Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. 07:58 - Apr 30 with 2476 views | freddieeddie | For a while now on here I've thought people just seem to think 3 points against Stoke is a given.I actually have thought for a while a draw is maybe best we will get and then defeats against Chelsea & City. I think we are really going to struggle at set pieces massively. Look how Hill was beaten by Terry on Sunday. Ferdinand is not the most dominant either. Paddy Kenny is not the best either at claiming a ball in a packed area. I think Stoke are gonna really put us under some serious strain at the back and I can see us conceding a couple. Dealing with Huth, Crouch, Wilson, Shawcross etc is gonna be a seriously tough ask. Our pitch maybe suits our style to playvthe big teams but it could work against us V Stoke. [Post edited 1 Jan 1970 1:00]
| |
| | |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 08:30 - Apr 30 with 1700 views | Jamie | There was a similar thread yesterday. I dont think we can play the 4-5-1 pressing system that has worked well at home v Sjoke because quite simply the ball isnt going to be in the midfield to be pressed. Shawcross and Huth will get it down and smash it at Crouch's head all day long. Its going to be the second largest aerial bombardment after the Battle of the Bulge and out midfield are going to be engaged winning the second ball rather than scrapping in a midfield battle. A win would be a fantastic result. IMO it has draw written all over it. | | | |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 09:12 - Apr 30 with 1673 views | westberksr | probably a 442 will be best as they usually bypass their midfield anyway. Pushing onto the full backs will hopefully prevent some of the long diagonals they hit. | | | |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 10:43 - Apr 30 with 1638 views | karlski |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 08:30 - Apr 30 by Jamie | There was a similar thread yesterday. I dont think we can play the 4-5-1 pressing system that has worked well at home v Sjoke because quite simply the ball isnt going to be in the midfield to be pressed. Shawcross and Huth will get it down and smash it at Crouch's head all day long. Its going to be the second largest aerial bombardment after the Battle of the Bulge and out midfield are going to be engaged winning the second ball rather than scrapping in a midfield battle. A win would be a fantastic result. IMO it has draw written all over it. |
Absolutely spot on. If MH goes for the same formation and style that he used against Arsenal/Swans/Spurs etc then my opinion of him as a tactician will drop somewhat. And more importantly, we won't win the game. Pressure on full backs, primary focus on positioning and being alert to win second ball. No point counter attacking cause that sets us up deep and plays into their hands, we should seek to play our football in their half and keep them penned back. So possibly a high defensive line? Always scares me that particular tactic but it could be effective here... | | | |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 10:57 - Apr 30 with 1621 views | Pizanti | We have been shocking at defending corners and set pieces all season ...doesn't bode well at all for this one! | | | |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 10:58 - Apr 30 with 1620 views | nadera78 | The problem with playing a high line is that we're so desperately slow at the back. That said, I agree that the 5 man midfield we've been using won't be of any use against Stoke. Plus we need goals. We should play 4-4-2, with Zamora and Cisse up front and a midfield of Mackie, Barton, Diakite, and Taarabt. | | | |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:00 - Apr 30 with 1612 views | Lewes_r | Look its a hard game but not as hard as Arsenal. We won that though If you think we cant beat those midtable longball merchants you should give up now and go on holiday | |
| |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:01 - Apr 30 with 1605 views | ElHoop | We won up there under Warnock - surely someone can remember how we did it? | | | | Login to get fewer ads
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:02 - Apr 30 with 1600 views | Phildo | crowd need to play a massive part too......however much i want to strangle some of them after yesterdays cowardly display I am bathing my throat in honey for the week to get the voice up to full volume. | | | |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:05 - Apr 30 with 1591 views | Bluce_Ree | F**k Stoke. | |
| Stefan Moore, Stefan Moore running down the wing. Stefan Moore, Stefan Moore running down the wing. He runs like a cheetah, his crosses couldn't be sweeter. Stefan Moore. Stefan Moore. Stefan Moore. |
| |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:07 - Apr 30 with 1586 views | HollowayRanger |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:00 - Apr 30 by Lewes_r | Look its a hard game but not as hard as Arsenal. We won that though If you think we cant beat those midtable longball merchants you should give up now and go on holiday |
arsenal play pretty boy football passing it backwards and forwards as long as we kept our shape there was no way though stoke will just be route one bomb after bomb into the heart of our defence nightmare! | |
| |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:09 - Apr 30 with 1579 views | Juzzie | Apparently Stoke are like us away..... absolutely gash. It's indeed not a given, but it is winnable. We need to get behind the team 110% the moment they step on the pitch. No booing or frustartions showing if it's still 0-0 after 60 mins etc. If he plays, every shot that SWP hits into row Z, we cheer and not sarcastilcy either. Any doubt from the crowd will transmit itself to the players and make matters worse. We've shown in the last 4 home games, and Chelsea at LR too, how much of a difference we can make. | | | |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:18 - Apr 30 with 1570 views | adhoc_qpr | Stoke have a rubbish away record and nothing really to play for. Our players should be motivated by this last real chance to get 3 points and to make up for the pathetic performance yesterday - but sadly i think we all know the only thing that motivates our players is money and they get paid regardless of the result... | | | |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:19 - Apr 30 with 1565 views | Toast_R | Stoke are play poo football and always lose at LR even when cruising to promotion. This should be a given and if we don't get 3 points next Sunday we need to be in the Championship next season. | | | |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:21 - Apr 30 with 1561 views | Jamie |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:01 - Apr 30 by ElHoop | We won up there under Warnock - surely someone can remember how we did it? |
