Stoke City

2018–19 season
Chairman	Peter Coates
Manager	Gary Rowett (until 8 January)[1] Nathan Jones (from 9 January)[2]
Stadium	bet365 Stadium
Championship	16th
FA Cup	Third round
EFL Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League:Benik Afobe (8) All: Benik Afobe (9)
Highest home attendance	28,586 vLeeds United (19 January 2019)
Lowest home attendance	22,078 vSwansea City (18 September 2018)
Average home league attendance	25,200
Home colours Away colours
← 2017–18 2019–20 →

The2018–19 season wasStoke City's 102nd season in theFootball League, and the 42nd in thesecond tier.^[3]

Following last season's relegation from thePremier League, Stoke replacedPaul Lambert withGary Rowett who was tasked with mounting a promotion challenge. Inevitably there were a large number of departures and new arrivals during the summer, Stoke spending over £30 million onBenik Afobe,Sam Clucas,Peter Etebo,Tom Ince andJames McClean. However Stoke made a bad start to the campaign losing againstLeeds United,Wigan Athletic andWest Bromwich Albion. Stoke struggled to close the gap on the play-off positions despite going on a ten-game unbeaten run of which six were draws and ended 2018 in mid-table. Rowett was sacked at the beginning of January 2019 and was replaced byLuton Town'sNathan Jones.

Despite an early victory over Leeds United it soon became apparent that a squad re-build would be required so Jones experimented with his squad for the remainder of the campaign with Stoke eventually finishing in 16th position after drawing a record 22 times (of which nine were 0–0).

Stoke were relegated from thePremier League after a 2–1 defeat toCrystal Palace on 5 May 2018.^[4] Following relegation,Jack Butland andCharlie Adam criticised the club's transfer policy and the behaviour of some of their teammates.^[5][6]John Coates andPeter Coates released a joint statement where they admitted that a major overhaul is required and that they should have dismissedMark Hughes earlier.^[7]Paul Lambert left Stoke on 18 May 2018 by mutual consent after winning just two of his 15 games in charge.^[8] The board decided to go forDerby County managerGary Rowett, and he signed a three-year contract on 22 May after the clubs agreed compensation.^[9] He brought with him four coaches,Callum Davidson,Rory Delap,Kevin Phillips &Mark Sale.^[10]

Following relegation there was as expected major transfer activity made by the club prior to the start of the season. Going out were,Lee Grant toManchester United,Stephen Ireland andGlen Johnson both released,Xherdan Shaqiri toLiverpool,Ramadan Sobhi toHuddersfield Town andKevin Wimmer on loan toHannover 96. Arriving at Stoke were goalkeeperAdam Federici, experienced centre backAshley Williams, Nigerian midfielderPeter Etebo, wingersTom Ince andJames McClean and forwardBenik Afobe.^[11]

Stoke returned to training in late June and played a behind close doors match againstMacclesfield Town on 10 July, winning 5–2.^[12] City's first public outing was againstWalsall at theBescot Stadium. Goals fromIbrahim Afellay,Bojan andPeter Crouch gave Stoke a 3–0 win.^[13] The squad then spent a week at a training camp inHerzlake, Germany.^[14] They played three matches againstVfL Bochum,SV Meppen andHamburger SV, City losing all three games.^[15] Stoke then played out a goalless draw at home toWolverhampton Wanderers.^[16] Stoke ended their pre-season with a 2–0 defeat atFC St. Pauli.^[17]

Stoke began the campaign away atLeeds United and made a terrible start, being well beat 3–1. Stoke were 2–0 down at half time with goals fromMateusz Klich andPablo Hernández. Stoke pulled one back withBenik Afobe scoring a penalty but aLiam Cooper header ensured a Leeds win.^[18] City's first home match ended in a 1–1 draw againstBrentford. Afobe scored for Stoke capitalising on a mistake fromChris Mepham and keeperDan Bentley. Stoke were unimpressive throughout the match and Brentford earned a deserved point thanks to anOllie Watkins strike.^[19] After the match Rowett said that some of his players "need to wake up".^[20] Stoke drew again this time 2–2 atPreston North End. Preston took the lead through aPaul Gallagher penalty afterTom Edwards had handled in the area. Stoke responded immediately withErik Pieters scoring a rare goal howeverGraham Burke fired North End back in front just before half time.Peter Crouch rescued a point for Stoke with a towering header.^[21] Stoke were then easily beaten 3–0 at home byWigan Athletic.^[22][23] Rowett made several changes to his team for the visit ofHull City. Stoke were able to gain their first win of the season with goals fromJames McClean and an own goal from Tigers defenderJordy de Wijs.^[24]

