FM11: Official Stoke City thread: Is Wenger still going on?

A Brief History

Formed in 1863 Stoke City are one of the oldest professional teams in the world, known as Stoke Ramblers the first name change occured just 15 years later. With the merge between Stoke Ramblers and a cricket team they became Stoke Football Club, and once Stoke-on-Trent was granted city status in 1925 the club changed to Stoke City FC in 1928. The Victoria Ground became home to Stoke in the 1870's and was one of the longest serving grounds before being demolished in 1997.

Nicknamed the Potters due to the local pottery industry which had flourished during the 19th and 20th century Stoke have bene home to some of Englands greatest talent, first and foremost is Sir Stanley Matthews - the oldest man to ever play for England and certainly one of the most talented with the ball at his feet in some awful conditioned pitches of his time. Matthews played for Stoke until he was 50 in the top flight of English football, his last turn-out for England saw him terrorising the opposition still at 44 and having felt retiring at 50 was too soon he continued to play semi-professionally and in charity matches until he was 63. With a statue in the city center and another at the ground it shows just how iconic he is to the club and to the city. Gordon Banks and Peter Shilton having played for Stoke City again shows the quality we had during the 60's and 70's. Englands two greatest and most famed keepers were both a part of the set-up at Stoke and during that era we became used to having some of the best goalkeepers in the game, even when Banks and Shilton had left the club we still continued to witness great goalkeepers in the mould of Farmer.

With our only trophy of note being the 1972 league cup win over Chelsea many Stoke fans do feel aggrieved by this, there could have been so much more had fortune gone our week in the next couple of seasons. However, despite getting close and just fading away the club was hit by catastrophe as we lost our main stand due to weather conditions and the fact that the bank were forcing us to sell anyway to clear our £400,000 overdraft. With the sales of our best players we began to fade away and when Tony Waddington quit after the relegation from the top flight the slippery slope began for Stoke. We did return to the top flight of English football again but we were never the same team and ultimately were left enduring over two decades ambling around in the lower tiers of English football even beginning to wonder what financial future we had just a few short years ago as the Icelandic owners announced enormous losses.

Tony Pulis made a second coming which coincided with the second coming of our chairman Peter Coates. Having since made his forture with Bet365 he was able to help push the club on from a benefactor position, Tony Pulis used the loan market expertly to get us to the premiership, we were able to spend money on players, players certainly good enough to get us to the Premiership without the long-term commitment of a contract. This gave us a clean slate in the premiership to build upon without having an already large bloated squad. Since then we have gone on from strength to strength and Stoke City are no longer viewed as a dead cert for relegation but infact as a team who probably don't have to worry in the pundits eyes. However, the manager and chairman will never come to that view and that should keep us competing in the Premiership for a long time to come.

Wenger & The Shawcross tackle...

Since promoted there has been one man who stuck out in the minds of Stoke City fans. One man who since the first time we played them at home on a cold November evening has been unrelenting in his dislike for us. That man has been none other than the Premier Leagues biggest hypocrit - one Arsene Wenger. Following the first game against them not too long after we were promoted Wenger came out condemning some of the Stoke players behaviour, the likes of Shawcross and Delap. Walcott had gone off injured after a tackle from Delap, Adebayor was being his usual self where if someone goes near him with the ball then he's done for the day and wants to sit the rest of the game out. Stoke put in a number of fair but firm challenges. If they were mistimed we saw the correct punishment, there were some bookings but no malicious play by Stoke.

Robin van Persie subbed on for Adebayor and with one of his first actions attempts to go in elbow first on the keeper who had the ball at his feet and was under no pressure - it certainly fits the bill of avoidable and unnecessary.

Despite scenes like where Arsenal gave as good as they got, or infact went over the top as the one above shows their fans and the media were generally happy to lap up what Wenger said. As the repeat fixture came around the following season Wenger had been spouting his usual drivel in an attempt to garner sympathy for his once again failing side. Arsenal came to the Britannia certainly fired up for this game and there were a number of crunching challenges from both sides. During that game there was a tackle which has become rather well talked about because of Arsenal and their fans. Shawcross and Ramsey went for a clearly 50-50 ball and unfortunately for the young Welshman his leg was broken. However, despite an admission from the referee that the challenge was not a sending off and he reacted to the injury, despite the fact that you can see just before the tackle Shawcross is impeded and pulled back by Bendtner and even despite the fact that on many clips you will see that at the beginning of the second (ie on the youtube clip I most recently witnessed at 0:15sec in) the two players had a sizable gap between them and it was indeed 50-50. By the time the clock reached 0:16 Ramsey's leg had been broken and by 0:17 he was already on the floor. At that pace there is simply no time to make a decision. Perhaps the most grating thing of all for Stoke fans is a challenge that occured later in that same game, Danny Pugh completely unchallenged and in his own defensive third is on the ball. With his back to the incoming Fabregas the Spaniard comes through the back of him with an incredibly dangerous challenge that could have just as easily seen his leg broken as well.

Fabregas clearly pre-meditates this tackle before his post match complaints about Stoke...

Being typical Stoke we don't make a fuss about it, we do defend Ryan Shawcross to the hilt because it was just an accident but then you see the likes of Fabregas doing that and it makes you wonder just how firm is that moral high ground Wenger is on... Well we saw this week when one of his own players, young like Shawcross was, relatively inexperienced again like Shawcross was goes in on a player in what is deemed to be a bad challenge. The truth of the matter is that it was more akin to Taylors on Eduardo than Shawcross and Ramsays coming together. The most laughable of defenses by the Arsenal fans is that he had been elbowed before, so by that measure its fine if its in retribution.

Wenger has still continued his vendetta against Stoke into this season, but we live in hope that the recent incidents with Wilshere have shown Wenger that his players are not infallible, that accidents can happen and in the heat of the moment players shouldn't be persecuted for something which isn't their fault. In all likeliness though, Wenger will be back to accusing Shawcross of kicking goalkeepers or players he didn't even get within several feet of all game...

The Current Team...

The present Stoke City line up is rather formiddable and certainly capable of maintaining and possibly exceeding the midtable expectations. With the additions of Kenwyne Jones, Marc Wilson, Jon Walters, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Jermaine Pennant (on loan) the club added a mixture of the hardworking ethos that has served us so well with more abled players such as an improved targetman in Kenwyne Jones (to replace Mama Sidibe) and Jermaine Pennant (to replace Liam Lawrence). Below the players who are considered to be part of the senior squad will be listed.

›› Goalkeepers

Thomas Sorensen - The Danish #1 has been ever present for Stoke since our return to the top flight. He now has the young keeper Asmir Begovic to contend with, but Sorensen still seems to have enough about him to keep his young challenger on the bench.

