<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/mark-hughes.jpg"><div><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-96958" src="https://media.worldsoccertalk.com/wp-content/2014/03/mark-hughes-600x400-600x400.webp" alt="mark-hughes" width="600" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></figure></div></a>
<a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2014/09/22/previewing-the-eagerly-anticipated-film-marvellous/">Stoke City</a> have had a mixed beginning to the 2014-15 Premier League season and have posted mixed results since the start on the campaign. With one win, two draws and two losses, the Potters are perched in 13th spot on the log.
The highlight of their campaign thus far certainly has to be the 1-0 victory against <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2014/09/24/premier-league-tactics-corner-round-5/">Manchester City</a> at the Etihad. Mark Hughes’ men had come into that game as overwelming underdogs following a poor start to the season, but they shocked the champions on their home turf with Mame Biram Diouf netting the solitary goal.
That win was supposed to kick start their season but for some reason, they have been unable to replicate their performance against City, and subsequently succumbed to a home loss to Leicester before dropping two points against QPR on Saturday.
The Team
Stoke City did some good business in the transfer window bringing in a couple of players including Steve Sidwell and Phil Bardsley from Fulham and Sunderland respectively, before securing Victor Moses and Oussama Assaidi on loan.
Perhaps more surprising is the capture of Barcelona academy graduate Bojan Kirkic. The 24-year-old has not hit the ground running for the Potters so far, but the signs are there that he could come good as the season progresses.
One player who has started in impressive fashion is Diouf who was signed from Hannover on a free transfer. The Senegalese has scored twice already including the winner against City and another against Rangers on Saturday.
With these acquisitions, it is fair to say Mark Hughes has done his best to improve the fortunes of his side. Mame Diouf and Bojan should solve the goal scoring problem from last season while Moses and Assaidi will add much needed pace and creativity on the flanks.
However, two areas where they failed to strengthen are at centre-back and central midfield. Ryan Shawcross, Robert Huth and Marco Muniesa are their only senior central defenders, while Stoke also lack a good creative midfielder.
The side’s inability to get in behind defences is a major worry and as evidenced against Leicester, they can’t seem to get a lot of meaningful attempts on goal and are useless from set-pieces.
Injury Concerns: The Potters have concerns over Jonathan Walters (calf) and Arnautovic (foot), while Peter Odemwingie faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after injuring his knee against Manchester City.
The Manager
Mark Hughes must take responsibility for his side’s poor form as his selections have been questionable in recent weeks. One such example is when he played Jon Walters on the flanks against Leicester who was absolutely useless in attack, instead of a proper winger like Marko Arnautovic or Assaidi. The result was that Hughes’ side was unable to create anything from the flanks and mustered just three shots on target.
Best Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Bardsley, Shawcross, Wilson, Pieters; Nzonzi,Whelan, Diouf, Adam, Moses, Crouch.
Overall team rating (out of 5 stars): 2.5/5.

Stoke City's August-September Progress Report

Stoke City's August-September Progress Report - World Soccer Talk

<div style="text-align: center"><a href="http://view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/entertainment/blackburn-rovers-arsenal/image/8690041?term=Arsene+Wenger" target="_blank"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" src="http://view1.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/8690041/blackburn-rovers-arsenal/blackburn-rovers-arsenal.jpg?size=500&amp;imageId=8690041" border="0" alt="May 03, 2010 - Blackburn, Lancashire, England, UK - epa02141461 Arsenal FC manager Arsene Wenger during the English Barclays Premier League soccer match between Blackburn Rovers FC and Arsenal FC, at the Ewood Park Stadium, Blackburn, Britain, 03 May 2010." width="500" height="747"></figure></div></a></div>
Stoke City defender Ryan Shawcross has today hit back at Arsene Wenger’s claims that Stoke players act like “rugby” players. The 23-year-old defender was left fuming after Wenger’s allegations saying: “He’s obviously got something against me. It’s just weird
“He seems to have a problem with Stoke, our manager and certain players. Criticism doesn’t bother me, unless it’s a false accusation like this one”
Shawcross has every right to be annoyed by Wenger’s comments. Yes Stoke are a team full of 6 foot plus monsters but to compare their game to rugby is absurd and Wenger, still hurting by old wounds, &nbsp;is taking every opportunity he can to take a pop at Shawcross and Stoke.
It seems as if Wenger is still very bitter about the incidents that took place at the Britannia Stadium back in February. The Arsenal boss was adamant back then that Shawcross’ challenge on Aaron Ramsey&nbsp;wads malicious and it appears that even with seven months of reflection he hasn’t changed his mind.
Wenger has been known to hold grudges, and of course we can understand the frustrations of the Frenchman after losing a very talented youngster to an horrific injury. But Shawcross meant no harm with that challenge; he simply isn’t that type of player.
I don’t see what Wenger is trying to gain by criticising a Stoke player. If it was a title rival then maybe I could understand it, but Stoke won’t be competing with Arsenal in terms of league position this season. If Wenger is trying to play some early mind games before the always tricky meetings with Stoke this season then this ploy won’t work. Commenting on Stokes nature will only motivate Stokes intimidating fans further making the games even harder.
Wenger has always had an outspoken nature, however sometimes it has come back to haunt him, I can’t help but feel his comments about Stoke may come back to haunt again in time.