Prior to the match againstWest Bromwich Albion Rowett trimmed his squad by loaning outBadou Ndiaye,Geoff Cameron,Giannelli Imbula andJulien Ngoy whilstEric Maxim Choupo-Moting joinedParis Saint-Germain on a free transfer. Stoke were beaten 2–1 by the Baggies with a brace fromDwight Gayle and a consolation strike by Pieters. Rowett was again critical of his players following the match calling them "dopey".^[25] After the international break Stoke traveled toHillsborough to take onSheffield Wednesday. Stoke made a good start to the match with Afobe scoring twice early on. However The Owls earned a 2–2 draw with goals fromMarco Matias andBarry Bannan.^[26] Stoke then went on to beatSwansea City 1–0 withJoe Allen scoring the only goal against his former club.^[27] The Potters then facedTony Mowbray'sBlackburn Rovers where another awful defensive display saw them 3–0 down after 46 minutes. Stoke pulled two goals back throughSaido Berahino andTom Ince and did have a chance to draw level but Berahino missed a late penalty and it finished 3–2 to Rovers.^[28] Stoke's defensive woes continued in the final match of September atRotherham United. Despite dominating the first half The Millers scored twice within minutes of the restart with aRyan Manning penalty andRichie Towell's close-range finish. Stoke made a comeback with goals from Ince and Bojan and the match finished in a 2–2 draw.^[29]

Stoke opened October by defeatingPhil Parkinson'sBolton Wanderers 2–0 with goals from Ince and a rare header fromBruno Martins Indi.^[30] City then won back to back matches for the first time since January 2017 with a 1–0 away success atNorwich City,Timm Klose scoring an own goal.^[31] After the international break Stoke lost 1–0 at home toBirmingham City with Rowett being sent to the stands after Stoke were denied a late penalty.^[32] Stoke then drew 1–1 atSheffield United with a Joe Allen free kick cancelling out a goal fromLeon Clarke.^[33] The Potters ended October with a hard-fought win away atBristol City withDarren Fletcher volleying in the only goal. In the second halfJack Butland made a number of fine saves to deny the Robins.^[34]

Former managerTony Pulis brought hisMiddlesbrough side to Stoke on 3 November which saw both sides cancel each other out in a goalless draw.^[35] City again drew 0–0 the following week away at midlands rivalsNottingham Forest. There was some controversy in the match as Forest keeperCostel Pantilimon avoided a red card after rushing out of his area and bringing down Afobe.^[36] Following the final international break of 2018 Stoke returned to league football with a visit fromQueens Park Rangers. After going 1–0 down through an earlyÀngel Rangel header Stoke turned the game around with goals from Berahino and Allen. However Stoke were unable to see out the victory as Rangel scored again to earn QPR a 2–2 draw.^[37] Stoke then came up against manager Gary Rowett's former teamDerby County whose supporters were unhappy with the way he left them, which gave the match a spiky atmosphere.Sam Clucas scored his first goal for the club after 24 minutes beforePeter Etebo was sent off for a high tackle onRichard Keogh. A scuffle broke out between Joe Allen andBradley Johnson where Johnson appeared to try and bite Allen. Johnson was later given a retrospective ban bythe FA.^[38]Harry Wilson equalized for the Rams just after half time via a free-kick but Stoke won 2–1 with former Derby player Tom Ince getting the winning goal.^[39]

Stoke then missed the opportunity to close the gap on the play-off positions against lowlyReading. Stoke were guilty of wasteful finishing beforeMarc McNulty headed the Royals in front just before half time. City turned the game around in the second half with Afobe ending a ten-game run without a goal and a fine volley from Tom Ince, howeverModou Barrow fired in a stoppage time equaliser.^[40] Stoke facedPaul Lambert's rock bottomIpswich Town on 8 December and won 2–0 with goals from Ince and Allen, although the team came in criticism from supporters for a poor display against weak opposition.^[41] Stoke extended their unbeaten run to nine games with another 2–2 draw this time away atAston Villa. Stoke were leading twice through Allen and then an Afobe penalty and on both occasions Villa responded with a penalty fromTammy Abraham and a late header fromJonathan Kodjia.^[42] Stoke then labored to a 1–0 home win over relegation threatenedMillwall, Berahino heading in the only goal on 61 minutes.^[43] Stoke's ten match unbeaten run was ended by Birmingham City on boxing day with goals fromJacques Maghoma andOmar Bogle.^[44] Stoke ended a forgettable 2018 with a drab 0–0 draw at relegation threatenedBolton Wanderers which prompted an angry reaction by the traveling supporters who chanted against Rowett.^[45]