Asmir Begovic - Having signed from Portsmouth in January this mans signature was very much a shock move, he ran out of hotel accomodation provided by Tottenham to sign for Stoke seemingly to spend most of his time on the bench. With his talent and potential he won't be happy to play second fiddle for long.

Carlo Nash - Having been signed on loan during the promotion season Nash then earned himself a contract with Everton, once that expired and Steve Simonsen had moved onto Sheffield United, Carlo Nash seemed like a good shout for a third keeper, a veteran who knows his chances of first team action are very limited.

›› Defenders

Andy Wilkinson - Stoke City academy product Andy Wilkinson has made the step-up to Premier league football admirably. Whilst not first choice at right back at the moment he is our most tried and tested player in that position. He can certainly be useful, but with high aggression he's a wild card who can be prone to making rash challenges.

Robert Huth - Whilst mainly at home in the centerback role Huth also plays out at right back more often than not. With a tight and narrow back four however it essentially means most of the time he is closer to the center than to the flanks other than when someone out wide needs pressuring. A good all around defender who has looked good value for money since his approximate £5m signing from Middlesbrough.

Ryan Shawcross - Signed from Man Utd in our promotion season for just £1m due to his contract ticking down Shawcross has proven to be a bargain. One of the few players Ferguson has openly said he now regrets having agreed to sell, with Ferdinand out more often than not and the rest of their defenders bar Vidic often looking error prone the sturdy Stoke man would be a godsend to them now. He was affected by the Ramsey challenge last season as after that the form which saw him get called up disappeared, he will be looking to recapture it this year.

Danny Higginbotham - Resigned from Sunderland when we got promoted to the Premier League Higginbotham is another central defender who has been able to be put out at left back to help sure up the defence. He has been the first choice at Left Back when available but will be pushed so far this season has fallen behind Danny Collins in the pecking order.

Abdoulaye Faye - Player of the season in our first year in the top flight Faye went on to falter quite a bit during the second year as he picked up a series of small knocks and injuries. Many are hoping he is back to his best but it could be that age and fatigue are catching up on the great Sengalese defender.

Danny Collins - A former Sunderland player of the year the signing of Collins hasn't made too much sense to many Stoke fans last season, he didn't seem to be the first choice and cost the club a few million but this season he has become the first choice left back and has certainly begun looking the part in a premiership line up.

Ryan Shotton - Another youngster fresh from Stoke's academy. After impressive loan spells in the lower leagues especially at Barnsley last season he has been kept on and registered by the club for this season, in all likeliness he could do with being loaned out again and has shown already to have a high level of aggression with his game. If it can be contained and he continues to improve he's very much got a chance of being at the club for a long time to come.

Danny Pugh - An average utility player who can cover left back, left mid and center mid quite well. Whilst not really excelling in any area he is quite well balanced and could certainly prove to be useful in a mid-table premiership side, having arrived from Preston initially on loan before signing for just 500k Pugh has always looked quite decent when called upon.

›› Midfielders

Marc Wilson - A summer acquisition from Portsmouth. He was one of their better players in the summer and joined Stoke in a deal which saw Dave Kitson and Liam Lawrence move the other way. A solid holding player in the middle he should be able to provide good distrubition and break play up well having served a lot of time playing in the defence of Portsmouth.

Salif Diao - Having signed initially on loan from Portsmouth in the 2006-2007 season Diao then joined the club permanently on a free transfer, then left again, then joined again, then leaving again and joining again. In fact, it has become a seasonal ritual at Stoke where each summer Salif Diao leaves and usually signs a new contract just after the pre-season training. Despite his age he still has a role to offer the club and could prove useful for a couple more seasons.

Rory Delap - Perhaps more famous now for his throw-ins than his actual playing on the pitch, Delap still wields one of the deadliest throws in the game and is a competent premiership midfielder. Having signed on loan from Sunderland Delap broke his leg in only his second appearance for Stoke (against Sunderland) but Stoke followed through on a gentlemans agreement to sign him even with the injury and it looks to have been a shrewd signing.

Michael Tonge - Having arrived from Sheffield United on deadline day of our first season in the premiership Tonge hasn't really lived up to his potential yet. Possibly due to a lack of first team chances but he is a good player to include in your 25 man should you fail to find a better replacement.

Tom Soares - Arrived with Tonge coming from Palace for a fee of just over £1m whilst he has good pace and that certainly makes him a threat in the premiership he hasn't been able to cement a place in the Stoke City side. He is still young enough to improve given gametime and certainly has the potential to make it at this level but time is running out for Soares to make a mark in your squad.

Diego Arismendi - Arrived unknown from Uruguay for just over 2.5m last summer, the only thing we know about Diego Arismendi so far is that he likes to keep his neighbours up late with loud music. He has shown glimpses of ability both at Brighton and Barnsley but not consistency, he also has a mean streak in him with several sending offs acquired in the reserves for violent conduct. If tamed however he could be a lynchpin of a successful midfield.

Dean Whitehead - This man was chased for years by Pulis, seen as a hardworking midfielder. He has proven to indeed be a good premiership workhorse and can run all game in an active midfield. However he lacks the technical ability to truly change a game from the middle of the park. At £3m he was quite a pricey acquisition for the kind of player that he is.

Glenn Whelan - Arriving from Sheffield Wednesday for just £500k in the January of our promotion season Whelan has been seen as our more driving midfielder, whilst this is somewhat of mislabel it is the simple fact however that he is our most attacking central midfield option. He has scored some decent long range goals and always is willing to take a shot but his consistency leaves a lot to be desired as some games can pass him by all too easily.

Jermaine Pennant (loan) - On loan from Spanish side Zaragoza Pennant comes with a history of problems and unfulfilled potential. With ability and pace combined into one he should fit into the right hand side of the Stoke midfield perfectly, however, getting him to help out defensively and getting him to stay on the rails will be the most difficult task for the manager.l

Matthew Etherington - Another player who arrived at Stoke with problems, his being in the form of gambling debts. Coming to Stoke has allowed him to regain a lot of his form and display it consistently as he continues the fight against his gambling demons. Excellent on the left and able to play to a decent level on the right Etherington provides a good creative outlet for the side.

›› Forwards

Kenwyne Jones - The new man to fill the 'Mama' role at Stoke. A powerful targetman with a questionnable attitude he will strike many Stoke fans as a combination of Ricardo Fuller and Mamady Sidibe, costing £8m from Sunderland (spread over 4 years) the second coming of Kenwyne Jones could be a great deal for Stoke if used and managed correctly.

