Moving Target – Mark Hughes

Just over a week after Tony Pulis decided to call it quits, Stoke have wasted little time in filling the vacant Britannia hotseat. At a press conference on Thursday morning, Potter chairman Peter Coates announced Mark Hughes as the new man in charge of the Staffordshire club, with the former QPR boss arriving on a three-year contract.

With Pulis’ second spell at Stoke lasting seven years, Coates will be hoping the comparatively nomadic Hughes stays the distance and affords the club the same level of stability. Given that the Welshman has lasted less than two seasons in all but one of his previous four clubs, his installation could be perceived as somewhat risky but the Potters chairman is confident he has made the right appointment..

“We have thought long and hard about this decision and we have the man that we feel is the right fit for this football club. We have given the decision a great deal of thought and we have analysed to death Mark’s career. We are satisfied that his CV is very, very impressive. We looked at what he did at Fulham, and Blackburn in particular. They are similar clubs to us in many ways, and we feel that he is coming here into a similar environment. There is no new direction here at the club…To clarify, Mark will have the decisive say on who goes in and who goes out, in terms of players.”

The History

Having hung up his boots in back in 2002, Hughes took charge of the Wales national team for a period of five years before his first appointment in club football as manager of Blackburn. Over four seasons at Ewood Park, Hughes proved a relative success – sixth and seventh place finishes harvested a spell in Europe, while he also steered Rovers to three back-to-back FA Cup semi-final appearances. A somewhat overly physical approach, however, saw the Lancashire outfit end bottom of the Premier League’s disciplinary table in each of Hughes’ seasons at the helm.

Hughes then hot-footed his way to the Etihad as a replacement for Sven Goran Erickson in June 208 but his time there always looked on shaky ground after the Abu-Dhabi group purchased City three months after his installation. Finishing tenth in his only full season, Hughes lasted until December 2009 before being given his P45 after a run of two wins in 11 league matches.

Handed a chance at Fulham by Mohamed Al-Fayed, Hughes lasted less than 11 months before legging it out of the Cottage. Once again, though, his ability to exceed expectations helped the London club to an eighth place finish, while in a complete reverse from his time at Blackburn, Fulham’s on-pitch behaviour won a place in the following season’s Europa League through the Fair Play league.

Hughes waited a further seven months before picking up the managerial reins once again. This time round, QPR came calling after Neil Warnock was dismissed in January 2012. The Welshman steered his new side to top-flight safety but, despite a raft of summer signings, failed to make any impact last term and stepped aside midway through the campaign for Harry Redknapp in the club’s ultimately unsuccessful bid to prevent relegation back into the Championship.

The Previous Regime

Under Pulis, Stoke won few plaudits for their physical style of play. Offering little in terms of attacking potential, the Potters were all too often reliant on keeping out their opponents and grinding out points in order to secure safety from one season to the next. Last time round, Pulis’ side had the seventh best defensive record in the Premier League, with just 45 goals conceded, and shipped only 23 goals on the road – a tally only Arsenal (14) and Man City (19) bettered.

When it came to finding the net, the Potters notched just 34 times in 2012/13 – the second worst record in the league, with only QPR scoring less. Stoke managed to score more than a single goal on just nine occasions and mustered a paltry 13 goals on the road; indeed, only Jonathan Walters and Peter Crouch – with eight and seven respectively – found the net more than three times in Pulis’ final season in charge.

The Season Ahead

Prior to his installation to the Britannia hotseat, Hughes already had his detractors after a group of Potters supporters started a petition to complain over his appointment. At Thursday’s press conference, the Welshman was quick to acknowledge he has his critics after failing to impress at Loftus Road and hinted that his team is likely to be a little more offensive next term:

“I have listened to what people have said about me as a manager and will use that as motivation to do well for Stoke. My philosophy is to play attacking football, that’s what I have always tried to do and that’s what I will try to do again… I can only take the club forward how I know and my philosophy is always to play football, good football, create chances and make it entertaining for the fans who pay good money to come and see us…. There’s a strong squad of players here. It’s not a case of me coming in here and wiping away all of the hard work that the club have done. If anything I will hope to make the team more adventurous. I like to score goals.”

While Fantasy managers are likely to afford this statement an initial degree of scepticism, it’s worth remembering how the likes of Roque Santa Cruz, David Bentley and Chris Samba flourished as Fantasy forces under Hughes at Blackburn. Furthermore, Brede Hangeland’s one good season for Fulham was with the Welshman in charge – the Norwegian grabbed six goals, 12 clean sheets and 154 points in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) back in 2010/11.

Essentially, then, while Asmir Begovic’s heroics last time out are likely to see his price rise to around 5.5 and resultantly knock the Bosnian off many Fantasy radars, there could be an upturn in potential within the Stoke backline. Hughes’ arrival could help the likes of Robert Huth thrive as an aerial presence from set-pieces and corners – if the big German drops from 5.5 to 5.0 in FPL, he seems the most likely Potters defender to prosper under the new manager.

Hughes’ penchant for more conventional wide men suggests he could do away with Pulis’ habit of fielding players out of position, too. Towards the end of the 2012/13 season, Charlie Adam was shifted onto the right flank, while Jon Walters has also earned plenty game time out wide. The likes of Matt Etherington and Michael Kightly could come back into the equation – Etherington failed to produce any attacking returns whatsoever last time out and is set to drop in price across the Fantasy games; if he can stay injury-free, he’ll be hoping to regain the form that produced 120+ FPL points in three back-to-back campaigns before last term.

Up top, an improved quality of delivery from the flanks will surely bolster Crouch’s prospects for the season ahead. A potential move from 4-4-1-1 to 4-4-2 may also see Walters installed as permanent strike partner for Crouch – such a scenario could improve his out of position appeal, should he remain classified as a midfielder in FPL. Hughes also hinted at a shake-up in personnel over the summer – an indication, perhaps, that his future acquisitions will be less like what we’ve come to expect from Pulis over the years:

“Obviously I will talk to the key elements in terms of recruitment staff and get an indication of what their thinking was prior to my appointment here and maybe I will agree with that or maybe take a different view. And possibly opportunities will present themselves that we are not aware of at the moment and when they do you’ve got to be in a position to act quickly and make the best of those opportunities if they present themselves. So if players do become available and we are in the market and we can afford to buy someone who will markedly improve us I am certain we will look to do that.”

While the jury remains out as to whether Stoke can deliver Fantasy managers such solid defensive returns, Hughes’ installation could possibly boost their chances from an offensive perspective, then. As the Welshman looks to get the Stoke support on board, a kind opening schedule may be enough to persuade us to take a punt – pre-season form will be keenly scouted as the new man in charge attempts to prove the doubters wrong.