Stoke began 2019 with a 2–0 home defeat againstBristol City withFamara Diedhiou scoring twice after Afobe had missed an early penalty which lead to more angry reactions towards Rowett from supporters.^[46] Inevitably Rowett was sacked by the club the following week.^[47] The Stoke board moved quickly to appointLuton Town's Welsh managerNathan Jones.^[48] Jones's first match in charge was away atThomas Frank'sBrentford. The size of the re-building job quickly became apparent to Jones as the Bees rushed into a 2–0 lead before Afobe pulled one back for Stoke, howeverRico Henry ensured three points for Brentford.^[49] The buildup to Nathan Jones' first home match took a bizarre twist asLeeds United managerMarcelo Bielsa admitted that he had been sending members of his staff to spy on Championship opponents training sessions. To counter this Jones set Stoke up in a 3–5–2 formation with 19-year-oldTyrese Campbell given his first league start andCharlie Adam andMoritz Bauer returning to the team after being outcast by Rowett. Stoke produced their best display of the season against the league leaders, winning 2–1 with goals from Clucas and Allen, whilstEzgjan Alioski scored a consolation for Leeds who hadPontus Jansson sent-off.^[50] Stoke ended January with a 2–0 home defeat against Preston.^[51]

Jones began to trim his squad in the January transfer window, departing the club wereIbrahim Afellay who had his contract terminated,Cuco Martina's loan spell cancelled,Erik Pieters going out on loan and most notably the long servingPeter Crouch joiningBurnley. Jones brought in two players, defenderDanny Batth fromWolverhampton Wanderers and strikerSam Vokes from Burnley.^[52]

Stoke's new additions Batth and Vokes both started away at in-formHull City, Stoke again losing 2–0 with goals fromJarrod Bowen andKamil Grosicki, with Vokes missing a penalty.^[53] City then lost a third in a row without scoring, going down 1–0 to promotion hopefulsWest Bromwich Albion.^[54] On 12 FebruaryGordon Banks died at the age of 81, he helped Stoke win the1972 League Cup and England the1966 FIFA World Cup, supporters paid tribute to him at his statue outside the bet365 Stadium.^[55] Stoke then kept a first clean sheet under Jones away atWigan Athletic but failed to find the net for a fourth match in a drab goalless draw.^[56] Stoke's barren run continued as they could only muster a 1–1 draw away at bottom of the table, Ipswich Town.^[57] Stoke paid their respects to Gordon Banks before the match against Aston Villa withJack Butland wearing a special classic green goalkeeping top.^[58] The match itself ended in another 1–1 draw, Sam Vokes' first goal for the club being cancelled out byAlbert Adomah.^[59]

The following week Stoke ended a run of six games without a win against play-off chasing Nottingham Forest, with fine strikes from Afobe andPeter Etebo's first for the club.^[60] City then travelled toLoftus Road to face fellow mid-table sideQueens Park Rangers. Sam Clucas was sent-off inside the opening 10 minutes of the match for stamping onJosh Scowen. The team produced a dogged defensive performance from then on and frustrated Rangers who hadGrant Hall dismissed for two bookable offenses and the match ended goalless.^[61] Four days later Stoke ground out another drab goalless draw this time at play-off contendersDerby County.^[62] The Potters began their next match at home to Reading brightly hitting the woodwork twice through Ince and then Vokes but that was as good as it got as Stoke played out yet another goalless draw.^[63] Following the international break Stoke took onSheffield Wednesday and played out a fourth consecutive goalless draw.^[64]

Stoke ended their barren run in front of goal with a 1–0 success away atBlackburn Rovers, Peter Etebo scoring the only goal after 14 minutes.^[65] Stoke were then easily beaten away at Swansea City 3–1, with Martins Indi and Tom Edwards both being sent-off. Stoke followed this up with another poor performance this time against Rotherham United blowing a 2–0 half time lead to draw 2–2.^[66] Stoke lost 1–0 away at Middlesbrough onGood Friday withBritt Assombalonga scoring after only two minutes.^[67] OnEaster Monday Stoke played against top of the table Norwich City.Onel Hernandez gave the Canaries a first half lead before a much improved second half display from Stoke sawAshley Williams andTom Edwards score their first goals for the club either side of aTeemu Pukki header.^[68] Stoke ended April with a ninth goalless draw of the season away at Millwall.^[69]

