[FM15] Stoke City: To Another 150 Years!

The New Beginning

The story goes that in 1863, former pupils of the Charterhouse School formed a Football Club whilst working as apprentices at the North Staffordshire Railway in Stoke. Stoke City Football Club is one of the oldest teams in history of football, but they have achieved nothing. The clubs Chairman Peter Coates was determined to end this 14 year drought of not winning a single competition.

Their aims were high and it needed to be.

At a press conference today, Coates, sitting alongside Mark Hughes and an unknown man in the footballing world, proposed a new vision for the club that promised a bright future ahead. Coates had stated the clubs urgency to produce its own talent and emphasised on the need to win a competition to fans have been dreaming of for more than a decade.

Coates listed down their targets for the following years as follows:

• Win the League Cup or the FA Cup in the first season.
  
• Qualify for the Europa League at the end of the season through League and make it to the Quarter Finals.
  
• Qualify for the Champions League in the next 2 years and make it to the final in 4.
  
• Produce 6 First Team players in 6 years.
  
• Win the Premier League in the 6th season with at least 5 Home Grown English players with 25+ league appearances.
  

"For this dream, this vision to become a reality, myself, the directors

and the club as a whole will be going through drastic changes this summer.

We felt the need to put an end to the very short but joyful journey we had with

Mark Hughes. From today, our new manager will be Hasan Oguzhan-Atestemur".

Former manager Mark Hughes stated that

"The club and I have put an end to this wonderful journey on good terms and a change was necessary for the club to achieve its new goals for the years to come. I am not in a strong enough position right now to deliver what is asked of me, and I apologise to the fans, I have let them down."

When microphones were pointing at Coates again, he carried on to add

"Today, 1st of July 2014, will be the turning point for the English football and Stoke City FC, it will cut clean from its roots of playing the traditional 442 with long balls from defence. Today we create our own brand of free flowing attack minded gameplay formed of youngsters, 20 year olds, 21 year olds, 25 year olds. However this is going to take time, and I promise our fans that in 4 years time, Stoke City will be the engine of British football. Today, we recreate football from its roots."

Today was like no other day at Clayton Wood Training Complex. Probably the most exciting, promising and nerve racking day ever for the Potters fans. In a first round of press conference that lasted just under 2 hours, Stoke City FC and Warrior Sports unveiled their new kits for the 2014/15 season as part of the £25m kit deal signed earlier this year. The home kit followed the path of the other home kits with the traditional White with Red Stripes pattern and the away kit marked a sky blue colour to start a new and clear begging for the club.

"The majority of you probably wasn't expecting this managerial change. But I was, I'm currently 38 years old and I have been working day and night for 5 years for this day, for this season. I have undertaken extensive training and world class football clubs around the world, from Manchester United, Arsenal to Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona Real Madrid and Ajax. I have lived in Germany for 2 years, working heavily on new projects with innovative football coaches. I have extensive background knowledge in the football of the future and I promise to deliver all of my skills and knowledge into my new role and always give %150 to my job. At Stoke City FC, me and my team will be changing the way football is played here. I want to send my sincere respect to Mark Hughes and all previous managers at Stoke City that made Stoke City the club they are today, and I promise to take it further. We are going to win trophies."

"My philosophy is youth, youth, youth and youth. Home grown Young talent that improves club football, and National Team football. We're not looking to just produce young talent neither, we are going to buy them, use them. I have the utmost respect for experienced footballers, they know football better than all of us, they are in the game, but I want Stoke City to play a fast paced, free flowing attacking game where each of the 11 players contribute equally to the end product and work their socks off during full 90 minutes of the game. I understand its going to take time, but the end product will be something we are all proud of. However this does not mean we aren't going to win anything till the 4th season. My players will have the energy and determination to win at least a trophy in the next season.

The new generation of Stoke City FC will not be overcrowded with footballers that can only do one job. We are going to recruit versatile, energetic and young players that are of the highest technical ability. We will not overspend and overpay, we are not in a position to break world transfer fee or salary records. If a player is playing for the money, he will not be playing anymore. Our first option will be to give our youngsters a chance, if they are not sufficient, then we will recruit other homegrown talent.

Our main objective this season is to kickstart the production of English footballers, and sign home grown talent for the future. We set target for ourselves o finish above 8th place in the league this year and improve on last years points tally.

I hope to have a long and successful career here at Stoke City FC."

More on this story will be available tomorrow at 9pm on Sky Sports News HQ.

Hasan Oguzhan-Atestemur: Its going to be very difficult - but I will deliver

Exclusive: Stoke City manager speaks to Gary Neville about the philosophy he believes will transform the club, his faith in youth and winning a trophy

There I am, with my notebook of questions, walking towards the long table where Hasan Oguzhan-Atestemur sits. He is an imposing figure. The light is low. Only one person is going to be in charge of this interview and it’s not going to be me. This man is not going to be pushed.

