Match Thread Stoke away 10th August 12:30 - Opening day! (3 Viewers)

skyblue_55 · Aug 10, 2024

Stoke should have ended 2 - 0 & the physicality got to our players , who I believe had read the pundits claims & thought a 90 minute stroll would do.
Opening game of the season , “ we are ready “ from Robins & then served up with that performance !
Sorry city , but not good enough on so many levels & Deadly Doug won’t stand for second rate performances this season!

StrettoBoy · Aug 10, 2024

SkyblueTexan said:
Don't want to seem like I'm overreacting, but I think Binks and Kitching might need to start next game. Was less than impressed with Thomas' suicidal passes.

Andy Turner rated Thomas as our MoTM.

ccfc922 · Aug 10, 2024

Johnnythespider said:
I agree that top 2 is a stretch but I think we really should be looking to finish better that 8-12th, we finished 9th last year after tailing off quite badly once we got to Wembley, apart from the defence we've strengthened quite well I think.

The same strengthening that achieved us 1 SoT today.

shmmeee · Aug 10, 2024

Diogenes said:
If we finish 8-12th MR won't be here next season.

Rightly so after £40m spend quite frankly.

TomRad85 · Aug 10, 2024

shmmeee said:
Rightly so after £40m spend quite frankly.

Agreed. He's been backed so he has to deliver now.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

gspotgaz · Aug 10, 2024

Back to the slow, ploddy predictable sideways build up play today. Not a single bit of craft or guile in anything we did

SkyblueTexan · Aug 10, 2024

Tommo1993 said:
The CBS gets a really tough crowd as far as getting away from the area is concerned - I genuinely feel it’s one of the best at this level. Stoke is and always has been awful.

As for the game: first half looked as if Robins dropped a completely new system on them before KO. Torp in particular was totally lost for the duration of his game. There were glimpses of Rudoni and Simms connecting, but Sakamoto and EMC gave him nothing.
Definitely game of two halves but I don’t think anyone would’ve complained at a 0-0.

Not too downbeat. Credit is valuable but doesn’t last forever, would expect to see a nasty fire under MR’s arse if we didn’t finish top 6.

Sorry to disagree. I am downbeat and disappointed. The team needs to feel disappointed about this. The expectation was to win this game comfortably, but what I saw was dismal and disjointed.

This was the worst performance on opening day since our return to the Championship and I am not exaggerating. Think back to our 2-1 loss to Bristol City, 2-1 win over Forest, 1-1 draw vs Sunderland and last season’s 2-1 loss against Leicester. All of those performances were far better than today. The common thread in all those performances was Hamer. We have not replaced him and until we do we will not get promoted. Plain and simple.

torchomatic · Aug 10, 2024

Skyblue Bangkok said:
We're not much better in the 2 nd hardly created anything.

Fair enough. Brilliant was OTT. We were decent second half until we conceded.

Brighton Sky Blue · Aug 10, 2024

TomRad85 said:
Agreed. He's been backed so he has to deliver now.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

He simply needs to return the system to what we spent the summer doing. Though my bigger concern is that the way we play is so similar to the languid, ineffective stuff England got addicted to under Southgate.

That and we seemingly don’t even know how we’re meant to be defending corners. Genuinely for one in the first half all of our players bar Sakamoto were in the 6 yard box.

Tommo1993 · Aug 10, 2024

SkyblueTexan said:
Sorry to disagree. I am downbeat and disappointed. The team needs to feel disappointed about this. The expectation was to win this game comfortably, but what I saw was dismal and disjointed.

This was the worst performance on opening day since our return to the Championship and I am not exaggerating. Think back to our 2-1 loss to Bristol City, 2-1 win over Forest, 1-1 draw vs Sunderland and last season’s 2-1 loss against Leicester. All of those performances were far better than today. The common thread in all those performances was Hamer. We have not replaced him and until we do we will not get promoted. Plain and simple.

Obviously disappointed to a degree. But there’s 45 games left to be better, and we will be. So I’m not gonna hang on to today’s loss for long.

And yes, with a midfield made up of regular apps from Allen, Torp, Palmer - we certainly won’t be promoted.

Sick Boy · Aug 10, 2024

Diogenes said:
If we finish 8-12th MR won't be here next season.

This.

JSL · Aug 10, 2024

Well that didn't go to plan. Optimism dashed

duffer · Aug 10, 2024

shmmeee said:
How do you know my rock doesn’t keep away tigers? Do you see any tigers around here?

More reading if you’re interested: The TSA is a waste of money that doesn't save lives and might actually cost them

Lisa, I'd like to buy your rock.

Brighton Sky Blue · Aug 10, 2024

duffer said:
Lisa, I'd like to buy your rock.

Let bears pay the bear tax, I pay the Homer tax.

Gint11 · Aug 10, 2024

I went today. Getting in and out was fine for me. We parked ten mins away. Got held up for 5 waiting to be searched but other than no issues.
As for the game, the two things for me which is a concern but I also think we’ll be fine generally is.

we have a tendency to concede a soft goal and 1 shot on target all game.

