Stoke City are still right in the thick of the Championship relegation fight and, if there is one lesson from recent history we have to heed, it is that it is easier to stay in a division than to get back into it.
Staying up is massive for everyone. We had this position in the Premier League six years ago when we ended up being three points adrift of safety and we could all point to matches when we could or should have got more. How far have we been away since then to a return?
We will all dwell on why that is and we will all end up talking about recruitment. The art of the transfer market is to constantly bring in players who are better than what you’ve already got but we have not sung that mantra consistently enough over seven, eight or nine years.
This season – and at the moment – we can look at the quality and balance of the squad but also at constant changes in selection. We will have all been studying the fixture list again and again and that run of defeats in January and February still stings.
I hope that we go into these fixtures with our number one players in their position and a system that suits them. Keep the team together, make sure we’re fully committed, all hands on deck – and then deliver.
Leave a Reply