I so hope Stoke stuff Gillingham tomorrow just to shut this tool up -
or better still get a draw so he has to face the wrath of the Brit crowd!
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.u...-adversaries/story-14345315-detail/story.html
TONY Pulis has been called many things in football, but evil and despicable is pushing it just a little.
That such words should have come from Gillingham chairman Paul Scally, by way of marking Pulis and Stoke reaching the FA Cup final last May, should surprise nobody.
The content and the timing of Scally's vicious outburst bore all the hallmarks of a 13-year feud that will only end with the hatchet being buried between the shoulder blades of one or the other.
And Pulis, were he not gagged by a court order, might be tempted to return Scally's searing remarks with something equally damning by way of a riposte to his old adversary.
The pair appeared made for each other as Gillingham progressed from the nether regions of League Two towards the League One play-offs between 1995 and 1999.
But their success was toasted with a poisoned chalice, it seems, and there was an almost inevitable parting of the ways after the Gills were beaten on penalties in a Wembley play-off final against Manchester City in May, 1999.
That wasn't an end to Scally and Pulis, however, just the end of the beginning.
Almost two years and several witness statements later, the two met on neutral ground in the High Court after Pulis sued for wrongful dismissal.
Pulis would eventually win an out-of-court settlement for the thousands of pounds he was claiming in unpaid bonuses and other money due from his time at Gillingham.
But not before Scally had used the privileges of open court to accuse Pulis of attempting to blackmail him into paying him the money... by threatening to publicise documents said to prove financial irregularities at Gillingham under Scally's watch.
The gloves were off. And staying off.
Scally swung his anger towards Stoke City and Bristol City two months later by demanding they pay Gillingham's £250,000 legal bill for the Pulis case because they had (allegedly) approached Pulis when he was still manager of the Gills.
"I am still pursuing Bristol City and Stoke," he revealed in June 2001, "but so far I have heard nothing from either.
"I have informed them the total cost came to £250,000. If we don't get a positive response I will be reporting them to the Football League."
But Stoke's chief executive at the time, Jonathan Fuller, was mystified by Scally's outburst, observing rather contemptuously: "I haven't received anything from Gillingham and I'm sure if something had been sent to somebody else at the club I would have been given a copy."
The clock then ticked on to November 2002 as Pulis, the recently-installed manager of Stoke City, returned to Gillingham for an otherwise routine league match.
Scally used the occasion to re-open old wounds, however, launching a bitter personal attack on Pulis in his programme notes and on Gillingham's official website.
His more printable statements included: "Tony Pulis is no friend of Gillingham Football Club. I expect him to get the sort of reception he is entitled to."
Pulis, having largely bitten his tongue because of that court gagging order, couldn't resist a side swipe 13 months later when Stoke returned to Priestfield.
Before the game, Stoke striker Carl Asaba had been portrayed as being greedy when leaving Gillingham a few year earlier.
He duly suffered a rough ride from Gillingham fans and Pulis, leaving no doubt about who he blamed for Asaba's reception, later commented: "One person has dropped a lot of poison on Carl.
"For one person to dig the dirt is very disappointing, but not surprising."
The passing years have done nothing to mend relations and now fate, in the guise of the FA Cup, has flung them together once more.
And rumour has it that Pulis will be taking his own sandwiches tomorrow, just in case.
or better still get a draw so he has to face the wrath of the Brit crowd!
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.u...-adversaries/story-14345315-detail/story.html
TONY Pulis has been called many things in football, but evil and despicable is pushing it just a little.
That such words should have come from Gillingham chairman Paul Scally, by way of marking Pulis and Stoke reaching the FA Cup final last May, should surprise nobody.
The content and the timing of Scally's vicious outburst bore all the hallmarks of a 13-year feud that will only end with the hatchet being buried between the shoulder blades of one or the other.
And Pulis, were he not gagged by a court order, might be tempted to return Scally's searing remarks with something equally damning by way of a riposte to his old adversary.
The pair appeared made for each other as Gillingham progressed from the nether regions of League Two towards the League One play-offs between 1995 and 1999.
But their success was toasted with a poisoned chalice, it seems, and there was an almost inevitable parting of the ways after the Gills were beaten on penalties in a Wembley play-off final against Manchester City in May, 1999.
That wasn't an end to Scally and Pulis, however, just the end of the beginning.
Almost two years and several witness statements later, the two met on neutral ground in the High Court after Pulis sued for wrongful dismissal.
Pulis would eventually win an out-of-court settlement for the thousands of pounds he was claiming in unpaid bonuses and other money due from his time at Gillingham.
But not before Scally had used the privileges of open court to accuse Pulis of attempting to blackmail him into paying him the money... by threatening to publicise documents said to prove financial irregularities at Gillingham under Scally's watch.
The gloves were off. And staying off.
Scally swung his anger towards Stoke City and Bristol City two months later by demanding they pay Gillingham's £250,000 legal bill for the Pulis case because they had (allegedly) approached Pulis when he was still manager of the Gills.
"I am still pursuing Bristol City and Stoke," he revealed in June 2001, "but so far I have heard nothing from either.
"I have informed them the total cost came to £250,000. If we don't get a positive response I will be reporting them to the Football League."
But Stoke's chief executive at the time, Jonathan Fuller, was mystified by Scally's outburst, observing rather contemptuously: "I haven't received anything from Gillingham and I'm sure if something had been sent to somebody else at the club I would have been given a copy."
The clock then ticked on to November 2002 as Pulis, the recently-installed manager of Stoke City, returned to Gillingham for an otherwise routine league match.
Scally used the occasion to re-open old wounds, however, launching a bitter personal attack on Pulis in his programme notes and on Gillingham's official website.
His more printable statements included: "Tony Pulis is no friend of Gillingham Football Club. I expect him to get the sort of reception he is entitled to."
Pulis, having largely bitten his tongue because of that court gagging order, couldn't resist a side swipe 13 months later when Stoke returned to Priestfield.
Before the game, Stoke striker Carl Asaba had been portrayed as being greedy when leaving Gillingham a few year earlier.
He duly suffered a rough ride from Gillingham fans and Pulis, leaving no doubt about who he blamed for Asaba's reception, later commented: "One person has dropped a lot of poison on Carl.
"For one person to dig the dirt is very disappointing, but not surprising."
The passing years have done nothing to mend relations and now fate, in the guise of the FA Cup, has flung them together once more.
And rumour has it that Pulis will be taking his own sandwiches tomorrow, just in case.
