Mark Robins’ choice to fire Steven Schumacher was a brilliant move for Stoke City.

During the first half of the season, Lewis Baker was largely forgotten at Stoke City.

Under former manager Steven Schumacher, the playmaker was shipped to Championship rivals Blackburn Rovers.

When he was in charge at the bet365 Stadium, the current Bolton Wanderers

manager never really clicked with the 29-year-old, and during the previous summer transfer window,

he believed that moving to Ewood Park was the best course of action for everyone.

Schumacher has now been given the door and Mark Robins is the man in control today,

and one of the boss’ first acts was to bring the midfielde

r back in from Ewood Park at the beginning of the year.

According to recent data, that choice has paid off handsomely, as the former Chelsea star has emerged as

one of the more inventive members of a team that is suffering in the bottom half of the league.

The move by Blackburn Rovers and Lewis Baker was illogical.
Given that Baker scored the game-winning goal in the first day’s 1-0

victory over Coventry City to give his team the best start imaginable, City supporters must have

believed he was still in the fold when the 24/25 season began last August.

However, less than three weeks later, it became clear that Schumacher

would not be a part of the team’s long-term plans, and John Eustace, the Rovers’

manager at the time, was more than pleased to remove the player from the hands of a division competitor.

While his parent club struggled near the bottom of the table, Baker helped the

Lancashire team push toward the playoffs. Stoke watched in dismay as one of their own thrived at Ewood Park.

Even though he wasn’t always a regular in blue and white, he consistently

contributed to creating opportunities for his teammates and only lost three of his 13 club games.

Meanwhile, Robins was left to take over after Coventry City recently let him go.

Schumacher had been given the chop and replaced by Narcis Pelach, who also saw the door during the holiday season.