As everyone should have realised by now Mark Hughes is very much set in his ways. He seems to lack the capability of thinking through a Plan B and his in-game management is mediocre at best. Therefore it is more crucial than it has ever been that as a club we get everything right the first time around, whilst conforming to Hughes’ values.
I for one am an avid supporter of the Hughes Out club, I have been since the end of last season and the entirety of this one. However, it is clear that Peter Coates is going to give the man who broke us into the top half more time. So with this is mind I’ve been trying to think of ways in which our team can start performing well again, whilst being realistic with what Mark Hughes is actually likely to do.
For Stoke City, 2016 has been an… interesting year, to say the least. We’ve gone through four goalkeepers, conceded four goals in a game more times than I dare count, broken our transfer record (again) and signed a young Egyptian winger and welcomed across his entire nation’s fanbase in the process. Let’s be frank, there have been years that have been filled with a higher amount of good memories than this; but Stoke have had good times and, with 2016 drawing to a close, it’s a perfect time to remember the very best. I know some of you will have different moments than those below: the semi-final at Anfield, Joselu’s chip, Mame Diouf at right-back or the deployment of Julien Ngoy. The chosen moments, and the order I have put them in, are based entirely on my opinion. It’d be great for you to all respond with your top ten on social media and see how they compare! So, let’s get stuck in.
Three things are certain in life: death, taxes and football managers losing their jobs. And it appears that for Mark Hughes the latter is an ever increasing likelihood. The year of 2016 has taken on a feel of sadness and disappointment for most and none more so than anyone who holds Stoke City FC close to their hearts. In the 37 league games of 2016 Stoke have acquired a woeful 42 points, conceding a whopping 64 goals in the process. The blame for the continued disappointing performances lays firmly at the feet of the Welshman in charge of the side, and it is unlikely to be long before he no longer holds the role.
Hughes has amassed one of the best (if not the best) mid table side in the league, yet the performance of the side still appears to be that of a relegation threatened side. This comes from an apparent lack of trust of the newly signed stars. Take last nights drubbing for example, old boys Whelan, Crouch and Walters held starting roles whilst the players signed to replace them (the likes of Bojan, Ramadan and Shaqiri) sat on the bench. The trait of dropping flair and foreign players for a domestic player is one that has plagued the Potters throughout 2016.
This weekend saw a Premier League record broken with a whopping 29 goals being scored on a six game Saturday. Yet only slightly more than a third of these goals were scored by traditional centre forwards, this seems to point to a general trend of moving away from the use of a traditional centre forward. Liverpool have totally given up with the use of a centre forward, and Arsenal are having great success, as we saw this weekend, with moving Alexis Sanchez into the role dubbed the ‘false nine’.
Of the 434 goals scored so far this season, only 131 have been scored by those traditionally considered to be a centre forward, meaning almost 70% of Premier League goals are scored by players other than a traditional centre forward. Great, nice stat, so what? Well with Divock Origi scoring for Liverpool today Stoke became the side with the joint least goals from a striker, 2 level with Liverpool. The main issue here is that Stoke, unlike nearest low striker scorers Arsenal (3 all from Giroud) and Liverpool (2 all from Origi), have started a recognised striker for a majority of our matches.
Stoke City are in a glorious place right now: sitting comfortably in the top half of the Premier League and agonisingly close to some of England’s top football clubs. They’re capable of scoring terrific goals, assured in defence and winning games in a professional, yet entertaining, manner. Players are being rewarded for playing impressively, however team performances haven’t dipped when fringe players have been introduced due to injury, suspension or as a reward for their patience. The club has found multiple ways of changing up its play style and a clearer long-term plan seems to be in place in order to help the club grow and achieve. Putting it simply: Mark Hughes hasn’t had the credit he’s deserved over the last couple of months.
