Stoke City have had 25 different managers in the past nearly 90 years since the board decided to separate the job of running the first team from being club secretary. It went from secretary-manager Tom Mather to player-manager Bob McGrory and then a long train beyond that led to where we stand today. Or stood until today.
Now Steven Schumacher has been unveiled with the title of head coach. Winning matches will be more important than linguistics but it was noticed and notable among the fan base and, within the corridors at Clayton Wood, it is regarded as a significant decision.
Schumacher, who has arrived from Plymouth Argyle on a three-and-a-half year contract, is seen as a hands-on coach and his job description is to work with players and develop and prepare them tactically and technically from week to week, match to match and year to year.
The 39-year-old drops into the club structure that includes a technical director – Ricky Martin; head of recruitment – Jared Dublin; and academy director – Gareth Owen; as well as head football administration Chris Laird, who was club secretary in old money; and the heads of various other departments.
Historically, a manager – and Stoke have had some with more authority than others – has been tasked with running the whole show but, in this new world, Schumacher will concentrate on his area of expertise. Or that’s the plan and the hope.
David Pleat was asked about the difference by The Athletic and explained: ““A manager is someone who involves himself in almost everything that is going on at the club. That is finished now. I was a manager at Luton, 100 per cent. I did everything at Luton, it was a small club and I knew everybody. They relied on me. And they were decent to me as well. But I don’t think there are any ‘managers’ now, are there? Maybe Klopp.
“Dyche might be a little bit (while at Burnley), because he’s ingrained and he’s English. He would probably attend board meetings. Some of these coaches wouldn’t attend board meetings. ‘What’s that got to do with us?’.”
But the point was also made that “a head coach at one club could have more control and power than a manager at another” and it will be interesting to see how it all unravels at Stoke.
Chairman John Coates had said in a Q&A with fans at the start of this season: “When people leave, it’s given us an opportunity to have a significant reset and I think that was needed as a club. I think it’s something to be excited about. We’ve worked hard to bring in people who we believe will be here for the long-term. I’m really pleased with the people we’ve brought in and I think they’ll be at the club for a long time.”
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