‘Stokealona’ to relegation precipice: Stoke’s slide to Championship trapdoor

Stoke in bottom three on goal difference and wobbling towards trapdoor to League One

It was 1998 when Stoke City last suffered relegation to the third tier and now, over a quarter of a century later, this famous old football club is teetering on the precipice again.
Stoke are wobbling towards the trapdoor to League One after an excruciating season of underachievement and haphazard recruitment, with anger and apathy deepening in the stands.
Steven Schumacher is the latest head coach to be parachuted in with a previously stellar reputation who is now being tested to the full by the malaise.
Stoke are in the bottom three on goal difference and Schumacher – currently the League One Manager of the Season – is feeling the heat after six defeats in the last seven matches.
It is the football club that seems to have everything – wealthy and ambitious locally-born owners, outstanding facilities and a fanbase desperate for lift-off.
Yet it appears the issues run deep and Stoke now have 12 matches to save themselves, or face a relegation that will have a severe impact on the club’s future plans.
This Saturday’s visit of Middlesbrough feels hugely significant, and earlier this week Jon Walters, a key figure in the club’s Premier League years, produced a rousing call for unity in front of staff.
Walters is back in the Potteries as interim technical director, after Ricky Martin’s dismissal last Thursday (more on that later).
He demanded that everyone stick together and play their part in the crucial run-in. Stoke’s board must be hoping the message has got through to the players.
Relegation from the Premier League in 2018 must feel like a lifetime ago. Those stirring years back in the big time, under first Tony Pulis and then Mark Hughes, when they turned upsetting the odds into an art form, were exhilarating.
Stoke’s squad during that glorious period included strong characters and leaders, such as Walters, Ryan Shawcross, Glenn Whelan and Rory Delap.
Their progress allowed them to sprinkle stardust from across Europe with super-talented players including Bojan, Marko Arnautović and Xherdan Shaqiri.
Under Pulis, they reached the 2011 FA Cup final, gallivanted around Europe and became established as a stable top-flight club.
It is rather overlooked that Hughes secured three ninth-placed finishes, with a team brilliantly branded “Stokealona”.
Since their relegation, Stoke have barely challenged for a return. Their highest finishes were both 14th under Michael O’Neill.
With restrictions on spending owing to the Football League’s Profitability and Sustainability rules, the last two to three years have been a slog.
There is no doubt that Stoke’s hierarchy have the power to provide greater financial backing, but are unable to under the current regulations. That makes this summer’s recruitment drive all the more painful, and explains why Martin was dismissed last week.
With the threat of breaching financial rules removed after Stoke offloaded a raft of high earners and the £15 million sale of Harry Souttar to Leicester, there was a genuine opportunity to reset the club. Officials even spoke of being “Premier League ready” ahead of the season’s start.
Along with former manager Alex Neil, and head of recruitment Jared Dublin, Martin signed 19 players over the summer, with the total reaching 24 after the January transfer window. If you want an indication of how poor that recruitment has been, it came before the 1-0 home defeat by Coventry earlier this month. For that game, 19 of the 24 signings failed to start, which only underlines where Stoke’s main problems this season appear to lie.
Martin’s vision for his squad was described as his “five pillars” but those plans have crumbled and disintegrated.
Wouter Burger, a £4 million signing from FC Basel, is one of the few success stories. Bae Jun-Ho and Junior Tchamadeu are both regarded as promising players for the future. Unbalanced and lacking in leadership, with only one recognised left-back, the squad probably needs yet another overhaul. For now, however, these are the players who control Stoke’s destiny.
Pre-season often dictates the direction of the campaign and Stoke’s summer training camp was a disaster. The squad stayed at a hotel on the Costa Blanca, where the pitches were poor and the facilities substandard. One member of staff injured himself when a weights machine collapsed on him while he was doing a demonstration in front of the players.
It is understood that only around a dozen first-team players were present at the camp, as Stoke’s squad was still low on numbers at the time.
Neil was sacked in December after four successive defeats and just six wins from 20 matches this season. He followed Gary Rowett and Nathan Jones as the latest Stoke manager who has over-achieved at other clubs but was unable to turn the tanker around.
Schumacher was a popular replacement but is already under scrutiny, nine months after leading Plymouth Argyle to the League One title with 101 points. Selected ahead of other contenders, including John Eustace and Paul Heckingbottom, Schumacher is clearly an excellent coach. He passed his Uefa Pro Licence at the age of 38 and is regarded as an innovative operator who has utilised modern techniques to improve his teams. His squad at Plymouth was renowned for being organised, resilient and adaptable. The football was high-risk and exciting, utilising speedy wing-backs and wingers.
Panic has now gripped like wet rope, and Schumacher appears to have prioritised making his team harder to beat.
Schumacher has a strict code of conduct and refers to his rules as the “non-negotiables”. One player, Ryan Mmaee, was ordered to train with the under-21s after angering Schumacher in the dressing room after a defeat at Sunderland. Mmaee flew out to Turkey for talks with clubs before the January deadline but opted to stay. Another forward, Wesley, also saw a move to the same league fall through as Stoke battled to free up funds.
The absence of a proven, consistent goalscorer still appears to be the main concern as Stoke battle the drop.
It is impossible not to feel sympathy for the owners, the Coates family, who just want to see their beloved club succeed. That is not to excuse them from the position Stoke find themselves in. John Coates, the club’s joint-chairman, has been the main decision-maker in the Championship years and a Stoke fan all his life. He will be appalled at their current plight.
Coates will know there have been mistakes, and perhaps his biggest error has been misplaced loyalty. The approach towards senior staff has always centred on trust and a determination to let people get on with their jobs. That mindset has extended to the football side of their empire, yet means that sometimes making the decision to part company comes too late.
Martin was sacked last week, in what appeared to be a show of support for Schumacher. It was a big call, and proved that Coates will take action to improve the situation. Walters’ arrival as a short-term replacement has galvanised staff and officials.
Stoke face Middlesbrough on Saturday in search of only their second win at the Bet365 Stadium since late October.
With games against promotion-chasers Leeds, Preston, Norwich, Hull, West Brom and Southampton still to play, fingernails will be in severe shortage between now and May 4.
Stoke City now need to adopt their ‘Vis Unita Fortior’ (United Strength is Stronger) motto more than any time in their recent history.