Talking points from Hillsborough as Stoke City make it two wins out of two to start the Championship season
Peter has reported on Stoke City for The Sentinel and StokeonTrentLive since 2013, following the club in the Premier League, Championship and beyond, including trips to Singapore, Germany, France, Croatia and Switzerland. He has been watching Stoke since 1990.
Sorba Thomas in action as Stoke City win at Sheffield Wednesday.(Image: PA)
Stoke City have picked up six points out of six as they ran out 3-0 winners over a Sheffield Wednesday side which has had a dramatic summer. A Million Manhoef brace and header from Divin Mubama sealed the three points for the Potters.
Here are the talking points from Hillsborough, starting with Stoke being able to shut out the noise.
A lot of sympathy from Stoke supporters for the troubles that Wednesday are fighting against. There won’t be many people in the Championship who don’t think that football has a serious problem.
Mark Robins, with the experiences that he’s been through at Rotherham and Coventry, can empathise more than most. He said in his pre-match press conference that, once the game started, it was a matter of Stoke keeping their focus – and it said a lot that they managed to take the lead while the stadium was in the thick of a whistle protest. They kept their heads on what must have been a strange afternoon to get their job done.
Wednesday fans are in a pickle. There were fears that protests might lead the game to be abandoned and the only people who would really suffer because of that are themselves rather than an owner who is missing in action.
The whistles, bizarrely, made it sound like watching an overseas game with vuvuzelas. They could really do with an idea that forces Dejphon Chansiri to actually sell up without punishing themselves. Good luck to all in whatever happens next.
Manhoef and Mubama on the double
There is hope that Sorba Thomas can stretch opponents enough to create space for Million Manhoef on the other flank this season. Hopefully some of Thomas’s end product can rub off on Manhoef too because that’s what will ultimately make or break him as he tries to fulfil his potential.
Two goals here is a good start and it’s two in two for Divin Mubama too, with another good header. Mubama is in his first loan and he must be full of confidence.
“I think he’s on top of the world,” said Robins. “The same for Milly. People like to score goals and are hungry for it and I’m looking for that. Who is desperate to go and score?
“Divin is that. He’s desperate. Milly today was desperate to score and he got two because he got into the right positions and executed it really well. I think the second one he miskicked into the net and I think Divin tried to nick it off him as well. That’s healthy.”
A good response from Manhoef
Manhoef’s reaction to being substituted against Derby had not gone unnoticed but it was clear when he played in mid-week that it had been brushed off and then it really looked like he was enjoying his day here.
“You can be disappointed to come off but it’s the way things are done,” said Robins. “You can be disappointed, there’s no two ways about it, and that’s a great way to respond to it today.”
Stoke go back-to-back
This was the first time since 2007 that Stoke have won their opening two league games of the season. They had Southampton away up next back then too and went on to win promotion despite losing 3-2.
It’s the first time since 2003, Tony Pulis’s first full season in charge, that Stoke have won their opening three in all competitions (two in the league and one in the cup).
It’s the first time since 1957 that Stoke have scored six or more goals in their first two league games. Back then, under Frank Taylor, they started with a 4-1 win over Middlesbrough and 3-0 win over Bristol City, both at the Victoria Ground.
It’s the first time that Stoke have won their first away league game of the season also since 2007. They beat Cardiff on the opening day that time around, with Ryan Shawcross scoring on his debut.
Sorba Thomas adds a new dimension
It is important not to get carried away after two games but Thomas’s Championship record suggests that regular assists aren’t a fluke.
He makes things happen and looks a serious pick-up from Stoke this summer. He’s got pace and skill, excellent set piece delivery and he knows how to change games. He puts the ball into areas where teammates can score.
But it was what he was doing off the ball that earned just as much praise from his manager.
Robins said: “Sorba’s crosses always invite a little bit of panic in the opposition penalty area.
“But it’s not just that, it’s his out of possession stuff that he does that makes him someone we wanted to sign. I think that’s fair to say. In and out of possession he’s been brilliant. There’s more to come, which is exciting.”
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Viktor Johansson plays his part
Viktor Johansson didn’t have the busiest of afternoons but those three saves around the hour mark were brilliant. He looks like he loves throwing himself around. An eye-catching double save was followed up by a fantastic flying stop to tip Barry Bannan’s overhead kick around the post.
He has passed over the captain’s armband to Ben Wilmot while Ben Gibson is on the bench but he is an influential and infectious character for this Stoke team.
Hopefully he won’t have to make quite as many saves as he needed to last winter and quality over quantity can make him just as important.
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