Plymouth Argyle: Steven Schumacher, Stoke City news puts extra pressure on Wayne Rooney - View | OneFootball

Stoke City parted ways with Steven Schumacher on Monday, which could increase the pressure on Plymouth Argyle boss Wayne Rooney.

On Monday, fans of Stoke City were left in shock as the club announced that they had parted ways with manager Steven Schumacher. The 40-year-old was only at the helm of the Potters for nine months, after leaving Plymouth Argyle in December 2023.

The former Premier League side were defeated by Oxford United in the dying embers of the match on Saturday. Unfortunately, the Stoke boss didn't get a chance to right his wrongs and was given his marching orders just two days later. He became the second Championship manager to be sacked this season, following in the footsteps of the man he replaced at Plymouth, Ryan Lowe, having lost his job at Preston North End.

Current Argyle boss Wayne Rooney has come under plenty of fire since his appointment earlier in the summer, but the Manchester United legend silenced his critics on the weekend with a victory over high-flying Sunderland. Despite this, the news of the former Janner manager's sacking could crank up the pressure on Rooney.

Schumacher's sacking caught Stoke fans off guard

Whilst it hadn't been the best start to the season possible for the Staffordshire outfit, it was far from disastrous. They sat 13th in the Championship table after their opening five games. Slim victories over Rooney's side and Coventry City respectively meant the Potters had collected six points out of a possible fifteen. A 5-0 demolition job of Middlesbrough also set them up with a favourable home tie against Fleetwood Town in the EFL Cup.

Despite this, the final straw for the board was a late defeat on the road to Oxford. After the game, the 40-year-old looked "distraught" according to a fan.

Being such a young manager who left his previous job where he was adored by the fans, it will of course be a massive disappointment to Schumacher that his time at the Bet365 Stadium didn't work out.

Many fans also voiced their confusion at the decision but understood that Sporting Director Jon Walters has the best interests of the club at heart. Having made over 200 appearances for the club, it's clear to see that the former Ireland international cares deeply about his football club.

One fan told the BBC: "I believe in Jon Walters. He has Stoke’s interests at heart. We don’t know why he has done it."

Sacking will raise Championship, League One eyebrows

As previously mentioned, Schumacher plied his trade in Devon before the move towards the Midlands. Taking over from Lowe in late 2021, the former midfielder guided Argyle to the League One title the following season, which returned the club to the second tier for the first time since 2009-10.

He remained at the club until December 2023, keeping the Pilgrims away from the danger zone, which ultimately proved decisive in the Greens' fate. Whilst his replacement, Ian Foster, was sacked after a poor run of form, Director of Football, Neil Dewsnip, was forced to take interim charge, keeping the side in the division on the last day.

With Wayne Rooney now at the helm, the pressure had been mounting on the England legend before a ball was kicked. This was down to the nature of his stint at Birmingham City, which saw him take the Blues from a play-off fight to relegation. Despite this, Rooney and Argyle have had a steady start to the season, sitting just three places below Stoke in 16th.

However, after the job Schumacher did with the Devon club, he will be a man in demand. A young manager with a League One title under his belt and an attractive brand of football is a commodity in the managerial free-agent market. It would be wise to assume that plenty of Championship and League One clubs would have the former Fleetwood man down as a viable option, should their position become vacant.

Potential suitors would have to move quickly to secure the 40-year-old's services, which could leave Plymouth in a difficult situation if they're keen on a reunion.

So far, Rooney is only five matches into his managerial tenure at Plymouth. The 38-year-old has done nothing to warrant losing his job just yet and is sitting in a more than respectable league position. Of course, this could change very quickly depending on results over the coming weeks.

Nobody knows how quickly the former Stoke boss will be snapped up, but it could be soon, as Bolton Wanderers boss Ian Evatt finds himself in trouble after an awful start to the season. If Argyle are keen on a return to Home Park for Schumacher, they will have to act before their rivals to secure him.

As stated already, someone of a Liverpool-born man's calibre is hard to come by on the free-agent market and will be highly sought after. This could force the Greens into a tough call on their current manager's future.

Rooney seems to be a great unknown in English football, doing a solid job at Derby County before his nightmare stint at Birmingham. Plymouth might be inclined to stick with their man, as they are still early into the project. Being another young manager, the Devon-based outfit will be hoping to build for long-term success under the former DC United boss. This starts with survival in the Championship, which Rooney managed to achieve at Derby. As it stands, he is on course to do so with Plymouth, so a sacking this early would be very harsh.

However, if the higher-ups at Argyle decide to revert to a man who they know is capable of meeting the targets they want, then it could be out of Rooney's hands. This will, of course, be at the back of the 38-year-old's mind as stranger things have happened in football.