Every great manager is resolute about their philosophy and Hasan Atestemur was already showing the signs off what a great manager he was going to be. It was gonna be his way or no way at all. Last season for Stoke was too ordinary, finishing 9th. At the end of the season, the team was content with their position in the league, the fans were content too. But the chairman wasn't. Then comes along the very new figure in football, Hasan Oguzhan-Atestemur. This sudden, maybe unnecessary change brought a lot of questions to the beautiful mind, which could not be asked in a 'welcome' press conference, we needed time alone, everybody wanted answers. I bombarded him with questions, he responded "Wow, calm down. Ask me how I am, first." I was feeling penetrated already.

Once the informal, but 'necessary' chat was over. He explained to me clearly, word by word, everything.

"Consistently being up there(pointing at the top 4 of the Premier League table) and constantly winning are two different things. Arsenal wants to be in the top 4 year in year out, they are not so interested in winning the title for some reason. But Manchester United are opposite, they are destined to win, and have no other aim. Thats how I want Stoke to be, from this season onwards. Its going to be extremely difficult to deliver, but I believe in my self, my players and my philosophy. I signed only 1 year contract, I promised the Stoke City fans Europa League qualification and the FA or the League Cup. If I don't deliver, I will leave. But I will deliver."

My word, its not even his first day at the office and he is firing at teams already with his broken English. When I asked him if he was going to bring any of his staff in, he replied "Of course", adding "I appreciate what everyone did at Stoke City, but I have a team I've been working on this project the whole time that can make the transition much easier. I will be bringing in my own coaches that know my training drills perfectly, my own scouts that know our weaknesses and have an immense scouting database. They're good at their job, you know. Oh and my doctors that have done excellent researches in new innovations to healing sports related injuries. The doctors, and coaches are already great here, but I want people that know me, and my coaching style. It makes things much easier, you know."

He talked highly of his own players, too. Stating "I have one of the top 3 goalies in the League in Begovic, immense potential. And Showcross, a true leader and very very solid at the back. My strikers upfront, Diouf and Bojan, very technical and fast players. I have trust in each and every one of my players(pointing at his roster)..."

The full squad at the start of the season.

"... However, I am not afraid to sell even my best players to make way for the youth once a very very good offer is made. I already have the names of the players I am not looking to use next year. I have spoken to each and every player explaining to them why I will not be using them. I'm looking to sell Crouch, Odemwingie, Palacios, Stephen Ireland, Thomas Sorensen, Phil Bardsley, Brek Shea and Begovic also stated that he wants to play for PSG, so we will consider selling him only if a very convincing offer is made."

Stoke City fans want new signings, new players. Rumours are circulating around the national media that Stoke are looking for a striker, possibly 2 left wingers, a left back and a right back, maybe 1 or 2 goalkeepers depending on the Begovic situation.

I can see in his eyes, he had enough talking about players. He wants to talk about his tactics, his gameplay and how we wants his players to play. When I asked him about the style of play his team is going to portray, he spoke on for 20 minutes, not even stoping to breathe.

"I want young and energetic players to work as a unit. I am looking to shape up as a 41221, or 451. Call it whatever you want but I want 5 strong, hard working payers in midfield constantly pressing, chasing the ball, looking to break in and force the opposition to make a mistake with the aim to pass it quickly to the wingers or the striker and forcing a goal. I don't want to give away my tactic already, the players know really well what I want from them and they know they are capable to deliver."

By the time the conversation ended, I was most certain that Hasan Oguzhan-Atestemur was gonna be very very successful in the Premier League and Stoke are going to be a real force in the upcoming years. Stoke fans, lean back grab a bear and enjoy this because this is going to be fun.

Done Deal: Begovic leaves!

French giants Paris Saint Germain signs Bosnian goalkeeper Asmir Begović for a world record £28.5million from Stoke City. Begovic becomes the second most expensive goalie in history of football after Italian legend Gianluigi Buffon.

In a club statement released today, Stoke City has announced that Bosnian keeper Asmir Begović has left the club today to join French oil rich PSG for £28.5m. Begović will sign a 5 year contract with PSG after a medical at 11pm today. Begović has posted a tweet stating:

"I am really happy to sign for PSG and play in the Champions League. I thank all my previous teammates for their support and wish luck to the new manager Hasan Atestemur.

Done Deal: Arnautovic exits!

Newly rich Monaco splashes the cash to sign Austrian international Marko Arnautovic for £16.24m.

In a day of surprises, Stoke City released another club statement announcing the deal that makes Marko Arnautovic an AS Monaco player till 2019.

Mass Exodus!

8 players have left Stoke city today, with deals including Stephen Ireland to Crystal Palace, Jonathan Walters to Aston Villa and Peter Odemwingie and Peter Crouch to QPR.

A day of regeneration for Stoke City as 8 players are shown the door by the club. Experienced attacking midfielder has left the Potters to join Crystal Palace on a 5 year deal at a price tag of £7.5m. Peter Crouch and Peter Odemwingie has reunited with their old manager Harry Redknapp at QPR for a deal thought to be around £1.7m for the duo. Wilson Palacios, who was on his last year of contract has joined Welsh outfit Swansea for £1m while Tireless winger Jonathan Walters joins Aston Villa in a deal that rounds up to £3.8m. Veteran goalie Thomas Sorensen, right back Phil Bardsley and American youngster Brek Shea has had their contracts terminated by the club.

