kris0710 Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 Stoke City Season 15 - 2025/2026 npower Championship October Fantastic month in the league. A goal down at Sheffield Wednesday, defeat on the cards when two goals in the final three minutes swing it for us. The 9th minute strike from Wednesday was the only one they had on target all game. Sunderland away was another brilliant result. 2-0 at the break we got one back early then our keeper dived to his left to save a Sunderland penalty. Following that once centre back was sent off and with fifteen to go our second centre back was red carded. Then in the 91st minute we strike a leveller from a long throw. A home match with Charlton brought around more late drama. We led 1-0 until the 87min when we extended that lead. In the last minute Charlton pulled one back with a 12 yard header then deep into stoppage time we sealed the win. The league month ended at leaders Brighton. Already beaten them in the cup i was quietly confident of a result but not the result we had. A brilliant hat trick from Walton took his tally to 11 in 13 league games. The score flattered us a little but i dont mind one bit. A cracking win at Liverpool. Looked over after 1 minute falling behind but a master class from winger Hussey sent us through. Two goals and an assist. Again sticking with the Stoke way the 4th goal came from a long throw. The quarter final draw gives us our first home tie against Premier League side Bristol City. I have now been in charge at Stoke City for 16 games, winning 11 and losing just 4 (68% win rate) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 Stoke City Season 15 - 2025/2026 npower Championship November An inconsistant month overall but if i had been offered three defeats and only drop to 7th would have jumped at it. The first match of November was a stroll really other than the lack of finishing. Wrexham were restricted to just two shots, none on target while we needed a near post effort from Hussey to collect the points. The assistant referee also disallowed two second half strikes from Walton. Norwich next and my only way to describe this result is karma. In October we beat Brighton 5-1 and the scoreline flattered us massivly. Now the shoe is on the other foot, Norwich scored almost everytime they got over the half way line while we more than bettered their midfield and bossed the game. Our goal came from loanee Louis Piper who had fallen out of favour at AFC Rushden and Diamonds. A reaction was needed against Scunthorpe and thats what i got. A second hatrick in five games from Walton plus a neat header from transfer listed forward West sealed a good win. Deservedly beaten at Forest, but when you play 58 minutes with ten men its always hard as Huber was sent-off for a crude challenge. We found or shooting boots in the first half against Darlington, leading 4-1 at the break with another fantastic performance from winger Leighton Hussey. Sadly he was forced off after an hour with a broken shoulder that will sideline him for 6-8 weeks. Going to Swansea i rested four players and we lost Hussey in the last match. We have our Carling Cup QF in midweek so was happy to put a couple of squad players in. Overall a good performance really, just a slightly below par defence was met with a better than average attacking performance from Swansea. o.g's dont help and we gifted Swansea the first through defender Edward Hyde. On the transfer front we have agreed to sign AFC Rushden and Diamonds centre back Courtney Bangura. The 18 year old has played six times this season and is a player i know well having come through the Rushden youth system in 2023. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JojoVillaHursty Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Great career so far just read the whole thing will be following good luck at Stoke. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 Great career so far just read the whole thing will be following good luck at Stoke. Thankyou! Looking forward to the Stoke challenge and hopefully take the club back to the Premier League and then to the top! Big dreams... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 ONE IS NOT AMUSED Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 Following my stupid loading issues i have had to go back a month to just before the Liverpool league cup match. I have holidayed until November 30th and will comtinue from then. Here are the results i had originally and the new results: Liverpool away Lge Cup won 4-2 now we lost 2-1 Wrexham home lge won 1-0 now we drew 1-1 Norwich home lge lost 1-5 now we drew 1-1 Scunthorpe away lge won 4-1 now won 3-2 Nott'm F away lge lost 2-1 now lost 1-0 Swansea home lge lost 2-1 now won 5-2 Previous 6 lge points from 5 games plus Lge Cup QF place Now 8 lge points from 5 games but out of cup. Will do update at end of December... