Ever since their relegation from the Premier League in the 2017/18 season, life in the EFL Championship for Stoke City has been nothing but a desolate downfall for the former European hopefuls. The Potters have failed to finish above 13th during their seven-year spell in the second division with many managers trying and failing to build any sort of optimism for the fanbase.
The club currently languish in 18th position, four points clear of the bottom three and have recently parted ways with Narcis Pelach after just three months in charge.
But are these poor league finishes all necessarily down to the managers? Or is there more to it as to why Stoke have had these years of misery which has left supporters in a deep sense of anguish.
Following their relegation from the top flight, the first manager who came through the revolving door was Gary Rowett. After successful stints at Birmingham City and Derby County prior to joining the Potters, there were a lot of expectation for Rowett and Stoke with many thinking they would walk back to the Premier League.
Despite having a talented squad that included the likes of Jack Butland, Tom Ince, Joe Allen and Benik Afobe, Rowett struggled to get a tune out of these players and was therefore sacked in the January of that season with Stoke sat 11th in the table.
With high expectations that season you could say it was the right decision to let Rowett go after just six wins during his tenure, but he had to deal with big losses to the squad and embed over ten new signings, which is a far from easy task, especially after relegation.
The man to replace Rowett that January was Nathan Jones of Luton Town. There was plenty of optimism and hope following the appointment of Jones after he guided Luton Town from League Two to the top of League One; the Hatters went on to achieve promotion following his departure.
So the idea of Jones at the time was a very good one; bringing in a young coach to generate new ideas, but he also struggled to make an impact at bet365 Stadium.
A 3-1 defeat at Brentford and a FA Cup upset at the hands of League One Shrewsbury Town didn’t get his tenure off to a good start and it didn’t get much better from there. The now Charlton Athletic boss guided Stoke to just three wins from January to the end of the season with the club finishing in 16th place.
So it seemed that they got worse under Jones but with a summer transfer window and pre-season coming up, he was given a chance.
But the next season saw no improvement under Jones and with fans losing faith he was sacked after a 2-0 defeat to Millwall in October 2019 with just two league wins in their opening 14 games.
This was a sacking that was fully deserved after having an 18% win rate under Jones with the club spiralling down into a relegation battle. Stoke were already looking for their third permanent manager in just over a year since relegation.
The board would then turn their attention to Northern Ireland national team manager Michael O’Neill. This was one of their better appointments as he lasted just under three years in the job.
O'Neill won his first game emphatically after beating fellow strugglers Barnsley 4-2 at Oakwell and then a 2-1 win at home to Wigan Athletic. Results slowed down eventually but O’Neill stirred the Potters to a 16th place finish, whilst going into lockdown. There was reason to be optimistic for the next season after winning four of their final six games that season.
Things improved drastically during the 2020/21 season with Stoke fighting for a play off place for the majority of the season. They were as high as 5th in December of that season but a slow decline during the second half of the season meant they went on to finish 14th. Despite only climbing two places from the season before, it was still an improvement and they were playing some beautiful football at times.
The following season was almost identical to the season prior with Stoke fighting for a play-off spot around Christmas time with the club sat 7th at the turn of the new year. But the same fall off happened as this time they finished 13th. A run of one win in ten games between January and March seemed to be their downfall with some fans critical of O’Neill during this time but he still had the majority backing.
That backing didn’t last going into the 2022/23 season as after five league games, O’Neill was dismissed after picking up just four points. This sacking received mixed responses with supporters believing he couldn’t take the club any further meanwhile other supporters were hesitant of the sacking and didn’t know what to expect after that. O’Neill left Stoke on a 39% win rate and returned to the Northern Ireland national team.
The man to replace O’Neill was then-Sunderland manager Alex Neil. After guiding the Black Cats to the Championship via the League One play-offs, it was a shock to see Neil change from the Sunderland red and white stripes to the Stoke ones with Sunderland being higher in the league. But he did it and he oversaw a very mixed season.
It wasn't until his third game in charge that Neil picked up his first win, with the Potters dismantling Hull City 3-0 at the MKM Stadium before going another three games without a win.
The issue for Neil was consistency throughout the season. It was only on three occasions where his side managed to go unbeaten for three games or more and they only won back-to-back games twice throughout the season. It was a tough end to the season with only one win from their last nine games with the club finishing in 16th place, while Neil’s former side Sunderland would finish in the top six.
Neil kept his job going into the 2023/24 season with hope he could turn things around. But it was more of the same though. Just three league wins from the opening ten did not bode well for the Scottish manager with his time eventually running out in December as he was sacked after a 1-0 defeat at home to bottom club Sheffield Wednesday. Things were really starting to turn bleak in Stoke.
The next man to take up the hot seat was Steven Schumacher, pinched from fellow Championship side Plymouth Argyle. The man who led Plymouth to promotion to the Championship saw an instant spark following his arrival in Staffordshire.
He went on a five game unbeaten run at the start of his tenure but things took an instant turn for the worse, with Stoke losing seven on the following nine.
Like Neil, Schumacher struggled for consistency and with just eleven games left Stoke found themselves in the bottom three. The Liverpool born coach did enough to keep them up after just one defeat in their final eight games.
This season there was hope that Schumacher could help Stoke push on after two wins and three losses in the league to start the season. With the club sat in 11th place, Stoke made the shock decision to sack Scheumacher. The start to the season was by no means a sackable offence and this is where the fans had really started to turn on the board.
His replacement was a huge risk as they went with Narcis Pelach, who was part of the Norwich City coaching staff. The Spaniard's only managerial experience was an interim basis at Huddersfield Town in 2023. This appointment left many flabbergasted as to why they would appoint someone with so little experience.
A 6-1 win over Portsmouth in his third game in charge meant he could be on his way to silencing the critics.
But from then, he managed to win just two of his next 14 games in charge and was therefore sacked after the 2-0 defeat to Leeds United on boxing day. It was an appointment that looked to only go one way as he took Stoke down to 19th in the league.
One man who has been under the pressure from the fan base is sporting director and former striker John Walters. The old fan favourite has been amongst the talks of the fanbase with many thinking he is not up for the job. The decision to sack Scheumacher, who was popular amongst the fans, is now regarded as a disastrous one.
Many feel he is very power hungry over the recruitment and not really letting a manager have too much say. Having a poor relationship with the fans is far too much pressure to be working under as it is and he needs to get this next appointment right to get the fans on side again.
Stoke’s scattergun approach with managers is not something to be proud of. It shows with their squad. By having so many managers come in, the squad isn’t as settled as other Championship clubs with new ideas seemingly going into them every season.
The Potters have made over 40 signings in the last three seasons, an approach seen as too much.
So it is critical that Stoke get this next appointment right. Former Coventry City manager Mark Robins, almost harshly dismissed this season, will be the next manager at the bet365 Stadium.
Robins won't be in charge for the New Year's Day trip to 3rd-place Burnley, but will be at the helm for the first time for the visit of managerless bottom club Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.
It feels like a very similar situation to Birmingham City last season with harshly sacking a manager and getting repercussions because of it. Stoke will be hoping not to have the same fate as Blues and will hoping to finally stick to a manager long term.
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