Cardiovascular Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 *England: CCL2+, Italy: Serie A, Scotland: First Division+, Spain: Liga BBVA* July Transfers In | Date | Person | From | Fee | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13.7.2009 | Sergi | Textil Escudo | £24K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14.7.2009 | Yannick Djaló | Sporting CP | £800K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 30.7.2009 | Jeparov, Server | Bunyodkor Toshkent | £650K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Out | Date | Person | To | Fee | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18.7.2009 | Davies, Andrew | Ipswich | £2M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23.7.2009 | Diao, Salif | FC Nantes | £925K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 29.7.2009 | Higginbotham, Danny| Napoli | £2.9M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Fixtures 08.07.09 - Stoke City 4-0 Stoke Reserves Tuncay x3, Fuller A nice easy way to start us off in pre-season. Tuncay had a hat-trick in under 22 minutes and Glenn Whelan had a hat-trick of assists come the 35th. I lined up with a 4-4-2 as I planned to for the season and it worked very well. Whelan played Tuncay through for the first and second, whilst the Turkish captain's third was thanks to some magnificent play. Whelan was there again for the fourth and final goal, but full credit to Ricardo Fuller for the way he made something out of nothing really. 18.07.09 - Barnet 0-5 Stoke City Tuncay, Pugh, Fuller, Abdoulaye Faye x2 Tuncay's 4th goal in two games came as a result of a well-timed run to beat the offside track and a fantastic ball over the top from Sergi. Our second took a while to arrive, but after Fuller's good shot was parried away, Danny Pugh picked up on it to fire home. The third followed seconds after, Tuncay again cutting the ball inside to Fuller who curled a beautiful shot into the top corner from 25 yards. The game was as good as dead and Abdoulaye didn't know much about his first goal and our fourth; Micah Hyde cleared the ball off the line against Faye and into the net. Unfortunate for Barnet, but Faye did prove that he can score meaningfully, nodding home Lawrence's 90th minute corner. 21.07.09 - Rochdale 2-2 Stoke City Opadeyi, Jones/Abdoulaye Faye, Yannick Djalo Again, Faye proving he is a force to be reckoned with from corners, rising like a salmon to nod home Pugh's corner. Pugh was involved for our second goal, crossing for Yannick Djalo and the Portuguese striker met the ball with a brilliant diving header. Opadeyi pulled a goal back almost immediately and we would pay for that, Gary Jones latched onto O'Grady's through ball to bring Rochdale level. 23.07.09 - Accrington 0-3 Stoke City Tuncay x2, Yannick Djalo Tuncay opened the scoring with the only goal of the first half - he met Etherington's deep ball with a good header to beat Bouzanis in the Accrington goal. It was a good while before we extended the lead; Whitehead's through ball seemed overhit but the Accrington keeper reacted slowly which allowed Tuncay to nip in and roll the ball past him. With the game effectively won, Yannick Djalo scored his second in as many games after controlling Delap's cross beautifully and volleying it into the net. 25.07.09 - Swansea 1-0 Stoke City Trundle 23 This was effectively our reserve squad playing and it showed. Our front two pairing of Beattie and Kitson proved hopeless and neither of them took their chances whilst Lee Trundle and Swansea took their chances to beat us and give us our first defeat of pre-season. 27.07.09 - Cheltenham 0-4 Stoke City Kitson x2, Tuncay, Lawrence Kitson was granted a second chance and took it well, turning his man and unleashing a powerful shot which the 'keeper could only help on it's way in after just 5 minutes. Tuncay extended our lead soon after. He latched onto a stunning through ball from Pugh which left him one on one and kept his cool to slot it beyond the goalie. Whitehead was the architect for our third; he picked out Kitson's run and the ginger hitman finished coolly. The game was already sealed when Lawrence drilled the ball home from the edge of the box. 31.07.09 - Glenavon 0-1 Stoke City Tuncay Tuncay's fine form continued as he scored the only goal of the game. After 75 minutes, he rose well to nod home Lawrence's cross. A disappointing win (if there is such a thing) but at least Tuncay is on form. Summary: A brilliant pre-season so far as we've conceded 3 in 7 whilst scoring 19. The only major concern is the loss too Swansea which is followed closely by the draw to Rochdale but I'm sure we'll be ok for the start of the campaign. Hopefully. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 Salif Diao has done well for Stoke this season. Has Peter Coates not given you much to spend? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 19, 2010 Author Share Posted March 19, 2010 From memory (I've already played a season), it was about £5-6m for a mid-table finish (could be wrong though) I must say, I chuckled when Napoli bid for Higginbotham. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 20, 2010 Author Share Posted March 20, 2010 August Transfers In | Date | Person | From | Fee | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4.8.2009 | Wilson, Danny | Rangers | £3.6M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6.8.2009 | Enyeama, Vincent | H. Tel-Aviv | £725K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Out None Fixtures 06.08.09 - Stoke City 4-0 Glenn Hoddle Academy Fuller x3, Tuncay Fuller opened the scoring with a fantastic effort; picking the ball up just inside the Academy's half, he weaved in, out and round 4 players before slotting beyond the keeper after only 2 minutes. He grabbed his second 5 minutes later as he reacted quickest to a loose ball to fire home. Tuncay added his input scoring from a rebound after his initial shot was well saved. To round off the game, Fuller glanced home a header from Wilkinson's cross to cap off a magical day for him. 15.08.09 - Stoke City 0-0 Burnley - EPL S Fletcher m/penalty A boring match. Burnley were fortunate to be awarded a soft penalty which was well saved by Enyeama. It would've been an injustice had they won by that goal. 18.08.09 - Chelsea 1-0 Stoke City - EPL Terry We held out for 80 odd minutes but the constant pressure was too much. I can safely say I'm very happy we only lost by a single goal. 22.08.09 - Stoke City 2-0 Wigan - EPL Tuncay x2 The first goal was my definition of a perfect goal with this team; a loose ball was picked up by Pugh and he released Tuncay with a great ball. The Turkish captain confidently beat Kirkland with a low drive from the edge of the area. The second was coming and we pressured for a winner - it came from Tuncay again as we managed to recover from a good challenge by Jordi Gomez and pick out the top corner on his debut. 25.08.09 - Stoke City 2-0 Derby - League Cup Lawrence, Fuller Liam Lawrence opened his account for the season with a free-kick which I reckon I could've scored. The wall was poorly arranged and left a big gap for Liam to drill home into. The victory was secured with 10 minutes to go as a missed interception by Shaun Barker sent Fuller clean through and he made no mistake to send us into the next round. 29.08.09 - Manchester City 3-0 Stoke City - EPL Tevez x2, Barry (pen) I wasn't expecting much from this game and much never came. We were dominated throughout the game and when we got the odd counter attack, it was wasted. Summary: All in all, a good month. I'm delighted to progress further in the cup, especislly considering the majority of those playing were youngsters. I'm slightly disappointed not have beaten Burnley but a point is a point and it will be vital in the long run. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 20, 2010 Author Share Posted March 20, 2010 September - Fixtures 12.09.09 - Stoke City 3-2 Aston Villa - EPL Shawcross, Lawrence, Yannick Djalo/Davies, Milner I thought we'd struggle and it looked like I would be correct when Davies nodded home Milner's free-kick after just 43 seconds. However just seconds later, Etherington's long ball was flicked on and met at the back post by Shawcross to pull us level. We took the lead after the 15 minute mark after Yannick Djalo played a lovely reverse pass and fooled the defence to send through Liam Lawrence. The right winger made no mistake and slotted the ball past Friedel. Yannick Djalo made it 3-1 with a fantastic goal; picking the ball up on the half-way line, he turned his man and skinned 3 players before beating Friedel. A fantastic way to score his first for the club. Despite Villa pulling a goal back through Milner's well-taken free-kick, well held on for a fantastic win. 19.09.09 - Tottenham 0-0 Stoke - EPL A great result in my opinion - not many teams go to White Hart Lane and come away with a point and a clean sheet. Maybe a boring game but a point is a point. 22.09.09 - Sheffield Wednesday 1-3 Stoke - League Cup Tudgay/Yannick Djalo x2, Tuncay A route one goal would be our downfall in the first 45 - a long ball over the top from the Wednesday keeper fell kindly for Tudgay who slotted past Begovic easily. It took until the second half and the introduction of the 'big boys' (Tuncay and Yannick Djalo) when we finally equalised. The two combined with a sweet one-two which ended which Yannick Djalo rounding the keeper and scoring. His second was almost an exact replicate of the first. A one-two between the same two players except this time, the Portuguese hit-man fired past the keeper this time instead of rounding him. Wedensday pushed for an equaliser but the defence was solid and Tuncay deserved the goal which he got after firing past the keeper from the edge of the box. 26.09.09 - Stoke 2-3 Hull - EPL Collins, Yannick Djalo/Hunt, Zaki, Vennegoor of Hesselink Having gone 2-0 to poor defending and some good counter attacking from Hull, I went attacking and it paid off immediately. A long throw was flicked onto the back post where Danny Collins stood to knock it in. Within a minute, we had equalised. Tuncay's through ball was fortunate to go through to Yannick Djalo but the striker made no mistake to equalise. We were digging our own grave though and bad defending left big Jan free in the box to head home a late winner for Hull. Summary: Almost an unbeaten month - it's heartbreaking to lose out to Hull who are a very poor team compared to us. The draw at Tottenham, despite it being a relatively boring game, was a good result for us and the win at Villa was definitely one of our best of the season. Sadly, I can't provide a league table at this moment because I'm far into the game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 20, 2010 Author Share Posted March 20, 2010 Fixtures - October 03.10.09 - West Ham 2-2 Stoke - EPL Boyd x2/Yannick Djalo, Fuller We went two goals down thanks to two very good goals from George Boyd, however we fought back and Yannick Djalo pulled a vital goal back just before half-time after being sent through by Fuller. The Portuguese striker returned the favour 10 minutes into the half-time ensuring we shared the points fairly. 