by The last time Stoke City suffered relegation to the third tier was in 1998 and now, more than a quarter of a century later, this famous old football club is on the brink of death again.
Stoke are crawling towards the door to League One after a frustrating season of underachievement and haphazard recruitment, with anger and apathy growing in the stands.
Steven Schumacher is the latest former head coach to be thoroughly tested 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 wins in his last seven games.
The football club seems to have it all – wealthy, ambitious, locally born owners, state-of-the-art facilities and fans desperate for action.
But it seems the problems run deep and Stoke now have 12 games to save themselves, or face relegation which will have a major impact on the club’s future plans.
The visit of Middlesbrough this Saturday feels very 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 the team.
Walters is back at the Potteries as interim technical director, following the sacking of Ricky Martin last Thursday (more on that later).
He demanded that everyone stick together and play their part in the crucial run. The Stoke board must hope the players have got the message.
Relegation from the Premier League in 2018 must feel like a lifetime ago. Those turbulent years back in the big time, first under Tony Pulis and then under Mark Hughes, when they turned their upset into an art form, were extremely exciting.
The Stoke squad during that glorious period included strong characters and leaders, such as Walters, Ryan Shawcross, Glenn Whelan and Rory Delap.
Due to their progress, they managed to sprinkle dust from all over Europe with very talented players including Bojan, Marko Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri.
Under Pulis, they reached the 2011 FA Cup final, swept across Europe and established themselves as a stable top-flight club.
It is hardly forgotten that Hughes achieved three ninth-place finishes, with a team that carried the great “Stokealona” brand.
Since their relegation, Stoke have barely challenged for a comeback. Their highest finish was 14th place under Míchíl O’Neill.
With spending restrictions due to the Football League’s Profitability and Sustainability rules, it has been a slog over the last two or three years.
There is no doubt that the Stoke hierarchy have the power to provide greater financial support, but they are unable to do so under the current regulations. That makes this summer’s recruitment drive even worse, and explains why Martin was sacked last week.
When the threat of a breach of financial rules was removed after Stoke offloaded a large number of earners and the £15 million sale of Harry Souttar to Leicester, there was a real opportunity to reset the club. Officials even said they were “Premier League ready” before the start of the season.
Along with former manager Alex Neil, and head of recruitment Jared Dublin, Martin signed 19 players in the summer, taking the total to 24 after the January transfer window. If you want an indication of how bad that recruitment was, it came before the 1-0 home win against Coventry earlier this month. For that game, 19 of the 24 signings failed to start, highlighting Stoke’s main problems this season.
Martin’s vision for his squad was described as his “five bullets” but those plans have been downplayed.
Wouter Burger, a £4 million signing from FC Basel, is one of the few success stories. Bae Junho and Junior Tchamadeu are seen as promising players for the future. Inequality and lack of leadership, with only one goal identified, the squad is likely to need another overhaul. For now, though, these are the players who control Stoke’s destiny.
Pre-season often dictates the direction of a 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 team member injured himself when a weight machine fell on him while demonstrating 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 games this season. He followed Gary Rowett and Nathan Jones as the latest Stoke manager to have achieved too much at other clubs but failed to turn the tanker around.
Schumacher was popular locally but is already under scrutiny, nine months after leading Plymouth to League One with 101 points. Selected ahead of other contenders, including John Eustace and Paul Heckingbottom, Schumacher is clearly an excellent coach. He passed his Pro-Licence at the age of 38 and is regarded as an innovative operator who used 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, making use of fast backs and wings.
Panic has now turned to wet rope, and Schumacher seems to have made it a priority to make it harder for his team.
Schumacher has a strict code of conduct and refers to his rules as the “non-issues”. One player, Ryan Mmaee, was ordered to train with the under-21s after angering Schumacher in the dressing room after the win at Sunderland. Mmaee flew out to Turkey for talks with clubs before the January deadline but chose to stay. Another forward, Wesley, saw a move to the same league fall through as Stoke battled to free up funds.
The lack of a consistent, proven goalscorer still appears to be the main concern as Stoke face the drop.
It is impossible not to feel sympathy for the owners, the Coates family, who just want to see their beloved club. That is not to apologize for Stoke’s position. John Coates, the club’s co-chairman, is the key figure in the Championship years and a lifelong Stoke man. He will be horrified by their current situation.
Coates will know that mistakes were made, and perhaps his biggest error was misguided loyalty. The approach to senior staff has always been about trust and determination to let people get on with their jobs. That mentality has extended to the football side of their empire, but that sometimes means it comes too late to decide on a part company.
Martin was sacked last week, in what appeared to be a show of support for Schumacher. It was a big call, and it proved that Coates will take action to improve the situation. Staff members and officers are galvanized by Walters’ arrival as a short-term replacement.
Stoke face Middlesbrough on Saturday looking for their second win at the Bet365 Stadium since the end of October.
With games against promotion-chasers Leeds, Preston, Norwich, Hull, West Brom and Southampton still to play, there will be an acute shortage of nails between now and May 4.
Stoke City now need to embrace their motto ‘Vis Unita Fortior’ (United Strength is Stronger) more than at any time in their recent history.
