Stoke City can look back on what was definitely their most unsatisfying campaign since promotion to the Premier League five years ago. At the end, the Potters beat the drop comfortably but there was a point when they were really hanging on and there was a genuine threat of relegation. The start of the season was steady even though wins were hard to come by early on. Tony Pulis' men secured good draws against Arsenal and Manchester City and were just about beaten away at early leaders Chelsea, displaying their well-known tendency to defend well as a unit and make it difficult for opposing teams. The overdue first win of the season did not come until late September but gradually Stoke started to come to their own and get some impressive results. They became extremely water-tight at the back and had a brilliant run of eight clean sheets in 13 games going to the festive period. Four wins in five games propelled them to the higher regions of the table and they started to look like a dark horse for the European places. Asmir Begovic was having a brilliant campaign on goal while the assured presence and total commitment of Ryan Shawcross made him easily one of the best defenders in the league in this first half of the season. For all this positive around the team, the issue of lack of real attacking plan and ideas remained constant even in these purple patch of form. Goals were hard to come by and almost all of them were coming from set-pieces. Yet, a great comeback on Boxing Day against Liverpool lead to a 3:1 win and the fans were starting to dream of something big this season. However, that win would prove the last one all the way until February and actually Stoke secured three points on just one occasion in the next 14 games. The Stoke players just seem to completely take their foot off the gas and accept that they will finish somewhere in mid-table. Thumping defeats against Chelsea and Swansea knocked the confidence of the previously stable team while a 1:0 loss at the end against Manchester City ended their FA Cup hopes too. The free-fall continued in the early spring weeks and suddenly Pulis was facing criticism from all parts while preaching that the team will click again and find their way. The goals had completely dried due to the lack of service from the wings and the inherent absence of creativity in midfield as Charlie Adam was constantly being left on the bench. Costly home defeats to West Ham and Aston Villa suddenly put Stoke under very real danger of being dragged down in the battle for survival. However, they eventually saved themselves with a couple of wins over QPR and Norwich in successive games in April. That lifted the pressure and Stoke finished relatively high at 13th place. However, it was the end of the road for Pulis who was sacked at the end of the season for failing to maintain any tangible progress and a change of face and direction is probably the best thing for Stoke who have become a bit too stale under his leadership.
