I look forward to Geoff being somewhat of a club Legend (at least by foreign player standards). I really didn't think he'd still be at the club after 5 years, nor coming off probably his best season there.
Man, GCam has fallen low, i think this was on page 8. Stoke played the Monaco's today in a friendly. lost 4-2. Looks as if Fletcher was running midfield. My guess: Fletcher starts the season. He does OK first match. Wild over reaction from fans and press about how he is back, by match 5, stoke is bottom of the table and Geoff is given his first start. The team goes on a 12 game unbeaten run, and the entire time, the fans will claim Geoff is terrible and fletcher should start.
I agree with the first part. Fletcher is a new signing and has a honeymoon effect. But they'll eventually realize the grass isn't always greener and go back to Cam sooner rather than later. But if they win, in general Cam will be covered in glory, and they lose he'll be thrown under the bus like all but a few, regardless how he performs. That's what happened last year after the losing started, even though in isolation he was playing well and rated that way in the metrics. It's only like an outlier fan or two that was still hating on him as he always does. The rest mock the guy. If they were going to look for an alternative to Cam, it could have least been a younger version so he'd be on the upswing and ready to replace him when Cam was on the down. Fletcher is even older than he is, and a lot more weathered. Sparky likes his vets ala Bruce with Galaxy.
Looks like Stoke have a new CB for the season BREAKING: Kurt Zouma has signed a new six-year contract with Chelsea & will join Stoke on a season-long loan. pic.twitter.com/m5XGKAc1yF— B/R Football (@brfootball) July 21, 2017
From what I have seen of Zouma (which isn't a whole lot), he is pretty inconsistent, but when he is on form, he is an excellent defender. Probably getting regular minutes week in and week out will help Zouma. Cameron is seen as a defensive mid, then a right back, then a center back at stoke so this is only a good signing for Stoke and Cameron imo.
Starts in friendly: 📝 The teams are in at @SUFC_tweets. 👉 @KurtZouma makes his debut at Bramall Lane#SCFC 🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/gyOVamE0BN— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) July 25, 2017
I love the collar. Nothing like dress pants and a collar away kit for the 'whose this joker?' in the board room look.
Oatcake PBP: - Fletcher and Cameron look good. - Giving Cameron some game time at centre-back in case Shawcross struggles? - Wollscheid for Cameron That's it.
Problem is the damn edges of the collars start to turn up and they look like wings. Plus, no one can ever figure out the best place to put that last button on polo shirts so either the shirt is constricting your breath or you look like a guy trying to show off his burly chest hair. Give me a damn crew neck tee shirt any day. Oh, and it better not be one of those long and high crew neck collars that makes you look like you're wearing a damn turtleneck. In reality I haven't bought a soccer shirt since I turned 40, so I'm not really the target audience any way.
Starts friendly vs. Bolton. #SCFC line-up v @OfficialBWFC: Butland, Johnson, Shawcross, Zouma, Pieters, Cameron, Fletcher, Shaqiri, Allen, Ramadan, Berahino. 🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/iJOPQVdhvY— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) July 29, 2017
Cameron played center back in the 2-1 win yesterday: The Potters kicked off with a new look back three, with Glen Johnson and Erik Pieters operating as wing backs either side of Ryan Shawcross, Kurt Zouma and Geoff Cameron, the same setup they finished with on Tuesday. http://www.stokecityfc.com/news/joselu-brace-bags-bolton-win
Less refined, more potential, and jumps really high. No, really. When he was at Chelsea someone asked him what he wanted to be remembered for and he said, "I want people to remember that I can jump really high". Really funny dude, and the best part is that his middle name is Happy.
Hughes left most of the starters (Geoff) stay home while team played at St. Pauli today. http://footballghana.com/stoke-leave-ten-first-team-players-at-home-ahead-of-st-pauli-clash
Starts friendly vs. RB Leipzig. 📝 #SCFC Starting XI v @RBLeipzig_EN: Butland; Zouma, Shawcross, Cameron; Diouf, Fletcher, Allen, Pieters; Bojan, Berahino; Shaqiri. pic.twitter.com/qmktw8rv5O— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) August 5, 2017
Good Lord, I hate Leipzig. They foul so much, but don't really get cards somehow. They pressure with the 3 players and just hack the opponent down at every opportunity.