Tuesday, 13th Feb 2024 15:34 by Clive Whittingham
QPR can move above Stoke City with a win in Staffordshire on Wednesday night, testament to just how badly awry a huge 23/24 overhaul has gone for the Potters – @potterlytics is our regular contributor from that part of the world.
How’s the season gone for Stoke?
Errr, yeah. Bad. It’s a tale of two managers having positive starts followed by a depressing downfall. A few good wins for Alex Neil turned into a half-season of boring percentage football and bad results to boot. Stephen Schumacher started so positively, but a lack of finishing skill in a couple of games and a complete implosion in the last three matches in particular has us hanging far too close to the relegation zone for comfort. A leaky defence, a midfield being
held together by one summer signing, and a forward line that’s putting up the second worst finishing stats in the league this season isn’t boding well for the next few months. Add into that the explosion of fan anger in the last two games, and there’s a fairly reasonable possibility of League 1 next season.
Why didn’t it work out for Alex Neil?
There was never a great vibe about the appointment from my point of view. He was hired at the second attempt (after a failed 2019 bid) just five games into the season, to turn a possession-based squad created by his predecessor into a winning version of his high-energy, high-pressing direct style of play. Aside from a fantastic run of form in February to May of 2023, he hasn’t got close to
making it work for more than a week or two at a time. Even after a run of good results, with very questionable performances, a really bad run of losses proved enough for the board to get rid. There were some unlucky results, for sure, but the lack of excitement in games seemed to be down to Neil’s distrust of his players and the tactics he implemented seemed to be planned to cover weaknesses rather than to emphasise strengths. He couldn’t manage either in the end.
