Season Reviews: Stoke City Season Review
Final Table Position – 9th
Points Total – 54
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2014-15 Summary
The transition from Tony Pulis to Mark Hughes has presumably been exactly what the Stoke City Board had in mind. Stoke City have continued to be an average to above average Premier League team. They have moved away from ugly style that Tony Pulis used to keep them in the Premier League to a style under Hughes that combines the physical with some attractive but pragmatic play going forward. Hughes subtle changes to the Potters’ approach has led to their best-ever points total in the Premier League and a second season in a row of finishing ninth in the table.
The news gets even better at the Britannia when you look a little deeper into how Mark Hughes has achieved the results he has achieved. Without breaking double digits of millions of pounds total over his two seasons in charge, Hughes has increased the talent pool, managed to attract high end talents to the Potteries and add enviable depth to the squad at the same time. It has been a masterful job of playing the transfer market and finding bargains that can make an impact. Bojan was certainly the biggest of the signings having once been called “better then Messi” when the two were graduating from La Masia but it has been canny free transfers for the likes of Mame Biram Diouf, Marc Muniesa, Steve Sidwell, Phil Bardsley, and Stephen Ireland that have padded the squad with solid Premier League quality. Hughes also brought in Victor Moses on loan and got Erik Pieters and Marko Arnautovic for a combined £5million. The club is well-stocked from a depth point-of-view and with Premier League television revenue going through the roof, they should be in a fantastic financial position given how little money Hughes has expended to get to ninth in the table.
Fantasy Summary
Fantasy Stars – One negative about Stoke City’s depth, especially when combined with a still relatively conservative approach from Hughes is that it hasn’t generated much in the way of impact players from a fantasy point-of-view. Victor Moses was on a great pace early in the season in scoring formats that favor secondary statistics like successful crosses, corners won, passes intercepted and tackles won. Like Hughes wingers of old like David Bentley or Mort Gamst Pedersen, Moses looked like he might enjoy a prolific fantasy run but injuries, mostly in the second half of the season, meant that would have projected out to being a top five season for a midfielder was relegated to being a nice run of form. The same could be said for Bojan who was on a top-ten pace at forward before blowing out his knee.
Solid Contributors – What Stoke City lacked in stars, it made up for in a proliferation of solid fantasy performers. Players like Ryan Shawcross, Charlie Adam, Mame Biram Diouf, and Erik Pieters were solid players who you could count on most weeks in single-ownership formats if you needed a mid-tier starter to support the stars. Jon Walters even had a surprising run as a very effective fantasy forward in the first half of the season although he regressed to being more of a solid reserve for the Potters in the second half. Injury issues plus depth prevented a few other Stoke City players from being equally solid with Muniesa and Arnautovic showing great promise when they were featured but not featuring often enough to enter into the conversation as anything other than one-week fill-ins in salary cap leagues.
Afterthoughts – Surprisingly, Asmir Begovic wasn’t very productive despite his personal past history as a very good fantasy goalkeeper, strong health (he started 35 matches), and the team’s success. Begovic dipped below 100 saves for the first time in three seasons with 86 after 104 last season and 110 the season before. His number of clean sheets has steadily been declining since Tony Pulis left as he has gone from 12 to 9 to 7 over the past three seasons. Fewer saves combined with fewer clean sheets is a deadly combination for a goalkeeper in fantasy.
Summer Priorities
Surprisingly, Stoke City’s off-season agenda looks fairly similar to Arsenal’s only a couple steps down the transfer market food chain. The goal isn’t to add quality bodies, there are plenty of those already around. What Stoke City really need to do is add high end quality if it is available this summer. They could also use a replacement for Victor Moses who has gone back to Chelsea now that his loan deal has concluded. There has been a link to Yevhen Konoplyanka that has been circulating for a few weeks with the Europa Cup finalist available on a free transfer although there is recent word that Seville have their eyes on him as well as they prepare for the Champions League next season. The Potters have also been linked to Wolves winger Bakary Sako along with a number of other Premier League club. A return by Moses either on another loan deal or a permanent one will certainly be discussed as well although the winger’s injuries will likely make the Potters cautious about any resources they commit to that transaction and what back-up plan is in place in the event that Moses continues to struggle to stay on the pitch.
If Mark Hughes wants to make a move up the table heading into 2015-16 then he is going to need to be at his best in potentially recruiting an established forward. Charlie Austin has been mentioned as a possibility and it is someone of that level that he will need to bring in to change the club’s fortunes dramatically for the better. The club should be in a position to make a significant investment in both wages and a transfer fee for the right player but convincing that player to spend rainy nights in Stoke is going to be a challenge regardless of how much money there is to be spent.
Things To Look For Next Season
Stoke City are a middling club when it comes to age after completing the 2014-15 season as the ninth oldest club in the league on a Minute-adjusted Age basis. They are likely to get younger with rumors having Jack Butland (22-years-old) likely displacing want-away Asmir Begovic who, at 27-years-old, isn’t old by any stretch of the imagination but it should still push them younger. They should also skew younger based on the current squad to the extent that Bojan (still only 24) can recover and play more frequently than Charlie Adam (29 even though he looks 45).
Upside – Butland obviously has significant upside if he takes over as the starter for Begovic. The rest really depends on whether Hughes’ rotation policy had more to do with philosophy and the availability of quality depth or circumstance. Only three players – Shawcross, Begovic and Steven N’Zonzi – topped 2800 minutes played last season. Compare that to seven players at Chelsea and eight at Burnley and you get a reminder that the most important commodity going is consistent availability. Players like Bojan, Moses (if he’s back), Muniesa, and Arnautovic could be between very good and solid fantasy options if they are able to feature more regularly.
Downside – There really isn’t a ton of downside here to players you are likely to be interested in. Jon Walters, Peter Crouch, and Charlie Adam all seem likely to fade into reserve roles should Stoke City have a successful summer returning players to health and recruiting top end quality. There is also some potential downside at the back should Mark Hughes ever decide on a preferred back four. Ryan Shawcross and Erik Pieters seem likely to start whenever available but Marc Wilson, Phil Bardsley, Philipp Wolscheid, Marc Muniesa and Geoff Cameron all received significant minutes but not enough to make them attractive to fantasy owners in unique ownership formats.
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