Far too late and when everyone’s focus has turned to the Liverpool game I still have to get some stuff off my chest about the Stoke game.
One wonders what Stoke trials look like. Do they take place in the gym or on the pitch? I can appreciate a guy that can press 100 kgs on the bench as much as anybody but these upper bodies was Fuller than usually necessary. I understand that all teams must play according to their resources, and I can also appreciate the need for a team with a low budget to be physical but this is far too much for my taste.
Also, there are more than one team that focuses on set pieces as they know that’s where they can compete with a more technical side. I can’t say I enjoy that kind of football but so be it and there seems to be at least one such team in every league. Stoke, however, have taken this to the next level. By fielding a team with twice the weight of ours they made sure they could dominate the dead ball situations (including throw ins) by sheer force.
I’m sure that the opposition next season will be better prepared for the way Stoke focus on the throw ins. Even though one must admit that Delap’s throws are athletic achievements, I find it utterly depressing if this is a significant part of the future of football. To see teams push their center halves for every throw in will be extremely tedious. The towel people at Britannia must be banned before the game gets on its way rather than after 60 minutes of play. What will be next, throw in gloves?
Having bad mouthed their game plan I must give them credit for their work rate. It was like a freaking Cup tie! Stoke is all but safe this season and can’t hope to climb any significant amount in the table, still they fight like their life depended on it! Impressive!
Again we fail to keep possession during the late stages of the game. Kover Kovac did fairly well by his own standards but still the absence of Parker is painful. However, the inability of the strikers to offer the midfielders any viable passing alternatives is the real disaster. I'll get back to this in a future post.
Bubbleviews own Prince has already commented on the youngsters in the West Ham lineup, and I can only emphasize what he has already said.
The way Tomkins play is overwhelming. I watched the game a second time on video to take a closer look at the youngsters and the way Tomkins adapts to the situations he is faced with is nothing but top class. He does not look like a very physical player but had surprisingly few problems with the striped bodybuilders. Is this the 3rd game in a row he doesn’t do even one “youth-error”?
Talking about physical presence Junior Stanislas seems to me to be a complete package. Pace, technique, understanding of the game, he has a lot of all. I’m especially pleased with the fact that he is not another smallish player. Being 5’6” myself I enjoy small technical players but we have enough of short prodigies at the moment and need some physical presence in the mid field. He is of course still a bit off being a mature player and can develop several parts of his game substantially, maybe especially his passing game, but I am very impressed by the way he handles most situations, not intimidated the least by the fact that he is now facing seasoned PL proffessionals.
With another impressive youngster – Collison - back in the side it will be a delicate task to pick the starting lineup. Against Stoke Stanislas faded and I’m not sure if it had anything to do with him switching to the right hand side. I’m eager to see him start on that side to see what he can do there when he is fresh.
One wonders what Stoke trials look like. Do they take place in the gym or on the pitch? I can appreciate a guy that can press 100 kgs on the bench as much as anybody but these upper bodies was Fuller than usually necessary. I understand that all teams must play according to their resources, and I can also appreciate the need for a team with a low budget to be physical but this is far too much for my taste.
Also, there are more than one team that focuses on set pieces as they know that’s where they can compete with a more technical side. I can’t say I enjoy that kind of football but so be it and there seems to be at least one such team in every league. Stoke, however, have taken this to the next level. By fielding a team with twice the weight of ours they made sure they could dominate the dead ball situations (including throw ins) by sheer force.
I’m sure that the opposition next season will be better prepared for the way Stoke focus on the throw ins. Even though one must admit that Delap’s throws are athletic achievements, I find it utterly depressing if this is a significant part of the future of football. To see teams push their center halves for every throw in will be extremely tedious. The towel people at Britannia must be banned before the game gets on its way rather than after 60 minutes of play. What will be next, throw in gloves?
Having bad mouthed their game plan I must give them credit for their work rate. It was like a freaking Cup tie! Stoke is all but safe this season and can’t hope to climb any significant amount in the table, still they fight like their life depended on it! Impressive!
Again we fail to keep possession during the late stages of the game. Kover Kovac did fairly well by his own standards but still the absence of Parker is painful. However, the inability of the strikers to offer the midfielders any viable passing alternatives is the real disaster. I'll get back to this in a future post.
Bubbleviews own Prince has already commented on the youngsters in the West Ham lineup, and I can only emphasize what he has already said.
The way Tomkins play is overwhelming. I watched the game a second time on video to take a closer look at the youngsters and the way Tomkins adapts to the situations he is faced with is nothing but top class. He does not look like a very physical player but had surprisingly few problems with the striped bodybuilders. Is this the 3rd game in a row he doesn’t do even one “youth-error”?
Talking about physical presence Junior Stanislas seems to me to be a complete package. Pace, technique, understanding of the game, he has a lot of all. I’m especially pleased with the fact that he is not another smallish player. Being 5’6” myself I enjoy small technical players but we have enough of short prodigies at the moment and need some physical presence in the mid field. He is of course still a bit off being a mature player and can develop several parts of his game substantially, maybe especially his passing game, but I am very impressed by the way he handles most situations, not intimidated the least by the fact that he is now facing seasoned PL proffessionals.
With another impressive youngster – Collison - back in the side it will be a delicate task to pick the starting lineup. Against Stoke Stanislas faded and I’m not sure if it had anything to do with him switching to the right hand side. I’m eager to see him start on that side to see what he can do there when he is fresh.
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