CHAMPIONSHIP JONES WITNESSES THE
BRENTFORD’S Griffin Park is a relic of the past and approaching its final death throes as a football stadium - because barely a mile away a brand new arena is rising into the sky to replace it.
Take that as a metaphor for what is about to befall Stoke City, if you like, Nathan Jones certainly is.
The rest of us could certainly do with feeding off his welcome positivity because it feels like Stoke’s current decline has been the best part of three years in the making and that, quite evidently, is going to take some turning around.
Just how big a job awaits Jones was all too palpable at Griffin Park and our biggest consolation is that he saw everything from day one, warts and all, and so he can assume that all the bad things he’s heard are pretty much bang on the money.
His re-building work will require a hard hat at all times, you suspect, and he can only hope that hat is not to protect him from falling brickbats from his own supporters.
They were remarkably supportive during his debut, despite all that was thrown at them once again, and even burst into a verse of Delilah as soon as the third goal went in by way of sticking two fingers up to yet another slap in the face.
Stoke city
They also applauded their new manager as one, or near as damn it, when he walked past the away end at the conclusion of a comprehensive defeat and raised his own hands above his head to thank them for their backing.
If he is to be the architect of a brighter future he will need plenty of time and some visionary skills when he takes to his drawing board.
It certainly seems like a case of back to the proverbial drawing board as Stoke’s season deteriorates by the game since Christmas.
This was another poor offering, but with the huge proviso this time that the players were trying, not too successfully, to implement a new gameplan thrown at them over just two training sessions.
So they, as well as their manager, deserve to be cut some slack on this occasion and, fingers crossed, it’s a system the current personnel, or at least most of them, will learn to implement.
It was Stoke’s misfortune that their debut with a diamond midfield format came against a Brentford side whose slick give-andgo football could all too easily exploit Stoke’s evident uncertainty and hesitancy.
The visitors were also short of numbers, energy and aggression in central areas and Jones rightly acknowledged as much by changing Saido Berahino for Peter Etebo at half-time.
Jones won’t easily forget his torrid start to life as manager during the first 20 minutes, however, and nor will those of us watching because it could have been worse than 2-0 against a Brentford side which hadn’t scored more than one in any of its previous five fixtures.