17.10.09 - Stoke 0-1 Everton - EPL Pienaar Disappointing to say the least but we were dominated from start to finish and were very lucky to keep it to just one, although that may down to the poorness of the Everton strikers. 24.10.09 - Blackburn 1-0 Stoke - EPL Hoilett Disappointing again, should've at least shared a point here. 27.10.09 - Stoke 1-0 Reading - League Cup Jeparov A good result here after some bad form and capped off by a fantastic goal from Jeparov. He won the ball deep inside our half and released Tuncay. The Turkish captain's shot was saved well but Jeparov followed up after sprinting the entire length of the pitch to win us the game. 31.10.09 - Stoke 1-2 Fulham - EPL Yannick Djalo/Gera, Konchesky Yannick Djalo gave us the lead with a great strike from 30 yards which almost ripped a hole in the net. Some awful defending allowed Gera to shoot and score unmarked from the penalty spot just before half-time which was a massive disappointing. Not as disappointing as a weak through ball which found Konchesky, again unmarked, to slot home with minutes remaining. Summary: A disappointing month where we failed to win in any league games. Even our win against Reading was a scrappy 1-0 affair - we need to improve and sharpish. It was a pretty easy month with regards to the teams we played. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 If you don't stay up, I won't be happy... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 20, 2010 Author Share Posted March 20, 2010 Fixtures - November 07.11.09 - Bolton 1-3 Stoke City - EPL Cohen/Yannick Djalo, Fuller x2 A fine way to kick start our form hopefully. Yannick Djalo gave us the lead after knocking in Tuncay's rebound. Almost immediately from kick off, our lead was doubled as the Portuguese striker turned provider and set up Ricardo Fuller to score his first of the night. Fuller's second and our third was a very well taken as Yannick was the provider again, crossing for the big Jamaican to poke it home. Cohen replied for Bolton but it was all too late and the points were ours. 21.11.09 - Stoke 1-2 Man Utd - EPL Park, Rooney/Fuller Things didn't get off to a great start - as expected - as Park put United ahead after 46 seconds. It went from bad to worse as Rooney doubled it on the twelfth minute and it looked like it could be a cricket score in the making. However we kept it respectable with Fuller pulling a goal back just before half-time after latching onto Whitehead's through ball. As we started to pressure, I thought we may be able to gain a point but sadly not. I'm happy with the result though. 25.11.09 - Stoke 1-0 Everton - League Cup Qtr Final Yannick Djalo Yannick Djalo scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 27th minute. Etherington's fantastic cross met his head and he was able to nod into an empty net; Howard tried to gather the ball but the pacy striker nipped in front and helped us progress into the semi's. 29.11.09 - Birmingham 2-1 Stoke - EPL Larsson, Rotan (pen)/Yannick Djalo We got off to a great start as we took the lead just before the 15 minute mark; Sidibé's over the top through was simply excellent and straight into the path of Yannick Djalo. The Portuguese striker made no mistake. The lead lasted no less than 5 minutes as Benitez picked out Larsson and the Swede headed home. Abdoulaye Faye had a great pre-season but things weren't going so well for him since and he gave away a needless penalty just before half-time which Rotan confidently scored to give Birmingham all 3 points. Summary: An OK month. It was good to get back to winning ways on two occasions and progression in the League Cup was nice. The Manchester United result was also decent enough but I'm not pleased with the Brum one. We should've at least gained a point from that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almondo Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Good looking season so far Cardio. Unlucky with a couple of the losses there, but nice progression in the League cup Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 21, 2010 Author Share Posted March 21, 2010 Fixtures - December 06.12.09 - Stoke 1-1 Arsenal - EPL Jeparov (pen)/van Persie, Vermaelen s/off We managed to keep Arsenal out for the first half and most of the second half - it looked like things would get easier as Thomas Vermaelen fouled Yannick Djalo as he raced clean through. By being the last man and denying a goalscoring opportunity, the Belgian had to go and Jeparov cleanly dispatched the penalty. We held out until 10 minutes to go but there was no stopping van Persie when he had a free-kick in a dangerous position. In all honesty, I see this as two points dropped but if you had said to me before that we'd get a point out of it, I would've bit your hand off. 12.12.09 - Sunderland 3-2 Stoke - EPL Jones x2, Bent/Etherington, Yannick Djalo Things got off brightly on our part; Delap's corner was not properly cleared and Etherington was able to volley home from 12 yards out to score his first goal in a Stoke shirt. The goal was cancelled out a fantastic individual effort by Jones who rounded three men before cooly beating Enyeama. We did re-take the lead just before half-time, Yannick Djalo latching onto Tuncay's through ball to fire home - a well taken goal. But all that hard work would be undone in the second half started off by Bent just before the hour mark with a well worked goal. And hearts were broken in the second minute of stoppage time when Jones got on the end of a through ball to win it for the Black Cats. 15.12.09 - Stoke 3-2 Portsmouth - EPL Sidibé, Amdy Faye, Yannick Djalo/Yebda, Vanden Borre Bottom of the league Pompey visited the Britannia and I expected the full three points to be ours. It didn't start all that well when Yebda wrong-footed Wilson and wriggled a shot through a crowd to give Pompey the lead. That seemed to kick us into life and Sidibé nodded home Collins' ball to level just minutes later. And just minutes after that, Amdy Faye flew at Yannick Djalo's cross to connect with it and gives us the lead at half-time. Yannick Djalo went from provider to scorer next. Lawrence played a fantastic through ball for him and he made no mistake to give us a two goal cushion. Vanden Borre unintentionally pulled a goal back as his 45 yard free-kick evaded everyone to nestle kindly in the bottom corner. We held on though for what could be three vital points. 20.12.09 - Wolves 1-1 Stoke - EPL Maierhofer/Etherington A boring first half was countered by an exciting second half. Maierhofer gave Wolves the lead as he got the slightest of touches to divert Surman's effort beyond Enyeama. The Austrian giant probably did divert beyond Enyeama so the goal was his. We pressed for an equaliser and deservedly got it; Etherington headed home Sidibé's fantastic cross to earn us a point. 26.12.09 - Liverpool 4-1 Stoke - EPL Torres x3, Torosidis/Etherington It was always going to be tough. Torres opened the scoring when he took advantage of a defensive mix up to sneak in between two defenders and score after just two minutes. They doubled their lead two minutes later as Torosidis' weak shot somehow may it past Enyeama. Torres scored his second and third in quick succession after some godd work from Gerrard on both occasions. We did very well to limit them to scoring no more in the second period and Etherington even managed to grab his 3rd in 4 games with a powerful effort from close range. 28.12.09 - Burnley 1-2 Stoke - EPL Elliot/Yannick Djalo, Sidibé It started brilliantly with Yannick Djalo scoring after just 21 seconds. Burnley hadn't even had a touch of the ball when Sidibé sent him through and he made no mistake. If the first goal was good, the second was a keeper. Tuncay's drilled cross found Sidibé on the edge of the box. The Malian striker took one touch before unleashing a ferocious shot into the top corner. There was no stopping it and Diego Penny could only admire it as it flew by him. And it was a fitting winner when Elliot outpaced Danny Collins to fire home from around 5 yards out. 30.12.09 - Stoke 1-3 Chelsea - EPL Etherington/Donovan, Suarez, Collins OG Matty Etherington kept up his fine form when he was sent clean through by Tuncay and smashed it past Turnbull to give us a shock lead. We held onto that until the hour mark when our defence was finally penetrated. Joe Cole sent Donovan through and he beat Enyeama easily. It was two no less than 5 minutes later when Donovan and Suarez pulled off a good one-two with the latter finishing the game off effectively. Late on, Terry headed Malouda's corner across goal and Collins inadvertently turned it in. Summary: Quite a good month in all honesty. The only disappointment would probably be losing to Sunderland in stoppage time and maybe the amount Liverpool beat us by but all-in-all, I'm quite happy with this month. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 22, 2010 Author Share Posted March 22, 2010 Transfers In | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 30.1.2010 | Juanra | Hércules | £1.1M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Total | | £7M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Out | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 30.1.2010 | Faye, Abdoulaye | West Ham | £2.7M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 30.1.2010 | Lund, Matthew | Austin | Loan | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Total | | £8.5M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Fixtures - January 2.1.10 - Stoke 3-1 Preston - FA Cup 3rd Round Shawcross, Yannick Djalo, Tuncay/Nicholson Etherington injured I didn't expect an easy match - I never do with this team - but I did expect a win today and made sure the team knew that. The team responded well and it took 20 minutes for the first goal to come. Yannick Djalo's corner picked out an unmarked Shawcross and the centre back made no mistake in punishing the Preston defence for their error. It remained that way until just before the hour mark when Tuncay sent Yannick Djalo clean through to score a suspisciously offside looking goal. Nonetheless, Tuncay killed the game when he nodded home Danny Pugh's cross. Preston did pull a goal back through Nicholson but it wasn't enough, and we marched through to the next round. 