Sad as stoke city ends up in transfer frustration

In addition to merely getting the outcome over the line, a few other details from Stoke City’s huge triumph on Wednesday night caught my attention.

First of all, you saw Daniel Iversen’s goal kicks, especially in the second half, heading toward Stoke’s deep right wing, where they could swarm in to retain possession of the ball because they knew where it was going. As we had seen in previous weeks, there was no playing around, and it was crucial to take advantage of every opportunity to enter the attacking half when Stoke was defending so deep in the game. It was a little adjustment, but a crucial one in a larger scheme.

Second, Stoke were far more condensed and narrow than they had been, as QPR manager Marti Cifuentes remarked following the game. Eight players were deployed down the middle of the pitch by Steven Schumacher: three defenders, Wouter Burger and Lewis Baker, who were essentially seated, and Luke Cundle and Bae Junho, who were playing advanced positions to assist Niall Ennis. It was conveying a message. You won’t pass through the midst of us if you enjoy passing games. Players adhered to it religiously.

With two wide and one in the center up front, Jordan Thompson and Junior Tchamadeu faced a difficult challenge up and down the sides on their own. My main concern was that Stoke may outnumber us in the wide areas with a winger and full-back facing our wing-back. They managed to get behind Thompson during a nervous first period, but both he and Tchamadeu did a great job sticking to their assignments after that. We remained close in front of the three center backs to ensure that there were no gaps visible. If crosses did come in, they did so from in front of the defender.