The time has finally come for Stoke City to stop dead in their mightily impressive tracks. The Potters done well to stay in the top flight for so long, and even managed to semi rebrand themselves under Mark Hughes. The Tony Pulis era brought stability with some pensive performances along the way, but the fan wanted more. With the money on offer, why not aim a bit higher in terms of player profile and aesthetics?
Sadly, the squad rebuild seemed to hit the wall. For each of the impressive signings like Xherdan Shaqiri, many more would shuffle through soon to vanish. Paul Lambert, the most recent coach to take the job in their doomed Premier League run, found a team with some very serious issues. They could make chances, yet failed to score them. They would concede chances, and goals, at key points in the matches and then the season. That’ll be hard to weed out in the short space of time between now and the new season beginning.
2018/19 Prediction
New coach Gary Rowett comes in after being another coach who was unable to bring Derby County past the finishing line and reach promotion. With a squad that needs a lot of change soon, and there’s not a great deal to say about the players who might stick around.
Stoke have a pretty strong structure bar the last 24-months or so, though, and could easily recover if they back Rowett in a mini revolution here.