Match Preview/Stats/Thread: Stoke City v Newcastle Utd

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Snap your hand off for a point.


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I second that pal. We need to get at them though and give them something to think about. We all know what will happen if we try to defend or out battle them.

thankfully pardew has realised that he made a mistake last time by thinking to hard about trying to contain stoke and not just playing our game and taking it to them!

Which ever central defenders Stoke go with they dont like fast players running at them, we could have done with Shola tonight to get stuck into them and then had HBA playing off him to bring us the inevitable free kicks! Unfortunately i can see it being Loven who will be used to provide the pace up front!

Sameobi? Please?

It will be interesting to see what system AP goes with. I'm kind of feeling like the Blackburn game was part of an adjustment period to 5-man midfield. Will he stick with it, or revert to 4-4-2?

5 man midfield for me, although this may give Smith a chance to get in the team!

Oh god, no. Not Smith. Anything but that.

Hate Stoke. Hate'em. Have a bad feeling about this one--their game is very efficient at knocking us off of what we want to do. Missing out "muscle" in the midfield will be a huge loss against these brutes. I don't think Gutherie can fill Tiote's enforcer role. Gosling has the size, but is he ready? I'd have us pegged for a loss, but for Saylor wearing his mask and playing. Of course, I fully expect elbows aimed at this nose in an attempt to rebreak\intimidate him.

I'm going with 1-1.

the ref will be keeping a look out for people trying to injure saylor again, he may get a lot more protection from the ref than he normally would!

I can see Abeid being involved in this one, although if we are using HBA behind a striker then Cabaye wont need to be so far forward and may take up the holding role!

It all depends on if Tiote plays for me. Please for the love of God don't put Ben Arfa anywhere near this lot.


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we need ben arfa to play his directness and pace are going to bring in a lot of free kicks and maybe a penalty or red card

Im dreading this game - Im not optimistic but I like your enthusiasm

I think we will pick up our first defeat at 1-0 but I will be smiling my way home later if we win

Prove me wrong!

We can agree this is an important match for our season.

What formation will we play? Will HBA start? Will Tiote play? How do we respond to our first loss? Can we control a game against a side as disruptive as Stoke?

These and a lot of other questions to be answered in the next 2.5 hours...

I share Carys's pessimism about this game. It's going to be tough to watch and I'll be more than happy if we draw.


C'mon team

Smith - surely not.

.

Stuck at work. Can't watch or listen. We started yet? How's it looking? F'ing small pitch they put out will hamper our speed.

Quote:

Carys
Im dreading this game - Im not optimistic but I like your enthusiasm
I think we will pick up our first defeat at 1-0 but I will be smiling my way home later if we win

Prove me wrong!

My thoughts on this match exactly, great minds Carys, great minds. Lets hope our great minds are wrong!

8PM KO

S.Taylor starts with a protective mask and looks very fetching!

Sameobi on the bench with Ben Arfa.

Question for all - whats going on with Lovenkrands?

1-0 BA

Ba 1 -0

We need to keep the ball more.. We are giving it away to easy..

WOW - Krul allmost threw it into his own goal there...

Dangerous freekick...

2-0 BA goooolllllll

2-0 BA ! ! !

Ba 2-0

2-0 BA

Get him on that hatrick

loving the fact that we are using Obertan's pace to cause some problems. Smart thinking on AP's part.

Raylor shaking off the tackle...good man



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:10:31:20:48:21 by Gaucho.

C'mon lads, let's have another spooky Halloween beatdown!

Never made it to the pitch Raylor continues.

Oh and if you didn't know already Ba nearly signed for Stoke

Quote:

wor Carys
Ba nearly signed for Stoke

As my dad says, "almost" only counts with horseshoes and hand grenades...

LOL I think the commentators have told sky viewers at least 4 times in the 1st half

They've said it at least as many times on danish television

Nice, rub it in! MA's thriftiness is finally paying off for me as it is rewarding to think of what they paid for Jones & Crouch in comparison...

Stoke are really pushing- they obviously got a rollicking at half time

It's a high-energy game they play, though. If we can weather it for the first 15 I'm guessing we'll grow into the game.

Stoke is piling on the pressure, and we are giving the ball away far to easy..

It will be a LONG 2nd half if this continue..

Especially if we keep conceding FKs and corners...should have learned about that vs. Blackburn...

Penalty Walters 2-1 ffs could be interesting now...

iffy call on that pk... 2-1 walters

Iffy or not, it's predictable given how much time they've spent around our box. C'mon lads, finish the job!!!

