Drama for Tom Cannon as Leicester City loan striker gets off to rocky start at Stoke

Tom Cannon sees his penalty saved during the Carabao Cup shoot-out between Stoke and Fleetwood
-Credit: (Image: Al Walter/REX/Shutterstock)


An anonymous debut, a sacked manager, a missed one-on-one and a saved penalty. It’s safe to say Tom Cannon’s start at Stoke City could have gone better.

The Leicester City striker, loaned to the Potters on deadline day, had to wait the length of the international break for his first outing in red and white. He’s now played twice in what has been a dramatic few days for Stoke.

Available for the first time when Stoke travelled to Oxford at the weekend, Cannon went straight into the starting line-up. But in 70 minutes, he touched the ball just 10 times and didn’t get a single shot away, the Potters losing 1-0.

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Steven Schumacher, then Stoke boss, said Cannon’s tough maiden outing was due to a lack of service and lack of sharpness arising from his limited minutes with the Foxes in pre-season. It was one of the final answers Schumacher gave before the axe was swung.

“He lacked any service,” Schumacher said. “We had no real quality when we got into the final third to pick people out. The space wasn't really there for him to run into because of how congested the game was. It was a game that got away from us.

“For him, he hasn't played any football, only minimal minutes in pre-season for Leicester. So it’s not to expect too much too soon, but 70 minutes will do him good.”

That was the third defeat from the opening five Championship matches and on Monday, Schumacher was sacked. His backroom team left too, including first-team coach Peter Cavanagh, who had known Cannon from his time in Everton’s academy and been influential in luring the striker to the Potteries.

Stoke are acting quickly and have appointed Norwich first-team coach Narcis Pelach as their new manager. But there was still time for interim boss Ryan Shawcross to take charge of a game.

On Tuesday night, Stoke played Fleetwood in the Carabao Cup third round, with Cannon introduced just after the hour. The Potters were already 1-0 up when he had a big chance to double their advantage. Capitalising on a defensive mistake, Cannon raced through for a one-on-one with the Fleetwood keeper, but blazed over.

The League Two side then equalised in added time to send the game to penalties, with Cannon stepping up to take Stoke’s first spot-kick. His low effort was saved by Jay Lynch. But thanks to two stops from former City goalkeeper Viktor Johansson, Stoke did progress, winning the shoot-out 2-1.

Cannon will hope for better luck next time out, against Hull on Friday night. He’ll also hope that Pelach takes to him and sees fit to regularly start him up front, as appeared to be the plan under Schumacher.

Foxes fans will also keep their fingers crossed that is the case too. With Cannon only leaving on loan, rather than a once-rumoured permanent deal, there is still potential for him to return to City and thrive. After his promising cameos last term, supporters are keen to see how he gets on when given regular football.

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