Sparky said we won't see the best of him this season. He was robbed by Mignolet's (sp) fantastic save. At 12m he wasn't a "massive signing" even by Stoke standards. I think if the Potters get healthy he will come good with Shaq, Ramadan and Arnie all healthy. If injuries force long ball then I doubt he fares as well. Bony is an overpaid loanee, not a real Stoke player.
No gameday love for our boy. Starting CM and involved in a lot. 1-0 stoke at half, Geoff starts the play with interception/pass to Shaqiri then to Arne for the golazo. Shambolic last 25 min of the half from Stoke, everything is in disarray. But they have the lead. Geoff is with Adam in the mid so he is covering a lot more ground and seems to be getting forward a lot more, 5-3-1 type of setup, or 3-5-1... whatevs, Geoff missing the mark when he tries to slot thru killer balls, he doesn't have that game. A few giveaways but overall playing very well, controlled on the ball and getting stuck in.
Ended 3-1 Stoke, it was a must watch Shaqiri boombasa from 25 yards out. Yowzers! I thought Geoff was exceptional in the 2nd half. Hughes finally moved away from 3 in the back, miserable tactical failure, brought on Crouch and Super Jon, and immediate domination from Stoke. Geoff was a beast, I thought. Took control of the midfield, cutting off passing lanes, making tackles, tracking back well. Offensively he was really tidy, moved the ball from side to side, typical shifty moves and tricks. Thought he was great in the 2nd. Took out Adam and paired Muni in the middle, worked better but still miss Joe Allen. Nice win Stoke.
Geoff was decent, again. Definitely not one of the problems for Stoke. I doubt he's leaving the lineup/center of the park any time soon. They absolutely need a better cf, finally. Been harping on this for two years. Berahino doesn't appear the answer. He deservedly got booed. You can even tell how desperate he is that he scored 10 seconds after the whistle and then celebrated. He knew the players had stopped. Pieters' plays were shambolic, and this isn't the first time. May be another area where they need change. Need someone better to link up with the attackers than Adam. Affelay is a better option. Muniesa did a nice job replacing Whelan in the double d-mid formation. Obviously he has the defensive chops and he's pretty nifty too, so that may be a solution on that front. Going back to Geoff, he slows down a lot of counters, breaks up attacks, wins the ball, emergency defends, passes well in close, and makes good evasive actions. He's also not making any calamitous errors on and off the ball lately. That has to be comforting to a manager. Obviously the problems arise any time he needs to really swing his leg through a ball. It can go any which way, just about. Could annoy some fans, but you can't be all things to all people. Geoff is doing his job. I think this is his longest run in cm and it's working out, again. Just hope he doesn't get injured again to derail the plan. As is, I think he'd be opening day starter there next year also.
Looks like Geoff's leadership took hold . . . Stoke midfielder Geoff Cameron issues rallying call to get season back on track "We've got to start getting some wins under our belt and we know that," said Cameron. "We should be a lot higher than where we are when you look at the talent in the changing room. We're just kind of going on a bit of a run. "We had an unlucky result against Chelsea when we deserved at least a point, we went away on internationals and then didn't perform against Leicester, then we deserved three points at Burnley before Liverpool. "It's a disappointing run and we know we've got to dig down deep and step it up individually and collectively, as a team." Read more at http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/stok...0259031-detail/story.html#SlBgK7kPIBKYRUzu.99
"On track"? They're safe from relegation & far from the Europa League spots. Stoke is the proverbial mid-table team.
It's amazing their consistency. They've finished 9th in the past 3 seasons. They finished 13th the season Cameron joined.
Can I rant here... starting CM in the EPL on national TV, and not one post. In theory....this should be YA spankworthy.... oh well. Off my high horse, Bumping GC from page 3 to report on his 90' today vs Swansea, Stoke were horrible today, completely uninspired and Geoff as well, He played alongside Allen for the first time in months, stayed back and rarely even stepped forward to get into the attack. Disciplined you could say, but it was lackluster effort from every stoke player and it showed. Not sure he won any tackles in the first 60 minutes and got muscled off too many times. To his credit stepped it up the last 30 minutes, tracked a couple dangerous runs in the box to help out the defense. Neither goal was anywhere on him. Arne had a shocker and Shaqiri was not effective, a clear recipe for a loss. With the ball he was tidy and moved it around conservatively, only one really bad pass out of bounds.