Perch on for Cabaye

Uh, yeah. Can't really figure out that one.

And he's already in the book...

Penalty to Newcastle push on Best - Ba to take - Ba to score 3-1 Hatrick!

Ba Penalty Hat Trick 3-1

3-1 PK BA!!!!

YeeeaeaaaaaaaHHH.. 3-1 now... Puuuhhhhh - thi is a LOONG game..

Took 42 seconds according to the beeb. One of the most questionable subs I've seen in a while. Neither HBA nor Gosling offered a better option? FFS, Smith might do better.

*exhales*

Now I see...AP foresaw the pen and took off Cabaye so Ba could take it and pad his stats.

We need to put HBA on for one of the 2 up front.. We need the option in the middle to keep the ball...

sameobi for best!

Ref has been quite fair - could have dished a few more cards in the last few minutes but resisted

Fantastic 3rd
I'm not expecting us to be up here at the end of the season but what a boost for the lads.

They've worked hard tonight.

Excellent result. Let's push on to EFC.

HOWAY THE LADS!

Awesome result well done guys for your optimism I am impressed!

3rd Place !!!!!And a respectable goal difference!

Pshaw and I was worried about this match!

Nice to get 3 points from Stoke..

That was more than expected, but proves that you need to take us serius so far..

Great work all around, specially Jonas worked really hard today, I think..

great win, hat trick for Ba and third place is ours. Proud of our soldiers.

We could have 40 points by the halfway mark, even if we lose to the Manchesters and CFC.

*drums fingers*

Excellent!

I'm a bit worried about us conceding 3 penalties in the last 4 matches, but kudos to the lads for getting it done. Ba now has 8 goals. Best deserves credit for freeing Obertan (great cross) for the first, winning the penalty, and I'm sure he'll claim that the second was a cross not a shot (even though we know better).

Fantastic result. Based on this performance and the Spurs one, I think we could finish as high as 6th this season. Man City or United will get the title, Chelsea third, Spurs 4th, Arsenal 5th, and then either Liverpool or us 6th.

Quote:

tunyc
We could have 40 points by the halfway mark, even if we lose to the Manchesters and CFC.
*drums fingers*

Excellent!

40 is pushing it. Swansea, Brom, Everton, Norwich, and Bolton are winnable. Chelsea at home could be a draw. Manc^2 and at Liverpool likely no result. Even if we won all 5 of the "winnables" that's 1only 16 points putting us at 38. We'd have to beat Liverpool or Chelsea to top 40 without getting anything from the Manchester trips.

Either way, I pegged us at 28 points going into the New Year, we're already at 22, so well ahead of schedule there.

Im over the moon with this result and I think its the performance of the season for so many reasons.

Jonas, Cabaye and Best were everywhere tonight. Ba's goals and great defending. Raylor was very good and did well to overcome the Geordie kiss from Walters. What a cross from Obertan for the first.

Amazing team spirit. Crouch, Jones and Jerome = 22mill. Ba = 0 and a load of goals. I cant believe there fans were booing him after they knocked him back the slope headed f00ks. Ha Ha Ha.

I have read that Pullis was complaining about Raylor taking too long with drying the ball. Stupid arrogant cnut.

As I said, waffles "could". You're right, we probably won't get 40. Thing is, though, it's not impossible to imagine. I'll be disappointed if we don't manage 30. Expecting 8 points off Everton, Norwich, Swansea, WBA and Bolton is reasonable, no?

Sneaking a few points off United, City, Chelski and the rats would be a nice bonus...

the only game i think we amy struggle to get anything from is Man City!

On another note after watching Perch getting ready to come on with my head in my hands and screaming "no" at the tv as he was walking up to the fourth official it was quite a relieve to see him put on in midfield, apart from his booking he did a decent job in protecting the back 4 and i would love to see him doing this role again especially as it would seem he's ahead of Smith in the pecking order!

Absolute belter of a result.


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I hear you mental. I'm shocked, however, that he was considered ahead of Gosling, or even HBA. Of all the players I've seen in a handful of PL games, not many have been more out of their depth than Perch. It took him 42 seconds to collect a booking and I was fully prepared to see him sent off from then on.

players like to blame that sort of tackle on rustiness!

