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 Apr21
Comment by Lou Macari ONE thing fascinating me about the Premier League this season is how Stoke City have got it so right while Hull City appear to be getting it so wrong. At the turn of the year, you had Stoke down in the bottom three and maybe wondering where their next win was coming from. And up in eighth there was Hull who, you felt certain, were only two or three wins from guaranteeing themselves a second season in the top flight. But the wheels have come off for Phil Brown, while Tony Pulis has just kept oiling the old machine to keep it chugging gamely towards the finishing post. Stoke are safe for certain after that win over Blackburn because at least three other clubs won’t now reach 39 points, and that goes down as a great achievement. But Hull? They are well and truly in the relegation mix. The only saving grace for them is the fact that this is a quite exceptional season for the number of teams down with the dead men. West Brom are down, as I’ve been saying from day one, but I wouldn’t like to second guess what will happen with the other two relegation spots. Things now are all a far cry from earlier in the season when Hull were being praised to the skies after their terrific start. The key word there is “start” because that’s all it was. As they say, this league is a marathon, not a sprint. I think Hull were maybe guilty of starting to believe all the hype and may even have become a bit complacent. They were always in a false position, but just how false is now becoming starkly apparent. I’m sure they were geared up for a dogfight from day one, but once they made that remarkable start of theirs it was difficult to readjust to the notion they’d have to dig in after all. Stoke, meanwhile, have remained on battle stations all season because they have been in and around the bottom three for much of the campaign, and never let up on their intensity. So while Hull were getting a bit carried away with themselves and enjoying their moment in the sun, Stoke were still rolling up their sleeves, wiping away the sweat, gritting their teeth and getting on with the long-term task of scrapping for their survival. You’re also left wondering if Hull had the right number of characters for a dogfight anyway, but no one could accuse Stoke of lacking the necessary backbone and mental toughness. The behaviour of the managers will also come under scrutiny, I’m sure, to see if mistakes have been made along the way. I don’t remember Pulis dropping any major clangers in the media or whatever, but I’m afraid Brown might live to regret the moment he berated his players on the pitch during the half-time interval at Manchester City in December. No-one will know for sure what effect that had on team morale, but I can’t see how it helped. Stoke have enjoyed another massive advantage this season, and one that comes down to publicity. Too may pundits and media men have fallen into the trap of branding Stoke as big, ugly bullies with little else to offer. I’ve said from the start their so-called physical approach won’t be so evident in the Premier League because you’re up against bigger and better athletes at this level of the game. But I think managers and coaches have fallen into the trap of believing all the hype about Stoke. I’m sure many of them have faced up to Stoke, particularly at the Britannia of course, expecting a war. Instead of fielding their normal team and playing something close to their normal game, visiting teams have changed unnecessarily and so not played to their own strengths. I was speaking to someone about Newcastle’s recent visit and he was telling me they were gearing up for a war and were fielding players who could stand up and be counted. It’s one thing to arm yourself to withstand the opposition’s strengths, but quite another to mis-judge exactly what those strengths are. Stoke are competitive, yes, but not aggressive monsters who are going to kick lumps out of you. The danger now, however, is that other managers will have wised up to this and so you’d expect them to be forewarned and forearmed when they visit the Britannia next season. As they surely will be doing now. Wembley not the way ahead for cup semi-finals I’M not spitting out sour grapes because Manchester United lost on Sunday when I say the FA Cup semi-final with Everton should never have been played at Wembley. I don’t say that just because of the poor surface, either, which I saw for myself before the game when it looked ready to fall apart before anyone had begun running on it. No, I say it because I just feel so sorry for all the travelling and inconvenience the two sets of fans were put through. Play Arsenal v Chelsea at Wembley by all means because that makes sense geographically, but dragging thousands down from the North West – and on a Sunday – does not. I know the FA have to make money, but wouldn’t they be better charging extra for tickets at somewhere such as Villa Park? I’m sure fans would rather pay that bit extra on the tickets and so save on the additional time and expense involved in hauling themselves down to Wembley. We now have some of the world’s finest stadiums in this country, yet only one seems to exist when it comes to FA Cup semi-finals. Other stories online today: 
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Can't argue with much of
Can't argue with much of that Lou. Since Christmas we have been dire and only the good start has kept us out of the bottom 3.
As for Stoke, for me Tony Pulis knew exactly what he had to do with the squad he assembled in the summer. Battle, fight, take the sh*t from the pundits and have a bit of hope that they could get a reasonable points haul entering the the January window.
