Stoke City's fall from grace hasn't been as spectacular as Sunderland's, but they're certainly discovering life in the Championship is not as straight forward as the pundits suggested.

It was widely believed they would be comfortable in the top half of the table, reliant on the goals of Benik Afobe but assisted by the endeavour of Joe Allen and the other quality footballers they have at their disposal.

To a degree, that was a well-founded thought. They've assembled a fine squad of players who should be higher than they are at the moment. They've under achieved though, leaving Gary Rowett in a precarious position after only a few games.

If he were to get the boot, where would Stoke turn? Could they look to Blackburn Rovers and Tony Mowbray? He's managed Celtic and once upon a time had a promising career as a manager. A damaging spell at Coventry followed, but is he redeeming himself with Blackburn?

If Stoke decide to sack Rowett, should they go and swoop for Tony Mowbray? Our FLW experts discuss.

Chris Gallagher

He's a good manager but it would be a strange move by Stoke.

Mowbray hasn't really done anything in recent years to suggest he is a better manager than Rowett, who excelled with Burton, Birmingham and took Derby to the play-offs.

I agree that Rowett should be doing more and is underperforming but if they are to replace him it needs to be with a manager who is a major upgrade - not Mowbray.

 

George Harbey

Mowbray has done a fantastic job at Blackburn, however, is he capable of taking Stoke up should Rowett get sacked?

With the amount of money Stoke spent in the summer, expectations are still very high, and if they were to sack Rowett, they should go in for someone like Dean Smith or Carlos Carvalhal, who both have experience of doing well in the league.

Alfie Burns

I really rate Mowbray, and Stoke could do a lot worse, but they’d need a high-profile name.

It hasn’t been working out for Stoke this season, and if Rowett was to go, you get the feeling it would have to be a manager replacing him that really inspired the supporters and the squad.

Louie Chandler

Absolutely not.

I have a lot of respect for Mowbray but he is not the man to push a team into the Premier League, as he showed at Middlesbrough.

He is a brilliant Championship manager but nothing more.

Gary Hutchinson

I'm going to buck the trend here and say yes, they should.

Mowbray has done incredibly well with Blackburn, picking them up from the disappointment of relegation and bouncing back as strong as ever.

He's made good signings too, not least in Bradley Dack, but his sides are tough to beat.

That used to be the Stoke mantra, don't get beat and build from there. He would be perfect for them.