Stoke 0 – 1 Birmingham
English Premier League Football News By Phil Dawkes
Birmingham climbed up to seventh in the table after extending their run of unbeaten Premier League matches to 11 with a hard-fought win over Stoke.
Cameron Jerome scored the game’s only goal, swivelling to bundle home from close range early in the second half.
It was a rare moment of incisiveness in a match high in tempo but often lacking in attacking efficiency.
Ryan Shawcross missed two good chances for Stoke, who remain just four points above the relegation zone.
The win continues a superb run for Birmingham in what has been a fantastic first season back in the top flight so far for the Midlands club.
They have now matched a 101-year-old club record of 11 undefeated games since a run of three wins and eight draws in 1908.
Pulis frustrated by bad luck
Their success owes a great deal to a rock-solid backline, forged around the central defensive duo of Roger Johnson and Scott Dann, and once again the pair performed well to repel a regular aerial assault from the home side.
Stoke may have been unbeaten at the Britannia Stadium since September, but they have won only one of their last nine games and are currently the Premier League’s lowest scorers.
Once again, they will be left ruing their inefficiency in front of goal which meant that they failed to capitalise on the rare lapses made by the Birmingham defence.
That was highlighted as early as the fourth minute when Shawcross was left completely unmarked from a corner but flashed his header across goal.
Then from another set-piece, this time a free-kick, Barry Ferguson’s misdirected header fell to Robert Huth in acres of space in the box but the defender fluffed his shot wide.
Shawcross missed another glorious opportunity soon after when Matthew Etherington’s corner cleared everyone at the near post and the defender needed only make contact in the six-yard box to score a certain goal, but he missed the ball completely.
Birmingham’s diligence in defence meant that their attack often lacked the numbers to fashion anything meaningful during the first half.
Their only real chance came just after the half hour when a corner sparked a goalmouth scramble which Stoke were unable to clear and Lee Bowyer’s hooked return found Liam Ridgewell at the far post but his header lacked the power to trouble Thomas Sorenson.
However, from their first meaningful foray forward after the break the visitors took the lead.
From a corner, Dann’s header struck Shawcross and fell to Jerome who was able to swivel and get enough purchase on the ball to bundle it past the flailing Sorenson.
Stoke responded well and produced two efforts on goal, but Birmingham keeper Joe Hart was a match for both.
Lawrence’s cross was just beyond the reach of James Beattie but beyond him Etherington was able to fire goalwards only to see Hart pull off a stunning one-handed save to deny him.
Minutes later the England keeper produced another stunning save, this time to palm away an Abdoulaye Faye header from a corner.
Stoke also had an appeal for a penalty turned down by referee Martin Atkinson after Huth appeared to have been pulled back by Stephen Carr as the centre-back moved to meet a cross in the box.
Stoke continued to pepper the Birmingham box with long balls aimed at starting striker Beattie and replacements Mamady Sidibe and Ricardo Fuller but they lacked accuracy and were met by firm resilience from the visiting defence.
Unfortunately for Stoke, they had no guile to complement their work-rate and Birmingham had only to remain disciplined to earn their ninth win of the season.
Source: English Premier League Football News, Stoke – Birmingham Result, Soccer News at BBC Sport Football.
Portsmouth 4-0 Stoke
English Premier League News : Portsmouth 4-0 Stoke
Frederic Piquionne was the star as Portsmouth put their poor league form to one side to easily qualify for the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup.
The much-changed hosts were always in control after Piquionne headed past Steve Simonsen on 17 minutes.
The on-loan Lyon striker then turned provider for Danny Webber to cut in and drive home, before stabbing in his side’s third after a Simonsen mistake.
Kanu added a fourth from close range late on to cap a dominant display.
The Carling Cup has provided some welcome relief from a horrendous start to the Premier League season for Portsmouth, and Paul Hart’s side can now look forward to a place in the quarter-finals.
Tony Pulis had illustrated the Carling Cup’s order in his priority list this season by making 10 changes to the side that beat Spurs at the weekend, but Stoke were still surprising lacklustre throughout.
