Pulis: I’m in dying breed of bosses
THE doors Tony Pulis walked through to English football’s 1,000-game club could soon be shut permanently. That is the grim message from West Bromwich’s manager, who joined Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Matt Busby and 22 others in chalking up that staggering number with Saturday’s draw at Stoke. Pulis nodded towards Ipswich’s Mick McCarthy as one peer who should pass the milestone, although he will need to wait another four seasons. Alan Pardew and Gary Johnson could also sneak into the group. But Pulis warned the change in football’s landscape means coaches hitting those numbers will soon be a thing of the past. ‘There are a few close, but younger managers, that’s different,’ Pulis said after Salomon Rondon’s late equaliser.
‘Peter Coates, the Stoke chairman, gave me the chance to build a club over eight years. not so many will do that now.
Coates has not sacked a manager since purchasing Stoke a decade ago and offered under-fire Mark Hughes a vote of confidence last week. Stoke are still to register a league win and Hughes looked crestfallen after Rondon’s header from a corner cancelled out Joe Allen’s 73rd-minute opener.
He revealed Stoke have switched to zonal marking after falling foul of the clampdown on grappling at set-pieces.
‘We’ve got our best headers on that line on the six-yard box and their aim is just to get their heads on the ball. We haven’t done that right at the end but for the most part West Brom didn’t cause us a problem.
‘We may revert once this new directive has calmed down.’
SUPER STAT: Stoke have not kept a clean sheet in their last 17 league matches.
STOKE (4-3-3): Grant 6.5; Johnson 7, Shawcross 7, Martins Indi 6, Pieters 6; Cameron 6, Allen 8 (Adam 86min), Whelan 6.5; Arnautovic 6.5, Bony 5 (Crouch 61, 6), Shaqiri 7.5 (Diouf 88). Subs not used: Bardsley, Imbula, Given, Krkic. Booked: Whelan, Shawcross, Adam. Scorer: Allen 73. WEST BROM (4-1-4-1): Foster 6.5; Dawson 7.5, McAuley 6, Evans 6.5, Nyom 6; Yacob 6 (Morrison 77); Phillips 6 (Leko 88), Fletcher 7, Chadli 6, McClean 6.5 (Robson-Kanu 77); Rondon 7. Subs not used: Olsson, Gardner, Myhill, Field. Booked: Chadli, Yacob, Dawson, Nyom. Scorer: Rondon 90.
Man of the match: Joe Allen. Referee: Martin Atkinson 5.