Tony Pulis’ Palace Departure a Big Mistake
“Well, they’re going down then”, said a friend of mine immediately following the announcement of Tony Pulis’ unceremonious departure from Crystal Palace; a swift conclusion.
Would many disagree? There isn’t a doubt in this writer’s mind that without Pulis, Palace wouldn’t be enjoying a second season in England’s top flight. His impact was such that the Welshman was rightfully named the Premier League Manager of the Season in May, guiding Palace to 11th place.
Tony Pulis was hailed a miracle worker by Palace fans and his efforts did not go unnoticed by the League Managers Association, who named him the Manager of the Year
Tensions between the 56-year-old and chairman Steve Parish came to a head last Thursday, resulting in Pulis leaving “by mutual consent”, whatever that may really mean.
Whispers enveloped Selhurst Park, conveying discontent from Pulis, purportedly due to a difference in transfer policy. Whilst the savvy Parish allegedly requested his manager unearth young, cut-price talent to sell on at a later date, Pulis demanded the reins be his alone to bring in more experienced players in order to secure a third season in the financial gold mine of the Premier League.
Tony Pulis oversaw the signature of Liverpool defender Martin Kelly just hours before leaving Selhurst Park for the last time
And so he should; the man from Newport has been there and done it before, taking Stoke City, a club not dissimilar in stature to Palace seven years ago, from mid-table Championship doldrums to FA Cup finals and into European competition.
He did it playing his style of football too. It’s not pretty, but it’s effective.
The stereotypical slur to Pulis’ work ethic and intellect to call his brand of football lacklustre, is about as cliché now as it was when it was first stated. The man who dragged a languishing Gillingham side from the foot of the professional leagues to the cusp of the old Division One and brought promotion, stability and European football to Stoke City, has a way of getting results. Isn’t that what today’s professional football is all about? Results are everything, aren’t they?
Pulis made his name as a manager at Gillingham where he wildly overachieved, gaining an unlikely promotion in his first season. Sound familiar?
So if Pulis asks for a certain type of player with top flight experience, regardless of age, he should be allowed to bring them in.
Harking back ten years prior to their infamous implosion, Portsmouth survived their first few years in the Premier League relying on the likes of Teddy Sheringham, Tim Sherwood, Steve Stone and Patrik Berger – bargain-bin veterans who understood the demands of the league – and used them to solidify the south coast side’s elite status. Palace may regret not taking a leaf out of the same book in order to achieve a similar result in their sophomore season.
Sturdy Brede Hangeland, at the tender age of 33, was Pulis’ first signing of the window and signalled his intent. Apparently, Peter Crouch was soon to follow. Also at 33, the gangly striker may not be the most attractive prospect, footballing or otherwise, but his effectiveness to control the ball high up the pitch would have been perfect for a Palace side solid at the back, but seeking that killer touch in the final third. The move was blocked.
Brede Hangeland’s impressive debut goal was in vain, as Palace failed to hold on to what would have been a well earned point in the dying minutes
The ball rolled from that moment on and didn’t stop. Now Pulis has gone and in his wake is a club without direction. A brave and spirited 2-1 defeat to Arsenal last weekend saw Palace take some positives from their performance, even with a late goal conceded and the dismissal of Jason Puncheon.
Steve Parish has played his hand early. Whether he’s bitten off his nose to spite his face, only time will truly tell. Many said similar about Nigel Adkins’ callous exit from Southampton. That gamble paid off. Will this one?
Are Crystal Palace now relegation candidates without Tony Pulis?
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So we should have followed the Portsmouth plan of buying seasoned pro’s in the premiership who would have cost a reasonable sized transfer fee and a small fortune in wages and then left us with little or no resale value. Do you not think this is why Portsmouth imploded!!
Portsmouth were able to solidify their status and build from there. It was poor finanicial planning in later years that hindered their success.
Pulis threw his toys out the pram when he missed out on Caulker and Sigurdsson. Sigurdsson was involved in a player exchange with Swansea, and Caulker was tempted by QPR’s spending power, and so Pulis walked away. Tony Pulis is a man who was bankrolled by the billionaire owner of Bet365 for his tenure at Stoke – he got everything his own way – Palace are not prepared to do that. They have a business plan and are not fond of being bullied by Pulis, as he has tried to do in the past. Pulis once again deliberately leaked stories to the press about himself leaving over transfer frustrations. He had already done this in the January transfer window with Palace and also used this tactic towards the end of his time at Stoke. Will Palace go down, maybe. One thing they cannot do is allow a manager to rule the roost, no matter how much success he has had in his short time at the club.
Pulis threw the toys out of the pram . he couldn’t have given much thought to the players or the fans and it wont do his own reputation much good being known as the manager that walked away from his club just two days from the start of the season, i reckon parish nailed it we cant have anyone at this club who is not 100 percent committed to the fight and Pulis clearly wasn’t , don’t get me wrong he did an amazing job last season but lets face it he got well paid for it . we used to complain that players had no loyalty to the club now . how loyal was Pulis leaving us in the shit like that. no notice no warning , good luck to him i say and thanks for keeping us up. we should all get behind our new manager now and stop comparing him to the last one , time to move on , palace till i die !