Three Managers Who Could Replace Hughes
It hasn’t been uncommon throughout the season to see the occasional article linking Hughes with a move away from the Potteries in the summer to so-called “bigger clubs”, most notably a few linking him with Manchester United during the peak of our season. Now with the cluster of news outlets reporting a link between the Potters boss and a move to Everton, I figured it’d be a good time to look at three possible replacements for Hughes should he leave, just to reassure you that it wouldn’t be the end of our high hopes as a club.
David Moyes
My personal favourite from this list is ironically the man who (Arguably) made Everton the club they are today. When he first joined Everton in 2002 he took the club to 5th position in his first season, the first time they had been in the top half of the league since the 1995/6 season when they finished 6th.
What followed were 10 years of stellar performances from Everton football club under David Moyes, until he signed for Manchester United in 2013. The club only dropped out of the top 8 on two separate occasions (2003/4 and 2005/6), a record which Stoke fans should be absolutely jumping for.
Furthermore the club reached some form of European qualification on 4 separate occasions.
So for those who are saying that David Moyes is an awful manager simply because of his time at Manchester United (A club that were 7th when he was sacked and had managed to reach the quarter-final of the Champions League), I think you should take a step back and look at his history and then make a decision.
The man has been heavily linked with a return to Celtic so it may be a difficult one to pull off, but definitely one that isn’t out of our reach.
Brendan Rodgers
The man who brought Swansea into the Premier League and did a fine good job about it, finishing their debut season in 11th, despite being favourite for the drop.
After his debut season in the Premier League Rodgers was signed for Liverpool, where in his first season he took Liverpool to an impressive 7th place. The following season we all know well, as headed up by the SAS Liverpool under Rodgers launched an attack on the title, finishing 2nd behind Manchester City.
What followed was a supposedly “poor” season where an average Liverpool team finished 6th.
The man has a stellar record and much like Moyes was criticised for finishing in positions that Stoke can only dream of at the minute.
Rafa Benitez
Oh poor Rafa. Who would have thought that the season he started out at Real Madrid would end with him watching Newcastle fall in a relegation battle (Probably)? The man was the first Spaniard to ever manage in the Premier League, and much like Rodgers we find ourselves looking at a former Liverpool manager.
In his first season with Liverpool he took the team to 5th and even won the Champions League. In his second season the team finished 3rd and won the FA Cup, not a bad record at all over the course of your first two seasons. What followed were more impressive years under Benitez, including another Champions League final. He was only sent packing from the club after they finished a dismal 7th (I hope you can sense sarcasm).
Following his career at Liverpool Benitez took Inter Milan to a Champions League final and won the Fifa Club World Cup, despite a relatively disappointing time in the league. He then moved on to Chelsea where he secured a top 4 finish and won the Europa league, during his only season at the club.
Following relatively unsuccessful spells at Napoli and Real Madrid Benitez then found himself earlier this season fighting to see Newcastle remain in the Premier League. Surely two bad runs don’t damage the reputation of this great manager?
Written by Mitch Adams
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