Stoke ended a hugely disappointing 2018–19 campaign against promotedSheffield United. Sam Vokes volleyed Stoke in front after 19 minutes which was cancelled out byKieran Dowell. Shawcross scored a rare goal to restore City's lead butEnda Stevens ensured Stoke would draw a 22nd match of the season.^[70]

Stoke were drawn away againstEFL League One sideShrewsbury Town in the third round and could only manage a 1–1 draw withPeter Crouch cancelling outOliver Norburn's penalty, sending the tie to a replay.^[73] In the replay Stoke took a 2–0 lead throughTyrese Campbell's first senior goals before a second half capitulation saw them beaten 3–2.^[74]

Stoke were drawn at home toHuddersfield Town in the second round of theEFL Cup. Stoke won 2–0 against the Terriers with goals fromSaido Berahino, ending his 48-game run without scoring and a bizarre own goal fromJuninho Bacuna.^[75] Stoke exited the EFL Cup in the third round, losing 3–2 away atNottingham Forest.

No.	Pos.	Name	Championship		FA Cup		League Cup		Total		Discipline
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	Jack Butland	45	0	0	0	0	0	45	0	0	0
2	DF	Moritz Bauer	6(2)	0	1	0	1(1)	0	8(3)	0	1	0
3	DF	Erik Pieters	21	2	1	0	1	0	23	2	3	0
4	MF	Joe Allen	46	6	0	0	0	0	46	6	8	0
5	DF	Ashley Williams	27(6)	1	2	0	2	0	31(6)	1	7	1
6	MF	Badou Ndiaye	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
7	MF	Tom Ince	36(2)	6	2	0	0(1)	0	38(3)	6	2	0
8	MF	Peter Etebo	29(5)	2	2	0	1	0	32(5)	2	7	1
9	FW	Benik Afobe	32(13)	8	1(1)	0	1(1)	1	33(15)	9	0	0
10	FW	Sam Vokes	10(2)	3	0	0	0	0	10(2)	3	0	0
11	MF	James McClean	32(10)	3	1(1)	0	1	0	34(11)	3	10	0
12	DF	Josh Tymon	1	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
14	DF	Danny Batth	17	0	0	0	0	0	17	0	2	0
15	DF	Bruno Martins Indi	36(1)	1	2	0	2	0	40(1)	1	6	1
16	MF	Charlie Adam	3(8)	0	1	0	1(1)	0	5(9)	0	5	0
17	DF	Ryan Shawcross (c)	33(3)	1	0	0	0	0	33(3)	1	6	0
18	FW	Mame Biram Diouf	6(8)	0	0(1)	0	1	0	7(9)	0	0	0
19	FW	Saido Berahino	16(7)	3	1	0	2	2	19(7)	5	0	0
22	MF	Sam Clucas	23(3)	3	2	0	0	0	25(3)	3	2	1
23	DF	Cuco Martina	17	0	0	0	1	0	18	0	4	0
24	MF	Darren Fletcher	4(7)	1	0	0	2	0	6(7)	1	1	0
25	FW	Peter Crouch	2(21)	1	1(1)	1	1	0	4(22)	2	2	0
26	FW	Tyrese Campbell	2(1)	0	1(1)	2	0(1)	0	3(3)	2	0	0
27	FW	Bojan	8(12)	1	0	0	1(1)	0	9(13)	1	0	0
29	GK	Jakob Haugaard	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	DF	Tom Edwards	22(5)	1	1	0	1	0	24(5)	1	3	1
31	MF	Thibaud Verlinden	3(2)	0	0	0	0	0	3(2)	0	0	0
32	GK	Adam Federici	1	0	2	0	2	0	5	0	0	0
33	MF	Lasse Sørensen	0(1)	0	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0	0	0
34	MF	Ollie Shenton	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
36	DF	Harry Souttar	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
37	DF	Nathan Collins	1(2)	0	0	0	0	0	1(2)	0	0	0
38	MF	Ryan Woods	26(1)	0	0	0	0	0	26(1)	0	6	0
–	–	Own goals	–	2	–	0	–	1	–	3	–	–

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
11 June 2018	MF	Peter Etebo	Feirense	£6.35 million	[76]
2 July 2018	DF	Mohamed Akandji	Amiens	Undisclosed	[77]
2 July 2018	MF	Ibrahim Doucoure	Amiens	Undisclosed	[77]
2 July 2018	MF	Dillon Keane	San Jose Earthquakes	Undisclosed	[77]
2 July 2018	MF	Soiyir Sanali	Amiens	Undisclosed	[77]
3 July 2018	GK	Adam Federici	Bournemouth	Undisclosed	[78][79]
22 July 2018	MF	James McClean	West Bromwich Albion	£5 million	[80]
24 July 2018	MF	Tom Ince	Huddersfield Town	£10 million	[81]
9 August 2018	MF	Sam Clucas	Swansea City	£6 million	[82]
1 January 2019	FW	Benik Afobe	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Undisclosed	[83]
4 January 2019	MF	Ryan Woods	Brentford	Undisclosed	[84]
29 January 2019	DF	Danny Batth	Wolverhampton Wanderers	£3 million	[85]
31 January 2019	FW	Sam Vokes	Burnley	Undisclosed	[86]
1 February 2019	DF	Ryan Corrigan	Manchester City	Undisclosed	[87]

