Stoke City

Stoke City have only won once at home since October and fans are worried about the prospect of relegation.

This is what some supporters told BBC Radio Stoke's Praise and Grumble show.

Paul - I'm absolutely gutted, words can't express what I have seen. It's like they don't know what they are doing.

John - Embarrassing to be honest, the players have to take responsibility I don't even know where we go from here. I understand Leicester are top of the league but we have to be realistic with the fact that players are getting paid phenomenal money and they should turn up. The level of quality has been abysmal.

Marcus - Sometimes you have to take a step back, we can get all these managers in but you have to look at the recruitment. We've got to look at people who are behind the manager and who brought these players in. I really am worried, I was optimistic when Schumacher came in but it's not down to the manager, it's down to the players. They need a wake up call and I'm lost for words.

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Former Stoke City midfielder Glenn Whelan says Steven Schumacher's team can turn their form around by working hard on the training pitch.

Whelan made more than 300 appearances for the Potters over a nine year period in which time helped the club win promotion to the Premier League in 2008 and to an FA Cup final in 2011.

Speaking after the club's 5-0 defeat to Leicester City, their heaviest loss at home since a 7-0 defeat to Birmingham in 1998, Whelan said:

"What the fans want is just a little bit more heart and desire to get around the pitch and after an hour if you are knackered and you've put everything in the manager will see that and you can make a few changes. There are certain lads that are going through the motions a little bit.

"For me it's a given, it hurts everybody I was never one that loved winning but what I did do I hated losing. I hated losing in training, in small sided games, I'd hate losing in one v one, so you have to show some heart and desire to get a result. If it's not for yourself or your family then who is it for?"

Stoke have only scored twice at home since the beginning of November and find themselves fifth from bottom of the Championship. Whelan said the players need to look at themselves:

"You can't be blaming the managers and coaches, it's hours on the training ground, it's hard work. If you give that first and foremost then the fans will stick with you," he said.

"It's not just Saturday it's Monday to Friday, you ask any of the players from our dressing room we'd have harder training sessions than some games because we gave everything."

He continued, "Arnautovic and Shaqiri once they came in they didn't realise how tough training was because there would be lads putting in harsh tackles on them in training because that's what we'd be doing in the games.

"Train the way you play, play the way you train and everything else will look after itself."

Stoke City will be without Josh Laurent, Enda Stevens and Junior Tchamadeu for Saturday afternoon's game vs Leicester City at the Bet365 Stadium.

The Potters captain remains on the sidelines with an ankle injury, while Stevens has suffered a fresh knock in training that will rule him out for several more weeks.

Despite having returned from the Africa Cup of Nations, Tchamadeu has picked up an illness so won't be available for selection for the visit of Enzo Maresca's side.

Niall Ennis is fit and set to be included in the matchday squad, Million Manhoef is waiting to receive clearance on his work permit where he will find out whether he can join in, and Jack Bonham is set to return between the sticks due to Daniel Iversen being on loan from the opposition.

Ahead of Stoke City's upcoming home game vs Leicester City on Saturday, Steven Schumacher has been speaking to BBC Radio Stoke's Matt Sandoz at his pre-match press conference to discuss his two fresh faces and the challenge of the current league leaders.

Ennis: "Niall Ennis is a centre-forward that I know all about. I've worked with him for a good few years. I know what his strengths and what his weaknesses are and I know what he's going to bring to the club and I'm sure the fans are going to like watching him play. Niall is a centre-forward that gives 100% every single week, comes into the building all the time, works really hard on his game and is really enthusiastic, so really pleased for him to be here and if he can play with some confidence which he hasn't been able to do this season so far at Blackburn, if he can come here and play with some confidence then he's a good player."

Manhoef: "Million brings a left-footed version of a forward player that we didn't have so he's a wide player that likes to dribble and likes to cut inside and can get shots away on his left foot, so in the system that we play, that's really important, so he's going to be hopefully an exciting player for us, not just for this season, for the future, and he's a young player with loads of room to develop and grow, so pleased that we were able to bring him to the club."

