The Excecutioner’s Festive Match Verdicts – Stoke City
Despite prolonged periods of possession our lack of incision supplemented by a lack of desire and poor pressing contributed to another woeful defeat today at the Britannia. …
Line-ups
Everton made just 2 changes from the draw at the Boleyn Ground, with Louis Saha coming in for Jack Rodwell and Phil Jagielka restored to centre back with Tim Cahill reverting to his usual position in a flexible 4-5-1 setup.
Stoke setup with their usual 4-4-2 system with Jones and Fuller the target men for the predictable aerial bombardment.
Early Exchanges
Everton started well and could have had a penalty as early as the first minute after Marriner inexplicably missed a Shawcross trip on Louis Saha.
The misfiring Frenchman actually had a decent first half and put himself about more than he has done in other outings this campaign, but in the second half he reverted to type and went missing in action.
Generally, we had the better of the first half and played the more controlled and expansive football with Baines and Coleman providing good width down the flanks.
Stoke get goals at right times.
There is no surprise element to Stoke’s play; they will look to get the ball out wide and pump it into the opponent’s box at the earliest opportunity.
Twice this tactic worked either side of half time to win the game. Wide man Etherington has 7 assists for the season and is their most accurate exponent of the cross. Quite how he was allowed to whip the ball in though with Neville and Coleman doubling up on him is hard to fathom.
Neville had a woeful afternoon. He has many failings but in this instance and on several other occasions this afternoon he unnecessarily went to ground with rash tackles, perhaps indicative of the desperation evident in our play. With the ball whipped in well, Jones split Distin and Jagielka and pumped a fantastic header inside Howard’s left hand post.
Cahill then missed a header from a superb Baines delivery although on reflection the Aussie should have squared to the unmarked Saha as the angle was tight.
Worse was to follow in the second half when another aimless punt from Stoke resulted in Jagielka inexplicably putting the ball past Howard under pressure from Fuller. Jags had one of his poorest afternoon’s in a Blue shirt today although he did look at times to be playing with an injury throughout as did Seamus Coleman for the last 20 minutes.
Everton pressed but it was a similar tale of woe in the opposition half. Despite completing 223 more successful passes than their hosts we never looked like making the breakthrough in the second half especially. Pienaar and Arteta are the two midfielders we look to for a creative spark. Neither have managed an assist this campaign and today they where again blunt. The chalkboard below illustrates this well, with both only registering one pass each into Stoke’s 18 yard box during the entire game.
Arteta/Pienaar Missing Creative Spark Chalkboards
Premeditated rant about Stoke
Quite how certain media personalities can keep a straight face when saying Stoke are starting to develop their game to be more expressive is anybody’s guess. Granted, we where inept in the second half and lacked Stoke’s desire, but the torrid route one rubbish and over the top tacking Pulis’ mob dishes out is terrible to watch.
This maybe the rantings of a man who has spent today banging his head against a wall in frustration but as a portly out of work Spanish Manager once said, this is fact.
Out of their 298 passes Stoke completed just 140, so almost 1 in every 2 passes didn’t go to a team mate. Marouanne Fellaini had a stinker for us today but still completed the same number of successful passes in open play as the ENTIRE Stoke midfield four of Delap, Whitehead, Pennant and Etherington put together. Whitehead in particular is a hatchet man of the most heinous order and should have been dismissed for his over the top lunge on the again dismal Arteta. …Rant Over.
Stoke shut up shop
The Stoke defensive wall of 8 was hard to penetrate
With the two goals in the bag, Stoke completely shut up shop and never looked like conceding. The Potters are good at closing down opponents and stopping attacks, whether this by fair means or foul.
With their 2 full backs and wingers tucking in and central midfielders Delap and Whitehead sitting directly in front of the centre backs a wall of 8 players shut down the centre of the field. The last twenty minutes where frustration personified with Everton time and time again trying and failing to intricately play through the wall to no avail, leading to 29 interceptions from Stoke shown below.
In terms of effort and commitment we where clearly second best today. This season we have been able to get ourselves up for the big guns with results against the Manchester clubs, Chelsea & Spurs where our tenacity and bite have given us the platform to take results. The same endeavour and pressing high up the pitch has not been forthcoming against the lesser lights of the league with only 1 victory against teams in the bottom half of the table.