Piquionne was one of seven changes for Pompey, but he certainly made a strong case for a starting place against Wigan on Saturday.
The French striker opened the scoring by outjumping Danny Higginbotham after a fine cross from Nadir Belhadj.
Portsmouth never looked in danger after that point, but had to wait until the 56th minute for Webber to make the game safe with a fine finish from the inside-left channel.
sgtpotter
Three minutes later and Hart’s team were out of sight as Simonsen fumbled a free-kick by Michael Brown into the path of Piquionne who completed the simple tap in.
Stoke finally hit the target late on through Tuncay – but the flag went up for offside.
And the rout was complete when Aaron Mokoena laid on a sweet pass to fellow substitute Kanu, who rounded the beleaguered Simonsen before slotting home with nine minutes left.
Portsmouth boss Paul Hart: “Obviously we need to take a little bit of that into our league performances. The players were determined to put a performance in.
“I was pleased to get a clean sheet – the more of those we rack up the better chance we have of winning matches.
“And on top of that, the number of chances we created was pleasing.”
Stoke manager Tony Pulis: “The four we conceded were very poor goals to give away and were typified by Glenn Whelan falling over the ball for their fourth.
“When we got in Pompey’s final third there were at least five times where our final ball was absolutely shocking.
“If we’d picked people out we’d have had great opportunities ourselves.”
Source: English Premier League News from BBC SPORT
Andy Griffin – Stoke City F.C. Captain
Andy Griffin – Stoke City F.C. Captain
Andrew “Andy” Griffin, (born March 7, 1979 in Billinge Higher End, Metropolitan Borough of Wigan) is an English footballer, currently playing for Stoke City.
Personal information
Full name : Andrew Griffin
Date of birth : March 7, 1979 (1979-03-07) (age 29)
Place of birth : Higher End, Wigan, England
Height : 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position : Full back, Defender, Captain
Current club : Stoke City
League : English Barclays Premier League Football Club
Stoke City
Griffin began his career at Stoke City,[1] where he established a reputation as a solid wing-back defender.[specify] His impressive performances for the Potters meant he was signed by Newcastle United for a fee of £1.5million in January 1998.[2]
Return to Stoke City
On January 11, 2008 he moved to Stoke City for a fee of £300,000, signing a 4 and a half year contract.[9] He was handed the number 2 squad number.[specify] On January 31, 2008, Stoke City sold captain John Eustace to Watford.[10] This move saw Griffin named Stoke’s new captain despite only being back at the club for three weeks,[11] none the less Griffin was delighted describing it as a “proud moment in my career.”[11]
Source: Andy Griffin, Stoke City Captain, Stoke City Defender, English Barclays Premier League Football Club information at wikipedia.org
Peter Coates – Stoke City F.C. Chairman
Peter Coates – Stoke City F.C. Chairman
Peter Coates is a businessman from Goldenhill, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire who made his money in catering (Stadia and Lindley Catering) and gambling (bet365). He recently sold his Bet 365 street stores to Coral for a figure believed to be around £40m (73m USD). He is currently the owner of Stoke City Football Club and has been listed as the 25th richest person in British football[1].
First Period As Owner of Stoke City F.C.
In 1989 Peter Coates became majority shareholder at Stoke City F.C.. He was chairman of Stoke City F.C. until 1997 before stepping down. During this period the club were relegated to the old Football League Third Division, were promoted from the now renamed Second Division to the First Division and moved to the Britannia Stadium.
In 1990 the Stoke City F.C. board consisted of six directors and it was agreed that a new share issue was needed. with the majority wanting the supporters to be free to purchase. Following disagreements regarding this share issue, several board members left and the board then consisted of Peter Coates, Keith Humphreys and David Edwards.
In 1997, following poor on pitch performances, he was the subject of protests by the club’s fans and subsequently stepped down. He remained a majority shareholder, whilst Keith Humphreys was appointed chairman. In 1999, a group of Icelandic businessmen formed a consortium to buy the football club. The consortium Stoke Holding SA (financially based in Luxembourg) paid around £3.5 million[2]. The deal was completed on 15 November 1999.
