Stoke City were relatively fun to watch last season. Shaqiri’s link-up with Arnautovic and Bojan in the attacking third was quite mouth-watering, but that hasn’t been the case this season.
Stoke City fans have had to witness their team plummet down the table as the Potters are currently one of three sides without a win.
The Potters could be in all sorts of trouble if Mark Hughes doesn’t get the team on the right track soon.
Arnautovic, who is supposedly Stoke’s leading man has failed to find his form thus far. His poor showings on the pitch are almost certainly a contributing factor to the club’s current predicament.
Stoke’s form at the Britannia currently indicates that the club is in dire need of a turnaround. A goal scored and 8 conceded in 2 appearances is not what the Britannia is known for.
In the past, teams dreaded away games at the Britannia, however, present day appears to suggest otherwise.
With games against Stoke now seemingly a three-pointer for top sides, Mark Hughes needs to go back to the drawing board.
Stoke City has long distinguished themselves from the smaller sides in the League.
Their ability to consistently finish at the top end of the table has proven their quality as a Premier League team. But as we saw last season, no household name is too big to go down.
What Stoke Needs To Rekindle Their Fire
Stoke City have lacked a real catalyst on the pitch for quite some time now. The inability of Marko Arnautovic to consistently live up to his hype is hurting the Potters.
With the presence of Shaqiri and Bojan, one would expect Arnautovic to have enough support going forward.
In a similar manner, Stoke’s arsenal is enough to give top team’s a run for their money. But with just two goals scored this season, Hughes needs to rally his troops.
Similarly, Shaqiri and Bojan need to step up their game. They may not be where they once were on the football map, but every bit of skill and quality required to succeed at the highest level remains with them.
Stoke might just end up in a relegation scrap towards the end of the season. But at this stage, it’s solely dependent on the approach of Hughes, and the players’ performances going forward.