Mark Hughes has made it very clear that he wants to improve on last season’s efforts.
By the players he has signed, that may be true. However, out of the players that were already at the club, there are some that need to step up their effort if they want to see first team football this season.
Marko Arnautovic
The Austrian is almost at the prime of his career, yet still struggled to affect the scoresheet, scoring just one goal and notching up five assists in 20 starts and nine substitute Premier League appearances. Arnautovic has immense technical ability but was quite average overall last season, averaging just 1.5 shots per game on average. The winger has also had his international appearances cut from eight last year to one appearance this year, and with other wide men such as Peter Odemwingie and Bojan in the squad, the ex-Werder Bremen man must rediscover his best to keep his place in the Stoke lineup, let alone that of Austria.
Jonathan Walters
The 2015-16 campaign may be his last with the Potters; 31 years old and sliding down the pecking order. The Irishman is still a valuable asset to the squad, however, and will remain an important contributor. His effort of 32 appearances with eight goals and four assists is an impressive return for a player who is slowing down due to age. However, new signing Joselu is looking like a replacement for Walters and seems likely to get more game time than the Irish international. Yet, he has a sort of ‘legend status’ around the club after playing 176 games in the red and white stripes and may convince Hughes to continue playing Walters. The attacking utility enjoyed a reasonable season throughout 2014-15 but any dips in form will likely see him lose his place in the starting XI.
Stephen Ireland
Ireland’s performances last season were at the same level as they were the season before. The 2013-14 season was Ireland’s first at the club, on loan from Aston Villa, so it was expected that Ireland would have plenty more to bring to the table thereafter. That expectation did not quite materialise, however. After failing to score a goal last season and playing the majority of the season as an attacking midfielder, did he turn out to be the right signing? The 28-year-old is good enough to earn call-ups for Ireland (the country), but he has often been involved in controversies with the manager refusing to pick him and the player refusing to be picked. Ireland spent a great deal of time warming benches at Manchester City and Aston Villa; will he meet the same fate at Stoke?
Phillipp Wollscheid
The big centre-back was on loan at Stoke last season from Bayer Leverkusen and played 12 games, with a few hiccups expected. Nonetheless, the German faired reasonably well in his first Premier League season, making 1.4 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game. Whilst still at Leverkusen, Wollscheid significantly bettered those figures, in particular during the 2012-13 season, averaging 2.7 tackles and three interceptions per game, so his best form seems so far undiscovered at the Britannia. Wollscheid has been compared to Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker as “he is a gifted all round defender, with excellent positioning and relatively secure heading and tackling” according to German sports writer Kit Holden, but adds that he is “prone to losses of concentration”.
Marc Wilson
Another Irish international, of 20 caps, and another player in his prime. Wilson is primarily a centre-back and has similar stats to those of Wollscheid. Wilson’s major strength is tackling, however he can also play as a right-back or a defensive midfielder. The 27-year-old has been at the club since 2010 but will be closely competing with Wollscheid and Ryan Shawcross for a place in the starting XI this season.
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Hughes has brought in many fresh faces with the transfer window yet to close. Will the new boys have what it takes to take over the starting positions, or will the aforementioned experienced bunch be too good and too reliable?
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