6.1.10 - Chelsea 4-0 Stoke - League Cup Semi Final, first leg. Suarez x2, Essien x2 We did fantastically well to stop Chelsea scoring more than two until the 80th minute when we fell apart and effectively threw away any chance of progressing by allowing Michael Essien to score not once, but twice. 10.1.10 - Wigan 0-0 Stoke - EPL Rodallega m/pen I don't know if the TV folks expected a glitz and glamour tie but a good old defensive relegation scrap ended 0-0. Wigan were awarded a dodgy penalty with minutes to go, but justice was served when Rodallega blazed it over. 16.1.10 - Stoke 0-0 Man City - EPL Another boring match although I'm chuffed with a clean sheet and a point against the Citizens. 19.1.10 - Stoke 0-0 Chelsea - League Cup second leg Whelan and Amdy Faye injured Dirty Chelsea injured three of our players in this match. I did go out to attack but no Yannick Djalo hurt us clearly in this match and we gained our third clean sheet in a row. 23.1.10 - Stoke 2-0 Middlesbrough - FA Cup 4th round Yannick Djalo x2 Two goals! Another clean sheet! Smiles all round as Yannick Djalo showed why we missed him so much when he scored with no more than two minutes on the clock. Lawrence's through ball was inch perfect and the Portuguese hitman who is our top scorer showed why by slotting it beyond Danny Coyne. We had to wait until there were only two minutes to go for the next goal and it was a picture perfect counter attack and an amazing goal. Yannick Djalo picked the ball up inside his own half and had no other thought go through his head than run, shoot and score. He did just that to send us through where we drew Chelsea. As usual. 26.1.10 - Aston Villa 4-2 Stoke - EPL Agbonlahor, Heskey, Milner x2/Shawcross, Yannick Djalo I think the two goals we scored flattered us and the scoreline should've been much higher as we were outclassed in every way possible. Goals from Agbonlahor, Heskey (were we that bad?!) and Milner had put Villa three goals to the good before Shawcross nodded home Amdy Faye's header (from a Delap special) to give us a glimmour of hope. Milner killed off any chance we had with a superb hit but Yannick Djalo did regain us some dignity with a good effort from 20 yards out. 30.1.10 - Hull 3-4 Stoke - EPL Altidore, Hunt, Zaki/Yannick Djalo x4 The battle of the relegation struggles sooned turned into Hull City vs Yannick Djalo. It was always going to be a great day for him from the minute his first goal went in: he took a touch awya from goal before unleashing a rasping effort into the top corner. His second equalled it as he took the ball down on his chested, turned Mouyokolo and belted another beauty in beyond Myhill. Hull did pull a goal back before half-time when by applying a corner technique they'd been working on clearly. Hunt found Altidore 35 yards out and he screamed one in, as though to say 'anything you can do, I can do nearly as good but quite.' Yannick Djalo's hat-trick was sealed when he side-footed past Myhill. Hunt made us sweat some more before Beattie gave Yannick his fourth of the day to surely seal the win for us. He did in the end but not before Zaki made us sweat with a late goal. Summary: An ok month in all honesty. The Hull game was fantastic, likewise our two FA Cup wins. The 4-0 loss to Chelsea is a tad disappointing but I can live with reached the semi's. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrbfcrule Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Great read, keep it up It looks like Yannick Djalo is single handedly keeping you up, a bargain for just 800k Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 22, 2010 Author Share Posted March 22, 2010 Cheers hrbfcrule, and I whole-heartedly agree that Yannick Djalo is perhaps the best bargain I've bought on '10. Fixtures - February 6.2.10 - Stoke 0-3 Tottenham - EPL Pavlyuchenko, Defoe, Palacios Really there is nothing I can say. We were completely outplayed and dominated and deserved a loss. 9.2.10 - Stoke 3-2 West Ham - EPL Sidibé x2, Jeparov pen/McCarthy x2, Upson sent off McCarthy gave West Ham the lead when he nodded in at the near post following Whittingham's corner and it looked to be staying that way until a crazy 5 minutes before half-time saw us take the lead. It was the perfect counter attack; Jeparov cleared it to Sidibé who played it to Yannick Djalo before continuing his run and finishing the move off when he received the ball back. It was two just minutes later. Again, Yannick Djalo the assister as he crossed for Sidibé to nod home to give us a half-time lead. McCarthy pulled the Hammers level with a well-taken goal following Stanislas' through ball but we would win it thanks to a penalty from Jeparov. Upson was lucky not too go off for conceding it having already been booked but 10 minutes from time, the ref had enough and he walked the walk of shame. 13.2.10 - Stoke 1-2 Chelsea - FA Cup Shawcross/Drogba, Malouda Shawcross gave us a shock lead and we held that until half-time and beyond. 10 minutes into the second half, Drogba found space to wriggle the ball home and from then on, Chelski were in the driving seat and deservedly won thanks to Malouda. Disappointing to go out but I can accept a loss to Chelsea and it's a respectable loss in all honesty. 21.2.10 - Everton 3-1 Stoke - EPL Baines x2, Vaughan/Tuncay Baines was obviously going for an England spot and showed some excellent class and quality with both his goals. Both were scored from 35 yards out from near enough the same position when we couldn't clear our lines. Vaughan effectively sealed the win for Everton but we did manage to pull a goal back through Tuncay when he scored from Fuller's through ball. 27.2.10 - Stoke 0-0 Blackburn - EPL Huth injured/Roberts injured A boring match, both teams were left with 10 men in the end due to late injuries. I think we should've won this one so it's quite disappointing. Summary: Good result against West Ham and to an extent Chelsea. Every point is crucial but we should've won against Blackburn. The Tottenham game was poor, likewise the Everton game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 22, 2010 Author Share Posted March 22, 2010 Fixtures - March 13.3.10 - Fulham 2-2 Stoke - EPL Davies, Murphy pen/Tuncay, Sidibé Davies fave Fulham the lead after some pinball in the box. It eventually fell to the unmarked Welsh wizard and he made no mistake. It stayed that way until 5 minutes into the second half when Lawrence's shot took a deflection and Tuncay beat Hangeland to slide the ball home for the equaliser. That was cancelled out by a dubious penalty decision. With Shawcross booked, Murphy stepped up to coolly convert it to give Fulham the lead. For the second time though, we equalised when Sidibé rattled in an excellent shot from 25 yards: a goal worthy of winning any but a point will do at this late stage of the season. 20.3.10 - Man Utd 2-0 Stoke - EPL Berbatov, Owen I'm quite pleased to come away with only a two goal loss as we were completely dominated throughout. 28.3.10 - Stoke 2-1 Birmingham - EPL Sidibé, Sergi/Jerome Pugh sent off Tuncay m/pen An eventful game to say the least. It took Sidibé 54 seconds to round his man and slot past Joe Hart to give us a fantastic start to a game I felt we needed to win. That was extended only ten minutes later when 17 year old Sergi - on his competitive debut - smashed home a 35 yard free-kick to give us a comfortable advantage, surely? We held it until there were 34 seconds played in the second half when Jerome headed home Larsson's deep cross. That would be it for goals but not action. Danny Pugh took down Jerome deep into our half and as the last man, he had to go. Even then, Scott Dann was lucky not to go for taking down Yannick Djalo in the box. Tuncay stepped up and saw his effort tipped wide to end the action for the day. Fixtures - April 3.4.10 - Stoke 2-0 Bolton - EPL Gardner, Elmander A disappointing loss against a weaker team and at home. It was an even match but in the end, Bolton's attackers turned up and ours didn't. 12.4.10 - Arsenal 6-1 Stoke - EPL Wow. Tuncay's stoppage time penalty had put us in 1-1 (!) at half-time so whatever I said in the dressing room obviously made the team fall apart. Either that, or Wenger poisoned the oranges. Disappointing to say the least. 17.4.10 - Stoke 4-0 Sunderland - EPL Lawrence, Wilkinson, Tuncay x2 The first half was awful and both teams were defensive so I changed to be more attacking at half-time. It paid off within minutes as Tuncay sent Lawrence through and the Irish winger finished with the composure of a striker. It was his corner that found Wilkinson's head to make it two with 5 minutes to go - this evidently triggered our team into gear to secure the win as Lawrence again played the perfect low cross into the path of Tuncay to make it three. And there's nothing like a good old route one goal to finish us off. Yannick Djalo - making his return from injury - flicked on Enyeama's clearance to Tuncay. A defensive mixup by Ferdinand and Gordon saw him free on the 6 yard box to slot it home. 24.4.10 - Portsmouth 1-4 Stoke - EPL Dindane/Yannick Djalo x2, Wilkinson, Tuncay Yannick Djalo's first goal in a while from the penalty spot gave us a 14 minute lead and he followed that up with a 21st minute finish for his second following Tuncay's through ball. That was it until there was 6 minutes left: Aruna Dindane managed to loop Enyeama following Yebda's header over the top of our defence. Once again, we were triggered into life and almost straight from kick-off, Tuncay slotted home his input for the game to secure the win with 2 minutes to go. Even then, Wilkinson scored his second in as many games to put Pompey to bed. Fixtures - May 2.5.10 - Stoke 0-0 Wolves - EPL A boring match really. Not much more to add - we should've won it but by this point we're safe (\o/) so I'm not too fussed. 