Ricardo Fuller - Signed from Southampton for a total of just £500k Fuller has been a superb acquisition, being a player who seemed to be on the down with bad knees and recurring injuries he came to Stoke, Pulis put an arm around his shoulder and nurtured the talent inside helping him rediscover his promising form from when he was younger. Whilst not amongst the goals he can certainly cause most defenses problems.

Tuncay - A £5m signing from Boro Tuncay has not yet been able to really get a firm foot in the door at Stoke, with a great deal of ability and potential he could be influential but he tends to be a roaming, free role kind of player, and in a side usually as regimented as Stoke there isn't enough room to allow an awful lot of free-roaming players to take to the pitch.

Mamady Sidibe - A player with an unquestionnable work ethic but an enormous lack of goals has led to many bemoaning his frequest use in the Stoke side. He can prove a handful for many defenses, and if utilised correctly can work as a great provider for another forward. It would certainly be an incredible feat to get this player scoring consistently.

Eider Gudjohnsen - His signing was somewhat confusing to many Stoke fans, not that we made it as that was a big enough surprise anyway but initially it was termed as a loan deal only then to be revealed it was a permanent deal but only for 12 months. Whether he cost any money or not isn't entirely clear, but he has a proven track record at the top level - the only question is whether or not the Icelandic is past it or if he can keep showing the good form which saw him once play for Barcelona.

So there we have it...

The current Stoke senior team, whilst there is an array of defensive and midfield players there isn't an abundance of attacking options and this is something that will need to be rectified.

Currently there are 6 players out on loan (but Liam Lawrence is a January transfer to Portsmouth so won't be listed below) they are:

Ibrahima Sonko

Carl Dickinson

Diego Arismendi

Ben Marshall

Louis Moult

Start of Season Objectives & Finances

After two seasons in the premiership which Stoke survived comfortably the board recognises this and the objectives have been set accordingly. The minimal expectation now of you as manager is to guide Stoke to a safe mid-table position, so more than likely ranging anywhere from 8th - 14th will please the board. So long as you do not get relegated your job should be safe however as the chairman is pretty patient. With the squad available and the depth of experienced players with just one or two cheap acquisitions this should easily be possible and with some intelligent selling of players on the verge of decline several million could be raised in order to really help push your side above the expectations of the board.

Mid-Table Budget:

£5.5m transfer funds | £550k per week wages.

Top Half Budget:

£7m transfer funds | £625k per week wages.

Continental Qualification Budget:

£7.5m transfer funds | £625k per week wages.

Title Challenge Budget:

£8.25m transfer funds | £650k per week wages.

Champions Budget:

£9m transfer funds | £675k per week wages.

›› The Clubs Finances

The club starts the season with a balance of £7.3m, with their only debt being a loan to the chairman which must be repayed upon his departure this means the club is on a very firm footing financially. Below is a brief breakdown of expected Sponsorship and Season Ticket incomes from the values at the start of the game which can help you plan a bit better if you don't know what the teams disposable income will be each year, as well as some of the clubs liabilities listed for players clauses and wages (not including TV revenue as that is not a unique figure to Stoke).

Income:

Sponsorship: £2.8m per season

Notes: A 770k deal is up for renewal at the end of the first season, this should go up providing you have a good season, however the two main deals which are worth £1m a season each are not up for renewal until 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Season Tickets: £8m - £8.5m per season

Notes: The Britannia Stadium is a 28,000 seater ground, and has a cap in place of around 21,000 season ticket sales. The club will sell between 20,000 and 21,000 season ticket sales each year providing you do not expand the stadium or drop out of the Premier League.

Merchandising: £1m - £2m per season

Notes: Despite having a financial links club (Austin Aztex) the club do not generate huge revenue streams from abroad. However, Stoke do not pay their financial feeder due to the fact the club share board members (Phil Rawlins).

Monthly Fees: £3.1m (over 48 months)

Notes: Hull owe Stoke £65k per month for another 48 months.

Expenditure:

Wages: £28m per season (estimated and before bonuses)

Notes: The clubs current wage bill comes in at £542,000 a week, this comes in at just over £28m per season and will be what eats up the majority of the clubs TV revenue deal. There is definitely room to trim this down in a couple of areas however.

Transfer Claues:

Diego Arismendi: £425k after every 15 league appearances - up to 75 games.

Robert Huth: £200k after every 15 league appearances (first one kicks in after 13 games) - up to 43 games.

Matthew Lund & Ben Marshall: £50k every 10 games - up to 50 games and 30 games respectively.

Tom Soares: £50k every 10 league games (first starts after 3 more appearances) - up to 43 games.

Jonathan Walters: £100k every 15 appearances - up to 75 games.

Asmir Begovic: £250k to Portsmouth after 5 more international games + £200k after 21 more league appearances (also 10% of profit on his next transfer, signed for £3.3m)

Danny Collins: £150k after every 15 games (first starts after 5) - up to 50 games.

Ryan Shawcross: £250k after his first international appearance.

Dean Whitehead: £16k per match for the next 64 games he appears in.

Kenwyne Jones: £170k per month for the next 48 months.

›› Budget Assessment

Whilst Stoke have a nice reserve of cash there is a lot of liabilities to come out of the club over the coming season, whilst it is not crippling and a half decent finish in the league table will cover it and allow you to make a profit, it does mean that spending and long-term deals should be carefully considered and thought about. The Chairman will inject money should it go wrong but this is not an endless well in the sense of a tycoon but he does fit the benefactor role well and has in previous years done just this to keep the club healthy financially. Stoke are certainly not in any financial danger in the short to medium term future, the long term future is in your hands. The club could be built up slowly and become incredibly profitable allowing to gradually push higher and higher, yet the foundations are also in place to allow a short quick push at higher positions and bigger prizes at a much greater financial risk.

Financial Health: Good to Very Good

›› Start of Season Recommendation

Based on the compiled facts, the clubs incomes and outgoings and the potential of the team the 'Mid Table' budget is the best idea, it means you don't have the added pressure of reaching the top half, it is especially suitable if you aren't too familiar with the football manager series or aren't that good at getting the best from players who don't excel in one particular area. However, there is great potential to reach the top half, and if you think you can unlock it with those additional funds then it is certainly something you could and should aspire to, but it does come with an increased risk of the sack if you fail to hit the ground running.

Where to Improve?

