Stoke City fans right to be concerned about Rowett

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Gary Rowett left Derby County for Stoke City in the summer.

In a poll conducted on Twitter, 83 per cent of Stoke City fans participating believe appointing Gary Rowett as the club’s manager in the summer was a mistake following another disappointing result this weekend.

The Potters were relegated from the Premier League last season and, after opting against sticking with Paul Lambert as boss, they prised Rowett away from Derby County, paying around £2 million in compensation (BBC).

Rowett arrived at the Bet365 Stadium boasting a decent reputation after guiding Burton Albion to the League Two play-offs, helping Birmingham City to a top-half Championship spot before finishing in the play-offs with Derby in his first full campaign at Pride Park last season.

But so far things are not going so well at Stoke and, after their disappointing 3-2 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, a large section of supporters polled feel appointing Rowett was the wrong move.

The defeat to Rovers leaves Stoke seven points adrift of the Championship play-offs, with the Potters winning just two league games thus far and losing four including a 3-0 reverse at home to Wigan Athletic.

Stoke were among the favourites to win promotion back to the Premier League this season, as they retained several players from their ill-fated top-flight campaign while spending over £25 million in the summer.

Players such as Benik Afobe, Tom Ince, Sam Clucas, Ryan Woods, James McClean and Nigeria international Peter Etebo joined an already strong group including Joe Allen, Jack Butland, Bojan and Ryan Shawcross.

But Rowett has not been able to create a winning side and, much to the frustration of the supporters, there does not appear to be a distinct playing style or pattern of play in progress.

So far, despite an abundance of players with decent pedigree, Stoke currently rank 18th in the Championship for average shots on goal (Whoscored) while their 16 goals conceded is the joint second worst in the league.

To make matters worse, Rowett’s old club Derby are currently sitting in the top six under new boss Frank Lampard, with the Rams playing an easy-on-the-eye possession-based style featuring several exciting young players.