BFTG-Stoke

[Zip]

A richly deserved win with some very pleasing and composed football in the second half

Hutchinson my MoTM. Brilliant positioning to cut out balls into our box so many times
He was also the one doing all the talking at the back
Stoke offered nothing in the second half. We were the fitter side and it showed

[Zip]

Lumley 7 Got an assist and looked much more assured today
Holmes 7. Defended well but beaten in the air by Flint for their goal
Hutchinson 8 MoTM Terrific positioning. The main man at the back today
TMac 7 Good, solid performance
Yids 7 Won a number of fouls and some crunching tackles
Hoilett 7 Used his body and low centre of gravity effectively but couldn’t push forward too often
Fornah 7 Did really well with a number of good forward runs in the second half
Hendrick 7 Neat and tidy on the ball
Ince 7 Tremendous work rate. Set pieces poor though and final ball not great
Long 6 Should have scored. Worked hard and some nice lay offs
Joao 8 Scored two and caused them a lot of problems

Rahman 7 Won a number of interceptions and tackles
Ehib 6 Did fine in the limited game time on the pitch
Guinness - Walker n/a

[Hound]

Didn’t make the match but the atmosphere sounded good

Thought the second half performance was excellent. Tons of energy and by far the better side if not quite reaching the levels of the Blackburn game

[Zip]

Didn’t make the match but the atmosphere sounded good

Thought the second half performance was excellent. Tons of energy and by far the better side if not quite reaching the levels of the Blackburn game

The atmosphere was pretty good throughout and better in the final ten minutes.
What struck me was we have now abandoned any of these short goal kicks to defenders who then pass sideways across the pitch. Thank the Lord.

[Hound]

Didn’t make the match but the atmosphere sounded good

Thought the second half performance was excellent. Tons of energy and by far the better side if not quite reaching the levels of the Blackburn game

The atmosphere was pretty good throughout and better in the final ten minutes.
What struck me was we have now abandoned any of these short goal kicks to defenders who then pass sideways across the pitch. Thank the Lord.

Think the game is evolving. Don’t see teams doing it as much generally now - not like a year or two ago. But yes happier with the new style

[Franchise FC]

Didn’t make the match but the atmosphere sounded good

Thought the second half performance was excellent. Tons of energy and by far the better side if not quite reaching the levels of the Blackburn game

The atmosphere was pretty good throughout and better in the final ten minutes.
What struck me was we have now abandoned any of these short goal kicks to defenders who then pass sideways across the pitch. Thank the Lord.

Think the game is evolving. Don’t see teams doing it as much generally now - not like a year or two ago. But yes happier with the new style

Certainly happy with the new results

[Franchise FC]

… and, touch wood (ooer), Lumley put all his dodgy eggs into one Yorkshire basket

[Nameless]

Didn’t make the match but the atmosphere sounded good

Thought the second half performance was excellent. Tons of energy and by far the better side if not quite reaching the levels of the Blackburn game

The atmosphere was pretty good throughout and better in the final ten minutes.
What struck me was we have now abandoned any of these short goal kicks to defenders who then pass sideways across the pitch. Thank the Lord.

Think the game is evolving. Don’t see teams doing it as much generally now - not like a year or two ago. But yes happier with the new style

Stoke seemed to still be doing it, but then Stoke as a whole is pretty much still In the 1950s

[Singing Defective]

… and, touch wood (ooer), Lumley put all his dodgy eggs into one Yorkshire basket

On the ooer, you have to feel sorry for a player carrying Smallbone on his shirt..probably their best man on the pitch. Weird enjoying a ‘ding game in the 80th minute, 1871 screaming all around, Stoke walking around.

Stamping on Yiadoms head is just bad manners, though, hope he’s ok.

[Franchise FC]

… and, touch wood (ooer), Lumley put all his dodgy eggs into one Yorkshire basket

On the ooer, you have to feel sorry for a player carrying Smallbone on his shirt..probably their best man on the pitch. Weird enjoying a ‘ding game in the 80th minute, 1871 screaming all around, Stoke walking around.

Stamping on Yiadoms head is just bad manners, though, hope he’s ok.