The Foxes: "They are the best team in the league. At the moment, they are sitting clear at the top of the division and we only have to look through their squad and it's just blessed with talent and also they've got a really talented manager who has got them playing an incredible way, so it's hard to play against them, but as I said before, you do get opportunities. If you're brave and if you commit to your game plan, you can get a chance, so when you get them chances, you've got to take them, because if you don't, they punish you."

With Stoke City preparing to take on Leicester City, we asked you to send in your score predictions and thoughts as to how the game could pan out following the new arrivals of Million Manhoef and Niall Ennis.

Here are some of the responses that we received:

Carlos: To be honest, I can't think of a worse time to play the Foxes. We're playing some decent approach play but our forwards couldn't hit a barn door with a banjo. I think we will come good eventually but another home defeat will dent confidence and that's the last thing we need at this time of the season, especially considering our league position.

Neil: The owners need to decide if they want to be a Premier League club again or are just content to play in the bottom half of the Championship, they must get good strikers, especially a top centre-forward, for me the club seem quite content to just roll along and go with the flow, not good enough I’m afraid! Think it will be one each against Leicester.

Jonathan: Two great signings that will put us on the front foot even more. I think Leicester will encounter a different Stoke team to the one earlier in the season although I still expect they will win.

Geoffrey: Three one to Leicester.

David: 3 nil loss.

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Stoke City and Dwight Gayle have reached an agreement to terminate the striker's contract at the club with immediate effect.

The Potters forward first joined the club back in July 2022, but he only scored three goals in the 50 appearances that he made since that time.

Speaking following his departure, Technical Director Ricky Martin said:

"Dwight has been a true professional throughout his time with Stoke City and a positive influence around Clayton Wood. We thank him for his efforts during the past season and a half and wish him all the best for the future.”

Stoke City are set to welcome Leicester City to the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday afternoon for their next game in the Championship, with kick-off scheduled for 3pm UK time.

The Potters will have more players available compared to the last time they faced the current league leaders because they were in the middle of an injury crisis, not to mention that Alex Neil was still in charge, so could the hosts gain a result second time around against the Foxes?

Get involved by sending us your score predictions using the online form below.

Have your say here.

Stoke City are reportedly pushing ahead with a late move to sign Vitesse winger Million Manhoef and are also hoping to get a centre-forward through the door before tonight's transfer deadline at 11pm. (Stoke On Trent Live), external

The Potters have rejected a bid of just over £850,000 from Verona for Tyrese Campbell, though he is on the radar of Scottish Premiership rivals Celtic and Rangers due to his contract expiring in the summer. (Football Insider, external)

Turkish Super Lig side Konyaspor have made a loan with an option to buy proposal for Ryan Mmaee, but the player himself has turned down the offer. Emre Tezgel is also expected to join League Two's MK Dons temporarily until the conclusion of the campaign. (Fraser Fletcher, external)

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On This Day: 1 February 1915

One of Stoke City's most iconic players to ever wear the shirt, Sir Stanley Matthews CBE, was born, and he is someone whose extraordinary ability went down in history.

The Potters forward spent the majority of his career at the club, apart from short spells at Blackpool and Toronto City, making his first-team debut against Bury on 19 March 1932.

The Hanley-born talent received plenty of recognition for his outstanding performances having been crowned the first ever Ballon d'Or winner in 1956, while also being the first ever footballer to receive a knighthood.

Having additionally represented England at two consecutive World Cups, Matthews was even a hero internationally and it'll be difficult for anyone to replicate his kind of form ever again.

Image source, Stoke City

Stoke City's U17s have made it through to the semi-finals of the Premier League Cup after securing a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa on Tuesday night.

The Potters were helped over the line thanks to goals from Sol Sidibe, Jaden Dixon and Dean Adekoya, and the club's academy coach, Dave Hibbert, heaped praise on his side for their high standard of performance earlier in midweek.

“It was a proper Stoke City performance as we were aggressive in the press, won the ball back high, and then showed quality once we had the ball.