Stoke Interceptions Chalkboard
Conclusion
This defeat leaves us well and truly in the mire. Losing because of a lack of desire and fighting spirit is hard to take, given that these qualities have often been the reason for us getting results against better sides during the Moyes era. Whilst this group of players have proved their desire in the past and will get this back, reinforcement are required if we are going to start creating and taking enough chances to see us build any kind of momentum.
Nic Davies – The Executioner
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20 Comments
At stoke mate we know that lots of aimless passes to teammates in your own half doesn’t get you far – we would admit that we dont have an arteta or top class midfielders at present – we do have hard workers in there who are not hatchet men as you seem to think? Have a look at the fair play league if you want facts ! In fact the worst tackle yesterday was on our player Pennant though you no doubt dont mind that one !
Oh and why should you have had a penalty for a foul that was outside the penalty area ?
A final note – we had a perfectly good goal scored by Tuncay at your place disallowed – so at least you got 3 undeserved points off us this season so be happy with that !!
Considering most of Cahills goals are headers this must mean Everton bombard the oppositions box as well as Stoke and its always funny when Stoke beat someone you always get a bitter and twisted report like yours.Perhaps if Everton worked as hard as Stoke did Everton might have won,nothing wrong with good old fashioned graft.
Good analysis Nic, was a frustrating day at the Brittania.
‘Stokiejohn’ I cant for the life of me see how you cant look at some of your yard dogs (Whitehead in particular) and say they arent hatchet men, two blatent fouls in quick succesion should have seen him off, never mind that shocking tackle on arteta which should have been a straight red! And as for 3 ‘undeserved points’ i really dont no how you can work that one out, we dominated the game at goodison and although we only scored the one we fully deserved the victory. Fair play to Stoke yesterday like, you wanted it more than us but to say we never warranted the 3 points at goodison is a very delusioned view!
Stokie John, You may want to re-read it says ‘could’ not ‘should’ have had a pen. Also, was this undeserved 3 points the one where we had 66% of possession?
Wingy, you need to read the report and not just look at the pictures. Credit is given to Stoke for their effort ‘In terms of effort and commitment we where clearly second best today’ there is also praise for stoke’s pressing and for etherington who is a tidy player. Enjoy your victory pal and take a valium!
Just checked the fair play league as you advised ‘Stokie John’. Stoke 3rd dirtiest team in the league in terms of yellow cards with 39. Everton 3rd cleanest team with 24. Fact.
I watched both these games and the game at Goodison was very even and if Tuncays goal stood we would have won the game.I was at Anfield 2 seasons ago and they battered Stoke with possesion and shots,guess what? We came away with point and that point being you can have all the possesion in a game but if you do nothing with it then you get nowhere.
Quite how certain media personalities can keep a straight face when saying Stoke are starting to develop their game to be more expressive is anybody’s guess.
SOUR GRAPES springs to mind with that statment,we have moved on leaps and bounds compared to our 1st season in the prem and to scoff at that suggestion show ignorance on your part.
We still have a way to go but we are trying to move on and are moving on and will get players in to help acheive this but it takes time.
LOL….Goals win matches not possession %’s!!!
Stoke 2 – 0 Everton
Who gives at rats ass about number of passes and possession percentages?
Lets get right down to the core of football here….the aim of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team and win…who gives a flying fuck about pretty footy if you cant win doing it.Give me the win anyday over the performance….2-0 chuffed!
Wouldnt really say its ‘sour grapes’ at all squeekster, a fair analysis of the game is what it was as frank mentioned.You have one or two decent players i.e Etherington, Tuncay and Fuller to a degree but to say you have moved on leaps and bounds is extremly worrying, same old hoof ball, the infamous ‘delapadator’, not to mention the wreckless lunges from the likes of that knob head Whitehead and Shawcross to go with that.
Glenn, i believe you to be in the miniority not giving a ‘rats ass’ about statistics, typical moron comment, you are clearly more interested in ale house tactics rather than a good analysis of the game.
The quality of players you have brought in i.e Etherington and Jones has improved the standard from players such as Lawrence and Sidibe who previously did similar jobs to a lesser standard, but the game plan is still the same. We are well aware we are toothless in attack and this has been stated on the site and in this article after nearly every game we’ve played this campaign.
Yeah and Cahill and Felleni are little angels not to mention Osmans first cotribution to the game was go through the back of Pennant.