The Stoke squad is well rounded, and in truth could certainly meet the requirements of the board for a mid-table finish without any additions to the club. However, whilst there are competent players in a number of places Stoke are weak at both fullback positions, Higginbotham and Collins are both getting on and Collins has an enormous lack of pace making him very weak back-up for Higginbotham. Carl Dickinson would be a decent selection once he returns to the club from his season long loan at Portsmouth however. Jermaine Pennant is only on loan which means the club has no recognised right midfielder of its own, John Walters is a utility player and can cover this position, as can Delap, but neither fit the bill as wingers. Up front all the strikers are aging, whilst not in decline yet they aren't far away and the club lacks a real pacey player upfront. Below is a clear assessment of the clubs strengths and weaknesses both on and off the pitch.

›› Weaknesses

- Right Back: Andy Wilkinson is the only 'recognised' right back

- Left Back: Collins is poor back up for an already aging first teamer Danny Higginbotham

- Right Mid/Wing: Pennant is only on loan and doesn't have much interest in signing for Stoke.

- Upfront: Gudjohnsen, Fuller and Sidibe are already aging, whilst there is no abundance of pace up front for the side.

- Scouts: Stoke have a small collective of rather poor scouts. These need replacing to further the long-term target identification.

- Coaches: Stoke also lack a large number of talented coaches with most trainings showing up at 2 - 3 stars, whilst this is average its not ideal for a Premier league side wanting to push on.

›› Strengths

- Center Back: Stoke have Ryan Shawcross, Robert Huth and Abdoulaye Faye to call up on as experienced Center backs, whilst all full backs can also play there competently and the club has Ryan Shotton who with game time could potentially be a mid-table premiership player.

- Center Mid: Whilst none of the players are truly remarkable in the middle there is Glenn Whelan, Marc Wilson, Salif Diao, Rory Delap and once he has returned from his loan Diego Arismendi.

- Training Facilities: Stoke start the game with the highest rating possible for training facilities owing to a new complex which was finished just in time for this season, this makes signing youngsters and developing them a real possibility.

›› Who to Buy?

It is an interesting question to wonder who to buy as Stoke, below are some recommendations of players to buy for the club.

- Roberto Carlos: Despite being 37 he still has excellent stats, the Brazillian left back could provide excellent cover and a first team option for a season or two, allowing you to sell Danny Collins in the first season and await the return of Carl Dickinson.

- Maynor Figueroa: At 27 he would hardly be a 'long-term' signing, but could still help you push on for 4 - 5 seasons before needing to be replaced.

- Peter Masilela: A promising looking left back, at 25 he fits the bill as a long term replacement at left back.

- Mohammad Abou Trika: One thing Stoke do lack is a 'creative' midfielder, whilst in his 30's Trika isn't a long term solution, he could help provide a more creative outlet in your midfield for a couple of seasons.

- Aron Gunnarsson: Still young and won't need registering in the first season, Gunnarsson has a decent long throw and could be a replacement for Delap as well as providing some utility in midfield and being a long-term solution and potentially key squad member.

- Guillermo Franco: Whilst being 33 Stoke don't have a striker who you'd really expect 10/15+ goals a season from, Franco has the right blend to be able to expect that from if you can carve the chances out for him. However, he deteriorates quickly so a 2 year contract at most is the advice here.

- Mathieu Debuchy: Available from French side LOSC he has the potential to slot in at right back very well.

- Jonathan: A brazilian right back from Cruzeiro, with a second nationality of Italian if you can get a good deal for him then you have a very good right back on your hands.

- Garra Dembele: A young french striker who would work nicely in the Stoke line-up if you can sign him, he can be signed quite cheaply, usually for less than £1m.

- Axel Witsel: Whether he will sign or not is very questionnable, on 11.0 he would submit terms, on 11.1 so far he won't for me, however, his club agreed to deal at £4.5m and this is a bargain for such a potentially great player.

›› Who to Watch?

- Florent Cuvelier: A young central midfielder signed from Portsmouth, with game time and some work he could certainly prove to be a valuable central midfielder for the club in the future.

- Diego Arismendi: Already in his early 20's Arismendi starts the game on loan at Barnsley, he looks to have the potential to make it and with some good training although the window left to develop him is small, its still possible.

- Louis Moult: Moult could make it with the right guidance, however, his stats seem quite low to start the game so it will certainly be a challenge.

Will be starting my first game with Stoke as always tonight....can't wait to get home, hope amazon have delivered on time

I've got my game underway, I just need to finish the beginnings of this thread off tomorrow with recommended transfer targets and those kinds of things as well as a bit more information on some players who are worth keeping an eye on.

I've just signed a left back called Peter Masilela for 180k from Maccabi Haifa, He's got some good ratings in the pre season friendlies and there were about 25 clubs after him.

Masilela does indeed look a good player, at my game he's at Villareal now and worth just under £2m.

2010/2011

I've already managed to get through my first season and in January in the second year. Here's a breakdown of the deals I completed in the first season:

Players In:

Mathieu Debuchy - £2.9m

Garra Dembele - £1.2m

Guillermo Franco - Free

Aron Gunnarsson - £2m

Players Out:

Ricardo Fuller - £1.5m

Liam Lawrence - £1.5m

Mamady Sidibe - £500k loan fee

After picking a mid-table finish I ended up in 12th position and got a new contract in the summer. I finished the season on 12 wins, 12 draws and 14 defeats, with 46 scored and 56 conceded. The problem was for the first half of the season I really struggled to get goals and couldn't break teams down, this was shown by the fact the team had 9 draws by the January transfer window, the addition of Debuchy in January really strengthened my right back position and it allowed me to push on a bit more, turning some would-be draws into wins. It was a good season overall though, not spectacular but a steady start as I got my head aroudn tactics and formations.

2011/2012

Well its currently January in my second season, the club once again 12th in the table after selecting mid-table again. However, with a game or two in hand on teams around us, jumping up to 9th/10th isn't out of the question. The budget was about £17m for the season which I have spent all bar a couple million of now, the rest was put into the wage budget. I had decided to make some distinct improvements to the first team this year to really help build some solid foundations for the side. Neymar was a tough deal to push through due to his initial almost £100,000 a week wage demands, but he ended up signing for £44,000 a week. Mark van Bommel on a free has proven a great deal, on £25k a week he has proven to be an instant choice at central midfield when hes fit. Which is more often than I expected to be honest, he's already triggered the 20 game clause which got him a 1 year extension.

Transfers in:

Neymar - £25m (£8m up front, £17m over 48 months)

Mark van Bommel - Free

Matias Ezequiel Schelotto - £5.5m

Transfers out:

Carlo Nash - Free

Ibrahima Sonko - Free

Ben Marshall - Free

Matthew Lund - Free

Michael Tonge - £250k

Danny Collins - £500k

Ryan Shotton - £750k

Mamady Sidibe - £500k

Andrew Davies - Free

Ey up santy! Great thread, what tactics are you using? About to start a Stoke save now!

