Stoke have done that thing where they give a manager the whole pre-season and summer budget then sack him as soon as the transfer window closes again and for it all, they're still in the bottom half of the Championship, where they've been stuck for six years - @Potterlytics gives us the latest.

How's the start of the season been for Stoke?

It’s been very mixed. Results have us higher than we probably deserve from our performances, especially under new manager Pèlach. The shock of Steven Schumacher’s departure has started to wane, but it still feels like a pretty volatile club at the minute.

Stoke in the league so far…
Stoke 1-0 Coventry Baker 78
Watford 3-0 Stoke Kayembe 47, 73, Andrews 49
Stoke 1-2 West Brom Koumas 29 – Grant 18, Maja 31
Plymouth 0-1 Stoke Manhoef 83
Oxford 1-0 Stoke Mizouni 48
Stoke 1-3 Hull Wilmot 30 – Palmer 63, Slater 77, Wilmot og 79,
Boro 2-0 Stoke Doak 34, Hackney 73
Stoke 6-1 Portsmouth Cannon 13, 43, pen 48, 51, Gallagher 45, Moran 53 – O’Mahony 29
Swansea 0-0 Stoke
Stoke 1-1 Norwich Manhoef 45 – Crnac 45
Stoke 2-2 Bristol City Koumas 2, Moran 14 – Wells 50, 52
Sheff Utd 2-0 Stoke Moore 14, Campbell 50
Stoke 2-1 Derby Cannon pen 9, Gibson 82 – Johansson og 68
Blackburn 0-2 Stoke Manhoef 57, Cannon pen 85
Stoke 1-1 Millwall Gibson 60 – Coburn 42

Giving Schumacher a whole summer transfer window and budget, then binning him off after a not unreasonable start the second the window was closed felt pure present-day Stoke to me. What led to that decision? What do you think of it now a month or two on?

I’m still pretty disappointed in it, to be honest. Schumacher wasn’t setting the world alight, but he certainly didn’t deserve to be sacked, and it feels like Stoke are continuing their obsession with finding ‘good’ managers, who will magically turn the club into what it ‘deserves’ to be. I don’t think anyone will ever know why it happened, but it certainly isn’t the sign of a well-run club working in a sustainable manner.

What has Narcis Pelach changed? What are your first impressions with him?

He’s come in with a clear style, both on and off the pitch. An emphasis on hard work, team-bonding and togetherness have resonated well with fans, helped by a few battling wins and draws among some poor performances. A fantastic 6-1 win over Portsmouth showed what his football can do. Fast-paced, aggressive, and high-quality when we win the ball high, Stoke can tear apart a struggling side. That said, when coming up against sides with a bit more about them on the ball, we’ve had to rely on a *lot* of luck and a big dollop of Viktor Johansson to keep us in games. He’s a young manager, with lots to learn, but he’s not been a disappointment so far.

Overall assessment of the summer transfer business?

Generally okay, although there is still a worry about our squad depth. Stoke let go of a couple of core squad members in Josh Laurent, Lewis Baker, and Ryan Mmaee among others, and the midfield in particular has been a real weakness off the ball. The return of exciting signing Bosun Lawal may solve some of those issues, but some really good loan moves for players like Andrew Moran and Ashley Phillips look like positive business.

Ins >>> Bosun Lawal, 21, CB, Celtic, £2m >>> Sam Gallagher, 28, CF, Blackburn, £1.5m >>> Eric Junior Bocat, 24, LB, Sint Truiden (Belgium), £1m >>> Viktor Johansson, 25, GK, Rotherham, £900k >>> Ben Gibson, 31, CB, Norwich, Free >>> Wiktor Gromek, 19, CM, Lecce, Undisclosed >>> Tatsuki Seko, 26, CM, Kawasaki, Undisclosed >>> Tom Cannon, 21, CF, Leicester, Loan Andrew Moran, 20, AM, Brighton, Loan >>> Ashley Phillips, 19, CB, Spurs, Loan >>> Lewis Koumas, 18, LW, Liverpool, Loan

Outs >>> Mehdi Leris, 26, RW, Pisa, £2.5m >>> Josh Laurent, 29, CM, Burnley, £1m >>> Tom Edwards, 25, RB, Salford, Free >>> D’Margio Wright-Phillips, 22, CF, Beerschot (Belgium), Free >>> Blondy Nna Noukeu, 22, GK, Sunderland, Free >>> Liam McCarron, 23, LB, Northampton, Undisclosed >>> Tyrese Campbell, 24, CF, Sheff Utd, Free >>> Diabeto, 27, CF, Karagumruk, Free >>> Daniel Johnson, 31, AM, Karagumruk, Free >>> Ciaran Clark, 34, CB, Released >>> Ryan Mmaee, 26, CF, Rapid Vienna, Loan >>> Lewis Baker, 29, CM, Blackburn, Loan >>> Nikola Jojic, 20, RW, Mladost, Loan

Stand out players and weak links in the side?

I’d be remiss not to spend an hour talking about how good Viktor Johansson has been, he’s won us at least nine points so far, and without him I fear we’d genuinely be in the relegation zone currently. Million Manhoef, Bae Jun-ho and Andrew Moran have been really exciting on the break in recent weeks, and their technical quality shines through in this league. On the other side, the full back position has been an issue, as has the midfield, and although the players themselves may not have been weak links, so to speak, the ease with which Stoke’s midfield is played through has been a huge worry.

Thirteenth coming into this game. Again, a very Stoke position in recent years. How do Stoke break out of this cycle of lower midtable finishes? Is Jon Walters sporting director really the answer?

If you’d given the job to a person with Jon Walters’ exact experience but who hadn’t played for Stoke, there’s no way they would’ve been welcomed by fans as he has, but I think with how often Stoke have wildly swung from plan to process, three managers (or head coaches) in 12 months means this really has to be a plan they stick with. A range of sporting/technical directors, directors of football, technical boards, and God knows what else in the past six years has left Stoke a club that cannot allow any kind of ethos to survive more than four losses without a root-and-branch revolution. Pèlach is one hell of a risk for Walters, and if it doesn’t pay off, I worry that the next plan will be another revolution. The obsession with being ‘good’ rather than being what we want to be is never-ending, and I fear that means the cycle is never-ending too.

Revised expectations for the season?

I don’t think much has changed for me, this is a side that nearly got relegated last year, but a squad that should be nowhere near that low in the table. I’d have been hoping for a top half finish before, and as unfair as it is on Pèlach, I think Walters has enforced the same kind of expectations on the new manager too.

Links >>> Stoke City official website >>> Stoke Sentinel — Local press >>> The Oatcake — Message Board >>> The Wizards of Drivel — Podcast >>> Every Step Along The Way — Podcast

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