Stoke City's Bae Junho conundrum as Plymouth boss says 'no apologies' for time wasting
Stoke City were held to a goalless draw at home against Plymouth Argyle as Mark Robins started life as manager. Here are the talking points from the bet365 Stadium.
A new year, another new era
Stoke have started a new year with a different boss for three years in a row, which is some doing, but Mark Robins has been tasked with bringing stability and success, which probably go hand in hand.
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He will know, like all of his predecessors have known, that to aim for any long-term vision there is a need to build and consolidate belief along the way. There has to be constant signs of progress, however small, rather than just the promise of better times in the distance.
It is a big job but it is not as impossible as it might have seemed over the last seven years.
Robins said in his first match day programme notes: “In time, our supporters will see the style of football I like to deploy. My ideal football is quick, with players linking together and having a real understanding of what is being asked of them in and out of possession. I want the players to be themselves. I love to see footballers develop.
“The city’s motto is United Strength is Stronger and that is something I will be drawing on throughout my tenure. There is plenty of work to be done and I’m looking forward to each and every challenge.
“The Championship is a competitive league and this season it is very tight. Anybody can beat anybody on their day and we hope to bring as many days when we are on the right side of that as possible.”
How to beat a team that sits back
The positive for Robins on Day One was the players’ willingness and work rate off the ball. In a game like this one, when Plymouth were deep and delaying, the challenge for Stoke was on the ball.
These kinds of matches come up in the Championship and Robins was asked what was the key to winning more of them.
“It's urgency, quality, it's understanding,” he said. “I thought we did ok but sometimes the pass was too slow, sometimes the pass was behind them. You want the pass to be to where we stand. We're not in a position where we can take the press out. You can take the press out with a pass and we did it a few times but we received the ball and then stepped the press and got beyond that and it opens space up. Then it's the use of the ball and positioning of players off it as well. There's a load of stuff that needs to be right, a load of stuff to work on but out of possession they gave absolutely everything they could. In possession we just lacked a little bit of quality.”
The Bae Junho conundrum
Mike Pejic was getting frustrated watching on for Radio Stoke as Stoke slipped away from the way they had been playing in the opening stages and Sam Gallagher and Bae Junho started taking up the same positions in the middle, blocking space for Andrew Moran to join in from midfield.
It turns out that Robins was too, saying: “When you're playing against a 5-4-1 - and it was really a 5-5 at times when they were defending as deep as they were - you can't all go centrally. You've got to try to get a bit of width.
“When you get a bit of width and you can move the ball quickly it opens the spaces up and then you can play through them. What we did is try to force the play. We were then dropping deeper and I had midfielders dropping in to make it three at the back.
“It's just game understanding and being aware of where you need to be on the pitch to try to cause as much problem for the opponent as you can. We just didn't manage that today.. Mental tiredness, fatigue, will have played a part - but we've had one day working with them on the grass. I'm not too disappointed although I would have loved us to get a goal.”
So a traditional line-hugging winger on the agenda in January if possible? Particularly with Million Manhoef out. Or can Junho find a way to impact the game more consistently? In what role?
Plymouth boss: I don't think we disrupted it too much
This was only Plymouth’s second clean sheet of the season and they had to work hard for it but caretaker boss Kevin Nancekivell said: “No apologies. We have to get a point and find a way to do things. I don’t think we disrupted it too much. Players got injured and needed treatment so (physios) come on to do that. It’s part and parcel of football.”
