Startling News: Steven Schumacher’s disastrous performance and contract situation have cost him his job. Potters have just reportedly shown their manager the exit door following…
Steven Schumacher U-Turn by the Coates family is looking more likely by the day at Stoke City: View
Stoke’s woeful form continues, relegation is a genuine possibility. Talk of a Schumacher sacking shouldn’t be dismissed
Stoke City fans and owners alike must have been rubbing their hands with glee when Steven Schumacher was appointed as the Potters’ boss in December, but things certainly haven’t gone the way they intended.
The 39-year-old came into the Bet365 Stadium with a strong reputation having guided Plymouth Argyle to the League One title last campaign; amassing 101 points with a free-flowing brand of football in the process.
The Pilgrims then made the seamless move up into the second tier under Schumacher’s tutelage, with their high-octane brand of football earning many plaudits on their return to the Championship.
It was only a matter of time before a team with more significant finances than Argyle would swoop for their head honcho, and it was Stoke who finally lured him away after they had disposed of previous boss Alex Neil.
Dreams of a fresh start for the Potters under their new boss seemed to be becoming reality after a win and three draws in Schumacher’s first four matches in charge, but a dismal run of form must leave his job prospects in tatters.
Just three wins from his 12 games in charge in all competitions has seen the mood turn sour once again for Stoke fans, who are languishing in 19th in the Championship table, and just three points above the dreaded drop zone.
Vital victories against Rotherham United, Birmingham City and QPR are all that have kept the former Stevenage player from buying his side a one-way ticket to the drop zone, something that would have seen unimaginable for a side that was something of a Premier League regular a decade ago.
Steven Schumacher’s contract situation
The Coates family – who bought the club for a reported fee of £1.7 million back in 2006 – offered Schumacher a three-and-a-half-year deal when he joined the club back in December, with the hope that he could be the man to fire them back up the table.
The Plymouth Herald reported that the former Argyle boss’s new deal was worth in excess of £1 million a year up until it expires at the end of the 2026/27 season.
The same paper also revealed that Argyle received a ’substantial six-figure sum’ to allow Schumacher to make the move to Staffordshire, meaning he has already cost the club a lot of money, which so far has not been justified.
Stoke City bosses who have faced the sack
With the Potters already on their sixth manager since Paul Lambert was in charge in 2018, the club is not one renowned for giving their managers the time to turn things around – if the results aren’t coming they are quickly shown the door.
A quick search on Transfermarkt shows a stint of two wins in 15 matches quickly saw Lambert being shown the door before Gary Rowett’s similarly unconvincing spell garnered just nine wins from 29 games in charge.
| Stoke City managers since 2018 – Transfermarkt) | |||||
| Manager | Time in charge | Win % | |||
| Paul Lambert | 122 days | 13.33% | |||
| Gary Rowett | 231 days | 31.03% | |||
| Nathan Jones | 296 days | 15.79% | |||
| Michael O’Neill | 2 years, 279 days | 38.46% | |||
| Alex Neil | 469 days | 32.84% | |||
| Steven Schumacher | 64 days* | 25% | |||
| *As of February 21, 2024 | |||||
Nathan Jones’ spell in charge is just as badly remembered around the Potteries – leaving with a 15.79% winning record – before Michael O’Neill steadied the ship between 2019 and 2022.
But once O’Neill was out the door after a slow start to last season, normal service was resumed with Alex Neil given just over 15 months in charge before Schumacher took over at the end of 2023.
The signs were there for the young manager to see before he made the move to the Potteries, but he decided to persist with the move; he has inherited a squad that has so much potential, but for one reason or another can’t make it click on the field.
Fellow Championship side Sunderland have shown that if a manager doesn’t fit you need to pull the plug earlier doors – just as they did with Michael Beale earlier this week after just 12 games in charge – and if things don’t improve rapidly, you wouldn’t be surprised to see Stoke do the same.