Stoke city have boasted their bank balance by £58m following the recent exodus and they needed real strengthening, and they have done exactly that.

Following the massive exodus, Stoke City were only left with 18 outfield players, and the key areas on the field were not strong enough. They needed reinforcements. Earlier on today, manager Hasan Oguzhan-Atestemur has announced that by the end of today they will be concluding the majority of their deals.

And he was not wrong. They went hunting at Norwich and came back with 3 delicious young deer. Stoke City has announced the signing of hot Norwich trio Nathan Redmond, Josh Murphy and Jacob Murphy for a total fee of £19.5m. The signings have demonstrated Stoke's dedication in playing young home grown footballers.

That wasn't all from Norwich, though. It was a day to break records at Stoke, as they signed England U21 striker Saido Berahino for a club record fee of £12.5m. The energetic forward is seen as a real wonderland and is touted highly by his new manager Hasan Oguzhan-Atestemur.

Other deals of the day saw Sunderland winger Adam Johnson head to the Potters for £9m, Crystal Palace right back Joel Ward for £7.5m, Tottenham right back Kyle Naughton for 2.5m and Manchester United goalie ben Amos for £450k.

Stoke City have spent a total of £52.5m on 8 players this season, while cashing up £58m in transfer fees.

It was a transfer period like no other for Stoke City fans as they saw their team make really exciting signing for the upcoming season with Berahino, Redmon and Johnson to be a real fan favourite already.

What a way to begin!

The 2014/15 seasons has began today and Stoke City have beaten Aston Villa 3-0 home at the Britannia Stadium in font of 28,384 fans. 4 players made their debuts for Stoke City today, with Adam Johnson leading the lot by scoring 2 goals on his debut. He was also voted Man of the Match. Glen Whelan and Nathan Redmond also impressed in a game Stoke City truly dominated.

Quality of possession provides victory!

A highly polished performance from Stoke City players saw their team run out 4-1 winners over Hull City at KC Stadium. An early brace from tireless midfielder Glen Whelan helped silence the 24,793 Hull City fans, as well as picking up the Man of the Match award.

Been there, done that.

More of the same from Stoke City as they look clinical up front. 4 goals in 15 minutes from Stoke as they brush aside Bradford City in Capital One Cup Second Round clash. Charlie Adam picked uo the Man of the Match award in a match he truly impressed. The talking point of the game was Saido Berahino's first competitive goal for Stoke City.

Done Deal: Monaco snap up N'Zonzi

AS Monaco have completed the signing of Stoke City's former France U21 International Steven N'Zonzi for a fee of £11.25m on Deadline Day. With bonuses, however, the transfer fee may eventually rise to £13m. N'Zonzi, who joined Stoke City from Championship side Blackburn Rovers for £3.5m in 2013, is said to be eager to join up with his new team-mates and impress his new manager.

Snapped Up: Stoke finalise the signing of Cork

Stoke City FC has finalised the signing of form England U21 International Jack Cork for £5m hours before the transfer period comes to an end. In an interview with Sky Sports, Cork has stated his eagerness to join up with his team mates and he was happy to put pen on paper for a 4 year deal. Cork made 103 appearances for Southampton before moving to Stoke.

Shop's closed!

Arguably the most exciting part of the season comes to and end after the clocks ticked past 11pm in one of the most exciting transfer periods with over £200m spent by English clubs.

The two biggest deals saw Colombia's World Cup hero Juan Cuadrado leave Fiorentina to join Chelsea in a deal close to £26m The biggest, however, was Asmir Begonias being sold to PSG for a record £28.5m by Stoke City, making him the second expensive goalkeeper ever.

Stoke City FC were the most active team this year, strengthening their squad with 10 players. They were also the biggest spenders in the country, spending £57m on the way.

Guess who is top?

Stoke City are!

In an unexpected turn of events Stoke City are top of the Barclays Premier League after 10 games. Stoke City have invested over £50million in youth this season and they seem to be getting their moneys worth after only 10 league games. There is a real sense of team spirit in and around the changing room with players confidence level sky high. The real reason behind this success is thought to be team work.

Stoke City are on a 8 match win streak and their last point loss came in a 2-0 loss to Manchester City.

The Potters: 10 game analysis

Stoke City are in exceptional form this season, with an 8 game win streak in all competitions scoring 18 in their last 8 games and conceding only 4. They're top of the Premier League by 1 point and in the quarter finals of the League Cup.

Thats all from us at the Clayton Wood Training Complex, we wish Stoke a good luck for the rest of the season and hope they carry on playing beautiful style of football we are not used to seeing from Stoke.

Sky Sports News, 2014.

Hasan Oguzhan-Atestemur signs new contract

Stoke are pleased to announce that current manager Hasan Oguzhan-Atestemur has extended his contract to 2017.