Football Season Guide

Stoke City enjoyed a pretty good first season under Mark Hughes last year and will be looking for more of the same in the upcoming campaign. The Potters were tipped to struggle by many as they came to terms with life after Tony Pulis and indeed they looked like one of the candidates for the drop midway through the last season. However, Hughes pulled off some smart deals in the transfer market while also giving the players lots of belief in their own ability. Stoke, therefore, played some genuinely impressive football in the spring and even managed to finish in the top half of the table at the end of the season. It was a job well done for the Potters and their manager will certainly be hoping for some progress in the upcoming campaign too. The signings have not been too many but have addressed specific areas of the squad and the Potters are looking in decent shape for the new season. Mame Biram Diouf is a fine capture, especially on a free, as he is coming off a few really strong seasons at Hannover and looks a perfect fit to lead the attacking line. He may not have made his mark at Manchester United a few years ago but he is a lot more experienced now and can certainly thrive. Bojan Krkic arrived from Barcelona and may well prove quite a find too. He has regressed badly from the years when he was considered to be the next wonder boy of world football but he does have quality and football intelligence and can play across the front lone. Steve Sidwell will provide competition in midfield and is a very good addition to the squad too. On the top of that, Roberth Huth is back fit after a serious ankle injury and Asmir Begovic is staying on for another season. Thus, Stoke are looking quite good at present and have every chance to improve on a tenth-place finish. That said, a battle for the Europa League places is likely to be too much to ask from them.