After losing their third game in a row in the Championship, Stoke City received a raucous response from their own fans.
Alex Neil maintains he doesn’t check social media, and this morning isn’t the time to start.
Stoke City debates center on the manager’s workload, potential successors, and the club’s position in the relegation zone. It would be naive to believe that these discussions were not taking place offline after such a raucous away end reaction to the deciding last-second goal and full-time siren when Stoke lost 2-1 at Plymouth on Saturday.
Stoke City experienced their third consecutive loss, marking the third instance of conceding crucial late goals in as many matches. With 10 defeats in 19 games this season, they’ve accumulated only 21 points, holding a precarious five-point lead over third-bottom Queens Park Rangers. Their offensive struggles are evident, having scored only 19 goals, the fifth-lowest in the league, while conceding 27.
Hopes were on the rise as Neil’s team entered the international break with a promising five-game unbeaten streak, but it has since transformed into a five-game winless run. Stoke has hit a ceiling, failing to break through as Neil had emphasized, halting their progress in establishing the squad in the top half. The team finds itself caught in a football whirlwind, oscillating between highs and lows, often ending up drenched. Neil himself acknowledged the Championship’s unpredictable mood swings last week.
“If you look at every club in the Championship, there’s a lack of consistency for a lot of clubs,” he added. “Winning games is difficult. It is not simple. Some games will be more suited to us, while others will be less so. We need to figure out how to be effective in every game. That’s what we’re looking for right now. I don’t get too excited or too depressed. When you win, you’re never as terrific as people think you are, and when you lose, you’re never as horrible as people think you are. We must remain focused on our objectives.”
To some extent, he must be concerned about one Stoke fan: his chairman, John Coates. Coates is undoubtedly on the patient end of the spectrum, and he has a thick skin when he believes a choice is correct for the club.
Neil, appointed by Coates, has been instrumental in guiding Stoke’s unprecedented rebuild of the squad and the ongoing mass changes. The club’s board was prepared for a long-term project, but it was not a quick fix. The bottom line is a tangible sense of progress, and Neil must pick up enough wins in the short-term to maintain buy-in.
Stoke manager Coates has always managed by consent, as he has faced criticism for not keeping Mark Hughes, who struggled to maintain the crowd’s support. The season is still at a crossroads, with Stoke just two good results away from the top half and three from the top six. The club is at a bad fortnight away from being sucked into the bottom division, making it crucial for the club to act now or wait for the right opportunity. The team’s focus on staying on the right side of Financial Fair Play rules is crucial for their success.
