Stoke City currently sit 19th in the league, taking just 3 points from a possible 21.
Stoke City’s start to the season couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start. With seven games in, Mark Hughes side have failed to win a single Premier League match and the Potters are currently in the relegation zone.
Despite the Potters’ dreadful start to the season, with an experienced manager like Hughes behind them and a squad full of quality – the possibility of Stoke getting relegated is hard to imagine.
Here’s three reasons why Stoke will not get relegated:
The quality of the signings
New signing Joe Allen scored during Stoke’ 1-1 draw against Manchester United last weekend
Stoke had a busy summer adding to their squad, namely acquiring Wales International Joe Allen from Liverpool, striker Wilfried Bony from Manchester City and Bruno Martins Indi on loan from Portuguese side Porto. Having finished 9th last time out, Stoke added impressively to an already talented squad of players.
On paper the West Midlands side have a team that should by all accounts be contending for a European spot, not fighting in a relegation scrap, so that quality should tell at some point.
Attacking options
Wilfried Bony hasn’t started well for the Potters
Mark Hughes pulled off one of the biggest coups of the summer by landing Manchester City striker Wilfried Bony on a season long loan. In some respects Bony is the focal point Stoke have been searching for with Mame Biram Diouf, Peter Odemwingie and Peter Crouch all failing to find a consistent run of form.
Stoke already have some serious firepower in Bojan Krkic, Xherdan Shaqiri and Marko Arnautovic. The hope is that should the current crop of attacking options click, then Stoke could be a real threat going forward.
Signs of improvement and an opportunity to push on
While Stoke sit firmly in a relegation spot, there is reason to suggest that their form could pick up sooner rather than later. Their most recent outing saw them leave Old Trafford with a point after a 1-1 draw with Manchester United, and while it is true that United should well have won comfortably, they didn’t and Stoke have to take solace in that.
Following the international break, Stoke’s next three fixtures in the league see them host Sunderland and Swansea with a trip to Hull wedged in between. This run of fixtures represents a fine opportunity for Stoke to gain valuable points against teams in amongst them. If they can pick up a couple of wins, there’s no reason to suggest why they can’t propel themselves back up the Premier League table.
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