2017–18 Stoke City F.C. season
The 2017–18 Stoke City season was the club's tenth season in the Premier League and the 62nd in the top tier of English football.
| 2017–18 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Peter Coates | |||
| Manager | Mark Hughes (until 6 January 2018) Eddie Niedzwiecki (caretaker) (until 15 January 2018) Paul Lambert (from 16 January 2018) | |||
| Stadium | bet365 Stadium | |||
| Premier League | 19th (relegated) | |||
| FA Cup | Third round | |||
| EFL Cup | Third round | |||
| Top goalscorer | League: Xherdan Shaqiri (8) All: Xherdan Shaqiri (8) | |||
| Highest home attendance | 30,022 v Everton (17 March 2018) | |||
| Lowest home attendance | 27,458 v Watford (31 January 2018) | |||
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There were major changes to the Stoke squad in the summer of 2017 with the departures of Marko Arnautović, Phil Bardsley, Joselu, Jonathan Walters, Philipp Wollscheid and Glenn Whelan whilst Giannelli Imbula, Bojan Krkić and Marc Muniesa left on season-long loans. Coming into the team were Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Darren Fletcher, Bruno Martins Indi, Josh Tymon and Kevin Wimmer with Jesé and Kurt Zouma joining on loan.
Stoke initially made a good start to the season with a 1–0 win against Arsenal and a 2–2 draw with Manchester United. However their defensive problems returned as heavy defeats against Chelsea (4–0), Manchester City (7–2), Liverpool (3–0), Tottenham Hotspur (5–1) and West Ham United (3–0) saw supporters turn against Mark Hughes. After an embarrassing FA Cup exit at League Two Coventry City in January, Hughes had his contract terminated by the club, and he was replaced by the former Aston Villa and Norwich City manager Paul Lambert. Lambert managed to improve the leaky defence but it left Stoke anemic as an attacking side meaning they were unable to see out victories and escape the relegation zone, Stoke finishing in 19th position three points from safety, ending their ten-year spell in the Premier League.