To be fair Yids got his arm in the way so wasn’t directly on the head
Still should have been red

[Snowflake Royal]

Very good performance. Would still like to see us play further up the pitch and with more of the ball, but we're looking an excellent attacking side, and we're picking up points with it. I struggle to see us lasting with results like this and that little of the ball every game, but we're ticking the points to safety off.

How refreshing it is to see us going back to front quickly and attacking with pace, running at people and space. yumyumyum. Love it. What a difference having a Team makes over a lot of talented individuals. We actually look like we have a plan!

Lumley - 7 solid performance, great kick for the first goal, very proactive in moving the ball forward, and since Rotherham he's taking fewer risks and playing safer.

Yiadom - 7 unlucky not to win a penalty, some thumping challenges and got up and down the flanks well.
Hoilett - 7 doing really well settling into a more defensive role to see out his career, uses his experience well can bring the ball forward and smart in defence.

Holmes - 8 revelation this season, he's defending well and his passing out of defence and occasional roams forward are really good. Benefited a lot from playing RB imo.
Hutchinson - 7 sits in the middle of the back three very well. Anticipates a lot of danger
McIntyre - 7 similar to Holmes, but not quite to the same level

Hendrick - 7 closest thing the team has to a weak link, but is generally playing well with the odd error. Spends the game mostly ticking over doing the simple and unglamourous things. Seems a bit better suited to a deeper role than a higher one, but would be behind Fornah and Loum for it
Fornah - 8 surprisingly good feet for a big DM, strong, shields the ball well and can pop up on the left with some good attacking options
Ince - 9 unbelievable work rate, so quick as well. Sometimes seems like he's running too quick to do what he wants with the ball accurately. Deserved a goal

Long - 6 probably missed a lot of his better work off the ball, solid contribution but not a huge amount went his way
Joao - 8 brilliant penalty, although on multi-angle slow-mo it looks a touch soft, great work to force the keeper into an error and then hit the target for his first, put himself about where he could and got much better service, and enjoyed having more of a solid partner

Rahman - 6 solid return appearance in defence
Ehibhatiomhan - 7 good feet, put a shift in
Guiness-Walker - N/A had very little time on the pitch and out of position, but did his job.

Genuinely hard to see where Ejaria and Meite fit on their return without completing changing the dynamic and shape of the side... Ejaria maybe for Hendrick at a push.

[Franchise FC]

They may not like it, but Ejaria and Meite, when fit, could be part of any Plan B as required

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Lumley 7 Got an assist and looked much more assured today
Holmes 7. Defended well but beaten in the air by Flint for their goal
Hutchinson 8 MoTM Terrific positioning. The main man at the back today
TMac 7 Good, solid performance
Yids 7 Won a number of fouls and some crunching tackles
Hoilett 7 Used his body and low centre of gravity effectively but couldn’t push forward too often
Fornah 7 Did really well with a number of good forward runs in the second half
Hendrick 7 Neat and tidy on the ball
Ince 7 Tremendous work rate. Set pieces poor though and final ball not great
Long 6 Should have scored. Worked hard and some nice lay offs
Joao 8 Scored two and caused them a lot of problems

Rahman 7 Won a number of interceptions and tackles
Ehib 6 Did fine in the limited game time on the pitch
Guinness - Walker n/a

Don't disagree with most, would definitely put Ince at a 9 and my motm personally. He must have covered every blade of grass twice over today and worked tirelessly and showed a side to his game that I never thought he would develop, chasing the ball down, sprinting, winning it back, drawing fouls etc. Agree about his end product, probably the only negative was that lack of quality or poor decision making on a couple of occasions, but it was as good a midfield performance as you'll see at this level this season.

Hutchinson did really well though. Thought he might struggle a bit after his early booking but used all his experience and quality to plug the gaps and, as you rightly say, make some very important interceptions. When he's been fit and playing, he's been impressive in most games.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

They may not like it, but Ejaria and Meite, when fit, could be part of any Plan B as required

Yeah for sure, tough to leave them out. On the basis of that performance today, I'd probably argue Meite for Long and Ejaria comes off the bench really. But they'll definitely be involved a lot when they are back, too much quality to be sitting on the bench each week.

In fairness to P.Ince, it'll be nice when he has that problem.

