Be careful lads. Fuller's clearly a quality player but his scoring records of 13 goals in the last 3 years is hardly earth-shatteringly wonderful to start talking about dropping Yann or reshuffling our entire team to accommodate him. I'll also be having a fiver on at least one red card this year for him too, given his poor disciplinary record. Is he fit enough? Is he truly motivated enough? For me, I see him starting 75% of the games on the bench this season. Does score some fabulous goals though so, like most here, desperately hoping he has come with the right attitude to avoid anoth Barnes or Hasselbaink scenario. Come on Ric!
The 13 goals in 3 years is a very unfair stat. He barely played last year due to injury and Crouch coming in. The year before he only scored 3 in the league but probably had his best season. You have to watch Stoke regularly to understand how isolated he was and the terrible scraps he had to work off. We scored loads of goals from set pieces and he won us most of them. I'm no Charlton expert by a long shot but i'm pretty sure you don't play how we do lol. He'll get a lot more help from his team mates as you won't be as defensive and that should give him more chances to stick it in the net. If he stays fit i would say 12-15 goals is a fair target for him but he will create a lot more.
he is going to cause palace all sorts of problems, needs to start as he seems to me like the perfect player to pick up energy of a big crowd who are well up for it.
Mark you right, Oggy, and hope to be there in person to see it.
I'm sure it's right that we shouldn't get carried away, on the other hand its good to hear from the Stoke fans. Whether on here or on their own forum, which I looked at when he signed, they are remarkably consistent in what they say about him (contrast us and Dale Stephens...)
Fuller is a class above what we have. He got on the half-turn, instant control, quick turn and ran at their defence. The Forest B4 which had sat comfortably in a line throughout the match, were back-pedalling and opened-up within 5 minutes of him coming on. Haynes started running in behind, Kerker was drifting wide and getting in crosses, Kermorgant found space to bring players into the build-up, Solly got down the right. Total contrast to the previous 80 mins.
Fuller is a class above what we have. He got on the half-turn, instant control, quick turn and ran at their defence. The Forest B4 which had sat comfortably in a line throughout the match, were back-pedalling and opened-up within 5 minutes of him coming on. Haynes started running in behind, Kerker was drifting wide and getting in crosses, Kermorgant found space to bring players into the build-up, Solly got down the right. Total contrast to the previous 80 mins.
We switched to 4-3-3 for the last ten v Forest and it worked a treat.
It means the opposite of getting overrun in midfield. It means we can put in three CM's to occupy that area and dominate possession. Solly and Wiggins provide width as wing backs.
I have been corresponding with Malcolm Clarke of the Football Supporters Federation about TV rights money, but reading that he's a Stoke die-hard, I took the opportunity to ask him about Fuller. Here's his reply;
"As you say, Ricky Fuller is an absolute legend at Stoke and many fans were furious that the Club let him go, even though in their heart of hearts they probably know that his days as a PL striker were coming to an end. He played a huge part in getting Stoke to where they are now. In 50 years of watching Stoke I would put him in the top 6 of flair players who can get you out of your seat. If he can keep his fitness and motivation I am sure he could still do it at Championship level. The downside is that he has a short fuse and can be a red card waiting to happen. A couple of years ago he was sent off at West Ham for smacking his own captain when we conceded a goal ! . Last season he got sent off in a pre-season friendly and then again in an early game when he decided for no apparent reason to lash out at Ivanovic at Stamford Bridge. You got the impression that it was a bit of last straw for Tony Pulis – so Chris Powell’s major challenge might be to manage his anger management. Responds well to the crowd – so sing his songs and chant his name as much as you can !!"
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I think that if he stays fit he'll could be a big big player for us.
But let's not start counting his goals or changing the formation for him just yet.
Long old season to come.
not at my age @Henry Irving!!! LOL
I would stick that fiver bet onthough ;-)
BWP and Kermo will need to play out of their skins to keep their place in the team,
so hopefully highly motivated performances from them.
And when it's time for Fuller to come on for the last 25 mins, the crowd will be truly lifted.
Game of psychology!
I'm sure it's right that we shouldn't get carried away, on the other hand its good to hear from the Stoke fans. Whether on here or on their own forum, which I looked at when he signed, they are remarkably consistent in what they say about him (contrast us and Dale Stephens...)
Looking forward to his next appearance.
You should know that.
;o)
It may be more beneficial to use him as an impact sub for now just as Powell did.
Yes that means three in midfield.
We switched to 4-3-3 for the last ten v Forest and it worked a treat.
It means the opposite of getting overrun in midfield. It means we can put in three CM's to occupy that area and dominate possession. Solly and Wiggins provide width as wing backs.
"As you say, Ricky Fuller is an absolute legend at Stoke and many fans were furious that the Club let him go, even though in their heart of hearts they probably know that his days as a PL striker were coming to an end. He played a huge part in getting Stoke to where they are now. In 50 years of watching Stoke I would put him in the top 6 of flair players who can get you out of your seat. If he can keep his fitness and motivation I am sure he could still do it at Championship level. The downside is that he has a short fuse and can be a red card waiting to happen. A couple of years ago he was sent off at West Ham for smacking his own captain when we conceded a goal ! . Last season he got sent off in a pre-season friendly and then again in an early game when he decided for no apparent reason to lash out at Ivanovic at Stamford Bridge. You got the impression that it was a bit of last straw for Tony Pulis – so Chris Powell’s major challenge might be to manage his anger management. Responds well to the crowd – so sing his songs and chant his name as much as you can !!"