We got bullied 1st half with Stoke being classic Stoke. We looked nervous. 2nd half up until the goal we were miles ahead. They’d gone. They looked tired but their keeper still had nothing to do. We keep trying to walk it in.

2024/25 League 1 Champs? · Aug 10, 2024

ok, after time to digest…

firstly, it’s one game and this result will not make or break our season and will certainly not make any difference to whether or not we are playing in the premier league next season

second, whilst we weren’t on fire today there were a lot of good performances, Rudoni, MVE, Binks, Bidwell all very good, Dovin looked assured other than the goal which, to be fair, wasn’t really his fault, Sakamoto for his first game back looked like he was linking well with MVE, Simms was strong and should’ve scored, EMC showed glimpses of what he can do and when Wright came on he also looked dangerous, and I thought Rudoni and BTA linked up well a few times after he came on.

it isn’t a massive revelation we are at least one strong solid midfielder short, and it showed today - Allen certainly isn’t the answer, and Eccles also isn’t on his cameo. Torp will be better with a more solid player behind / alongside him but he seems a luxury at the minute if he’s not getting stuck in and throwing his weight around.

still extremely optimistic, and looking forward to next Friday

Marty · Aug 10, 2024

This squad is far too soft, Simms was held back from running a few times in the first half and not a single player went to the ref to demand a booking or let him it's happened a few times. Their keeper threw out an elbow twice towards the end of the game, both BTA and Wright should have absolutely clattered him and made sure that he felt it.

Allen is 5ft nothing and has the turning circle of the Titanic. Surely we can find someone whos better than him FFS.

You just know starting with Allen and Torp the team are soft as fuck in the CM department and we're going to lose the midfield battle before the game has even begun.

Sakamoto was dreadful first half, couldn't control it and let the ball roll out of play.

Dovin looks good with the ball at his feet but thought he should have done better with the goal (haven't seen it back yet), also thought he should have caught a header in the first which he palmed out for a corner.

It felt like the substitutions were for the sake of it today, just as EMC and Simms are getting into the game they're taken off.

I got annoyed with the fans in the first half as we're playing it around the back and half of them are screaming to get it forward, we've specifically bought a keeper good with his feet to invite the press and play through it. Need to understand we don't have the calamity clowns from last season in goal.

Oxford at home on Friday is the perfect game to get the season going.

djr8369 · Aug 10, 2024

stupot07 said:
That was shit. Marginally better in the second half, but never looked like scoring, whilst Stoke managed to create 3-4 really good chances.

Not writing us off, but it does feel like we have strengthened the squad but if you were going to pick our best outfield starting line up, the only difference from last season is Rudoni for O'Hare.

Yeah the bench is a lot better but starting 11 effectively the same. In fairness a starting 11 capable of top 6.

Cally Fedora · Aug 10, 2024

ccfc1234 said:
Allen is a water carrier that will not take us to top 2
Eccles is also not a top 2 midfielder
Torp is not a top 2 midfielder
Palmer is not a top 2 midfielder
Lati standing in is not a top 2 midfielder

If we are serious about challenging right at the top of the league we need far more quility in the middle of the park.

But we already have it. Possibly the best in the league in Sheaf. If we could have paired Browne with Sheaf it’s lift off. We’ll inevitably add before the window closes and away we go.

ptr · Aug 10, 2024

Birmingham losing is cheering me up, slightly.

Cov98 · Aug 10, 2024

Right, well after some time to calm down, it was shit but not the end of the world.

Rudoni was good, MVE was good and Binks was fantastic.
I've personally never been completely sold on Thomas (or Kitching for that matter) but I thought he was good defensively today.. passing wise is a different story. Shocking passing from him that put us in trouble a few times.

The biggest issue today came from the midfield. Torp was pants, Allen is never the answer when we need a defensive mid and overall both were bypassed way too easily. Saying that, Eccles wasn't fantastic when he came on either but better than Torp. Without Sheaf this midfield is really below par. Torps individual ability is top class but we're yet to see any consistency from him. Eccles is good alongside Sheaf but I'm not sure he's able to command the midfield on his own.

We rarely win our opening game of the season these days and based on what Mark has said post match I'm expecting a big improvement on Tuesday and then again on Friday.

If we can consistently play like we did in the second half but with a bit more urgency and directness, I have no doubt we'll be in and around the playoffs all year.

Sky_Blue_Dreamer · Aug 10, 2024

Disappointing performance and result to start. Was surprised with that starting midfield as I thought it would get run over by a physical Stoke side.

But it is only one game and if there was any complacency due to the pundits tipping us to do well and Stoke having an injury crisis hopefully this game has kicked their arses back into gear.

Johnnythespider · Aug 10, 2024

ccfc922 said:
The same strengthening that achieved us 1 SoT today.

