Stoke
City Preview
Igor
anticipates our upcoming game at Stoke
The
Clarets visit the Potteries on Saturday for a fixture
against one of the sides that I consider to be
very similar to ours. A long tradition of football,
punctuated with the odd era of greatness; similarly,
they are a club who have recently found the eighties
and nineties a difficult period of adjustment due
to the changing state of the game, resulting in
a relative slump in fortunes. They also have moved
to a new all-seater stadium, and have to contend
with the consequent change in atmosphere and
at times, rows of empty plastic seats. Burnley
haven’t
moved, but the new development seems to have had
a similar effect as, at times, you could be next
door watching the cricket at Burnley.
Stoke
are probably more of a sleeping giant than Burnley,
being a much more densely populated region and
with only Port Vale and Crewe for competition -
two sides who have never played in the top flight;
whereas we are under siege from local giants in
the shape of Blackburn and Bolton with whom we
compete for support, and are walled in by the Pennines
on the other side. Hence Stoke have infinitely
more potential; on the other hand, they have never
reached the pinnacle of achievement by actually
winning the First Division title, as we have done
on two occasions, and Stoke boast a highest ever
finish of fourth compared to Burnley’s
nine top-three finishes. Nonetheless, like Burnley,
the past is often more of a burden to Stoke, and
perhaps hosting the most legendary footballer in
the world after Pele (in the shape of the home-grown
local boy Stanley Matthews) creates expectations
of a return to the top flight that bypass all
the changes in the game that mitigate against such
an event taking place.
The
financial realities of the modern game indicate
that, realistically, Stoke and Burnley can only
reverse the tide of history with the help of a
Jack Walker
or a David Whelan, rather than a massive swell
of traditional support, as even the latter cannot
deliver the fiscal clout necessary to compete.
The
two clubs compete against each other on Saturday
on an equal footing. Stoke clung onto their First
Division place last season, despite suffering the
blow of losing their manager to Sunderland at a
point when they looked to be finding their feet
in the Division. They also provided the Clarets
with six juicy points last season, which kept us
above the relegation zone. Last season they seemed
to get by on few new players, relying heavily on
those who had gained promotion for the club. However
this year, under new manager Pulis, they have
gone for wholesale changes, bringing in established
First Division players like Daryl Russell from
Norwich,
Asaba from Sheffield United, and Eustace from Coventry.
Asaba has the opportunity to increase the number
of clubs he has scored for against Burnley, and
he might have had more success were it not for
his perennial injury problems. Allegedly, Stoke
appear to be interested in taking on Akinbiyi from
Palace - however, I imagine that wage demands may
have a big influence on the outcome of this possible
movement.
Initially,
Stoke headed up the table, winning their first
two games: against local rivals and current bottom
club, Derby,
who they whacked three-nil away on the opening
day, followed by a narrow win over Franchise;
whilst Burnley were defeated by the sides lying
in first
and fifth positions. Currently, the situation has
reversed, and failure to beat Walsall and Millwall,
and then going down to the first defeat in the
League of the season at Deepdale, means that a
win on Saturday for Burnley would put them above
a
team that at one stage led the table, and consequently
would be a sweet moment for Stan and the boys.
In the last three games, Stoke have only scored
one Carl Asaba goal, and failed to notch in either
of their last two runouts.
Looking
at the respective squads, the Clarets have quality
in the shape of May and Chadwick that Stoke cannot
match, and Stan has the impetus of three new loan
signings of Premiership players, who perhaps all
have a point to prove as they are out of favour
with their current clubs. Between them Todd and
Farrelly have three First Division promotions under
their belts plus Premiership experience, whilst
Facey has exuberance and unfulfilled potential.
In addition Burnley have a collection of well established
and experienced First Division performers. Stoke
have got Carl Asaba and Paul Williams. On paper
it should be no contest, but, as we know, games
are not played on paper, and football is about
teams and not individuals, etc etc. On the day,
reputations count for nothing - and it might
be the side that
wants it the most prevails.
However,
if Burnley show the right determination they ought
to return from the Potteries with some reward.
Last Saturday, Stoke apparently fielded a lot
of players coming back from injury,
which
resulted
in a lacklustre performance from them according
to their own supporters. A repeat of the Bank Holiday
performance at Gillingham should see the Clarets
get something at the Britannia Stadium, a feat
they have achieved at this ground on all their
previous visits, I believe. The only risk is that
some of the new boys may take time to settle in,
and the balance of the side may suffer; although
the introduction of a genuine line leader in the
shape of Facey should cancel out that potential
negative. With a full bench of subs, Stan should
also eliminate the effects of ring rust as well.
As promised, Stan has delivered competition for
places all over the park, except up front and in
goal, when everyone is fit and suspension free.
The players who were “having a laugh” in
pre-season might not be in such good humour all
of a sudden, and whilst other clubs like Ipswich
are struggling to augment their paper-thin squads,
Stan has the luxury of potential selection problems
and keeping everyone happy. The three loan signings
will go some way to allow for these misfortunes.
We
might miss the “creativity” of Glen,
but two things we won’t miss are his defending
and heading. With Blake and Chadwick we still
have two players who can hold the ball up in the
opposition half and provide the offensive capability.
Furthermore, hopefully the side will have more
resolve at the back, more bite in midfield and
more punch up front - well, that’s the
theory, anyway.
Expect
a favourable result on Saturday: let's go for
2-1 to the Clarets.
UTC
Igor Wowk
September 2003