I'm playing a 4-3-1-2 with Tuncay just behind the front two. It's quite defensive on the whole, but can allow for players to rush forward when it becomes more desperate.

Due to a tragic oversight on my behalf I accidentally signed several players on 'match highest earner' and had Neymar to have his wages to go up to 60k a week after 20 games. Anyway, when 5 players suddenly jumped up 100k a week the clubs finances plummetted and I got sacked lol. Despite still doing quite well in the league as well. As such I'm going to have to start again, bit of ballache but its a learning curve.

Wow would you best replicate the way Stoke play currently?

I think something like this

Philiosopy = Rigid

Passing = direct

Cllosing down = press more

Tackling = more aggressive

Crossing =float

Roaming = stick to position

I would have a target man in the tick box.

What is everyones thoughts on that tactical layout in terms of replicating how stoke play currently?

Philosophy would be rigid or very rigid, and crossing perhaps default. Sometimes they do ping a low cross into the near post, other times its more lofted towards the back post. A pretty standard 4-4-2, with limited defenders and ball winning midfielders on support would be the set-up for Stoke, with defensive wingers and a deep laying forward behind a complete forward.

After clearing out £13m worth of players at the start of this season and signing numerous deals to get players in (at a total cost of £31m, £15m or so of which is over 48 months) it has started a lot better playing a different formation. I'm creating much more, but still not always getting the goals I need so its rather frustrating at the moment. Once I end the season I'll do a detailed break down of transfers in and out.

Having a great first season with them also. As i always do i managed to sell most of the players, with the exception of Eidar who is still Transfer Listed and Collins who refuses to leave. Most players i could bring it was with a 48 month payment metod. The most "expressive" transfers so far was Radôi (DC/MD/M) and Fabio (G) from cruzeiro. Great team to manage despite the lack of young players.

As explanation i only keep: Sorensen (for backup), Shawcross, Shotton, Diao, Whitehead, Whelan and Tuncay, as i like to have a team with my "mark" onto it. Perhaps when i am not in my job i can upload some screenies.

Go on OP, great post !

Well I finished my first season. I'll try to get a type-up on it later today, just getting ready to watch Stoke v Liverpool at the moment though lol.

2010/2011

I had a pretty decent first season and spent a lot of money overall having played the transfer market quite well.

Players In:

Thorgan Hazard - £4.5m

Simone Guerra - £1.2m

Marco Calderoni - £750k

Juan Pablo Rodriguez - £800k

Milan Badelj - £4.5m

Jonathan Cristaldo - £3.6m

Dentinho - £9.5m

Radosav Petrovic - £6m

Total £31m

Players Out:

Matthew Etherington - £3.3m

Liam Lawrence - £1.5m

Danny Pugh - £1.5m

Ricardo Fuller - £2.1m

Michael Tonge - £2m

Mamady Sidibe - £2.3m

Glenn Whelan - £3m

Danny Collins - £100k

Total out £15.75m

Having picked mid-table as the finish at the start of the season my side ultimately finished 11th, we did enjoy highs around January of around 6th/7th and this led to the board giving me a further 9m to spend in the market. The club finished strongly with a promising young team and it does look as though given more timet he players and team will only grow stronger.

How did you manage to get that transfer budget in your second season? Also how good is Schelotto? Thinking of getting him on a free on my Newcastle save

Have decided to start a Stoke save after having fun with them last year, have literally just loaded the game up so will update after pre season

That was my budget in my first season, and with £15m worth of sales on top of the clubs standard £6m budget it gives you a lot to play with.

Here's my monthly installments though:

Dentinho - £150k per month for 48 months

Thorgan Hazard - £95k per month for 48 months

Hlousek - £50k per month for 48 months

Petrovic - £130k per month for 48 months

So £20.4m is over 48 months, thats how I was able to juggle the deals and keep the clubs finances intact. In my second season however I am destroying the premier league. Twenty-three games played, currently in 2nd position with 48 points and a game in hand on leaders Chelsea who have 49 points. If you look to the general board there is a thread started by me which is looking into the over effectiveness of morale and this is the save its been displayed in.

2010/2011

Told the board I would acheive a safe mid-table position.

Premier League: Finished 15th after a very poor end to the season failing to win any of my last 7 games (drawing just 2 of them). A lack of goals from 1 player is what I believe cost us from pushing on into the top half, which was definately achievable. Fuller was my top goalscorer with just 9, this may have been partly my fault for being impatient with the Strikers and constanly rotating them.

League Cup: Played a completely different side to league matches, a mixture of fringe players and youngsters but a 2-1 defeat to eventual winners Sunderland at the quarter final stage ended any hopes of a trip to Wembley.

F.A. Cup: A dissappointing 1-0 defeat to Championship Burnley put us out in the 3rd round, continuing with the same team selection policy as the League Cup.

Transfers In:

Dodo - Def (L) - Corinthians - £1.3m (inc. clauses)

Garra Dembele - Stk - Levski - £400k

Per Ciljan Skelbred - M/AM © - Rosenborg - £3.5m

Jonathan - Def ® - Cruzeiro - £6.5m (IN JANUARY)

Total = £11.70m

Transfers Out:

Mama Sidibe - Stk - Wigan - £2m

Liam Lawrence - Mid ® - Portsmouth - £1.5m

Total = £3.5m

Finally finished my first season last night mainly due to lack of time available. As soon as the season has finished the board announced plans to expand the stadium by 4500 costing £6m, I'm hoping this won't affect my transfer budget for next season.

I'm expecting to release/sell a number of the older, higher earners to free up space nd wage budget in my squad ready for pre-seaon transfer. A. Faye, Gudjonson, D. Collins, S. Diao and Rory Delap amongst the certainties to leave the club.

Next Season will b hoping to push on into the top half of the table and revamping the squad adding a bit more youth and quality; targeting a natural goalscorer and a center midfielder with real quality. Any reccomendations for cheap, young prospects would be appreciated, did try to sign Levan Mchedlidze as he was one player I desperately wanted to sign but work permit problems prevented this.