9.5.10 - Stoke 1-2 Liverpool - EPL Yannick Djalo/Kuyt, Mascherano Big Yan gave us the lead with his 22nd goal of the season (and his last) after Tuncay put him through. We held that lead through thick and thin until there were only 15 minutes left when our defence was finally penetrated. Johnson did well for Liverpool and cut it back for Mascherano to fire home. Once that went in, there was no stopping them and Kuyt scored to give them the win. Summary: Final League Table - 14th place is a very good achievement in my opinion and I'm pleased to get there with all things considered. I think anyone could tell Yannick Djalo was the player of the season for me as he grabbed 22 goals and 12 assists to cap off a phenominal debut season*. *Again, sorry for lack of screenshots but I'm mid-way through the second season (or I was when I started taking screenshots) so then will be the introduction of monthly league tables etc.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Well done Cardio. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 23, 2010 Author Share Posted March 23, 2010 Cheers Nobby. July Transfers In | Date | Person | From | Fee | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17.7.2010 | Diaby, Abou | Arsenal | £3.6M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24.7.2010 | Fleck, John | Rangers | £1.3M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Out | Date | Person | To | Fee | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2010 | Sonko, Ibrahima | Birmingham | £1M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2010 | St. Louis-Hamilton, Danzelle | Raith | Free | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2010 | Simonsen, Steve | | Free | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2010 | Faye, Amdy | | Free | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2010 | Wedderburn, Nat | | Free | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5.7.2010 | Shotton, Ryan | Southampton | Free | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22.7.2010 | Arismendi, Diego | Freiburg | £2.1M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23.7.2010 | Beattie, James | Bristol City | £425K | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23.7.2010 | Kitson, Dave | Colchester | £750K | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 27.7.2010 | Sergi | Derby | Loan | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 30.7.2010 | Enyeama, Vincent | Barcelona | Ln Fee £2.1M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| As the world recovered from the shock of Denmark winning the World Cup (led by a certain Thomas Sorensen :smug: ) I was busy looking for potential transfers. Two more were added to our squad (as ALOT left) in the shape of Abou Diaby - transfer listed by Arsenal - and youngster John Fleck, who I felt had alot of potential. The only big transfer out was the unhappy Enyeama who left for £2.1M on loan to Barca. The only reason I did this was because I had full confidence in Begovic's ability to step up to the plate. Fixtures - Pre-season 22.7.10 - Hamilton 0-1 Stoke Yannick Djalo I'm not sure if it was poor finishing or good defending (I'm guessing the former, since it's Hamilton..) and we only won by a solitary goal courtesy of a powerful hit from Yannick Djalo. 25.7.10 - Sheffield Utd 1-5 Stoke Evans/Diaby, Yannick Djalo, Fleck x3 Diaby opened the scoring with a great hit into the top corner from 25 yards out - he was making a good first impression. It was two minutes later when a fine counter attack saw Fleck send Yan through to beat Kenny easily and give us a two goal cushion. Just before half-time, Fleck looped a shot over Kenny for his first of the evening and we had three going into half-time. It looked like the Blades were fired up for the second half when after just minutes played Ched Evans pulled a goal back but from then on, John Fleck was in the driving seat. He scored his second and our fourth when Morgan let a ball slip under his foot to allow the Scot in and Fleck completed his hat-trick when Pugh cut the ball back to him at the edge of the box. 28.7.10 - Cambridge 2-2 Stoke Ngo Baheng/Pugh, Yannick Djalo Ngo Baheng shocked our defense into life after three minutes as he was slipped clean through to open the scoring. It stayed that way until half-time when Danny Pugh somehow scored with a narrow volley which bulleted into the top corner. A good counter attack saw us take the lead as the ball travelled quickly up the left and ended with Fleck crossing for Yannick Djalo who headed home from the penalty spot with a fine attempt. But it would be Ngo Baheng who thwarted our winning streak with an easy header following some poor defending. Summary: Disappointing result at Cambridge and to an extent, Hamilton although these are countered by a fantastic win at Brammall Lane against Sheffield United. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 23, 2010 Author Share Posted March 23, 2010 August Transfers In | Date | Person | From | Fee | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 28.8.2010 | Macheda, Federico | Man Utd | Ln Fee £2.4M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 29.8.2010 | Garrido, Javier | Arsenal | £4.9M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.9.2010 | Griffiths, Leigh | Dundee | £3.8M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Out | Date | Person | To | Fee | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22.8.2010 | Griffin, Andy | Burnley | £1.1M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 27.8.2010 | Etherington, Matthew | Tottenham | £5.75M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 30.8.2010 | Fuller, Ricardo | Q.P.R. | £775K | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Fixtures 1.8.10 - Stoke 2-1 GH Academy Yannick Djalo x2/Noone (pen) Big Yan opened the scoring with a fantastic goal as he took a touch away from goal before drilling it across the keeper and into the far corner, showing class to the youngsters from the Academy. If his first was good, his second was great as he connected with Danny Pugh's cross with an picture perfect diving header to make it two-nil to us. Michael Noone did score a penalty following a clumsy challenge by Shawcross but it stayed at that and we won comfortably in the end, although the margin suggests otherwise. 3.8.10 - Dungannon 0-4 Stoke Sidibé x2, Tuncay, Milligan OG Sidibé gave us the lead with a good finish following Jeparov's excellent pin point pass and that was soon extended to 2 when Tuncay hit a fantastic 30 yard strike which the keeper maybe could have done better with but the Turkish captain didn't care. It was three soon after half-time and it summed up Dungannon's day when Milligan challenged Sidibé in the box. Excellent challenge but the Norn Irishman could only watch in horror as the ball trickled beyond his keeper. Sidibé capped off a good day for him with his second when he dodged three challenges before rattling the ball home. 7.8.10 - Crusaders 0-4 Stoke Jeparov (pen), Yannick Djalo, Etherington x2 Servar Jeparov stepped up confidently to dispatch a penalty kick following a clumsy foul on Fuller by David Lynn after just 5 minutes. It was 2 soon after when Yannick Djalo looped a header over the 'keeper following Tuncay's pinpoint cross. 2 would become 3 when Wilkinson crossed to Etherington who took it down on his chest and half-volleyed it home using his weaker foot; an excellent goal. The same man would finish off the scoring by cutting inside and curling a beautiful shot into the far corner with his 'weaker' foot. 14.8.10 - Liverpool 2-1 Stoke - EPL Babel, Gerrard (pen)/Pugh Wow. A brutal game to watch. Abou Diaby's debut and potentially career was ended after a mere 10 minutes following a brutal tackler from that thuggish Gerrard boy and he was stretchered off with damaged cruciate ligaments which effectively ended his season already. Nonetheless, we continued and Danny Pugh rattled in the opener following Yannick Djalo's cutback. A powerful effort from the Englishman. We held that until there was only 8 minutes remaining but we allowed Babel too much room on the edge of the area and he made us pay by rattling one home, leaving Begovic with no chance. It looked like it would finish a draw and we'd share the points but in the end, it was heartbreak for us as Carl Dickinson gave away a dubious penalty. Gerrard kept his head in the 5th minute of stoppage time to give Liverpool an undeserved win. 17.8.10 - Stoke 2-2 Fulham - EPL Lawrence, Yannick Djalo/Dempsey x2, Etuhu sent off Too say I was disappointed with this result would be a massive understatement. Dempsey scored first after ten minutes after being sent through by Pisczcek, but our equaliser came in the form of Liam Lawrence. Whelan played a through ball to the Irish winger and he made no mistake to pull us level. We were ahead soon after as Fleck punted a ball which splut the defence and Yannick Djalo picked up on it to slot beyond Schwarzer to give us the lead. Our job was made easier when the Nigerian central midfielder Dickson Etuhu was sent off for two clumsy challenges in the space of minutes. But we still went on to lose out to Dempsey just before half-time and despite our one man advantage, we still could not grab our first win of the season. 21.8.10 - Chelsea 5-1 Stoke - EPL Donovan, Lampard x2, Drogba, Deco/Etherington What a shocking game. Our performance doesn't even deserve a report on it so I won't. Etherington scored a late consolation, that's it. 24.8.10 - Dagenham & Redbridge 0-2 Stoke - League Cup 2nd Round Yannick Djalo x2 Didn't bother resting our strikers for this one as I wanted them to start hitting form. The rest of the team got a rest but it was all Yannick Djalo really as he opened the scoring with a good header following Delap's long throw in. He went onto complete the scoring just before half-time as he latched onto Sidibé's flick on, rounded the keeper and fired into an empty net to score a good goal by all means. 28.8.10 - Stoke 1-0 Wolves - EPL Yannick Djalo A win! Delap's throw ball (yes, that's not a long throw!) slipped in big Yan and the striker made no mistake to hand us our first win of the season with 15 minutes remaining. Deserved in my opinion. Summary: Decent month by all standards, bar the heavy loss to Chelsea. Only slightly disappointed with the Liverpool result and the Fulham result could've been better, but a point is a point in the end. 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Nobby_McDonald Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 Arismendi is a player with potential. I'm surprised you've sold him so soon. Is he rubbish in your save? