Stoke City: Potters complete deserved double over Arsenal
IT'S not often you get the better of Arsenal and their professorial manager twice in one week.
But after having the temerity to score more goals than the Gunners last Saturday, City, especially manager Tony Pulis and Chairman Peter Coates, easily won the war of words that followed.
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Stoke City: Potters complete deserved double over Arsenal
Of course it was really a pantomime, with TP – playing the evil giant – quoting Abraham Lincoln and taking his horrible brutes for a spa day and facials on Wednesday, just as Arsene Wenger – the damsel in distress – continued his whingeing about how Stoke's players had set out to maim his balletic purveyors of the beautiful game.
Well nuts to you, Mr Wenger. As pretty much every pundit or columnist agreed, Stoke won fair and square last weekend.
As was proved by the inevitable places in his starting XI for the apparently horribly dismembered Theo Walcott and Bacary Sagna, Wenger had gathered all his toys and thrown them out of the pram with the combined petulance of Ricardo Fuller, Joe Kinnear and Elton John.
By the time it had all calmed down nothing much had been proved apart from the fact that City's PR department, manager and chairman were having a field day, thoroughly enjoying themselves and scoring points left, right and centre.
Not being drawn into a slanging match was also a refreshing move in these times of 'Mickey Mouse' referees just because they have the gall to enforce the laws of the game.
Of course there is always the possibility that Stoke were being used as an unwitting pawn in the war between Wenger and Ferguson in the lead up to Saturday's game, and certainly the Frenchman did win that particular war with his three-man midfield which swamped United and gave them a 2-1 win.
But if you think about it, what kind of tactician does that make TP? His charges utterly outplayed Arsenal last weekend and Wenger probably picked the wrong team, choosing to leave the pace of Robin van Persie and Walcott on the bench and only introducing them when it was far too late.
Next weekend, Pulis has the chance to pit his wits against the other terrible twin of the Premier League, Sir Alex Ferguson.
It should be a home banker, but there are signings that Stoke's confidence is beginning to stretch outside the ST4 postcode.
Saturday's point at Wigan could prove just as important as the home win over the Gunners.
Those are the kind of battling performances we all expected away from home, winning few friends and being the last game on Match of the Day, as correctly predicted by Steve Bruce.
Another one like that and the one the squad produced at Anfield, and City could be coming down the M6 with another point.
It would be a miracle, but this crazy Premier League season, crazier things have happened!
4 Comments
by Gorndalft, Stoke-on-Trent
Monday, November 10 2008, 12:58PM
“Dan, Dan, Dan, you are just a sad sad sad man.”
by dan, london
Monday, November 10 2008, 12:47PM
“i suppose Adebayor being out for a month doesn't count.
the challenge was off the pitch and was absolutely disgusting but you think taht was in the spirit of the game.England best prospect being brought down from behind is laso good football is it ? If you need to win by
fouling I feel sorry for the supporters who have to sit and watch that week in week out.every time Arsenal went into your half they were brought down by some happy hacker in the stoke team.But then again what do you expect from a team who have scored half of their goals from long throw ins, hardly what you would call exciting. funnily enough wengers comments were only answering a question about his team being cowards which was brought on by the fact of 2 of your players slating Arsenal after the game and calling them cowards and not having the fight for it.I hope when we meet at the end of the season we can win and send your rubbish back to the championship where you belong.”
by dan, north london
Monday, November 10 2008, 12:40PM
“i suppose Adebayor being out for a month doesn't count.
the challenge was off the pitch and was absolutely disgusting but you think taht was in the spirit of the game.England best prospect being brought down from behind is laso good football is it ? If you need to win by
fouling I feel sorry for the supporters who have to sit and watch that week in week out.every time Arsenal went into your half they were brought down by some happy hacker in the stoke team.But then again what do you expect from a team who have scored half of their goals from long throw ins, hardly what you would call exciting. funnily enough wengers comments were only answering a question about his team being cowards which was brought on by the fact of 2 of your players slating Arsenal after the game and calling them cowards and not having the fight for it.I hope when we meet at the end of the season we can win and send your rubbish back to the championship where you belong.”
by dan highams park gunner, london
Monday, November 10 2008, 12:38PM
“i suppose Adebayor being out for a month doesn't count.
the challenge was off the pitch and was absolutely disgusting but you think taht was in the spirit of the game.England best prospect being brought down from behind is laso good football is it ? If you need to win by
fouling I feel sorry for the supporters who have to sit and watch that week in week out.every time Arsenal went into your half they were brought down by some happy hacker in the stoke team.But then again what do you expect from a team who have scored half of their goals from long throw ins, hardly what you would call exciting. funnily enough wengers comments were only answering a question about his team being cowards which was brought on by the fact of 2 of your players slating Arsenal after the game and calling them cowards and not having the fight for it.I hope when we meet at the end of the season we can win and send your rubbish back to the championship where you belong.”