Yes, Stoke played on the long-ball, throw-ins and physical approach, but they had to to an extent. Pulis knew it and, somewhat like Mowbray, stuck to kis principles. Then Beattie and Etherington are added to the squad to give an extra dimension to the play, whilst not compromising the core ethic of the squad - working hard.
It's my opinion that Tony Pulis would be unlucky not to be rated in the Top 3 managers of the season and can justifibly be praised for his and his teams 'low-key' approach.
Good luck to Stoke and their fans, who have ably assisted.
I am a Tigers fan through
I am a Tigers fan through and through. I have sat and watched City home and away all season long. We started well yes- but we have also been very unfortunate. We should have had 3 points at Anfield- having a clear penalty disallowed and then 2 goals against us- which are both arguablly fouls. We certainly have not had the rub of the green. Points should have been had against Arsenal(H). Villa(H) Liverpool(A) Sunderland(A). This would have given us 5 points more than we have- and probably would have stopped the "rot" that seems to have set in.
As for saying we have no battlers well I am sorry- but obviously know nothing about our team. We may lack quality- but battle (and bottle) are things we have in abundance. As for my own personal predictions as to who will go down- the bottom 3 as they are now. WBA are almost already down mathematically. Newcastle will not get 6 points they need to stay up (minimum) and Boro may only get 1 more point between now and the end of the season (against Newcastle). All those predicting Shearer being the "saviour of the Toon" are sadly mistaken- he has very little experience and bringing in Dowie as his no2 is laughable as he has taken down every club he has managed.
The Sunderland v Hull myth ....
A number of Hull fans seem convinced they should have had something at the Stadium of Light on Saturday. Well I'd like to set the record straight. I sat in the press seats just behind the away dugout and watched the game from start to finish. Both teams were poor, the anxiety and pressure playing a huge part, but Sunderland were worthy winners. They created far more chances than Hull and despite plenty of endeavour and hard-work Hull were tripe. A sentiement echoed by several Hull fans in the Companions Club after the game. Hull were all hustle and bustle but had zero penetration. They could still be playing and they would not have scored. I have no reason to put forward a Sunderland-biased thesis as I am a Stoke nut who was working at the SoL on Saturday and I was probably (like most Stokies) hoping for a draw. Hull were set up not to lose, Sunderland were set up to win. The result was just. Just to prove I have nothing against Hull I'd like to add the Hull fans, all 3000 of them, were fantastic and a real credit to the club. But Sunderland did NOT steal the three points. Not a chance.
Tigers
Hi Hull fans.
I hope you do stay up - I was impressed the way you flung yourselves into the playoffs last season and were rightly promoted having played some great football. I think Hull is a town very much like Stoke in that you take pride in your team and achievements and there is a togetherness which we enjoy here in the Potteries too. Well done on your great start to the season. I suspect like us you enjoy the fact that people dismiss your town and your club (most never having visited) only to be proven wrong :-)
I think it would do the PL good if you remained and a club like Newcastle which is (sadly for them) run upside down and constantly in search of a Messiah (get real guys) went down. I don't bear Newcastle any malice I actually think it would do them good to be relegated and then sort themselves out and start from scratch.
So good luck guys, shame we have to play you still otherwise I could say enjoy the rest of the season! Hopefully see you back in the Prem 2009-10
Rob
Mr. Macari
Thanks for the comments Lou, but I beg to differ with some of your comments. I have great respect for the way Stoke and Mr Pulis have gone about their business this season. They made some very good buys in the January transfer window that gave a one dimensional Stoke an added dimension (a cutting edge). Unfortunately, for my Tigers we tried to bring in a cutting edge after the loss of Marlon King (because of an ego the size of the KC Stadium) and Dean Windass (to the blog-o-sphere).
As we all know getting a striker that can score goals in the Premiership is one of the hardest things to do, and we just couldn't get one in time. This left us with little fire power up front. Our one true striker Daniel Cousin has been injured for the most part and not playing at 100% for most of 2009 so we have been impotent up front. As could be seen at the Stadium of Light; Mr. Lovenbury.
The lads give 100% every week and I don't feel they believed the hype of our impressive start as I wouldn't let them. However, just as you say teams changed their tactics to play against a physical long ball Stoke, teams adapted to our fast paced counter attacking style. We had to change to counter their change in style and although we have some very good players we can't stand there and duke it out one on one with most other Premiership teams. We are just not good enough. We can create chances against teams but because we couldn't get a striker in January we have not been able to find the back of the net often enough to be as competitive as yourselves.
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