Stoke(A) Match Thread

[Dave D]

What a massive win! This result was as important as the win against them at the opening day. The pressure was immense before the match. We had dropped to sixth and was beaten on our last two away games. All the teams around us won yesterday. It´s Stoke away in pouring rain and gusting winds. But the lads scores five times and get the three points. Says something about the team, we cope so much better with pressure now than before. 

Absolutely.

 

People searching for negatives puzzles me. I thought we'd nick a draw, its not been a happy hunting ground for years.

 

Not many teams will go there and take 3 points and if they do it will be through hard graft.

 

Great result. Get in lads. 

[FrenchEyeGlass]

Im not sure if anybody has commented on this, but Im fucking pissed off that nobody in the press is highlighting the monkey imitations made behind Johnson's back today and the fact that it was clearly audible that one or more people were shouting stuff like 'monkey cunt' to Sturridge and others.

 

Fucking scum of the earth Stoke. They better be fucking fined.

[Section_31]

Negged you by mistake Section!

 

 

[RedRazor]

I was very nervous about this game before kick off. It had the potential to be the game where our season started to unravel. Everyone around us winning and a really poor track record there didn't bode well. Add as many as three ex-players into the equation and, while I hoped for three points, I thought it would be a struggle to get anything.

 

So I am ecstatic and stunned by the result. What a win. Second only to the result at Spurs in my book.

 

Not a great performance by our own recent standards but good enough to get the job done. Gerrard and Sturridge back on the pitch so things looking up. Hopefully some of the others will start to re-appear soon to bolster the squad and give us the impetus to push on to even better things. I think we are in a great position considering the fixtures still to come. It will be largely in our hands as none of the top six appear to travel too well. (we are the only team in the top six to win an away game against one of the others) Some big Anfield games to come and I think we can win them.

[fowler9]

and given we were nice enough to let them score today I hope Crouchy and Adam now follow Assaidi's lead and score against all our rivals

[J-V]

Taking possibly your last chance at a big club.  That's exactly what Sturridge has done and well done to the lad.  Best thing is he appreciates the club and the chance he got as well.

[xerxes]

Just back, a brilliant day out. The weather, and reception, was as coarse as a Mike Pejic tackle, but Rodgers project is bearing fruit, and we can now mix it with the rough boys as well as outplay the classy ones.

 

A great team effort it really is time to start to dream, Suarez may have scored two but it was Sturridge who caught the eye with a selfless performance that impressed hugely.

 

Our “Spanish penalty” did swing things in our favour at a crucial time, but we were well worth the win, and after the adverse decisions of the past few weeks, it was good to get thr rub of the green this time around.

 

What is so encouraging is our ability to score goals, that breeds confidence. When the opposition scores we now feel that we can outscore them, however many they score.

[Anubis]

Living room to laptop on kitchen table - 20'. Are you quadra-spazzed on a life glug?

[Rick Sanchez C-137]

Mad Brendan happy Brendan.

 

[Rick Sanchez C-137]

Brilliant

[mike23]

When I saw the fixtures for this weekend it definitely looked like it had the potential to be one of those where everything that could go wrong would go wrong. All the other teams at the top with very winnable looking games while we had a fixture we never win. So made up with that. Our defending was shocking and very concerning at times but getting 5 goals at Stoke after all those drab draws and depressing defeats in recent years was great. We had a fair bit of luck with the first goal and a dodgy decison go our way for a change for the penalty but we've not had much luck or help from refs really so we were probably due some.

[Barney_Rubble]

What a bloody relief that was!

 

I was absolutely dreading this game, particularly after all teams around us won. When we threw the 2-0 lead away I found myself thinking "here we fucking go". Thankfully, it wasn't to be and I am glad we shook that particular monkey off our collective backs.

 

Our forward play is simply superb at the moment. Sturridge came in and he was like duck in water - no rustiness, no worries. It was as if he hasn't been away at all. Young Raheem was very impressive again and is my man of the match, but special mention needs to go to Brendan Rodgers today.

 

He had the guts and courage to swap Stevie and Lucas, particularly in this game, given that we've never won at this ground in the PL, but also to hook Coutinho off and put Sturridge instead when the game was still in the balance - that deserves to be applauded. Well done Brendan!

 

We've suffered in games like these in the past because of indecisiveness, negative tactics and poor play (remember that Stoke game we drew 0-0 after the "Rafa rant" where Stevie hit the post at the last minute?), but Rodgers was spot on today with his subs and tactics and reacted quickly when we needed to change things.

 

All in all thumbs up for me and I am looking forward to our game at Anfield to give Villa a hiding next week. Onwards and upwards.

