It has only taken Narcis Pelach three weeks to evaluate the situation at Stoke City.

After a few years in the Championship, he will have assessed opponents based on his knowledge of the strengths and limitations of most players, but this is not the same as what Alex Neil used to refer to as visiting a club and thoroughly looking things over.

Thus far, he has fielded twenty players, with just captain Ben Gibson and goalkeeper Viktor Johnasson playing every minute. Bae Junho and Ben Wilmot are not far behind.

Conversely, Stoke fans, who have only seen one 10-minute cameo under Pelach, are eager to see more of summer addition Tatsuki Seko as he adjusts to life at the bet365 Stadium. Although their turn will come, Ashley Phillips has not yet made an appearance following concussion protocol, and Sol Sidibe (27 minutes) has also had to exercise patience.

Although it is early, players have been shifting up and down the pecking order since the significant alteration to the dugout. Who do you believe will end the season desperate for playing time, and who do you think will prove to be undroppable as the season progresses?Join the argument by clicking HERE.

This season, Andre Vidigal only saw the sidelines once while playing for Steven Schumacher. Although he declined summer exits, it is reasonable to conclude that he had not impressed his former employer during pre-season training, having fallen out of favor as the previous season progressed.

Even though he has only been used as a substitute thus far, Pelach has quickly reintegrated him into the first team plans. Despite his rustiness, he has chosen a shoot-on-sight strategy; his current xG average for those efforts is a pitiful 0.02—that is, one out of every 50 shots is likely to be successful. So far, they’ve gotten closer to bothering the parking lot attendant than the keeper.

He can play as a number 10 or a left or right winger, depending on his situation. He needs to take advantage of this second opportunity to show that he can make an impact on games, whether it be by coming on late or even by earning a start.

Burger Wouter

Under Schumacher, Wouter Burger wasn’t having trouble getting minutes, but he didn’t seem to be all that at ease in his midfield position. Now that he’s been given a major assignment, it’s in a 4-1-3-2 configuration, but it’s more defined, which plays to his abilities. When he plays at his best, he can set the tempo and guide Stoke forward instead of wasting passes sideways and backwards, which caused the loss at Middlesbrough.

He will progressively face opposition from Jordan Thompson, Sol Sidibe, Bosun Lawal, and Seko, among others, and he will need to demonstrate that he possesses the endurance and athleticism enough to accomplish the necessary tasks throughout ninety minutes. In only three of his eight Championship outings this season, he has been active from the first whistle to the last.

Michael A. Rose

played the majority of the time at every pub Luke McNally was injured in the preseason last season, so he had to push his way back into the starting lineup. Jaden Dixon, Ashley Phillips, Ben Wilmot, and Ben Gibson are vying for two center-back positions; however, Wilmot has switched to right-back in the last two games.

Rose has been on the field for the final thirty minutes of the Middlesbrough match, and he has played properly, maintaining the ball without hogging it and protecting the box. Right now, he has the position to lose.

Ben Gibson

appointed captain by Schumacher, but Pelach, who had coached him at Norwich, appears to be using him most of the time. The 31-year-old made an incredible 114 passes against Middlesbrough, but it wasn’t a fantastic game because everything appeared to get tangled up in Stoke’s own defensive third. In the two games that followed, with Burger ahead of him, he appeared much more at ease.

He has undoubtedly made a big impression on the new boss, and over the coming months, as things begin to fall into place, he should play a significant role.

“He’ll improve players, he’ll improve the team,” Gibson remarked of the youthful group we have. “Hopefully, the results will become apparent quickly, or immediately.” Naturally, the club is going in a different path and will place a lot of focus on its own style of play, but whether we like it or not, the truth is that we haven’t performed well enough as a team to finish in the places that we have wanted to. I’m very confident that he will be the manager who turns that fortune around.

Niall Quinn

On the day of the January transfer window, Schumacher’s old favorite from Plymouth Argyle, who had appeared headed for League One, joined Stoke from Blackburn.

Although the 25-year-old has made 21 appearances for the team, he has only played one minute as a substitute for Pelach thus far. Additionally, he has played for the under-21 team in recent weeks.

He will have the opportunity to earn favor again in training, but he will need to step up and seize any opportunities that present themselves because there will be tough competition from players like Sam Gallagher, Tom Cannon, Lewis Koumas, Vidigal, Bae Junho, Emre Tezgel, and Million Manhoef.

However, everyone will search for any available remedy if Stoke is unable to resolve their goal situation.

Tchamadeu Junior

How long the 19-year-old must wait to return to the starting lineup is a mystery.After sending Ki-Jana Hoever back to parent club Wolves, Schumacher was prepared to trust the young player as his starting right-back this season. However, there have been some tough games, so it was not shocking when Wilmot was asked to switch to center-half.

Tchamadeu has some significant advantages, like his strength and athleticism, and it’s a long-term endeavor. He has the physical presence of a full-back and, on paper, should be better suited to the disciplined defend-first strategy than to be asked to drift into central midfield, as he was in the past.

Longest-serving first team player for Stoke and a consistent starter under Pelach and Schumacher thus far, there was a feeling at the end of the Middlesbrough match that he needed to be reprogrammed to ensure he plays a major role moving ahead. Moving ahead is crucial, rather than backwards or sideways, if Stoke wants to avoid becoming as bloated as they were at the Riverside.

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