Stoke City: Match report v Swansea City
THERE were plenty of angry individuals, but too little collective passion, as Stoke went slip sliding towards a painfully recognisable scenario on Saturday.
Lack of rhythm going forward is now being damagingly combined with lack of resilience in defence as that 10-match unbeaten run disappears into the dim and distance past.
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ON THE RUN: Stoke's Matthew Etherington missed a good chance to put the Potters ahead, but fired his close-range shot into the side-netting at the near post. Pictures: Malcolm Hart
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TAKING HOLD: Stoke skipper Ryan Shawcross tries to get the better of Swansea keeper Michel Vorm.
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CLOSING DOWN: Stoke's Kenwyne Jones, a target for Swansea City, didn't have a great deal of time to show off his talents as he was one of the substitutes.
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UP AND OVER: Swansea City's Jonathan de Guzman lifts the ball over the Stoke defence to fire his team into a 2-0 lead.
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MILESTONE: Stoke City striker Michael Owen scored his first goal for the Potters on Saturday at Swansea and it was his 150th in the Premier League.
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• GALLERY: Match Action: Swansea City 3 Stoke City 1
After conceding just five in 11 league games, it's now 13 in the last four – damning statistics for a team hardly blessed with goals at the other end of the pitch.
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And those angry individuals?
Whether it be anger at their own form, the team's form, their position in the starting 11 or simply the recent turn in fortunes, something isn't quite right out there.
Charlie Adam has more excuses than most to exhibit the anger and frustration that routinely ends with his substitution.
Whether he is out of sorts or out of position, it just hasn't clicked for him at Stoke, while that personal family tragedy before Christmas would have been a heartbreaking blow to a player enjoying the form of his life.
We are still learning about Steven Nzonzi. Of late, his body language – waving arms at team-mates, cold stares at the officials and that reckless challenge he eventually got away with against Southampton – betray a player unhappy with something pretty important.
Once again on Saturday he seemed to cruise through the game, rather than the gears, and his motivation appears to have been mislaid somewhere in 2012.
Matthew Etherington has always played with a scowl, it's part of his motivation and he should never lose it, but at Swansea on Saturday it grew even wider as he missed the best chance of the first half when crashing one into the side-netting at the near post.
He also helped gift Swansea their best chance of the opening period when losing possession, uncharacteristically, and then being nut-megged as the ball was whipped in for Michu to fluff a free header in front of goal. Even Peter Crouch, that most amiable of footballers, is struggling to raise a smile these days.
Not just because a smile would frighten away the children while he's having to wear that mouth guard, but because he will know better than anyone that it's just not happening for him.
All the more surprising, therefore, that the manager should start with the former England striker and leave Kenwyne Jones on the bench.
He gave a perfectly logical explanation for that move after the game – Jones needed a bit of a break and would be more useful as an impact player on the day – but that won't wash with the conspiracy theorists pointing to Swansea's on-going interest in Jones.
To sell the club's leading striker now would be a risk. To sell him now and not have a ready-made replacement lined up, preferably someone amounting to a better bet for the next couple of seasons, would be nothing short of a reckless gamble.
Jones inevitably looked a greater goal threat than Crouch, as he usually has since re-claiming his starting place back in early December, but the game was all but over as a contest at 2-0 down by the time he and Cameron Jerome arrived like the cavalry, answering a familiar cry on enemy territory.
A pretty even first half had begun swinging Swansea's way for about 10 minutes before half-time – and so it continued after the break.
You could not help but admire their free-flowing possession, but in the second half they were to add a ruthless cutting edge too.
Neat interplay typical of Swansea rewarded left-back Ben Davies as he roamed menacingly into the area to take the ball and fire it across Asmir Begovic into his far corner.
Adam's clumsy challenge then left Jonathan de Guzman standing over a 25-yard free-kick which, and you didn't have to be a mind reader here, he duly curled over the wall and into the corner of the goal left unguarded by Begovic.
Any hint of salvation for Stoke came and went when a right-wing ball was flicked on by a Swansea head to leave Jerome on-side as he poked out a foot and somehow scooped the ball over from about three yards out.
A poor miss, but one of those that looks worse than it really was perhaps.
Swansea's third goal was also their best.
Playing their way out of semi-trouble deep in their own half and employing nigh on half-a-dozen players to do so, they caught Stoke woefully short as de Guzman played into Danny Graham's feet, took a perfectly-weighted return pass, fended off Robert Huth and then steadied his feet before lashing past an exposed Begovic.
The football lover in the 600-or-so Stoke fans behind the goal seemed to have them applauding, or were they just rubbing their hands (and shaking their heads) to keep warm?
Those that remained were at least rewarded with the consolation of seeing Michael Owen open his account for Stoke when flicking a header inside the far post from Jerome's stoppage-time cross into a crowded area. A moment the cynics never thought they would see.
It wasn't quite the winning goal in front of an adoring Boothen End that he and us had once hoped to witness, but at least it finally saw him reach 150 Premier League goals some 20 months after scoring his 149th.
A moment of celebration, but one that quickly passed.
