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Post by The Funkasaurus on Nov 12, 2013 22:22:13 GMT
He might get on all our tits at times but (whether rightly or wrongly!) to play 100 successive Premier League games for us is some achievement and for all his flaws, he does run his bollocks for the club. Well done sir. A nice little article in the Daily Fail on it. www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2500477/Jon-Walters-100-successive-Premier-League-appearances-Stoke-City.htmlThe unsung hero of the Premier League: He might not be the best at penalties, but Jon Walters played the most consecutive games of any outfield player. Here's his story...
He might not always be the first name on the team sheet, but that won’t unduly worry Jonathan Walters.
First, second, third or even 11th, he is at least always on it, more frequently than any of his Stoke team-mates or, for that matter, any other player in the Barclays Premier League.
When Mark Hughes pencilled him in for Stoke’s 3-3 draw at Swansea on Sunday, it brought up his 100th successive Premier League appearance and meant he was the only player in the top flight with an unbroken run stretching into three figures.
It would be a remarkable achievement by any calibre of player, let alone a journeyman forward who looked destined to eke out a living in the lower divisions until fate intervened in the 2006-07 FA Cup third round.
Walters’ interest in the tournament looked at an end, following defeat by Bury, but it was dramatically revived after it transpired the Gigg Lane club had fielded an ineligible player.
Chester were reinstated, and though their subsequent third-round trip to Portman Road ended in a 1-0 defeat, Walters did enough to catch the eye of opposing manager Jim Magilton and earn himself a £150,000 move to Ipswich.
The fee may sound modest, but it was an indication of how his worth was soaring, compared to his earlier travails.
He failed to make the senior side at his first club Blackburn and fared little better at his next one Bolton, who loaned him out to Hull, Crewe and Barnsley before selling him to Hull for £50,000.
It looked like £50,000 down the drain, as Hull loaned him to Scunthorpe before allowing him to join Wrexham for nothing in July, 2005.
Another basement division free transfer followed, but after barely half a season at Chester, the break he was dreaming of, courtesy of Bury’s Cup clanger, cleared the way for a significant step up towards the big time.
A century of consecutive Premier League outings shows how well he took it, though he’s had his share of tribulations along the way, not least a bitter fall-out with Magilton’s successor Roy Keane, distinctly mixed fortunes from the penalty spot and an afternoon to forget against Chelsea when just about everything that could possibly go wrong did.
It was a measure of his progress at Ipswich that Stoke came calling with a £2.75million cheque in August, 2010, though it didn’t go down well with Keane, who accused the Republic of Ireland forward of trying to engineer his Portman Road exit and even feigning injury in his final few weeks there.
There was that unmistakeably menacing edge to Keane’s voice, as he expressed his displeasure by saying: ‘Jon came to me and said he was aware of interest in him, and he wanted out of Ipswich.'
Those were his exact words, and you can quote me on that.
‘Sometimes, you tiptoe around problems, but I have told him he can go, as long as we receive what we think he is worth.
'Players come and go, but none are bigger than the club. I tried to talk him out of it, but not for too long, I have to say.
'I told him he can go when the time – and the figure – is right.’
Undeterred, Walters duly completed his drawn-out circuitous route to the summit, and three years on, there are many who can appreciate why Stoke’s then-manager Tony Pulis believed he was worth a punt in the Premier League.
Equally, there are probably as many who can see why he spent so long in the Football League foothills.
Never less than wholehearted, he won’t have left anything behind, in any of those 100 games on the bounce, whether leading the line or operating down the right flank.
As Stoke’s assistant-manager Mark Bowen observed, he treats every game as if it’s his last.
While certainly counting as one of his most endearing traits, that innate eagerness to be involved in everything that happens on the pitch can also prove his undoing, as demonstrated against Chelsea at The Britannia Stadium last January.
Two own goals contributed hugely to Chelsea establishing a 4-0 lead, and when Stoke had the chance to reduce the arrears with a late penalty, Walters made it clear no-one was going to prevent him taking it.