You know it's piqued my interest. I watch, post updates, and analysis in this thread regularly. To me you described a solid game in the end. And that's the way I saw it when I watched. I think he was lackluster in the first half but did nothing egregious that couldn't be overcome in the 2nd half, which he did. Really, it started from the beginning of the 2nd half. He was breaking up plenty of attacks, distributing efficiently, had a couple bonus aids to the attack, and made some nice plays in emergency defense. Didn't quit. Didn't need too until that missed penalty by Arnie and subsequent lucky deflection goal by Swansea right after. I didn't abide by this notion that came from the announcer that Stoke were getting bossed in that game. Maybe relative to their higher expectation, but they should have had 2 goals, and it should have been about a draw, from the chances. Berahino makes Sunderland Jozy look like Ibrahimovic. 2 point blank headers he blows. Not to mention the donk touches. Hughes deserves a lot of flack from that. And he deserves flack for selecting Arnie over Shaq for the penalty. That's not hindsight. Incidentally, Geoff's match was rated a 7.3 by Whoscored (reinforcing my assessment), the top bloke for Stoke, and one of them on the field in the end. Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater, baby. His solid run of form continues and his job should not be in jeopardy because Stoke hasn't gotten a couple of results. They gotta do something about that strike partnership, fullback tandem, and I don't think a 2-man midfield w/ Allen is the way to go for them. Geoff, Muniesa, and a CAM in front of them is what I'd like to see. Maybe they could opt for Shaq with Sobhi out wide. Otherwise, go back to Affelay, or just keep Allen there. I'd play Bony up top. They might be stuck with that underwhelming fb tandem unless they ask Geoff or Muniesa to save them at another position that's far from their best.
He wasn't at fault for any of the Swansea goals, so that's probably good enough to propel him as one of their better players today. Otherwise, Stoke looks like a club playing for nothing --which is exactly what they are.
It's because we've all given up hope that a US manager would have the good sense to play our best 6 as the starting 6.
Still starting for the Potters . . . 📝 #SCFC Starting XI v @WestHamUtd: Butland; Johnson, Shawcross, M. Indi, Muniesa; Cameron, Whelan, Allen; Shaqiri, Berahino, Arnautovic. pic.twitter.com/XC0MXeLpBG— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) April 29, 2017 Here we go . . . Come on you Potters!🔴⚪️🔴⚪️🔴 pic.twitter.com/NZaPlHwZIR— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) April 29, 2017
Watched until the 67', was 0-0. Played next to Whelan in CM with Allen in front. This was silky smooth version of Geoff, calm, composed and I felt very much in control of that CDM role. Great positioning and seemed to always know where his runners were. Won most every 50/50 header and was very tidy with the ball. Only noticed one turnover on the ball, and 1-2 forced passes forward. But also put in a few very nice passes forward to spring the wingers. I'll check out the final score and hopefully catch the last 30. But I thought he was very very steady, great comfort with his role and is an important anchor on that team. Oh....and Shaqiri wears on me when he flops around and complains constantly, fakes injuries, and goes down on any perceived slight, Oh well.,
He's the second "most influential for his club" YA after Chandler. Established starter they can always count to deliver a solid performance. We have very few of those.
Not really, they'd need to be focused on Yanks on European top divisions, and no one is doing a structured comparison SFIK. I'm just using the stats (games started) and the eye test (crucial to the team scoring goals or not being scored on).
I feel ya Whenever someone says he had a really good game/great game I'd watch Match of the Day and he rarely features. Probably more to do with Stoke only ever getting 3minutes of game played. Maybe 5 if they're up against a top side.
Well, Geoff is mainly a defensive player. The guys who get no glory --except for the keeper, because he's a solo act. Also, Stoke is one of the most boring teams to follow: mid-table through and through, not going to get relegated, not going to Europa. Just a big yawn.