Peter Smith looks at the big talking points from Stoke City’s 3-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers as Steven Schumacher feels the heat

Stoke City have sunk into the Championship relegation soup with another run of four straight defeats, capped by a first-half horror show at Blackburn Rovers. In a classic six-pointer, Stoke came out of the game with none ands now face a tricky home game with Queens Park Rangers in midweek with no clear suggestion they will arrest a disturbing slide on home turf.

Stoke are in big trouble

Four defeats in a row, conceding 11 goals in their last three, has seen the mood change sharply at Stoke. Supporters aren’t sure where the next meaningful goal is coming from, never mind the next win. It is a dreadful time to be slipping into the wrong end of the table, with momentum going one way.

“It is but we knew that’s where we’re at,” said Steven Schumacher. “It’s why I was brought in because we were in a bit of trouble. As I said to the players before, we had a five, six-game period when we looked really solid and committed to what we were trying to do. In the last couple of games we’ve just been too open on the transition and we keep getting punished for it. We have to make sure we get the basics right and get our heads on it for the next game because Wednesday night (against QPR) becomes even more important after a poor result and a poor 40-minute performance.”

Can Stoke defend with these players?

Stoke didn’t buy a centre-half in the January transfer window, nor a left-back, but they did look tough to beat in Schumacher’s first five games with this group of players.

Schumacher, never mind a reputation for exciting football, was asked if he was going to try to double down on trying to be compact to get back to that.

“Absolutely, just go over it again,” he said. “This is where we need all the players in positions to help each other out because it’s too easy at the moment, people are getting isolated to put balls into the box and we’re not marking in the box well enough. We need to speak about that as well.

“There are loads of minor details that we need to speak about but actions speak louder than words and we have to go out there and do it right on the pitch and perform to the level that’s required.”

Getting the basics right

Trying to stop crosses, marking players in the penalty area and dealing with a goal-kick lumped down the middle of the pitch are not topics that should need to be priorities for any manager or coach in the Championship.

“But we do go through it,” said Schumacher. “We go through it every week with shape and organisation, what the basics are that we’re looking for because that’s what’s required. You can’t leave any stone unturned.

“We spoke about, when you lose the ball, you have to close the gaps and we always speak about when they are attacking, you’ve got to sprint back. If you don’t do that, you will get overloaded and that’s what happened twice down our left side. It was too easy for the cross to come in. It’s just not acceptable.”

Spotlight always turns to recruitment

Radio Stoke’s Praise & Grumble was so lively and busy that it was extended for an hour – and caller after caller came back to recruitment. If you’re in this position at this stage of the season, then everyone will always look at how the squad was put together. In Stoke’s case, no one has to look much past last summer. There have been 23 players signed since the end of last season.

Nick Thorley, AKA Pottermouth, harked back to the opportunities of 2023 and said: “Ricky Martin talked about key performance indicators in the Q&A with supporters on Thursday night and mentioned all kinds of KPIs that he worked towards. I would like to suggest a different metric for those KPIs. How about goals scored, goals conceded, games won, games drawn, games lost.

“Ricky Martin has overseen the most disastrous recruitment process at Stoke since I started supporting them in 1992. He’s taken a very average Championship squad and turned it into a very poor Championship squad that can’t score and can’t keep a clean sheet.

“We’re now in a relegation battle, it looks like the players aren’t good enough, the character isn’t good enough, and as fans we’re scrabbling around now saying things like, ‘Put Wesley up front’. Wesley is hopeless, but who else are you going to play? Our top scorer is Vidigal, who’s scored five and hasn’t scored for months.”

Stoke need more than a rallying call this year.

Schumacher understands frustration

Frustration or fury, Schumacher understands that it has to be the team that makes the move. Stoke fans are desperate to have something to get behind. Never mind Leicester supporters demanding only pretty wins, Stoke supporters will give everything for players who play like a team.

You don’t have to be particularly good to stay up in the Championship but if you’re not in it together then you’re wobbling.

Schumacher said: “I understand fans’ frustration. We’ve said to the players at the end that they will accept us making a mistake by passing the ball or bad touch but they won’t accept not doing the basics right, that’s competing for first and second balls and not being easy to play against. It’s just not right.

“I do understand it and we are going to need the fans but the players are going to have to give the fans a performance to get behind.”