Passing Game - The Stoke Way

Thanks for all the positive comments so far guys! :)

Given that N'Zonzi is the only player in the team that understands 'pass' as something other than punting it 60 yards, it'll take some doing to turn Stoke into Barca. Good luck.

Arvind: Hahahaha, I know thanks

Can Stoke go from anti-football to pretty football? I can't wait to find out

edu1878: Me neither! Thanks for reading

Good luck with this, nearly did exactly the same thing myself the other day. But decided against it. Should be interesting.

Mervmeister: Thanks mate

Stoke City have taken very little time in announcing the successor to the resigned Mark Hughes, after appointing English manager Mike Bassett as their new boss. The job has only been free for a matter of days since Hughes resigned due to a dispute over finances made available by Peter Coates to further improve the squad. This lead the Welsh manager to resign after just a couple of weeks in the job.

Mike Bassett may have been out of management for a few years now, but there is no doubting his pedigree. After success with Norwich, culminating in a Johnstones' Paint Trophy win at Wembley in 2001, Bassett was a shock appointment to the England job in the same year, and lead the nation to qualification for the 2002 World Cup, in Brazil. In Brazil, he lead his country to the semi-finals of the World Cup, winning the hearts of the nation, and also giving him the ability to carry on in the role. He stayed in charge of the English national team for another four years, before stepping down after the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He has since been working as a coach with the England side, but not taken control of a club side for a while now.

However, now he is back in the hot-seat of a club side, charged with changing the way the club is viewed by neutral supporters. In recent years, Stoke have been viewed as a side that play bad football, and also aggressive at times too. This has garnered a lot of criticism from opposition fans, particularly some who are now branding Stoke as a "rugby team". Now though, Bassett is tasked with trying to remove this stigma, and turn the Potters into a much more fashionable team.

After a fight with relegation for much of last season, Stoke are expected to have a much better time of it this campaign, under their new manager. They've already made some good signings this summer, under Hughes, and will be able to make more now that Bassett has taken charge. It is expected he will play a pressing 4-4-2 tactic in an effort to secure a safe mid-table finish this season.

The reception from the Stoke City fans to the appointment of Bassett has generally been good, with them hoping he can reproduce his successes with Norwich City and England, and take the club back into Europe within a couple of years. Whilst the last couple of years may not have been the best for Stoke's fans, the future is certainly looking bright at the Potteries.

BASSETT!!!!!

wellsy1498: Yes

Great updates so far Blue, I'm really liking this so far

Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863 the club changed its name to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke-on-Trent was granted city status. They are the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts County and are one of the founding members of the Football League.

Stoke play in the Premier League after winning promotion in 2008; prior to this Stoke had not participated in top flight football for twenty-three years. Their first, and to date only, major trophy was won in the 1972 Football League Cup Final, when the team beat Chelsea 2–1. The club have won the Football League Trophy on two occasions, first in 1992 and most recently in 2000. The club's highest league finish in the top division is 4th, which was achieved in the 1935–36 and 1946–47 seasons. Stoke have competed in European football in 1972–73, 1974–75; and most recently in 2011–12. Stoke played in the FA Cup Final in 2011, finishing runners-up to Manchester City and has reached three FA Cup semi-finals, in 1899 then consecutively in 1971 and 1972.

Stoke's home ground is the Britannia Stadium, a 28,384 all-seater stadium. Before the stadium was opened in 1997, the club was based at the Victoria Ground, which had been their home ground since 1878. The club's nickname is 'The Potters', named after the pottery industry in Stoke-on-Trent and their traditional home kit is a red and white vertically striped shirt, white shorts and stockings. Stoke's traditional rivals are Midlands clubs West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers whilst their local rivals are Port Vale with whom they contest the Potteries derby.

Facilities

Top training facilities
Average youth facilities
Average youth recruitment

Affiliated Clubs

Orlando City SC (America)
Newcastle Town (England)

2012-13 Season Expectations

The minimum expectation is that the club finishes in a comfortable mid-table position this season.

The minimum expectation is that the club reaches the Fifth Round of the FA Cup.

The minimum expectation is that the club reaches the Fourth Round of the Capital One Cup.

Budgets

£4.78 million transfer budget

£618k per week wage budget - £597k of this wage budget is already being used.

Budget isn't great, but I reckon you should be able to sign a few

Justice: It's alright, I don't need much improvement tbh. Thanks for reading!

Small budget to work with. Be interesting to see Ins/Outs