The Irresistible Force vs The Immovable Object – Stoke City v Blackburn Rovers

I first heard the soundbite, ‘the irresistible force vs the immovable object’, when WWF commentator Gorilla Monsoon was hyping the main event of Wrestlemania 3 in the 80s.

Hulk Hogan, the all American hero, was the irresistible force. Andre The Giant, even accounting for some exaggeration about his height and weight, was the immovable object. 

When one views this statement outside of the storytelling prism, taking it completely literally, we get stalemate. No matter how irresistible any force may be, if the object in its path is immovable, then immovable it shall remain.

And so comes the philosophical football quandary, would you rather your team was the irresistible force, or the immovable object? Being irresistible is undoubtedly more fun and aesthetically pleasing, but there is sense in the theory that goals win games, but defences win titles.

When it comes to Stoke City under Michael O’Neill, they have become somewhat of an immovable object. The Potters were bottom, six points adrift, when O’Neill arrived last season. Under his rule they improved greatly, functioning as the seventh best team in the division, over the 31 games he took charge of.

This season has seen more of the same, Stoke are currently 8th, and at QPR this midweek, recorded their 10th clean sheet in 19 games. Solid, well drilled, hard to break down, use whatever turn of phrase you like, Stoke are good defensively.

Stoke go into the clash with Blackburn, with doubts over the fitness of Mikel, and without Clucas, Gregory, and stand out performer Campbell. With Christmas approaching and players out, perhaps the best path ahead for the Potters, is to make the object a little more immovable.

By process of deduction, you’ve probably realised that Blackburn are the irresistible force in this match up. Despite Bradley Dack being out for nearly a year, Tony Mowbray has an array of attacking options, and his team are the second top scorers in the division.

With Dack on the sidelines, Brereton and Gallagher have provided size and power, with Dolan starting the season in eye-catching manner. However, the truly irresistible pair has been Adam Armstrong, and Liverpool loanee Harvey Elliott.

The injury to Dack last Christmas saw Armstrong become the main man at Rovers. Schooled as a pacey right winger, but now playing down the middle, Armstrong has not stopped scoring, and has already accumulated 15 goals for the season.

And then there’s Elliott. Often it takes a loud noise to get the football world to pay attention to the Championship, so a flamboyant 17 year old loanee, owned by Premier League champions Liverpool, ticks a lot of boxes. Elliott looks fantastic, a mix of skill and confidence, plus an ability to thread a pass that is right up colleague Armstrong’s street.

If we rely on the scientific approach, the irresistible force and the immovable object are destined to cancel each other out and the points will be shared. If, however, we take the WWF approach, where Hulk Hogan heroically triumphed, and body slammed the evil giant, then it could be an entertaining afternoon in Stoke.

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