I didn't expect him to go into midfield and was quite shocked by it, my first thought/worry was that colo might move forward, then i thought we were going to go for 3 central defenders so i was relieved to see him playing in front of the defence, it was a good move by Pardew, i was also shocked that Gosling wasn't the one who came on obviously AP see's Perch as the better defensive optionand other than the tackle looked up to the job in hand!

He's never going to challenge Tiote for that spot but as long as he's there to provide cover for that position, he's not being considered to play in defence and he's keeping Smith out of contention then its a master stroke by Pardew (i base this statement on the point of keeping Smith away from the first team squad)!

I think if we had been chasing the game or drawing in the latter stages of the match HBA may have been brought on, with the 2 goal advantage i think Sameobi was brought on instead because pardew knew he would spend the time he had on the pitch chasing the ball wherever it went and again would prove a better defensive option than HBA who isn't known for his defending!

I was however suprised that Marv wasn't brought on, i know it was one of the better displays from Obertan and he was spearheading a lot of of our counter attacks late on but Marv's pace towards the end of the match would ahve strethched them and maybe got us another goal!

Gosling is rustier than Perch, and he managed to get through 9 minutes without collecting a yellow. Given Perch's yellows in the past, he'd do better not to make an excuse.

I stand by my point. If Perch is our 3rd best CM, our squad needs reinforcing.

I was worried when I saw Perch come on and Tunyc I think it was something like 13/14 seconds that he got booked, which is bloody amazing even for a cr@p player.

The toon have got more than I ever expected, and out of the up and coming games then City will be the hardest with the strength of the players as well as the quality as if you stop one then you have another one.

Chelsea and Man U are beatable, and before anybody says I am getting carried away, I am not as I don't think we will get much from them. You stand a chance against them especially if you get stook in and counter attack them as they like to play such a open game, but both teams are capable of handing out a hiding, and it is hard to judge how you will do as the players change quite regular in both teams.

Perch over Gosling was the right move, regardless of the booking or his ability. The lad has 2" on Cabaye, Guthrie, and Gosling. Stoke's one threat is the set piece, you need tall bodies.


He's not our 4th choice CM, he's our "we needed someone really tall in the game" choice.

I'm actually surprised Santon didn't come on, for the fact that he's 6' 2" and Raylor a mere 5' 8".

not sure if it would of been a good game to throw Santon into, it would of been a baptism of fire with how physical it was!

We had a 2 goal advantage and our CM's had run themselves ragged, do you bring on another attack minded midfielder or a defensive midfielder who has a more physical presence!

Perch is probably 5th or 6th in the pecking order for CM, but when it comes to a DM who do you put on in front of him, Tiote was injured, Cabaye needed to go off, guthrie was ready to go off, Do you put colo in that position and the you risk breaking up or defensive quartet and also who do you put in central defence! The only other options are Abeid or Smith, Abeid has no premier league experience and Smith would have been sent off!

I never thought i'd hear myself say this but it might be prudent to keep hold of Perch to cover the midfield( never want to see him playing in defence again)!

Particulars aside, I just think Perch is completely out of his depth. When I've seen him play, he looks off the pace and out of position all the time. He's also never struck me as dominant in the air; to me, the only memorable header from him was the own goal against Stoke last season. That Gosling was brought on tells me he was deemed healthy enough to risk, yet Perch was selected ahead of him. Unfortunately, I think the fact is that he's currently our 4th-choice CM.

I do think AP continues to run the rule over this squad and figure out how best to use everyone. Still, I think Perch isn't good enough for the PL and should be moved. If I'm being very harsh, I'd call him a waste of wages-much more so than Barton or Nolan, anyway, who get surprisingly little appreciation from certain sections of the Toon Army.

i cant see how the order in which Perch and Gosling came on is an indication of who is ahead of whom in the squad, they were brought on to do different jobs in different positions, Guthrie's legs lasted longer than cabaye's!

Do you bring on the attacking player before the defensive player or do you do it the other way round to preserve the 2 goal advantage? I would go with the latter!

Perch is out of his depth in defence but we haven't seen what he can do in midfield, whether he ends up playing a lot of games heer we'll just have to wait and see but he can't be worse than Smith!

I wouldn't bring on a guy who's been a liability, especially in defense, nearly every time he's played for us.

I agree that he's better than Smith; neither of them should be near the first team of a PL squad.

He wasn't used against Everton so looks like Gosling's ahead of him in the squad!

I think AP knows Perch is not good enough, and probaly looking to replace him when the window opens but may wait until the summer

Gosling will be ahead of him, but maybe he thought as somebody said that with the team we were playing that it was better to get him on