Dear Stoke...

[Rob]

I don't think Stoke are too bad a side and they have a couple of decent players - notably Fuller. Delap's throws are a fair enough weapon, although he should not be allowed to take his time like he is lining up a golf put. But that's for the officials to act on.

Stoke itself is a hellish dump - although I haven't seen it since the 80s but it doesn't appear to have changed a lot. Doubtless their fans - or most of them - leave much to be desired.

But quite the worst thing about Stoke is Pulis. With his anorak and baseball cap, he looks - and sounds - like a two bob thug, directing mayhem from afar and always ready to run for it if the trouble gets up close.

Phil Brown took a lot of stick last year. But he always struck me as someone too stupid to be really malicious. Pulis by contrast needs to be returned down the rat hole from whence he should never have emerged in the first place.

[LDB]

I don't think Stoke are too bad a side and they have a couple of decent players - notably Fuller. Delap's throws are a fair enough weapon, although he should not be allowed to take his time like he is lining up a golf put. But that's for the officials to act on.

Stoke itself is a hellish dump - although I haven't seen it since the 80s but it doesn't appear to have changed a lot. Doubtless their fans - or most of them - leave much to be desired.

But quite the worst thing about Stoke is Pulis. With his anorak and baseball cap, he looks - and sounds - like a two bob thug, directing mayhem from afar and always ready to run for it if the trouble gets up close.

Phil Brown took a lot of stick last year. But he always struck me as someone too stupid to be really malicious. Pulis by contrast needs to be returned down the rat hole from whence he should never have emerged in the first place.

Spot on

[charliegeorgewhocanhitem]

Stoke are a decent team who make the most of the assets they have - decent keeper, solid defenders, workaholic midfielders and strikers combined with utilising setpeices in front of one of the best home supports in the premiership the results are generally fantastic and they consistantly overachieve.

Any one who has played football must appreciate there is no better feeling than beating a better team. Every team must play to their stregths, it's all very well posting messages of hate on an internet forum but I'm sure at the start of the season if you offered Stoke three points in the league and a cup victory to boot they'd bite your hand off (not literally)

Still a great win for us, good to see some character at long last.

I agree partly with what you say and you raise some valid points but there comes a time where "playing to your strengths" crosses a line and becomes unacceptable if your "strengths" are roughing up the opposition if they are percieved rightly or wrongly to be a "soft touch" if you don't feel able to compete with them in a footballing contest. I put more blame on that fucking twat Pulis than the guy who actually made the tackle, he's the one who sends his team out to "rough us up" a bit, safe in the knowledge that the Arsenal hating press wil back up his plans with their "good old English tackle" bollocks. As others have already pointed out, it's no coincidence that now three of our players have had serious career threatening injuries as a result of this approach taken against us. Yes we do need to toughen up, I agree, then maybe c**ts like Pulis will think twice about sending their clogging c**ts out to play in this way against us. Stoke? a team who's only attacking tactic is a fucking throw on I hope they go down but I think they are capable of clogging and plodding their way to a mid tabe position for the next few seasons. So Peter Storey, I salute you for breaking the c**ts hearts with that last minute penalty in the FA cup semi on that April day back in 71

The problem is there isnt much "toughening up" we can do if teams still see there only way to win in giving this a go. Until the referees wake up to what everybody else in the stadium can see this isnt going to change. And the result is a lad who should have become one of the best players in world football being hospitalised. I doubt he will ever reach those heights now.

I disagree, not so long ago we had the likes of Viera, Keown, Lauren etc in the side and I don't recall too many northern cloggers thinking that they could bully those type of players but at the same time we played good football which came first and foremost but if they needed to they could also mix it with anyone. Pity we hav'nt got the same ability to stand up to clueless clogging *word censored* now.
Agree about Ramsey, Eduardo is definitely not the player he was before his injury so I'm not too hopefull about Ramsey ever realising his full potential after this

[bergkamp10]

I don't think Stoke are too bad a side and they have a couple of decent players - notably Fuller. Delap's throws are a fair enough weapon, although he should not be allowed to take his time like he is lining up a golf put. But that's for the officials to act on.

Stoke itself is a hellish dump - although I haven't seen it since the 80s but it doesn't appear to have changed a lot. Doubtless their fans - or most of them - leave much to be desired.

But quite the worst thing about Stoke is Pulis. With his anorak and baseball cap, he looks - and sounds - like a two bob thug, directing mayhem from afar and always ready to run for it if the trouble gets up close.

Phil Brown took a lot of stick last year. But he always struck me as someone too stupid to be really malicious. Pulis by contrast needs to be returned down the rat hole from whence he should never have emerged in the first place.

Great comments. I couldn't understand the crap he was saying to Cesc towards the end of the game. Cesc gesture to him was great...

[blifil]

Dear Stoke,

Everthing about you disgusts me and is vile. Your 'football', your approach, your manager, your fans and your team. Enjoy the Premiership because you'll soon be going down never to return.

