http://oatcakefanzine.proboards27.com/index.cgi?board=Potters&action=display&thread=1201797582 the old rivals site was a VERY busy board had to look to find its replacement its a bit MELTED at the moment though due to high usage
Very decent signing, Aidy has done well this transfer window if you ask me. Another striker on a permenant deal and I'd be delighted!
Stoke fan here. John Eustace was a brilliant centre midfielder a few years ago. He was out for almost two years with various injuries and just hasn't returned the same player. I think £400k is a good bit of business for us really, as long as we can sign some cover because he's been a bit of a passenger for us this season. His previously superb passing ability seems to have disappeared with his injury, which is why we can afford to get rid of him. We need our centre midfield to be able to pass the ball (so we don't have to continually bypass it with longer balls) Also, he's not a big and strong player like the rest of our team, but he does get stuck in.
Not too sure about this one yet, hearing mixed views/reaction from Stoke fans and he sounds like a bit of a Mahon II to me... I'll reserve judgement until I've seen him play first hand.
Profile Few of your chums seem to agree with you as most think he will be a loss unless replaced by two strong midfielders. Obviously his injury has affected him but at £250,000 raising to £400,000 on appearances and our promotion we shouldn`t complain about the price, as we are light on experience in the centre mid position. You must be pleased with your recent form though- have the Icelanders sold their stake?. c/p John Eustace Personal information Full name John Eustace Date of birth November 3, 1979 (1979-11-03) (age 28) Place of birth Solihull, England Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Playing position Midfielder Club information Current club Watford Number tba Senior clubs1 Years Club App (Gls)* 1996–2003 1998–1999 2003 2003–2008 2006 2008– Coventry City → Dundee United (loan) → Middlesbrough (loan) Stoke City → Hereford United (loan) Watford 085 (7) 011 (1) 001 (0) 071 (5) 008 (0) 1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:04, 31 January 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)
Ive heard from a always reliable source that the Whelan deal is still on and is very likely to sign with Hoskins AND Williamson going the other way.
I can't find any popular Stoke message boards though to find out what they think about him leaving.[/QUOTE] http://boards.footymad.net/mboard/load.php?tno=501
Calm down chap. Threads tend to run where they pop up and get moved as/when they're noticed. As it was, this thread may have been in General Watford but for purpose of maximum notice and popularity it made sense. Instead of starting a whole new thread in R&T you could have just added to this one. I've moved it now, just to keep you happy. 'Get a grip'
What you have to realise is that the Stoke support is split into 2 halves. One half absolutely hate Tony Pulis and the other half like him. The one who hate Pulis will moan about every single thing Pulis does. Every player we sell is suddenly referred to as our best player sold again. I'm not Pulis' biggest fan but I think you can't fault our season so far. Our club is in the best shape financially and league position-wise than it's been for 20-25 years. I think we're only one or two players off having a promotion squad. Apparently we've just signed Paul Gallagher on loan until the end of the season which is excellent news. He was brilliant for us last time he was with us. We will be there or thereabouts by the end of the season. Our squad isn't build on loans like last season (Gallagher will be our only one) because we've signed Leon Cort and Ryan Shawcross who were previously loans. And they were over a million quid each - unheard of for Stoke. Our first ever million pound signings. Things are looking up for us at the moment.
http://oatcakefanzine.proboards27.com/index.cgi?board=Potters That's our new temporary site where you'll find most fans
I think Stoke have done very well this season but I somehow expected you to. So what you're saying is that Eustace isn't your best player and he won't be a dynamo in midfield for us?
If your manager can get him back to his best the he'd walk into any team in the league. I fear his injuries may have taken their toll too much to get back to that level. He's still a decent signing for you at this level.
You're always the master of finding positives, Krisvad. And now to the negative stuff: - He's 28 years old and the best team he's played regularly for is Stoke. - He's injury prone beyond belief. Been injured more or less his whole career. - He's not the quality set piece taker we need. - He's not the creative force we need in midfield. - We didn't get him cheap. £250k ++ for a player whose contract runs out in 6 months is actually a fair bit of money.
If he can get that extra yard of pace back through improving his fitness and manages to get his confidence back he is a very creative midfielder. Sometimes players just need to move on from clubs to refresh themselves. Look at our team, a team full of championship rejects. A move to a new club revitalises some players. However, if anyone on our board thinks Eustace has been one of our better players this season they either don't go to many games or they just still bum Eustace from when he was so good for us before. I think a good move all round.
How nice of you to say so ... Now - I see your points about needing a creative midfielder AND about needing a set peice taker. But no one claimed Eustace is suppoed to fill those shoes. He's brought in to be a rock in midfield. Maybe to point a little. That's it!
Thanks for that. What I wonder about is this - why didn't Stoke extend his contract? Worried about his injuries or his abilities?
Bit of both i'd imagine. We've payed his wages for two years well he was injured as well. Also, we have got Salif Diao coming back to fitness, Danny Pugh has looked good whenever he's played there and Rory Delap has been one of our best players in the last 6-7 games. We've also got Dominic Matteo to come back from injury as well. The more defensive part of the midfield is quite full even without Eustace
Well you told us last spring that Hoskins would score 20 goals for us in the Championship this season, so it's not so hard to point out your optimism, is it? Well actually it does matter how long a contract he's on, because that's what you pay for: breaking the contract. He would be a free transfer in the summer and Stoke just cashed in whatever they could get. Also, since when is decent good enough? There's no improvement in bringing in "decent" players. WBA got a brilliant creative midfielder in Kim Do-Heon. We got an injury prone guy from Stoke.
