Stoke City new manager latest as Narcis Pelach set for coronation
Narcis Pelach is in line to become new Stoke City head coach following the shock exit of Steven Schumacher.
Pelach, aged 36, has been on the sidelines in the Championship for the last four years, working as first team coach at Huddersfield Town and Norwich City on the back of spending an extended period in the Man City camp under fellow Catalan Pep Guardiola. He had previously been under-21s coach and first team assistant at Man City’s sister club Girona and managed Figueres.
He has been headhunted as the man to replace Schumacher, who was told when he arrived at Clayton Wood yesterday morning that his time at the club was over, as well as his assistants Mark Hughes and Chris Cohen, coach Peter Cavanagh and head of performance Elliot Turner. Keeper coach Darren Behcet remains but Stoke have also been linked with Norwich’s Paul Clements.
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Stoke make big decision to let Schumacher go
A deflating defeat at Oxford United prompted Stoke’s hierarchy to make this decision, taking a dim view of the performance perhaps even more than the result. Stoke had lost to West Bromwich Albion too in their last league home game and the top brass are believed to have been unconvinced by a 1-0 win at Plymouth heading into the international break.
Jon Walters said: “My role as sporting director is to make tough decisions that serve the long-term interests of Stoke City. After ongoing discussions with John Coates, we feel the time is right for a change in direction to bring success to the club.
“We have a young, dynamic squad that is eager to develop and a clear vision of how to achieve success, and we hope to announce a new appointment shortly. We will need the fans, staff, and players united in support to achieve our goals. As always in football, these decisions are difficult, and we wish Steven and his staff all the best for the future.”
Steven Schumacher's final frustration
Schumacher had been in charge for nine months but, as head coach, had been part of rather than leading the summer recruitment drive.
The 40-year-old admitted that Stoke deserved to lose on Saturday and expressed his frustration with players in what turned out to be his final question as boss, telling the Sentinel: “I think we’ve got a squad that is competitive. There is no one who is guaranteed a place in the team, nobody, no exceptions – and if you don’t perform then someone is hopefully going to come in and take your position.
“We need everyone to be right at it, giving 100 per cent every week. I know people are going to have good days and bad days, that’s understandable, so I won’t get too carried away but we need more from certain people.”
Schumacher's league record at Stoke is: P29 W11 D6 L12 F31 A36 Pts 39.
A quick look back at what has happened since last December.
Urgent matters: Fleetwood at home
Alex Morris and Ryan Shawcross have been placed in caretaker charge, with a Carabao Cup third round tie at home against Charlie Adam’s Fleetwood Town tonight (7.30pm). Stoke are likely to have their new man in place by the time they take on Hull in the Championship at the bet365 Stadium on Friday night (8pm).
You can read more about the caretakers here.
A message from the chairman
Chairman John Coates is confident that the new manager will be able to get more out of the current squad.
He said: “Steven, Mark, Chris, Peter and Elliot depart with our thanks for their efforts and with our best wishes for their future careers.
“We have faith in the squad of players we have assembled and firmly believe they can bring success to Stoke City this season. I continue to be hugely thankful to the club’s fans for their loyal and passionate support.”
Introducing Narcis Pelach
Narcis Pelach won't have been a familiar name to all that many Stoke fans before brunch time on Monday so we spoke to Norwich reporter Connor Southwell for an insight into what to expect.
He said: "Speak to anyone about Pelach and they will mention two things - how popular he is with players and the incredible detail that he goes to in his work.
"Pelach was responsible for opposition analysis under Wagner and would cover every inch of the opponent to arm himself for every situation. He is both a workaholic and capable of forming good relations with players."
You can read that in full here.
Learning first hand from Pep Guardiola and Neil Warnock
You won't get that sentence written about too many coaches.
Pelach is on course to become Stoke City's new head coach - the sixth since relegation and only the third foreign boss in the club's history - with a big responsibility and huge ambition.
He hung up his boots at the age of 25 to concentrate on coaching and it's been a long and winding road leading to the bet365 Stadium.
You can read about that journey here