It was the opinion of many that Stoke had somewhat sucked the life out of the game by the time of Tony Pulis' departure and it was a theory that even some Potters fans were beginning to concede. It's hard to argue that their former boss didn't do an exceptional job on the face of it. He established Stoke as a Premier League side having never finished below 14th upon their reintroduction to the top-flight in 2008.
However, there became an acceptance that things had to change. The notion that they played to their strengths was seen as an excuse for what was at times pretty rudimentary football. They were a long ball team that got in opposition faces and ruffled a few preened feathers along the way. That conclusion is something that new manager Mark Hughes is working to gradually dismiss, and he's made a very encouraging start.
You won't find many Stoke fans who'd feel the need to justify their playing style under the previous regime. It earned them results in a business driven by exactly that but they very rarely thrilled their loyal fan base. By last season it's fair to say that a decent number of the fans had had enough.
Though Stoke were off the bottom of the Premier League charts in terms of possession for the first time in three seasons, with 43.3% enough to rank 17th, they remained at the foot of the table in terms of pass accuracy (70.2%). It's a position the Potters have held since we started providing data in 2009/10 and last season they were also rooted to the foot in terms of shots per game (10.2), having fallen to that standing in the 2011/12 campaign.
Defensively they were beginning to live up to their stereotype more than ever. The number of aerial duels they won per game rocketed to 28.9 from 15.3 the season previous and while they ranked 11th in terms of tackles per game (19.1) no team committed more fouls (485) or picked up more bookings (78). There was a prolonged period after the turn of the year in which their slide down the table looked unlikely to end and it was a trend that the board were unwilling to risk continuing with.
Mark Hughes was the man tasked with bucking that trend, although Pulis had managed to pick up the points necessary to avoid the drop with crucial late-season victories over QPR and Norwich. The former City boss' transfer dealings since have certainly encouraged the supporters who are by now well behind the club's decision to do things differently.
The Welshman looked to add players with more quality on the ball, even in defensive positions, and while the likes of Marko Arnautovic and Stephen Ireland aren't exactly the most amenable characters they do offer the potential for change. It's interesting then that Hughes has managed to inspire that change in a side without really tampering with Pulis' personnel in the matches to date, with left-back Erik Pieters the only new signing to start thus far.
The other 8 players to have started every game for the club were all regulars under the previous manager, yet Stoke's average possession is just 0.1% behind that of table toppers Liverpool (47.9%) - the side they faced on the opening day. That's a very respectable figure given that they've also just played Manchester City, mustering more shots (11-10) in an admittedly drab affair against Pellegrini's men. Despite the calibre of opposition they've already faced Stoke have had just one fewer shots than champions United (52).
It's clear that Hughes has encouraged his players to come out of their shells a little and have a little more faith in their own abilities. For the past four seasons no side had played a higher percentage of their total pass attempts long than Stoke. To date this season, only five have played a lower percentage long than the Potters (10.9%).
Perhaps the player that has taken to the new manager's way of thinking the most is Marc Wilson. Deployed at left-back under Tony Pulis, the Irish international has moved into a holding midfield role from which he impressed the club at Portsmouth prior to his transfer in 2010.
The 26-year old never let the side down when in the back line - having done so on just 19 occasions last season due to a leg break suffered in November – but he, along with the rest of the defence, was ordered to get the ball from front to back as quickly as possible, averaging 3.3 long balls per game. It had a hugely detrimental impact on his pass accuracy, which at 61.3% was the worst of any player with more than 5 appearances not to play either up front or in goal in the entire league.
His defensive stats were unsurprisingly solid. An average of 3.1 tackles and 1.7 interceptions per game ranked second and third in the squad respectively and those kind of figures are now benefiting Stoke's midfield. Both averages have in fact risen thus far this season to 3.8 and 1.8, while his possession play has improved dramatically.
Wilson's tame pass accuracy from the previous campaign is up at a highly respectable 85.7% which, to put it into perspective, would have been the best in the side last season. He's also shown an ability on the ball that any neutral watching him over the past couple of years just wouldn't have thought existed, completing 7 dribbles, 5 key passes and mustering 5 shots in the first 4 games.
While Wilson revels in his new holding role it's been a less impressive start for the likes of Jon Walters and Charlie Adam. While the former was a real favourite under Pulis, Adam was one of those expected to profit from the new changes the most. Touted as one of the ‘best passers in the league’ by former teammate Michael Owen upon his introduction against Liverpool earlier this season, his accuracy is among the worst in the squad at 78% and he's created just one chance to date. While the core of the team remains the same the key players in that system may yet change.
Hughes is certainly approaching the role differently to the way that Pulis did but the fact that he's done so successfully in the most part with very few new faces playing thus far is very impressive. He’s proving the theory that Stoke played to their strengths under the old management may not have been entirely accurate.