Wenger Fighting A Pointless Fight

Wenger Fighting A Pointless Fight - World Soccer Talk

<div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter" src="http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/England+v+Egypt+International+Friendly+RX1Js43ArDCl.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="451"></figure></div>
Well it’s not been the best season for either of England’s first choice centre halves so far. Enough has been written about John Terry’s problems and Rio Ferdinand’s chronic back injury to have caused meltdown on Google through searching for both issues. Thankfully, Terry’s form seems to be picking up again and Manchester United seem to have cured Ferdinand through a calming spell of rehabilitation.
The issue for England would seem to be cover for both players with several high profile replacements injured, retired or bang out of form. Capello has already shown that he rates Matthew Upson, and for all his Premier League problems, Upson is clearly the first choice as a back up centre half for the Italian. He’s been dependable and reliable for England when called upon though and is clearly on the plane to South Africa.

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The only question mark would be West Ham United’s struggle in the relegation battle they currently find themselves in. Could relegation leave a hangover that could affect him? It will be interesting to see, but Upson should be strong enough to deal with whatever happens to West Ham. After that though, it becomes a bit of a lottery with a major question mark over another player Capello clearly rates, Ledley King.
<div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignleft" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3108/2752497863_7b0d02773e.jpg" alt="" width="187" height="319"></figure></div>What can be said about Ledley King, he simply defies science and common sense. King has been suffering for 4 seasons with a chronic knee injury that he picked up in pre-season training back in 2006. Now with no cartilage in his left knee, it is simply bone grinding on bone every time he plays, King has to have at least 5 days rest to recover. The problem is that fluid builds up in the knee, swelling it up after any vigorous exercise but it’s incurable.
For a player in this day and age to be able still perform without any real training week to week is astounding. Harry Redknapp rightly calls him a freak for being able to still continue at the top level and this will probably be his last major tournament for England. Even at 29, the toil of the injury will surely bring an end to the career of surely one of English football’s brightest talents far too early. Fully fit, it wouldn’t have surprised me if King had become a regular starter for his country. Unfortunately, we will never know.
Of the other two outstanding centre halves of this generation, one is seemingly more injury ravaged than King and the other retired after being consistently overlooked by Steve Mclaren. Jonathan Woodgate must have run over several black cats in his career, which like Kings, promised so much but has petered out in to a continual battle to even make it on a treatment table, never mind a pitch. When fit, Woodgate was a superb ball playing defender who could score a couple now and again. Time is certainly against him and he has no chance of being fit for the World Cup and maybe even the beginning of next season.
Jamie Carragher has stuck to his decision made back in July 2007 after being consistently overlooked by Steve Mclaren and no amount of pleading has seen him make himself available for selection. I kind of understand why he’d had enough, but hells bells, World Cups don’t just grown on trees. Yet, regardless of that, Carragher along with Wayne Bridge seem certain to stick to their principles. It’s a shame and Carragher is certainly deserving of more caps than he won.
Of the remaining contenders, Joleon Lescott has had a terrible season by the standards he set whilst at Everton. Injuries and criticism over the way he handled his £23 million move to Manchester City have certainly seemed to weigh on Lescott’s mind this season. Of course, his career at City along with his relationship with Kolo Toure is still in it’s infancy and it should settle down eventually, question is, will it settle down in time for the World Cup?
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Phil Jagielka is another high profile candidate only recently returning to playing after a 9 month lay off through injury. He’s certainly impressed since joining Everton in the summer of 2007, but it could be a little too soon for him. He’s another that has impressed with the chances available to him at international level and looks set to be involved with the England set up in the European Championship qualifying rounds when they begin in September 2010.
The outstanding English centre half who is not an England regular for me this season has been Michael Dawson. It’s ironic that if King and Woodgate were fit, Dawson wouldn’t be playing, never mind captaining the side in King’s absence. In fact over the last 18 months, Dawson has come on leaps and bounds and has been playing excellently all of this season. Strong in the air, reliable and passionate, Dawson in my opinion, clearly deserves to go to the World Cup.
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I was amazed when Ryan Shawcross was called up but Dawson overlooked once again, because he’s simply a better player at the current time. I doubt Capello picked the Stoke defender to deflect the criticism over the Ramsey challenge, but it was still a surprise. A pointless one in the end as he didn’t even get on the pitch, but the experience will have stood him in good stead. Shawcross is definitely one for the future though, along with Jagielka.
So for me, the final choice comes down to John Terry and Rio Ferdinand as first choice centre halves,&nbsp; Matthew Upson and Michael Dawson and Ledley King, dodgy knee as well to make up 5, taking my squad to 12 players so far. King, despite the knee issue, offers cover in both central defence and midfield and deserves his last chance after cruelly missing out in 2006. So who would you choose?

