![]() Van Hooijdonk is 23 and has had another decent season in Holland, scoring 15 times on loan at Heerenveen from Bologna. He's very skilful and can change games and they are two boxes that Neil is looking for in a wide player so there's no reason to cross him off the list at the moment. There will be decisions made at Aston Villa this summer about what happens next. Philogene-Bidace is 21 now and he's had a decent season of development at Cardiff. Neil and his recruitment team will be on alert about any available winger and any available target man so we'll have to see how it pans out. PS: There are a lot of names on Stoke's lists at the moment, some which will be higher up than others. It was embarrassing.Īny truth in whispers about interest in Philogene-Bidace or Van Hooijdonk? Everyone involved in that moment has to be motivated never to live through anything similar again. PS: Yes, it was important to report that. The 'lap of appreciation' looked like a painful experience too? IN DEMAND: Stoke City's urgent need for 20-goal striker laid bare by all-England table IN REVIEW: Transfer state of play heading into summer window That doesn't mean we should be grateful for the last six weeks, it's been painful. In a way, it's better to be reminded of the big work that needs doing this summer than have loan or out of contract players paper over any cracks. ![]() There are a couple of other factors, including two or three injuries to key players - Ben Wilmot, Jacob Brown - and players who hadn't played much in the first half of the season or, in the case of Will Smallbone and Tyrese Campbell, playing as many minutes in their careers as they have this season.įatigue has set in, there's nothing to play for and a lack of depth has been exposed. We knew going into them that they were the kind of fixtures in which Stoke have struggled in the last couple of years and, even if everyone was full of confidence and optimism, what has happened shouldn't really surprise us as much as it has disappointed us. This squad of players is particularly suited to play on the counter-attack against teams who they can press and take advantage of space.įive of the six subsequent games have been against teams in the bottom half who don't do that. PS: I think we were clear during a run of what were genuinely very strong performances and results in February and March - against some of the best teams in the Championship - that they also came with an asterisk. Why have Stoke had such an alarming drop in form since the start of April? What do you think? Have your say in the comments section. Pete Smith and Matt Davies fielded questions and opinions from supporters in a weekly Stoke chat on our dedicated Facebook page. This one does have silver lining around a dark cloud, however, because the summer ahead is an opportunity to do some serious work rebuilding or transforming Alex Neil's squad. ![]() ![]() Ninety minutes left for Stoke City in a season of contrasts that have added up to another campaign of deflation and a fifth bottom half finish in a row since returning to the Championship. ![]()
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