BOING BOING BAGGIE
Megson in from cold to help pal Pulis
TONY PULIS has pulled off a shock move by bringing Gary Megson back to West Brom after assistant Dave Kemp retired.
Kemp, 64, first worked alongside Pulis at Portsmouth in 1999 and has since followed him to Stoke, Plymouth, Crystal Palace and Albion.
But he missed Albion’s preseason training camp in Austria as well as the Premier League Asia Trophy and has now quit the Hawthorns.
Baggies boss Pulis (right) has replaced him with Megson, who has been out of work since being sacked by Sheffield Wednesday in 2012.
He managed Albion from 2000-2004, keeping the club in the Championship before guiding them into the Premier League.
Megson, 58, endured a fractious relationship with then chairman Jeremy Peace, who has since sold up to new Chinese owners.
Pulis, 59, said: “I’ve known Gary from my early days at Bristol Rovers when his dad Don gave me my debut and Gary would turn up to train as a 17-year-old.
“He’s been out of things for a while but that’s what attracted me in many ways – he’s fresh, he will hit the ground running and he’s a person I know I can bounce things off.”
Megson said: “I’m really pleased. “I’ve known Tony a long time and although we’ve never lived in each other’s pockets, we have similar views on how football should be played and how footballers should behave.
“I loved my time here although it’s a long time ago now. You obviously have the club you grow up supporting which you always consider to be your club. But this is as close to that relationship as possible – and I can’t pay it a higher compliment than that.
“It’s a terrific club with terrific support.”
Pulis, who only has one year left on his contract, has so far signed just Jay Rodriguez from Southampton for £12million and brought in Egyptian defender Ahmed Hegazi on loan. He has also lost skipper Darren Fletcher to Stoke after a contract wrangle.
Pulis faces a big battle to prise England centre-half Ben Gibson away from relegated Middlesbrough and is chasing other ambitious targets – including Chris Smalling and Phil Jones.