Stoke City's 5 worst managers ever (Ranked) - Nathan Jones = 3rd | OneFootball

FLW have picked out the Potters' five worst bosses of all time based on points-per-game

The managerial hotseat at Stoke City has been a hot topic in recent times, and the Potters have had varying success in terms of managers in their long 161-year history since being formed in 1863.

Narcis Pelach is the latest to take charge of Stoke after he replaced Steven Schumacher earlier this season, and he will hope to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Tony Pulis and Tony Waddington as iconic managers of the club in the past.

Pelach's points-per-game (PPG) needs to remain high in order for him to keep his job in the long-term at the bet365 Stadium, and he will not want to end up appearing on this list, as we have picked out the five worst Stoke managers of all-time based on PPG.

Transfermarkt and Stoke City's official website have been used to make this list, and each manager must have been in charge of at least 10 games as Potters boss to be considered.

5 George Eastham

George Eastham was a legendary player for Stoke as he made over 200 appearances for the club from 1966 to 1973, and scored the winning goal in the final of the club's only major cup win to date, but his time at the club as a manager was less impressive.

He became assistant player-manager in 1972 and succeeded Tony Waddington as boss in March 1977, but took charge of a side that had sold most of their top players to pay for repair work at the Victoria Ground, and a tough time followed as a result.

Eastham was initially put in temporary charge as Stoke tried to avoid relegation from the top-flight, but they succumbed to the drop by one point, and he was then unable to mount a promotion challenge in the second-tier and duly sacked in January 1978 with a PPG record of 1.05.

4 Bill Asprey

Bill Asprey was another that wrote his name into the history books at Stoke as a player, with over 340 appearances for the club from 1953 to 1966, but similarly to Eastham, he also struggled in the dugout at the Victoria Ground.

He became temporary boss in December 1983 after being assistant to Richie Barker for the 18 months prior, and was initially very successful in his task of keeping the Potters afloat in the top-flight in 18th place, but then oversaw a torrid 1984/85 season as full-time manager.

Stoke won just three games that season after financial constraints had left him without an assistant, trainer or physiotherapist at the start of the season, and he was sacked in April with the club bottom of the First Division, leaving his role with a PPG record of 0.89.

The Potters' managerial struggles of late have been well-documented, and Jones is one of many that have failed to improve their fortunes in the Championship after he was poached from Luton Town in January 2019.

Jones oversaw 11 draws in the last 20 games of the season in a tricky start to life as Stoke boss, and it got no better for him after having a full summer and pre-season to adjust his squad ahead of the 2019/20 campaign.

Stoke won just two and lost 10 of the first 14 games of the new season, and the final nail in the coffin for Jones was getting beaten by Gary Rowett's Millwall in October, after he had been sacked by Stoke in January for the Welshman to take over.

Jones was dismissed a few days later, with a record of just five wins in 35 league games in charge of Stoke, and a PPG of 0.89.

2 Paul Lambert

Paul Lambert was surprisingly tasked with keeping Stoke in the Premier League in January 2018 after long-standing boss Mark Hughes had been relieved of his duties following a torrid first few months of the season, and the Scot turned out to be the wrong choice by the Potters' board.

Lambert took charge with the club in 18th position, and was only able to pick up two wins, both in his first and last game as boss respectively, as Stoke were relegated to the Championship in May and their ten-year stay in the top-flight came to an end.

He was admittedly dealt a tough hand with the club already in freefall when he came in, but did not do enough to keep his side afloat and the Potters eventually slipped to the drop by just three points.

Lambert left by mutual consent not long after the end of the campaign, and departed the Potteries with a record of 0.87 PPG.

1 Chris Kamara

Chris Kamara is well known nowadays for his time as a broadcaster on Sky Sports, but he once tried his hand at management at Bradford City in 1994, before a fallout at Valley Parade saw him leave and then be appointed as Stoke boss in January 1998.

Kamara was once a fan favourite at the Victoria Ground for his time as a Stoke player from 1988 to 1990, and he had a brief but dismal spell in the Potters' dugout after replacing Chic Bates midway through the season, amid a turbulent time with the club in the bottom half of the second-tier and Peter Coates having resigned as chairman just a week prior.

His short time as boss was marred by poor form and fallouts over transfer dealings with the board at the bet365 Stadium, and he could only lead Stoke to one win in his 14 games in charge, as he was soon sacked just three months into the job in April and the Potters went on to be relegated not long after.

He departed the Potteries with a PPG record of just 0.57, and still stands as Stoke's worst ever manager, based on that statistic.