It’s a quite simple question: Do Stoke City have an inferiority complex?
I ask that because it seems to me that however well we have done in the Premier League, we never seem to quite believe that we can get something off one of the big boys.
I totally understand that these teams are superb, of course I do, and at home it is a different matter. But that doesn’t mean we should be frightened to play them away from ST4 either. And I would argue that is exactly what we are at most away games against the top six.
Against Manchester City before Christmas I don’t believe for one second that any player in red and white believed they could get anything from the game and the same thing rings true for nearly every game against them, Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Of course you could argue that most teams get thumped at those places, but our record against those five is one point from 13 games – an extremely fortunate draw in September 2008 at Anfield (it was a magnificent day, and a fantastic, battling display, but on another afternoon we would have got destroyed). To that you can add a narrow, heartbreaking loss at Stamford Bridge and a narrow reverse at Old Trafford last January.
In short, it’s fairly grim.
I left Spurs out of that list deliberately, given the fact we beat them in 09 (again, luckily, lets be honest – although it didn’t stop me grinning all the way home) but more for the fact that last April we actually went somewhere and had a go, scored two superb goals and but for Jon Walters not making a proper connection we would probably have got a draw.
The key phrase in that paragraph is “had a go.” Too often it seems we accept defeat away (and no one will ever convince me that anyone at Stoke gave that game at Man City a month or so ago the remotest thought the second the came off the field). Surely the time has come for us to know that we belong at this level?
TP was extremely good at playing the little-Stoke-City-are-doing-ever-so-well-card for the first few seasons – he still is, and we have, but we are better than that now, aren’t we? We are eighth on merit, we are in the Europa League knockout stages because we deserve to be - we have some extremely good players and a very good squad.
A squad and a team, I would argue, that is every bit as good, if not better, than the Villa’s and Newcastle’s of this world, but those clubs, and others,sometimes seem to find some extra reserves of belief that we don’t have and get points at Chelsea and Man Utd recently (though the Geordies did meekly surrender at Anfield the other week).
I don’t expect us to beat these types of teams and before anyone says it I acutely remember where we have come from and I know what has been achieved since 2006. I do, however expect us to try and win these games and not just be grateful to be on the same pitch as the boys from the top table.
Liverpool are playing well – and are unbeaten at home – but they are by no means infallible. They have no Suarez and Andy Carroll looks desperately out of sorts. We have lost one game in the last 10 and have won four of our last five away from The Brit.
There is no need for us to be scared on Saturday when we step out onto the pitch – and for once I hope we aren’t.
There is a sign at White Hart Lane at the opposite end to where the away fans sit. “To Dare Is To Do” it says. That might be Tottenham’s mantra, but there is absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t adopt it as our own for the next two away games.
We deserve to be in this league. We have earned the right. Now lets get out there and prove it.
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