The England Outsiders #3. The Centre Halves

The England Outsiders #3. The Centre Halves - World Soccer Talk

<div id="attachment_16782" style="width: 160px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Wayne-Rooney.jpg"><div><figure class="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-16782" loading="lazy" class="size-thumbnail wp-image-16782" src="/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Wayne-Rooney-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"></figure></div></a>Is anyone in better form than Wayne Rooney at the moment? Image: MikeEgerton/Empics</div>
The saying goes that ‘form is temporary but class is permanent’&nbsp;and&nbsp;on many levels this holds true, however such a huge part of professional sport is the mental aspect of the game, which at the highest level can be just as, if not more&nbsp;important&nbsp;than the physical aspect.
With just 8 or 9 games remaining in the Premier League&nbsp;player&nbsp;form and the momentum it provides&nbsp;can be&nbsp;crucial&nbsp;to clubs fighting for something towards the end of the season.&nbsp;&nbsp;Classic examples include Fulham’s great escape in 2008 and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW8p8xppxwA">Kevin Keegan’s Love it Rant</a> as the momentum of&nbsp;1996 title race shifted in Manchester United’s favour.
With this in mind I have been looking at the form players in the Premier League and which players&nbsp;managers would potentially want in their sides for the season’s run-in, should&nbsp;they have their pick of the division.