30 Comments
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by Robnoxious
Tuesday, January 22 2013, 10:51PM
“stonemel, the point i'm making is, that while i broadly agree in what you are saying it will never come to fruition under this manager,and this squad of players. Any name players we have are other people's cast offs, they are on the way down,with no where else to go. Lets be blunt, what have Stoke to offer a top class player. Why are these players not all in the team. They can't even offer attractive football. That is the point. Like the workhorses he has in the team, they have their limitations and so does the manager. He won't change a system that is getting him points, don't concede and hope you score a goal. How are you going to attract the right type of player to change things. This manager has his football beliefs as does Harry Redknap, poles apart. One manager thinking they are not capable of attacking football and the other manager making them capable. If you were a supporter of a top 4 side, out of the 2 who would you want to manage. Any side for that matter, because you know what you are going to get. As for proof, i would be more concerned for the manager being up to it than the players, hence there won't be much change in approach. Its all about 40 points and his best way of achieving that. Justifies the means, for some.”
by Pottedrengen
Tuesday, January 22 2013, 9:52PM
“No, Mel, I did not "chose to ignore conveniently teams" that are doing well. I chose to answer your question which was "Where is proof that changing to a more offensive approach to a game puts you under greater jeopardy of relegation"!
Why don't you show a little respect for yourself?”
by stonemel
Tuesday, January 22 2013, 4:40PM
“Pottedrengen you mention three teams who are in the Premier League and competing well. Did you see Southampton against Everton last night. Villa are trying to get to a Cup Final tonight and beat Liverpool away from home. Wigan have had the better of Stoke over the last few seasons. I notice that you chose to ignore conveniently teams such as Swansea, West Bromwich, Sunderland and Norwich. Haven't you noticed that each season more and more teams in the Premiership are able to set up with a good balance between offensive and defensive football. The extra money coming into this league is balancing out the opportunity to be more competitive with the few bigger clubs. If we persist with our ultra negative stance in the hope of survival eventually we will be found out. It is a big mistake to think that we are at present safely positioned in the league. Look at how we played in the second half of last season. Nine point margin can quickly disappear.”
by wintertime
Tuesday, January 22 2013, 4:07PM
“Pottersruleok Thursday, January 17 2013, 6:20PM
.
"To get a clone of Ricardo Fuller on the team I would sell Jones for 5 quid and bag of maltesers.
mmmmmmm, maltesers" (they were several other quotes of this nature).
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by Pottersruleok Tuesday, January 22 2013, 3:01PM
"I never do it in an abusive or degrading way"
Guess the man now known as Pottersruleok has just handed down another example of his blatant disrespect for not just himself but a Stoke City player and its supporters. The man simply doesnt know when he is telling truth or when he lies.”
by LiamOSullivan
Tuesday, January 22 2013, 3:51PM
“We all know, by your own admission even, that you are a pathological liar, and your latest message is just full of lies - the one thing that might be true is that you sit at your pc all day long singing your own praises, you sad lonely cold man.”
by Pottersruleok
Tuesday, January 22 2013, 3:01PM
“wintertime, as your name suggests, you seem to be a very cold, angry and lonely man. Pointing out one sarcastic comment I made as all I offer as an opinion really shows your true self. I for one have more respect for myself and the team I support to sit around like a child ignoring everything that goes on season after season and say with a smile that I am very happy with it. I am a Potters supporter, that means when things are going well (which for us is not very often) I am cheering and singing and helping us do more. When things are going poorly (which is more often than I like) I cheer, sing and complain and want answers as to why things never change. It's ok if we just put in a poor performance away from home once in a while because after all it is a pretty tough league, but when the manager uses the same tactics game after game after game and only wins 1 game every 25 or so, to me that is something definitely wrong and something that needs to be questioned!
I never do it in an abusive or degrading way and I just wonder why some people keep saying it's ok and Pulis knows exactly what he is doing and we shouldn't question him because we are supporters.”
by Pottedrengen
Tuesday, January 22 2013, 2:51PM
“How about Wigan, Aston Villa, Southampton ... all teams that subscrine to attackminded football, all teams that are far from safe, unlike you know who.”
by stonemel
Tuesday, January 22 2013, 2:39PM
“Robnoxious I think you have missed a salient point! Where is your proof that changing to a more offensive approach to a game puts you under greater jeopardy of relegation. Where is your proof for this assertion?”
by Robnoxious
Tuesday, January 22 2013, 10:00AM
“stonemel is spot on with his comments. Pullis has taken the club as far as he can. That is not knocking him,he has done a good job with the players at his disposal and his style of football. But survival in this league is always the first thought. 50% of the players would be struggling to find another club in the premiership and be playing on a regular basis, even the sides at the bottom.
Workhorses at best. So things are unlikely to change. But being on the realistic side, there are better footballing sides, and a lot of them, below Stoke. Catch 22, do you change the style of play, to a more attacking mode,and lose more games in the process or keep as you are and lose the fans. He has brought players in to do a certain job, which has led to a lack of quality in certain areas , which has been pointed out. Sometimes it hard for the fans to accept reality,in what is blindingly obvious.One good result now and again is not good enough, you can't live on memories forever, we need to progress forward. Positive not Negative.”
by wintertime
Tuesday, January 22 2013, 9:45AM
“"They prefer to rant on about what others say instead of offering up their own opinion or ideas" ... these are the words of an online troll who has abused more posters or players or staff than anyone else put together, and whose sole "offering of his own opinion or idea" consist of "new manager anyone?".
Which is about as cosntructive as throwing snow balls at us, because it's a simple FACT of the Peter Coates school of management that he is not going to sack a Stoke manager, let alone the most successful of our times.
Coates no doubt can see Pulis' faults for himself, but, at this moment, is probably pondering on improving Pulis' next contract.
But do enlighten us on your constructive ideas of how to put your voice behind Stoke City, the players, the staff, the other fans. That would certainly be news to all of us.”