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 24, 2010 Author Share Posted March 24, 2010 He's not rubbish but he's not the type I need. Plus I have the likes of Whelan, Jeparov, Whitehead, Fleck, Diaby competing for 2 central midfield spots so I felt someone had to go. It was him because £2.1M is a good price for someone who didn't play alot last season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 25, 2010 Author Share Posted March 25, 2010 Fixtures - September 12.9.10 - West Brom 1-2 Stoke - EPL Wood/Yannick Djalo, Lawrence (pen) The first half was as boring as they come with little or no chances being created whatsoever. But the second half started brightly for us when Yannick Djalo was sent clear through by a fantastic ball by Danny Pugh and, as usual, Yan made no mistake in putting us a goal ahead. That would be two with 10 minutes to go when Federico Macheda surged into the box on his first appearance for us and was fouled by the ever-clumsy Gianni Zuiverloon. The big Dutch full back protested his innocence but the referee was having none of it and Liam Lawrence dispatched the spot-kick, tucking it into the corner. It was over in theory but Chris Wood did get his name on the scoresheet in stoppage time with a fine 30 yard strike. 18.9.10 - Stoke 1-2 Bolton - EPL Macheda/Al-Qahtani, Gardner Whelan sent off/Davis sent off In what was a dirty match, Al-Qahtani gave Bolton the lead when he latched onto Davis' pass and smashed one home from the edge of the area with a good effort. Macheda equalised just before half-time (cue Martin Tyler screaming) with a well-struck effort following Yannick Djalo's through ball which sent him one-on-one with Jaaskelainen. Disappointingly, we lost on the hour mark when Garnder was allowed to run through our defence to poke it beyond Begovic. It wasn't finished though as Davis was dismissed for Bolton after lunging in at Garrido despite being on a yellow. He had to go and the ref had no choice but to send him off. Whelan would soon follow for a clumsy, late challenge on Kevin Davies. 21.9.10 - Stoke 1-2 Everton aet - League Cup 3rd Round Macheda/Cahill, Vaughan Disappointing again as it turns out our League Cup run from last season will not happen again this season. Cahill gave Everton the lead in the first half by scoring what looked like a dubious penalty decision. As time ran out for us, Macheda scored with three minutes to go when Griffiths sent him through, and despite pressure from Heitinga, he kept his cool to slot home and bring us back into a game where we'd been dominated for much of it. But alas, it was not to be as James Vaughan sealed the win for Everton in the 106th minute. 26.9.10 - Wigan 1-0 Stoke - EPL Thomas What a shocking match on our part. We were completely outplayed in every aspect and Wigan rightly deserved the win and could've - should've - had more if not for some fine goalkeeping by Begovic. Summary: Awful month in all honesty: the only bright point is our win at the Baggies. Absolute horror show. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCFC Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Good, solid first season there Cardio - Yannick Djalo certainly a great buy for you. Good luck for the rest of this season and unlucky on losing one of your big summer signings Diaby for the rest of the season especially in his first competitive game for the club, ouch! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Stoke always beat West Brom. It's brilliant. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 29, 2010 Author Share Posted March 29, 2010 Cheers for the comments lads, much appreciated. Fixtures - October 2.10.10 - Stoke 1-2 Sunderland - EPL Yannick Djalo - Cattermole, Turner To say I'm disappointed with this would be an understatement. We dominated the possession for the first and most of the second half but in the end it came down to the clinical-ness of our strikers. Cattermole gave them the lead with a great effort which Begovic could only help on it's way in just after half-time. Yannick Djalo pulled us level after being sent through by Macheda, but the Portuguese striker picked up an injury in the process. But it was all over soon after that when Michael Turner was left free in the box from a corner, and he bulleted a header past Begovic to give the Mackems all three points. 18.10.10 - Man City 2-1 Stoke - EPL Tevez, Robinho - Yannick Djalo Quite pleased with this result. We were dominated by City so to keep it to a one-goal margin and score is satisfying. Tevez gave City the lead, slotting past Begovic following Robinho's flick on just after the half-hour mark. We pulled them back just minutes later. Again, Macheda played through Yannick Djalo and he made no mistake (does he ever?) to slot it beyond Given. City won it just after the hour mark when Robinho was quickest to react to a loose ball following Tevez's blocked shot and he took full advantage, smashing the ball home from 12 yards. 23.10.10 - Newcastle 3-2 Stoke - EPL Vaughan x2, Llorente - Griffiths, Lawrence Another disappointing defeat really, although in some ways it's satisfying. Barton sent David Vaughan through and the Welshman showed qualities of a striker to coolly slot it home after just 10 minutes. Things went from bad to worse when Pancrate's flick on was drilled home by Llorente and we were being completely outplayed. Half-time came and went and I unleashed and told the team to improve and they did. When Yannick Djalo's shot was saved, Leigh Griffiths was there to follow up and score his first ever Stoke goal. Lawrence pulled us level from two goals down when we stole the glory from Griffiths when the young Scot chipped the keeper. We were starting to look like we could win it but David Vaughan killed our hopes by scoring from an impossible angle thanks to some poor goalkeeping. Disappointing defeat, but the positives are it was a great fight in the second half. 30.10.10 - Stoke 2-3 Man Utd - EPL Yannick Djalo, Lawrence - Berbatov, Rooney, Park 34000 people packed the Britannia in our first game with our stadium expansion in place. Berbatov gave United a shock lead after 10 minutes when he scored a thunderbolt from 30 yards out; a goal worthy of winning any game. I was pleased we held it at one goal down until half-time, but it was not to be as Park increased United's lead to 2 just after half-time following Giggs' cross. Yannick Djalo pulled a goal back for us when he turned his man to fire past Van der Sar and give us a tiny bit of hope. Rooney killed it off just after the hour mark when he weaved in and out between defenders to score a good goal. And that, as they say is that except Lawrence did score from Sidibé's through ball to gain some dignity for us. Summary: So many positives yet so little points in this months. The positives are the result against City and United despite being dominated. Coming from two down to pull level against Newcastle. The bad things are losing to Newcastle and Sunderland, picking up 0 points. Disappointing effort this month. Hopefully things will pick up next month. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 29, 2010 Author Share Posted March 29, 2010 Fixtures - November 6.11.10 - Stoke 1-1 Arsenal - EPL Sidibé - Arshavin Fantastic result. To secure a point against Arsenal is an achievement for any side, but especially when you're on a bad run of form. The first half was boring really, Arsenal dominance, yawn. Arshavin gave Arsenal the lead by starting and finish off a move. He picked the ball up on the half way line, passed to Denilson and ran. He eventually received a through ball from Denilson and slotted it home and made it look like we were in for a long second half. Then came the 'I was there to see it' moment as Sidibé pulled it out of the bag with a 35 yard effort which curled into the top corner. T'was a goal worthy of winning any match but I'll settle for a point. 13.11.10 - Tottenham 2-0 Stoke - EPL Defoe, Crouch Not much to say about this one, we were dominated and deservedly lost. 20.11.10 - Stoke 2-0 Bristol City - EPL Yannick Djalo, Pugh Our first win in 9 games comes at the expense of 19th place Bristol City. It was an even game in terms of shots and the like but we dominated possession and deserved to win. Yannick Djalo gave us the lead on the stroke of half-time, following up when Lawrence's initial effort was saved. Pugh killed off any hopes for Bristol by showing true striker's instinct to slot home from Tonge's through ball. 27.11.10 - Hull 1-1 Stoke - EPL Zayatte - Yannick Djalo Slightly disappointing result if we're being honest here, if not a little boring match. Zayatte scored following Hunt's shot was blocked and the equaliser came in the shape on big Yan and a good ol' route one goal. Myhill made a mess of it as the bounce evaded him and all Yan had to do was finish into an empty net. He did so earning us a point. Summary: Decent enough month. 5 points from 12 is key in a relegation battle (which we're now in). The draw against Arsenal was a fantasy of mine which came true, the loss to Tottenham was expected and deserved. Bristol's result was deserved in our favour this time and we should've done better with Hull but a point will do. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paggioram Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Really enjoying this career Cardio. You seem to be having alot more difficult second season than the first but I think you should be OK. Macheda and Yannick Djalo look a very good combo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 29, 2010 Author Share Posted March 29, 2010 Cheers Paggioram - they are deadly together, I'll give them that. Fixtures - December 4.12.10 - Stoke 1-1 Blackburn - EPL Macheda - N'Zonzi This was quite a boring match. The first half passed in unspectacular fashion, the second half followed suite except the two goals. N'Zonzi lightened it up a bit with a rocket shot from the edge of the area to strike his first of the season and give Rovers the lead minutes into the second half. The equaliser would also be a very good goal. When Macheda received Yannick Djalo's through ball, he still had alot to do but he eventually managed to finish it off to earn us a point. 