awareness and passing. Pretty much perfect for a Stoke forward.

Despite this he managed to score 5 goals in just 8 starts (and 28 appearances from the bench) for Carpi so there must be something there.

Bundesliga – CHRIS

Some say his real name is Chris Bratwurst. His interest and love of the Bundesliga knows no bounds, and he relished the chance to dive into his favourite league for this feature.

It’s worth noting before we go any further, that (as I’m sure a lot of you know), the Bundesliga operates a “relegation play off” system, where the 3rd from bottom team in the Bundesliga, and the 3rd highest team in the 2.Bundesliga play a two legged match. If the 2.Bundesliga team wins, they swap places with their opposition for the next season. This season, Eintracht Frankfurt survived the test of FC Nuremburg, so only 2 teams were relegated, Hannover 96, and VfB Stuttgart.

VfB STUTTGART

TIMO WERNER

Age: 20
Position: Forward

A very talented youth, now Stuttgart have been relegated, Timo Werner is just as likely to get game time in the 2.Bundesliga as he is to move on. The potential is there, and Werner, given the right environment will become one of the best German players of his generation.

He’s very raw at the moment, and is in need of a nurturing environment, but under the guidance and tutoring of a former Striker like Mark Hughes, alongside the Barca graduates could be just what he needs. Again, it’s unlikely, but if there is one player we could pick from the disaster of Stuttgart (sorry Sam), then it is Timo Werner.

TIMO BAUMGARTL

Age: 20
Position: CB

Like Werner, Baumgartl is another talented German youngster who should make the breakthrough in a few years. It’s difficult to see him leaving Stuttgart, let alone Germany, but if he was to make the trip across to the Premier League, we would find a player who is still developing, but has match experience, with great defensive abilities.

Him signing for Stoke would be definitely be one to file under “one for the future”, rather than an instant impact, but under the right guidance, and in the right environment, he would no doubt grow into a very good central defender.

HANNOVER 96

SALIF SANE

Age: 25
Position: DM/CB/RB

It’s been a poor season for Hannover, and picking players from their team is difficult, as there are little positives to talk about after they came bottom of the Bundesliga. Salif Sane, the Senegal international, however is one player who could potentially leave the wreckage that is Hannover, and do a decent job for Stoke.

It’s no secret that we will need a defensive midfielder soon to replace the aging Glenn Whelan, and at 25, Sane is a decent option. A strong option in the middle of the park, Sane would offer a decent option in that holding, defending the back 4 position.

A bid for him would probably cost only cost a couple of million, but with him still being relatively young, there is potential for growth.

RON-ROBERT ZIELER

Age: 27
Position: GK

Obviously, Jack Butland is our No1, and will be until the day he retires or the inevitable day one of the big 4 comes and steals him away. But questions have been raised over our backups. Ron-Robert Zieler would be a brilliant fit, even if it is a little bit unrealistic (he is more likely to be picked up by another Bundesliga team if any).

A commanding figure, he has had a rough season this year, but his quality has been proven in the past. Good reflexes, positioning and handling, he would be a good keeper for mid table premier league team.

Ligue 1 – David

“Signing a single player from this mob would be absolutely insane”

TROYES

JOHAN MARTIAL

Age: 25

Position: CB

Well, relegated French sides don’t seem like a natural hunting ground for Stoke City’s scouts. But didn’t Leicester sign N’Golo Kante from a French second division side? No, Caen finished 13^th the season before he went to the King Power. Ah.

Okay, let’s look at who we’re dealing with here. At the bottom of the pack are Troyes, who finished the season on 18 points, winning 3 games all season and conceding 83 goals. Sorry, they may have a fantastic prospect or two in their youth academy but signing a single player from this mob would be absolutely insane.

The only Troyes we should be even considering are Deeney and Archibald-Henville. They do have Johan Martial, brother of the Man United striker Anthony, a centre-back who probably has PTSD from the rings his little bro used to run around him in the garden. So best to avoid him.

GAZALEC AJACCIO

ANDREY PANYUKOV

Age: 21

Position: CF, RW, LW

In 19^th place are Gazelec Ajaccio, the Corsican side. I know Stoke-on-Trent doesn’t have the weather, but every player here should be jumping at the chance to join us. Ajaccio were quickly sent back to Ligue 2 after finishing winning promotion in 2014-15. Is there anybody that may be of interest to us though? Their top scorer in all competitions can’t really hold down a place in the Morocco side so once again this looks unlikely.

Perhaps though, there’s potential in the form of Russian forward Andrey Panyukov. The Moscow-born 21-year-old can play all across the front three positions and has a n impressive 8 goals in 17 games for his country at U-21 level. He could be another Pavlyuchencko, but he’d cost absolute peanuts. He was on loan at Ajaccio from Atlantas (Lithuanian side, in case you were wondering).

HUGO VIDÉMONT

Age: 23

Position: LW, RW, #10

Also, there’s Marseille-born left-winger Hugo Vidémont, Ajaccio’s most valuable player according to transfermarkt.co.uk. He’s only 23 years old and could be a cut-price replacement for Arnie. Not a natural goalscorer with only 2 goals last season, he is however quite a handsome chap who suits red and white stripes.

REIMS

AISSA MANDI

Age: 24

Position: CB, RB, LB

Reims suffered a heart-breaking relegation on the final day of the season, so the standard of players should be better than that of Ajaccio and Troyes. However, how good can a squad with David N’Gog in it actually be?

Their best player is France-born Algerian right-back/centre-half Aissa Mandi. Having represented his country 23 times, the 24-year-old clearly has talent in abundance. Given our problems at the back last term, this guy could actually be a decent acquisition. However, we’ve got to act fast as Middlesbrough are leading the chase for Mandi, who was linked with Arsenal during the January transfer window.

PRINCE ONIANGUÉ

Age: 27

Position: CM, DM, AM

Reims’ next-best player is Prince Oniangué, an all-action midfielder and Congo international, with 7 goals in 32 games for his country. With us having spent millions on Imbula, signing a 27-year-old from a relegated French side to play in his position seems rather unlikely. However, if you lovesexy football, Prince is the way to go.

 

La Liga – Jase

“For reference I know nothing about La Liga beyond Steven N’Zonzi. So this will probably be terrible…”

Rayo Vallecano

Diego Llorente

Age: 22

Position: CB/DM

Now, I’m sort of cheating here. Llorente has played 33 league games and 2 Copa Del Rey games for Rayo this season, but technically he’s a Real Madrid B (or Castilla) loanee.

The young Spaniard has made 35 appearances this season, and whilst the club have fallen into the second tier it’s not all bad news for the defender.

A strong reader of the game, Llorente has more interceptions this season (104) than Shawcross and Cameron combined this season (96), and more than Wollscheid (75).124 clearances surpasses all but the German’s 175 for the season. A steady 79% pass completion also helps. He even knows where the net is, having bagged 2 goals and 1 own goal this season.

The problem here is that there’s an indication that Llorente’s move to Rayo may be made permanent, so it’s likely a long shot this summer. Come January however, we could look into this one…

JozabEd Sanchez

Age: 25

Position: #10, LW/RW

Nearly hitting double figures in a season of doom is rather impressive. Even more so from midfield! Jozabed managed to fire in 9 goals and 3 assists in 27 league games this season, a significant improvement from 2 goals and 1 assist in the 27 games prior for Rayo. Purple patch? Or player development? Let’s go with the latter, for my sake.

A 1 in 3 strike rate from attacking midfield this season is very impressive, especially in a side languishing at the bottom of the table. We need someone to rival Bojan in the #10 role without disrupting a more creative style evolution, and we could probably do worse than Jozabed Sanchez. Probably.

Getafe

Pablo Sarabia

Age: 24

Position: #10, LW, RW, CM

A fairly young and exciting prospect, yet to reach his prime. Exactly the kind of player we need to be targeting to make an impact and still develop in the side!

Sarabia is incredibly versatile across midfield and attack, but seems to shine in the right wing role more than anything. 7 goals and 6 assists in 31 games this season with goals and assists coming from both wings and the #10 role.

WhoScored’s descriptions seem to bill him a set piece specialist too, which would be nice given our awful attempts this season.

Sarabia could be good utility man in midfield to rotate, cover and challenge when the inevitable injuries and dips in form strike.

Emiliano Velazquez

Age: 22

Position: CB

Another cheating loanee, this time from Atletico Madrid, Velazquez is a young centre half with a mixed season at Getafe.

12 appearances is limited game time compared to the others in this piece, but Emiliano is still young and has plenty of years ahead of him for regular games and development.

3 goals in 12 games is strikers form, let alone that of a defender, and the 1 assist is a bonus.

Labelled a no nonsense defender, excelling in tackling and ball interception according to WhoScored. That will please the fans who loathe playing it out from the back at least!

Injuries limited his season, but overall he still did well. Could be one for development in the future.

Levante

Guiseppe Rossi

Age: 29

Position: CF

The man, the legend…the fallen?

Rossi is an incredible talent with no luck whatsoever. Prone to long term injuries that have shattered his career for long stages, it has ruined one of the great scorers of my generation. Despite this, there’s life in the old dog yet.

8 goals and 4 assists this season sounds alright, but it’s more impressive when you break it down it looks a lot more impressive. 2 goals in 4 games in the Europa League. 6 goals in 15 starts (and 2 sub appearances) in La Liga. 2 Assists in Serie A prior to his Fiorentina exit.

Rossi is injury prone, but ruthless. Which is one better than our current squad. Go get him, Hughes.

Jefferson Lerma

Age: 21

Position: CM, DM, RB

On loan from Atletico Huila, Lerma is a young prospect with significant game time this season, playing 33 games over the course of the La Liga campaign.

Depiste his age and with 4 fewer games than Whelan, Lerma stacks up fairly well. With only 5 fewer tackles (46 to 51), 10 fewer interceptions (63 to 27) and slightly better chance creation (27 to 25). Lerma even managed 1 goal and 2 assists in the side.

A tough tackling central midfield who has shined when dropping into a deeper DM role, he provides the more solid side to Imbula’s roaming and box to box running. Available fairly cheap (£1m-£2m?) and only 21, he could be a long term project to work on.

So there you have it, a complete selection of players from the Top 5 leagues’ relegated sides. Let us know who you’d pick over at 4231 Stoke Twitter.

Best Of British: Stoke City’s Summer Transfer Targets

There’s much clamour for the homegrown lads this summer. The British born and bred, those with graft and all the other myths that are associated with a passport. So here you go, let’s see what we can do. I’m Jase and I’ll take you through a squad of British players that Mark Hughes may seek to delve into this summer…

Starting XI

John Ruddy – Norwich City

Jack Butland’s injury and Jakob Haugaard’s baptism of fire have opened up a fresh debate regarding the #2 role, and naturally we look to those who have fallen through the Premier League’s trap door for inspiration. Vastly experienced keeper John Ruddy would be a great addition for cover and to push Jack Butland, as well as potentially resurrecting his own England chances for one final hurrah in 2018.

With Declan Rudd favoured over him for spells last season, it may be that Norwich are beginning to plan for the future. Surely it’d be better to be a Premier League #2 than a Championship #2, eh John?

Kieran Trippier – Spurs

The assist king of Burnley hasn’t quite made the impact he’d have hoped at title challengers Tottenham, with a somewhat incredible resurgence in Kyle Walker being the reason for his limited game time.

Glen Johnson is a terrific option for Stoke as a first choice, with Bardsley a solid back up, but neither are getting any younger. Trippier would offer a longer term solution to the role, and could battle it out with Johnson at full back across the season. Our new style of play relies heavily on full backs creating chances and therefore Trippier, who bagged 18 assists in the two seasons prior to his Spurs move, would be a perfect signing.

Michael Keane – Burnley

The links with Keane, stretching back as far as January are common knowledge by now. Rumours that a £7m bid for the Burnley centre half was rejected and that it may need £10m to prize him from the Clarets.

Their convincing title win and subsequent promotion will only make it harder to get Keane, but what a terrific signing he’d be at centre half.

Over 90 mins Keane averages more blocks than Wollscheid and Cameron, as well as nearly toppling both Stoke defenders for interceptions and clearances. 5 goals is a solid haul for a defender too – more than some of our forwards!

Jamaal LascElles – Newcastle United

In a season of despair on Tyneside, Lascelles’ late season breakthrough was a shining light. Rafa seems to rate the youngster a hell of a lot more than Steve McClaren, with the majority of his appearances coming in the second half of the season.

He’s a young English centre half with Premier League experience, a huge future ahead of him and time on his side – he’s still only 22. WhoScored has him down as excelling in aerial duels, blocks and above all concentration – something our defenders have lacked at times this season!

Lacelles was rated highly at Nottingham Forest, and the league is slowly understanding why. Jamaal could be a excellent long term option to take over from Ryan Shawcross. Certainly worth a bid this summer.

Andrew Robertson – Hull City

A young full back with a bright future, and one that Sam at 4231 has championed for a few years. Robertson is a marauding left wing back with pace and attacking intent, and (as with Trippier) this would fit Stoke’s style terrifically well. He could be the perfect competition for Erik Pieters, who looks in need of a rest at times.

The flying Scotsman has 33 tackles, 61 interceptions and 99 clearances for a rampant Hull City this season. Where Robertson flourishes however is in attack. With 3 goals to his name, Andy also has 4 assists amongst 56 chances created this season.

A lot hinges on the play off final outcome, but Robertson is one that Stoke should be monitoring very closely this summer.

Phil Jones – Manchester United

Make no mistake, this would be a terrific move. And a serious coup.

A torrid season at Man United, in which he’d only played 7 games due to injury and being frozen out, finally came to an end last week. One of England’s regulars has been reduced to a forgotten memory, and it’s time for Stoke to rebuild him.

Here’s my angle. We look at bringing him in as a defensive midfielder, competing an/or displacing Whelan. He can provide the energy, physicality and ability to let Imbula run the box to box tackles. Smart on the ball and quite a unit in stature, Jones would be a welcome addition to the midfield – and still only age 24. That’s long term planning, friends.

Versatility means he could fill in capably at centre half and even at full back in emergencies. It’s one of the smartest pieces of business that Stoke could do this summer, in my view.

Jack Colback – Newcastle United

Don’t let his below-par season at Newcastle fool you – there’s a real player in here.

As with Jones, Colback is a younger defensive midfielder than Glenn Whelan and can offer fresh legs in a position that’s unfortunately stagnated in our side.

Younger DM, loves a tackle, had a terrific season at Sunderland prior to his move to Tyneside, completed more tackles than Whelan last season despite 8 fewer games. Needs to be careful (gets a lot of yellows) but Colback should definitely be a consideration for Hughes this summer as we aim to add depth to the defensive midfield role.

Nathan Redmond – Norwich City

Rumoured for a long time, and it looks like it could finally happen.

Still only 22, despite being around for an eternity, Redmond is a dynamic winger who can operate on both flanks to great effect. 6 goals and 2 assists in a poor Norwich side, in which he wasn’t a starter for every game, is a steady amount for a wide player.

Young, bags of pace and creativity, can play either side and scores goals. Basically the perfect wing option. Recent strong displays for Norwich at the end of the season, and a classy showing for England U21’s to well to underline that. With £7m-£8m rumoured, Redmond should be the first deal of the summer for Stoke City.

Will Hughes – Derby County

Back from a long term injury, still highly rated. Will Hughes will be a terrific signing for someone this summer, and with some luck it could be Stoke.

Still only 21, Hughes is remarkably smart on the ball. Sharp passing, movement and an eye for creating chances and goals. The only question mark is where he’d fit in to the Stoke side. Will he feature alongside Whelan and Imbula in a flatter 433 role, or will he rotate and rival Bojan for the #10 position?

It would seem the former may be the preferred approach, using him as a long term option to Ibrahim Afellay. If Hughes continues to mould the side into a 433, Will Hughes may become a serious target.

andros Townsend – Newcastle United

The name on everyone’s lips, it seems. A strong end to the season with Newcastle, following a January move from Tottenham, has Andros Townsend very much in demand from all corners. From Stoke to Sporting Lisbon!

