
Next Stoke Manager Odds: Four names in the frame to replace Alex Neil

Stoke City are looking for a new Head Coach after sacking Alex Neil.
EFL pundit Gab Sutton has put forward four candidates to take charge of the Potters…
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1. John Eustace
Although John Eustace was sacked as Birmingham boss in October, it was a decision completely irrelevant to his performance as Head Coach, and had everything to do with CEO Garry Cook’s relationship with Wayne Rooney’s agent, Paul Stretford.
As such, Eustace’s reputation is massively enhanced by his time at St Andrews, steering the club through an arduous-looking 2022-23 campaign to finish 17th, before guiding them to 6th this season after backing in the summer.
External suggestions of a conservative approach can be exaggerated: his sides press in a shape that keeps them responsible defensively, whilst being able to threaten on the counter-attack, but when they’re in the opposing half they can recycle the ball well too, and sustain pressure.
Eustace might not be the appointment to make if Stoke want an extreme style of play, because his main strength is his ability to build nicely balanced, rounded teams, whilst improving players individually.
However, it would make a lot of sense for an in-season appointment, especially after signing 19 new players in the summer, 14 of which being permanent deals, and at least seven on three or four year contracts.
There won’t be scope in the summer for a blank sheet of paper they had this summer, so perhaps this is the time to bring in a coach likeliest to maximize what they have.
2. Jon Dahl Tomasson
Going from a club that’s 11th to one that’s 20th might look odd on paper, but there have been suggestions that Tomasson hasn’t always seen eye-to-eye with the Blackburn board around investment, and Stoke have the more expensively-assembled squad.
The Dane has proven himself an excellent manager across the North Sea, twice winning the Allsvenskan (Swedish top flight) with Malmö FF, and will want the resources to succeed at this level.
Tomasson likes to invert both his full-backs in possession, one into a back-three with the two centre-backs, the other into midfield to forge a double-pivot with the number six, allowing the two number eights to rotate and interchange as part of a fluid attacking quintet.
With Stoke’s current squad, this could work nicely with Enda Stevens tucking into the back-three next to Luke McNally and Michael Rose, then Ki-Jana Hoever inverting into midfield next to Ben Pearson, allowing Wouter Burger to operate further forward, possibly with Daniel Johnson.
There’s also the option of converting Junior Tchamadeu into a right winger, similar to the job he’s done with Callum Brittain at Blackburn, with André Vidigal cutting inside from the left late on in moves to produce moments of quality like he did on the opening day 4-1 win over Rotherham.
3. Nuno Espírito Santo
Nuno Santo won the Championship title at the first attempt with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2017-18.
The Portuguese boss had agent Jorge Mendes on his side, due to his relationship with owners Fosun International, which allowed the club to pull off a deal for Rúben Neves, who had starred for Champions League Quarter-Finalists Porto the year before.
As well as the advantages, though, Santo also had the vision to convert then-midfielder Conor Coady into a centre-back in the middle of a back-three.
That Wolves side was one of the greatest Championship teams of all time, and Santo subsequently led them to consecutive seventh-placed finishes in the Premier League, before things went a little stale in his final season due to Raúl Jiménez’s injury.
It didn’t quite work out for Santo at Tottenham, but he did subsequently win the Saudi Professional League title with Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), guiding them to top spot for the first time in 14 years.
While Santo would seem a good appointment on paper, he does favour a 3-4-3, and Stoke haven’t recruited specialist wide centre-backs required for that role, nor a natural left wing-back.
Depending on whether Santo is hell-bent on that formation, bringing him in would create a situation whereby the club have just made 19 signings in the previous window, and then need three more first-team options in the next one. Players cost money, apparently.
4. Kim Hellberg
For in-depth insight into Kim Hellberg, we highly recommend reading Jack Hancock’s excellent feature on the Swede.
In summary, Hellberg’s sides strategize in response to the opposition: one action for them = another action for us, but there are certain principles of play that remain constant.
For instance, IFK Värnamo respond to the press by playing a slower initial pass to draw it on further, two quicker ones to unhinge their opponents, followed by one ball that really opens the game up – whether it’s a through ball or a Crossfield diagonal.
These patterns create ‘artificial transitions’, which are a huge part of how Hellberg works.
Hellberg is also not a believer in formations, as opposed to shapes, and he likes to change his shapes to combat opponents, but always with the intention of controlling central spaces.
We can deduce from this that the 35-year-old has an agile mind, and prides himself on strong in-game management.
Hellberg’s flexibility, underpinned by a set of core principles, makes him a hugely attractive proposition.
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