HotChocolate Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 That miracle has happened before! Technically they've never been in the Championship. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 They're historically counted as the same thing all the way back to the old Div 2, only French Chelsea fans mocking people with 'how many Premier Leagues have your side won?' just before their 2005 triumph (when they were just on 1 title, the same or less than a lot of other sides) think different with that sort of thing, or was that just my experience? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Yes they are counted as the same and if I'd have said English Level 2 then that's correct, I was just being pedantic and meaning Championship as in npower/Coca-Cola Championship not Nationwide Division 1. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Or the Second Division. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 END OF SEASON UPDATE 2018-19 PREMIER LEAGUE Yes! I have broken into the top 4 and I will play in the Champions League next year, massive achievement! In the end we rather easily avoided Liverpool in 5th place by 7 points, which was down to some massive results against Man Utd and Tottenham in the run in. Andras Nagy was the top scorer in the league with 26 goals and his contribution was key to our success. Our defensive record was good but not as good as in previous seasons which is mainly because I had an injury crisis at CB with Shawcross, Huth and Situ missing all at once. However, this makes this seasons success all the more sweeter. PLAYER STATS | TEAM STATS CHAMPIONS: Arsenal (81pts) RELEGATED: Cardiff (34pts), Derby (33pts), Wigan (25pts) EUROPA LEAGUE Our assault on the Europe League didn’t go very well for the umpteenth time round. We easily got through the first round with relative ease beating Stuttgart 5-2 on aggregate, winning the away leg 3-0 which boded well for the next round. We came up against Sporting in this round and beat them 2-1 at home, Nagy and Wilson with the goals. The next leg didn’t get off to a great start with Sporting taking the lead in the first minute. We equalised though and we were looking good until the 80th minute – they scored sending the tie into extra time. The extended period passed and the scores were left tied, penalties it was. Nagy stepped up to take our second penalty, unusually missing. This left us behind for the rest of the shootout and we deservedly got knocked out. FINAL: Benfica 1-2 Schalke LEAGUE CUP As mentioned in the earlier update, going far in this competition was never on the cards due to the stress it puts on the squad. FINAL: Everton 2-2 Swindon (P) FA CUP I didn’t want to go far in this comp either so I played all the youngsters. To my surprise we made it into the fifth round, finally bowing out to Derby 1-0 in the replay. FINAL: Arsenal 2-0 Swindon KEY PLAYERS Andras Nagy – There’s no doubt this has been his best season so far, he scored 40 goals in all competitions. The great thing is, he’s still getting better. Ryan Shawcross – Despite his injury and 3 match suspension he was excellent in defence yet again. Fabian Delph – An average rating of 7.35, again he was an integral part of the team. Jose Peixoto – The youngster will definitely be one of my best players for Stoke and in the limited amount of appearances he made. COMMENTS Another good season at The Potters but it will take a massive effort next season to be able to build on it. Next season I will need a new centre-back and probably another centre-mid and striker to partner Nagy. Piric and Heinze did okay this season but didn’t exactly light up the league. I might even need to change my tactics to keep the other teams on their toes. AROUND THE WORLD La Liga: Villareal Ligue 1: Olympique Marseille Bundesliga: Bayern Munich Serie A: AC Milan Eredivisie: Ajax Champions League: Arsenal 2-1 Olympique Marseille Europa League: Benfica 1-2 Schalke Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 Hehehe. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
abulezz Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Congrats on breaking into the Champions League! Peixoto looks like he's going to be an immense player if he gets enough first team experience! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Well done on the Champions League qualification. Excellent results against Man Utd and Liverpool in the run-in too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Stoke in the Champions League. Swindon in both cup finals. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaneBramage Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Congrats on making the top four. Getting two players in the Prem XI is pretty good too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 You're arriving now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Woo! Yeah! Great work hursty :thup: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Surprised to see Swindon Town got to both finals Congrats on 4th spot finish in the league Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayahr Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 What's up here? Finally got there and now dead??? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 I've been busy recently and when I got playing decided to start skip too far ahead for the first update but I have some free time today... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 UPDATE 2019-2020 Transfer News I was in the Champions League this season so I really needed to add some quality to the squad and that means spending some serious money. First on my list was a new, quality centre back to replace Huth and I found the perfect player, Gaston Pizzo (19M). As you can see though, he wasn’t cheap. A new striker was another player needed and I opted for Brazilian, Marquinhos (11.5M), another big money signing to partner Nagy up front. Then finally, my cheapest signing of the season John Ruddy (FREE) coming in as a backup keeper for Begovic. Amidst all the spending I needed to get rid of some players so departing were Tonci Piric (6.5M), Mauro Formica (3.1M) and several reserve players leaving on frees. Squad Premier League I’m hoping for another good season in the PL this year and things have got off to a reasonably good start in the 9 games that I have played. Two losses, both at home then only downfalls so far but I do not like losing at the Britannia! Champions League Now that I’m actually in the CL, I realised how tough it was going to be looking at the quality of the teams that haven’t even qualified for the group stage yet. My fears came true when we drew Sevilla in the Best Place Playoff, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and this is how it went. 1st Leg: Sevilla – 1 Taras Stepanenko 21’ Stoke – 1 Pierrick Cros OG 76’ 2nd Leg: Stoke – 1 Marc Wilson 59’, Chris Smalling (Sent Off) 70’ Sevilla – 0 Taras Stepanenko (Penalty Miss) 72’ What a result this was for Stoke City FC as a whole, we will make our first foray into the Champions League Group Stages! But it won’t be easy, look at who we’ve drawn. Olympique Lyonnais Shakhtar Donetsk Stoke City Steaua Bucharest 3 games in and this is how the group is looking at the moment. Comments So a decent start all round in both the league and Champions League and it bodes well for the future. I won’t be getting too far ahead of myself though because football is ugly sometimes, especially in Europe as the Europa has shown me. In other news my stadium was upgraded again to almost 50,000 seats – showing I’m definitely on the up! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotChocolate Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Not a bad start at all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
h0rn3r Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Welcome back Hursty Good start to the season too! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayahr Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Good to hear and see all of this Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Not too bad a group. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Stoke are there and that's what matters. How hard the group is is secondary. Just get through! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Stoke still flying high then. Good luck with rest of the campaign Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted March 17, 2012 Author Share Posted March 17, 2012 Not a bad start at all. Welcome back Hursty Good start to the season too! Good to hear and see all of this Cheers, lets hope it continues... Not too bad a group. Definitely get throughable. Stoke are there and that's what matters. How hard the group is is secondary. Just get through! That's it! Stoke still flying high then. Good luck with rest of the campaign Thanks! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted March 17, 2012 Author Share Posted March 17, 2012 MID SEASON UPDATE 2019-20 Premier League This season has been a shambles so far and a far cry from last seasons brilliant effort. We currently sit in 9th place but despite that we’re only 4 points from 4th place Arsenal. We really have been terrible at home, our decent away record the only plus point. Nagy being injured for a month didn’t help our cause as well as him not being able to find the same goal scoring form, with only 9 in the league so far. Things have been going so terribly that I’ve had to change to a new tactic, a 4-2-2-2 with two wide attacking wingers and in the short term it seems to be working. Champions League We had a tough