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
1 June 2018	FW	Hakim Abdallah	Nantes	Free	[88]
1 June 2018	GK	Mitchell Allen	Released	Free	[89]
1 June 2018	FW	Shola Ayoola	Released	Free	[89]
1 June 2018	DF	Lewis Banks	Stafford Rangers	Free	[89][90]
1 June 2018	DF	Luis Da Silva	Released	Free	[89]
1 June 2018	FW	Jordan Greenridge	AC Omonia	Free	[89][91]
1 June 2018	MF	Ryan Hill	Hampton & Richmond Borough	Free	[89][92]
1 June 2018	MF	Stephen Ireland	Bolton Wanderers	Free	[89][93]
1 June 2018	DF	Glen Johnson	Released	Free	[89]
1 June 2018	MF	Eddy Lecygne	Released	Free	[89]
1 June 2018	MF	Venancio da Silva Monteiro	Released	Free	[89]
1 June 2018	DF	Connor Russo	Released	Free	[89]
12 June 2018	MF	Ramadan Sobhi	Huddersfield Town	£5.7 million	[94]
27 June 2018	DF	Marc Muniesa	Girona	Undisclosed	[95]
3 July 2018	GK	Lee Grant	Manchester United	Undisclosed	[96]
13 July 2018	MF	Xherdan Shaqiri	Liverpool	£13.5 million	[97]
24 July 2018	FW	Dom Telford	Bury	Free	[98]
31 August 2018	FW	Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting	Paris Saint-Germain	Free	[99]
14 January 2019	MF	Krisztofer Szerető	Ferencvaros	Free	[100]
28 January 2019	MF	Ibrahim Afellay	Released	Mutual consent	[101]
29 January 2019	DF	Mohamed Diallo	Released	Free	[102]
29 January 2019	DF	Ryan Sweeney	Mansfield Town	Free	[102]
31 January 2019	FW	Peter Crouch	Burnley	Part-exchange	[86]

Date from	Pos.	Name	From	Date to	Ref.
12 June 2018	FW	Benik Afobe	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1 January 2019	[83]
2 August 2018	DF	Ashley Williams	Everton	31 May 2019	[103]
17 August 2018	DF	Cuco Martina	Everton	31 January 2019	[104][105]
25 August 2018	MF	Ryan Woods	Brentford	4 January 2019	[106][84]

Date from	Pos.	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
27 May 2018	DF	Kevin Wimmer	Hannover 96	31 May 2019	[107][108]
3 August 2018	DF	Ryan Sweeney	Mansfield Town	29 January 2019	[109][102]
4 August 2018	DF	Cameron McJannett	Curzon Ashton	Youth loan	[110]
9 August 2018	GK	Josef Bursik	Hednesford Town	January 2019	[111]
28 August 2018	MF	Badou Ndiaye	Galatasaray	31 May 2019	[112]
29 August 2018	FW	Julien Ngoy	Grasshopper Club Zürich	31 May 2019	[113]
30 August 2018	MF	Giannelli Imbula	Rayo Vallecano	31 May 2019	[114]
31 August 2018	DF	Geoff Cameron	Queens Park Rangers	31 May 2019	[115]
7 November 2018	DF	James Butler	Hartlepool United	January 2019	[116]
24 November 2018	MF	Rachid Baldé	Curzon Ashton	December 2018	[117]
2 January 2019	GK	Josef Bursik	AFC Telford United	31 May 2019	[118]
2 January 2019	GK	Máté Deczki	Hednesford Town	31 May 2019	[119]
3 January 2019	MF	Mark Waddington	Falkirk	31 May 2019	[120]
30 January 2019	DF	Harry Souttar	Fleetwod Town	31 May 2019	[121]
31 January 2019	FW	Tyrese Campbell	Shrewsbury Town	31 May 2019	[122]
31 January 2019	DF	Erik Pieters	Amiens	31 May 2019	[123]

• 2018–19 EFL Championship by team
• Stoke City F.C. seasons

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