A strongly rumoured £8m release clause, in line with Newcastle’s relegation, is probably the reason. It’d be hard to argue against value on the face of it, too.

Townsend’s whole spiel is to maraud down the wing, cut inside onto his left and destroy anything in his wake. Which works terrifically well for the Inside Forward style approach that Mark Hughes is coaxing out of wide players.

For competition out wide and a player with the ability to win games, Stoke could do a lot worse than Andros Townsend.

Saido Berahino – West Brom

We love a transfer saga don’t we? But few snuck up on us so abruptly than the Berahino bid rejection in January 2016. And boy it was weird.

Anyway, rumour has it we’re set to bid again, but lord knows what the price will be – anywhere between £10m-£22.5m as it stands.

His attitude (obviously) comes into question, but it can be argued he’s been mistreated and would flourish in a caring environment. Stoke have done incredibly well to hone the likes of Arnautovic, who suffered similar, and turn them into devastating players. Berahino had already exploded onto the season in terrific fashion, sinking Manchester United amongst others in his breakthrough season. If Sparky coaxes the full potential out of Saido, we could finally have our 20 goal a season man.

Subs

David Marshall – Cardiff City

Highly lauded in his Premier League stint with Cardiff, all has gone quiet on the Marshall front. That being said, he’s still a solid keeper and would offer quality to many squads.

Unlike John Ruddy though, the chances of Marshall sacrificing the chance of being #1 to come and challenge as a #2 are slim, but Cardiff aren’t exactly tearing up trees in the Championship. Perhaps a European push may persuade him?

Cameron Borthwick-Jackson – Manchester United

Injuries ruined Manchester United more than us this season, and yet youth graduates kept coming through for the Red Devils. One of the most exciting prospects was Borthwick-Jackson, a young left wing back with great pace and a solid delivery from out wide.

Aged 19, he’s young full back who’s at the perfect age for Stoke. Enough experience to stand in for games and learn from Erik without the expectation to want to play every Premier League game yet. He’s a free agent as it stands this summer – with Jose coming in I can’t imagine that will change. Get get him, Sparky.

Michael Carrick – Manchester United

A cultured professional and a classy footballer, few sides in the league wouldn’t benefit from Michael Carrick in their squad. Age 34, you’d imagine the only one he’d be competing with in terms of a position is Age 32 Glenn Whelan. It’s a potential move that doesn’t particularly scream “long-term planning” but Hughes often likes a proven veteran on a free transfer.

Jesse Lingard – Manchester United

I’ll rob United of all their players, I swear. A sublime reflex finish to seal the FA Cup Final underlines the quality Lingard has, and his versatility across the front four positions is a terrific asset. His youth probably won’t hold him in high regard under Jose, and he’s more than welcome to come and fire in Stoke City’s FA Cup Final winner next season.

Jordan Ibe – Liverpool

An unlikely target, but it’d be worth a shot at the very least. Ibe seems to only be on the fringes at Liverpool, and with a summer for Klopp to rebuild his own side it could spell the end for Ibe amongst others. He’s more than good enough to get regular football here, with serious pace and strength to match it. He’s also known to score a handful, particularly from distance. Like a homegrown Shaqiri. Everyone will be happy.

Matt Phillips – QPR

Probably three years too late to be considered a brilliant transfer, but there’s an opportunity here nonetheless.  A strong stint in the Premier league with QPR (including a Goal of the Season contender) only strengthened his case, yet no one seems to have come in for him.

There are question marks over attitude but his ability is unquestionable. 8 goals and 5 assists this season, deemed unspectacular, is still a decent haul. At the age of 25, Phillips could be a solid buy for depth out wide.

Danny Ings – Liverpool

Following a long spell out injured, Klopp has begun to build his Liverpool revolution without Danny Ings. Will there be room for him? A rich vein of form in his initial Premier League season with Burnley seemed to show signs of continuing at Liverpool, before an ACL stopped him in his tracks. Admittedly he’s likely to suit Klopp’s style more than Christian Benteke, but Danny Ings is certainly worth an enquiry this summer.

 

Around the world: From Russia with Love

The Premier League is watched by millions around the world. We all know it’s popularity. From Beijing to Baltimore, English teams are now picking up followings from all corners of the globe, and Stoke are no different. Our time in the Premier League has placed us on the global stage, with the Stoke community now boasting supporters clubs in Germany, Belgium, China, Denmark, Hong Kong to name but a few. FourTwoThreeOneStoke has always been about bringing the Stoke community closer and getting to know our fellow supporter. Today it is the turn of the Russian Federation supporters club’s own, Ivan Korzh. 

Hey Ivan, tell us who you are, and where you are from?

Ay up Stokies, my name is Ivan Korzh, I am 17. I was born in Anapa, Russia. It is one of the warmest towns in my country, but now I live in frosty (brr) Moscow. There are many reasons why my family decided to move to Moscow, the obvious one is that there are more opportunities than in town on the Black Sea Coast. Not the weather though. Anyway, I am happy where I am right now.

How did you come to support Stoke City?

I love this question. Season 09/10. Jeez, it is 6 years from the last week. Liverpool in the city. Liverpool with Reina, Kuyt, and, erm, Jamie Carragher against (what I thought was) an average English team with red & white stripes. Of course, I did not know any Stoke players (sorry Salif Diao!)

Ivan’s first recollection of Stoke was a 1-1 draw vs Liverpool in 2010

I was watching this game and I was shocked with the Brit’s noise. Pleasantly shocked. You know, we do not have proper football stadiums in Russia and, as a result, we do not have a real football atmosphere before, during the game and afterwards. I have never heard such loud fans before, well maybe bar from the Russia-England game in 2007 (remember?) and Moscow’s CL final. I was hooked. So, who do I blame for becoming crazy about Stoke? The Season Ticket holders who made that noise! Hopefully some now read this interview. If so, thank you!

How much of a following does Stoke have in Russia? There can’t be much!

You’re right. Stoke is not popular in Russia. Until Mr. Frolov’s call to Sir Peter I suppose?

Listen, if you’re Russian, there’s only a 1% chance that your favorite foreigner football team will be a Stoke, Norwich or even Walsall Wood. Most people here support Russian clubs, but if you’re interested in English football, your team might be the usual… Arsenal, Chelsea (thank to Roman), Manchester United or Liverpool. Saying that, Stoke’s fan base in Russia has increased since our fan club was established 3 years ago. We have a rather big community in VK (the Russian speaking social network, similar to Facebook) with 1,5k members. Of course, the number of real Stoke fans is less. Let’s say, at least 20 people in Russia and a couple from Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan who are passionate followers, watching every match.

You’re part of the official Russian fan club, how did that get set up?

One of us was surfing the net and found the ‘fans’ page on the Club’s website. He found out that Stoke have an official fan club in Sierra Leone and in China, so why wouldn’t we become an established supporters branch? Our VK community exists since 2008, so we were resolute. We sent an e-mail to the Club, we confirmed we’re real people and after 2 or 3 weeks we received an official certificate that all went okay.

So, how does match day work for you? How do you watch the games?

I watch the games via my computer or laptop. EPL is shown in Russia, but Stoke’s game on TV it’s like a gift. (Editor note: We know the feeling Ivan!)

My typical match day? On Saturdays my alarm clock is usually set for 8 am and its tune is “We’ll Be With You”. When the teams are announced (5pm in Moscow) I’m starting my build up to the game. I wear my Stoke scarf and have a glass of Pepsi or something else. I don’t drink alcohol – It doesn’t suit my style of life. After the game (it’s obviously depends on the result) I go to local Pizzeria. My Saturdays are ace with Stoke!

What has been your stand out memory since supporting Stoke?

Bolton. Says it all. No, obviously, I had (and I will have, that’s for sure) other great memories with Stoke. Beating Arsenal 3-1 In May 2011 was one of my favorites. I was over the moon when we qualified for Europe with Dynamo Kiev – it’s still one of the most respectful and popular clubs in the post-Soviet states. The lowest point was the 12/13 season, especially its second half of the season. Home games vs West Ham and West Brom – goodness me how I delighted when it was finally over.

There have been many matches in Hughes Era which stand out. Beating Chelsea, the victories over Arsenal and Tottenham (the double over Spurs last year!), the famous ‘6-1’, and of course Man City and Man United this season.

What about your favourite Stoke player?

Ryan Shawcross. The captain, the leader, the man. If he stays at Stoke for the rest of his career, he’ll be a living legend comparable with the likes of Dennis Smith, no doubt about it. Also a fan of Peter Odemwingie, because he has a Russian citizenship. We’re very proud that there’s a man who can speak Russian and play football in the world’s most competitive league. Of the new crop, I am a fan of Philipp Wollscheid.

Odemwingie during his time at Lokomotiv Moscow. Despite being a Nigerian international, Peter Odemwingie was actually born in the former Soviet Union, and is a fluent Russian speaker.

 

Have you been to the Britannia yet? If not, any plans to do so?

No, unfortunately I haven’t been to Stoke or the UK yet. But I definitely will be there, watch this space! I love your country, your traditions, the English language and of course Mighty Stoke.

Russian Stokies in Kiev with Staffordshire Police escorts during our Europa run.

Finally, how can people get in touch with the Russian fan club?

You can follow us on Twitter – @russianstokies, join us in our VK community (vk.com/stoke_city). Alternatively, if you have questions, write us scfcrussia@gmail.com.

Come On Stoke!

Вперёд, Стоук!

Liam Buckley: Managing and maintaining expectations // Guest Blog

With Mark Bowen asking “Why can’t we do something special?”, Guest Blogger Liam Buckley argues why it’s important for Stoke fans to keep realistic in their expectations…

We’re now in our 8^th season of the Premier League and have very much established ourselves as a mid-table side, improving year on year. With last year’s second consecutive 9^th place finished, and the talented squad we have acquired, some fans are wondering, including me, what’s next?

I think it’s very easy to forget where we came from, and I find it’s always the new breed of supporters who perhaps have only joined us since our premier league time, are expecting us to be challenging amongst the European places, I also find these are the ones who will criticize players such as Jon Walters and Glenn Whelan, the players who have managed to help us sustain the privileged position we are in. Whilst we are arguably more than capable of putting up a strong challenge for a Europa league spot, and that signing players such as Shaqiri’s calibre will be what we need to take us to that next level, whatever that may be, the question still beckons – how far can we actually go?

Are we forgetting the crucial role players like Walters and Whelan have had on the team?

For arguments sake, say that we reach Europe through finishing 5^th in the league this season. What would your aim be for next season? Winning the Europa league? Champions league places? By that logic, in three years’ time, we’ll be the premier league champions, which obviously, is unrealistic. So what should our ‘realistic’ expectations be for the next few seasons? In my rather humble opinion, I’d like us to completely get rid of the ‘long ball’ tag, continue finishing in the top half of the table, and continue signing a higher calibre of players and maybe another trip to Wembley… I am ambitious, and I’d love to see us win everything we can as much as the next guy and I’m not saying we as fans should ever settle for anything, as we should always be looking to improve, but we shouldn’t be ‘expecting’ things like automatic Europe qualification, not yet.

I think we, as stoke fans, have become slightly too expectant when turning up at the Britannia stadium on a match day, and expect our team to roll over any team that come in our path, whether this be a team from the bottom, middle or top of the table. With this I have found that the noise levels and the proper Britannia stadium atmosphere has really gone missing as maybe we feel like our team is good enough without needing to cheer on the team like old times. We decide to be loudest when mocking an opposition player, whilst this is admittedly enjoyable, to some degree. I think if we got the atmosphere back to its old ways, we would see us picking up a lot more points. As we have learnt with teams such as Arsenal over the years, when the Stoke fans are up for it, the opposition hate playing here and because of this, usually, there’s only one winner.

“Where’s your famous atmosphere?”- Have we lost our Britannia spark?

As I previously mentioned, we shouldn’t ever settle, but we do need to learn to be patient. As we know, we’re always going to do a very well-known thing, commonly known as a ‘Stoke’ and beat Man United one week, and lose at home to Norwich the next. We need to accept that even though we do have money at our disposal, and of next season we will have a lot more money with the new television deals, some players, at this point in time, will see Stoke as a backward, rather than a forward step in their career. But again, showing patience with Hughes and his excellent scouting team, he will no doubt pull out another Arnautovic from somewhere, enabling us to keep progressing. The one thing we can’t do is become too expectant of our team and start getting on their backs if they aren’t winning, we have seen this season a prime example of a team that has fallen from grace in Aston Villa, I know a few Villa fans who expected them to finish in the top 8 this season, and well, you know the rest.

Who knows, this time next season we could be sitting 1^st and I will be made to eat my words, I hope that’s true, but for now let’s stay grounded and remain level headed and take every game as it comes and remain thankful that we get to watch stars from the best league in the world, week in, week out.

Interested in writing a guest blog for us? Send us an email at fourtwothreeonestoke@gmail.com

 

Behind Enemy Lines: Crystal Palace FC

Ahead of the Top 10 targeted showdown, 4231 caught up with last season’s friends The Eagles Beak to get up to speed with Crystal Palace and their season so far.

4231: Who are you? What do you do?

Jay: I am Jay, founder and editor of TEB and a football expert on the Back Of The Net Football Show on local community radio. Write a regular column for the Croydon Advertiser and also appear regularly on PalaceFanTV and the EPL Roundtable podcast.

4231: Crystal Palace are having quite a strong season under Pardew this time around aren’t they? How do you feel the opening months have gone from a fan perspective?

Jay: It has been an excellent showing from the club, our best start to a Premier League season which is very exciting considering how we have finished in the past two seasons. It gives us a real chance of improving on 10th place from last season and with the way that the season is panning out as a whole, who could bet against us from doing so?

The real key has been the marquee signing of Yohan Cabaye, a real sign of intent by the manager and the owners in terms of what they wanted for the club. Consolidate in mid-table or push for more. Thankfully they opted for the latter and so far it is working out well for us.

4231: Much like we signed Shaqiri, you also got your marquee man in the summer – Yohan Cabaye. How’s he doing so for you so far? *Glances at fantasy football stats in delight*

Jay: I eluded to the signing above but he has been much more than we expected. Few would have believed his hard work ethic when watching him play for Newcastle and PSG but his performances for us have been immense and no offense to Mile Jedinak who has done well for us the last few seasons, Cabaye has been a significant improvement.

He has fast become a fan favourite and I would say he makes the team tick but that would be harsh on our other players who have played so well also.

4231: Injury issues at the start of the season saw Palace with little/no centre forward options. Is this an area that lacks depth for the Eagles? Or just unfortunate timing?

Jay: We have been lucky with injuries this past couple of season but boy have we paid for them early on this season. I am not blaming them for our bad run of games as you have a whole squad of players but at one point we did not have a recognised striker or either of our first choice full backs.  But, we got on with it but in truth, Connor Wickham is the perfect fit for us.

The lone striker role in our side was made for him and he has really put in a shift in the games he has played. He has yet to score, and I am not sure how he has not done so when you look at the two chances he had saved by the keeper against Southampton. We also have Marouane Chamakh back from injury too so with the options at the moment of Campbell and Gayle as well, it is quite a change from having none to choose from!

4231: Stoke fans often rage at England squad announcements due to a lack of Ryan Shawcross. Do Palace fans feel the same when Scott Dann is overlooked?

Jay: YES! I have been championing the cause for Scott Dann’s inclusion for a while now. His impact on the back line since his arrival from Blackburn has been terrific.

How some defenders get in the England side ahead of him is a real mystery as our ‘Zi’Dann is as solid as they come. His part in the mix up that led to the goal at Sunderland suggests that he will have to wait longer for his chance which I find absurd.

4231: With January coming up, where do Pardew’s priorities lie? Any incomings? Any outgoings?

Jay: Most are pretty content with the squad at the moment but if we want to evolve then we have to continue to make some signings as we go along. January has often been a successful time for us to recruit and I hope we continue in a similar manner. The striker position still poses questions and I expect the likes of Frazier Campbell to leave and Patrick Bamford to return to Chelsea leaving a gap to fill.

