“Just about anyone” are the words on many Stoke fans lips, after that egotistical statement from Mark Hughes was heard by the press; but has he got a point?
Annoyingly, in his arrogance I think that he actually might. The managerial role at Stoke City is hardly an attractive prospect at the moment and the club’s hierarchy won’t be looking to bring in a relatively unknown manager. They’ll be on the hunt for a British manager who has proven Premier League experience and a track record of doing well in order drag us out of the dirt we now find ourselves in.
The downside of that is you get the same regurgitated managers that consistently find employment in and around the lower ends of the Premier League table. Managers often synonymous with this employment cycle include the likes of Sam Allardyce, Neil Warnock, Alan Pardew, Harry Redknapp, Roy Hodgson, Steve Bruce, Ian Holloway and our beloved Tony Pulis.
Many of whom are taken and unlikely to be swayed, but none of which I’d be happy with anyway. I’m pretty sure that most of the above wouldn’t even entertain the idea of joining us either so we’re already drawing a blank on potential candidates. In our club’s entire 155-year history, we’ve only ever had two foreign managers so the idea of appointing someone with such pedigree of Roberto Mancini, Ronald Koeman or André Villas-Boas are as unlikely as they are deluded.
At the end of the day, we’re Stoke City. We’re not a big side. Even now, you can still go abroad in Europe and many of the locals still won’t have heard of us. We just don’t have the pulling power that the southern clubs often have, or lucrative prospects that the northern powerhouses of Manchester United, Manchester City, Everton and Liverpool can offer. To be attractive, we need to spend the money and appeal to both players’ and manager’s hearts that way, which just isn’t in Stoke’s nature. We’re often praised for our regimented wage structure and living within our means, but with all the TV deals and money flowing through the Premier League, it’s something we must look at altering before losing it completely.
As mentioned, there are very few candidates that fit the bill. The only person I see as an immediate success and can take us to the next level would be Martin O’Neill. He ticks the board’s British box, and ticks the experience box. Bar his poor run of results with Sunderland towards the backend of the 2012/13 season, he’s been a huge success wherever he’s been. Again though, is the money there; 1) to attract him to join? and 2) for him to spend on players?
Or… do we take chance on someone less experienced? An up and coming manager with fresh approaches and something to prove? Looking at the Championship, there are names in there that could fit in well at Stoke; some British and some foreign. Would we be better off allowing them to bed themselves in over the next 5 months, buying their type of players and preparing for life in the Championship? If it works and we survive relegation, there’s a platform for them to build on and a sliver of Premier League experience earned, if we go down, well we’ve already got a head start in our plans to bounce back up. Whether we would or not, is a different question entirely and is the gamble we would be taking take.
Back to Hughes though, and the immediate matter at hand; the January transfer market. We need to spend money this month; there are areas of the squad that are too thin and without depth. Without investment, our chances of survival diminish. We already have strikers dropping in as right backs, and midfielders filling into central defence. We cannot score goals, and we cannot stop conceding them, personnel are desperately needed to steady the ship and I’d argue the right signings are far more important than who is managing them. The issue is, can Mark Hughes be trusted to spend this money? Especially when he might not be with us in the summer. Personally, I don’t think he can be, and I don’t think the club believe so either. He can’t build anything if it’s not intended to be sustainable. But if Hughes isn’t picking out targets, I don’t want anyone else behind the scenes making transfer decisions either. We’ve already seen that the recruitment side of the club is abysmal: Wimmer, Imbula and Berahino spring to mind immediately, but that’s not where the poor decisions cease.
Perhaps then it’s not just the managers that requires a change-around, but a whole club restructure as well.
Regardless, nothing will happen in January and Hughes will be with us until the end of the season. Whether any much-needed signings happen this month remains to be seen, but the fact that we’re not being linked with anyone could be a cause for concern. Stoke’s hierarchy are adamant they will not make any snap decisions in the face of growing pressure from supporters, and parting ways with a manager mid-season is the last thing the board want to be doing.
There’s no doubt in my mind that if we are still in trouble come April time, Hughes will walk away from Stoke City and in doing so, keep his relegation record clean.
Who do you think is best suited for the Stoke job? Or do you think it’s best to keep hold of Hughes until the Summer? Let me know, either way… everybody’s an expert!
Everybody's An Expert 