Well, my save went really well

I was sacked in March of the first season, for basically over achieving too early in the season. I told the board that I would achieve a top half finish and at Christmas I was top by a point. I told them in the mid-season expectations that I would still achieve a top half finish but from January to March I failed to win a league game and drew just once dropping me to 8th in the league. Even though I reached the final of the League Cup and lost in the fourth round of the FA Cup away to United, the board still decided to sack me

I'm going to start again and hopefully I can either maintain my early season form or just do the minimum the board requires.

scfcbostock - have a look at Cairney and Wickham from Hull and Ipswich, both should be relatively cheap (around 2 mil each) both are young and British aswell

2011/2012

The 2nd season saw me finish 3rd with my team securing a champions league place, up until 3 games before the end of the season we were really in with a shout at top spot but we capitulated late on under a combination of presumably too many games, too much pressure and me not being able to sustain morale as well as I had earlier in the season. It was a good season though, and I secured european football about 3 seasons ahead of expectations. I don't expect to repeat this feat again this season so there won't be much money spent but instead let the clubs reserves build up to allow for a sustained push over a period of time to improve the squad as my young players develop.

Players In:

Adam Hlousek - £2.5m

Diego Buonanotte - Free

Rafael Toloi - £4.7m

Marko Livaja - Free

Jano - £7m

Total £14.25m

Players Out:

Andrew Davies - £1m

Eidur Gudjohnsen - Free

Carlo Nash - Free

Rory Delap - Free

Ibrahima Sonko - Free

Ben Marshall - Free

Total out £1m

Once again having picked mid-table as my league finish the club did exceptionally well to maintain the performance and position of the early season to finish in a champions league spot. It was an excellent season though which saw my prospects real show how well they could develop.

Away from my own game some recommendations I can think of who are relatively cheap and young:

Eyal Golasa (couldn't get him to sign myself)

Zargo Toure

Martin Galvan

Edgar Ivan Pacheco

Keep an eye on the likes of Hlousek (I got on a good deal due to his contract running out), Milan Badelj, Radosav Petrovic, Jano and Thorgan Hazard. I bought them all quickly and expensively, but if you lay the foundations, unsettle them then they usually have quite short contracts and they can be picked up much cheaper. With Stoke you do need to clear out a lot of the older, slower players it makes sense since they're on more money too. Eidur Gudjohnsen was earning the wages of like 4 - 5 of my young prospects, and he wasn't anywhere near as useful as them.

I had a similar problem myself Oswaldo, had a good finish in my first season of the save, thought I could really push on from there and chose a more ambitious finish and was sacked in the next season. Even if you keep the same budget choice in january, you still get more funds. I picked the same as the start of the season and got an extra £7m to play with.

I've made a decent start to my third season, its hard to keep morale very good or superb all the time but it certainly helps when you can. It's November and I'm currently 4th on 24 points with a game in hand on 2nd and 3rd who are on 25 points. Liverpool however are way out in front at the moment on 31 points. The champions league is proving very difficult, Bayer Leverkusen beat me 4-0 and 4-3 respectively and I've only managed 2 draws in my other 2 games against CSKA and Fenerbache. I'm hoping to win the last 2 now to bump up the clubs revenue substantially.

I'm halfway through my first season. Sitting nicely at 5th place and have reached the league cup final (will play Arsenal in the final). I'm using the tactic created by Minimal_Fuss (tweaked version) and it has worked really well for my Stoke team. Scoring a lot of goals, but letting in a few as well. Tuncay has been awesome and he is also top scorer so far. Both Fuller and Jones have been out injured for periods. Transfers in: Anthony Annan from Rosenborg, Gael Kakuta from Chelsea (loan), Kyle Walker from Spurs (on loan) and Anders Lindegaard from Aalesund (replacing Sorensen who signed for Stuttgart). I'm trying to offload a lot of players but that's not easy. Got rid of Sidibe (signed for Hercules) but still haven't been able to sell players like Tonge, Soares, Pugh and Davies.

Completed my second season at the weekend so will write that up shortly, also due to a snow day (there is one advantage of living out in the sticks after all) i have managed get into January of my third season.

More snow right now, so if im off again tomorrow will hopefully post my second season update and try and finish the third season

2011/2012

Told the board I would acheive a safe mid-table position. (£14.25m - £675k)

Premier League: A very poor start to the season saw us fearing a relegation battle early on but once the team had blended with all the new additions to the squad and the new tactics then (around December time) a turn of form took us well clear of any relegation battle and saw us as very serious contenders for Europe by February!

March saw Arsenal crowned as champions (18 point lead with 5 games to go!!) and my own inconsistent results stopping us from qualifying for europe and finishing 8th.

A shock at the end of the season as I am named runner up to Wenger in manager of the year! Not as much a shock was R. Beerens making PL team of the year with Hlousek on the bench.

League Cup: Continuing with fringe team and youth players saw a 4th round 2-1 deafeat to Everton.

F.A. Cup: Fringe team players took Chanmpionship Bristol City to a replay but a 2-1 defeat put an end to any hopes of a cup run early on.

Transfers In:

Guillermo Burdisson - DC - Rosario Central - £2m

Edgar Ivan Pacheco - MC/AMC - Atlas - £1.3m

Roy Beerens - M/AM R/L - Heerenveen - £7.5m

Jack Butland - GK - Birmingham - £1m

Adam Hlousek - AML - Slavia Prague

Yay Sanogo - Stk - Auxerre - £11m

(January)

Jano - MC/AMC - Spartak Moscow - £6m

Jack Robinson - DL - Liverpool - £900k

Paul Robinson - DL - Bolton - £400k

Total = £33.5m

Transfers out:

D. Collins - £500k

A. Faye - £750k

A. Davies - £725k

D. Pugh - £750k

G. Whelan - £2.5m

M. Tonge - £250k

E. Gudjohnsen, C. Nash, R. Delap, I. Sonko - Free

Total = £5.5m

Top Scorers:

A. Hlousek - 11

R. Beerens - 10

Y. Sanogo - 8

Top Assists:

R. Beerens - 16

A. Hlousek - 10

Y. Sanogo - 9

Average Ratings:

R. Shawcross - 7.33 - 21games

A. Hlousek - 7.25 - 39games

R. Beerens - 7.17 - 38games

R. Beerens and A. Hlousek made the biggest difference to the team as stand out performers. G. Burdisso made a flying start to the season before a broken ankle caused him to miss the majority of the season as with Shawcross missing the start of the season with a broken foot during pre-season.

A lack of goals wasn't a problem as only champions Arsenal scored more than us in the league mainley down to the new tactics, however, due to this our defensive record suffered and was the 3rd worse in the league.

Hoping for European qualification next season, if I can keep hold of my best players as all of them are wanted by much bigger clubs.

Just finished my 3rd season yesterday, managed to finish 4th (not sure how after a collaspe of form right at the end of the season). Really exceeded all my expectations this year, I just hope the board don't expect too much next season because I'm not sure I'll be able to keep hold of all my best players.