Elsewhere, I would like to see us get another centre back in, not as an immediate need but more with a view to next season when I do not expect Hangeland to be at the club.

4231: Do you have any young academy prospects breaking through at all?

Jay: It is a tough one as not many sides give youth a chance in the top division unless stricken with injuries. In saying that, if players are good enough then they should be able to break through. We are still waiting for Johnny Williams to threaten the first eleven but he so injury prone he has not had the opportunity.

Other than him we have promising players in Sullay KaiKai, Hiram Boateng, Ryan Innis and Jerome Binnom-Williams all having good loan spells to gain valuable experience. Had we not signed Sako in the summer, I expected KaiKai to have been on the fringes but that may be on hold until next season now.

4231: Finally what are your score predictions for the game?

Jay: We rarely do draws but I fancy one between to closely matched sides I
suspect so 1-1.

 

Check out The Eagles Beak for more Palace related news ahead of the weekend’s game, or follow them on Twitter.

Behind Enemy Lines: Sheffield Wednesday FC

Ahead of our League Cup Quarter Final fixture against Sheffield Wednesday, FourTwoThreeOneStoke speaks to Danny from Wednesday blog “Owls Alive”, and Hillsborough season ticket holder Dan Moxon to get the view from the other side…

WHO ARE YOU, AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU SUPPORTED SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY?

Danny: “I’m Danny, and I’m a seasoned veteran of Wednesday now. I’ve seen a few highs and plenty of lows in the years I’ve followed the Owls and the Wednesday have taken up plenty of my free time and disposable income. From 5-1 tankings on a Tuesday night in Stevenage to playoff finals in Cardiff, it’s never been boring!

I’m a Wednesdayite from afar nowadays due to work and living in Birmingham but the club has been a massive part of my life and I intend to try and keep it that way.”

DM: “My names Dan Moxon, I’m involved with low budget film production, and I’m a long time Sheffield Wednesday fan, my earliest memory is watch the 91 League cup final at my Nans house, watching Wednesday win that day stuck with me for the rest of my life, even if we haven’t matched those heights since.”

 

WEDNESDAY ARE A FAMILIAR CLUB TO ALL ENGLISH FOOTBALL FANS, BUT PERHAPS WHAT IS NOT KNOWN TO ALL IS THE TURMOIL, THE HIGHS, AND THE LOWS THAT HAVE ENGULFED THE CLUB OVER THE LAST DECADE OR SO. COULD YOU JUST EXPLAIN ABOUT MILAN MANDARIĆ BUYING THE CLUB FOR £1, AND NOW YOUR NEW OWNERS?

Danny: “In 2010 when Milan Mandaric acquired us, the club was on its knees. We’d been relegated on the final day of the 2009/10 season in what was pretty much a winner-takes-all clash against Crystal Palace who were also in a bad financial place back then [they were deducted 10 points for going into administration]. Maybe that 2-2 draw saved their club and possibly, in hindsight, it may have saved us despite the tears and low feeling at the time.

Milan Mandaric’s “UK Football Investments” bought into SWFC for £1 in 2010.

We had to sell our number one goalkeeper Lee Grant to temporarily stave off the taxman and I don’t think we told Mandaric the full story of how much of a mess our finances were when he agreed to acquire the club. I guess you could sell us as a nice fixer-upper. Big stadium, good fanbase and if someone comes in and gets it right here maybe the good old days of the early 90s could come back.

There was a false dawn in August 2014 when Milan reached an agreement with Hafiz Mammadov, an Azerbaijani tycoon, but there was some funny business at his end and it fell through even though we had to endure the embarrassment of being sponsored by ‘Azerbaijan – Land of Fire’ for the entirety of last season as part of the deal-that-wasn’t.

I think we dodged a bullet though as his French club RC Lens were forcibly relegated.

Our new owner is Dejphon Chansiri, he’s a Thai national whose family owns a company that is the world’s largest producer of tinned tuna.

There’s been change, although not all of it has been welcomed. I’m not a huge fan of the widely publicised ticket prices but maybe that’s more of an English football problem than one specific to SWFC. However, the flipside is we’ve spent money on players who in the last couple of seasons we could only dream about seeing at S6 – Fernando Forestieri for example.”

Thai businessman Dejphon Chansiri, the new Chairman of SWFC

 

FROM AFAR, IT CAN BE SAID THAT YOU’RE HAVING A GOOD SEASON THIS YEAR, WITH YOUR IMPRESSIVE WINS AGAINST NEWCASTLE AND (OUR BELOVED) ARSENAL IN THE LEAGUE CUP. WHAT HAVE YOU MADE OF THE SEASON SO FAR?

Danny: “We started fairly slowly but the acquisition of Fernando Forestieri has been key to our fortunes.

To me, all I ever want as a Wednesdayite is progress on the previous season and we’re better off at the moment than we were at this stage last season. We’ve already won more games at Hillsborough than we did last term and this is the farthest we’ve got in the League Cup since the 2001/02 season.

We’ve got a tough December coming up with games against teams who have playoff aspirations. If we’re still knocking around the top six come New Year’s Day, this could well be a very special season for us.

With no disrespect intended towards Stoke, this game to me is the least important in December because as good as a cup run is, I want Wednesday to be playing Stoke in the league next season.”

Fernando Forestieri is proving to be a key player

DM: “It took a little while to bed in with the amount of new players, some with no English football experience, however from the start we had signs of the type of team that quite frankly we haven’t seen at Hillsborough in many years.

There is a definite buzz around Hillsborough at the moment thanks to the way Wednesday are playing at the moment, its not only the ability to win big matches like the ones you mentioned above, its that we are now finding a way to break through in the tough games in the championship, where last season we would have had a 0-0 or 1-1 result, we are able to fight through and get a positive result.”

 

YOU’VE GOT A NEW MANAGER/HEAD COACH AS WELL THIS SEASON, CARLOS CARVALHAL. WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF HIM? HOW HAS HE GOT YOU PLAYING?

Danny: “Stuart Gray was relieved of his duties in the summer, harshly in my opinion as his only failure seemed to be having a cheaply-assembled, average Championship squad that exceeded expectations. The players seemed to be fans but it was pretty dull fare under SG.

When Carlos Carvalhal arrived, I knew very little about him. I knew he had a history of cup runs in Portugal and a very lengthy CV but after a slow start, I’ve warmed to him.

If the team plays badly, he’ll say we’ve played badly. If the referee makes an error, he’ll mention it but he won’t blame the outcome of the game on it.

It’s perhaps a bit early to judge but I’ve been really impressed with his tactics. Our victory over Arsenal (that still sounds good) came about because he and the team found a way to exploit their weaknesses and did we ever do that.

I’d say the style he tries to implement is high intensity, quick passing, using all the midfield and full backs with Atdhe Nuhiu (the Wednesday Marmite, you either love him or hate him) holding up the play with Forestieri in the number 10 role. Lewis McGugan could be used there at the Britannia with FF unfortunately cup tied and Barry Bannan injured. Depending on how you look at it formation-wise it’s 4-5-1 or 4-3-3.”

Carlos Carvalhal: the boss. Expect to hear chants of “Carlos has a dream…”

DM: “I was skeptical when we first brought in Carvalhal, because when you look at his history, it isn’t the most inspired reading, save for his cup runs with Besiktas, however he has shown himself to be a great coach and a passionate figure on the side lines.

He first came in with a 4-2-3-1 system, which worked against lesser opposition, but the style of buildup play was found out quite quickly, which lead to a very long night against Reading early in the season, however he has been able to adapt and rebuild the team in the traditional 4-4-2.

With either system, the two focuses seems to be slow build-up play passing up the pitch, or to attack on the break. Ultimately he builds hard working teams who will fight for every ball which can be a danger for any opposition.”

 

I’M AFRAID MOST OF US ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH YOUR WEDNESDAY TEAM. WHAT IS YOUR PREDICTED XI FOR THE MATCH, AND WHO ARE THE DANGER MEN?

Danny: “Our young England under-21 ‘keeper Joe Wildsmith will start between the sticks as we’ll rest Keiren Westwood who is, for my money, the best goalkeeper in the Championship). Wildsmith has excellent every time he’s been called upon this season and he’s been in goal for the entire cup run.

The back four should be ex-Palace full back Jack Hunt, Tom Lees, experienced skipper Glenn Loovens and Watford loanee Daniel Pudil.

Lees has been a rock at the back for us and Leeds letting him go for nothing last summer is another in the long line of bad decisions they’ve made in recent times.

Forestieri is missing but Sam Hutchinson is back after suspension (if you’re a gambler, betting on him to get booked is a surefire win, with 24 yellows and three reds in 45 SWFC appearances to date). My guess at the midfield five would be ex-Burnley winger Ross Wallace, Senegalese winger Modou Sougou, the Oldham Xavi, Kieran Lee, the disruptor Jose Semedo and walking suspension Hutchinson, with Nuhiu or exciting youngster Lucas Joao up front.

At 22 Joao is already a full international and he has a really bright future. Forget his embarrassing miss for Portugal against Luxembourg recently, he has been on fire for the Owls in recent games and has that lovely striker’s knack of being in the right place at the right time. If Stoke have any lapses at the back, he’s the one to exploit it.”

 

ON THE FLIP SIDE, ARE THERE ANY AREAS YOU CAN SEE STOKE EXPLOITING?

DM: “We have had moments where we switch off, we get comfortable and forget our defensive responsibility, which is where a player like Shaqiri, Bojan, or Walters can capitalise.

Also, Joe Wildsmith will start in goal, he doesn’t have a ton of experience, however he has shown himself to be capable with clean sheets in his last 2 appearances. Even so, I can see stoke taking their chances against him to try and use his inexperience against him.”

 

FINALLY THEN, WHAT ARE YOU PREDICTIONS FOR TUESDAY’S MATCH? AND WHERE DO YOU SEE WEDNESDAY AND STOKE FINISHING IN THEIR RESPECTIVE LEAGUES?

Danny: “This could be a battle. We’re pretty tough to beat and full of confidence and unlike Messi, we’re fully capable of doing it on a Tuesday night in Stoke. It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if it went to extra time and penalties. Stoke are obviously the favourites but we seem to thrive on being the underdogs and on any given day, we’ve shown what we can do. Given I said that Arsenal and Newcastle would knock us out, I’ll say the same again.

Unless Stoke find a way to score more goals, my prediction for a Premier League finish would be your current position of 12th.

Wednesday will give it a good go at the top six but my fear is last day heartbreak and 7th in the Championship, which would still represent our best effort this millennium.”

DM: “I reckon it will be a feisty game, Stoke can be a very physical team and players like Hutchinson will jump at the opportunity to get involved. I can see the score line been tight, maybe 2-2 going into extra time, Ultimately though I have to back my team to squeeze through to the next round.

I see Wednesday maybe challenging for a playoff spot; we need to turn some of the draws into wins, especially against some of the bigger clubs like Derby and Middlesbrough. Either way the plan is to be back in the Premier league by the 2017 season to celebrate our 150-year anniversary at the top.

I honestly thought this year Stoke were going to make a run for the top 6, maybe finishing around 7^th or 8^th if they were unlucky, however the results just don’t seem to come your way. With the quality in your squad its inevitable this bad run will turn around, but with the damage done this season already I can’t see a finish higher than 10^th, and I do hope you turn it around.”

——————————————————————

You can read more from Owls Alive at www.owlsalive.com

Alternatively, follow Danny on @DGood83 and Dan on @DanMoxon

 

Match Preview: Stoke City vs Chelsea

Spencer Brown takes us through his thoughts  on Saturday evening’s fixture vs Chelsea FC.

A draw against Newcastle has put the Potters in a position where they are needing a win. Now we face Chelsea who have had a bad run of form in the Premier League but look to change their fortunes.

LAST TIME OUT…

Stoke 1 (5) – Chelsea 1 (4)

Jonathan Walters beat the former Stoke keeper Begović from just outside the 18 yard box on a wonder strike only to be equaled in stoppage time by Loïc Rémy. Phil Bardsley got a red card in stoppage time but we were able to extend the match to penalties. It went down to the final penalty as we were leading 5-4 and it was Hazard vs Butland. Hazard stepped up and Butland guessed the right way and got a hand to it and we won the game and we advanced to the quarterfinals of the Capital One Cup.

 

 

KEY PLAYERS

Stoke City – Bojan Krkić

Ever since he came back from his knee injury, Bojan has been a crucial player to the squad conducting the attack. He has scored twice in seven games so far and has created loads of chances. Coming off of a game at Newcastle where he was not at his best; he will look to have a big influence in this match

Chelsea – Willian

A menace from the right wing, Willian is a player who can change the game through his pinpoint passes, dangerous dribbles, and free-kick prowess. Erik Pieters will have his hands full trying to slow down the energetic Brazilian. Look for him to do his best to try to create as many solid chances as he can.

LINEUPS

Stoke City

Look for Mark Hughes to play an extremely creative side in hopes to find holes in Chelsea’s defense just like Liverpool did last week. After Diouf’s compassionate leave due to the death of his mother; I believe that he will be included in the side for this match. Another change I believe he will make is putting in Afellay into the second central defensive midfield spot as he created multiple chances in last week’s match. Also, he’s shown that he plays better in a deeper lying position in the midfield. Look for the Potters to play a counter-attacking style against the Blues.

Chelsea

Jose Mourinho will look to play a side that is very close to the one that he featured in the Champions League fixture. The one change I see him making is the insertion of Cahill over Baba and move Zouma over to the right. This side will be a side with a lot of attacking creativity and will be a tough defense to break through for the Potters. Look for this side to try to control possession.   

SCORE PREDICTION

4231 Prediction: Stoke 1 – 0 Chelsea

Twitter Says…

@4231Stoke 2-2

— Chris Brammer (@Brammered) November 6, 2015

@4231Stoke 2-1 Stoke… Diouf and Wollscheid

— Penfold (@DannyPenfold) November 6, 2015

@4231Stoke 0-3

— Matt Selfridge (@mjselfridge) November 6, 2015

@4231Stoke pic.twitter.com/TvqhplUqzt

— Xpat (@shiremoorpotter) November 6, 2015

 

 

Behind Enemy Lines: Chelsea FC

With a televised crunch match Saturday evening and a media circus surrounding a certain manager, all eyes will be on the Britannia Stadium as Stoke City face Chelsea for the second time in a fortnight. We talk to Chelsea fan and Twitterer Sam Cox to see how the blue corner feels about the upcoming punch-out.

Compared to your usual form, your season start has been a little disastrous. How are you feeling about the rest of the season from here?

Pessimistic, if I’m honest. I guess the optimist in me is hoping that it can only get better from here, but it really doesn’t feel that way. It started badly with Swansea and its managed to get worse week on week so far, so I think the Chelsea fanbase as a whole are pretty downbeat right now. As cliché as it is, every game seems pretty tough right now and a trip to Stoke will be no different.

Obviously a failure to finish in the top 4 is going to be damaging and will probably see the loss of Eden Hazard and Jose Mourinho, so that has to be the bare minimum whatever happens in the rest of the campaign. At the time of writing, Chelsea hadn’t played their CL game this week, but that will have a huge bearing on the season. The last time that Chelsea had this poor a season in the league (albeit nowhere near this bad) they managed to win the Champions League, so I’m holding onto that as a glimmer of hope!

Top four would make it a brilliant season from this point, but I, personally, cannot see that happening. A FA Cup run would be nice as ever and if they can make it out of the group in the Champions League that could yet be Chelsea’s best way to get into the competition next year.

Your transfer window was a little low key compared to your rivals and other mid table clubs aiming to bridge the divide. How do you assess your new recruits and their impact so far?

I agree with how ordinary the window was and it has really damaged a side with so many over worked players. Guess its best I go through them one by one:

Begovic: You’ll all me familiar with Begovic from his time at Stoke and he has to be one of the best second choice ‘keepers in the world at the moment. He hit a slight decline towards his time at Stoke (and Butland has proven that he is currently at least as good) but he has done little wrong at Chelsea despite leaking so many goals. Courtois’ injury early on in the season gave Begovic more minutes than anyone expected him to have this year and he’s given an excellent account of himself with chaos in front of him. I think Chelsea fans have appreciated that the defensive woe this season has not been the fault of Begovic.

