What the data showed as Ryan Shawcross put quick stamp on Stoke City
Ryan Shawcross handed in his Stoke City teamsheet at the weekend with 11 players all in their preferred positions, which was probably more noteworthy than it should be.
In the end, he had to make a change just before kick-off because Eric Bocat had a problem, Enda Stevens wasn’t right to start and utility man Lynden Gooch had to fill in at left-back but it was still a team that looked more balanced by having round pegs in round holes.
But players still needed drilling about what was expected in their favourite positions and there was a half-time pep talk for Bae Junho and Lewis Koumas about helping their respective full-backs.
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“It’s a team thing,” said Shawcross, who will be in charge at Burnley today (3pm). “When we’re attacking we’re a team and when we’re defending we’re a team so it’s important everyone is involved. The messaging might have been different from previous managers but for me it’s everyone works back, everyone works hard.
“They will do it it’s just sometimes they don’t understand when they need to do it and when they don’t – it’s more of a misunderstanding than a lack of willing.
“The data on the sprints was the best of the season so they were having a good go, it’s just knowing when you go. As a coach and as someone in charge you need to reaffirm when they need to be a bit smarter with their movement, that’s what we’re trying to do.”
The eye test suggested the same thing as the data about sprints, urgency and aggression.
Shawcross said: “The data is always strange. The actual distance covered wasn’t amazing but the sprints were. That’s arriving at pace to the ball and I think that gives the fans and myself more hope because when you press someone really quickly you cause mistakes rather than when you’re running around but at a slower pace, not causing problems.”
The other thing that will give Stoke supporters hope is a turnaround in the number of injuries that the club has suffered to key players over recent years.
The belief over the last few months – following a series of hamstring injuries in the spring – has been that higher standards from Monday to Friday, with a big input from someone trusted such as head of sports science Joel Dawson, who returned to Stoke from Manchester City, can turn that around.
Shawcross added: “It’s difficult with the style of play. If it was to be a consistent high tempo with lots of sprints you would see an upturn in injuries because of the exposure to it but as a long-term vision Joel has to be massively involved in training plans and pre-season to make sure you start reducing them.
“I don’t know who the new manager is or what he wants from it but if we’re having that high tempo, front foot football which I think we suit, there will be injuries but you can also manage them better. Joel being involved in that really helps.”
Shawcross knows that if he bangs the drum too hard about the need for stability behind the head coach then there will be accusations that he is standing up for his old mates, such as sporting director Jon Walters, who has been tasting criticism for the first time from supporters following the Narcis Pelach experiment.
But Shawcross was writing in these pages back when he was coaching for Inter Miami about how he thought the key for Stoke to pull forward in the right direction was a consistent structure that allows a recruitment plan over years rather than window by window.
He said: “I think the first thing you have to do is to start building a squad that starts to look like one you can get promoted with. For me, the biggest thing is consistency and a structure around the manager. Managers come and go because of the way it is but the structure around it, in my opinion, has to stay set for a number of years. Walts can’t change things overnight. It takes years and years to build things up.”
He added: “I get on really well with Walts and I have a really good relationship with John Coates but whether it’s Walts or someone else, I think chopping and changing the people in those positions doesn’t work. You really have to have a long-term vision, knowing this guy is here for four or five years and you’d be surprised. You might have some really tough times but you will get an upturn and consistency.
“Everyone will say that Walts is my mate but I’d say the same about the structure regardless. I understand managers can come and go because that’s the game we’re in and if you lose six matches in a row then you’re more than likely to be under pressure but consistency above that means consistency in recruitment and staff.
“Ultimately there are some really good staff here but if you keep trying to change everything then it’s going to be very hard to be productive.
“You’d like to think that Jon being Jon with a really willing owner who will back you as much as he can within restrictions, that with time – and I always go on about time because it’s important, it’ll never change overnight – we’ll have a successful team.”
