Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has transformed Stoke's style of play and people's perceptions of the Potters in 2015.
The Potters boss has taken the away from the style that became famous under former manager Tony Pulis replacing it with a free-flowing brand of attacking football and has reaped the rewards.
A record-breaking campaign, exciting summer signings and a Capital One Cup semi-final to look forward to in 2016 have been the rewards for Mark Hughes and his players in 2015.
Record-breaking campaign
Stoke have never won as many games or accumulated as many points in a single Premier League season as they did last season, but Mark Hughes would have been wondering how much better it could have been had his side not have been so inconsistent, particularly during 2015.
Despite a season-ending injury to star summer signing Bojan Krkíc in January, Stoke were still able to secure victories against Leicester City and QPR in January. The Potters' 3-1 victory over QPR saw Jonathan Walters become the first Stoke player to score a Premier League hat-trick.
After drawing 1-1 at Newcastle United, Stoke suffered back-to-back 4-1 defeats to Manchester City and then in the FA Cup against Blackburn Rovers.
Stoke responded well, winning their next three matches against Aston Villa, Hull City and Everton to lift Stoke to eighth in the table. However, successive defeats to West Bromwich Albion, Crystal Palace and Chelsea - despite a Charlie Adam wonder strike from inside his own half - halted the Potters progress.
Stoke ended the season strongly with victories over Southampton (2-1) and Tottenham Hotspur (3-0), but they saved the best to last ending the season in style with a 6-1 thrashing of Liverpool at the Britannia Stadium to ensure a second consecutive 9th-place finish and a record points tally (54).
Stoke show intent in transfer market
Stoke were one of the busiest and most intriguing summer recruiters, with the arrival of creative talents such as Xherdan Shaqiri from Inter Milan for a club-record fee and Ibrahim Afellay from Barcelona continuing the club's glamorous makeover under Mark Hughes.
Hughes also added Premier League experience, through the signings of goalkeeper Shay Given and right-back Glen Johnson. Joselu (Hannover), Moha El Ouriachi (Barcelona), Jakob Haugaard (Midtjylland), Sergio Molina (Real Madrid), Philipp Wollscheid (Bayer Leverkusen) and Marco van Ginkel (Loan - Chelsea) were also brought in.
However, they sold star midfielder Steven N'Zonzi to Sevilla, while Asmir Begovic moved to Chelsea. Stoke supporters may have been fearing the worst when Begovic left, but they had nothing to fear as Jack Butland has already filled Begovic's gloves exceptionally well. The England international has been in outstanding form and Stoke's star performer this campaign.
Stoke recover from poor start
Stoke caught the eye of many people during the summer with the signings of Shaqiri, Afellay and Johnson. However, six games without a win in the league did not match the pre-season optimism and it was in fact the club's worst start to a Premier League season.
However, things suddenly looked brighter for Mark Hughes's side. A 2-1 victory over Bournemouth was enough to inspire a change in fortune for the Potters. Successive 1-0 wins over Aston Villa and Swansea City followed and saw Stoke climb the table, in addition to securing a place in the Capital One Cup semi-finals after beating Chelsea.
Victories over Southampton, Chelsea, Manchester City and, most recently, Manchester United and Everton, show Hughes' side are capable of beating anyone and have certainly made themselves a team to watch in 2016.