Baba Rahman: In my opinion, Chelsea drastically overpaid for Baba. Full-backs are not usually too expensive anyway and he is largely unproven. So far he has looked inconsistent defensively and inexperienced in general, but that is not to say he shouldn’t have played more. With Branislav Ivanovic’s comically bad form, Rahman should’ve had more minutes at left-back and shifted Azpilicueta to right-back. Rahman still has a bit of work to do to convince much of the fan base, but a lot of the crowd have been crying out for him to get his opportunity, although Mourinho persists with Zouma at right-back.

Kenedy: Probably the least known of the summer signings, Kenedy has arguably been the most impressive. In a few cameo performances recently, the Brazilian has shown that he has a spark which Eden Hazard has failed to produce for much of this season. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Kenedy get minutes at the Britannia this weekend and it might be a good thing for Mourinho to invest some more time in the younger elements of the squad whilst unrest continues to be the biggest topic amongst the big names.

Falcao: Personally, I was gutted to hear of this transfer. Every fan talks of ‘what-ifs’ whenever a player in such a rut is signed, but this whole deal has been a dark reminder of Fernando Torres’ time at the club. Falcao looks as flawed as he did last season and its as if clubs should introduce a policy not to sign players who have had such substantial knee injuries! Falcao doesn’t look like he will ever be back to his former best, and, as Michael Duberry told me, he’s like buying a Ferrari because it used to be a Ferrari but you know the engine is bust. Its not a surprise there are talks of the loan being cut short in January and there is no way that Patrick Bamford would have been any less impressive if he had stayed.

Pedro: Having sniped Pedro from under the noses of Manchester United, he hasn’t really got anywhere near the form that was expected after his flying start against West Brom. I maintain that the ex-Barca man can be a really vital cog at Chelsea, but it must be so hard for a new player to come into a squad that is clearly under such pressure and turmoil. The best thing to come from Pedro’s move so far is the brilliance it has brought out of Willian, but niggling injuries are a huge worry for a player who has missed a lot of matches recently.

Which Chelsea players have stood out for you this season?

Not too many, unsurprisingly! Willian has been the jewel in the crumbling crown so far this campaign and Ramires has shown that he really never stops. As I mentioned earlier, Begovic has been a class act throughout and Cesar Azpilicueta has continued with his consistent brilliance.

Willian is the one to watch for Stoke this weekend, mind, and the Brazilian has even started putting the ball in the net occasionally which is nice to see.

Who’s your biggest youth talent coming through the ranks?

Kurt Zouma rules himself out of this one seeing as he’s been bought in from Saint Etienne, but the youth squad has a lot of class at the moment. In true Chelsea fashion, many of them have been sent out on loan around Europe and wasted their talents a bit. Everyone knows of the talent of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, but he is undoubtedly the player with the biggest promise to make his way into the side. Everyone knows how hard it is to break in under Mourinho and if you play in a key position like lone striker or centre-back, it is even harder.

Other than that, Andreas Christensen is a quality centre-back and Nathan Ake has been let slip through the net somewhat despite impressing under Rafa Benitez a couple of years back. Ake is doing well at Watford and could yet come and impress next year.

Loftus-Cheek might be the most likely to succeed, but Lewis Baker and Patrick Bamford should also have high quality Premier League careers if nurtured correctly. Of course, with so much youth cup success lately, there are a lot who should make the grade!

Asmir Begovic will be returning to the Britannia Stadium for the second time in a fortnight. How has he done for you in Courtois’ absence?

In a word, brilliant! Leaking goals like a colander, but Begovic has been a star performer for much of this season. Its never easy having the defence change so much in front of you but I find it hard to remember a goal that the Bosnian was at fault for this year.

He’s offered a presence from set pieces that even Petr Cech often struggled with and some of his reflex saves have been outstanding. If anything, I really feel sorry for him!

Normally we do a combined XI, but you’re Chelsea so it’d be a little imbalanced. Instead – which Stoke player(s) would you take for a Chelsea side?

Butland would give Begovic a run for his money at the moment and Muniesa is a player I love to watch. He’d be like an anti-Mourinho defender, but that sort of class would look wonderful next to Zouma! I could definitely see Mourinho buying Shawcross once he is fully fit.

If Remy and Falcao were to leave in January, I could see Diouf doing a decent job as foil for Costa, too.

As much as I love Arnautovic and Bojan, they’d need a lot more consistency to make the squad although Shaqiri could do a job once Salah and Cuadrado are properly moved on.

Finally, what’s your score prediction for the weekend?

3-2 to Stoke. Chelsea’s bad form doesn’t look like coming to an end just yet and Stoke’s class up front will mess the Chelsea around just as much as anyone. Chelsea’s best hope is Charlie Adam to get him sent off in kamikaze fashion, but its probably more likely that Diego Costa physically assaults someone again and Rui Faria gets sent to the stands.

Sam Cox is a Chelsea fan, blogger and all round nice guy. You can find him on Twitter and check out his Football Fancast work.

Pep Confidential: An alternate reality | Year Seven

As the dust settles on a fantastic campaign, one which saw Stoke not only finish 2^nd, but win the Europa League (AGAIN), and the FA Cup for a third consecutive time, Pep prepares for his toughest campaign yet. Hopes are high amongst fans. The Britannia now seats 40,000 plus. The club is rich beyond its wildest dreams, and has a team which has challenged the best in the business. Can Pep lead the team to better? Or have they reached their limit?

If you’ve missed the previous adventures you can start them here!

NEW CHALLENGES, SAME FACES

Pep has spent 6 seasons, building this team, and whilst they did not win the league last year, he is confident in the players he has brought in, and the youngster who he has brought through. He therefore chooses not bring anyone in, but does let several (mostly fringe) players leave during the summer window. The biggest player to leave the team is “Bruma” who after having his head turned by the dark forces of Jose Mourinho, makes his way to the new “Zola Arena” for £22.5 million.

“We are all in this together” is his ethos, and Pep recalls many players who had spent previous seasons on loan to bolster his campaign. His team are now built around fantastic world class players such as Mario Götze, Xherdan Shaqiri, Samuel Umtiti et al, but also proper home grown individuals.

Jack Butland remains in goal, having signed a new 4 year deal in the summer, taking him up to 30. Lloyd Jones, a towering centre back is now a firm option for Pep, and has developed a good relationship with Umtiti. Ball winning midfielder, and product of the youth set up Grant Ball is now a firm favourite in midfield, having beaten Yann M’Vila for the position for most of the previous season, and Stoke favourite, home town hero and “Cultured midfielder” (according to the FM description) Oliver Shenton now sits in the middle of the park, having returned from a brilliant season on loan at Southampton.

The curtain raiser

After another unbeaten preseason, Pep has the opportunity to lay down his teams credentials for the coming year. The Community Shield maybe seen as a glorified friendly to some, but Pep views it as an opportunity, one which the team haven’t taken in the past 2 seasons. This time, they find themselves against Champions Manchester City, whose tough outfit beat Stoke to first place last season. The game has an unnaturally fierce energy for a “friendly”, and when Giovanni Simeone dispossess the now aging Vincent Kompany, and slots home the opening goal after 50 seconds, the battle ramps up a few gears. City are quick to answer back, and Julian Draxler fires home the equaliser 4 minutes later. The game is back and forth, but the winning goal falls to Stoke’s young midfielder, Grant Ball, who slots home the ball from the edge of the box! Even a Kurzawa sending off in the 86^th minute cannot let City back into the game, and when the whistle blows, it is Stoke who are finally victorious in the Community Shield.

The unbeatable giants

The first half of the season sees Stoke occupy the top of the table. With 15 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss, their form is incredible, and many pundits regard as champions in waiting, with the title “theirs to lose”. It’s an unusual place for the Potters, but morale around the club is high, and nothing it seems is ready to knock them off their perch.

Europe is no different. Stoke successfully beats AC Milan in the European Super Cup, 3-1, in a thrilling match. For their first campaign in the Champions League, Stoke are given an interesting group, featuring PSG, Genoa, and Rosenborg. Stoke have ambitions of being ever present in this competition in particular, and go out to prove they have arrived. It is successful. A 100% win ratio, and a record of only conceding one goal in the group stages means Stoke finish 1^st in the group, and drawn Dutch side PSV in the first round of knockouts.

This form extends to the league cup, where previous Pep has been knocked out in the early rounds. This time however, Stoke are victorious, and after a semi-final victory over Chelsea, a date is set to meat old rivals Manchester City for the historic cup.

The winter window sees Jack Rodwell and Marcus Fryatt leave the club on loan, whilst Denys Garmash’s time at the club is put to an end, after a £16.5 million pound offer is proposed by Italian side Udinese. Once again, Pep chooses not to invest in any players coming in, sticking with his team who have proven to be so successful in the first half of the season.

The end of the year sees the traditional Ballon D’or award go to Stoke’s own Mario Götze, a fantastic achievement, and a massive sign of how far Stoke have come!

The stats speak for themselves at the midseason marker, with Stoke players occupying the top goal scorer position, the most assists and the top 3 positions of the “average rating” section. Stokes form in the beginning of the season has put down a big marker, and it would take a huge collapse for their nearest rivals Chelsea to catch up the 14 point deficit.

The consolidation of power

The second half of the season continues in much the same form as the first half, with Stoke continuing their fine form. Stoke pick up some good victories, but also allow for a few draws to slip in, with the whole team tiring, being in four competitions. Something must give, and unfortunately for Stoke it comes in the form of losing their treasured FA Cup in the Quarter Finals against Everton. It’s disappointing, but having won that competition 3 seasons in a row, perhaps Stoke have beaten the odds enough in that competition! Stoke remain in the Champions League, are into the League Cup final, and the league is theirs to lose.

The League Cup final comes at a difficult time in terms of fixtures, with the match taking place on the Saturday between the home and away Champions League knockout matches against PSV Eindhoven. A 2-1 win in the Netherlands puts Stoke in a good position for the second leg, and focus shifts to the League Cup final. Manchester City are the opposition, and Pep selects a team of youth and experience to combat the City team. It pays off, and within 2 minutes, youngster Scott Wright from the academy puts Stoke in front as he cuts in from the wing! Stoke are in control, and on the 35^th minute, Umtiti doubles the lead with a well-played corner routine. A penalty is given away in the 68^th, but it proves to only be a consolation for Manchester City, and when the final whistle blows, Stoke hold the League Cup, for only the second time.

The European tour continues

A 2-0 home victory over PSV takes Stoke into the next round of the Champions League, where they are drawn against the old enemy, Arsenal. A stunning 3-1 victory over the Gunners at the Britannia, and a 0-0 draw at the Emirates allows Stoke to ditch Arsenal out of the competition, much to the annoyance of Arsenal fan TV, who produce a YouTube special where their fans stand outside the ground crying, begging for Vincenzo Montella to be given the boot. Stoke are into the semi-final, and the next round draws another London giant in the form of Chelsea. These matches are a bit more difficult. Pep vs Jose, once against. A typical narrow affair. Stoke take a narrow 1-0 win in the home leg, and in an equally narrow away leg, pick up a 1-1 draw, seeing Stoke into their first ever Champions League final. No Stoke fan could imagine such a fantastic season, a European Cup final at the first time of asking, and the League in their hands.

The business end of the season

Pep keeps the team motivated, and whilst some results drop off, including a very disappointing 3-0 loss to Arsenal at the Britannia, Stoke are still by far the most inform team in the league. Stoke’s following is huge, with home and away matches selling out. The league is won with 3 matches to spare, away at Burnley. Fans are jubilant, Champions of England, and another European Final to look forward to. It is truly a historic time for the club, for the players, and for Pep Guardiola. A 3-0 thrashing of Liverpool at Anfield is a good ending to what has been a monumental season in the league, and good preparation ahead of the Champions League final at Old Trafford, against French side “FC Metz”.

A Night at the Theatre (of dreams)

The rise of FC Metz has followed a very similar pattern to that of Stoke. In the 2013/14 season they were promoted from the French second division, and have since seen a great rise to the upper half of “ligue 1”. In a domestic competition dominated by the oil rich likes of PSG and Monaco, Metz have punched well above their weight. Their route to the final was equally challenging, with aggregate wins against Benfica, Juventus and Porto getting them to the final against Pep’s boys. Stoke have Met “Metz” twice before, in the group stage of the Europa league the previous season, both fixtures finishing in a draw.

Old Trafford is the venue for the final, a place where Stoke have been victorious in recent seasons. Stoke are the favourites, but by no means does that mean that Pep is taking the game easily. As he goes into this game, he remembers his first final with Barcelona all those years ago. His Stoke challenge has taken it’s time, but the transformation of the club, the change in chairman, the emphasis on youth, the building of a dynasty, are all similarities shared with his time in Catalonia. He is happy. This is the longest he has even spent at a club (managing), and he has grown accustomed to Staffordshire. A win in this final would see Stoke consolidate their position on the European stage, something Pep and the fans have only dreamt about.

Pep’s team lines up in the way it has all season. Butland in goal, a back four of Debuchy, Lloyd Jones, Umtiti and Kurzawa, Grant Ball as the Defensive Midfielder, Oliver Shenton and Emre Can in the centre of the park, Xherdan Shaqiri and Mario Götze out wide, and Giovanni Simeone up front.

Pep does all his pre-match talks before the team enter the stadium. He knows his team know their roles, their responsibilities, and nothing will change that. Instead, on the coach to Old Trafford, he gets on the microphone, and tells the team of his first Champions League final with Barcelona. Pep is not an arrogant man, and would never admit that he was the driving force behind that teams huge success, instead, Pep would view that he was simply the force which brought all these talented players together. This is where he draws his comparison. As with his Barcelona team, the players he has assembled are all equal, talented, and all love the club and their comrades. The youngsters from the academy like Shenton, the global superstars such as Shaqiri and Götze, all bleed red and white (honestly, they all have Stoke as their favourite club!!!). So when Pep says that tonight must be done for the fans, it resonates a high chord amongst the team.

Stokies have sold out their allocation for Old Trafford, and the ground is rocking an hour before kick-off. When the players step out into the night, there is an eruption of emotion. It’s enough to make anyone’s skin tingle. Warm ups complete, the team go back to the dressing room to complete their final pre match rituals. Pep leaves his players to their own devices, to their dressing room activities. He hangs back as the players line up and make their way onto the pitch, walking out some seconds later, placing the attention on his players.

From the off Stoke are in control, but it’s not easy to break down the well organised Metz defense. The evening is hot, and Stoke control possession, making Metz stand firm to defend. It’s increasingly difficult for the French side, as the Potters pass the ball with full flowing ease. Shenton and Can are crucial in midfield, both providing creative outlets for the team, whilst Grant Ball breaks up any Metz play. Shaqiri and Götze stretch the game, whilst Simeone presses the Metz back four.

It’s not until the 51^st minute that a break through comes, when the ball falls to Emre Can on the outside of the area. His shot ricochets of the post and hits the back of the net. The fans go insane as they take the lead. Metz try to get back into the game, but Stoke now have a bit between their teeth, and hold onto the ball with style. In truth, Metz are second best, and as the whistle blows and the score finished 1-0, Stoke have been by far the better team.

Stoke City, Champions of England, and Champions of Europe. What an achievement. As the famous jug eared trophy makes its way back to ST4, Pep relaxes, just for a little while. He knows he has to build his team for the coming season and change things whilst they are ahead. Keeping things fresh will ensure that Stoke remain a European force. But for one night, he allows himself to relax…

Conclusion

Finish: 1st

Rating: 11/10

Champions of England and Europe. Can’t say anything better than that.

P.S. The awards came flooding in at the end of the season, see how Stoke stormed it, plus Guardiola’s new contract!

 

Pep Confidential: An alternate reality | Year Six

Even the most optimistic of Stoke fans would have struggled to dream up the success Pep and his team had during the last campaign. A second consecutive FA Cup, the Europa League trophy at the first time of asking, and a 6^th place finish. It’s all new territory for Stoke, and it feels ace. But how do you improve? By doing it all again and more obviously! Well, that is the aim at least.

