Here we go again talking about the sack of yet another Premiership manager. On Monday, West Bromwich Albion sacked their manager Tony Pulis after a run of just one win in ten top flight matches. Pulis will be the fifth Premiership manager to be sacked this season and we are not even in December yet. Club owners and directors don’t want to lose the big bucks connected to the Premiership so they are all scared of relegation, hence the seemingly newly developed ruthlessness. The irony in Pulis’ sack is the fact that he is one of the two guys club owners call upon if they find their clubs in a relegation battle, the other guy is Sam Allardyce and they both have never failed to deliver.
However, having started the season well, winning the first three games, things have gone downhill for Pulis and his boys. They have drawn four and lost seven games since beating Accrington in the Carabao Cup on August 22.
I believe Tony Pulis’ seemingly lack of ambition was his undoing. He always made it clear to everyone that Premiership survival was his target. He always aimed for the 40 points that would guarantee the club’s safety and after that, instead of him pushing his players further so they can finish on the table as high as they possibly can, he appears to take his feet off the pedals and just coasts till the end of the season.
That may have worked with the fans and former owners when very little money was spent on players but now when more money has been made available for recruitment, more is now expected from the players.
Pulis built his team on good defensive layout and aimed to punish opponents via set pieces. He also had two main lieutenants on the pitch, namely Darren Fletcher and Johnny Evans. While Fletcher left for Stoke City FC, Evans remained but his head had been turned due to serious interest from Pep Guardiola of Manchester City. The fact that Evans was a former Manchester United player didn’t seem to matter to either the player or the club. As things turned out the deal fell through and Evans remained at Albion, albeit just physically his mind was already on the better money and Champions League football a move to City promised.
So with two of his strong men unavailable either physically or mentally, Pulis was always going to have a tough time.
Ordinarily, if clubs are in this kind of relegation battle they call on Pulis to save them. He has played over 1,000 games in the premier league without a single relegation. Now that West Brom have sacked him, who are they going to get to save them? Names like Sam Allardyce, Ronald Koeman and Nigel Pearson have come up as his replacement but Alan Pardew appears to be the favourite now as he is expected to be recommended by Nick Hammond with whom he worked at Reading who just happens to be the technical director at West Brom Albion now.
Frank de Boer was sacked by Crystal Palace, Craig Shakespeare by Leicester, Ronald Koeman by Everton, Slaven Bilicby West Ham, Pulis by West Brom, who is next?
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