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Stoke City are currently on the lookout for a new manager following the departure of Gary Rowett, who left the club on Tuesday morning.

Rowett was appointed in May following the club’s relegation to the Championship, but things have not gone as planned this term.

Indeed, the Potters are currently 14th in the Championship table, having collected maximum points in just eight of their 26 league fixtures this term.

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Pl>ymaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…

David Moyes, Sam Allardyce and Slavisa Jokanovic are all believed to be in the running, but there now appears to be a new favourite.

Indeed, the odds on Luton Town boss Nathan Jones replacing Rowett have tumbled, with SkyBet placing the 45-year-old as the strong favourite.

Jones has been in charge of Luton since January 2016 and has won more than half of his matches with the Hatters.

The Stoke fans have been on social media reacting to the speculation, and some of the responses can be seen below:

Wolfsburg boss Dieter Hecking has warned Manchester United that they won’t have it easy in their Champions League clash at Old Trafford on Wednesday, according to reports from the Express.

United will aim to get a positive result following their 2-1 loss to PSV Eindhoven in their Champions League opener, while their opponents Wolfsburg beat CSKA Moscow in their opening game.

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A second loss for Louis van Gaal side would spell disaster for the Red Devils, who will be looking to progress from the group stages after missing out on the whole competition last season.

However, Hecking is adamant that his side will not let United walk over them at Old Trafford and can cause another upset.

He said: “I don’t have dreams. I prefer reality and there is a lot of hard work in front of us.

“But we are in a good position after our home win against (CSKA) Moscow and we are looking to build on that.

“We are aiming to get a result. If we can get a result it will give us confidence.

“We are facing a good team and most will expect a home win and before the draw I would have said United would have finished top of the group.

“Their defeat at PSV makes it more interesting. They are a strong team, but if we perform right we can get the result.

“They did lose their first game and that creates a bit of pressure for United.

“It is up to us to increase the pressure on them. That is a big if. We will have to wait and see what happens.”

Man United will have one eye focused on their massive Premier League clash against Arsenal this weekend, with the Gunners looking to catch the Red Devils at the top of the table.

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West Ham’s form away from the Boleyn Ground this season has been nothing short of extraordinary, while the Hammers have been a bogey team for London rivals Tottenham over recent years.

As such, ahead of this Sunday’s clash of the sides at White Hart Lane, there is every reason for optimism for the travelling support.

Spurs have been in good form over recent weeks and will hope that three points at the weekend can further drive their case forward for a top-four finish.

However, with Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City already scalps of the travelling Hammers, Slaven Bilic’s men will hope another top-six side will fall victim this weekend.

That said, West Ham will need to be at their best to get a positive result in North London, with these three things needing to fall in place for an away win to be recorded…

Win the midfield battles

Tottenham’s midfield continues to be a driving force of their positive form, with the likes of a rejuvenated Mousa Dembele, the incredibly gifted Christian Eriksen and new England starlet Dele Alli driving forces for Mauricio Pochettino’s men.

As such, if West Ham are to have an influence over proceedings, Mark Noble and Cheickhou Kouyate will need to get to grips with their opposite numbers and win the contests in the boiler room.

If the Hammers can restrict Tottenham’s creative players and get a fair share of possession, it could well be the springboard for another famous away win.

Attack from wide

Although Tottenham have an impressive defensive record this season based around their all-Belgian centre-half pairing of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld, the hosts are still vulnerable in wide areas.

Both Danny Rose and Kyle Walker are attacking weapons in their own right, but have been proven to be the weak links in an otherwise solid Spurs outfit.

With the home side’s wingers also liking to drift in-field, there is a chance for West Ham’s full-backs to get forward when their team have the ball.

Attacking from wide with the likes of Manuel Lanzini and Victor Moses could well be a source of joy for the visitors, who will surely look to get the ball into the box for Andy Carroll to attack.

Quieten the crowd

The White Hart Lane crowd are a passionate bunch that can drive their team forward, but the Spurs fans can also show collective frustration if things are not going their way.

As such, West Ham need to nullify the home support by not conceding in the first half an hour and keeping things tight.

If the visitors can frustrate Pochettino’s side with dogged defence and winning the personal battles, it could well see the home faithful get agitated and this nervous energy be transferred to the pitch.

Spurs are full of momentum at the moment and for the Hammers to get the result they want, blunting the efforts of the hosts, which could then lead to frustration, is necessary.

Bear with me.

Lee Cattermole is a defensive midfielder; he is the boiler that keeps Sunderland ticking over. Admittedly Sunderland aren’t doing very well at the moment, although that’s not entirely Cattermole’s fault, he hasn’t had it all easy like Daniele De Rossi and his glamorous Roman lifestyle.