Will post a detailed season review soon, how's everyone else getting along with their Stoke saves?

Having seen a lot of Stoke on sky this season, and noticing that they seem unable to be involved in a boring game while televised, i decided that Stoke would be an interesting poposition having become bored of Arsenal. I have always played a direct, physical style on all fm's therefore i figured stoke would be a good match. I saw the squad was already quite strong, just in need of creativity, so i went for the bargains immediately

Transfers in :

A. Gunnarsson 1.2m - thought he would be the answer in the middle of the park, also his long throws allowed for havoc to be created even when delap was missing

P. Masiela 250k - at that price, a steal of a left back

Kiko 3.2m - a right winger brought in as i have always thought of pennant as a tool and had no intention of keeping him

Yaya Sanogo loaned then bought at end of season for 5.5m - had to be permanent once he started scoring, a beast of a player

S. Poulsen - 925k bought to cover etherington and compete for position, a decent signing

Also loaned in Forrest from celtic, Kyle Walker and Kakuta at various times.

Transferred out davies, sidebe, tuncay and whelan as either not rated or kicked off at not playing bringing in 13.5m

Settled on a rigid 442 with gunnarsson or delap as the creator, and whitehead as the steel in midfield with pennant/kiko and etherington/poulsen alongside them. Target man kenwyne was the battering ram, with fuller as the poacher, while slowly blooding sanogo in either role. The team started the season magnificently climbing to top at december with some very good wins along the way, and managed to reach the league cup final courtesy of an easy draw and a great win over man city. However a demolition at stamford bridge set off 7 games without a win, including a loss to BLACKPOOL at home (officially worst performance i have ever seen on fm). The rest of the season was inconsistent, and disappointing as i tinkered with the tactic too much and found nothing working. Lost to arsenal 1-3 in cup final, and ended season in 14th, a nightmare considering the early season form. Jones was top scorer with 14, however after a slow start Sanogo scored 12 after christmas, unfortunately mostly in losing games.

Second season promised more to my blind optimisic side, as Kiko had finally found his feet, and the wage bill was slashed as pretty much every big earner had been set packing, including delap, gudjohnsen and faye when their contracts ran out. For the second season had a budget of 15m and decided to throw money at creativity again, as gunnarsson wasnt quite cutting it.

Tranfers in:

Sanogo 5.5m permanent was a given

Thiago free - former barca man impressed on trial and seems to be a good prospect, if nt always showing it in games

B. Valero 1.5m - passing would be vital i reckoned, and valero certainly has that. proved a shrewd signing as he does the business, but not exactly fireworks from him either

K. Walker 5m - great prospect, and when not injured was excellent on loan previous season, like sanogo had to be done

A. Carroll 6m - newcastle offered him after relegation, and i liked the idea of building an english team slowly, has been excellent

F. Sinama-Pongolle 2.4m - offered on cheap, was a legend for me on fm 10 so signed him on low wages. Despite that the definition of a flop

Currently in december and in 2nd place. Adapted formation to make it more attacking, pushing wide midfielders into wingers and moving gunnarsson into deep lying playmaker alongside valero or thiago. More attacking formation works wonders against big teams, 1-0 win at chelsea and beating city 3-0 away from home, howver home form has too many draws that should be wins for my liking. Still careful not to get too optimistic, as season still has the possibility to implode again, however goals are not a problem with Carroll and Sanogo on 13 goals each, while Kiko and Poulsen are providing brilliantly from the flanks, having both strikers who are capable in the air has helped enormously. Begovic went ballistic and demanded transfer out of the blue so will be off in january, with smithies coming into replace and jordan spence coming too, all for the same price that was paid for begovic. I feel like harry redknapp!

EDIT: immediately after writing won 5-0 at home to arsenal to go back to top of the league, andy carroll hat trick, valero with 4 assists and a goal. Wow is the only word that comes to mind

Sounds like you're both doing well, Stoke do have a great potential on FM to really push on and become a solid top 6 side in the league, coaxing that potential out of them can be difficult though. My own save is going pretty well with my team being consistent high-end finishers.

just set all players to last notch of passing and hey presto you have created a real life tactic that will achieve a similar playing style to stoke IRL. Make sure to keep delap in the team and you'll have a dangerous throw in taker, should help you get you an amazing tally of 3 goals per season from his throw ins. Also, keep tackling set to hard, and time wasting on maximum - you'll be the under dog in every game you play so make sure to set mentality to contain, don't even think about attacking - just hoof the ball and hope for the best, afterall its working for Pullis.

For all the human managers of this team, make sure you wear a baseball hat as well, sometimes the glare off the computer screen can infringe on your eyesights so best not to risk playing a game without it. No need to relay your pitch either if it becomes tatty, i don't think the ball will touch the centre circle area.

Remember to tell your players to do their neck warming exercises as looking up at the ball all afternoon can lead to serious injury.

remember to put on your robbie williams cd as well for a truely authentic playing experience and if you happen to injury anyone on the other team, sorry i meant when you injure someone on the opposite team, just write that he's not that sort of player and he doesn't have it in him to injure anyone.

Have i missed anything? oh yes, can't wait til you guys get relegated, hopefully this year, if not next season will do.

You be sure to cry yourself to sleep tonight at the thought of big bad stoke coming to town and hurting the precious little players you love and adore

Those renowned long ball merchants Jermaine Pennant and Matthew Etherington are working out excellently for us, and that 6'6" forward Tuncay Sanli is proving to be a right battering ram. It won't be long until the monster Eidur Gudjohnsen is playing often enough, his malicious streak and limited football ability is renowned, but then he did play in the champions league winning side Barcelona, who as we all know double-up as a Rugby team and actually practice decaptitations on weekends.

Also, Robbie Williams is to do with port vale not Stoke

Finally, we have a team that works for us, its effective, its efficient, we're not here to entertain the fans of other teams. You ask any Stoke fan if they'd rather have gone down playing football that got praise from people like you, or if they stayed up and upset people like you... the latter is the choice everytime. So whilst you're cradling yourself at night, perhaps look to the first post in this thread to see some genuinely dirty, ill-intended challenges. Not one that happens in the space of a second or two (watch the replays if you have to and see the amount of time from when Bendtner pulls Shawcross back - funnily enough a foul and what causes the incident if you consider pulling someone back slows them - and when Ramsey has his leg broken) you'll soon realise just how delusional you are.

That said, a direct style with a quick tempo works well for Stoke, getting a working system for contain is hard, but the wingers need to be set to defensive wingers as they backtrack a lot, whilst with the Stoke City regiment of training they are fit enough to then bomb down the line and put crosses into the box too. Plenty of aerobic exercise will prevent the neck issues, remember to set Jones as the targetman and you'll be beating the poncy teams of the league like Arsenal in days

It would benefit you enormously if you learned how to analyse football properly, and learned not to bring petty grudges to this thread.