Adopting a 4-4-2 formation for&nbsp;nostalgic rather than practical reasons,&nbsp;players in this&nbsp;XI&nbsp;have made at least 20 appearances this season and are free from long term injury.
Goalkeeper – Joe Hart
Birmingham are having a fantastic season, chasing a Europa cup dream and this is in no small&nbsp;part due&nbsp;to the safe pair of hands on loan from Manchester City.
A good shot stopper and strong in the air, it will be a travesty if Joe Hart is not on the plane to South Africa with England on&nbsp;current form.
Right Back – Branislav Ivanovic
After signing for Chelsea in January 2008&nbsp;the Serbian international seemed to disappear off the radar and it appeared as if Chelsea had uncovered a modern day Winston Bogarde.
However when given the chance Ivanovic impressed the Chelsea faithful with&nbsp;strong, powerful displays at both the&nbsp;centre and right hand side of defence.&nbsp;The injury of Jose Boswinga has allowed Ivanovic to show his value on a regular basis&nbsp;this season.
Left Back – Leighton Baines
With the&nbsp;injury to&nbsp;Ashley Cole,an&nbsp;England debut&nbsp;and regular starting berth in a&nbsp;resurgent Everton&nbsp;side gives Baines the nod over Patrice Evra and Stephen Warnock.
Centre Back – Ryan Shawcross
Despite the&nbsp;publicity surrounding the tackle that broke Aaron Ramsey’s leg the 22 year old has received a positive response to his actions in the aftermath of the horror tackle.&nbsp;He has a commanding, committed&nbsp;style that fits into the Stoke ethos&nbsp;that has allowed Tony Pulis’ side&nbsp;to&nbsp;assert themselves in the Premier League.
Shawcross&nbsp;been one of the stand out defenders&nbsp;in the league&nbsp;this season earning himself an England call up and an outside shot at a place at the World Cup.
Centre Back – Thomas Vermaelen 
Bought by Arsene Wenger&nbsp;as a replacement for Kolo Toure the&nbsp;Belgian defender has helped&nbsp;plug a leaky Arsenal defence with some commanding defensive displays.
Costing a seemingly bargain basement&nbsp;€10 million&nbsp;the defender has also shown a keen eye for goal netting an impressive 7 times already this season.
Whilst there have been some doubts over his ‘big game’ performances he edges others such as Richard Dunne and John Heitinga.
Central Midfield – Cesc Fabregas
Cesc Fabregas has been one of the best&nbsp;midfielders&nbsp;in the Premier League for many&nbsp;years despite his young age. This season&nbsp;has arguably been his best so far&nbsp;with the Spaniard adding goals to his creativity at&nbsp;the heart of the Arsenal midfield.
Likely&nbsp; to make the first team at any club in the world,&nbsp;Fabregas is an uncontroversial central midfield choice.
Central Midfield – Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard has scored more than 20 goals in each of his last five seasons at Chelsea, despite having detractors dating back to his days at West Ham the player has a record that dumbfounds the criticism.
After a slow start to the season, attributed to his role in the Ancelotti diamond, Lampard has returned to form and looks set to reach 20 goals for a sixth successive season.
Winger – James Milner
Aston Villa are once again challenging at the top end of the table, and this can largely be attributed to the speed and skill of their wingers, although now being played centrally by Martin O’Neil, James Milner has shown he is adept out wide and adds versatility to this XI.
An English player having a fantastic season, Milner looks likely to play a large role in&nbsp;England’s World Cup campaign.
Winger – Damien Duff
After seemingly fading into obscurity at Newcastle a move to Fulham has rejuvenated Damien Duff’s career, back to his dazzling best he has won many plaudits this season and scored some incredible goals.
With plenty of attacking options in the league it is the work ethic and consistency of Damien Duff which has given him the edge over Ashley Young, Nani and Florent Malouda.
Centre Forward – Wayne Rooney
The easiest selection of the lot, with 32 goals this season Wayne Rooney has come to the boil in a World Cup year and is seemingly single-handedly dragging Manchester United towards yet more&nbsp;silverware.
<div class="mceTemp">The first name on the England and Manchester United teamsheets, I doubt any manager in the world&nbsp;would hesitate to name&nbsp;him in their eleven given half a chance.</div>
Centre Forward – Didier Drogba
During his Chelsea career Drogba has been prone to sulking and picking up ‘minor’ knocks with greater ease&nbsp;than most, particularly odd considering his bullish style and excellent technique. Under Felipe Scolari it seemed as if his days in the Premier League were numbered, but under Guus Hiddink and now Carlo Ancelotti the striker is back to his best, hassling defenders and chasing down Wayne Rooney in a bid for the golden boot.
A tough choice but Drogba just about edges out Rooney’s former team mate&nbsp;Carlos Tevez for the second striker position due to his goal return and ability to terrorise even the strongest of defences.
Substitutes: Gomes, Modric, Young, Pienaar, Valencia, Heitinga, Tevez
There have also been many stand out performers this season that did not make the line up, for this reason I have named a strong bench. Last year’s&nbsp;villain Heurelho Gomes is now the hero at White Hart Lane and constitutes the goalkeeping option. John Heitinga is rewarded for his fine form by being named as the main defensive back up.
The game changing options are provided by a strong midfield quartet and Carlos Tevez.
A certainty less than a month ago would have been Ashley Cole who despite his off field woes was having his best season in a Chelsea shirt, before injury made him a doubt for the World Cup and gave England a left-back dilemma.
Interestingly notable players such as John Terry, Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Rio Ferdinand have been left out. The reason for exclusion is due to either&nbsp;injury or&nbsp;in the case of Steven Gerrard them not being hitting the high expectations they have set in previous years.
All in all&nbsp;I&nbsp;think that any manager in the league would be happy to name this line up on form alone given the choice, it may not be the best XI in the league but on current form each player would be a test for any opposition.

