Pulis Sacked - 'A victim of his own football philosophy'

I'm not his biggest fan but I thought his interview after the Chelsea game was refreshingly frank and honest.

 

I don't listen to 606, but sometimes short exerts come though my Facebook feed and there was this moronic West Brom fan complaining about how Pulis 'gives up', once he hits the 40 points mark and ignoring the pundits' retorts about how their league finishes over the past few years, including 10th (their best in decades) have been impressive.

I think Pulis is right in saying he's a victim of his own success. With the utmost respect to West Brom, a 10th place finish is them squeezed right up against their glass ceiling and, realistically, the likelihood of achieving more is extremely small. Yes, fans want to dream and stories such as Leicester's league win can shatter those glass ceilings, but perhaps it's too common to get caught up in fantasy and ignore the good work that's already been done. They should be aiming for decent mid-table finishes, hoping for a Cup win perhaps, or maybe even qualification for the Europa League, which they'd then probably complain about forcing them to play too many games. Go figure.

Yes, West Brom have been a bit poor this season, but they're not even in the relegation zone yet. It'll be interesting to see who they get in, as I'm sceptical about whether their likelihood of survival increases as a result. Another argument may be that Pulis' style is unattractive to watch, but again, maybe it's a case of asking for more than is realistic to do so? Every fan wants their team to improve on the season before, but it's impossible for that to be the case for everyone.

 

Great point on Match of the Day - who would another club employ if they were in the position that WBA are in?

The answer - Tony Pulis!!!

 

People will say Sam Allardyce now, but it seems as though he's after a comparatively less-stressful international job, or would only consider a higher profile club job (such as Everton).

Apparently, the favourite is Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill... whilst he's done a wonderful job for them, I think the skill-set required for International management and Club management are different, so succeeding in one doesn't guarantee success in the other (look at Lawrie Sanchez at Fulham), so I think this'd be risky. Our old man Derek McInnes is in the running too! Makes sense in that he used to play for them...

 

It is if you think attractive is players performing 1v1 skills, patterns of passing and shots on goal with the ball remaining in play for long periods. A Tony Pulis team will do all of that less than others, as in virtually all.

So it is a case of what you want out of football. Tony Pulis is also a brilliant coach, if you like defending, and teams that place great emphasis (very successful emphasis) on set plays.

Personally I could watch the highlights of that on tv, and that would be it, let alone seasons. It is possible to play more expansively and progress as it is to decline. Bournemouth are fun to watch, Stoke have become easier on the eye if that is the type of football you want to watch.

Tony Pulis football could also be considered regressive. The methodology is one that barely exists outside on the UK, ceases to be part of FA coaching badges and may no longer be part of what the WBA board want as part of a longer term focus.

 

Which is all well and good until you get relegated!! But I do understand where you're coming from......Will we see a new manager come in and play the entertaining football, EVERY fan wants to see or will we see relegation! I have my own views!

 

crazy the guy done miracles there.

 

But he admitted he had probably taken the club as far as he could with the money made available to him.
West Brom are a biggish club and have been in the Prem for a few seasons, but even they know (as should their fans) that they simply cant compete financially with the likes of the Manchester and North London clubs and under TP they've gone as far as they can.
But now they've sacked TP it will be interesting to see who they turn to.
I'm frankly amazed at Chris Coleman taking on Sunderland when there are Premiership clubs he could maybe have had.

 

Coleman must be really pissed off he didn't wait another 48 hours.

 

Sunderland could be a really good job, but a risky time to be joining them - they're now third favourites to be relegated after Burton and Bolton:

https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/championship/relegation

Provided they survive the drop and he's given the time and money to rebuild from the ground up, it could prove a good move, but that's a lot of 'if's...

 

Don't think teams have to play like a Pulis side to survive at any level. Short term maybe long term no. It took years for BCFC to recover the lost fans after Osman.

 

It's the problem with being a club not of the big 6 in the premiership. is it about good entertaining football or about survival?
The other clubs for a season or two will try to achieve the Man City (Pep) way but ultimately it's about staying in the prem, that is deemed successful.

 

It's an interesting choice isn't it - would you accept 'route 1' football if it meant grinding out the scrappy 1-0 wins, often from a set piece (Rory Delap's long throw), or exciting flowing stuff which often leads to 4-3 defeats?

 

a bottomless pit of money ensures it eventually buys success...