Rob.

i disagree on what you said about their fans, they showed respect to ramsey yesterday!

By chanting he's only got one leg? Deeply respectful..

was a minority which you'd get anywhere.

Wasn't a minority singing 'only one leg'. They did clap him off, though.

[digger]

I hope someone finds that *word censored* who was giving Ramsey the "wanker" sign as he was put into the ambulance and stabs him in the face, repeatedly. Worthless piece of shit.

[REB]

I hope someone finds that c**t who was giving Ramsey the "wanker" sign as he was put into the ambulance and stabs him in the face, repeatedly. Worthless piece of shit.

get these wankers in every ground including ours, i will say the majority of stoke fans in the ground were clapping him off which was good to see.

[DB10GOONER]

I hope someone finds that c**t who was giving Ramsey the "wanker" sign as he was put into the ambulance and stabs him in the face, repeatedly. Worthless piece of shit.

Saw that hoodie wanker. As Reb says, every club has them. We have the type of arseholes that sing about the Jews murdered in concentration camps...

Every club has mongs.

[Rob Admin]

I heard a great comment made on the radio this morning. The caller rightly stated that it is complete bollocks about teams having no money having to resort to tough physical tactics in order to survive. The caller pointed out that our team was assembled with lots of free transfers yet we train and play a technical game.

The tactics of Stoke are exactly the reson that the national side has under achieved for decades. I don't see the teams with less money and unable to get out of the bottom half of the Italian and Spanish leagues resorting to physical tactics, so why in the Premiership? It's backward moronic football, and only now that we have cultured managers in the Premiership are we catching up with the rest of the world and learning how to actually play the fucking game we invented.

The sooner the likes of Stoke with their long throws and punts forward are relagated to the Championship the better it is for all us.

Rob.

[Henry Norris 1913]

great point Rob.

[treygoony]

Hope they go down and never fucking come back.

[brazilianGOONER]

I heard a great comment made on the radio this morning. The caller rightly stated that it is complete bollocks about teams having no money having to resort to tough physical tactics in order to survive. The caller pointed out that our team was assembled with lots of free transfers yet we train and play a technical game.

The tactics of Stoke are exactly the reson that the national side has under achieved for decades. I don't see the teams with less money and unable to get out of the bottom half of the Italian and Spanish leagues resorting to physical tactics, so why in the Premiership? It's backward moronic football, and only now that we have cultured managers in the Premiership are we catching up with the rest of the world and learning how to actually play the fucking game we invented.

The sooner the likes of Stoke with their long throws and punts forward are relagated to the Championship the better it is for all us.

Rob.

brilliant post, rob. i never mentioned that subject here as i was afraid of sounding a little bit anti-english football, but it is about time a few english teams learn how to properly play the fucking game that they invented themselves. the likes of stoke and bolton will never win anything (they could have their chances in cups for example) while they stick to these 30 year old football tactics.

people insist that the national team is weak because of too many foreigners in the league, but i believe the true reason why england is never a good team is because of the old fashioned football mentality that is put into them. you have wonderful footballers in gerrard, rooney, lampard, ferdinand, cole... if the philosophy of the good passing football was more spread in england, i believe even more AND better players would appear and you'd probably be as strong as brazil.

[storrmin571]

Pullis is actually from Newport = Total dump and rough as sandpaper.


From Wikipedia.
Pulis has a reputation within the game for achieving solid results on small budgets and also maintains the proud record of never being relegated as a manager.[2] He is sometimes criticised for using an overly negative and direct style of play; however, Pulis has defended his approach.[3]

[Rob Admin]

I know this is old territory but.... back in the 70's we had 4 strong divisions with 99% British players. Look what good that did. Failure to qualify in 74, and 78. It takes a squad of 15 players to win a World Cup and if these elite 15 are playing against the best in the world week in week out then that is only going to make them better players.

I used to argue this point with people til I was blue in the face 12 years ago when Wenger's team was full of foreigners ruining the national team. Funny how since the media darlings United and Liverpool have copied Wenger's blueprint that this argument is no longer trotted out.

Wenger has done so much not for the Premiership but also the national team, a quiet revolution that started in 1997.

Fuck Stoke, fuck Pulis and there football from the dark days.

Rob.

[brazilianGOONER]

I know this is old territory but.... back in the 70's we had 4 strong divisions with 99% British players. Look what good that did. Failure to qualify in 74, and 78. It takes a squad of 15 players to win a World Cup and if these elite 15 are playing against the best in the world week in week out then that is only going to make them better players.

I used to argue this point with people til I was blue in the face 12 years ago when Wenger's team was full of foreigners ruining the national team. Funny how since the media darlings United and Liverpool have copied Wenger's blueprint that this argument is no longer trotted out.

Wenger has done so much not for the Premiership but also the national team, a quiet revolution that started in 1997.

Fuck Stoke, fuck Pulis and there football from the dark days.

Rob.