Chancing your arm
The 1-0 victory by Stoke City over Fulham yesterday was met with quiet indifference by some Stoke fans as in this is 'just the way it is' being a Potters supporter.
Stoke City stuck to the game plan against Fulham which saw Etherington 'play stroking' on the wing (accepting he does not quite have the pace he once had) then making a cross or gaining the set-piece corner for the eager heads of Crouch and company.
-
Matthew Etherington Stoke City. Although still a firm favourite with Stoke fans, In 2008 Etherington did not just have more hair he had more pace. Image: Nick
Yes, it seemed business as usual at the Britannia Stadium.
Even though the midfield (typified by Adam and Nzonzi) looked in better shape, one cannot help but think that there is an ingredient amiss within the Stoke brand. Could it be the unpredictable?
Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk
View detailsOur heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.
Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk
Contact: 01858 468192
Valid until: Friday, May 31 2013
There even seems no animosity from Stoke fans towards the manager regarding the fact that the Michael Owen signing appears more like a publicity stunt than anything else.
On the other hand, the assertion from Tony Pulis that Stoke could have scored five or six against Fulham beggar's belief.
One could say the same if Manchester City created some 12-13 chances (including half-chances and shots off target) in any given game; would Mancini say Manchester City should have won 13-0?
Talk about 'chancing your arm.'
The same goes for the Stoke managers' perspective that before the Fulham game Stoke were creating chances but not scoring.
This kind of statement engenders sections of the Stoke fans to believe the manager to be in a different dimension or parallel universe than the rest of the mere mortals.
The problem was evident to all but Mr Pulis that Stoke City could not create goal scoring opportunities of any description.
Comments
by Latthink
Monday, November 26 2012, 4:02PM
“ETHERS? The legs are definitely GONE, as Fergie and Shanks said, when legs gone then get rid!”
by MrDAP
Monday, November 26 2012, 3:51PM
“Mr Raftery, what an oaf you are.”
by Pottedrengen
Monday, November 26 2012, 2:43PM
“And you, summereva, would do well to read the Shadow by the same author. It was written well over 150 years ago, but it still does not change the fact all he says is about you.”
by summertime
Monday, November 26 2012, 2:08PM
“Stripes, have you ever heard of the old story about the Emperor's New Clothes?
You should read it sometime, it would be very enlightening to you I'm sure.”
by Stars-stripes
Monday, November 26 2012, 7:23AM
“Him should say whom”
by Stars-stripes
Monday, November 26 2012, 7:22AM
“A very poor article enjoyed by a very poor poster neither of him are stoke fans”
by summertime
Sunday, November 25 2012, 9:51PM
“This Raftery fella puts out some strange and just bad articles to say the least but this one is absolutely spot on! Pulis makes more excuses than a kid telling his teacher why he never does his homework. jtflint is saying Fulham did nothing for 75-80 minutes, which is very true and also why they didn't score. So what did we do for those same 75-80 minutes to just score 1? Does Whelan's usual shots 20 yds over or wide count as chances ? Shawcross probably should have scored but didn't. Jones scored but was very offside. So if there were chances, why are they not being put away ? Is it ability, quality, ineptness, they don't give a damn, they do it on purpose , shock from actually being in front of goal? What is it ?
Etherington is really getting hard to watch and has been for about a season and a half now. Great fella, did well for a season and a half for us but has 100% lost it. The only thing I can see happening to wake him up for the latter part of his career is moving on, just like when he left West Ham to come to us.”
by Potterspeil
Sunday, November 25 2012, 9:07PM
“'Chancing your arm' and 'play stroking'? Hmm.”
by Soothsayer2
Sunday, November 25 2012, 8:31PM
“jtflint, I suppose that's the whole point. What are real chances? Some people would say it was a chance, some a half chance. Huth had a half chance, Shawcross a chance, Whelan a shot off target maybe? Jones was offside so is that a chance? Are we therefore counting every Stoke effort on goal a chance, bearing in mind they do not have many?”
by jtflint2010
Sunday, November 25 2012, 7:41PM
“Really find this article stupid. You judge chances by 'he should have scored that' or 'he could have scored from there'. Quite a few chances yesterday where players should've taken the chances they had. 4-0 would not have flattered us. Despite them keeping the majority of possession, Fulham did nothing for 75-80 minutes and in my opinion they didn't deserve anything more out of the game than what they got.”