13.12.10 - Stoke 0-1 Everton - EPL Baines Disappointing result as we failed to put any pressure on Everton whatsoever. It was a comfortable result for them despite the scoreline and it was the man who seems to hate us, Leighton Baines, who won the match for the Toffees after making an undetected run and slotting home Cahill's through ball. 18.12.10 - West Ham 1-4 Stoke - EPL Diamanti - Yannick Djalo x4 Talk about a morale raiser, Yannick Djalo single handedly destroyed West Ham to give us a vital 3 points against fellow relegation candidates. He started the rout on the eighth minute by slotting home Tuncay's through ball. Diamanti equalised for the Hammers when he nodded into an empty net after we failed to clear the ball out of defence. Big Yan took over after that, and on the half-hour mark, he had his and our second. Again, Tuncay split the defence with a perfect through ball for the Portuguese hitman who made no mistake to give us the lead. Big Yan's hat-trick came on the stroke of half-time alongside Tuncay's hat-trick of assists to give us a two goal cushion at the break. It was game, set and match just before the hour when Pugh's ball looked to be a comfy catch for Green but Yan popped up out of nowhere to complete a magical day for him and us. 26.12.10 - Stoke 1-4 Aston Villa - EPL Yannick Djalo - Young x3, Milner A boxing day knock-out is all I can describe it as. We're brought down to Earth with a massive thump from Villa which doesn't even deserve a report. Yannick Djalo scored a solitary ball following a Tuncay pass but that's it. That was all we did in that match. 29.12.10 - Stoke 0-2 Liverpool - EPL Insua (pen), Babel Gerrard injured Revenge is sweet, I guess. Even if it comes as a loss. After only 3 minutes, we've given away a penalty as Garrido spears Gerrard in the box to leave him wrything in agony. After several minutes, he's finally taken off and Insua steps up to convert the penalty. Just before halftime, Ibricic's shot hits Babel on the knee and goes in with Babel claiming it as his own. Because that's the only way he can score. An ok result considering we were dominated. Summary: Disappointing too say the least. 4/5 of our games were home games, we only won our away game and drew one home game. Baffling. Now we're in the dog fight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimmyD Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Ahh you haven't won a game Macheda has scored in! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 30, 2010 Author Share Posted March 30, 2010 A frightfully true spot there Timmy January Transfers In | Date | Person | From | Fee | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.1.2011 | Santa Cruz, Roque | Man City | £2.5M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21.1.2011 | Petrov, Martin | Man City | £475K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Total | | £19M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Out | Date | Person | To | Fee | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3.1.2011 | Griffiths, Leigh | Plymouth | Loan | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6.1.2011 | Dickinson, Carl | West Ham | £900K | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24.1.2011 | Fleck, John | Leeds | Loan | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Total | | £15M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Fixtures 1.1.2011 - Stoke 2-0 Charlton - FA Cup 3rd Round Griffiths, Fleck Quite a simple game which would hopefully pick us up following some recent bad form. Griffiths gave us the lead with 5 minutes until half-time, when he turned round Mettomo on the edge of the box and smashed a great effort beyond Elliot to give us the lead. We left it really late to seal the win though, in the sixth minute of stoppage time when John Fleck took two beautiful touches: one to control the ball and take it away from his marker, and the second to slot it home and win us the match. 9.1.11 - Wolves 1-0 Stoke - EPL Maierhofer This was the day we were officially inducted into a relegation battle. Total disappointment in a game full of chances for both ourselves and Wolves, neither team could take them though except Maierhofer. 15.1.11 - Bolton 4-2 Stoke - EPL Davies x2, Biseswar, Basham - Santa Cruz, Macheda The first goal was an absolute joke (I think on the ME's part) as Macheda picked up the ball on the half-way line and played an inch perfect through ball.. for Kevin Davies to run through and score :confused: Absolutely baffling stuff really. Davies added his and Bolton's second with a rocket from 30 yards out, a better goal this time. It looked gloomy out on the field but it was brightened by Santa Cruz's debut headed goal from Garrido's cross. Things looked up, but as soon as Macheda scored we knew it was too late and the jinx would kick (ok, we didn't really, I was punching the air in delight). The young Italian slotted home from Michael Tonge's through ball. And that, as they say, was that for us. Bolton killed off the game with two late goals to secure all three points which was disappointing. 19.1.11 - Fulham 0-2 Stoke - EPL Santa Cruz, Pugh An excellent victory in all honesty. Deserved as well. Roque Santa Cruz slotted home from Macheda's through ball to give us the lead just before the half hour mark. We were domination and it was game over when Jeparov sent Pugh through and he made no mistake to seal us the win. 22.1.11 - Stoke 1-1 Portsmouth - FA Cup 4th Round Lawrence - Utaka We probably should've won this first time but at least we get a second with a replay and it could've been worse really. Rory Delap's through ball wasn't great but Lawrence made something out of nothing to give us the lead. The man who is singedly handedly crippling Pompey with his wage, John Utaka, pulled them level and forced a replay with 15 minutes to go. 25.1.11 - Stoke 5-1 West Brom () - EPL Yannick Djalo, Santa Cruz x3, Tuncay - Wood Garrido injured The beatings of WBA continue. A packed Britannia stadium saw the trashing of the Baggies begin after just 4 minutes when Santa Cruz sent Yan through and for the the first time in January, he slotted home to open the scoring. Santa Cruz scored his first and our second 5 minutes later with a fantastic run which started in our half and ended in the Baggies net. Chris Wood did pull a goal back to give the fans some hope. Straighting from kickoff, Mulumbu sent him through to score what could be the quickest reply goal ever. But rather than fall back following the goal, we pushed forward and once more, another fantastic goal from Santa Cruz as he powered one in from 30 yards to extend our lead to 2. And when Zuiverloon fouled the Paraguayan in the box, he picked himself up and was allowed to take the penalty by Yannick Djalo to score his hat-trick and make it 4-1 going into half-time. Only 5 minutes into the second half, Tuncay rounded off the scoring with the easiest goal he'll ever score as Yannick Djalo cut it back to him to score into an empty net. Easy victory in a match we dominated. 30.1.10 - Stoke 1-1 Wigan - EPL Macheda - Rodallega Hugo Rodallega opened the scoring just after the half-hour mark as he managed to squeeze in between Shawcross and Wilson to slot home following Thomas' through ball. It looked to be ending that way, but on this occasion I was grateful for the 'Macheda curse' as he scored from Whelan's through ball (quite similar to Ameobi's last night) to earn us a point. Summary: All in all, a good month. We shouldn't have to Bolton and maybe a case for Wolves but they're doing quite well at the moment. The Charlton, Wigan, Fulham and especially the West Brom games were satisfying to cap off a good month. And for the first time ever, January table. We sit outside the drop zone by a point, although that could easily change. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paggioram Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 Brilliant signing there of Santa Cruz. With your three main strikers now I really think you should win more than you lose. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 30, 2010 Author Share Posted March 30, 2010 Cheers for the comment Paggioram. I literally bit City's hand off when they offered him to me for that price. His only problem is he's quite injury prone and picks up alot of little knocks during matches. Fixtures - February 2.2.11 - Portsmouth 0-2 Stoke - FA Cup 4th Round Replay Macheda, Santa Cruz The 'jinx' finally lifts off poor Fed Macheda as we finally win when he scores. It was the young Italian who gave us the lead when David Grof made a mess of Santa Cruz's weak header and dropped it at the feet of Macheda who simply passed it into the net to give us the lead. Santa Cruz won us the match just after half-time as he took advantage of yet another defensive lapse. Mokoena allowed a relatively poor and weak pass by Sidibé trickle under his foot and into the path of Santa Cruz who killed off any hopes Pompey had of progressing. 5.2.11 - Sunderland 0-3 Stoke - EPL Lawrence x2, Tuncay Another fantastic performance in a one-sided game by us. Phil Bardsley sent Tuncay and 4 of his teammates flying in the box after just 3 minutes and the referee did not hesitate to point to the spot. Liam Lawrence confidently stepped up to convert the penalty and give us an early lead. It was then the turn of the winger on the opposite side of the park, Tuncay, to slot home from Yannick Djalo's through ball. From then on, it was game over and Lawrence's late 30 yard free-kick which whizzed into the top corner was the icing on the cake for a fantastic victory. 12.2.11 - Hull 0-2 Stoke - FA Cup 5th Round Yannick Djalo x2 I'm sure Hull fans were fearing a repeat of last season when Yannick Djalo curled in a beautiful effort from 25 yards after just 6 minutes on the clock to give us the lead. Alas, it was not to be and the scoring and game ended just after half-time when big Yan scored from the tightest of angles after pouncing on a loose ball. Another great game on our parts. 16.2.11 - Stoke 0-0 Chelsea - EPL Whilst it may have been a boring match on our part (we did nothing but defend) it was certainly pleasing and I'm sure I was the happier of the managers after this. A goalless draw helps us continue our fine, unbeaten February form. 20.2.11 - Man Utd 4-0 Stoke - EPL Berbatov x3, Welbeck There's not much else to say. For once, we were thrashed and I'm not disappointed by it as all the goals were class. Man Utd were as clinical as ever at OT. 23.2.11 - Stoke 1-3 Newcastle - EPL Macheda - Llorente, Jeparov OG, Xisco A terrible performance by us. So bad that Xisco scored which says it all. The first half wasn't great but nor was it bad and we took the lead just a minute into the second half with a brilliant goal but from then on, we let Newcastle dominate and ended up disappointed. 26.2.11 - Stoke 0-3 Man City - EPL Robinho, Modric, Wright-Phillips Really, I can't say much more than Man City were brilliant. We were ok, average at best and deserved to lose but it wasn't a terrible performance. Summary: The first four games were absolutely fantastic results all round, regardless of which division the teams we beat are in. The Manchester games were both OK but we were outclassed by a better team but the Newcastle game was terrible on our part as we scored, then sat back and let the Geordies trample all over us. League Table. The worrying thing is the team below and above us have a game in hand on us, that could see us fall back into the zone. A place I do not want to go to at all. Ever. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 Stoke should play West Brom every week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichG Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Man you are hanging on for dear life this season. You look like you need to tweak the def a bit you seem to conceed a few goals in your games its either win big or lose big. Hang in there though I find the 3rd season is a big turning point if you can make it that far. Everything seems to fall into place in the 3rd season i.e. coaching, scouting signings from the first season etc I do find relegation battles fun though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 31, 2010 Author Share Posted March 31, 2010 I can only wish Nobby Rich - Relegation battles are fantastic and really help make a career more interesting. This season has been hit and miss - as you've said, it's either win big or lose big. Fixtures - March 'til end of season 6.3.11 - Sheffield United 1-3 Stoke - FA Cup 6th Round Sharp - Macheda, Yannick Djalo x2 A good ol' fashion route one goal got us going and the 13th minute proved not to be unlucky for us. Macheda controlled Begovic's long ball superbly and knocked it home beyond Paddy Kenny with a brilliant finish. Macheda was again involved minutes later as his through ball was set-up on a plate for Yannick Djalo to make it two. Two soon became three as our dominance showed; Yan rounded his man and released a ferocious effort into the top corner with a fantastic effort. That was it. The Blades did pull a goal back through the impressive Billy Sharp with 8 minutes to go, but it made no difference other than being a consolation and giving the fans something to cheer about. 12.3.11 - Stoke 1-3 Tottenham - EPL Yannick Djalo - Benitez, Crouch x2 There is a niggling feeling deep down that we should've got something out of this but even deeper down, I don't think we could've won this. We were lucky to only allow Spurs to score three and even moreso to get a consolation goal from Yannick Djalo, who slotted home from Pugh's through ball. 19.3.11 - Bristol City 1-0 Stoke - EPL Maynard This was an incredibly heart-breaking and disappointing defeat. With this comes the realisation that relegation is a real possibility unless the team bucks up for the remaining games. Maynard scored to give the 19th place team a win and send us into the relegation zone. April 2.4.11 - Arsenal 2-1 Stoke - EPL Denilson, Nasri - Santa Cruz This was a good match, truth be told. The defence played well to limit Arsenal to only 2 goals (Begovic in particular, picking up Man of the Match) and the attackers were ok. Yannick Djalo and Santa Cruz combined later on for the latter to give us a tiny bit of hope and some consolation with a goal against a bigger and better team. 6.4.11 - Manchester City 2-0 Stoke - FA Cup Semi Final Tevez, Lescott Wembley came and went quickly enough as we were easily dispatched by City. We were outclassed all over the pitch and the better team won and progressed to the final. 9.4.11 - Stoke 2-1 Hull - EPL Macheda, Yannick Djalo - Bullard A vital win. This could be a result which keeps us up. Macheda got the ball rolling again inside 5 minutes, he curled an absolute beauty in the top corner which only some of the greatest 'keepers in the world would've saved - Myhill had no chance. Bullard's equaliser was almost an exact replicate of Fed's. Craig Fagan set him up and he curled a beautiful hit past Begovic. Big Yan gave us the lead again, as he had done so many times, and ultimately won us the match when he scored from Macheda's smart flick, nodding the ball home calmly. 23.4.11 - Blackburn 1-2 Stoke - EPL Kalinic - Petrov, Yannick Djalo Givet s/off Another fantastic result. This lifts us out of the relegation zone and puts West Ham back in it, setting up a mammoth relegation match next week which will probably decide who goes down and who stays up. It was Diaby, playing his first match since the horrific injury in his debut, who impressed on his second debut as he played a fantastic ball for Martin Petrov who scored his first in a Stoke shirt to give us a lead just shy of 20 minutes gone. A good counter-attack saw Blackburn startle us and level just before half-time as Kalinic connected with Hoilett's cross with a brilliant diving header to beat Begovic. But again, Yan sealed the win for us when was sent through by Jeparov's clever reverse pass and made no mistake. That was it for goals, but not action as Gael Givet saw red for a professional foul on Yan - Blackburn were fortunate it wasn't a penalty as it looked inside the box. May 1.5.11 - Stoke 4-1 West Ham - EPL Santa Cruz, Tuncay, Yannick Djalo x2 - Faubert This was it. A game we really needed to come together and pull through and the team did. Santa Cruz and Jeparov played a nice one-two together to send the Paraguayan through and he made no mistake to give us a tenth minute lead - a fantastic start. It was two 15 minutes later; a fantastic cross from Petrov fell kindly for Santa Cruz and he cleverly dummied it into the path on Tuncay to score what was effectively an open goal. That was the action over until the final 10 minutes. The Hammers pulled a goal back with 8 minutes remaining to set up and tense finish when Faubert volleyed home from 25 yards following a poor clearance. But the team came together again to kill off any hopes West Ham had of gaining a point when straight from kick off, Macheda played in Yannick Djalo to slot home the winner. And deep into injury time, insult was added to injury when the same two combined, resulting in the Portguese hitman burying the ball into the bottom corner. This effectively means we are safe as West Ham have two difficult games remaining. 7.5.11 - Aston Villa 1-0 Stoke - EPL Agbonlahor The game was finished in the 11th minute when Agbonlahor outpaced our defence (when does he never!) to slot home and beat our defence. I didn't expect to win but the worrying thing is West Ham won, leaving us just one point clear of relegation places. Our game against Everton is a must win if West Ham win. 15.5.10 - Everton 0-1 Stoke - EPL Macheda And that's it! We survive - just. West Ham did beat Fulham by two goals to one but it matters nothing bar the points gap we survived. Macheda's goal in the 21st minute secured our safety thankfully! Summary: One of the most nervous, exciting and satisfying finishes to an FM season I've ever had. It went right down to the final day and in the end, we pulled through. The most worrying thing is the clean sheet against Everton was our first since we played Chelsea mid-February - a total of 12 games! I don't know if it was poor performance or what but it needs to be looked at for next season. Final Table Key Players; Yannick Djalo - Better than last season which is an amazing ahcievement. What a bargain he was. £800,000 of pure gold has now turned into £7M worth. Excellent stuff. Roque Santa Cruz - Roque deserves a mention: he adapted so well and so quickly that he turned out to be a great buy. It says alot about him that he's already on the Stoke favoured personel list! (ahead of me! ) Asmir Begovic - Asmir was the sole reason we either a) kept a scoreline respectable or b) won alot of games due to his abilities in goals. Rest of Stoke City squad stats Here's to next season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilDave Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Wow that was tight! Congratulations on pulling it all together at the end and staying up, have the board given you much money to play with for next season? Either way I'll be reading, good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrbfcrule Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Congratz on surviving.........just Are you having trouble keeping Yannick Djalo? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichG Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Congrats on staying up mate. Next season will be massive unless 3 weak teams come up. Your EPL is looking quite strong at the moment which makes things a little harder. With 7 teams being in the relegation run in who comes up could be cruical next year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
archie#10 Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Well done on staying up mate. With that attacking line up I'm really looking forward to watching your team progress Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted March 31, 2010 Author Share Posted March 31, 2010 Dave - Thanks mate, from memory (again) it was around £9-10M - a very nice sum for a team who just beat relegation hrbfc - Thanks. There's suprisingly little interest in Yannick Djalo - every so often, one team will declare interest and place a few bids but he's always happy to sign a new contract so that can only be a good thing. Rich - Totally agree, unless the team gets massively improved, we're going to be in a struggle again. Thanks archie, and I'm also very pleased with my team's attack Transfers - July In | Date | Person | From | Fee | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2011 | [url=http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq266/Cardiovascular_photo/JaviGarca.png]Javi García[/url] | Benfica | £2.3M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9.7.2011 | [url=http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq266/Cardiovascular_photo/JamieOHara.png]O'Hara, Jamie [/url] | Bristol City | £2.8M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9.7.2011 | [url=http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq266/Cardiovascular_photo/AaronHarty.png]Harty, Aaron[/url] | Gold Coast United | £550K | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16.7.2011 | [url=http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq266/Cardiovascular_photo/CameronMonterosso.png]Monterosso, Cameron[/url] | Fenerbahçe | £2.3M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 28.7.2011 | Stokkelien, Mads | Benfica | Ln Fee £550K | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Out | Date | Person | To | Fee | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2011 | Lund, Matthew | | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2011 | Marshall, Ben | | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2.7.2011 | Sergi | Cardiff | Loan | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3.7.2011 | Fleck, John | Q.P.R. | Loan | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7.7.2011 | Griffiths, Leigh | Bristol City | Loan | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8.7.2011 | Tuncay Sanli | FC Bayern | £3.7M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13.7.2011 | Whitehead, Dean | West Ham | £1.4M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14.7.2011 | Tonge, Michael | Reading | £1M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21.7.2011 | Soares, Tom | Bristol City | £1.8M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 27.7.2011 | Collins, Danny | Bristol City | £1M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Pre-Season 16.7.11 - East Fife 0-5 Stoke Sidibé x3, Yannick Djalo, Huth A dominant victory here, as expected. The entire team generally impressed so it's looking up for the new season, despite how easy our opposition may have been. 22.7.11 - Stoke 0-0 Sporting CP Very happy with this one, we should've been beaten hands down but the defence did well to keep out any Sporting attacks. 