If you’ve missed the previous adventures you can start them here!

The season in exile

Finally, after all these years, Stoke’s new chairman Simon Blitz has commissioned the expansion of the Britannia, and the filling in of the corners, taking the stadium up to a 42,576 seater. The only problem is, the development will take time, and with the ground out of bounds for a year, Stoke are left to ground share with the Championship’s Sheffield Wednesday…an odd move, but thankfully the club have put on free buses from the Brit to Hillsborough each week.

The best method of defending your titles is to invest whilst you are ahead, and money is pumped into the first team. Strong defensive unit Samuel Umtiti is the most pricey at £30million, making the move from Bundesliga side Schalke. He is joined by pacey striker Giovanni Simeone from Real Madrid for £23million. Youngsters Eddie Ibrahim and Edafe Odey also make the move from overseas to be a part of the Stoke squad, albeit in a lesser capacity and goalkeeper Alex Cairns continues the odd tradition of Pep signing lower league back up to Jack Butland.

The most shocking of all transfer deals comes in the form of German midfielder, Mario Götze, who arrived on a free transfer having left FC Bayern in June. An odd transfer, as despite the high levels of euphoria and delight, fans questioned why Bayern had let such a good player go if “he was so good”.

Stoke visit Asia again on their pre-season tour, and once again remain undefeated. Their second victory in the FA cup means another appearance in the traditional curtain raiser, the Community Shield, this time against long term rivals Arsenal. The gunners would be after much revenge, having lost in every encounter with Stoke in the previous season (the most humiliating being the 4-0 loss in the FA Cup semi-final). Unfortunately for Stoke, this match would not be their day, and despite winning 1-0 for the majority of the game, a Danny Welbeck goal in the 80^th minute secured the match going to penalties, which ultimately Stoke would lose.

Results in the league are quality, and Stoke rise up the table early. Another Super cup of sorts sees Stoke pitted against Champions League winners AC Milan in Şanlıurfa, Turkey. This time, it is Stoke who are on the losing end of a score line for the majority of a match, only to seize a last minute goal to take the game to extra time, where they once again go behind, then grab back a goal to make it 2-2 at the final whistle. Another round of penalties sees Stoke once again fail. It’s sad, but these are added extras, and whilst Pep doesn’t like to lose, he knows that the success of this season will not rely on the European Super Cup.

Stoke are solid in the league until Christmas, with only 3 league losses, putting them in third. A Europa League group of Metz, 1860 München and old Europa League opponents Maccabi Tel Aviv (remember, that team that kicked a boot at a linesman?) gives Stoke a relatively comfortable path into the knock-out stages, although it is not without some shocks.

The German Maestro

Throughout all of this, one player rises head and shoulders above the rest of a very talented Stoke team. Mario Götze is on fire. With a goal and assist every other game, he is the league’s inform player, and when Simeone suffers a hamstring injury, Pep alternates Götze and Rodrigo up front! Shaqiri is also in a rich run of form, and is proving to be deadly combining with the German midfielder.

Grant Ball-Winner

It’s also worth noting young Englishman, Grant Ball. Bought a few seasons back from Middlesbrough, the young Defensive Midfielder, now 20, has grown into a supportive role. Even with the likes of Charles Kabore, Jack Rodwell and Yann M’Vila ahead of him, his consistently good performances make him a regular rotation option for Pep, and he is always on the bench throughout the season, playing in all cup and Europa fixtures (at least).

Winter sees young prospect Jose Miguel Ramos leave for league rivals Manchester United, in a move most fans question, although a sizable fee lessens the blow. Former club captain Charles Kabore also leaves the club for West Brom. Having been one of the fan favourites, it is sad to see him go, but with his game time decreasing, many would agree that it is in the player’s best interest. Another figurehead of the early Pep seasons Emanuele Giaccherini is loaned out to Watford for the rest of the season. Coming in, Pep makes one additional signing, Emre Can from Liverpool, a player who over the seasons has reached near his potential, and is now a classy midfield unit.

Stoke’s form after Christmas is once again, phenomenal. Nothing seems to stop the juggernaut now it is motion. Teams are routinely demolished, and despite one or two freak results, Stoke hammer home their league position. Another FA Cup run sees Stoke overcome the odds, and place themselves in yet another date with Wembley. Meanwhile inEurope, despite some lengthy trips to the other end of the continent, Stoke find themselves once again in the latter stages of the tournament.

Morale is high, in the second half of the season, Stoke lose twice in their run up to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and Europa League. Results are so good that Stoke fans don’t even care about the travel to Hillsborough, and rejoice in the victory over the Premier League’s Sheffield United, adopting the “Steel City Derby” as their own…for a season at least. Götze, is on fire, and the team has the Midas touch.

The Semi Finals

The FA Cup semi-final comes first, a match up against the Championship’s Bournemouth, a banana skin if ever there was one. Bournemouth, managed by Gary McAllister are in incredible form in the cup, but Pep’s team are now consummate professionals, and refuse to allow the Cherries any room. It takes a little while longer than anticipated, but Emre Can puts Stoke ahead in the 61^st, followed by a Mario Götze goal shortly after. Old favourite Felipe Gutierrez rounds off the match with easy finish into an open net. That’s it…Stoke are into their third FA Cup final in 3 years, a ridiculous achievement. Their final will be played against none other than Manchester United.

In Europe, Stoke are drawn against German side Borussia Mönchengladbach. The two legs remain straight forward for the Potters, and after taking a 2-0 win away in Germany, the team return to Sheffield to win by the same score line once again, with 2 goals for the returning Simeone, winning 4-0 on aggregate. Another Europa League final is dated on the calendar, this time in Paris against Italian side Parma.

The league

All this good form makes Stoke the inform league team. Unfortunately for them, so are Manchester City. Stoke’s few losses in the season allow City to win the title by 6 points, but Stoke are close behind, finishing an impressive second! The teams improvements are there for all to see, and with their highest ever finish to a season Stoke celebrate the qualification for the Champions League the next season.

Three times the charm? The FA Cup Final

Stoke are a different team from the ones who narrowly beat Chelsea in last season’s final, and they are most definitely are a different team from the one who won the cup the year previous to that. They are confident and they have real quality. No longer the under dogs, and as they go into their third consecutive FA Cup final, it is accepted that this Stoke team is another few cups and titles away from becoming a dynasty. Their opposition knows what that is like, and as Manchester United line up with the front 2 of Martial and Ramos, Stoke’s former players, there is an acceptance amongst the Stoke faithful that whilst United may have once been the Goliaths in their battles, they are no longer “David” in the story. “This is our time”, “we didn’t need those two”

And, they are right…who needs Martial and Ramos when you have Umtiti, Götze, Shaqiri and Simeone. Shaqiri and Götze run the show, providing assists and pulling apart the United defense. United are first unlocked by a Shaqiri corner with Umtiti heading home. But it’s Götze’s through balls that are proving the problem, and as Simeone latches onto one after the other, the United defense begin to become irritated. It’s no surprise then that defender Stefano Denswil would give away a penalty, bringing down Simeone in the box. A yellow card for the defender, and a second goal for Stoke would see the Potters into a significant lead, considering their control of the game, but that would not be it. Simeone would score again, latching onto a Götze pass, and slotting it home past the keeper. United would see the match out with 10 men, thanks to a lunge from the already yellow carded Denswil. All in all, a terrible day for United, and a great one for Stoke. 3-0, 3 cups, 3 seasons. Ace.

Paris is calling

Paris in summer is lovely. The streets of the French capital are flooded with red and white. Delilah can be heard from the Eiffel Tower, and Mario Götze’s name can be heard all the way down the Champs-Élysées. The Parc de Prince is a lovely ground, home to PSG, but for one night only the black and white of Parma, and the red and white of Stoke. Stoke have come this far, and Pep is not prepared to let them lose their crown at this late stage. In many respects, Parma are an easier opponent than Atletico Madrid the year before, but Pep tells his team not to be complacent. He lines up his team in his usual 4141 formation.

Stoke show from the off that they are the better side, and a corner played in on the 13^th by Shaqiri finds captain Bocchetti’s head, and pile drives past the keeper. Despite their dominance, Stoke fail to capture the second goal. Parma capitalise, and a deflected effort allows them to level the game in the 75^th. Extra time looms, and the ghosts of the Community Shield and the Super Cup loom over the players. Pep knows this, and puts their mind at ease with an anecdote as he has now done several times before to calm their moods. The players respond, and in the 101^st minute, Simeone gives Stoke the lead once again. There is pandemonium in the stands, pandemonium which is doubled when a Shaqiri cross finds Parma defender Marco Torsiglieri, who taps the ball into his own net.

The final whistle blows, and Stoke are the 3-1 winners. They have defended their crowns. The FA Cup and Europa League are theirs once again!

Pep and the boys wave goodbye to Hillsborough, and make their way back home, to the new and improved Britannia Stadium, ahead of another season of adventure…this time, with 40,000+ Stoke fans in attendance…

Conclusion

Finish: 2^nd

Rating: 9.8/10

Player of the season: Mario Götze (although, fans voted Samuel Umtiti!!!)

What can be said? Pep did the unthinkable. Defended his cups whilst improving his league position. The results have been decisive, and Stoke look incredible. There is barely any down sides. Next season will be a different game, with Champions League football, and the increased expectations of a high league position, or even a title challenge to be dealt with.

Pep Confidential: An alternative reality | Year Five

You get the picture by now…Pep Guardiola is Stoke manager…there have been ups and downs, but after Stoke’s first cup win since ’72, Stoke are on a high…

Here comes the money…

If history has taught us anything, it is that the vicious midweek fixture of the Europa League and the weekend Premier League match up are rarely compatible. Peter Coates remembers this well from Stoke’s last European tour, and does not stand idly by. Rumours circulate that Coates is set to retire from his role at the club, and if this is to be his last hurrah, then he is damned well going out in style. Pep is granted a war chest, and is quick to identify his targets.

Denys Garmash, Kevin Kampl, Yann M’Vila, Serge Gnabry, and young CB Lloyd Jones all make the move to Stoke. Out goes left back Danny Rose, who made 44 appearances for the club over 3 seasons, to West Brom, and teenager Anthony Martial, who is sold for a club record of £30million (plus £5million add ons) to Champions Manchester United. The latter cause’s uproar from Stoke fans, but Pep is confident that the deal is right for the club, and striker Rodrigo can replace Martial. Phil Bardsley, Ibrahim Afellay and Ben Hamer also all leave the club on a free. A sizable amount of youth prospects also leave the club on loan, part of Pep’s overhaul of the entire youth system. Finally, Charles Kabore resigns his role of club captain, having struggled to come back from injury. Whilst he remains at the club, the arm band is passed to Italian defender Salvatore Bocchetti.The Community Shield

Pep’s new team is assembled, and pre-season is done. A successful tour of the Far East and matches in the UK have given Stoke a good test, losing only the once to Fiorentina, and conceding only once. The first proper match of the season is the old curtain raiser, the Community Shield. Champions Manchester United are to be the opponents, and a real ding dong clash ensues. Unlike the cagey FA Cup Final against Chelsea, United and Stoke seem to have agreed on an unwritten rule to just attack one another. It makes for a great affair. Falcao opens scoring for United on 23mins, only for debutante Kevin Kampl to peg United back in the 34^th. Nick Powell takes United in front again with 10 minutes to spare, only for Felipe Gutierrez to level it for Stoke once again. With 2 minutes remaining, it is Powell again, this time with a tap in to take United 3-2 in front, only for Stoke to kick off, run up the other end, and Shaqiri to place home the leveller!

Penalties ensue, and it is here where Stoke is undone. Falcao, Martial, Rooney, Mangala (yes… the City player in real life… figure that transfer out) and Doria all score for United. Bruma, Rodrigo, Kurzawa, Debuchy and Garmash all score for Stoke, but in sudden death, it is Xherdan Shaqiri who misses. Pep consoles his star winger. Shaqiri hurts, but he will prove critical this season, Pep tells him.

The League and a change at the top

Stoke’s run until Christmas is typical of the Guardiola side. 5 wins, 4 draws and 6 loses put Stoke in 11^th before the festive run of fixtures. The difficulty of balancing difficult away trips in Europe has meant that more points have been dropped than liked, and by the beginning of December, there is a real worry that Pep is under pressure after all the money spent. To make matters worse, following all the rumour and press talk, Chairman and legend Peter Coates announces his immediate resignation from club running, selling his major share to businessman Simon Blitz, a rich owner with a preference for Roberto Mancini over Pep Guardiola. The pressure builds, and Pep knows that now he must do something special to prove himself worthy.

A run of 4 wins in the festive period, including a 4-0 trouncing of Birmingham city does enough to take Stoke into 7^th, and pressure is relieved on Pep…for the while at least. He has overcome the worst he feels, and can look back on positive results, especially in Europe…

Stoke smash Europe

Whilst the league form has been solid but nothing special, Stoke in Europe has been a delight. Fans have craved away days to exotic, unpronounceable towns in Eastern Europe since the days of Tony Pulis, and now, thanks to their FA Cup victory, they can pack their bags again. Victory in the cup means that Stoke go into the group stages, and Stoke are drawn in Group F, alongside Greek side Olympiacos, Romanian side Steaua Bucharest, and Ukrainian side Karpaty Lyiv.

Whilst there is a concern about the general amount of travelling Stoke must do, the majority of fans are happy to be back in Europe, and are ready to explore. One thing is for sure, Pep is taking the competition seriously. Results go Stoke’s way, and playing some amazing football on the way, Stoke rack up a 100% win record in the competition, qualifying for the knockout stage with 2 games spare, and finishing top of their group!

Fans are jubilant, and a first round knockout tie against Turkish side Trabzonspor awaits in the New Year!

New Year, New Era.

Stoke are for the first time rather inactive in the transfer window. Pep has confidence in his team, and feels no need to bring anyone in. One goodbye is said to Mame Biram Diouf. The winning goalscorer in the FA Cup is now 30, and no longer a first team regular. The decision is made, and in appreciation for his goals he is allowed to leave for free to Celta Vigo in Spain.

The best way to describe Stoke come January the first is like a team possessed. In the months until May, Stoke win 11 league matches, draw 4 and lose 4. This new found league consistency allows the team to consolidate their position, and push for 6^th place. Something they achieve with 3 games to spare!

Defending the cup is also an obsession, and Pep’s team fight tooth and nail to keep a hold of their trophy. Despite replays against Yeovil and Reading, Stoke make their way to yet another Wembley meeting, Arsenal in the semi-final…

The Semi-final

Last year it was United, this year, rivals Arsenal. The gunners sit in first place, and are favourites to win the league. Stoke have not lost to Arsenal all season, and despite the departure of Ryan Shawcross, the rivalry remains as fierce as ever. Odds favour Arsenal, and the gunners are salivating at the thought of a domestic double. But Pep has a game plan. From the off, Stoke attack Arsenal, pressing at every opportunity. The results are lethal. On the 24^th, a corner in reaches the towering head of Salvatore Bocchetti. The Italian defender drills the ball past Szczesny. 10 minutes late, young defender Lloyd Jones, again from a corner, same place, same routine. Szczesny reads it wrong, Stoke are 2-0 up. With seconds to spare in the first half, former Arsenal man Serge Gnabry pops up on the edge of the box following a scramble after a Shaqiri shot. His calm effort slots low to the keeper’s left. 3-0.

In the second half, Arsenal try, but they are toothless. Stoke are calm with the ball, and find it easy to recover after the loss of possession. Denys Garmash puts the final nail in the coffin. A one-two played with Rodrigo and a one on one with the keeper sees the Ukrainian star dribble the ball into the net. 4-0. a resounding victory. Pep’s team go into their second FA Cup Final in a year…against who else…but Chelsea…again.

(Stoke would go on to beat Arsenal on the final day of the season, 3-2 at the Emirates)

Stoke’s European Tour continues

The teams form in Europe remains unstoppable. Stoke first smash Trabzonspor, then Stade Reims and Dusseldorf before meeting up with Spanish club Sevilla in the semi-finals. A European semi-final…Stoke City. Take that in.