Stoke had a horrific start to the season: earning just one point from fifteen, conceding goals left, right and centre and looked uninspiring and inept. However, the win against Burnley last weekend means that Mark Hughes’ Stoke City have only lost once in their last nine Premier League games, picking up all five of their wins during that period. During this time, they have conceded just five goals and scored thirteen. This remarkable run of form means that Stoke have nineteen points and sit comfortably in ninth position, just two points away from Manchester United in sixth place. Before this run, the Stoke manager had a proportion of fans calling for his head and understandably so with the club looking doomed to a relegation battle – for a short time after the embarrassing Crystal Palace game, I was one of them. However, if we look at the two periods in isolation, the last nine games have resulted in Stoke being one of the most in form teams in Europe (spread across a season, that’s title winning form). It could be argued that Stoke should be winning against the kinds of opposition they have been facing recently; although don’t forget that Stoke have come unstuck many a time against similar opponents in recent years. Mark Hughes should be as highly praised right now as heavily scrutinised he was months ago.
Stoke have a generational issue within their fan base, the older generation hold an idea how the club belongs more to them than it does to anyone else, there I said it. This issue has reared its head again in the discussion over tonight’s FA Cup 3rd round draw and who fans want to see drawn out of the red velvet bag to face the Potters. But this is not the first time that it has been prevalent this season.
Earlier this year, and I apologise for making anyone think about this game again, after the Crystal Palace drubbing I appeared on a fan reaction video saying that it was probably the worst Stoke performance I had ever seen. I still stand by this comment as I have never felt so disappointed and angered by a Stoke performance. But some outright rejected my argument, questioning whether or not I had watched matches that were played before the date of my birth.
It’s always a lot easier to write about a win than a loss, but when that win included so many fantastic performances that job becomes harder once again. None shone through more than Imbula, who was selected as man of the match by Sky Sports. Before getting into the record signings’ performance, special mentions have to go to Bruno Martins Indi who dictated the defensive side of the game and Mame Biram Diouf who put his body on the line on countless occasions.
Back to the main man, who finally did not need to award himself the man of the match award as he received the official Premier League random coloured cuboid. Imbula put in one of the most commanding holding midfield performance of any player to have occupied that role this season. After the Bournemouth performance, where Stoke were punished for leaving the midfield much too open, Imbula partnered well with Adam to cover this region.
Before I start let’s just establish some ground rules. Just because I criticise the manager and suggest that he may no longer be the best man for the job does not mean I do not support the club. Obviously we have been much worse in the past but this is totally irrelevant to the discussion at hand, and my demand for more comes from the care I hold. Further to this when a player is criticised it is done so for their current performances and their history with the club should not have a drastic effect on the debate. Okay, agreed? Good. Let’s get into it then, the performance against Bournemouth shows serious failings within the management of Stoke City. This is for a number of reasons that will be covered in this blog post.
Glenn Whelan
One of the major talking points after the match this weekend has turned to the importance of the Irishman within our squad. This derives from the lack of a holding midfield presence within the side, and is not actually Stoke missing the underperforming Glenn Whelan, but Mark Hughes neglecting the importance of this role.
It’s hard to believe after the concerning start to the campaign that we would find ourselves on a run of six games unbeaten. A combination of factors such as Joe Allen literally imitating the heroics of Jesus means that Stoke now sit 12th in the table. But what next?
Unfortunately for Stoke City fans the torrid start to the season came as no surprise following several well-documented poor starts to previous seasons under Mark Hughes’ leadership. Within the first month of fixtures many fans had decided that European football, even a top half finish, were out of sight already. This came in spite of the poor form at the beginnings of season past, but where do the clubs chances stand now?
The turnaround in form by the team has been something just short of miraculous. Helped by a run of easier fixtures, no doubt, performances, in attack and defence, have significantly improved. The discussions of whether or not Hughes should face the sack have faded with a similar gusto to how the team has improved, and deservedly so. However, the Welshman’s struggles at the start of every single season he has been in charge should not be forgotten when it comes to the end.
