Stoke City boss will have clear idea of what’s needed in transfer market after three testing weeks

Stoke City boss will have clear idea of what’s needed in transfer market after three testing weeks

Following Stoke City’s loss of a two-goal lead, Pete Smith discusses the key talking points from their home draw with Bristol City.

In the Championship, Stoke City drew with Bristol City after blowing a two-goal lead. Stoke is currently four games undefeated as a

result of the outcome, although that only partially explains the situation. These are the main areas of discussion from an incredible

evening at bet365 Stadium.

The most uncomfortable two-goal lead

At full time, a Stoke supporter said they had never before had such an awkward two-goal lead, which pretty much summed it

up.Normally, racing into that position after 14 minutes indicates that the evening would be leisurely, but this one seemed like the

endearing sequences that give you a false sense of security at the beginning of a scary film.

It felt well-earned and like a gift from Viktor Johansson to return to the changing room at halftime with a two-goal lead intact after Stoke had been hit by 18 shots and 10 corners in the first half. The visitors had 24 shots overall after scoring 10 more in the second half.

Nahki Wells’s two goals in two minutes at the start of the second half had Stoke hanging on in a game that will have seemed to those

watching the scoreline alone on Ceefax that they had been controlling. A switch to wing-backs to add extra bodies in central midfield

and central defence helped to stem the tide. In the 52nd minute, most of the 19,679 crowd would have probably taken a draw.

Three weeks to test the squad

Narcis Pelach has got Stoke producing some of the biggest physical outputs since relegation and, if almost everyone will want that, it

will bring challenges when a tight squad has to handle three back-to-back three-game weeks in this ridiculous sandwich between those

boring international breaks.

In 21 days, Norwich will play Bristol City, Sheffield United, Southampton, Derby, Blackburn Rovers and Millwall. The two league away

days are among the closer ones, while four of those games are played at home. The majority of the players are youthful and vivacious,

and the starting lineup is rather stable, something that many have cried out for recently.

However, players will need to be managed; for example, Lewis Koumas won’t be expected to play the whole 90 minutes every game,

and Enda Stevens is utilised as a substitute despite his evident importance.

Players in the starting XI are then given the task of proving they can meet the demands. Niall Ennis was brought in as a substitute

against Bristol City, Jordan Thompson had his opportunity to replace Wouter Burger in the previous game and a half, and Andre

Vidigal has been making his comeback to the field.

Bosun Lawal is also awaiting the all-clear to play, while Ashley Phillips is in central defence. Sol Sidibe and Tatsuki Seko are waiting

for their turn in midfield. Others on that list will draw attention to the necessity for employment in the transfer market, while others

can move up the hierarchical ladder very quickly.

Pick the team

Despite all the complaints about everything else, Koumas, Tom Cannon, Andrew Moran, and Million Manhoef give Stoke the impression that they have a goal or two in the lineup.

Those four can swiftly convert defence into attack and make it matter, even if the team is behind. Even if he might be frustrating,

Manhoef can still have a game-changing moment. He contributed to the second half and had a good chance to score from a penalty

kick when Luke McNally pulled him back at 2-2. Moran is a dynamic player on the break, and Cannon was getting into dangerous

in the early going, setting up Koumas’s first goal with a single cross through the danger area.

But this time, the focus was on Koumas.He is swift and skilled, and he tracks back to get the ball, then uses his muscle to charge

forward and give Cannon a chance. He finished his first with a brilliant stroke, and his snap cross-shot set up the second. Seeing him

grow over the coming months should be enjoyable.

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