Potteries Post-Mortem

Well what a load of tosh that was.

A game we needed a positive response from after the Reading debacle and our brilliant tactical genius selects 8 defenders!!!!! 3 centre-backs (1 of whom he plays at right back, depite having 2 fit right backs). 3 full backs (2 of which he deploys in midfield), and 2 holding midfield players!

So Rafa explain where the goals and inspiration were coming from??? Ngog tried hs best, but at 21 it is too much to ask him to bear the goal scoring burden. Dirk while he will run all day isn't going to score load and is as creative a blob of steel.

Fully accept why Babel was dropped from the squad, this is the second time in 3 months he has aired our dirty laundry in public. It does beg the question why we didnt take the 9 million on offer from Birmigham and run last week?? He is clearly a player who doesnt want to be there, so get rid of him, it must be disruptive to the harmony in the squad (if there is any left).

Yes, we should have had a pen for the first Lucas foul and now will miss his 'magnificent' contribution against Spurs. But what did we actually create, Sorensen could have sat next to Tony Pulis for most of the game and no-one would have noticed. The fact we had to rely on an error from him and Kygryiakos' knee-stomach-shin for a goal tells you all you need to know about our performance.

The team did what they have done almost everytime they have taken the lead this season, sat back, tried to absorb all the pressure and escape with teh points. But this is the Premiership and you would think after 5 and half seasons the Buffon would have figured that the other team wont just give because you have scored. Nope not our clown or the monkeys he has signed. Lets invite the most dangerous set-piece team in the league to conduct a bombarment on our goal for a full 30 minutes and see if we can hold out. WHAT MORONIC tactic is this Rafa???? There are 5 year-olds who have more grasp of how to play this game than you do.

How did we concede a goal, Ah suprise suprise ZONAL-NON-MARKING. The Boxed 'L' at the near post all vacated the premises as soon as the ball went over their heads, leaving 4 Stoke players with the freedom of our 6 yard box at what had now become the far post when the return header came back over. And Carra true his bombscare routine paniced and made a feeble attempt to header the ball instead of staying where he was (IE MARKING HIS ZONE), leaving Robert Huth the freedom to stab the ball home from 2.4 inches out.

Brilliant!!! Oh yes and its the 5th last minute goal we have conceded this season. So suppose this is consistency Rafa is looking for, throwing points away in the last minute and conceding from set pieces long may it continue. Anyone fancy a relegation scrap because that is where we are headed.

Fontunately those other teams trying to get into the top 4 seem equally as useless at putting 3 results together and we bizarrely remain only 4 points off 4th place.

Tottemham Preview Tomorrrow or Tuesday night.

YNWA