Steven Schumacher has issued a thinly veiled dig at former club Stoke City, claiming he’s now at a ‘better club’.
The 41-year-old opted to end his successful stint at Plymouth Argyle in 2023 to take on the vacant position at Stoke. He had performed wonders with the Pilgrims, winning League One with a total of 101 points before setting them up for Championship survival.
His move to Staffordshire saw him take the helm at a club punching well below its weight, with his first task to keep them in the second tier. He achieved this with a relatively comfortable 17th-placed finish.
There was a renewed optimism at the beginning of the last season that the Potters would start to work their way back into the top half of the table. However, Schumacher was sacked just five games into the season, bringing in Narcis Pelach then Mark Robins. It proved to be a disaster of a campaign, with their safety only confirmed on the final day.
Schumacher Reflects On Stoke Departure
Speaking for the first time about his departure, Schumacher opened up on his relationship with Jon Walters:
“I think it was just a different idea. I wanted to recruit a type of profile and type of player with a younger age group who hadn’t been in the Premier League and was on a different career trajectory. That’s what I’d said in my job interview with John Coates, it’s how I’d done it at Plymouth. I wanted to play a style that like.
“And when we got to the recruitment, I always felt that the players I was suggesting and putting through to the department, I didn’t think it was being followed through. I would get offered other players and you just get a sense that you’re on the same page or you’re not and I just felt that we kind of weren’t.
“I didn’t have trust that what I was asking for wasn’t being carried out. He might say different but that’s how I felt. What it boiled down to, we spoke about it six weeks later, after he sacked me and he said, ‘In my opinion, I just don’t think you were good enough.’”
Continuing, Schumacher stated his belief that he is now at a better club, having taken over at Bolton Wanderers in January:
“It was a weird time. I’ve spoke loads about it. It happened, I didn’t expect it to happen. I felt I was learning, developing and getting better but they made their call and now, again, in hindsight, everything happens for a reason and I think I’m at a better club who are just in a different division at the moment anyway.”
Writer’s View
Stoke made a real hash of things last season but it was clear that Steven Schumacher wasn’t the man that Jon Walters wanted. We’ll never know of course, but it is likely that they would have had a far more comfortable campaign if they’d stuck with him. Bolton will now be hoping that Stoke’s loss will be their gain.
