Anyone else feel that Stoke are going to do a Charlton??
They are claiming Pulis has taken them as far as they can go. They apparently need a change to take them to the next level bla bla bla...
He's done an absolutely incredible job with them hasn't he?
Echos of what happened with us with Curbs?
Comments
There's also the 'boredom' factor that sets in when a team has been midtable in the PL for a few years. Fans get fed up of Pulis/Allardyce 'pragmatic' football that keeps them midtable, and yearn for something more exciting to watch. A L1 promotion campaign perhaps :-)
To do a Charlton they'd first have to hire a Dowie. Am not sure who they could potentially get in, but they couldn't possibly be that stupid.
After a while people get 'accustomed' to a nice cushy Premiership life and forget - or discard - all of the hard work going on just to keep the team there.
They should enjoy midtable football while it lasts with the odd win over a big side.
The problem is they are not scoring enough goals. Think they should get to the end of the season and then get rid of big Tone.
Greater income from the new premier league and a new manager would bo good move in my opinion.
And they were the best team we played that season and they got promoted and haven't looked back. </blockquote>
We beat them at home towards the end of the season didn't we? Lloyd Sam header I believe. Remember at the time feeling like they were luck to get up! (But that was probably just my bitterness at the way our season completely capitulated!)
"Stoke's net spend over the past five seasons is not far off £80m. To put that figure into context, only Manchester City and Chelsea have spent more."
THink that's the difference for me - Curbs was never given the 'next level' sort of money, Pulis is being given it.
The key would be who the replacement was, that's where we went so wrong (barring the fact we should have offered Curbs the £12m kitty Dowie spent and a chance to freshen up the squad).
Are Stoke fans really clamouring for better football or winning something? Realistically some investment and a fresh manager could get them a bit further on, maybe Europe or a good cup run. Not sure who, or indeed who would suit Stoke's style of play (they're hardly going to start playing like Swansea are they?) Di Matteo might be a good bet.
But I think they are currently fortunate in being one of those teams you wouldn't expect to be in the relegation fight even if they're never going to set the Prem alight.