group but I still expected us to qualify for the last 16 and in our first foray into CL football we did just that. Pulling off some magnificent results along the way, such as the 3-0 away win against Shakhtar. We came 2nd in the group and that means we’ll face Inter Milan on the 25th February at The Britannia. League Cup Throughout this whole competition I’ve played a second string side, with fringe players and several youngsters getting starts. To my surprise we made it all the way into the semi-finals against Sunderland and I stuck by my second team, drawing the first leg 0-0. The second leg didn’t go too well though, we lost 7-2 and were completely overwhelmed by Sunderland. Transfer News After the season I’ve had so far you’d forgive me if I’d have cleaned out half the team but I resisted that urge. The only player I did sell was Younousse Sankare, who has been a massive disappointment since signing so I did well to get 3.9M for him. Upon getting rid of him I bought a young striker/winger who my scouts had given a 5 star potential but from looking at his attributes I didn’t really see where this 5 star potential was coming from. Despite this, I took a gamble and spent 3.6M on him and I’m really intrigued to see how he develops. Key Players Andras Nagy – Even though he’s not been as lethal as last season, he’s still got 16 in 24 starts. Hopefully he can pick up some more goals along the way. Ryan Shawcross – At 32 he’s getting on slightly but is still England’s best centre back and a Stoke legend. Marquinhos – A new signing at the Britannia this season but he has settled in well adding some much needed goals to the side. Jose Peixoto – He is now labelled a wonderkid and is definitely living up to that name tag. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Wow, Inter's a massive tie. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 Wow, Inter's a massive tie.Going to be a tough one! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 I'm still struggling this season ffs! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Nice work getting through the group. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 Champions League 1st Knockout Round 1st Leg – Stoke City VS Inter Milan Britannia Stadium With the 1st leg at home I need to put myself into a good position with a victory, if I’m to have any chance at the San Siro. Recently I had been playing a wide 4-4-2 with more attacking wingers but I went back to my more solid 4-1-2-1-2, in order to pack the midfield. Inter playing a very attacking 4-2-3-1, with the likes of attacking midfielder, Sergio who signed from WBA for 20M. They certainly had a wealth of world class players at their disposal. Line-Ups Stoke City – A Begovic, G Pizzo, J Peixoto, R Shawcross©, C Smalling, R Elm, F Delph, D Heinze, Marquinhos, A Nagy. (J Rudd, D Situ, L Wallace, M Mayer, M Serrano, J Staszewski, G Knezevic) Inter Milan – E Zelazny, E Velasco, J Janda, A Nemec, N Pignatale, B Matuidi, R Jenssen©, Suso, Sergio, G Ramirez, L Damiao. (Y Thuram, O Mora, L Macaluso, J Dos Santos, A Paloschi, G Rivolta, C Illari) Stoke City – 2 D Heinze 9’ A Nagy 32’ Inter Milan – 1 L Damiao 22’ Things got off to a brilliant start when John Flecks replacement, Heinze fired in to the bottom corner from 25 yards out after a good spell of passing. Although we got the early goal it was Inter that provided most of the highlights and that included a headed goal from Leandro Damiao, off of a well worked set piece. Their equaliser prompted us to take control of the game and we were soon back in front, a beautiful weighted pass from Marquinhos sent Nagy into the 18 yard box and we all know he doesn’t miss from there. 2-1 Stoke at half time. The second half was a much drabber affair with Inter making several fouls to hinder our dominance. The game finished 2-1 and I must say I am quite happy with that result although the away goal may cause us some problems in the future but a lead is a lead! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Come on Stoke! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I hear Delilah in the San Siro... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Champions League 1st Knockout Round 2nd Leg – Inter Milan VS Stoke City The San Siro Taking a 2-1 lead into the San Siro is better than I expected but Inter have an away goal that will stand them in good stead. I will use a 5-3-2 counter attacking formation for this leg either hoping to hold the lead or catch a few goals on the counter. Inter line up with their usual attacking formation and will be hoping to make home advantage count. Line-Ups Inter Milan – E Zelazny, M Benatia, A Nemec, J Janda, G Silva, B Matuidi, R Jenssen ©, Suso, Sergio, G Ramirez, L Damiao. (Y Thuram, A Paloschi, C Ilari, L Macaluso, S Privat, J Dos Santos, N Pignatale) Stoke City – A Begovic, G Pizzo, J Peixoto, C Smalling, R Shawcross ©, D Situ, M Wilson, F Delph, R Elm, A Nagy, Marquinhos. (J Ruddy, R Huth, M Mayer, J Fleck, D Sykes, D Heinze, G Knezevic) Report The game kicked off in expected fashion, both teams working hard to get control of the ball. This hard work created the first chance of the night, with Nagy getting put through and forcing the first save of the game. 18 minutes in and it was Inter who took the lead with an amazing solo goal from Sergio, making his way through the Stoke defence with ease. Inter 1-0 Stoke. However, Inter’s joy was short lived when Delph rocketed one into the bottom corner from 30 yards out, cancelling out Inter’s away goal in the process. Inter 1-1 Stoke. Next came a very controversial call from the referee, he awarded Inter a very soft penalty from an apparent push from Shawcross. Damiao stepped up and slotted the penalty away with ease. Inter 2-1 Stoke. The game was now tied across the two legs and the atmosphere was electric. As Inter pushed forward from a corner they left themselves susceptible at the back and a quickly cleared ball up towards Nagy beat the last defender and Nagy was left one on one with the keeper. He kept his cool to send the away fans into raptures. Inter 2-2 Stoke. HALF-TIME. After an exhilarating half Inter had all the work to do if they were to go through into the next round, needing 2 goals. And from the outset they pulled the first goal out of the bag with Damiao volley, as he was unmarked at the back post. Inter 3-2 Stoke. Stoke were looking as if they were going to hold onto this score up until the 68th minute when that man, Damiao got his hat-trick with an easy goal. Inter 4-2 Stoke. Stoke were behind in the tie now and pushed on for that one goal that would send them through on away goals. Another shocking decision from the referee was about to made though. He had given Inter a second penalty when Delph shoved Ramirez in the back and no awards for guessing who scored this one. Damiao stepped up and scored his 4th goal of the night and all but sent Inter into the next round. Inter 5-2 Stoke. Now stoke needed 2 goals in the last 10 minutes which was very unlikely. That was the way the game ended and Stoke were eliminated despite a valiant effort and some dodgy refereeing decisions. Inter Milan – 5 Sergio 18’ L Damiao P24’ 48’ 64’ P71’ Stoke City - 2 F Delph 21’ A Nagy 38’ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Football is a cruel, cruel game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 That's a painful way to go out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 HURST AXED AFTER 9 YEARS AT THE HELM The latest news today has rocked the footballing world, with popular manager Liam Hurst axed from Britannia Stadium. In Hurst’s final game against Arsenal the board were speculating over the sacking but no one thought it would actually happen. A 3-0 loss that consigned Stoke to an unusually low 10th in the league and was the final game of Hurst’s extensive reign. On first glance, yes 10th was a poor finish for a Stoke side on the up but he had given so much to get them there. Even in the 2019/20 season, Stoke made it through a tough group in the Champions League (yes, Champions League, The Potters first ever time in it) putting up a good fight against an Inter side who eventually went on into the semi-finals before losing to Real Madrid 7-6 on aggregate. Hurst also took his side into his 3rd Carling Cup semi-final, whilst he played a weakened team in the FA Cup to focus on Champions League duty. Premier League Table Stoke City Results We managed to grab Hurst himself on his exit from the training ground, here’s what he had to say. “I’m very disappointed, fair enough we’ve had a poor season but if you look at where we’ve come from and to out stature now I’ve done a decent job. We were not ready to be world beaters yet but if I’d have had more time, I’m sure we could’ve been. I hope Keith Humphries doesn’t embarrass himself by bringing in someone who does worse. Good luck to whoever does come in.” Here are a few words from people involved with Hurst. “I’m truly shocked and feel for Hurst, one bad season these days and you’re gone. He’s done so much for the club from so little.” Marcelo Bielsa - Arsenal Manager “I will miss him, he’s been a father figure for me ever since I came to England and I have blossomed under him.” Andras Nagy – Stoke City “Whoever comes in after him, they have a lot to live up to.” Robert Huth – Stoke City “I think I speak for all the young players he has brought to this club, Hurst was like a second father, he was a great role model.” Jose Peixoto – Stoke City “I’m lost for words, I mean we had a bad season but he has done so much for the club.” Ryan Shawcross – Stoke City Captain Tweets from fans. @dave_scfc: What a manager we have lost, took us into the Champions League and now he’s gone. #humphriesout #hurstsacked @potterfan: Good riddance to him, we should be expecting Europe these days. #hurstsacked @Andy_Robinson: This is what’s wrong with sport nowadays, too many knee jerk decisions. #hurstsacked Several members of Hurst’s coaching team also left Stoke, his sacking causing a mass exodus. Those that left include, David Preece his right hand man, Kevin Keen, Richard Beale, Ronnie Sinclair and Oliver Bartlett. It’s clear to see the angst among the fans, fellow managers and especially the playing group. Most seemed to have looked at the bigger picture and realise Hurst is the man for the job but the people making the decisions don’t. Clearly the poor run in from Hurst’s side pushed the board over boiling point and they were left with no other option than to sack Hurst. Who knows where Hurst will go now? And how are Stoke going to do without their former manager? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 CAREER STATS [font=courier new]Days at Club: 3239 Number of Awards: 6 Career Earnings: 15.5M Players Bought: 49 Amount Spent: 99M Highest Fee: 19M Players Sold: 24 Amount Received: 55M Highest Received: 9.75M Games Played: 474 Won: 226 Lost: 140 Drawn: 108 Goals For: 780 Against: 552 Difference: 228 Percentage: 47%[/font] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deisler26 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Wow. Shocking. That sucks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
acidmonkey Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 unlucky! are you going elsewhere or starting again Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 @Nobby_McDonald Clearly Peter Coates is no longer chairman. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 I have no idea what I'm going to do next, journeyman career within this career after retiring my manager, new separate journeyman or just continue this save and see where I end up next. Thoughts? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShyBaldBuddhist Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Ungrateful twats. Did a great job to get them into the CL. Small blip to finish in 10th doesnt deserve a sacking. If it was me I would continue with this save. See where you land next. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 Hmmm thing is I'm edging more towards a new journeyman career, argh why'd I have to get sacked. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
h0rn3r Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 You have to continue with this save and not stop untill you beat Stoke 5-0 on there own ground (your ground!!!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 So continue it is then? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 Teams that are available and the jobs I'm favourite for are marked with an 'F'. Levante (Spain) - Liga Adelante F Osasuna (Spain) - Liga Adelante Rayo (Spain) - La Liga Deportivo (Spain) - La Liga F Newcastle (England) - Premier League F Sunderland (England) - Premier League F Bologna (Italy) - Serie B Lazio (Italy) - Serie B F Parma (Italy) - Serie A F Inter Milan (Italy) – Serie A Livorno (Italy) - Serie A F Schalke (Germany) – Bundesliga Kaiserslauten (Germany) - Bundesliga F FC Nantes (France) – Ligue 1 FC Sochaux Montbe (France) – Ligue 1 Lemans FC (France) – Ligue 1 Ajax (Netherlands) - Eredivisie F Feyenoord (Netherlands) - Eredivisie F Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie McMahon's Secret Lover Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 This is were the game lets us down a tad. A long serving manager who brought the club up to extraordinary heights and then had a bad league season would not be sacked. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 Took my time dwelling over things and now those teams in the above post have all got managers ffs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
h0rn3r Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 dwellers get nothing in life hursty lol Its a shame taking Lazio out of serie B back to the top in Italy would of been a nice little challenge Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 Yeah I know, no jobs now. Nigel Adkins has just sold Nagy to At. Madrid for 10M, wtf. EDIT: Oh and Gaston Pizzo for 22.5M to Barca. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursty2 Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 Everton have just offered me the job at the start of November, I'll save and sleep on it. Hopefully by then I will also have decided if I want to continue with this game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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