The Teesside born brute doesn’t need the tattoos to confirm his hard man status; instead he relies on an honest black pair of boots and a truly awful disciplinarily record. His penchant for leg-breaking tackles often overshadows the useful things he does do on a football pitch.

Last season Cattermole made more blocks, tackles and clearances than De Rossi, and by quite a margin. Many might argue that De Rossi’s AS Roma will have more possession of the ball compared to Sunderland and they would be right.

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However, the stats speak for themselves and Cattermole’s attributes are clearly more befitting of a classic defensive midfielder.

Furthermore it is surely not a coincidence that Paolo Di Canio, an Italian manager with a potential bias towards De Rossi, stripped Cattermole of the Sunderland captaincy in 2014. Those of you who know your Italian football might point towards the fact that Di Canio is a former Lazio man, the arch rivals of AS Roma, but I did say bear with me.

Anyway had Cattermole been nurtured by the Roma academy rather than the Middlesborough academy, perhaps his technical attributes would have improved as a result, thus making him a more appealing proposition like De Rossi.

Cattermole has represented England at all youth levels, many might have even predicted that he would become a future England captain, unlike his Italian counterpart who still bears the nickname Captain Futuro, despite being 32-years-old.

At 17 years of age Cattermole made his debut for Middlesborough, and earned a man of the match performance after leading his team to a 2-2 draw with Newcastle United, he was praised by then Boro boss Steve McClaren for his tireless work rate and impressive leadership skills.

Cattermole is a rough diamond, he is often ignored due to the prejudice that surrounds his ascent to the top. Cattermole is a left-wing product of football who is un-fancied by the FA and their academics. De Rossi on the other hand suffers from no such prejudice; he is a product of a prestigious global brand, which is a stepping-stone to an illustrious international career.

Now that De Rossi has retreated into defence at his old age, I implore AS Roma to sign Cattermole and allow the man from Stockton-On-Tees to lead Roma’s glorious claret army.

In England we are not overwhelmed with defensive midfield options, so when players like Cattermole show promise, as his statistics from last season prove, they should not be ignored just because they don’t play for a so-called big side. Cattermole is the antithesis of the over-paid Premier League show pony, and that’s just what England needs.

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Faced with a tight Champions League group, Manchester United’s progression in the competition comes down to the final two games of the group.

When you come down to the wire, things always get complicated. United’s group is perhaps the most complicated of the lot in the Champions League this season.

All four teams are in with a chance of qualification, and even though United are in the driving seat with two games left, a second defeat of the campaign at the hands of PSV Eindhoven would take things right down to the wire.

Yet Manchester United are surely the English team who are most suited to that scenario in Europe. They are the most ‘European’ of the Premier League sides, possessing, as they do, a penchant for passing the ball around neatly.

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It’s a possession-based style that has delighted few of a Manchester United persuasion this season. The team has been accused of being boring, lacking penetration and not being sufficiently attacking. Manchester United fans demand more from their heroes.

They demand attacking, swashbuckling football, the kind of style that raises the terraces to their feet. After all, this is the team of George Best.

So as Manchester United line up tonight against PSV, maybe their fans will be casting a nostalgic thought back to that particular brand of East Belfast genius. Today marks 10 years since the passing of the great. Along with being one of those stats that makes you feel hopelessly old, it’s also a stat that makes United’s current malaise all the more poignant.

No longer do United possess the ability to jink around defenders like they weren’t there. The club of Best is also the club of Cristiano Ronaldo and Eric Cantona to name just two, a club possessing exciting attacking talent.

What Louis Van Gaal has brought to the club is not in that lineage. It’s a different style. His team plays with a calmness, a coolness and a patience that the United teams of the last decades never had.

During the Sir Alex Ferguson era we were always told that United scored in stoppage time so often because they wore their opponents down. The relentless attacks, the wing play, the trickery. They were just so much of a handful for 90 minutes that opponents could do nothing but cave in the end.

But think about what having 70% possession in a game must do to the opposition. Think about the running they have to do to close you down, think about how many times United have dominated games under Van Gaal and won 1-0.

After their win over Watford – another very late winner – United sit above Manchester City and Arsenal in the table, behind only surprise leaders Leicester, whom they play this weekend, giving them the chance to go top.

Clearly that patience and perceived toothlessness is doing something right, even if the rest of the title contenders are losing more games than you’d imagine.

But if the coolness on the ball doesn’t lend itself to exciting football in the Premier League, it does make United look more likely to deal with the pressure of a tight Champions League group.

Their style of football lends itself to their situation, and their mentality will help them too. When it’s double or nothing and the chips are down, it’s all about having the cool and the calm to go through with it. United have it in spades, and that’s how they’ll find a way over the next two games.

