Two main themes here, Schumacher and Azaz.
Schumacher left us for more money, at a bigger club with more upward potential. Career and financial ambition. If Stoke had not been "battling relegation" the opening would not have arisen. It was a calculated risk. Stoke won't finish as low next season.
On the OP, if SS had carried on in the same vein we might have finished on 53 points. Unlikely, as our harder games were yet to come. Safe yes, but not exactly sound.
Azaz was good, at times very good, but he wasn't consistently good. He was well off the boil after last Christmas, in League One. I'd love to get him back but he is a bit of an obsession on these boards. Nobody knew him before he came; there will be others like him out there.