Championship analyst Don Goodman thinks Stoke City’s belief in Steven Schumacher will pay off in the form of a top half finish or maybe a push for the playoffs the following year.
After being hired in December to take Alex Neil’s place, Schumacher has been faced with the daunting task of keeping Stoke alive this season. They are in a strong position to complete the task after a run of three victories and a draw in their past six games, but they still need to work hard over the next month to ensure their standing.
Beyond that, co-commentator Goodman for Sky Sports is optimistic that a preseason and a ton of more summer transfer activity will help put an end to the team’s six-year run of losing in the bottom half.
“I do think Stoke have made the right call by sticking with Steven Schumacher. They’ve got a young and talented coach at their disposal, who walked into a very difficult situation. Since being relegated, Stoke are expected to be near the top of the Championship but they have been involved in relegation fights most seasons,” Goodman said in an interview for Crypto Casinos Ltd.
“It’s not the fault of the hierarchy as they have pumped so much money into the club but have, ultimately, backed the wrong horses. The managers they’ve hired have all had impressive CVs but for whatever reason, it just hasn’t worked out.
“I do think that they have got the right man this time, though, with a full pre-season and tinkering of the recruitment department. He’s going to need to move a lot of players out and bring some in, which is what causes a headache for managers. Around 19 or 20 players were signed last summer but you’d only say that about two or three of them have produced results.
“That means there’s a lot of dead wood at Stoke City, which means Steven Schumacher will have to do a lot of wheeling and dealing. But I do think he’s capable of that and producing a season which gets them in the top-half and pushing the play-offs.”