We played football and passed it around them. | | | |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:29 - Apr 30 with 1544 views | WestbourneR | Clint Hill will sort this. IMHO Ferdinand should be dropped, he's just not very good at all. Put Onouha back in the middle with him and get Young on the pitch again. | |
| |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:29 - Apr 30 with 1546 views | Northernr | I don't think anybody has taken the points as a given, it's taken as a given that we will need to win the game to stay up. The problem we'll have this Sunday is our game is all about sitting deep and soaking up pressure and possession. Stoke don't keep possession and sitting deep against them will just invite them to play basically a flat front four and bombard us in the air. To beat Stoke you do what QPR and Newcastle did against them in the first half of the season. 1 - You double up in wide areas. We played Hill and Traore down the left, Young and Mackie down the right. Newcastle played Guttierrez as almost a second left back with Danny Simpson and Ryan Taylor as the full backs. The effect of this in both games was to take out the only players Stoke have who can actually play the game - Etherington and Pennant. 2 - You hold a high defensive line. Crouch, Jones, Walters, Sidibe, Jones, Fuller - lots of physicality here, not a lot of pace. Take their wide men out of the game and they're exclusively a long ball and set piece team, hold a high defensive line and these long balls are either pumped into the space behind you for strikers too slow to catch them or won in the air 40-50 yards away from your goal which is fine. 3 - Pass the ball when in possession. They're unfamiliar with it, it makes them uncomfortable. | | | |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:31 - Apr 30 with 1541 views | WrightUp5hit___ | So they have nothing left to play for and their last game of the season is at home to? Bolton! | | | |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:31 - Apr 30 with 1536 views | Northernr |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:31 - Apr 30 by WrightUp5hit___ | So they have nothing left to play for and their last game of the season is at home to? Bolton! |
And their last game of the season last term when they had nothing to play for was against Wigan who needed to win to stay up.... | | | |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:33 - Apr 30 with 1529 views | Juzzie | I think (hope) they will beat Bolton. Surely any team wants to win their last home game in front of their fans? OK, we didn't last season but we know all the reasons behind that. | | | |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:34 - Apr 30 with 1527 views | timcocking |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:29 - Apr 30 by Northernr | I don't think anybody has taken the points as a given, it's taken as a given that we will need to win the game to stay up. The problem we'll have this Sunday is our game is all about sitting deep and soaking up pressure and possession. Stoke don't keep possession and sitting deep against them will just invite them to play basically a flat front four and bombard us in the air. To beat Stoke you do what QPR and Newcastle did against them in the first half of the season. 1 - You double up in wide areas. We played Hill and Traore down the left, Young and Mackie down the right. Newcastle played Guttierrez as almost a second left back with Danny Simpson and Ryan Taylor as the full backs. The effect of this in both games was to take out the only players Stoke have who can actually play the game - Etherington and Pennant. 2 - You hold a high defensive line. Crouch, Jones, Walters, Sidibe, Jones, Fuller - lots of physicality here, not a lot of pace. Take their wide men out of the game and they're exclusively a long ball and set piece team, hold a high defensive line and these long balls are either pumped into the space behind you for strikers too slow to catch them or won in the air 40-50 yards away from your goal which is fine. 3 - Pass the ball when in possession. They're unfamiliar with it, it makes them uncomfortable. |
"Pass the ball when in possession. They're unfamiliar with it, it makes them uncomfortable" As are we :-) | | | |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:37 - Apr 30 with 1519 views | Toast_R |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:33 - Apr 30 by Juzzie | I think (hope) they will beat Bolton. Surely any team wants to win their last home game in front of their fans? OK, we didn't last season but we know all the reasons behind that. |
Yeah Cerny dropped a clanger... | | | |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:39 - Apr 30 with 1516 views | JonDoeman |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:34 - Apr 30 by timcocking | "Pass the ball when in possession. They're unfamiliar with it, it makes them uncomfortable" As are we :-) |
True that, but we made them look awful last time, we were playing some good stuff back then, WTF happened? | |
| |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:52 - Apr 30 with 1495 views | ElHoop |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 11:34 - Apr 30 by timcocking | "Pass the ball when in possession. They're unfamiliar with it, it makes them uncomfortable" As are we :-) |
Those tactics and the ones set out by North lend to the idea of playing Traore in midfield, but where do Diakite, Taarabt and Cisse fit in? We can't play everyone. I like the idea of Traore playing in this though. I think that Derry and Buz could make way for Diakite (if he's fit) and Traore (if picked). Do we start with Cisse? Possibly not if we want to close down the channels. We need Taarabt, maybe playing more central as there could be room for him to play the ball through. Would this work?: Kenny Onuoha Ferdy Hill Taiwo Mackie Barton Diakite Traore Taarabt Zamora [Post edited 1 Jan 1970 1:00]
| | | |
Stoke to be a major aerial threat to us. on 14:39 - Apr 30 with 1402 views | M40R | North has got it right. Two additional things though: 1) Don't concede throw-ins on our pitch, and 2) don't offer them any towels. | | | |
| |