The Sevilla game is tense, and Stoke lose the first fixture away 2-1. The return leg at the Britannia is everything a Stoke fan would want a European fixture to be. It’s intense, it’s loud, and the place rocks. The game is cagey, similar to Stoke/Chelsea from the previous FA Cup final. A 3^rd minute goal from Gutierrez is the only time the net bulges in the match, and Stoke, solid in defense, go through to the Europa League final on away goals!

One night in Helsinki…

The Olympiastadion, Helsinki is the venue for the Europa League Final. Stoke City vs Atletico Madrid. Pep’s second major final with Stoke City. Their second time in the competition, and Stoke are in the final. Stoke fans are on cloud 9, but they know a tough test against Atletico awaits. The night is cold, a cool 9 degrees, and rain comes down. 10,000 stoke fans make the trip to Finland for this monumental occasion.

Pep inspires the team, similar to how he inspired their FA Cup victory. A video highlights package shows their unstoppable rise in Europe, along with their league and cup run. The message is simple…win this, win the FA Cup, make history again.

In truth, the match itself is poor. Stoke bombard Atletico, but they are resilient. Stoke control the game, and break up the opponents play. Atletico test Jack Butland on occasion, but it is their defense that is forced to fight. It’s there where the match changes. In the 48^th minute, Jesus Gamez brings down the roaming Bruma in the box. The ref blows…penalty. In the resulting seconds Bruma steps up, wrong foots the keeper, and puts Stoke ahead. From there it is easy. Stoke have learnt well from Pep, and they don’t allow their opponents to have the ball. At the end of 90 minutes it is Stoke who are the winners. Whilst the match was not a classic, the result was one for the ages.

 

Stoke vs Chelsea…the FA Cup Final 2.

After their win in Europe, Stoke have a real chance at a double. The victory over Arsenal in the semi-final is enough to give any team confidence, but Pep is quick to remind his team that this is a Chelsea team who won the Champions League the season previous. Not only that, Mourinho has invested big. Neymar is now on their left flank, a world beater in any match.

The task is clear, and Stoke know what they have to do. Defend well, don’t allow Chelsea space. From kick off, it is obvious that we are in for a similar match to the season before. Cagey. Within minutes though, there is a huge difference, as Stoke’s first shot on goal by Shaqiri bounces off the bar, and off the back of goalkeeper Courtois, into the net. Stoke are 1-0 within 4 minutes. Chelsea drive forward, but like the year before, Stoke are strong, and break up Chelsea’s play. Whilst the match remains low scoring, in no way does is it dull. There are bookings, and when Mathieu Debuchy makes a professional foul on Neymar in the latter stages of the second half, he is given a straight red for being the last man, taking one for the team. Stoke remain organised, and when the whistle blows, it is they who lift the famous trophy for a second year running.

Conclusion

Finish: 6^th

Rating: 9.5/10

A near perfect season. A domestic trophy defended, a European trophy gained, a 6^th place finish, and a season of victories against Arsenal. What more could a fan ask for? With the new chairman in place, Pep could have found himself out of the job by Christmas. A phenomenal second half of the season saw the team reach new heights. Another season in Europe beacons, and more history is to be broken. However…

A new chairman final fills in the corners. Fans rejoice. But then comes the bizarre. Stoke are to ground share whilst the work is completed…with…Sheffield Wednesday. A season in exile awaits the Potters…let’s hope the club still put on free travel…

Pep Confidential: An alternative reality | Year Four

READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER HERE

The experiment is simple. Using the popular game Football Manager, we will simulate what would happen if Pep Guardiola, the man famous for one of the greatest Barcelona teams of all time, were to become manager of Stoke City, thus creating the ultimate…Stokealona

A rocky start

 

Four years in. Pep’s Stoke are experiencing evolution, rather than revolution. The squad has changed drastically, and Pep has secured 3 seasons of solid mid table success.  During his time at the club, he finished 9^th, 10^th and 8^th respectively, a good showing, despite some of the fans concerns during the cold months without wins. But Pep is ready for the next level. He wants to achieve something with the team he is building…

9 players leave the club, with 4 come in. Luis Pedro Cavanda is the biggest hitter to leave, after a £10mil offer from Lyon is too good to turn down. Nathan Dyer and Stephen Ireland both leave Stoke after a few seasons at the club, and midfielder Sejad Salihovic, one of Pep’s first purchases is regarded as surplus to requirement. Coming in, Leicester’s goalkeeper Ben Hamer replaces the retiring Shay Given, and Arsenal’s Mathieu Debucy makes the move up north, in Stoke’s highest profile transfer of the summer. Youngster Jose Miguel Ramos is another example of Pep’s investment in youth. This player though, has a lot of promise, and a unique personality to boot (think Zlatan). At 17, he will hopefully be a strong member of Pep’s team.

Preseason and opening fixtures are tough, and Pep team lose their opening 3 fixtures in the league. It doesn’t get easier, and Pep’s team really do struggle to find any form. Another early exit in the League Cup and fans are panicking. Forums and Facebook are ablaze with comments on saying “Pep has no ambition”. It’s a difficult place to be, and despite promises to get better, it isn’t until the winter window that Pep can act.

Results in the first half of the season

Pep is a convincing fellow, and Peter Coates agrees that now is the time to financially back his man to the levels he deserves. Instantly, Pep invests big, with Bruma, Rodrigo, Left Back Layvin Kurwaza, and midfielder Josh McEachran all joining Stokealona. Unfortunately, the winter window signals the end of Bojan’s career in Staffordshire, and he moves to the south coast after yet another fallout with Pep.

It’s getting better

Post-Christmas, and Stoke come into form. A win over Sheffield United, the team who eliminated Stoke last season, allows Stoke to go on a cup run, and before long the team pick up 5 straight wins, including a 4-0 away win against Southampton. It’s difficult to maintain, and whilst the league results fizz out, Pep focuses all attention on a very difficult cup run. A win over Manchester City away gives Pep’s team their first taste of the hallowed turf of Wembley, in a difficult tie against United.

An own goal from Johnny Evans, and a beautiful free kick from Layvin Kurzawa put Stoke into their second FA Cup final, despite a consolation goal by Falcao. The league fixture remain inconsistent, but with a focus on the FA Cup final against Chelsea, Stoke fans decide that any criticism of their 11^th placed finish will depend upon whether captain Charles Kabore lifts the famous trophy…

The FA Cup Final

Pep’s first final as Stoke manager. He has been to Champions League finals, has won the league, but this match gives him nerves like no other. This is a real test for his Stoke team. Chelsea may have lost the league to United, but they are a strong team, and are a week away from a Champions League Final against Juventus. With his Stoke defense letting in silly goals, today could be a nightmare if his boys do not play to their full. In the build up to the match, Pep allows his team a night with their families, out on the town in London, as he did so with his players at Barcelona previously. He feels it’s important for his players to relax, and relax they do. Pep himself doesn’t sleep. At least not well. He plays the various scenarios out in his head, how to counteract Jose Mourinho’s team.

The day of the match comes. As the teams arrive on their respective coaches, the atmosphere around the ground builds. An hour before kick-off, and the Stoke team take to the pitch, warming up, taking in their surroundings, and preparing. The time passes quickly, and the stadium fills. One half blue, the other red and white. The first versions of Delilah can be heard as the players make their way into the dressing rooms. Pep isn’t one to take to the dressing room for long before matches, giving his players time and space to prepare. Today, however, he has a treat… a montage of footage, set to orchestral music. Every player is included, everyone who has been a part of their journey up until this moment. It inspires. The players are pumped, and as they line up in the tunnel, there is belief that the Chelsea juggernaut can be beaten.

The whistle blows, the match begins. In truth, it is cagey. Mourinho knows Pep, and Pep knows Mourinho. Neither want to expose their weaknesses. Both teams show strengths. Chelsea lead on shots, but Stoke on possession. 45 minutes go, and neither side have a break through. In the dressing room, Pep doesn’t speak about the game…instead he tells a calming story. The players relax…they understand the message, they understand that they have their part to play.

Another cagey 45, filled with frustration, and 0-0 remains the score. It’s nervous, it’s exciting, and it is exactly how Pep imagined. Anthony Martial makes way for Mame Biram Diouf, whilst Chelsea bring on super winger Andre Yarmolenko. The final whistle blows, and nothing to separate the teams. Stoke have held their own against the Chelsea juggernauts. But can they do it for another 30 minutes? Can they sneak the win?

Extra time begins. Legs are tiring, but desire remains. This is it boys, Pep urges them on. Shots reign on both goals, but nothing is giving. Butland is on form and Courtois is unstoppable. The battle intensifies, and the second count down. With minutes to spare, the ball finds its way out left to Kurzawa, who plays a lovely cross into the box. Diouf latches on the end and heads it past the stretching arms of Courtois! 1-0 Stoke with seconds to spare! The crowd go insane.

Chelsea pressure increases, but it is useless. Stoke are resilient, and hold firm. The ref blows his final whistle and the players fall to their knees. Pep soaks up the atmosphere before going and embracing each of his players one by one. They have done it. His first trophy in England.

As Charles Kabore lifts the famous trophy, Pep smiles. Now onto the next challenge, Europe!

Conclusion

Finish: 11^th

Rating: 8/10

Yes, 11^th place is safe, but nothing special. For a Stoke team with ambitions of a high placed finish, anything below 10^th can only be seen as disappointing. But for this season at least, fans will not remember the final league position. A trophy is a trophy. This victory will be celebrated for a long time. Now Pep consolidates his position, and with new investment from Peter Coates, a good season in Europe and a higher league position are a must. An FA Cup guys…that’s pretty cool.

Pep Confidential: An alternative reality | Year Three

The experiment is simple. Using the popular game Football Manager, we will simulate what would happen in Pep Guardiola, the man famous for one of the greatest Barcelona teams of all time, were to become manager of Stoke City, thus creating the ultimate…Stokealona

 You can check out the previous year if you missed it: http://fourtwothreeonestoke.com/2015/10/13/pep-confidential-an-alternative-reality-year-two/

Full steam ahead!

And so Pep begins his third season at the helm of Stoke City, and after what Pep himself defined as “a complete failure” in year 2, it is set to be a defining one. Guardiola has put pressure on his team, with clear aims to improve on last year’s 10^th finish.

15 players leave the club, although the majority on frees. For a third season running, the club captain is sold, as Philipp Wollscheid moved on to the Ukraine and Shakhtar Donetsk, and striker Joselu is sold to newly promoted Wigan. 6 players arrive at the Britannia, with a greater emphasis on youth than ever before. Defender Salvatore Bocchetti and Serdar Tasci are the biggest expenditures arriving from Spartak Moscow, and wonderkid Anthony Martial provides Stoke fans with a bit of excitement, with facebook comments saying “finally, we may have our 15-20 goal a season striker!”

In a running theme, preseason is successful, and Stoke remain unbeaten going into the new season. Pep has set the bar higher for the season, and his young, fresh faced team is ready to accept the challenge.

Wrap up warm… winter is coming.

Another Christmas period comes, and the wind blusters through the cold stands of the Brit. Stoke are safely in 10^th. Performances have been better, and Stoke’s young team is showing promise. 9 wins, 9 draws and 6 loses put Stoke in a good place, and striker Anthony Martial has hit the ground running. Pep knows he is on to a better winning formula, and so the winter market sees little action. 1 player comes in, Sam Pearce, a 17 year old youngster from Watford. A £5.5mil offer for Sebastian Coates is too good to turn down, and Pep allows former Liverpool man to go to Lille. There are also loan moves for Stoke youngster Oliver Shenton, as well as a move back out the door for Pearce!

Out going players

In coming players

Results have been good, and despite being knocked out of the cup by specialists Sheffield United, Pep can look back on convincing wins against Manchester City, and Everton as highlights. But, as has been seen in previous seasons, it is the New Year period where Pep must consolidate his winnings, and not suffer a collapse like last season.

And now for something completely different

The team are galvanised, and use last year’s failings as motivation. Stoke go on a 3 month unbeaten run, and despite a 6 game streak where a victory cannot be bought, finish the season in their highest position under Pep, 8^th. Anthony Martial is the catalyst with his ability to bang in the crucial goals, along with Shaqiri they make Stoke a lethal team. More youngsters are brought to the forefront of the team, with Pep giving chances to any youngster who shows promise.

Pep is happy with the result, but knows that his, and the ambition of his team means that progress must continue. His youngster have shown promise, and will no doubt get better over the years. His problem now is to match the ambition of his youngsters with the rise of the club. Shaqiri is already rearing his head, seeking out a potential move to a “bigger club”, and Pep does not want to make Stoke a “selling club”. A big offer may however be hard to turn down, paper talk already speaks about potential replacements for Shaqiri at the Brit (Shakhtar’s Bernard).

Conclusion

Finish: 8^th

Rating: 7.8/10

Whilst the cup runs will be seen as disappointing, the 8^th placed finish, and the strong run in the second half of the season can be seen as a massive improvement. Pep’s young team is taking shape. In Martial he has a goal scorer who will only get better. He has bought young midfielders who will blossom over the next year or so, and has allowed his team to have a better defensive record. He knows his challenge next season will be to once again, improve on his cup runs, and to reach the Europa League. This will be difficult, and Pep must not over stretch himself, or will see another second half collapse. Investment at this stage is key. If Shaqiri or another big hitter is to leave, Pep must look to spend big, and improve the team.

 

 

Pep Confidential: An alternative reality | Year One

The experiment is simple. Using the popular game Football Manager, we will simulate what would happen in Pep Guardiola, the man famous for one of the greatest Barcelona teams of all time, were to become manager of Stoke City, thus creating the ultimate… Stokealona.

We are using FM14 (because I haven’t bought an edition of the game since then), but using FM’s in game and database editor we have updated the Stoke squad to its current team…with the exception of one of two players who I missed in the initial editor (namely Maurice Edu!).

Summer: It was amongst much excitement that Stoke City announce the arrival of Josep Guardiola as manager at the Britannia. Something of a major coup, the Catalan shocks media outlets all around the world, by ditching his comfy job in Bavaria, and switching to the less luxurious Staffordshire countryside. Citing his long held ambition to take a mid-tabled premier league team to the top, Pep said it was always his desire to see what “Jonathan Walters could bring to his style of play”, and was now “looking forward to working with the man”.

Preseason, the opening fixtures, and the summer transfer window

Despite losing to FC Basel in their first pre-season match, Stoke would go on an unbeaten run, lasting all the way until a 3-1 defeat to United at Old Trafford. Stoke fans were ecstatic, but the Pep jubilation would hit its first snag on the 9^th of August, when Stoke sold club captain Ryan Shawcross to Everton! The “Pep Out” vans parked outside the Britannia. Stoke fans grumbled, and some, posting on a well-known fan forum said that “We will get relegated this season”. The all American’s American Geoff Cameron also left, leaving for West Brom, causing the women (and quite a few men) to pine after their lost love!

2 players made their way into Stoke, with Swansea’s winger Nathan Dyer, and Hoffenheim’s midfielder Sejad Salihovic both coming in for under £4mil each. Despite the latter’s impressive stats, and his versatility, many fans questions the clubs lack of expenditure, blaming Peter Coates for a lack of money. It is during this time that Pep, keeping strong to his tradition of producing the youth, gives a debut to Stoke favourite Oliver Shenton, and promotes club cult hero Andy Wilkinson to the role of captain.

Now is the winter of our discontent

Fast forward to the New Year period, and Stoke are gloriously mid-table, and fantastically average. A bold summer pre-season has made way to a stormy winter, and despite their position in 11^th, Stoke have picked up a handful of wins. Pep is under pressure, and it seems his new Stoke are struggling to adapt to his methods. An awful Christmas period sees more losses, and the Stokealona revolution is in real peril. Whilst Stoke are playing well, a well-known former player describes how Stoke “lack characters”, and criticise Pep’s insistence on playing possession based football. Something needs to change, and it’s in midfield where Pep looks to revolutionise his team.