Second Period As Owner of Stoke City F.C.
In 2005, Stoke Holding discussed the possibility of selling the club back to Peter Coates. The consortium had planned to get to the club into the Premiership within the first 5 years, but the financial implications had proved more challenging than they anticipated. At this time Tony Pulis who had become friends with Peter Coates was given a new contract and then sacked 4 weeks later. A new manager, Johan Boskamp, was appointed. He remained at the club for one season and then left.
At the end of the 2005-06 season Stoke Holding and Peter Coates once again started discussions regarding the sale of the club to the latter. On 23 May 2006, Peter Coates completed his purchase of Stoke City F.C. for £1.7 million [3]. A further £3.3 million was paid to have the Icelandic debts cancelled [4]. Shortly afterwards, Tony Pulis was reappointed. The Golden Shares were also removed[5].
At the end of the 2007-08 season Stoke finished Second in the Championship, the second division of the English League, entitling them to automatic promotion to the English Premiership.
Source: Peter Coates, Stoke City F.C. Chairman, English Barclays Premier League Football Club information at wikipedia.org
Tony Pulis – Stoke City F. C. Manager
Tony Pulis – Stoke City F. C. Manager
Anthony Richard “Tony” Pulis (born January 16, 1958 in Newport) is a Welsh former football player and is currently the manager of Stoke City.[1] Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at the age of 19, followed by his UEFA ‘A’ licence aged 21 – making him one of the youngest professional players ever to have obtained the qualification.[2]
Pulis took his first steps into management at Bournemouth, where he was a player/coach and then Harry Redknapp’s assistant.[2] He then took control when Redknapp left the club.[2] His most significant achievement to date was guiding Stoke City to the Premier League in the 2007-08 season by finishing runners-up in the Football League Championship.
Pulis has a reputation within the game for achieving solid results on small budgets and also maintains the proud record of never being relegated as a manager.[2] He is sometimes criticised for using an overly negative and direct style of play; however, Pulis has defended his approach.[3] Some refer to this approach as ‘binary football’.
Personal information
Full name : Anthony Richard Pulis
Date of birth : January 16, 1958 (1958-01-16) (age 50)
Place of birth : Newport, Wales
Playing position : Central defender (retired)
Current club : Stoke City (Manager)
League : English Barclays Premier League Football Club
Second spell at Stoke City Football Club
In May 2006 he was the subject of an approach from former club Stoke,[28] who had recently parted company with manager Johan Boskamp, following Peter Coates’ takeover of the club. Plymouth reportedly turned down this approach.[29] However, on June 14, 2006 it was announced that Pulis would indeed be returning as manager of Stoke City.[1]
Pulis bolstered his squad for the 2006–07 with the permanent additions of Danny Higginbotham,[30] Ricardo Fuller[31] and Vincent Pericard.[32] His most notable coup was the loan signing of Lee Hendrie from Aston Villa.[33][34] Hendrie’s arrival (along with the loan signings of Salif Diao,[35] Andy Griffin[36] and Rory Delap[37]) coincided with a change of form for the Potters following a poor start to the a season.[38] Stoke went as high as 4th in the table prior to the January transfer window.[39]
Pulis was named manager of the month for April 2007, after Stoke picked up eleven points from five league games.[40] This unbeaten run lifted Stoke to 7th in the table, on equal points with sixth-place Southampton.[41] However, a 1–1 draw against QPR on the final day of the season[42] led to Stoke finishing eighth in the Championship.[43] Pulis sold several key players prior to the 2007–08 season; club captain Danny Higginbotham was one of a number of players to depart, joining Sunderland for £3m.[44] However, Pulis utilised the loan market again, signing five players on loan, including Ryan Shawcross from Manchester United.[45] Pulis guided Stoke City to promotion to the Premier League on the final day of the season. It will be Stoke’s first top flight campaign in 23 years.
Source: Tony Pulis, Stoke City Manager, English Barclays Premier League Football Club information at wikipedia.org