You really are so narrow minded its laughable but predictable.
‘Jonny’
Sorry but the newspaper still says Stoke 2 Everton 0.
I can find you at least 27,000 more people who will agree that goals win games, not statistics.
Rolling out the tired cliches regarding tactics and lack of pretty football is getting rather boring to say the least. We have been hearing if for 3 years now. If it is so bad and ‘anti football’ how come we are still in the league?
Stoke have been collecting PL money now for 3 seasons. Pulis is doing what it takes to keep us there. For us supporters of Stoke we CAN see the slow but steady progression that has been made. As better players come in we will see yet further evolution.
We don’t need in-depth tactical ‘analysis’ from someone who sees us twice a season and likes to listen to the bully boy stories about horrible Stoke City. (its funny how we only here these stories when teams lose against us)
Call me a moron or whatever else you like…………I will take goals over style any day of the week and twice on Sundays!
As we get better players and the style adjusts accordingly I will welcome it…as long as the goals continue, after all that IS the aim of the game is it not?
How long have Everton been collecting the riches of the Premier League? Hmmm, come back and talk to me after you have suffered 20+ years in the lower divisions. Then we will see if you walk the morale high ground.
Nobodys saying they are, dont know who ‘felleni’ is like but they make up for it with how they play the game, *fellaini in particular. If you read the article fellaini had a shit game but still made the same amount of successful passes as your whole midfield including the likes of whitehead, delap and co.
Narrow minded would mean just looking at the everton performance but Nic has rightly credited stoke for certain aspects of their performance which includes their pressing and desire to win the game unlike that of everton. Read the fuckin article before you come out with any more bullshit squeekster, i feel embarassed for you!
I feel embarassed for resorting to swearing,the narrow minded views by you are by based on 2 games,this season Stoke have played some very entertaing football games,Man city at home we blew away first half playing football as Bolton away and the Villa at home second half(we were battered first and could of been 3 down.
When you play teams like Blackburn you know what your going to get and you set out to combat that and yes sometimes it makes for boring games,such as the Manchester derby this season.
As for Whitehead he is a hard working player thats not the most gifted but he is hard working and honest not dirty.
Well done Glenn, that was brilliant…..so this evolution you talk about, would really love to know more about this? as ive mentioned you have a few decent players, im a big fan of etherington personally however i cant see many more ahead of him. Tuncay, turkish international overlooked on a regular basis to shit players who fit in with Stokes style of play,feel sorry for the lad!
This is not a ‘story’ as you put it, its a fucking match analysis you whopper, these analysis’ have been appreciated by fans of near enough every team we’ve came across this season with a lot of praise in the process. Its just a pity you cant appreciate some tactical insight into the game you may or may not have watched yesterday. Its not one sided at all and in my eyes its a pretty fair report on a game stoke deserved to win.
Yes you beat a poor everton side 2-0 but please dont get carried away fella’s, “evolution” get a grip ay lad!
Squeekster, the comments some of your fellow supporters are coming out with are difficult to understand, i cant for the life of me see how you have read the whole report. I really couldnt give a toss about other games that dont involve everton, thats not being sigle minded, its realistic. Evertons form this season has been dreadful so each game we play we must concentrate on ourselves and comment on the oppositions tactics to see were the team and manager have gone wrong.
Dont try and sell to me that whitehead is not a dirty player, just after half time is an example of what damage he can do, should have had his marching orders, end of!
Everyone see’s games differently just as everyone has their own view of players,one tackle doesn’t make you a dirty player,we could say the same about Osman on Pennant.
What we find as Stoke fans is that when ever we win the opposing team always seem to come out and slate the way we play call us this and call us that and how they wouldn’t pay to watch that week in week out blah blah blah,that clown at Man city said after our game that they should of won which was an absolue joke.
I take your point about only being concerned with your team in that particular match but having watched us over the 3 seasons in the prem i can assure you we have improved vastly.
Yesterdays game was a bit nervy for us having lost the previous 2 home games and yes we never really got going but i still think we played some decent stuff.
No, I’m done here. I have already answered your question while you answered none of mine and instead resorted to petty name calling.
You can’t argue with a jonny it seems…….
Evolution my Ass!!
Stoke ain’t got nothing on Everton Football Club.
Normal service resumed at Stoke