Strong defensive midfielder Charles Kaboré comes in for £9mil, replacing…Maurice Edu…(yep), alongside Hamburg’s Petr Jiracek. Derby’s Mason Bennet also joins Stoke, but is regarded as “one for the future” and immediately goes out on loan to Huddersfield, annoying those shouting for a 15-20 goal a season striker. Thankfully, no one leaves, and despite interest in Xherdan Shaqiri from Liverpool, Stoke only allow youth players to leave on loan.

The revolution moves forward, at the pace of a turtle.

The second half of the season sees Stoke become draw specialists. In a period of 2 months, Stoke draw 7 out of 9 matches. An early exit in the FA cup after a harsh draw against Arsenal allows Pep to focus on the league, and it is during these 2 months, that he picks up the points. What would have been loses in the first half of the season are now draws. Pep is confident that he can overcome the team’s deficiencies, and can lead Stoke to their first top half finish (this is FM14…Mark Hughes didn’t ever become the manager!)

It’s the last few matches of the season where Pep’s team really did take hold, with 4 out of 4 victories, giving Stoke a respectable finish of 9^th place! Xherdan Shaqiri and loanee Marco Van Ginkel impress during this time. The end of the season sees Stoke announce their team of the year, with Maurice Edu slotting into the team (Pep seeing something in him that Sir Tony and Mark Hughes clearly didn’t). The fans player of the year went to defender and all round happy man Marc Muniesa, and the top goal scorer Mame Biram Diouf, with 15.

Conclusion

Finish: 9^th

Rating: 6.5/10

After a difficult transition to the Guardiola method of playing, Stoke picked up the points during the second half of the season. The cup runs were disappointing, and Pep’s ambition for success will surely see him focus his attention on these competitions in coming seasons. That being said, a 9^th placed finish is still progress for Stoke, and if Pep can improve the overall quality in the next season or two, he will no doubt see the fruits of his labour.

5 Things We’ve Learnt From Aston Villa vs. Stoke City // Match Review

So a one-nil win at Villa Park sees Stoke rise up the table to 14th – at least until Chelsea have played – with the pressure being lessened after a poor start to the season. So what did we learn?

ARNIE ARNIE ARNIE!

Lets get the most important one out of the way, he was sensational today. Multiple ex-Stoke ‘personalities’ have had pops at him over the last month or so and seem to be completely oblivious to the fact that he’s proving them wrong time and time again. Not only did he score the winning goal, quite possibly should have had a second and play a vital role in nearly every chance we created, he also tracked back well and made a number of blocks to stop cross from Villa’s wide players. We’re considering hiring Ricardo Fuller part-time to slap a few of these personalities back into shape.

We’re getting relegated, yeah?

So erm… We’re still getting relegated right, or is it panic over? It’s funny the difference that two wins can make but we look to be back on track with six points in six and we’ll only continue to grow in confidence if we play like we did today. Tim Sherwood has said after the game that Villa were unlucky not to draw the game but in truth there was only ever going to be one winner and Marko Arnautovic was going to be it.

From the moment his first goal was disallowed the Austrian was determined to make life hell for the Villans and he did so. Truly Sherwood is lucky that Stoke didn’t score two or three goals and even after going behind his team barely threatened the Stoke goal.

Dropping back after scoring

That being said, Stoke didn’t exactly make it easy for themselves. As soon as the goal went in the central midfielders dropped twenty yards back and Hughes seemed happy to set up shop and soak up the Villa pressure. It was this tactic that saw us lose points against both Leicester and Norwich as well as seeing the Potters pegged back by Bournemouth before Mame Biram Diouf’s winner.

Tony Pulis was often lamented for taking the route, and Mark Hughes doesn’t even have the players at his disposal for this to be a viable option. An opposing team are obviously going to pile on pressure after conceding but the team don’t help themselves when there is such a large gap between the central midfield and attacking players. It has, and will continue to, cost us points against better teams.

Back Fourtress

It should really be fivetress but that doesn’t sound as good. While it’s not a back four that many would’ve predicted at the start of the season – even with captain Ryan Shawcross out – it’s the one that has come to the for and been solid in two wins. In last week’s match review we praised Philipp Wollscheid for stepping up, but also mentioned that he’d need to continue in a similar fashion to stake a claim for a regular first team spot and the German did not disappoint. Many Stoke fans were having nightmares about the 4-1 defeat to Blackburn at the hands of Gestede but the defence today coped with him comfortably and Villa barely had a peak at goal.

It was Butland’s first clean sheet this season and it was in a game where he barely had a save to make as Villa looked impotent. Getting the win last week was vital for the team but the clean sheet will galvanise this defence. As they continue to build this confidence as a unit we should see less of the sloppy mistakes and miscommunications that we’ve had so far this season

Glen Johnson

Our special mention this week goes out to Glen Johnson, many questioned his signing but he’s certainly showing Stoke fans what a right back is supposed to do. With the backwards and forwards “he’s good defensively” or “he’s good going forwards” or “he’s just not very good” of Bardsley last year Johnson is a breath of fresh air. Excellent carrying the ball forwards and actually blocking crosses from the opposition (Hallelujah – Praise the Lord!). Johnson is an improvement both ways for Stoke, and all for nothing out of the transfer budget.

Two assists in two games in which he’s also provided a threat going forward for the opposition to try and deal with he’s also gotten himself into a scary number of positions in which he could’ve scored – starting the opening week against his old Liverpool – Johnson is a scary prospect for a team used to seeing fullbacks having a brain haemorrhage if they crossed the half way line. His only weakness so far is that his passing has sometimes been a bit too cute, but that seems to be improving as he gels with the team. Erik Pieters is unlucky to miss out in this spot, he’s been brilliant in the last few weeks.

Behind Enemy Lines: Aston Villa

Something new for 4231, before each game we’ll be bringing you the view from the opposition. First up are the guys from avillafan, here’s what they had to say:

Obviously the two clubs are in a similar position after disappointing starts to the season, how’re you feeling about the rest of the season and where do you think you’ll finish?

I don’t have a clue. Our squad is stronger than it has been in a long time but we are still leaking goals left, right and centre.

You don’t need me to tell you how bad it’s been over the past few years so I can’t help but worry. It’s hard work being a Villa fan and very tiring!

Tough year ahead for Tactics Tim

How are you feeling about Tim Sherwood’s first transfer window? There was quite a bit of action with ten players in, any stand outs or notable clangers so far?

Idrissa Gueye and Micah Richards have been the standouts for me. Gueye is a ready made replacement for Delph and to be honest – probably a better all round player. Richards is a Birmingham boy and Villa supporter as a kid so is determined to prove himself.

Gestede and Ayew have frustrated me a little so far. Both have proved they have the ability but go missing too often.

On the transfer front, many were surprised to see Adama Traore join Villa over Stoke in the summer, how is he adapting to the Premier League?

He has been injured but from what we have seen of him he looks strong, powerful and fast. He will look to take on any one in front of him. Once we can improve the distribution side of things he will be some player. No doubt, on his way back to Barcelona in a year or two.

Are there any youth prospects coming through the academy to look out for – that aren’t being poached by Arsenal – anyone likely to make the first team soon?

Jack Grealish is the obvious one but with the media you have probably heard of him.

Otherwise, there aren’t too many on the brink at the moment with all the new faces. Sherwood has vowed to use our ‘excellent youth setup’ so time will tell.

There have been a few great goals between the two sides in recent years; which is your favourite – Andy Weimann’s curling effort from 2012 or Mamady Sidibe’s back headed winner in 2008?

It would have to be neither of them. Matty Lowton’s strike from the edge of the box a few years ago at your place. Some strike! [I had genuinely repressed this – Sam]

With it being a local game Stoke are likely to bring quite a few away fans. Any advice, or good places to go?

Drinking wise it will be the Witton Arms locally or head into the city centre.

There are loads in the city centre with the newly opened shopping centre, Grand Central. We have the bullring; plenty of bars and pubs of all sorts.

You shouldn’t go bored in Brum.

If you could have one Stoke player for the Villa team who would it be?

Right now probably Shawcross. Undervalued in my view. Never does anything special, just keeps it simple. A proper centre half!

And finally the obvious one, score prediction?

I don’t like to predict openly but I take part in a Prediction League on our forum for a bit of fun and I’ve gone for a home win. 2-1.

You are a bit of a bogey team to us though so it wouldn’t surprise me if you took all three points followed by an angry reaction from the home fans

Chiraag Gokal: It’s Game, Set Piece, Match For Stoke This Season // Guest Blog

Following a slow start to the season, 4231 Guest Chiraag Gokal gives his thoughts on Stoke’s set piece problem, and why it’s causing the side so many issues this season….

The league table doesn’t lie.

Stoke have had a characteristic yet frustrating start to the season.

After 5 games Stoke City, with Sunderland for company, prop up the table with 2 points apiece. Whilst it would be extreme to foresee the Potters in a relegation dogfight come May, being 19th and winless five games in illustrates that there are still creases that need to be ironed out from a side that has produced back-to-back ninth places in the last two campaigns.

Manager Mark Hughes has come in for some criticism over the past weekend for trying to be too expansive following a 2-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, which is odd given that we lambasted the previous gaffer for doing the exact opposite. For what it’s worth, I applaud Hughes for showing ambition in playing two up top at Arsenal, a tactic that just over a year ago yielded a 1-0 away win at then-champions Manchester City, and I think that our loss on Saturday was down to poor performances on the day on the players’ part (in particular the likes of Glenn Whelan, who has otherwise had a solid season start, and Marco van Ginkel), not Hughes. After all, Tony Pulis’ most ardent fans always want to give the spine Pulis assembled the credit for good results and blame Hughes for the bad ones.

For all their resounding successes, however, the area that Hughes, Bowen and co does deserve to come under fire for is one where we have leaked a torrential number of goals from since the beginning of their tenure: set-pieces. In an ironic turn of events, the team that was once invincible at dead-ball situations has now become one of the most susceptible to and ineffective from them. It simply cannot continue.

It’s become a concern of mine for over a year, and this weekend instead of mindlessly throwing tomatoes at the management team to work on set-plays, I decided to have a closer inspection at what might be wrong. And there appear to be some glaringly obvious inadequacies.

This team is at a slight height disadvantage to that one that was admirably well-drilled in this department under Tony Pulis, so one can empathize with Hughes to an extent, but surely after conceding umpteen times from corners and free-kicks he should think to put one, if not two men on the goal-line?

Key aerial battles were lost at the weekend, which doesn’t bode well at set pieces.

It is pretty commonplace for a team to have a man on either post to give the goalkeeper some assurance should he have to come out of his 6-yard box to claim the delivery, and I can’t see the logic in doing otherwise. I distinctly remember two seasons back we lost 3-1 at the Emirates due to two looping headers from Mertesacker and Sagna from set-pieces, and that’s not the only time it’s happened. It puts unnecessary pressure on the keeper and makes scoring embarrassingly easier for the opposition.

The second issue I have is with Whelan being designated to attack the ball at the front post. He doesn’t look cut out for that job. From memory, we’ve conceded three goals in 2015 from poorly attempted headers from Whelan: on New Year’s Day against Man United, away to Spurs in August and this past weekend at Arsenal. He doesn’t attack the ball the way Kenwyne Jones or Shawcross did when they were given this dubious duty. Under Pulis, Crouch would be the first man to clear, and needless to say that was very difficult to do. Whelan is not short but I would prefer someone not only taller but also better aerially to do the role that Glenn is doing at present.

The third issue I have is with the man-marking. At Carrow Road a couple of weeks back, I remember a scenario where Norwich had a free-kick just inside our half. Stephen Ireland was the man tracking substitute Bradley Johnson, arguably their most potent aerial threat on the pitch at the time, at the back post. Johnson won that duel but fortunately for us side-footed wide. I’m not sure whether that’s down to captain Shawcross being missing or nonchalance from Hughes and Bowen, but either way it needs to be addressed.

The defending for Arsenal’s second goal by Giroud on Saturday was putrid. The Gunners had three men in the box, whereas we had seven, excluding Butland. Whelan was goal-side of the Giroud and Cameron and Bardsley, who I am developing an increasing distaste for, were just behind him, and failed to track his run. For us to concede so tamely when we were still in with a chance of snatching a fortuitous point is very exasperating.

I haven’t got any coaching badges but I’m sure what I’d recommend would work slightly better than what we’re doing at the moment. For starters, I’d put Whelan and Bojan/Ireland on the goal-line. I’d then have van Ginkel attacking the delivery at the front post with Arnautovic at the back stick, leaving the striker and the back four each with a man to pick up. I’d suggest that Pieters and Cameron identify and mark the opponent’s biggest attackers, whilst Shaqiri prowls outside the area, waiting to snuff out anything short and initiate a counter.

It’s far too early to press panic buttons, and I think at worst Stoke will finish twelfth, and at best we are well-equipped to achieve our goal of European football… that is, if we resolve our set-piece inadequacies before they come back to bite us.

 

Chiraag Gokal is a 4231 guest blog icon, and has done various pieces for us so far. You can find him passionately raging at Stoke on Twitter.

4231 Reviews: Stoke City’s Summer Transfer Window 2015

The window creaked shut with a whimper, as a drawn out deadline day ended with no new additions following the collapse of a late Mile Jedinak deal (Boo! – Sam). Keen to draw out the positives for the seemingly never-ending summer, the 4231 team downed tools and got together to review the club’s business during the window.

WHAT IMPRESSED YOU MOST ABOUT THE TRANSFER WINDOW?

Cartwright and his team have come in for universal credit.

Chris: I was particularly impressed by the fields of influence we now find ourselves operating in in the transfer market. We’ve certainly increased the quality of our squad and attracted an entirely new type of player. I also loved that Mark Hughes is essentially signing my Stoke team from Football Manager 2012, we won the title in 2017…but that was with Danny Welbeck up front, so maybe it’s not entirely realistic to think that that is just around the corner!

Jase: Breaking a transfer record, signing a world class player, strengthening the key areas of the side and building for the future in academy signings. All for a net spend which was the second lowest of the entire league. HUGHES THAT.

Moz: Aiming high, we got the one big fish that was promised, and if it was not for mental Ukrainian owners – who knows what could have been?

Sam: The speed and ruthlessness that we showed in working through our targets once the window had actually opened was extremely pleasing to see. Also the depth to our transfer team’s work as we addressed key areas, not just from the previous season but also on the fly as a certain player left.

 

WHO WAS YOUR BEST SIGNING OF THE WINDOW?

No one can fail to be impressed by Stoke’s new defensive powerhouse, er what?

Chris: In terms of pure excitement, it’s got to be Shaqiri. I never thought I would see the day where a player of such quality, and such reputation would sign for Stoke. Him aside, I got quite excited by Shay Given…Sam alluded to it in an earlier piece, but it’s ace to see someone of his class in a Stoke shirt, even if it is a good few years after I would have liked.

Jase: I’m going to have to be boring on this one, and go for Shaqiri. I had visions of Hughes’ deal for Odemwingie signalling that we’d go another season without a first choice right winger, and thankfully he proved me wrong with a £12m deal that could well prove to be a steal in these absurd times. If he settles and clicks quickly, we’re a whole new side up top.

Moz: It is a toss up between signing Shaqiri and Wilson telling the world he is still here until 2018.

Sam: This is a really tough call for all the right reasons, last year I jinxed Steve Sidwell (sorry Ginger Scholes) but this year from incoming signings it’s probably Glen Johnson. I’ve been a big critic of the right back but he’s coming into the right club for his level and I’ll be honest, anything that keeps Phil Bardsley out of the team is a plus in my eyes. Marco van Ginkel is a close shout and would’ve been my pick if it had been a permanent deal. There’s a hell of a player in there and he could – in time – combine the driving runs of N’Zonzi with the defensive work of Whelan. Also worth mentioning Geoff Cameron’s new deal. This guy is proving all of his critics wrong and showing that he’s a great player. Shawcross might struggle to win his place back by January.

 

WHO WAS THE BIGGEST RISK?

New boy Joselu Mato has a big task ahead of him.

