[1] The summer of 2012 saw the departure of fan favourite Ricardo Fuller whilst in came winger Michael Kightly and USA defender Geoff Cameron, later followed by Charlie Adam and Steven Nzonzi.
Results and performances failed to improve and after an awful defeat at home to Aston Villa, Stoke were in danger of being involved in the relegation battle.
There was expectation that several players would leave the club in the summer with a number reaching the end of their contacts and chairman Peter Coates said that Tony Pulis will have to sell if he wants to buy.
[2] Pulis released Louis Moult, Tom Soares, Salif Diao and club legend Ricardo Fuller after the end of their contracts and Jonathan Woodgate and Danny Collins left for Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest respectively.
Stoke however conceded a comical equaliser as Asmir Begović's clearance went straight to Kyle Miller who had the easy task of heading the ball into an empty net.
Afterwards Tony Pulis revealed that Stoke had agreed to take Macedonian left back Goran Popov on loan from Dynamo Kyiv until the end of the season.
New signing Michael Kightly made his league debut and marked it with scoring the opening goal albeit thanks to an error from "Royals" goalkeeper Adam Federici.
Geoff Cameron made his first appearance in a red and white shirt and produced a good performance in a match which surprisingly failed to live up to the buildup.
[19] Nzonzi and Adam made their home debuts against Premier League title holders Manchester City as Stoke lined up in a new look formation which included three centre midfielders.
They had chances to take the points with Walters hitting the crossbar and Kightly and Crouch guilty of missed opportunities and Chelsea took full advantage with Ashley Cole scoring with five minutes left handing Stoke an undeserved defeat.
Michael Laudrup's Swansea as expected enjoyed a large amount of possession but they never threatened to trouble Stoke's defence and Peter Crouch scored twice before half time to settle the contest.
But poor defending cost Stoke dearly as Rooney, Robin van Persie and Danny Welbeck saw the "Red Devils" turn the match in their favour.
It was a scrappy encounter with Rangers' Adel Taarabt causing City's defence problems with his skill but were also thankful for his poor decision making which left him squandering QPR's best chances.
However it was role reversal in the second half at the "Hammers" took control of the game and soon levelled through Joey O'Brien but Stoke fought off West Ham's revival and earned a decent point.
Stoke produced a disciplined defensive performance nullifying Albion's attack and grabbed a 1–0 win thanks to a rare goal from Dean Whitehead.
The "Toffees" took the lead after Steven Pienaar's cross was deflected into the net by Ryan Shawcross and the visitors almost scored again soon after with Leon Osman missing from close range.
Stoke levelled thanks to Kenwyne Jones' first league goal since August 2011 but the major indecent of the match saw Marouane Fellaini deliberately headbutt Shawcross which was missed by referee Mark Halsey.
[37] On Boxing day City took on Liverpool in a late evening kick-off and the visitors took the lead very early on as after just 30 seconds Luis Suárez was fouled in the area and Steven Gerrard scored the spot kick.
The second half continued in the same vein and after Sergio Agüero's shot was parried by the Stoke keeper his compatriot Edin Džeko scored a simple tap-in.
After Adam had fouled Michu, Dutch midfielder Jonathan de Guzmán curled in the free-kick and then Jerome missed an easy chance to pull one back for Stoke.
Stoke failed to improve on their terrible away record of one win in 23 as Martin Jol's side won 1–0 thanks to a fine volley from Dimitar Berbatov.
Stoke missed a glorious chance to take an early lead after a Ryan Shotton long throw-in was headed towards goal by Huth and saved by Tim Howard, Walters could only hit the crossbar.
Stoke had chances in the second half to pull level but failed to take them with Walters, Huth, Shotton and Jerome all guilty of poor finishing and Everton won the match 1–0.
[56][57] Stoke entered the final six games of the 2012–13 season with a vital home match against Midlands rivals Aston Villa at the Britannia Stadium.
The Potters made an awful start conceding after just four minutes after a Robin van Persie corner was not dealt with by the Stoke defence and the ball was prodded in by Michael Carrick.
[62] Stoke then beat Norwich City 1–0 on 27 April to move them onto the 40 point mark in a match which saw the supporters pay tribute to former player Paul Ware.
[69] The replay was a far more eventful affair which began with the tricky Wilfried Zaha winning a penalty but Jermaine Easter's spot kick was saved by Sørensen.
Kenwyne Jones put Stoke in front on 70 minutes before Palace were awarded another penalty which Glenn Murray converted to send the tie into extra time.
[70] The fourth round saw a repeat of the 2011 FA Cup Final, unfortunately for Stoke the outcome was the same, Man City winning 1–0, thanks to a late strike from Pablo Zabaleta.
Jamie Ness had to leave the action after picking up an injury and it seemed it would go all the way to a penalty shoot-out but Collins beat the offside trap and claimed his hat-trick and victory for Paolo Di Canio's Swindon.