Perhaps someone should have done. The hapless 30-year old strode forward and hammered a rising drive that struck the top of the bar and just kept rising.
Like most with his sort of indomitable spirit, he kept coming back for more, and there was never the slightest hesitation about accepting the responsibility for Stoke’s next penalty, at Fulham a month later. It was saved.
He then converted subsequent spot-kicks at Newcastle and QPR in the final two months of last season before reverting to type, and inviting more howls of derision from sections of Stoke’s support, on the opening day of the current campaign.
Liverpool were hanging on to a 1-0 lead at Anfield when Stoke were awarded a penalty two minutes from time. No prizes for guessing who stepped up or what happened, as Walters scuffed his shot and Simon Mignolet marked his Liverpool debut by diving to his right to save.
Oh dear. Walters’ overall success rate with penalties still stood at an overall 61 per cent, decent enough when compared to the Premier League’s joint-worst takers El Hadji Diouf and Stewart Downing (both 40 per cent), based on a minimum of five kicks.
But that was scant consolation after a third miss in five attempts cost his side a hard-earned point and brought him more ridicule on various social media sites.
A less than scientific approach of charging at the ball and hitting it as hard as possible did little to inspire confidence that his success rate might improve, but he clearly didn’t see it that way.
Reflecting on his Anfield torment, he said: ‘I wouldn’t have a problem stepping up again for the next one. Others might fancy having a go, but if the opportunity comes along again, I won’t be shying away from it.
'It is hard when you miss, but if I take the plaudits when I score, I’ve got to be big enough to take it on the chin when I don’t.’
No-one can accuse him of having a glass chin, and after reaching the hundred mark, he was happy enough to poke fun at himself by listing some of his personal and professional flaws, including his nightmare against Chelsea, in two tweets that read:
‘Before I start Yes penalty record isn’t the best Yes I scored two own goals missed a pen and managed to kick the ball in my own face…
'…all in the same game and Yes I have a large amount of grey hair so don’t bore me telling me all this.’
His manager Mark Hughes has the same hair colour, but it’s not Walters who has made him go grey, according to Bowen, who provided an insight into why the striker keeps being picked by saying: ‘Jon’s record of consecutive appearances shows how much faith his last two managers have had in him.
'Maybe he polarises opinion sometimes, but speak to anyone in the game, and they will say you have to be mad not to see the qualities he brings to the team.
'The first prerequisite any coach or manager looks for in a player is that he is prepared to give every last cent in a game.
‘Jon does that and more. He works every day in training like it’s his last day and plays every game like it’s his last game. I just wish every player had that mentality.’
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Post by Campervan Von Bigglesworth on Nov 12, 2013 22:30:33 GMT
Bless
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2013 11:14:03 GMT
Caption under one of the photo's:
"Popular: Walters is now a crowd favourite at the Britannia"
Riiiiiiight ;D.
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Post by Nyron Nonceworthy on Nov 13, 2013 11:30:29 GMT
I feel like a twat for saying he doesn't really deserve to have racked up such a figure but he simply isn't (or hasn't been) good enough. Players that get that many consecutive starts are usually indispensable and Jon Walters isn't - he's a bit shit. Well, not shit but he'd be rotated as much as everybody else if I was manager. 100 consecutive games for such a limited player is mental. Fair play to him but I don't think we'd have missed him whatsoever if he hadn't been in the starting line up. He's actually been decent as a sub in the past when in the Europa League and cup games - he adds some energy.
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Post by Dharma Bum on Nov 13, 2013 12:14:23 GMT
I feel like a twat for saying he doesn't really deserve to have racked up such a figure but he simply isn't (or hasn't been) good enough. Players that get that many consecutive starts are usually indispensable and Jon Walters isn't - he's a bit shit. Well, not shit but he'd be rotated as much as everybody else if I was manager. 100 consecutive games for such a limited player is mental. Fair play to him but I don't think we'd have missed him whatsoever if he hadn't been in the starting line up. He's actually been decent as a sub in the past when in the Europa League and cup games - he adds some energy. There's been no-one to play instead of him though. Pennant's been a daft cunt and may also be a bit shit, Jerome too. Walters gets the nod because the back up is average as well as lazy. |
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Post by Nyron Nonceworthy on Nov 13, 2013 12:22:23 GMT
Shut your fucking noise.