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Swansea City may have appointed Francesco Guidolin, a name all but unbeknown to everyone bar Italians or hipsters, but they did bring in proven Premier League quality to aid their relegation scrap.The Swans brought Leroy Fer in on loan for the remainder of the campaign in order to bolster the ranks in the middle of the park at the Liberty Stadium.ÂAfter the sale of Jonjo Shelvey to Newcastle United for £12m, the Welsh side needed to bring in a central midfielder.The former Queens Park Rangers and Norwich City is well versed in the arts of the Premier League, having played in England for just under three years now.ÂHowever, both the 26-year-old and his new charges will no doubt be looking to end a worrying trend for the ex-FC Twente star.At both of his previous clubs in the Premier League, he has faced relegation to the Championship.ÂA hoodoo perhaps, but something to note.What else do we know about Leroy Fer? Here are FIVE things the Swansea faithful need to know about their new midfielder…

SHARP SHOOTER

Leroy Fer possesses a remarkable shot. The Holland international is capable of the odd screamer, as Swansea well know. While with QPR, he unleashed a rocket that flew Swans stopper Lukasz Fabianski on New Years Day 2015.

He followed that up with a thunderous effort against Newcastle United toward the end of last season.

With the Welsh side struggling for goals, having someone who can pip in from the engine room is bound to be helpful.

AERIAL ABILITY

At 6ft 2ins, the former Feyenoord man is a commanding presence in the air, useful at both attacking and defending set pieces. Capable of emphatic headers, the Dutchman will give the Swans an edge.

POWERFUL RUNNING

While he’s not a box-to-box midfielder in the most traditional of senses, his large frame yields some impressive speed when in full flow. Amid all of the technicians currently plying their trade in South Wales, his powerful and direct running can provide an effective outlet under pressure.

VERSATILITY

Fer himself has revealed he ‘can operate in a number of positions in midfield’ while at the Liberty Stadium.

He can play almost as a Number 10 in a 4-2-3-1, or on either side of a diamond, as well as even hold at the base of both formations.

QPR FANS HAPPY TO SEE HIM GO

Though we’ve waxed lyrical about the qualities he brings, it is important to approach his arrival with an air of caution. QPR fans on Twitter actually seem quite happy that Fer has departed Loftus Road.

Bearing in mind he’s an experienced international, that’s quite a big statement from fans of a Championship club.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few months, you’ll know that Pep Guardiola is bound for Manchester City at the end of the season.

The revered Spanish coach is set to takeover from Manuel Pellegrini, with the aim of taking City to the very summit of European football.

Naturally, a host of continental names are linked with making huge money switches to the Etihad Stadium over the summer as the former Barcelona tactician overhauls a side who often play like they are coming toward an end of an era.

After all, it’s nearing six years since the likes of Yaya Toure and David Silva arrived at the club as their first cycle of a truly great team enters it’s twilight years.

That’s not to say the glorious individuals from which that side was built upon have nothing left to give, but you get a sense an injection of fresh legs and creativity is required.

Both Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling have had largely positive effects since their moves to rejuvenate the frontline this summer. With that in mind, perhaps the players Guardiola allows to leave the club will define his philosophy just as much as those he opts to draft in.

So, upon closer examination of the squad he is due to inherit, here are FIVE big names that could leave Manchester City this summer.

YAYA TOURE

Yaya Toure in many ways is indicative of this current City side as a whole. At times lazy, lethargic and lacklustre, the Ivorian is capable of producing magic at the drop of a coin.

Clearly, he’s not an individual who you’d like to shift off in a hurry. Granted, the marauding runs from deep in midfield are slowly becoming a memory, but there is no doubt he possesses world class ability to create something out of nothing.

Still, with his powers on the wane, this summer could represent a natural end to his time at the Etihad. No longer does he have the legs to operate as a box-to-box midfielder, it’s unlikely he’ll oust David Silva as a Number 10.

Guardiola has a penchant for basing his teams around a deep-lying midfielder. In Spain, Sergio Busquets was one of his most trusted lieutenants and the start of his passing carousel, knitting the side together.

His preference differed somewhat in Bavaria, with Phillip Lahm, Thiago Alcantara and Xabi Alonso all operating in a deeper role.

Can we really expect Toure to provide that sort of mobility? Or turn into an Alonso/Andrea Pirlo?

This summer more than ever represents a natural end to his time with the club for which he has had such a major impact on their success, with links of a move to the mega wealthy Chinese Super League.

WILFRIED BONY

Unlike his great rival, Jose Mourinho, it’s hard to identify ‘a Guardiola player’ with such ease. For unlike the Portuguese, the Bayern coach is constantly changing the way in which he sets up his team.

Having said that, it is exceptionally hard to imagine Wilfried Bony being a preferred option of his. The Ivorian marksman certainly offers qualities, though they have not been all to often evident during his time as a Manchester City player.

