Potty
Talking Point 🗣️
I don’t expect Nathan Jones has slept well these past couple of nights. Whilst Stoke City’s infatuation with Jones is ludicrous – they have had 10 managers since Jones left including caretakers because they sack so many – the abuse he took on Saturday was pretty awful.
Potters’ fans may have also forgotten the four managers they had in the 12 months leading up to Jones being put in charge.
A neurotic band of football fans if ever there were one. Mind you I don’t get the modern fan booing anyone who hardly had any impact on the history of the club. Us booing Thierry Small makes me cringe.
Jones did pick a poor team on Saturday. It was unbalanced and fractured especially in the midfield where they simply over-run us in a wild 20 minute spell.
Still, if I’m annoyed then imagine how Jones feels watching his players cave. Absolutely not what we are about, but as we adjust to this level we have done and will again get taken apart by players and teams better than us if we are not at the races.
At our core though we defend in a structure and order that provides a foundation and that is what Jones’ team needs to rediscover this week.
We often concede goals that are very similar, those are weaknesses that have to be improved on.
Another big weakness of ours is injuries. I list nine currently plus McNamara suspended. A squad of 25 is not a lot when you carry as many injuries as we do. Jones tells us that it will be better after the international break, but that is 9 possible points away and our bench will again look less game-changing on Wednesday night.
Full back has been a constant quagmire for Jones. Left-footed Mesik I expect will play on the right on Wednesday, but possibly Bindon goes there with Mesik continuing on the left. That would give us more balance.
The word balance again, which we so often played without last season.
Timothy Ouma has to come out. He needs time, he needs fitness, he needs, he needs a lot of things to be honest. I’d be tempted with Mwamba, and Coventry has to play and I’d go back to default and play TC, Carey and Grant ahead of them.
A little early in the season for a big week, but I kind of think it is.
Reminds me of the Rankin Costello and Anderson combo at the New Den. Who thought that was a good idea as we watched them take us apart.
IAM with you CA, Carey Coventry mwamba must start the back four a bigger problem but like you’ve said bindon to the right is a sensible option, poor old Rankin Costello he’s another who can’t seem to take is opportunity when given the chance. Correct the level of abuse NJ took on Saturday was unbearable stoke fans need to have a word with themselves, coyr
With regards to our injuries, the lack of information that the club releases doesn’t help, I start to question whether it comes down to luck or is there an actual problem in our set-up?
We never seem to just have a minor knock or precautionary absence that lasts for a game or two. In the case of Matty Godden, I didn’t even realise he was injured! He started the opening game of the season and then we haven’t seen him since.
You can see that we are evolving, and I still fully support NJ, but one annoying habit of his is to tweak a winning team. I wonder how many times in his tenure he has fielded an unchanged starting eleven?
Jon,
The lack of info on injuries is a bit of a joke isn’t it. I understand the need for privacy and not to give too much away to an opponent but we get nothing, or NJ says they are a week away and we don’t see them. I read that the women had two players that missed the game on Sunday as injured. The first the club had mentioned it!
Your second point is valid too. He does like to tinker. I don’t know, I know the game is different now, but can players not play twice a week?
I found the comments around the latest Reece Burke injury rather amusing, as you could tell that NJ was fuming when he said about Burke ‘he felt his quad, doing nothing’…
That said, he ‘felt his quad’ will probably see him missing in action again, for an extended period!
Anyone know what Godden has actually injured this time?
Hamstring I think, Jon.
Burke may as well be left off the squad list.