My big plea to Stoke City on loan signings this summer.
Stoke City legend Mike Pejic reviews the final month of the season and how that can affect plans for the summer transfer window.
We can break the season down into little sections as we review the year that was at Stoke City.
Steven Schumacher oversaw a good end to December but we had a poor January and a very poor February which left us wondering what was going to happen next. To be brutally honest, but without saying anything that we don’t all already know, that run of six defeats in seven games was relegation fare and it was no surprise when we dropped into the bottom three
It is no mean feat to recover from that. It is admirable to keep or find your head under extreme pressure and turn results around. March turned into a good month with three important wins and despite a nervous start to April – three draws and a defeat left us all nervous again – we ended with two excellent wins and two excellent performances.
I would say that the last month has rubber stamped to Schumacher the players who he can trust in the roles he has given them. It will have turned some of the loans into buys so that they become his own players. Next season we need fewer loans and more of our own players if we are going to be serious about building the club again.
The head coach and the people around him will know who has performed during these ups and downs, who he can rely on, who he needs to sell or release and the holes he will need to fill with clever recruitment. We have to look at performance levels and players in their right positions who can hit 6, 7 or 8 out of 10 consistently.