[Zip]

Lumley 7 Got an assist and looked much more assured today
Holmes 7. Defended well but beaten in the air by Flint for their goal
Hutchinson 8 MoTM Terrific positioning. The main man at the back today
TMac 7 Good, solid performance
Yids 7 Won a number of fouls and some crunching tackles
Hoilett 7 Used his body and low centre of gravity effectively but couldn’t push forward too often
Fornah 7 Did really well with a number of good forward runs in the second half
Hendrick 7 Neat and tidy on the ball
Ince 7 Tremendous work rate. Set pieces poor though and final ball not great
Long 6 Should have scored. Worked hard and some nice lay offs
Joao 8 Scored two and caused them a lot of problems

Rahman 7 Won a number of interceptions and tackles
Ehib 6 Did fine in the limited game time on the pitch
Guinness - Walker n/a

Don't disagree with most, would definitely put Ince at a 9 and my motm personally. He must have covered every blade of grass twice over today and worked tirelessly and showed a side to his game that I never thought he would develop, chasing the ball down, sprinting, winning it back, drawing fouls etc. Agree about his end product, probably the only negative was that lack of quality or poor decision making on a couple of occasions, but it was as good a midfield performance as you'll see at this level this season.

Hutchinson did really well though. Thought he might struggle a bit after his early booking but used all his experience and quality to plug the gaps and, as you rightly say, make some very important interceptions. When he's been fit and playing, he's been impressive in most games.

Ince did some brilliant stuff today but his set pieces were disappointing and no end product. In that final ten minutes he was exceptional though and lifted the crowd and his team

[Hound]

They may not like it, but Ejaria and Meite, when fit, could be part of any Plan B as required

Yeah for sure, tough to leave them out. On the basis of that performance today, I'd probably argue Meite for Long and Ejaria comes off the bench really. But they'll definitely be involved a lot when they are back, too much quality to be sitting on the bench each week.

In fairness to P.Ince, it'll be nice when he has that problem.

Let’s face it, by the time they are fit someone else will be injured

Meite seems to be taking a long time to get fit

[Norfolk Royal]

Enjoyed that. Such a difference to last season. The main difference being that the players seem to be trying a lot harder. That’s the bottom line.

This was typified by Tom Ince who in the last few minutes sprinted across the field as if his life depended on it and put in a great tackle to prevent an attack.

That sort of lung busting effort lifts the crowd and was something we saw so little of last season.

What would have happened last year was that a player would have sullenly trotted back to a defensive position allowing the Stoke player to come forward unchallenged to pass it, conceding 20 yards defensively.

Thought the ref was poor. One of their players made three bookable tackles but did not receive one caution while Hutchinson, who was fantastic btw, was booked for his first challenge. We should have had at least one more penalty as well. VAR would definitely have found the trip on Yiadom was a pen. Jaoa was much better today.

Stoke played like we did last season. They look to be lower table fodder.

Can we sustain this. Maybe. We’ve got four first choices to come back. Will be an interesting season and we haven’t had that for a few years. Excellent.

[Zip]

Norrers. It was astonishing that Stoke didn’t pick up a single yellow card. They committed three times as many fouls as us.

[Norfolk Royal]

Norrers. It was astonishing that Stoke didn’t pick up a single yellow card. They committed three times as many fouls as us.

Yes exactly. One of their players should have been sent off for the stamp on Yiadom. That’s a straight red.

Not sure if he was the same player who made three bookable tackles but whoever he was should have gone as well. I found the ref’s reluctance to book any Stoke player astounding, particularly after the early Hutchinson booking. Stoke must have made seven or eight worse fouls than the Hutch one during the game and no bookings. Astounding.

[Zip]

Norrers. It was astonishing that Stoke didn’t pick up a single yellow card. They committed three times as many fouls as us.

Yes exactly. One of their players should have been sent off for the stamp on Yiadom. That’s a straight red.

Not sure if he was the same player who made three bookable tackles but whoever he was should have gone as well. I found the ref’s reluctance to book any Stoke player astounding, particularly after the early Hutchinson booking. Stoke must have made seven or eight worse fouls than the Hutch one during the game and no bookings. Astounding.

Yep very odd, I think it was Clucas with the stamp