Chris: Afraid it’s going to be Joselu. The amount we paid for him may be little in terms of what some other clubs have paid this summer, but any striker coming into this Stoke team will always have that “He’s not a 15-20 goal a season striker!” shouted at them as soon as they miss a sitter.

Jase: Strikers are always likely to be slaughtered more than any other player, because scoring from armchairs is easy business. For that I really consider Joselu as the biggest risk. He’s been brought in to replace Peter Crouch, who’s been regularly top scorer in recent years, and to provide competition for Mame Diouf, currently in the form of his Stoke career. There is pressure from all sides for him to succeed, and he’s barely had a kick of the ball in the league as of yet. He’ll need time to adjust as with all signings, but you better believe he’ll be given grief if the risk fails to come off.

Moz: Joselu, cost big money, shown glimpses, but his performance vs Luton was Pericard-esque, obviously needs time, but for so much money, needs to deliver a lot quicker than others.

Sam: The entire fate of Mark Hughes’ Potteries Blaugrana project rests heavily on the success of each new acquisition, while Muniesa and Bojan have proved early successes the signing of Moha will take time to develop, so for me the biggest risk is Afellay. The oldest of the Catalan – ok not really! – recruits Afellay should be the most ready to make an impact, however it also means that he’s the least malleable. We’ve already seen the fiery side to the Dutch prodigy, if he can control that fire into quality performances then we could have something special. If he can’t however, any new comings will be tinged with an edge of trepidation rather than raw excitement.

 

HOW DOES THIS WINDOW COMPARE TO HUGHES’ PREVIOUS WINDOWS?

So how do the new boys compare?

Chris: I’ve felt this has been the best window under Hughes so far. The crazy levels of Bojan euphoria were beaten by Shaq-Mania, we strengthened our team in areas necessary, and bought youngsters for the future. Folks will point to the lack of a DM or the signing of a last minute CB as a failure, but personally I think our team will grow and work together. The partnership of Muniesa and Cameron will develop over the weeks, and will find their rhythm, and Van Ginkel will find his feet (I thought he was one of our most determined and best players in the West Brom battle).

 Jase: Once we kept Walters on the last day, I’d argue against popular opinion but I think this is the most complete window we’ve had under Hughes. We needed a first choice right winger and got Xherdan Shaqiri. Hate him all you like but Wollscheid came in to provide options at centre back, whilst Afellay and Van Ginkel offer central cover to fill the N’Zonzi void. We signed Joselu to freshen up the attack behind Diouf and covered Begovic’s bench position with Given and the surprisingly impressive Haugaard. It may not have been the perfect window for everyone, but I’m extremely happy with how it’s gone. I even like Glen Johnson now!

Moz: We signed Shaq-attaq!! Even though some think we have not got the players we needed (obviously suffer from goldfish syndrome) – we were desperate for a right back – got one, desperate for a winger – got one, needed a N’Zonzi replacement – got one (albeit needs time), experienced backup goalkeeper – got one. Ideally another winger would have been perfect at the start of it and I would not have complained if we managed to get a left back and defensive midfielder in, but our most needed players we got in.

Sam: This was very much a summer of putting the finishing touches to a very strong squad with much needed improvements at right back and out wide while fleshing out a few of the shallower areas of the team and we were well on course to do that prior to N’Zonzi leaving. That left us with a few questions in the centre of midfield but it’s been evident to me so far that we have enough about us there to not have to worry too much. We were also in an excellent position to pick and choose the necessary players, unlike previous windows where it was a case of getting any quality we could in as soon as possible and fleshing out areas of the team with no players.

 

HOW FAR CAN THE CURRENT SIDE GO?

The answer? We’ll let Jon tell you.

Chris: Oh god. I don’t want to be conservative, but I would be more than happy with another top 10 finish. This year will be a bigger battle than ever, despite our record signing. It will take us time to work things out, but things will click. For me it’s just a matter of how long it takes for that to happen. If we hit that early, we can reach 7^th. That’s what the team seem to want to aim for anyway…and with a bit of belief in the squad it is perfectly possible. I’ll accept 11^th, be happy with 9^th, ecstatic with 7^th.

Jase: I said before the season started that I’d happily take 11th place, and I stand by that for the course of the season. The signings will need to gel in a notoriously slow spell for Hughes’ sides, so expect a few more frustrating weeks before things start to click. I think there’s an outside chance of the Top 10 this season, but I feel like this is a season of revolution rather than evolution.

Moz: Similar to what last season did, realistically we are close to the ceiling, and people need to realise this – we have had our spine ripped out and it will take time for it to adjust, but glimpses of quality and the heart they have shown makes me comfortable, with Shaqiri and Bojan, we could be a delight to watch and a headache for the League.

Sam: It’s very hard to say just how far this side could go. At full strength as a first team XI it’s not incomparable to sides that have spent far vaster sums of money. There are very few players in the Liverpool or Spurs XI’s that we’ve faced this season that I’d swap for their corresponding Stoke player. That said we don’t really have the quality in depth of either of those clubs so right now 7th would probably be our limit in the best of cases. Maintaining our top half status has to be the minimum target though.

STOKE FANS’ THREE WORD WINDOW

Some were quite pleased with the business:

@4231Stoke Crackin' window, Gromit!

— Frosty (@RunFrosty) September 1, 2015

@4231Stoke great attacking options

— Espleypotter (@Marcespley) September 1, 2015

@4231Stoke Exciting attacking options

— Jeremy Leese (@caribbeanpotter) September 1, 2015

There was special praise for Shaqiri:

@4231Stoke Shaquiri absolutely fantastic 😎

— ✨Linda Bennett✨ (@LindaLovesStoke) September 1, 2015

@4231Stoke @scfcjase Xherdan fucking Shaqiri

— Brad Jones (@red_banjos) September 1, 2015

@4231Stoke Xherdan Shaqiri, motherfucker

— Zach (@NOLAStokie) September 1, 2015

A few expressed concerns:

@4231Stoke still not balanced

— lisa cobden (@cobby68) September 1, 2015

@4231Stoke Not replaced N'zonzi

— Georgina S Harris (@GSH1987) September 2, 2015

@4231Stoke Hurry back, Ryan!

— Charlie Bester (@JugBankStokie) September 1, 2015

Others got a tad sarcastic:

@4231Stoke No Carlton Cole. 😭😭

— Fiery Imbula (@JChatfield94) September 1, 2015

@4231Stoke Where's Carlton Cole?

— Ryan Stokes (@RyanStokes18) September 1, 2015

A couple fired shots:

@4231Stoke @mightypotters1 better than pulis

— john cucyk (@johncucyk) September 1, 2015

@4231Stoke better than @Arsenal

— Mike (@teamfaceplant) September 1, 2015

And one is off our Christmas card list:

@4231Stoke all your fault

— Thomas Fildes (@thomasfildes) September 1, 2015

5 Things We Learned From Stoke vs West Brom // Match Review

A disappointing result does’t tell the entire story, with plenty of pride and talking points emanating from the defeat against Tony Pulis’ West Brom. 4231’s Jase covers the Top 5 talking points from the game…

Stoke The Fiery Spirit

With every growing game, the myth of a lack of fight in the current squad is dispelled. I’m not talking about the bad fight either, but the spirited attempts to push forward and salvage a result despite being down to 9 men.

The season isn’t defined in 90 minutes. Whilst the lack of a win after 4 matches is disappointing, we should be encouraged by the performances so far and that chances are being created. For those worrying about the slow start, fear not. Last season we had 8 points from 6 matches – we’re only two wins away from equalling that.

The American Dream

What on earth has happened to Geoff Cameron? After coming in and out of the starting XI at right back last season, a solid summer break seems to have bred a complete different player this season. The utility man was superb as a sub against Luton midweek, indeed crashing home the winning penalty, and today he was solid again alongside Marc Muniesa.

There are debates that suggest he could have done better with the goal, but over the course of 90 minutes Cameron continued to rejuvenate his Stoke career. One of our stars of the season so far.

Marco’s Very Good

One who has split opinion in the opening games, today was huge for Van Ginkel. Lining up in midfield alongside Adam and Whelan, he had it all to do when two of the 5 midfielders saw red in the first half. Yet he seemed to thrive under the pressure and helped Stoke’s counter attacking approach against a resolute West Brom side.

He’s not the complete package yet and it’ll take time for him to settle in, but it’s an encouraging performance that has won over supporters. Given more time to gel with Whelan in the midfield two, he could yet provide the Box-to-Box solution we’re desperately needing.

Abject Afellay

The same unfortunately can’t be said for Ibrahim Afellay, who has thus far underwhelmed early in his Stoke career.

Today he reacted badly on two separate occasions. The first was when he was shoved into advertising boards, and reacted by pushing away a hand of apology. This set the tone for the game, where he then reacted to Craig Gardner’s tackle by slapping him across the face. It was a straight red that left the side in disarray, and was a culmination of Afellay’s early performances at Stoke.

Afellay's cheeky little slap. Red card 😅👊 http://t.co/64W6Y1HFGY

— Football Fights (@footbalIfights) August 29, 2015

I hope that a spell out of the side gives him the chance to calm down and reflect from his experiences in the league, and to learn from them. He’s not a youth – he’s 29 years old. We expect better from an experienced player.

Where’s Walters?

The surprise omission of Jon Walters from the matchday squad has fuelled further speculation about his Stoke future. Despite Hughes wanting Walters to stay, there is no contract agreed as of yet and Norwich are still testing Stoke’s resolve with bids.

With Afellay largely ineffective on the wings, it does raise the burning question – if Walters goes, do we need a winger in for cover? With Jonathan Calleri heavily linked again over the course of the week and Andriy Yarmolenko’s saga continuing to rage on, Rob Dorsett may not have a quiet deadline day after all…

Match Preview: Stoke City vs Liverpool

The new season is here at last! We offer our first match preview of the season as Stoke welcome back Liverpool to the Britannia Stadium. Sunday 4pm – Live on Sky Sports.

Last Time Out…

Like anyone needs reminding. The season opener is a back to back fixture following the head to head in May, with Stoke figuratively dismantling the away side in a 6-1 demolition. A brace from Mame Diouf alongside goals from Jon Walters, Charlie Adam, Steven N’Zonzi and Peter Crouch topped off a record breaking season for The Potters. Steven Gerrard scored his final Premier League goal as he bid farewell to Liverpool. Don’t expect a repeat of that result this weekend, however.

Key Players

Stoke City – Marc Muniesa

We love Marc Muniesa, who may be the happiest footballer on earth. We were as happy as the little Spaniard when he penned a new 4 year deal this week, and his first big test as a key player comes on Sunday. Ryan Shawcross has long been the defensive rock of Stoke’s back line, and his injury threatens to leave the defensive solidity in disarray. Muniesa has been superb in his preferred centre half role, and has really made it his own. With new found responsibility and a taste for pocketing big strikers (Costa, Lukaku et al), Marc needs to be ready to add another to his list.

Liverpool – Christian Benteke

The monstrous target man arrives at Anfield with a hefty £32m price tag on his shoulders, but expect Benteke to relish the prospect of leading the line. A scoring rate of roughly 1 in 2 in a poor Aston Villa side is frankly sublime, and could have been more were it not for injuries. With Ryan Shawcross out injured, Benteke vs the centre halves will be the key battle in Sunday’s game.

Line Ups

Stoke City

Despite a roaring end to the season, Mame Diouf may find himself benched initially as Mark Hughes may use his record signing Joselu as the main man to spearhead the attack. Injuries to Marko Arnautovic coupled with transfer window frustrations may see Walters and Afellay deployed out wide, despite the latter talking up his chances of a central midfield berth this season. Bojan not being fully fit may leave Hughes with the chance to try Charlie Adam in the advanced role, rotating with new loanee Marco Van Ginkel. Sidwell has held the captaincy during pre season and may also feature as Stoke try to readjust to life after N’Zonzi.

There were questions raised about Glen Johnson’s fitness levels, so expect to see Geoff Cameron start in the full back positions if Glen isn’t up to speed. Ryan Shawcross is out for 2 months due to surgery, so Muniesa and Wollscheid are likely to pair up in the middle whilst Marc Wilson is out injured. Asmir Begovic’s departure sees Jack Butland step up to take the #1 shirt permanently.

Liverpool

The addition of Christian Benteke offers Liverpool a powerful centre forward to spearhead the attack, whilst fellow new addition Danny Ings offers a Plan B when the game is stretched late on. With the exciting Roberto Firmino making his debut behind him, Benteke will find himself with more supply than he was used to at Villa. Liverpool may have lost their midfield talisman Steven Gerrard, but in James Milner have an underrated and industrious midfielder who could prove to be one of the best buys of the season. Nathaniel Clyne is a fantastic addition the defence in a problem area for the back line (we love you really Glen) and the line up overall is much stronger than the side who were hammered at the Britannia at the end of last season.

Score Prediction

4231: Stoke City 0-2 Liverpool

We start the season slowly under Mark Hughes, and with a lack of genuine wingers and Shawcross missing in the centre, we feel it would be Liverpool’s match to win.

Twitter Stokies

@4231Stoke 0-3 Liverpool

— Mitch Adams (@MitchAdams2013) August 8, 2015

@4231Stoke 2-1 Stoke Diouf and Van Ginkel

— Espleypotter (@Marcespley) August 8, 2015

@4231Stoke 2-2 Muniesa & Odemwingie

— StokieUK (@pharbron) August 8, 2015

https://twitter.com/BojanCairkic/status/629990009681149952

https://twitter.com/RichiesHeader/status/629989621859008512

Twitter Reds

@4231Stoke 1-1

— Fintan (@KyloLovren) August 8, 2015

 

 

New Signing: Afellay switches to Staffordshire

Another month, another player from Barcelona joining Stoke City. Today, Stoke confirmed the signing of Dutch international Ibrahim Afellay on a free transfer following his release from the Catalan club. It comes as somewhat of a shock and shows yet again the circles in which Stoke are now trying to conduct themselves in. However, when looking deeper into the history of Afellay, it perhaps is not as surprising as many would suspect.

The Most Unbelievable Signing Of The Window – Shay Given // Player Profile

I’ll be honest. I’m still trying to get my head around this one, and it’s not just with Stoke’s decision to announce these signings like it’s the last day of the window. I’m just struggling to wrap my tiny child mind stuck back in 2000-02 around the idea of Shay Given (SHAY FUCKING GIVEN) in a Stoke shirt. The Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool fans were all enjoying their time with the Henry’s, van Nistelrooy’s and the like, and there was one player that I was obsessed with (you might’ve guess who by now) Shay Given. I’ll be honest it’s 15 years later and Shay is clearly not the same player he was at 29, but it’s still a dream come true as he today signed a 2 year deal with the Potters.

Not a name you’ll be unfamiliar with I’m sure, but here’s the low down on Shay’s illustrious career:

Wulfert Cornelius van Ginkel // Player Profile

The latest of Mark Hughes’ summer recruits has arrived in the form of Dutch wonder-kid Wulfert Cornelius ‘Marco’ van Ginkel. van Ginkel has joined the club on loan as part of the deal to take Asmir Begovic to Stamford Bridge. Once one of the highest regarded talents in the Dutch Youth van Ginkel is looking to make the next step in order to progress after stalling at Chelsea. Here’s everything that you need to know about Marco.

4231 Interview…DUCK Magazine

Last week, FourTwoThreeOne Stoke met up with the folks behind DUCK Magazine to discuss Fanzine Culture, Modern Football, and Stoke past, present & future. 

5 POSITIVE things to take from Stoke V Man City

4231’s Chris Brammer assesses why, even in defeat, there are plenty of reasons for Stoke fans to be positive after the 4-1 loss to Manchester City.

On the face of it, a 4-1 defeat at home reads as a crushing blow in the Premier League. But, and I don’t know whether this is just because of my own sunny disposition, I came away from our home defeat to Manchester City in a rather pleasant mood. This wasn’t a case of masochism on my part, but an appreciation of several positive factors I saw in the match.

Player Profile: Edin Dzeko

Following on from the remarkable attempt to sign Xherdan Shaqiri, Mark Hughes opts to return to raid a former club for some firepower – Edin Dzeko.