24.7.11 - Aldershot 0-1 Stoke Petrov Partly disappointed with the little margin in the scoreline but we won and didn't concede, those are the main points. 29.7.11 - Bournemouth 2-2 Stoke Pitman, Tindall - Sidibé, Santa Cruz I suppose we fell asleep towards the end but credit to Bournemouth who never gave up and equalised deep into injury time to gain themselves some respect. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Phew, stayed up by a gnat's cock. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichG Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 Is that John Fleck from Rangers? He should be first team now surley? is he 20 yet? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted April 2, 2010 Author Share Posted April 2, 2010 Nobby - Gnat's the way I like it. Rich - It is John Fleck from Rangers, sadly he's as big a moaning grumpy git as he is in real life and demands first team football. I've got nowhere to fit him in so he gets shafted out on loan. August - Transfers In | Date | Person | From | Fee | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13.8.2011 | Ayew, André | OM | Ln Fee £2.2M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19.8.2011 |[url=http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq266/Cardiovascular_photo/21FedericoMacheda.png] Macheda, Federico[/url] | Man Utd | Ln Fee £2.1M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Out | Date | Person | To | Fee | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 25.8.2011 | Whelan, Glenn | Bristol City | £2.4M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 29.8.2011 | Huth, Robert | OM | Ln Fee £350K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Fixtures 13.8.11 - Birmingham 5-3 Stoke - EPL Larsson x2, R Johnson x2, Bojinov (pen) - Santa Cruz, Yannick Djalo x2 Christ, what a match. Doesn't bode well for our defence really, this would send confidence shooting down. Santa Cruz gave us the lead when Jurgen Macho, the Brum keeper, bizarrely decided to come for a ball he had no chance of getting. Yannick Djalo rounded him and unselfishly set up the big Paraguayan to give us the lead. Larsson equalised for Brum with a powerful header, before giving them the lead with an equally powerful shot. It was 2-1 Brum at half-time and things were to get worse. Just minutes after the restart, Roger Johnson powered home a header from a Larsson corner to make it 3. We pulled a goal back when Yannick Djalo opened his account for the season with a placed shot as he was quickest to react to Santa Cruz's original parried effort. And we were level with 20 minutes to go, Santa gifted Yan a through ball and he poked it home beyond Macho to give us an excellent chance of going on to win, scoring his 50th stoke goal in the process. But it was not to be, a theatrical dive from Mikari won Brum a penalty which Bojinov converted and Roger Johnson powered home another header to give Birmingham an opening day win.* 20.8.11 - Liverpool 3-3 Stoke - EPL Foggia, Skrtel, Rakitic - Yannick Djalo, Macheda x2 It didn't look good on paper - we came off the back of a 5-3 loss and my confidence wasn't too high. The same can't be said for the team though, Yannick Djalo captalised on a loose ball to belt one into the top corner after just 31 seconds. Liverpool hadn't even touched the ball and Anfield was stunned into silence. The lead didn't last long thanks to Enyeama who came charging out for a clearance by Diego Cavaliera (Reina's out with a broken leg), only to head it straight into the chest of Foggia who slotted into an empty net from 30 yards. When Liverpool took the lead after 18 minutes, Foggia was again involved. This time, Martin Skrtel got enough on the Italian's shot to divert it in and claim it as his own. With 20 minutes to go and staring defeat in the face, action had to be taken. Santa Cruz came off for Macheda who repayed the faith shown in him almost instantly to sidefoot Yannick Djalo's through ball beyond Diego Cavaliera easily. The lead lasted 40 seconds. Aquilani found Rakitic over the top and he scored with ease to give Liverpool the lead. It looked to be over, but it wasn't. Deep into stoppage time, it was MAAACHEDA to pull us level and the Stoke support erupted as he bulleted a 25 yarder into the bottom corner. That was it. Exciting games - 2/2 so far.* 23.8.11 - Ipswich 1-4 Stoke - League Cup 2nd Round Barrancos - Macheda x2, Lawrence, Santa Cruz This is more like it. Granted it's against a weaker team but at least it boosts morale in the squad. Macheda opened the scoring with the only goal of the first half when he made something out of nothing, chasing Monterosso's overhit passing, rounding 2 players and practically passing the ball into the back of the net to score his 3rd in two games. The second half started with yet another mistake, Enyeama misjudging Cotterill's header to allow Barrancos to nod into an empty net to level. But rather than let a goal deflate them, the heads went up and Lawrence used his iniative to cut out Santa Cruz's 30 yard shot (may have been accidental) and place the ball beyond the keeper. We left it late to seal it as Macheda continued his better-late-than-never way of scoring goals after a neat one-two with the excellent Santa Cruz. And the big Paraguayan deservedly got on the score sheet to round off the scoring as he and Macheda switched rolls for the one-two, allowing him to score to cap off an excellent game for us. 27.8.11 - Stoke 3-1 Fulham - EPL Macheda x2, Petrov - Fletcher Another excellent performance in all honesty to pick up our first win of the season. Macheda continued his good form when he latched onto Santa Cruz's through ball and showed the composure of Rooney to slot it home beyond Schwarzer. Again, he scored the only goal of the half but our lead lasted 7 minutes into the second half when Steven Fletcher and Dikgacoi played a great one-two to allow the Scot to score a (rare) good goal. Their lead lasted all of 3 minutes as Santa Cruz and Petrov combined to allowed the Bulgarian winger to power an excellent effort into the far top corner. And the game was sealed again by Macheda as he scored his 6th goal in 3 games in excellent fashion, looping Schwarzer to seal the 3 points in excellent style. Summary: A poor start soon turned great. The defence is still pretty poor, conceding 10 in 4 games although the attack has had a fantastic start, Macheda in particular, to score 13 goals in the same amount of time. League Table * - Bolded due to amount of scorers and making it clearer - if you want this for every game, just say. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted April 3, 2010 Share Posted April 3, 2010 Nobby - Gnat's the way I like it. I've called you a taxi. It will collect you in ten minutes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichG Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 I see you are still the most entertaining team in the league for goals mate. Macheda should get you mid table at least. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiovascular Posted April 13, 2010 Author Share Posted April 13, 2010 The taxi never came... Yes Rich, haha. We are indeed. Who says Stoke play the defensive, long ball, kick 'em off the ball style? September - Fixtures 10.9.11 - Chelsea 2-0 Stoke - EPL Ballack, Suarez Ballack injured Zhirkov injured Ok, maybe we do kick 'em off the ball some of the time... but let's be honest, Chelsea deserve it. Ballack gives them the lead with a powerful strike followed up by a good run and finish by Suarez. We were never going to win at the Bridge. 17.9.11 - Stoke 4-0 Blackburn - EPL Shawcross, Macheda x2, Yannick Djalo Finally we get a convincing victory coupled with a clean sheet. Shawcross heads us into the lead from Lawrence's corner, and that's followed by Yan sending Macheda clean through to score his seventh goal already this term. And seven soon became 8, again the Portuguese striker sending the Italian through and 'Kiko' fired home to give us a three goal advantage at half-time. The second half was full of action but lacked the cutting edge until Yan got the goal he deserved for his effort, smashing home Petrov's pass to seal an emphatic win for us. 20.9.11 - Stoke 1-2 Everton - League Cup 3rd Round Lawrence - Pienaar, Judge We played well and got a good amount of shots away in this match but unfortunately, Everton were the better side. We didn't play bad (nor particularly good though...) and in the end, the better side (for now) went through. Our consolation came through Liam Lawrence's free kick. 24.9.11 - Bolton 3-2 Stoke - EPL Zarate x2, Al Qahtani - Macheda, Lawrence The Reebok isn't a great place to visit to get a win and under normal circumstances, I may have accepted a narrow defeat. However, we were two goals to the good before throwing it away. Macheda had given us a half-time lead after a brilliant through ball by Monterosse. After half-time, Lawrence made it 2 with his second in as many games but Bolton then went onto turn into Phil Mickelson for the rest of the game. Zarate scored twice and Al Qahtani chipped in with a controversial, suspisciously offside goal to seal the win for Bolton. Summary: Average month, good win at Blackburn, good showings at Everton and Chelsea and poor against Bolton. What more needs to be said? September League Table Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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