“We were on the front foot, were aggressive and that is exactly how we want to play at this football club so it was a credit to the boys that they carried out the plan so well.”

Having progressed to the last four of the competition, the youngsters are set to face either Manchester City, Chelsea or Wolves in the hope of going all the way to the final where silverware could be on the cards.

With the winter transfer window having almost closed, Stoke City will be looking ahead as to who they could sign in the summer, and the 72cast's Matt Watts, external has named three areas in particular where the club could strengthen.

"At centre-half, someone that I really like is Charlie Hughes at Wigan. Charlie Hughes is 20-years-old, he's an England youth international, he's played a lot of minutes for Wigan this season and he is someone that has attracted a bit of attention from teams in the Premier League. I've also picked out Eoin Toal at Bolton, an Irish defender, he's a very big, strapping defender. 24, very good in both boxes. I think he is someone who, if Bolton don't go up this year, could well move onto a Championship club in the summer.

"At left-back, Harrison Burrows at Peterborough. Harrison Burrows has really stood out this season, three goals and eight assists for a really good, young, attacking Peterborough side. He's also quite versatile as well, he can play left midfield, he can play centre midfield, so he's someone that I really like. Someone like Jodi Jones at Notts County could be a good shout. He's already equalled the record for League Two assists this season, he's having a fantastic campaign.

On the striker front, he added: "Macaulay Langstaff. He scored loads of goals for Notts County in the National League last season, quite a prominent part in the Wrexham documentary, he's carried that on in League Two. He's already got 20 goals in the league this season, five assists as well. He's only 26, and when you bear in mind he hasn't really played a lot of EFL football, you'd like to think that there's a lot more development there."

Stoke City are reportedly set to sanction the sale of D'Margio Wright-Phillips, with the right-winger close to joining Belgian side Germinal Beerschot.

The Potters forward was left out of the squad submitted to the EFL at the start of the season, so limited game time means that a late departure is looking likely. It's currently unknown whether this would be on a loan or permanent basis.

The First Division B club, who are managed by Dirk Kuyt, already have Thibaud Verlinden in the building, so he could be set for a reunion with his former teammate. (Stoke On Trent Live, external)

With Steven Schumacher, Ricky Martin and the Coates family heading into the closing stages of the transfer window, Stoke On Trent Live reporter Pete Smith, external has been speaking to BBC Radio Stoke to discuss whether club chiefs are likely to make any final additions to their ranks.

"Stoke are fishing in different markets at the moment. I mean how many of us knew really about Bae Junho or Wouter Burger or Andre Vidigal or Ryan Mmaee before they suddenly happened in the summer? I don't think they were well-trailed signings that Stoke were going to make. January was always going to be quieter anyway because they had such a busy summer window and you just can't get those kind of deals in January and you don't expect that kind of turnover.

"I do think Stoke have been looking around Europe to see what's out there to improve the starting eleven, particularly up front in a striker who can come in and immediately contribute goals because Stoke still need to score more goals. I think those deals are very hard to get done, ambitious deals, surprise, exotic deals are very difficult to get over the line in January. I wouldn't be surprised if Stoke pulled away from doing them and backed what they had in the building before the deadline goes on Thursday."

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On This Day: 31 January 2009

Stoke secured a 1-0 victory over Manchester City in the Premier League, with James Beattie scoring the only goal of the game at the Britannia Stadium.

The Potters were reduced to ten men when Rory Delap received a red card for kicking out at Shaun Wright-Phillips, but that didn't stop the hosts from taking the lead after Beattie headed home a cross from Matthew Etherington.

With Mark Hughes being in charge of the visitors at the time, Tony Pulis wasn't to know that his rival would soon turn into his successor after accepting the opportunity to take charge of the red and white stripes four years later.

Stoke Line-Up: Sorensen, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Abdoulaye Faye, Pugh, Delap, Whelan, Amdy Faye (Griffin 78), Etherington (Sonko 86), Beattie, Fuller (Cresswell 46).

