STOKE CITY

LAST SEASON

CHAMPIONSHIP 14th FA CUP Fifth Round LEAGUE CUP Fourth Round TOP SCORER Jacob Brown ( 14)

FAN FILE

Last season was another turgid disappointment after a promising start. The big talking point is how much room for manoeuvre the club has in the transfer market while we remain jiggered by Financial Fair Play.

Our key player will be Nick Powell, one of the division’s best creative players. Our most underrated player is midfielder Jordan Thompson [ below], who brings discipline and tenacity to the midfield when selected. The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is divided. Some still feel Michael O’neill is doing the best he can given the FFP handcuffs. Others, myself included, feel that his recruitment and tactical approach is muddled and that this campaign represents his last chance. If he left, he should be replaced by

Michael Carrick.

Look out for Will Forrester, the latest centre- back we have high hopes for. Fans think our ground is still not a patch on the old Victoria Ground. The opposition player who grinds my gears is the talented but thuggish Josh Koroma of Huddersfield, who somehow escaped a straight red card for a bad challenge on Taylor HarwoodBellis in February. The active player I’d love to have

back is Nathan Collins of Burnley, who has an enormous future ahead of him.

The thing my club really gets right is season ticket price freezes for 15 years running, and free away travel for fans.

Fans think our owner is a dedicated fan of the club – albeit one who has overseen a catastrophic decline of late and doesn’t fill you with confidence that he knows how to fix it. I’m least looking forward to playing

Millwall: invariably drab games against our buffoon of an ex- manager who nevertheless finds a way to beat us. The opposition player I’d love here is

Sheffield United’s Jayden Bogle. The pantomime villain will be Luton manager Nathan Jones. I won’t be happy unless we nail down some kind of playing style and identity. The one change I’d make would be to find a sporting director or director of football and not leave all of the key football decisions to a manager. We’ll finish 13th.

FFT VERDICT 13TH

Stoke have occupied a play- off spot in December in their past two seasons, yet finished 14th on both occasions. They need Josh Tymon, Lewis Baker and Jacob Brown firing throughout if they’re to improve their staying power; otherwise, that top- flight return looks long gone.