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 Season 15 - 2025/2026 npower Championship December and January A poor couple of months really and i have to be honest the game not loading for me has dampened my spirts. Having played the first two weeks of December before we had 6 more points than we actually have and won the League Cup QF so faced Manchester City in the semi finals. Instead we crashed out in the 4th round and if we had those six points would be in the play-offs on goals scored compared to 6 points behind. Maybe an FA Cup run will help my mood!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Drama Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 At least you only lost a month, surprised you made the move. Good luck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 At least you only lost a month, surprised you made the move. Good luck Felt i was just too attached to my youth players and that was blinding my judgement. When i started out i wanted to get Rushden back to Blue Square Bet Premier so that has been ticked off. Part of my decision i think comes from the fact i am in a chairmans games over at Challenges, Sign ups and Experiments with my club being Stoke also. They are starting to become my second team i think! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Drama Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Fair enough, I am far too attached to King's Lynn to ever leave them on my game I think. I know what you mean about holding onto players theres a few in my team now that really should of been sold but I cant bring myself to do it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 Fair enough, I am far too attached to King's Lynn to ever leave them on my game I think. I know what you mean about holding onto players theres a few in my team now that really should of been sold but I cant bring myself to do it! I know soon enough i will regret it but certainly not ruling out going back one day. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Season 15 - 2025/2026 npower Championship February and March Started off really well in February and to some extent March with only Middlesborough giving us a beating. Then following a goal blitz against Brighton we have really struggled. Our lack of depth in the current squad is costing us but im sure the wins will start coming again. Just three points off the play-off place with seven games to go so i see no reason why a top 6 finish is beyound us. Four of our last 7 are against teams in the bottom six so if we fall short we have nobody to blame. Disappointed with our youth intake that im only taking on one lad, a 16 year old foward Stewart Bircher. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Season 15 - 2025/2026 npower Championship End of Season Gutted to fall and the final hurdle. We knew going into the last game we needed a favour from bottom club Darlington if we failed to win and sadly that didnt happen. The hard work starts now though. Expecting between 10 and 15 players to leave over the next few weeks so will be working hard to replace them. Very happy for AFC Rushden and Diamonds though, winning the title. The squad has just three players brought in by the new boss so a sense of pride that the players i have help develop over the years have won promotion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Season 16 - 2026/2027 npower Championship Pre-Season Squad As you can see from above during the summer i became the new manager of Republic of Ireland. Following an early exit from the World Cup Owen Coyle resigned after six years in charge. Back to Stoke we have had a busy pre season with ten players joining and six players leaving. This is the most amount of players i have brought in since the summer of 2011 when i first took charge of AFC Rushden and Diamonds down in the United Counties Premier League. Here is a run down of my squad for the new season GK Kieran Howarth Matt Barry DR Michael Woodgate Rob Grundy DL Joshua Turner Josh Magee DC Adam King Edward Hyde Zander Gemmill Courtney Bangura MR Ross McKay Milan Babovic ML Jamie Hampson Dean Woodward MC Alex Penney Mike Betts Thomas Henderson Allan Wardlaw Dominic Hendricks ATT Jonathan Walton Leighton Hussey Dzemal Imamovic Peter McDonnell Season Expectations championship: play-offs fa cup: 5th round league cup: 4th round Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Season 16 - 2026/2027 npower Championship August A very nice start to the season all round apart from the injury front. Should have another two points though, battered Doncaster but could not break through. The League Cup sees us host league leaders Newcastle United in Round Three. Top Three Scorers: Walton (3) McDonnell (2) Mckay (2) Top Three Assists: Walton (3) Wardlaw (2) Woodward (2) Stoke City Player of the Month: Kieran Howarth The new 23 year old keeper has started well with four clean sheets in first seven games Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Season 16 - 2026/2027 Friendly August Thomond Park, Limerick Very good start to life as Rep. of Ireland boss. A victory was expected against lowly Andorra but a win is a win. September brings a friendly against South Korea and a qualifier away to Liechtenstein. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Season 16 - 2026/2027 npower Championship September Another good month for us, although could have been different. The Crawley match we were crusing 3 up after 30 minutes but let them right back into it. The month ended with us a goal down after 82 mins to Sheffield United when goals in 87th and 90+3 minutes won us the match. The only minus of the month was the League Cup defeat. A close match but resting a few attacking players looks to have cost us. Top Three Scorers: McDonnell (6) Hussey (6) Walton (5) Top Three Assists: Hussey (5) Walton (4) Wardlaw (4) Stoke City Player of the Month: Leighton Hussey A month with 3 goals and 3 assists stood in well while Walton was out injured. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Season 16 - 2026/2027 Friendly and Qualifier September Another two wins without conceding is making this a perfect start to international management. Expecting to win both i didnt think the South Korea game would go so easily and it set us up nicely for competitive football. We have a difficult group with France, Serbia and Czech Rep so we need to win and win well against the poorer countries. We are currently 23rd in the World. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 Season 16 - 2026/2027 npower Championship October Not a good month for use but sitting nicely in third and just one defeat so far. Should have done better against Derby, blowing a 2-0 lead and in the next three games we scored first but couldn't build on it. We ended strongly with a win over Morecambe but even that was spoilt when star striker Jonathan Walton tells the media he will be leaving when his contract expires in the summer. He was signed from AFC Rushden for £2.1m in January 2020. 229 league apps and 101 league goals later he has certainly repaid the outlay. Top Three Scorers: McDonnell (7) Walton (7) Hussey (6) Top Three Assists: Hussey (8) Walton (4) Woodward (4) Stoke City Player of the Month: Leighton Hussey Missed 2 of our games but came back for the final three with assists for three of the five goals. Really doing well in his new position upfront as spent last season on the wing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 Season 16 - 2026/2027 Qualifiers October Expected to beat Moldova but smashing eight past them was brilliant. Set us up nicely for the France game but they outmuscled us during the first half. The second was much more even but down to 4th in the group, only a point off the top. We have moved up to 21st in the World Rankings Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 Season 16 - 2026/2027 npower Championship November A poor end to the month sadly has left us a little too close to the teams below and far off the teams above. After 7th place finish last season anything in the top six will be a success. The FA Cup draw sees us travel to League One Rochdale at the start of January. Top Three Scorers: Walton (10) McDonnell (7) Hussey (7) Top Three Assists: Hussey (10) Woodward (5) McDonnell (5) Stoke City Player of the Month: Jonathan Walton Added three more goals this month and half of the clubs goals. Back to fitness now and its starting to show. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 Season 16 - 2026/2027 Friendlies November Another good win against a poor side was followed by a spirted display against Italy. Been a decent start to life with Ireland but its the qualifiers im most interested in. We are currently 27th in the World Rankings. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 Season 16 - 2026/2027 npower Championship December and January You would think i would be happy with a return of 19 points from 27 over the last couple of months but im not. The draw with Charlton felt like a defeat and the Doncaster game was dreadful. The FA Cup has been good, wins over League One Rochdale and Blue Square Bet Premier side Tranmere gives us Premier League Southampton away next. The January transfer window passed with none in or out for the club although centre back Adam King had requested a transfer as he is not in the team. Top Three Scorers: Walton (18) Hussey (12) McDonnell (7) Top Three Assists: Hussey (16) Wardlaw (8) McKay (7) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 Season 16 - 2026/2027 npower Championship End of Season PREMIER LEAGUE HERE WE COME!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 Season 16 - 2026/2027 End of Season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris0710 Posted April 9, 2012 Author Share Posted April 9, 2012 Season 17 Premier League End of Season Great first season back in top flight. A few very heavy defeats to the big guys but sides in the bottom half were outplayed over and over again. I resigned from Ireland in January. Got bored with international management. As the season came to an end Off to Anfield i go.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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