Haha is that what Stoke is all about? Berating Arsenal's team? Haha.. We'll see what you lot got when you visit the Emirates this week, prepare for a real bashing I expect.

LOL, good thread. I am actually thinking about doing a Stoke file but would it be beneficial to do time wasting in the fact that you are looking for long throws?

Seeing as how arsenal was the only team i succeeded(sp? amazing to think im a teacher) with before trying stoke, and the fact that i am enjoying a lot of success playing a more possession orientated approach combined with a strong, physical strikeforce, i think its fair to say that real life footballing grudges should be left out of this thread. I am a middlesbrough fan with no affiliation to either team, and i don't see the point in arsenal fans focusing on one bad tackle from shawcross, or to deride stoke as a poor team. They play to their strengths, they have a physical side, but it would be unfair to say they lack quality this season, case in point the win over liverpool, a brilliant performance in which they outclassed their opponents.

Arsenal have an incredibly technical side, and thus are capable of barca-esque passing moves but to compare the teams is pointless. Arsenal have had the time and success in the highest division to develop this side, stoke are arguably happy with every season they stay there (not sure about this stoke fans, feel free to correct me). I'm sure that each season stoke stay up they will improve their side, and possibly their style will change, but at the moment they play successful football. Believe me, as a boro fan, i would much rather southgate had played in a way that didnt impress and we had stayed up.

As for the shawcross tackle it was a bad tackle, but not pre-meditated or malicious. In a game of football this happens. It is a physical game and sometimes people will get hurt.

As this is a football manager forum I should point out that i finished my second season in 2nd place, overacheiving massively and only 3 points behind united. Will post a full review of the season at some point.

Great thread title and an impressive amount of thread space dedicated to abusing Wenger.

The 2nd season for us, unfortunately as it may be, fell by the wayside after the Shawcross challenge, and even continuing into this season we had Wenger bringing us up in press conferences that were nothing to do with us (like with the phantom kick from Shawcross on Gomes) and its to illustrate to any Arsenal fans who visit that perhaps the blinkers should be removed considering the pool challenges they too have made against Stoke alone never mind in the other 36 fixtures of the season. As for what we get when we visit the Emirates, I'd be delighted with a point it would help us to keep on progressing which is what we need, the return fixture at the Brit is always the one thats tougher for Arsenal. And generally, as fans we berate every team, criticise, poke fun at and take a real disliking to in the week before we play them. Some teams forget that and seem to think we see them as rivals when the truth is Blackpool had similar treatment and remarks last week to what Arsenal will have this week.

The throw-ins don't take that long though in-game Reggae and you will probably find you don't use Delap quite so extensively.

Just to let you know Santy you missed out on writing an assessment of Walters in your first team squad overview at the beginning and can I just know for people that are playing with stoke how do you play? Do you have all the defenders booting the ball long or not and do you play down the flanks and i guess you do direct. Can someone post a screenshot and explain how they use their tactics with Stoke. Thanks

I have completely transformed my Stoke side, taking them from a more direct team to a much more technical side. It's much more about a good passing game with intricate players now than a direct approach. I pretty much went towards this in my first season with finishes of:

11th

3rd

5th

This season I'm currently 4th but only a few games in.

Heres my team:

I'm halfway through my first season. Sitting nicely at 5th place and have reached the league cup final (will play Arsenal in the final). I'm using the tactic created by Minimal_Fuss (tweaked version) and it has worked really well for my Stoke team. Scoring a lot of goals, but letting in a few as well. Tuncay has been awesome and he is also top scorer so far. Both Fuller and Jones have been out injured for periods. Transfers in: Anthony Annan from Rosenborg, Gael Kakuta from Chelsea (loan), Kyle Walker from Spurs (on loan) and Anders Lindegaard from Aalesund (replacing Sorensen who signed for Stuttgart). I'm trying to offload a lot of players but that's not easy. Got rid of Sidibe (signed for Hercules) but still haven't been able to sell players like Tonge, Soares, Pugh and Davies.

Look to loan them out, I got rid of all the reserves and made around 1m collectively just from loaning them out with a fee, and then giving them the option of signing them at the end of the loan deal, albeit I am paying 2k of Davies wages, the rest are all being paid fully by the clubs loaning them respectively.

Nice to see you still have a few of the original players santy, how have u found Begovic? He tended to struggle when i gave him his chance.

I found great success with Dentinho on my game but wasn't able to hold on to Hlousek. My own save with Stoke has slowed down massively as I have been sidetracked by my traditional journeyman career, which has got me hooked at the moment.

He's been average, the problem is finding a good replacement. I signed Smithies last season due to injuries to Sorensen, Begovic and the 2 reserve keepers all at the same time (initially on emergency loan, then on permanent basis after he impressed) but both show their lack of experience and maturity, whilst Sorensen has declined too much.

Anybody playing Stoke on PSP?

Don't see too many mentioning the PSP on these forums, would be nice to hear how you're getting on.

Not very well at all TBH. Was flirting with a European place for the first two months of the season and then the wheels fell off. Picked up Charlie Adam instead of Paul Konchesky in the Jan transfer window, probably the wrong choice wrt my defensive liabilities at left back but ... At beginning of season got Albrighton on loan and Elmohammady so the right side is dangerous going forward but I am a bit unbalanced . As of 8 Jan I am in 18th position, two points from safety.

Perhaps trying to become more defensive and sit tight would be better, Higignbotham is a good left back ifyou still have him. If you can tighten up and grind more games out which should be possible with a defence like the one Stoke have then you can look more at the attacking side and build that after it. If you get the odd win + several draws you will more likely be safe than trying to outplay your opponents and looking good but not being tight enough to keep them out.

You are never going to believe the 180 degree turn that started as soon as I sent in the earlier post. Currently unbeaten in 7 matches and back to 11th in the table. I kept my attacking 4-1-1 with Tuncay in the hole behind Jones. I moved Adam from CM to LM and sat Wilson and Arismendi in the center of the park with Albrighton on the right wing. The back four are by committee due to injuries. Jones has caught fire up front and is banging them in. The defense is air tight now and I am playing a lot of man vice zone defense. Looks like we might just have a decent season after all. Just not like me to sit back and grind out results. Also I now wear a baseball cap when I play and that is helping too!

Now you just need to headbutt one of your players naked and you really will be a like a Stoke City manager

"Allegedly" is the key!