2018–19 Stoke City F.C. season

Stoke began the campaign away at Leeds United and made a terrible start, being well beat 3–1. Stoke were 2–0 down at half time with goals from Mateusz Klich and Pablo Hernández. Stoke pulled one back with Benik Afobe scoring a penalty but a Liam Cooper header ensured a Leeds win.[18] City's first home match ended in a 1–1 draw against Brentford. Afobe scored for Stoke capitalising on a mistake from Chris Mepham and keeper Daniel Bentley. Stoke were unimpressive throughout the match and Brentford earned a deserved point thanks to an Ollie Watkins strike.[19] After the match Rowett said that some of his players "need to wake up".[20] Stoke drew again this time 2–2 at Preston North End. Preston took the lead through a Paul Gallagher penalty after Tom Edwards had handled in the area. Stoke responded immediately with Erik Pieters scoring a rare goal however Graham Burke fired North End back in front just before half time. Peter Crouch rescued a point for Stoke with a towering header.[21] Stoke were then easily beaten 3–0 at home by Wigan Athletic.[22][23] Rowett made several changes to his team for the visit of Hull City. Stoke were able to gain their first win of the season with goals from James McClean and an own goal from Tigers defender Jordy de Wijs.[24]

Prior to the match against West Bromwich Albion Rowett trimmed his squad by loaning out Badou Ndiaye, Geoff Cameron, Giannelli Imbula and Julien Ngoy whilst Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. Stoke were beaten 2–1 by the Baggies with a brace from Dwight Gayle and a consolation strike by Pieters. Rowett was again critical of his players following the match calling them "dopey".[25] After the international break Stoke traveled to Hillsborough to take on Sheffield Wednesday. Stoke made a good start to the match with Afobe scoring twice early on. However The Owls earned a 2–2 draw with goals from Marco Matias and Barry Bannan.[26] Stoke then went on to beat Swansea City 1–0 with Joe Allen scoring the only goal against his former club.[27] The Potters then faced Tony Mowbray's Blackburn Rovers where another awful defensive display saw them 3–0 down after 46 minutes. Stoke pulled two goals back through Saido Berahino and Tom Ince and did have a chance to draw level but Berahino missed a late penalty and it finished 3–2 to Rovers.[28] Stoke's defensive woes continued in the final match of September at Rotherham United. Despite dominating the first half The Millers scored twice within minutes of the restart with a Ryan Manning penalty and Richie Towell's close-range finish. Stoke made a comeback with goals from Ince and Bojan and the match finished in a 2–2 draw.[29]

Stoke opened October by defeating Phil Parkinson's Bolton Wanderers 2–0 with goals from Ince and a rare header from Bruno Martins Indi.[30] City then won back to back matches for the first time since January 2017 with a 1–0 away success at Norwich City, Timm Klose scoring an own goal.[31] After the international break Stoke lost 1–0 at home to Birmingham City with Rowett being sent to the stands after Stoke were denied a late penalty.[32] Stoke then drew 1–1 at Sheffield United with a Joe Allen free kick cancelling out a goal from Leon Clarke.[33] The Potters ended October with a hard-fought win away at Bristol City with Darren Fletcher volleying in the only goal. In the second half Jack Butland made a number of fine saves to deny the Robins.[34]

Former manager Tony Pulis brought his Middlesbrough side to Stoke on 3 November which saw both sides cancel each other out in a goalless draw.[35] City again drew 0–0 the following week away at midlands rivals Nottingham Forest. There was some controversy in the match as Forest keeper Costel Pantilimon avoided a red card after rushing out of his area and bringing down Afobe.[36] Following the final international break of 2018 Stoke returned to league football with a visit from Queens Park Rangers. After going 1–0 down through an early Àngel Rangel header Stoke turned the game around with goals from Berahino and Allen. However Stoke were unable to see out the victory as Rangel scored again to earn QPR a 2–2 draw.[37] Stoke then came up against manager Gary Rowett's former team Derby County whose supporters were unhappy with the way he left them, which gave the match a spiky atmosphere. Sam Clucas scored his first goal for the club after 24 minutes before Peter Etebo was sent off for a high tackle on Richard Keogh. A scuffle broke out between Joe Allen and Bradley Johnson where Johnson appeared to try and bite Allen. Johnson was later given a retrospective ban by the FA.[38] Harry Wilson equalized for the Rams just after half time via a free-kick but Stoke won 2–1 with former Derby player Tom Ince getting the winning goal.[39]

Stoke then missed the opportunity to close the gap on the play-off positions against lowly Reading. Stoke were guilty of wasteful finishing before Marc McNulty headed the Royals in front just before half time. City turned the game around in the second half with Afobe ending a ten-game run without a goal and a fine volley from Tom Ince, however Modou Barrow fired in a stoppage time equaliser.[40] Stoke faced Paul Lambert's rock bottom Ipswich Town on 8 December and won 2–0 with goals from Ince and Allen, although the team came in criticism from supporters for a poor display against weak opposition.[41] Stoke extended their unbeaten run to nine games with another 2–2 draw this time away at Aston Villa. Stoke were leading twice through Allen and then an Afobe penalty and on both occasions Villa responded with a penalty from Tammy Abraham and a late header from Jonathan Kodjia.[42] Stoke then labored to a 1–0 home win over relegation threatened Millwall, Berahino heading in the only goal on 61 minutes.[43] Stoke's ten match unbeaten run was ended by Birmingham City on boxing day with goals from Jacques Maghoma and Omar Bogle.[44] Stoke ended a forgettable 2018 with a drab 0–0 draw at relegation threatened Bolton Wanderers which prompted an angry reaction by the traveling supporters who chanted against Rowett.[45]

