Stoke City Season Preview: aging squad

Given that Stoke City have been in the third tier since the turn of the century, it might seem harsh to deem a 13th place Premier League finish -10 points above the drop zone – a bad season. That though, only tells half the story. The Potters have been part of the top flight furniture for nearly a decade and last season was preceded by three straight years in ninth. So, was it a solid campaign for Stoke, or one of regression?  Elliot Hackney from The Bear Pit TV decides.

Undoubtedly one of regression. Not only did our league position drop, but so did our standard of football. At times last season it was a real struggle to watch, and nothing more shows how average we were like the fact we didn’t beat a team in the top ten of the league.

Over the previous two years, your best player has arguably been a goalkeeper: Jack Butland in 15/16 and Lee Grant last term. Does this suggest outfield performances can improve?

It’s definitely a worrying factor our goalkeepers keep getting the Player of The Season. Our defence has been lacklustre and last season we seemed to make a theme out of losing games by a 4-0 scoreline. with the arrival of Kurt Zouma I hope he can help sort out the defence, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.

You’ve not been able to get Bruno Martins Indi back but have signed Kurt Zouma on loan. Will his centre-back partnership with Ryan Shawcross give you a solid base?

I hope so, but for me we still need another CB to come in, and hopefully that is BMI. There’s no doubt Kurt Zouma is talented and Chelsea are keen for him to get plenty of game-time after he signed a six-year-contract with them, but Mark Hughes so often switched to three at the back last year, and if he does that again he still needs another CB for cover.

Your most-used first XI had an average age of 29, with a lot of the players having peaked half a decade ago. Would you have preferred a younger replacement for Glenn Whelan than Darren Fletcher?

Personally I think Darren Fletcher can add a lot to the dressing room. He’s won countless accolades at Manchester United and Tony Pulis was very disappointed in losing a character such as Darren. With the impending exit of Giannelli Imbula I still hope we do get a younger version of Glenn Whelan, but experience still needs to play a part.

Winger Ramadan Sobhi was named Young Player of the Year last term. With Marko Arnautovic leaving, are you hoping to see him start more games?

Undoubtedly. The exclusion of Ramadan last year left multiple Stoke fans scratching their heads. The lad has already shown a very mature attitude towards the game, he can not only dazzle defenders in the final third, but you will just as often find him defending in the first.

Ramadan Sobhi is not a ready made replacement for Arnautovic as he doesn’t have the same final product, but with the constant exposure to first-team football I don’t think there’s any reason he couldn’t eventually surpass Arnautovic.

Xherdan Shaqiri and Bojan arrived to much fanfare while Saido Berahino was once one of the best young forwards in England. Is it time for those players to step up?

Shaqiri yes. He has been too inconsistent in the past couple of seasons and seems to pick up an injury every other game (it must be those legs). With Arnautovic now making way he is the key figure in our attack, and he’s looked very sharp in pre-season, so I’m hoping for big things this year.

Bojan will return from a loan spell to many Stoke fans joy, and I feel he should rightfully take back the number 10 position from Joe Allen. It will take time, but I know the magic Bojan can produce, but for that to happen Mark Hughes needs to have faith in him, and not drop him the first time he sees an average performance.

This will be a make or break season for Berahino. He will either become the goalscoring machine that he was one touted to be and potentially be a shock contender for England going into the World Cup. Or he will get 6 or 7 goals in a bang average season where Stoke fans wonder why the hell we paid £13M for him after spending three transfer windows in pursuit. This will be a big factor if Mark Hughes comes under pressure early on, and it’ll be interesting to see how long Sparky sticks with Berahino if he isn’t instantly firing.

Joe Allen – is he best as a number 10 or a sitting midfielder?

Definitely sitting. The purple patch of form that he went through last season was pure chance of being in the right places at the right time. Joe Allen is there for the dirty work, the pressing, the breaking up of play and giving it to more creative midfielders to do something with. He just isn’t a number 10, pure and simple.

Statistics suggest that of the regular left-backs in the Premier League, Erik Pieters had one of the worst attacking outputs last season. Given the modern role of full-backs, is he still good enough for you?

No. 95% of Stoke fans will agree he was our worst player last season, which is why the signing of Josh Tymon was greeted with a lot of fanfare for a young left-back from Hull. I want Mark Hughes to start Tymon immediately and use Erik Pieters as back-up, but I know it won’t go that way.

Glen Johnson is 32 and only managed to start 21 games last season due to injury. Surely another right-back is needed?

After selling Phil Bardsley, who was our better RB last season I have to agree. We do have a young prospect from the academy in Tom Edwards who Hughes says influenced the reason he sold Phil Bardsley, but do I think he’s ready for the Premier League? No.  Glen Johnson is notoriously often injured, so I really want to see an established RB come into the club as soon as possible.

Potters aside, what are your thoughts ahead of the Premier League season as a whole?

Love it, and I just hope we’re there again next season…

Where will you finish?

At this point with our obvious lack of signings I’ll take anywhere above the relegation zone. But for predictions I’ll say 13th.

The Football Lab’s Verdict

Stoke have made few attempts to evolve an aging squad. The trio of Grant, Shawcross and Zouma provide strong resistance in their own box, but with Arnautovic not yet replaced, it is hard to see how they will trouble the opposition. Hughes’ good work in the past means a patient board could give him dangerous levels of loyalty. 16th 

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