Man City Line-Up: Hart, Richards, Kompany, Onuoha, Bridge, Wright-Phillips, De Jong (Caicedo 72), Zabaleta (Elano 55), Ireland, Bellamy, Robinho.

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Stoke City supporter and host of the Potterlytics Podcast, external, George Weaver, has been speaking to BBC Radio Stoke to share his thoughts on Luke Cundle's start to life at the Bet365 Stadium.

"It's difficult. I think, to be honest, in the type of role that he plays, I think he's on a bit of a hiding to nothing. He's much more of a connector than he is any kind of player who can bring magic to the role. He's not going to create something from nothing necessarily, he's not going to be incredibly solid defensively, he's not going to dribble past people or anything like that, he's just there to sort of play in-between the lines and make sure that things are linked up.

"If the team is not playing well, it's pretty rare that he is going to look like he's done much, and if the team is playing well, even then he's kind of going to be the seven out of ten instead of the nine out of ten because he's not necessarily got the goal or the assist or something like that.

"He was bigged up a little bit on his debut and he did a lot of running, he did a lot of good work, but I thought there's certainly more to come from him and it'll be interesting to see whether, after the Sunderland game, where I think probably he was one of the issues in terms of the midfield dropping back and being a little bit open, it'll be interesting to see whether he keeps his role in such a difficult game against Leicester."

We asked you for your thoughts on Stoke City's current predicament and lack of goals.

This is what you told us:

Chris - We can’t score goals because the forwards we have are too lightweight for this league and we need a tough, no-nonsense striker to feed off the passes. We are creating some great opportunities but at times we're just not strong enough. There’s a lot of talk about how we’ve improved, but our league position hasn’t and it needs to be addressed in this window.

Robin - You're in trouble if you can't create chances, we can. The number is rising, so now for the hard work on the training ground. Put a few away and we become a formidable outfit.

Steve - We have to literally put our heads on the line. Be brave, especially at set-pieces. Make every attack count and get really angry with ourselves if we miss the target. Do not pass the buck. Ignore the opposition when attacking, focus on one thing - scoring !

David - No ambition from the board hence another unproven manager. No firepower up front and no keeper to speak of.

Jimmy - A lack of quality in the final third but also saying that they have a lack of confidence at the back. I feel a strong keeper who is vocal would improve the defence. The old saying is build from the back first. Stoke are currently on their third different keeper of the season. Unfortunately for Stoke, we have a combination of issues to correct in summer.

Do you agree? Have your say here.

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Stoke City's Lynden Gooch has taken to social media to defend himself after his performance was criticised following the Potter's 3-1 defeat at Sunderland, Gooch's former club.

The 28-year-old joined Stoke from Sunderland in September and has scored two goals in 12 league starts.

In response to personal criticism on X, formerly known as Twitter, Gooch said:

"I’ve seen a few of these [posts] now that I feel like I need to say something. I have given everything in a Stoke City shirt since I have joined and will continue to do so. We got beat by the better team on Saturday who were more ruthless than us in both boxes."

Saturday's defeat saw Stoke slip to just three places above the relegation zone.

The Potters are one of the lowest scoring teams in the Championship but have had 38 shots over their last two games.

In those games they have scored just twice - one of those being an own goal. Head coach Steven Schumacher told BBC Radio Stoke how he's trying to change things:

"We're creating more chances than we have previously, but the chances that we are creating aren't being taken.

"The only way you can do something about it is either a) change the players or b) change the mentality," he said.

"For me, you're going to have to change the mentality first and foremost on the training pitch. You have to concentrate when we're doing finishing sessions when we are doing things in and around the goal."

Why can't Stoke City score goals?

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Stoke City have lost their last two Championship fixtures conceding five goals in the process.

What do you think of the last two performances?

Why aren't the Potters scoring more goals?

What do you think of the football under Steven Schumacher?

How many players would you like to see arrive in the transfer window?

Where do you think Steven Schumacher's team will finish this season?

Send us your thoughts here