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Mark Hughes was not a popular appointment at the Bet365 stadium. When the Welshman’s appointment became increasingly more likely, the Chairman of the Potters supporters club at the time, Bryan Shaw told the Mirror “If you ask the majority of Stoke supporters, Mark Hughes would not be their first choice,”. A fan named ‘Carl’ also parked his yellow van outside the home ground with ‘Hughes Out’ written on a placard. He hadn’t been appointed yet.
Hughes was tasked with ending the clichéd ‘cold, wet Tuesday night at Stoke approach’ for a brand of football something altogether more attractive. The former Blackburn and QPR manager was himself also eager to banish the demons of his ill-fated spell at Loftus Road, which saw the West London club struggle despite an extensive squad overhaul, at great cost to the club’s coffers. Progress was his watchword, and he achieved it quickly, with the Potters finishing 9th in his debut season, their highest league finish since 1975-1976.
There can be little denying the change Hughes has brought to Stoke. Stability has been a cornerstone of his time in the potteries; Stoke are now a seasoned, well-structured and competitive Premier League side. In terms of squad personnel, they are now able to boast talent like Marko Arnautovic, Xherdan Shaqiri and Joe Allen, a far cry from the era of Rory Delap, Dean Whitehead and Cameron Jerome. The playing style has changed with the players, as Jermaine Pennant put it just months into his reign, “We’re getting the ball down and showing what we can do, which is a lot different to last season and the years before”.
But if progress is to be the litmus paper from which Hughes’ reign should be judged, it appears that things may have stalled. Four years on from his appointment and three consecutive ninth place finishes later; another season is threatening to fizzle out into mid-table mediocrity. Once more, a feeling of disquiet is circulating on Stanley Matthews Way.
For all the talent at their disposal, Stoke have underwhelmed. Despite Premier League stability, only once have the Potters gone beyond the fifth round of a domestic cup competition. That was the League Cup semi-final last year, where they lost to Liverpool.
But it is their Premier League form that is the cause of most concern. Hughes’ side look completely incapable of challenging any side in the top half of the table. As things stand, they have not beaten any of the 12 sides above them in the table so far this season. Despite the supposed change in their style of play, Stoke sit 15th for goals scored, netting just 39 times from 36 games, failing to score in a nauseating 11 of them. Defensively, they have only kept one clean sheet.
The Potters have won just two of their last eleven fixtures, and with only three games left to play, they will be unable to pass the 50 point mark this season, making this season their lowest points return since Hughes arrived in the West Midlands.
Hughes may point to the lack of transfer outlay, which, according to transfermarkt.com, pits them below Burnley having spent just over £30 million this season, a similar outlay to relegation threatened Middlesbrough, Hull and Bournemouth. Indeed, Hughes was tasked by chairman Peter Coates with making the club self-sufficient, something the chairman praised him for achieving last year.
But in the past two seasons, Stoke have still spent £75 million. Marquee signings including Giannelli Imbula, signed for £20 million from Porto in January 2016, and Xherdan Shaqiri, bought for £15 million nearly two years ago, have underwhelmed. Instead, Hughes has turned to the trusted, but ageing stalwarts of Jon Walters, Peter Crouch and Glenn Whelan. Despite their reliability, all three are hangovers from the Tony Pulis years, and hardly reflect a period of change.
Like last season, where they won only two of their remaining ten fixtures, Stoke City’s season is ending with a whimper. With form on the slide, underwhelming football and another season of mediocrity, many on the banks of the Trent are beginning to sense the stench of stagnation. Progress in the Mark Hughes era, it seems, has well and truly stalled.
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