Stoke City is in trouble… yet the manager is the last person who should be taking the blame after defeats by Middlesbrough and Norwich.
Mark Robins, a failing football manager, requires time, which is sometimes a scarce resource. This season, he is the third incumbent at Stoke City, indicating that the club is unlikely to provide him with much breathing space.
Robins, a traditional football manager with expertise building teams from the ground up, has been at Stoke since New Year’s Day. His hire was widely regarded as a positive decision for the club.
Stoke’s relegation from the Premier League in 2018 has been preceded by a mix of excellent and bad performances, indicating that the issue may not lie with the manager (or head coach). There has also been a lot of money spent, much of which has gone to waste.
So, where does this leave the Robins ahead of two vital games – a home game against play-off chasing Watford on Saturday and a return to Coventry City the following week?
Following a win against Swansea, Stoke have suffered setbacks against Norwich and Middlesbrough, leading to relegation pressure and growing fan anger with the club, manager, and backroom staff.
However, Stoke will only be able to draw a line in the sand about their ongoing failures and Championship troubles once this all comes to an end. Robins, like Narcis Pelach before him, is managing a group of players he inherited. As things stand, he is attempting to make the best of a terrible situation with players who may not quite fit into his Stoke City vision. Hence the necessity for time.
The rebuilding can begin in the summer, but not always in earnest. Stoke are still entangled in financial fair play concerns, therefore it may take several transfer windows before a true Mark Robins Stoke City rises from the ashes of another disastrous season. Who knows, it might even require a temporary stay in the third tier.
The club and owner John Coates must decide if they are willing to give this manager – or anyone else they want to fire – the time necessary to finish the task at hand. Until they do, Stoke City will remain in limbo, as far away from a return to the Premier League as they were for the majority of the 23 years until Tony Pulis accomplished what many thought was impossible in 2008.The decision for the club and owner John Coates is whether they are prepared to give this manager – or anyone else they care to fire, for that matter – the time needed to complete the job in hand. Until they do, Stoke will remain in limbo, as far away from a return to the Premier League as they were for most of the 23 years before Tony Pulis achieved in 2008 what many had thought impossible.
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