Football Season Guide

Stoke City start a new era this season after deciding to cut their ties with hugely successful manager Tony Pulis. The Welshman is by far the most significant figure in the recent history of the Potters after guiding them to the promised land of the Premier League and then, more importantly, establishing them as a genuine topflight team. Yet, the process of improvement each season has gone stale over the last year and the sense of dissatisfaction and desire for a change became too palpable to ignore by the end of the las season. Narrowly beating the drop at the end last season was no longer considered good enough and Pulis was let go despite the whole of the city being eternally grateful for his services. Owner Peter Coates opted for Mark Hughes as the man to lead his club forward and will hope that Sparky gets his managerial spark again after a woeful stint at QPR. Hughes is still a good manager and did brilliant job at Blackburn five seasons ago which should not be forgotten. Something of that sort is definitely doable for Stoke this year but the big question mark is whether the players will adjust quickly to the new methods and let go of the instilled defensively-minded attitude that Pulis drilled into them over the past few years. Hughes has looked to keep the squad intact from last season and only one of his summer signings is expected to be a regular this season. This is Dutchman Erik Pieters who is a cultured left-back who will bring drive and discipline and is definitely a superior player to Marc Wison. Marc Muniesa is the only other summer capture, a former Barcelona player who was once a great prospect as a centre-back. It will be fascinating to see whether he establishes himself in this Stoke side but one imagines he will be eased in gently. Stoke are a mystery at the moment and may well be back firing and challenging for the higher places with a new man in the dugout. Yet, the consequences of the divorce with Pulis may be more difficult to cope with and a relegation struggle could definitely be on the cards as well.