The Championship season can seem endless for months and months but all of a sudden, bang, it hits you. You look at the league table with two months left, with a tough run of fixtures ahead and you the enormity of it all hits you square between the eyes.
These next few matches for Stoke are difficult and they are absolutely crucial. This is it. They have to pull something together in March to give themselves a fighting chance of staying up. We look at the manager, staff, players and the club and we know the writing will be on the wall if we can’t get some good results in these five fixtures. So it will come down to the manager’s selection and then the players have got to do it. They’ve got to keep their heads, give everything they’ve got and work together. Then we’ll all be ready for happy holidays!
The midfield engine room will be critical. It has to get into fifth gear and stay in fifth gear for the rest of the season. A lot rests on their shoulders. It’s why I’m edging towards a return to the 3-2-2-3 formation for today’s home game against Middlesbrough. I can’t see Steven Schumacher going with two centre-backs considering the goals we’ve let in recently so I’d expect to see Ki-Jana Hoever back in with Michael Rose and Ben Wilmot – I’m not sure there are too many other options – and then cramming that spine.
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