It's Just Like Watching Brazil, Barca, Stoke??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bef5lEVBTrg After this past weekend's 1-0 home win against Norwich City, Stoke City once again have all but assured their survival in the top flight for another season. However, an all too familiar result emerged from the clash at the Britannia, a result which has occurred on eight separate occasions so far this season, alongside six 0-0 results and four 1-1 results. It appears "the Potters" have ceased production on today's free-flowing, passing, possession-wrestling football and have produced an industrious, regimented and mechanical approach, that would make even the hardest North Staffordshire Coal miner shed a tear. Unfortunately for The Potters, who so far this season have conceded the fewest goals outside of the top 6, with 41 in 35 games, media resentment and harsh punditry have cast a dark cloud over their premier league tenure as of late, with several managers voicing concern over their playing styles and assertiveness on the field. In respect to all the negative connotations associated with Stoke City, I applaud Tony Pulis, a manager who has devised a system that perfectly compliments his players. Players such as John Walters, Charlie Adam and Dean Whitehead, not forgetting Peter Crouch all have phenomenal ability, but, would they perform better in their current system, or the newly devised continental model previously mentioned? It takes a brave manager to adopt a system he knows will benefit his team, knowing full well the provocations it would create in today's modern era. Opinions aside, let's look at the facts, mid-table finishers for the past five seasons in the premier league, F.A Cup runners up two years ago and the most feared away fixture on British soil. It is time to ditch the blue-print model of football and adopt individuality and personality. It is time to embrace the individuals who think independently and praise them for their contributions to the game. It's also time to stop blindly aspiring and comparing to teams such as Barcelona and the 90's-00's Brazilian side, when you play your home fixtures in mid-December in the pouring rain. The Brazilian sides and the current Barca crop are unique for a simple reason, they play their own way. Hopefully, in years to come, Stoke City will receive the respect they deserve, for playing their own way.