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Post by Nyron Nonceworthy on Nov 13, 2013 13:28:27 GMT
Yeah. You will.
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Post by Dharma Bum on Nov 13, 2013 13:45:40 GMT
Nigga, you my bitch now.
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Post by Uncle Heinrich on Nov 13, 2013 17:55:29 GMT
People used to slate Pulis for playing him week in, week out, but there's obviously a lot more to Walters' game than people give him credit for with Hughes opting for him too.
Not like we've had a chance to see the team without Walters but I reckon that he's in the same mold as Sidibe, why else would he be getting played? The type of player that doesn't look like a world-beater but the manager knows that he improves the team's chances of winning. Everybody slated Sidibe when he first started playing for Stoke, scuffed every ball he tried to kick (but smashed them in during the warm-ups, the tease), it wasn't until big Mama had spells out of the team that we realised how important he was to our chances of winning matches. Defences had easier games, the ball didn't stick, we didn't have as much of an outlet and Fuller wasn't as dangerous - the big bastard was running the defence ragged in ways that you couldn't even notice until Fuller walked the ball into the net.
Walters is probs totes the same lol so shut up ye mongz lol
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Post by The Funkasaurus on Nov 13, 2013 22:11:04 GMT
Yeah we can debate whether or not he should have, what he adds etc, but anyone who plays 100 consecutive games for the club, in the top flight, deserves a big pat on the back
You big knobbers!
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Post by Campervan Von Bigglesworth on Nov 13, 2013 22:48:45 GMT
Hear hear, he's the new Andy Cooke
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Post by The Funkasaurus on Nov 13, 2013 23:38:22 GMT
100 games is brilliant but you've got to love Cookey.
He was a proper Stokie, imagine actually being able to score a goal for team you love, not many professionals can say that, must be a fucking amazing feeling! The use of the word 'literally' is over used but I would literally jizz myself if I ever scored for us or just break down and start crying.
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Post by Dharma Bum on Nov 14, 2013 0:00:08 GMT
100 games is brilliant but you've got to love Cookey. He was a proper Stokie, imagine actually being able to score a goal for team you love, not many professionals can say that, must be a fucking amazing feeling! The use of the word 'literally' is over used but I would literally jizz myself if I ever scored for us or just break down and start crying. Man Utd fan, isn't he? |
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Post by The Funkasaurus on Nov 14, 2013 0:35:06 GMT
Always thought he was a Stokie?
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Post by SuperRickyFuller on Nov 14, 2013 0:37:32 GMT
I always thought he was a Stoke fan as well.
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Post by Mr Katy Perry on Nov 14, 2013 8:32:54 GMT
Cookey was and always will be a stoke fan.....
Don't take it away from me:@
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Post by Uncle Heinrich on Nov 14, 2013 9:40:48 GMT
I used to think he was a Stoke fan too until I realised that Shrewsbury fans thought he was a Shrews fan when he was playing for them. Think he's just one of those players.
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Post by Nyron Nonceworthy on Nov 14, 2013 9:47:53 GMT
He was also a massive fan of Busan Icons.
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Post by Mr Katy Perry on Nov 14, 2013 10:22:54 GMT
I used to think he was a Stoke fan too until I realised that Shrewsbury fans thought he was a Shrews fan when he was playing for them. Think he's just one of those players. He is a fucking stoke fan.... Don't ruin it for me |
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Post by Stokiecat on Nov 14, 2013 23:46:48 GMT
I'm (sorta) surprised it's SJW who's got the 100 not Shawcross as I feel he is the player who deserves it most but I'm assuming this is down to the "disciplinary" issues... Fair play to SJW though, quite an achievement regardless.
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