Stoke began 2019 with a 2–0 home defeat against Bristol City with Famara Diedhiou scoring twice after Afobe had missed an early penalty which lead to more angry reactions towards Rowett from supporters.[46] Inevitably Rowett was sacked by the club the following week.[47] The Stoke board moved quickly to appoint Luton Town's Welsh manager Nathan Jones.[48] Jones's first match in charge was away at Thomas Frank's Brentford. The size of the re-building job quickly became apparent to Jones as the Bees rushed into a 2–0 lead before Afobe pulled one back for Stoke, however Rico Henry ensured three points for Brentford.[49] The buildup to Nathan Jones' first home match took a bizarre twist as Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa admitted that he had been sending members of his staff to spy on Championship opponents training sessions. To counter this Jones set Stoke up in a 3–5–2 formation with 19-year-old Tyrese Campbell given his first league start and Charlie Adam and Moritz Bauer returning to the team after being outcast by Rowett. Stoke produced their best display of the season against the league leaders, winning 2–1 with goals from Clucas and Allen, whilst Ezgjan Alioski scored a consolation for Leeds who had Pontus Jansson sent-off.[50] Stoke ended January with a 2–0 home defeat against Preston.[51]

Jones began to trim his squad in the January transfer window, departing the club were Ibrahim Afellay who had his contract terminated, Cuco Martina's loan spell cancelled, Erik Pieters going out on loan and most notably the long serving Peter Crouch joining Burnley. Jones brought in two players, defender Danny Batth from Wolverhampton Wanderers and striker Sam Vokes from Burnley.[52]

Stoke's new additions Batth and Vokes both started away at in-form Hull City, Stoke again losing 2–0 with goals from Jarrod Bowen and Kamil Grosicki, with Vokes missing a penalty.[53] City then lost a third in a row without scoring, going down 1–0 to promotion hopefuls West Bromwich Albion.[54] On 12 February Gordon Banks died at the age of 81, he helped Stoke win the 1972 League Cup and England the 1966 FIFA World Cup, supporters paid tribute to him at his statue outside the bet365 Stadium.[55] Stoke then kept a first clean sheet under Jones away at Wigan Athletic but failed to find the net for a fourth match in a drab goalless draw.[56] Stoke's barren run continued as they could only muster a 1–1 draw away at bottom of the table, Ipswich Town.[57] Stoke paid their respects to Gordon Banks before the match against Aston Villa with Jack Butland wearing a special classic green goalkeeping top.[58] The match itself ended in another 1–1 draw, Sam Vokes' first goal for the club being cancelled out by Albert Adomah.[59]

The following week Stoke ended a run of six games without a win against play-off chasing Nottingham Forest, with fine strikes from Afobe and Peter Etebo's first for the club.[60] City then travelled to Loftus Road to face fellow mid-table side Queens Park Rangers. Sam Clucas was sent-off inside the opening 10 minutes of the match for stamping on Josh Scowen. The team produced a dogged defensive performance from then on and frustrated Rangers who had Grant Hall dismissed for two bookable offenses and the match ended goalless.[61] Four days later Stoke ground out another drab goalless draw this time at play-off contenders Derby County.[62] The Potters began their next match at home to Reading brightly hitting the woodwork twice through Ince and then Vokes but that was as good as it got as Stoke played out yet another goalless draw.[63] Following the international break Stoke took on Sheffield Wednesday and played out a fourth consecutive goalless draw.[64]

Stoke ended their barren run in front of goal with a 1–0 success away at Blackburn Rovers, Peter Etebo scoring the only goal after 14 minutes.[65] Stoke were then easily beaten away at Swansea City 3–1, with Martins Indi and Tom Edwards both being sent-off. Stoke followed this up with another poor performance this time against Rotherham United blowing a 2–0 half time lead to draw 2–2.[66] Stoke lost 1–0 away at Middlesbrough on Good Friday with Britt Assombalonga scoring after only two minutes.[67] On Easter Monday Stoke played against top of the table Norwich City. Onel Hernandez gave the Canaries a first half lead before a much improved second half display from Stoke saw Ashley Williams and Tom Edwards score their first goals for the club either side of a Teemu Pukki header.[68] Stoke ended April with a ninth goalless draw of the season away at Millwall.[69]

Stoke ended a hugely disappointing 2018–19 campaign against promoted Sheffield United. Sam Vokes volleyed Stoke in front after 19 minutes which was cancelled out by Kieran Dowell. Shawcross scored a rare goal to restore City's lead but Enda Stevens ensured Stoke would draw a 22nd match of the season.[70]