Premier League Form XI

Premier League Form XI - World Soccer Talk

In the Jewish faith, the act of becoming a man at thirteen is a huge step. Standing before your family, friends, and the community as a whole, you are recognized as a full member of the community. For me as a Jew, that is the moment that I became a man. For most of you, you can probably remember the moment that you became a man. Whether it was your first car, your first apartment or house, or your first kiss, that moment sticks out clear as day. For those of us who consider ourselves to be Gooners, we have found that moment.
As Arsenal battled the first hour against Stoke on Saturday evening UK time, our steady dominance was overshadowed by a horrible incident happening to one of our most promising young players. While Ryan Shawcross went sliding at Aaron Ramsey, the look on Thomas Vermaelen’s face said it all. We have seen this before. Arsenal gaining in confidence, the league title in sight, overwhelmed by a horrifying injury. But when it appeared that the season was about to fade away, another disappointing game in a teasing, disappointing season, I saw something that I hadn’t seen in years out of the Arsenal.

Gael Clichy, having his best game in months, was trying to rally his teammates. Sol Campbell, the old legend, was slapping his teammates on the back, yelling “let’s go!” at them. And then there was Cesc. Even though the game restarted slowly after the injury, it was clear that Arsenal were not going to let Stoke get the best of them. They were going to attack, and solve the hex that was Stoke. Responsible for two crucial goals and his signal to Tony Pulis were clear as day, it was clear who was in charge today. Cesc Fabregas, for whatever his faults at times, is consistently the best player for Arsenal. Should we win the league, he should be the player of the year. Now, while I am done marveling in how this team grew up today, you probably want me to comment on the biggest story of the day: the injury to Aaron Ramsey.
Here is my question about this injury. How is it that the FA allows these things to continue? The way the FA currently operates, there is no downside to attempting to injure players. In the long run, the loss of a Ryan Shawcross or Martin Taylor for three games will not be much as compared to the complete decimation of someone’s career. There is a simple way to stop these tackles from occurring.
<ul>
<li>First, when one of these injuries occur, the player who commits the injury should be suspended for as long as the injured player is out. Not just from the Premier League, but from all competitions.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>During this time, half of the offending players wages should be donated to charity.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The club of the offending player should pay the entire medical bill for the injured player.</li>
</ul>
Only when you have severe financial sanctions for nasty challenges like this one will clubs like Stoke and Birmingham City think twice about trying to kick us around. As long as the FA allows teams to do this, bright young talents like Ramsey will continue to get injured.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Arsenal grew up tonight. When it would have been easy to fold and let the season end with a whimper, Arsenal have found that they no longer have a team of boys. Tonight in Stoke-on-Trent, as the remaining Arsenal players huddled together on the pitch, it was clear that Arsene Wenger’s boys have finally become men.

The Day When Arsene Wenger&#039;s Boys Became Men

The Day When Arsene Wenger&#039;s Boys Became Men - World Soccer Talk

The Day When Arsene Wenger's Boys Became Men

**Video removed per the request of Premier League**
Anyone watching the Stoke City against Arsenal game on Saturday would have been absolutely sickened to see the horrific injury against Arsenal forward Aaron Ramsey. The horror show tackle could easily end Ramsey’s career such was the extent of the injury.
The incident happened in the second half when Ryan Shawcross knocked the ball ahead of him and tried to catch up to it while Aaron Ramsey ran forward to intercept the ball. It was a fifty fifty ball, but Ramsey got to the ball first while Shawcross was late and ended up missing the ball completely and went in to Ramsey. Ramsey fell forward from the impact and, in a sickening scene, you could see the bottom half of his right leg completely flop in mid-air as he came crashing to the ground.
Arsenal and Stoke players quickly called for the Arsenal doctor and medical help to rush on to the field. Arsenal players, who were sickened at the scene, could be seen with tears in their eyes. Shawcross, meanwhile, was red carded but instead of leaving the field, he walked over to Ramsey to see if he was OK, was understandably pushed away by Arsenal players and then walked off the field crying and wiping tears on his shirt.
While our prayers go out to Ramsey for a safe recovery, he’s unquestionably going to be out for the rest of the season and may have played the last game of his career. However, let’s wait to see what the medical experts say.
As for Ryan Shawcross, it was a horribly late tackle from the Stoke City defender. But it was not intentional and there was no malice in what he did. As unfortunate as they are, these late tackles happen in soccer from time to time. In the case of Ramsey, he was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time. Let’s hope Ramsey will have a speedy recovery.
When Ramsey was injured, the scoreline was 1-1. But the Gunners came back late in the second half and ended up winning the game 3-1. Despite the victory, all the discussion will be overshadowed by the horrific tackle.

Aaron Ramsey Horrific Injury Against Stoke City: Video

Aaron Ramsey Horrific Injury Against Stoke City: Video - World Soccer Talk

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