I think we'll improve, hopefully very quickly, if we don't we've wasted a transfer window and a lot of money.

ptr · Aug 10, 2024

Think it’s as simple as this, we missed Sheaf. We need another DM. Stoke set up well I thought and had a good shape about them, denying our better players (Rudoni and Sakamoto) the chance to create. We needed someone like Sheaf to control the tempo of the game.

I thought Simms occupied their centre backs and found it strange he was dragged at 0-0. He still needs to be the main man for me, as soon as he was last year…he was scoring for fun. Should’ve changed the shape and gone with BTA and Simms last 20.

Stoke away was always going to be a tricky first game but for where we want to go, need to do better. Reality check for all I think but Friday can’t come quick enough. Win in the cup would be nice but Friday way more important.

itsabuzzard · Aug 10, 2024

shmmeee said:
How do you know my rock doesn’t keep away tigers? Do you see any tigers around here?

More reading if you’re interested: The TSA is a waste of money that doesn't save lives and might actually cost them

That is a very interesting read.

Skybluekyle · Aug 10, 2024

Hmm. Quite a poor performance today and a real crashing back down to earth. We were very poor in the first half, Stoke missed what appeared to be a sitter hitting the post and the next best chance was some brilliant last ditch defending....by Stoke's own man getting in the way.

Burger nullified our ponderous and almost anonymous midfield, Torp and Allen especially, particularly in the first half. Annoying how we were second to everything. We got progressively better in the second half, without really threatening, a bit concerned by the lack of a clear identity in the way we were attacking, and the subs, whilst completely understandable, completely killed the game for some reason, and we got caught on the break.

The referee, I think it was Gavin Ward, is not a Championship standard ref. Inconsistent decision making, allowed Lorent about eight fouls and three final warnings before finally booking him, whilst booking Binks in the first three minutes. I hate when referees stop the game because of pushing/pulling in the box prior to corners/free kicks. The players know they shouldn't be doing it, so instead of stopping every time, just warn all the players once and that you will be penalised if seen doing it. Just doesn't let the game flow at all.

Still, only one game. As for Stoke, they defended well, worked hard and took one of the few chances in the game. Can't see them struggling near the bottom but can't see them threatening the top, probably get quite a few 0-0 draws along the way to a 13th/14th place finish. City, we go again on Tuesday, and hopefully start to play the way we know they can.

Macca · Aug 10, 2024

Johnnythespider said:
I agree that top 2 is a stretch but I think we really should be looking to finish better that 8-12th, we finished 9th last year after tailing off quite badly once we got to Wembley, apart from the defence we've strengthened quite well I think.
[/QUOTE

My biggest concern is that we are relying massively on Sheaf remaining fit.

Skyblue Bangkok · Aug 10, 2024

TomRad85 said:
Agreed. He's been backed so he has to deliver now.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

If we are have one win after 8/10 lesgue games I think he will be gone.

Skyblue Bangkok · Aug 10, 2024

ptr said:
Birmingham losing is cheering me up, slightly.

They just equalised.

Viktor17 · Aug 10, 2024

Hopefully today has just sharpened mind to what we need -
- a quality midfielder who’s dynamic
- a horrible bloody bugger / leader / experience.

its 1 game, people need to remain balanced. Of course we are annoyed, they were better 1st half, us 2nd - draw was probably fair.

Grendel · Aug 10, 2024

Get in early this season.

ptr · Aug 10, 2024

Skyblue Bangkok said:
They just equalised.

They didn’t win 3-0 though like most their fans thought. Would hate it if our fans were li……

BlueSkiesForever · Aug 10, 2024

gspotgaz said:
Back to the slow, ploddy predictable sideways build up play today. Not a single bit of craft or guile in anything we did

This is the thing I find the most frustrating with the way we play, the midfield is slow and risk-averse most of the time. We pass, pass, pass but rarely does it lead to anything threatening and it’s not just this Stoke game, it’s been that way for a while.

I’ve said it a few times on here but we hardly ever beat teams 3-0 or 4-1 (outside of pre-season games), it’s just not fluent enough for whatever reason. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact reason for our ploddy-ness but I’m sure it’s the midfield that’s the main issue.

shmmeee · Aug 10, 2024

BlueSkiesForever said:
This is the thing I find the most frustrating with the way we play, the midfield is slow and risk-averse most of the time. We pass, pass, pass but rarely does it lead to anything threatening and it’s not just this Stoke game, it’s been that way for a while.

I’ve said it a few times on here but we hardly ever beat teams 3-0 or 4-1 (outside of pre-season games), it’s just not fluent enough for whatever reason. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact reason for our ploddy-ness but I’m sure it’s the midfield that’s the main issue.

Since Hamer we’ve lacked any proper vision and speed on the ball. Everyone needs three or four touches and rarely plays anything other than a safe ball.

2024/25 League 1 Champs? · Aug 10, 2024

fernandopartridge said:
Allen started in 80% of the games in the play off season, it's bizarre how he's looked at as some weak link

…I’ll just leave this here

Match Thread Stoke away 10th August 12:30 - Opening day! (3 Viewers)

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