GET SET FOR THE STOKE EXODUS
Race is on to snap up Butland & Co
I‘i think it’s a brilliant club,’ t is bye, bye, bye, Delilah but Paul Lambert appears to be going nowhere. ‘ i’d love to, aye,’ was his typically Glaswegian response when asked if he would like to remain at stoke and attempt to lead them back to the Premier League after this defeat confirmed the inevitable. Lambert added. ‘i think you can relate to the supporters because it’s an area where it’s a really hard-working city, and i’m from an area like that myself. But the club needs rebuilding.’
this was the same old story. stoke started well, and led through a fine free-kick from Xherdan shaqiri, but ran out of steam. second-half goals by James McArthur and Patrick van Aanholt gave the visitors the three points they deserved to seal stoke’s fate.
the Potters’ wonderful supporters accepted relegation with decency. Applause at the final whistle and no boos. they seem to believe that the damage was done before Lambert replaced Mark Hughes in January.
their manager was in no mood to hurl accusations. ‘Listen, i’m not blaming anyone,’ he said. ‘i just came in with 15 games to go. You go into football clubs and you see things that maybe you want to try to change, and things you want to try to keep. What happened at the start of the season, you do sleepwalk into things, and if you’re not careful, and you take your eye off the ball, it definitely can happen.’
it definitely can and it definitely has. the decade of top-flight football is over, for now.
One of the problems with relegation, other than the staggering financial cost and all that entails, is that those responsible often do not hang around to face the consequences.
For the fans who do, one minute you are taking on Manchester United in a packed stadium, the next you are entertaining Hull City on a tuesday night in a halfempty ground wondering what went wrong.
stand by for the exodus. shaqiri is probably the most in demand, while Joe Allen and Badou Ndiaye will not be without admirers. it is hard to see Jack Butland remaining. At 25, a season in the Championship is unlikely. Liverpool are admirers, West Ham offer a more modest upgrade.
Butland was careful not to come out and wave goodbye but his words spoke volumes for a man who knows he has played his last game in stoke colours.
‘it hurts,’ he said of the drop. ‘the club means a hell of a lot to me. it’s given me my opportunities in the Premier League. it’s given me a massive push with England. When fans sing your name, that will always be special to me.’
When asked what the future held, the response was telling.
‘it’s not something i want to think about,’ he said. ‘Of course it (the Championship) is not where i wanted to be and that’s all part of what we’ve been trying to do — stay in the Premier League.
‘that’s from a personal and club perspective. it’s something that i don’t really want to get into now because it’s far too raw and too early but i, along with most of the dressing room, had visions of playing for stoke in the Premier League for a long period of time.’
With regards to what went wrong, Butland gave the honest assessment of a man whose pending departure allows him to speak openly.
‘i think the whole recruitment process needs looking at, to be honest,’ he said. ‘We’ve gone into the game — and over the last few months — with half the squad dotted around the world not even involved.’
He is not wrong and, when asked if he felt suspended pair Jese and saido Berahino had let the club down, said, diplomatically: ‘i think that’s probably a question for another day.’
No such emotions for Roy Hodgson, who has rebounded from England’s Euro disaster to ensure Palace recovered from a horrendous start to secure safety with games to spare.
‘After the England job i was not keen to go from one job to another,’ he said. ‘i thought it was good to have a little period of time when i took stock.
‘i evaluated the offers and chances that came my way. But it was really, first, when i got the opportunity to come back into the Premier League with Crystal Palace that it was clear to me it was something that i wanted to do.’ He has done it well. STOKE CITY (4-4-2): Butland 6; Johnson 6 (Campbell 77min), Zouma 6.5, Shawcross 6, Pieters 6.5; Shaqiri 6.5, Allen 6.5, Ndiaye 6.5, Bauer 6.5; Crouch 6 (Sobhi 67, 5), Diouf 5. Subs not used: Haugaard, Adam, Ireland, Cameron, Fletcher. Scorer: Shaqiri 43. Booked: Johnson, Bauer, Ndiaye, Shaqiri, Pieters. Manager: Paul Lambert 6. CRYSTAL PALACE (4-4-2): Hennessey 6; Ward 6.5 (Kelly 40, 6), Tomkins 6, Sakho 6, Van Aanholt 7; McArthur 6.5, Cabaye 6 (Benteke 63, 6.5), Milivojevic 7.5, Loftus-Cheek 7; Zaha 6, Townsend 7 (Schlupp 88). Subs not used: Cavalieri, Wan-Bissaka, Lee Chung-yong, Sorloth. Scorers: McArthur 68, Van Aanholt 86. Booked: Tomkins, Milivojevic. Manager: Roy Hodgson 7. Referee: Martin Atkinson 6. Attendance: 29,687.