While the incoming Spaniard has departed from the ‘tika taka’ style of play that conquered the continent, the fluidity of his sides will not best suit the former Swansea forward.

The £28m striker is an excellent option to hold the ball up in an effort to let allow flying wingers and midfield runners push ahead, while he uses his nous to find space within the box.

Though it’s not clear just how Guardiola will set this City side up, surely it will not be an environment that suits Bony.

There’s also the small matter of a certain Sergio Aguero, as well as the ever impressing Kelechi Iheanacho.

ELIAQUIM MANGALA

If there’s one manager who can get the best of £40m flop Eliaquim Mangala, surely it is Pep Guardiola.

The Frenchman is not alone in the fact he simply cannot seem to perform without stoic skipper Vincent Kompany next to him, though is more dispensable than Nicolas Otamendi in a central defensive berth.

To be fair to the former Porto man, it’s not like Otamendi has pulled up any trees since his own big money move. However, his partnership with Kompany and the start of the season looked rather solid.

With John Stones the talk of the town, and reportedly a major target this summer, it could spell the end for Mangala’s stay in Manchester.

ALEKSANDAR KOLAROV

Due to the relative dearth in full-backs with top quality, both Aleksandar Kolarov and Gael Clichy have remained on the books at Manchester City far longer than they should have done.

While the latter is probably just about good enough to keep around as an understudy for at least another season, Kolarov should be sold.

The Serbian has his qualities going forward, as all operators in such areas have these days, but is extremely suspect when tasked with even the most basic of defensive duties.

That’s a trend that appears to be dogging most modern day full-backs, but surely won’t be acceptable for Guardiola going forward.

A mega money for Bayern ace David Alaba has been mooted in certain reports, and while it’s likely to be hugely expensive, would be a significant upgrade.

Even within the Premier League, there are a host of left-backs who would improve vastly on the shaky Serb.

SAMIR NASRI

It’ll go either one of two ways for Samir Nasri under the stewardship of the Etihad bound tactical innovator. Due to his vast amounts of technical ability, it’s not out of the realms of possibility the Frenchman could be afforded a new lease of life.

However, that particular outcome remains unlikely. With Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva able to operate at Number 10, or the likes of Raheem Sterling and Jesus Navas in wide areas, perhaps the former Arsenal man will be sacrificed to make room for arrivals.

Injury has prevented the 28-year-old from putting his stamp on the season effectively, though even when fit, is barely knocking on the door of City’s ‘Fab Four’ up front.

Arsenal went 2-0 up within 35 minutes against West Ham this weekend and at that point, most assumed the win was in the bag for the Gunners and they could then push to keep pace with Tottenham and Leicester.

But little did they know Arsene Wenger’s side were about to capitulate for the umpteenth time this season – typical of how the Gunners have been for months now.

They had played cleverly and they exposed the Hammers’ back line on numerous occasions. Alex Iwobi impressed again and grabbed two assists whilst Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez took their goals well. But what happened in the next ten or so minutes was utterly season defining.

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With all due respect to Andy Carroll, whilst he has undoubted talent and power, he’s been out of form for a few months now and injuries have repeatedly plagued his career since his move to the Hammers from Liverpool.

But Arsenal let Carroll get the better of them and played straight into his hands. The defensive deficiencies that the Gunners have displayed all season would come back to haunt them either side of half time. Carroll was electric and took his hat-trick of goals expertly well, but there wasn’t enough Arsenal pressure on the crossers. Aaron Creswell and Michail Antonio were free to swing in cross-after-cross and whilst Carroll volleyed home his third after half time, it still came as a result of a Mark Noble cross.

And it could have been even better for the Hammers after Lanzini’s header was incorrectly ruled out for offside, before Arsenal had even scored. But it just seemed like it was same old Arsenal – even at this vital point in the season. They had the chance to continue pressuring Leicester City and Arsenal but the draw leaves them in limbo, with another Premier League title seemingly out-of-reach.

Defensive pairing Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel looked incapable of defending against a striker that is way down the pecking order at Upton Park, with the Brazilian in particular struggling to deal with everything Andy Carroll did.

The worst thing for Arsene Wenger’s team is that they have conceded three or more on eight occcasions now this season and their inability to deal with aerial threat seems to have felled them again.

Whilst many criticised Per Mertesaker over and over again, it’s clear the German gives the Gunners definitive defensive cover. Gabriel has struggled since his move to the Premier League, with the physicality looking too much for the 6ft defender.

Whilst Koscielny did grab a goal back for the Gunners, the damage was done regardless of the end result. Conceding three goals in ten minutes isn’t good enough for a side aiming to win the Premier League title.

Arsene Wenger sent Aaron Ramsey, Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott onto the pitch in a last-ditch effort to turn the game around but it was entirely ineffective.

Arsenal had already fallen and it will be difficult for them to recover this time.

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