“Not his fault” – Assessing Steven Schumacher’s Long-Term Future Prospects at Stoke City

It has been a tough start to life at Stoke City for Steven Schumacher since he replaced Alex Neil in December. Stoke City are facing a crucial period in their season as they look to secure Championship survival.

Optimism was high at the Bet365 Stadium heading into the season after a busy summer of recruitment, but the Potters made a poor start to the campaign, resulting in the sacking of Alex Neil in December.

Steven Schumacher made the move from Plymouth Argyle to replace Neil, but it has been a tough start for the 39-year-old, and he has won just five of his 17 games in charge so far, drawing three and losing nine.

It had seemed as though Stoke had turned a corner after recent wins over Middlesbrough and Preston North End, but they suffered a comprehensive 3-0 home defeat to Norwich City on Saturday, leaving them just two points above the relegation zone.

There has been speculation over Schumacher’s future in recent weeks, with Gareth Ainsworth, Tony Pulis and Adrian Heath all said to have been under consideration as potential replacements, but it looks like the Potters will stick with him.

Is Steven Schumacher the right man to take Stoke City forward?

We asked some of our FLW writers whether Stoke should stick with Schumacher beyond the end of the season, even if he keeps them in the Championship – let’s see what they had to say.

James Reeves

It is a tricky call facing Stoke on Schumacher’s long-term future.

Schumacher looked to be an exciting appointment for the Potters after the outstanding job he did at Plymouth, leading the Pilgrims to the League One title last season, but there is no doubt it has been a disappointing start for him at the bet365 Stadium.

After the defeat to Norwich, it remains to be seen whether Stoke will opt to make a change over the international break, and survival specialist Neil Warnock could be a tempting short-term option following his departure from Aberdeen.

It could be argued that should the Potters be relegated, Schumacher would be the perfect candidate to lead them back to the Championship given his excellent League One record, but he is unlikely to be given that opportunity if he takes the club down.

Should Schumacher keep Stoke in the division, he will have navigated an incredibly difficult situation, and he certainly deserves the chance to rebuild a squad that is in desperate need of a refresh.

Schumacher is a manager with huge potential, and if he is backed, he could be the man to turn the Potters’ fortunes around after years of underachievement.

Ben Wignall

Stoke City only gave Alex Neil just over a year in the dugout, so they should afford a similar amount of time to Schumacher considering they had to pay money to take him from Plymouth.

Schumacher is clearly a highly-rated coach and that was showed when his Argyle side pipped Ipswich Town to the League One title last season – and look what the Tractor Boys are doing now.

Argyle were giving a good account of themselves in the second tier before Schumacher was taken from under their noses, with front-footed football implemented and there was a lot of excitement at Home Park compared to now under Ian Foster.

The inconsistent nature of Stoke’s current results under Schumacher are not his fault – the leg work of the squad rebuild was done under Neil’s management but also the previous technical director in Ricky Martin, so the current head coach should not be really blamed for any shortcomings.