The last time Stoke City were relegated to the third division was 1998 and now, more than a quarter of a century later, this famous old football club is teetering on the edge again.
Stoke are lurching towards the trap door 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 excellent reputation now being thoroughly tested by resentment.
Stoke are in the bottom three on goal difference and Schumacher, currently League One’s Manager of the Season, is feeling the heat after six defeats in the last seven games.
The football club that seemingly has it all; wealthy and ambitious, locally born owners, outstanding facilities and a fan base eager to move up.
But it looks like the problems have deepened and Stoke either have 12 games to save themselves or they face relegation, which will have a serious impact on the club’s future plans.
This Saturday’s visit to Middlesbrough is significant and earlier this week Jon Walters, a key figure in the club’s Premier League years, made a stirring call for unity in front of the staff.
Walters returned to the Potteries as interim manager following the sacking of Ricky Martin last Thursday (more on this later).
He asked everyone to stay together and do their part in this crucial encounter. Stoke management must be hoping the message is getting through to the players.
Being relegated from the Premier League in 2018 must seem like a lifetime ago. The exciting years of big time under first Tony Pulis and then Mark Hughes were thrilling as they turned overturning the odds into an art form.
Stoke’s squad during that glorious period included strong characters and leaders such as Walters, Ryan Shawcross, Glenn Whelan and Rory Delap.
Their progress has allowed them to sprinkle stardust across Europe with super-talented players like Bojan, Marko Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri.
Under Pulis they reached the 2011 FA Cup final, toured Europe and established themselves as a consistent top-flight club.
Ignoring Hughes’ three-time ninth-place finish with a team brightly branded “Stokealona”.
Since their relegation, Stoke have barely challenged a comeback. Their highest finish was 14th under Michael O’Neill.
The last 2-3 years have been a busy one, with expenses restricted due to the Football League’s Profitability and Sustainability rules.
There is no doubt that the Stoke hierarchy have the power to provide further financial support but cannot do so under current regulations. That makes this summer’s recruiting process even more painful and explains why Martin was fired last week.
With Stoke axing a number of high-earning people and the threat of breaching financial rules following the £15 million sale of Harry Souttar to Leicester having been removed, a real opportunity to reset the club has emerged. Officials even talked about being “Premier League ready” before the season started.
Martin, along with former manager Alex Neil and head of recruitment Jared Dublin, signed 19 players over the summer, taking the total to 24 after the January transfer window. If you want an indication of how poor this recruitment is, it came before the 1-0 home defeat to Coventry earlier this month. 19 of 24 signings failed to start in this match, underlining where Stoke’s main problems lie this season.
Martin’s vision for his squad was described as “five pillars” but these plans collapsed and fell apart.
Wouter Burger, signed from FC Basel for £4 million, is one of the few success stories. Bae Junho and Junior Tchamadeu are both seen as promising players for the future. The squad, which is unbalanced and lacking in leadership, with only one recognized left-back, probably needs a new overhaul. But for now, these are the players who control Stoke’s destiny.
Pre-season often sets the tone for the campaign and Stoke’s summer training camp was a disaster. The team stayed in a hotel on the Costa Blanca, where the pitches were poor and the facilities were substandard. A staff member injured himself when a weight machine fell on him while performing in front of the players.
It is understood that only a dozen or so first-team players were present in the camp, as Stoke’s squad was still small in size at the time.
Neil was sacked in December after four consecutive defeats and just six wins this season. He follows Gary Rowett and Nathan Jones as the last Stoke manager to achieve above-expected success at other clubs but fail to turn things around.
Schumacher was a popular replacement but is already under scrutiny nine months after leading Plymouth to the League One title with 101 points. Chosen ahead of other contenders including John Eustace and Paul Heckingbottom, Schumacher is clearly an excellent coach. He received his Pro License at the age of 38 and is considered an innovative operator who uses modern techniques to develop his teams. His squad at Plymouth had a reputation for being organised, resilient and adaptable. Football was high-risk and exciting, using fast wing-backs and wingers.
Panic has now set in like a wet rope and Schumacher appears to have prioritized making his team harder to beat.
Schumacher has a strict code of conduct and refers to his rules as “non-negotiable”. The player, Ryan Mmaee, was instructed to train with the under-21 player, angering Schumacher in the dressing room following the Sunderland defeat. Mmaee flew to Turkey to meet with clubs before the January deadline but chose to stay. Another striker, Wesley, also saw a move to the same league fall apart as Stoke struggled to free up funds.
The absence of a proven, consistent goalscorer still appears to be the main concern as Stoke battle relegation.
It is impossible not to sympathize with the team owners, the Coates family, who want to see the success of the club they love. That’s not to exempt them from Stoke’s plight. The club’s joint chairman, John Coates, was the main decision-maker during the Championship years and has been a lifelong Stoke supporter. They will be horrified by their current situation.
Coates will know that mistakes happen, and perhaps his biggest mistake was the misuse of loyalty. The approach towards senior staff has always been based on trust and people’s determination to continue their work. This mentality has spread to the football side of their empire, but sometimes it means the decision to leave the 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 would take action to improve the situation. Walters’ arrival as a short-term replacement galvanized staff and officials.
Stoke will face Middlesbrough on Saturday looking for only their second win at the Bet365 Stadium since late October.
Nails will be in serious trouble from now until May 4th with matches against promotion-chasing Leeds, Preston, Norwich, Hull, West Brom and Southampton.
Now more than ever in recent history, Stoke City need to embrace the motto ‘Vis Unita Fortior’ (United is Stronger).