[Mathewbet1]

Highlights

 

http://www.merseyreds.com/2014/01/13/stoke-city-3-5-liverpool-match-of-the-day-motd-highlights-video/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=stoke-city-3-5-liverpool-match-of-the-day-motd-highlights-video&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[FrenchEyeGlass]

Just back, a brilliant day out. The weather, and reception, was as coarse as a Mike Pejic tackle, but Rodgers project is bearing fruit, and we can now mix it with the rough boys as well as outplay the classy ones.

 

A great team effort it really is time to start to dream, Suarez may have scored two but it was Sturridge who caught the eye with a selfless performance that impressed hugely.

 

Our “Spanish penalty” did swing things in our favour at a crucial time, but we were well worth the win, and after the adverse decisions of the past few weeks, it was good to get thr rub of the green this time around.

 

What is so encouraging is our ability to score goals, that breeds confidence. When the opposition scores we now feel that we can outscore them, however many they score.

 

Xerxes, your long post match reports used to be some of the best posts on here. Why have you stopped? I used to love reading them.

 

Seriously, please can you get back at it.

[boots123]

I thought it was more that the defender knocked him off balance without touching the ball.

 

It was very soft, but I still think it was a pen. Then again it is every time Skrtel defends a corner kick too.

one back for the many pens. we should have got, but didn't, man city for instance.

[DirkDiggledinho]

I feel like Pulis being gone helped us immensely in getting this win. Yes, they're still shithouses, but all that long throw shite has gone and Hughes has actually got them trying to play a little bit. I felt they were a bit more open than in previous years and think that served us better than the brick-wall, eleven man defence mentality we're used to coming up against when we play them.

[stringvest]

Just back, a brilliant day out. The weather, and reception, was as coarse as a Mike Pejic tackle, but Rodgers project is bearing fruit, and we can now mix it with the rough boys as well as outplay the classy ones.

 

A great team effort it really is time to start to dream, Suarez may have scored two but it was Sturridge who caught the eye with a selfless performance that impressed hugely.

 

Our “Spanish penalty” did swing things in our favour at a crucial time, but we were well worth the win, and after the adverse decisions of the past few weeks, it was good to get thr rub of the green this time around.

 

What is so encouraging is our ability to score goals, that breeds confidence. When the opposition scores we now feel that we can outscore them, however many they score.

 

Negged.  By the standards of the day, Mike Pejic was a cultured left back.  Good player.  He liked a tackle, and did get sent off regularly, but he was one of my favourite players when I was a nipper.

[Major Tom]

Negged. 

 

Gimmer fight!

[Stickman]

Negged.  By the standards of the day, Mike Pejic was a cultured left back.  Good player.  He liked a tackle, and did get sent off regularly, but he was one of my favourite players when I was a nipper.

 

How could you have him as one of your favourite players when he was a bitter??

Besides he has a face like a very very old looking Brian Tilsley

[stringvest]

I liked him at Stoke.  Obviously he went shit when he signed for Everton.

[VladimirIlyich]

I liked him at Stoke. Obviously he went shit when he signed for Everton.

Didnt you go to school with his Grandad?

[stringvest]

yep I did Vlad.  What of it?

[DanDanShaw]

Sterling and Suarez were unbelieavble yesterday, Sterling has really come on in recent months.  I've never seen a player so small and skinny, use his body in such a way that he holds off the 6'4 ale house defenders that Stoke have.

 

Lucas was brilliant as well.

 

Gerrard and Johnson were fucking gash, Johnson hasn't been good since the first 2 games of the season, which is very worrying and I lost count of how many times Gerrard gave the ball away - I don't think people can deny any longer that we are a better team without Gerrard.

 

We also badly, badly miss Enrique and Sakho, Cissokho doesn't go forward (ever).  He didn't pass the ball forward or make a forward run to beat a man once and Skrtel, Toure and Agger can't head a ball for shit.

 

Oh and when the 5th goal went in, while I was celebrating a shoe hit me in the face.  Like, what kind of backwards supporter throws their own shoe, it was pissing it down and a Stoke fan had to walk home or back to his car with one shoe.  I think that probably sums up their club.

[Major Tom]

Oh and when the 5th goal went in, while I was celebrating a shoe hit me in the face.  Like, what kind of backwards supporter throws their own shoe, it was pissing it down and a Stoke fan had to walk home or back to his car with one shoe.  I think that probably sums up their club.

 

hahaha

 

Stoke supporters are an odd bunch and this little incident really shoes that.

[Jairzinho]

 

 

Lucas was brilliant as well.

 

Gerrard and Johnson were fucking gash, Johnson hasn't been good since the first 2 games of the season, which is very worrying and I lost count of how many times Gerrard gave the ball away - I don't think people can deny any longer that we are a better team without Gerrard.

 

 

 

Interesting, as the general consensus appears to be that Gerrard was very good, whilst Lucas wasn't.

 

I thought Lucas was probably our 4th best player after Sterling/Suarez/Sturridge. Putting out quite a lot of fires, many started by Gerrard passing the ball to the opposition.