And then there were two. Southampton’s 1-0 win over Swansea on Sunday afternoon means Stoke and Sunderland are the only teams yet to win a Premier League game this season. The top-flight’s bottom two have very much struggled in the opening weeks of the campaign having taken a point apiece from five games so far. It’s been a tough start to life at the Stadium of Light for Davies Moyes, but many felt Mark Hughes would go some way to improving on the club’s 9th-placed finish from last season.
Yet, with October nearing, Stoke are rock bottom of the Premier League having conceded more goals (14) than any other top-flight team this term and have shipped four or more goals in three of their five league games this season. In 2016 alone, they’ve let in more Premier League goals (50) than any other side. It’s a concern for manager Mark Hughes, who is feeling the pressure in his fourth season at the Stoke helm.
“Mark and the management team have our full support,” chairman Peter Coates said following Sunday’s 4-1 humbling at Crystal Palace, yet the slack start to the season is cause for concern for the Potters, given this current Stoke side is arguably their strongest, on paper, in the Premier League era. As Hughes strived to shake off the mantra instilled by Tony Pulis, he’s assembled a squad more then capable of consolidating a top half finish.
Of course, poor starts to the season aren’t completely alien to Hughes and Stoke. The Potters failed to win their opening six league games of the campaign last term and though their start was less disastrous last term, Hughes has the managerial expertise to guide the team out of their current predicament. However, when taking into consideration the club have now won only one of their last 12 league games, alarm bells are beginning to ring. Injury to Jack Butland has further hampered the club’s chances of returning to winning ways, with the England international sidelined since March following an ankle injury while in action for the national team against Germany.
Stoke are lacking the reflexes of the young stopper, with his save success rate (73%) the third best of goalkeepers to make 10 or more Premier League appearances since the start of last season. The club have seriously struggled without Butland between the sticks, with Stoke conceding 2.67 goals per game since the start of last season without the 23-year-old compared to 1.19 when he’s available. Consequently, Stoke’s win percentage has dropped from 41.9% with Butland to just 8.3% when he’s been unable to play.
Without their star goalkeeper, Hughes’ side are far weaker at the back with Shay Given hardly instilling confidence throughout the defence and midfield. This only forces Stoke into sitting deeper, thus allowing more pressure on their goal. It’s little shock that their average possession this term (46.8%) is among the worst in the Premier League, as is their pass success rate (75.2%). Furthermore, an average of just 370.8 passes per game ranks low in the Premier League this season.
On the occasions Stoke have had the ball, they are ultimately wasteful in possession, which doesn’t aid their cause. Only Crystal Palace (25) are averaging more tackles per game than the Potters (23), so they are more than capable of winning the ball back, but they waste their energy levels winning possession back so when they do have the ball once more, they are clearly failing to keep hold of it.
This is having an impact on the team in the final third. Stoke’s 11 shots per game is poor while only Burnley (1.8) are averaging fewer shots on target per league match than the Potters (2.2). This highlights that when Stoke do press forward, they are failing to sufficiently test the opposition goalkeeper, instead taking pop shots from distance rather than getting close enough to forge effective goalscoring chances. Indeed, only three teams have had fewer clear-cut goalscoring opportunities than Stoke (5) in the Premier League this season.
It’s easy to quickly jump to conclusions given Stoke’s slow start to the campaign, but the side’s poor defensive showings are a concern. It’s having an adverse effect on the Potters at both ends of the pitch. The absence of Butland is a concern, but the players need to rapidly up their game before concern turns to a full-blown crisis. Hughes is lucky in that he has kept the core of the side together, while making astute acquisitions, with Wilfried Bony, Joe Allen abd Bruno Martins Indi strengthening in attack, midfield defence respectively, but the sooner the personnel at his disposal begin to all pull in the right direction, the better.
Can Hughes guide Stoke out of their current slump? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
