Stoke City may have fallen away towards the end of last season, but that shouldn’t be a barrier as they hunt a better campaign in 2026/27.
They are the thoughts of former Stoke and England striker Michael Owen, who was speaking exclusively to Football Lowdown this week.
Owen appeared nine times for Stoke at the end of an illustrious career, scoring his final goal for the club. Since then, they’ve tumbled into the Championship and become something of a fixture in the lower echelons of the second tier.
Despite appointing Robins last season, they finished in the bottom half for an eighth successive campaign. They’re always a bit too good for the relegation fight, but never have enough to finish above 14th.
Despite that and the tail off, the former Liverpool striker believes they have a chance to be a success next season, if they get one key aspect right.
“Stoke City have a good manager in Mark Robins at Championship level,” said Michael Owen, who is UK ambassador for the online casino comparison site Casino.org.
“We’ve seen what he did at Coventry and the start he made at Stoke City. With the off-season now and looking to improve the squad, he will have a good chance to prepare the squad, look to get the players he wants in and who know the Championship too.”
That seems to suggest players with Championship experience are going to be vital, in a season where Robins really has to step up. After leaving his former side, Coventry, they achieved promotion to the Premier League, and now Robins needs a big season with the Potters to boost his own reputation.
“So they can compete well next season, it’s making sure you start the season with the squad you want, and really start well as this has shown to give good momentum in the past and Mark will know this from his experience at Coventry especially.
“So, yes the season may have not ended as strongly as it started, but it is therefore really important to start well in August.
A big start is important, but let’s not forget they were in the play-off mix for the first half of the campaign, before the tail off.
It does feel like a big season for Stoke City. With ambitious teams like Cardiff City and possibly Bolton Wanderers coming up, and crisis clubs Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday going down, it feels like a tougher landscape for Championship clubs this season.
Without that strong start, it could be that this is the campaign where Stoke finally get pulled into the bottom three, after swirling the drain for eight seasons.
