Tony Pulis

At 66 years old, Tony Pulis has this physical status:

Anthony Richard Pulis (born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh footballer and former footballer who most recently worked at Middlesbrough. Pulis received his FA coaching badge at the age 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' license at the age 21; making him one of the youngest professional players to have earned the qualification ever.

Anthony Reid, Anthony's uncle, was a professional footballer and played at Stoke.

Pulis was a defender for Bristol Rovers, Newport County, Bournemouth, and Gillingham during his 17-year tenure as a player.

He also lived in Hong Kong with Happy Valley for a short time. Pulis took his first steps into leadership at Bournemouth, where he first served as a player/coach and then Harry Redknapp's assistant.

When Redknapp left the club, he assumed responsibility.

After a controversies with chairman Paul Scally, he went on to Gillingham before leaving in 1999.

Personal life

Pulis was born in Newport, Wales, in the Pill district. He was brought up there, along with his father, Angelo, a steelworker, and his mother, Jean, as well as his brothers and sisters. He was growing up in Newport and attended Manchester United as well as watching matches in Cardiff City and Newport County. Ray, one of his brothers, played for Newport and is now chairman of Welsh non-league side Pill AFC. Anthony is a retired professional footballer who currently works as an assistant coach with Inter Miami CF, the Major League Soccer team. Anthony Holloway, Pulis' ex Bristol Rovers colleague, is Anthony's godfather. Stephanie Swann, his partner, is also an amateur footballer who competed for Bournemouth Poppies. His grandfather was born in abbar, Malta, before he moved to Wales.

On July 10, 2009, Pulis was granted an honorary degree at the University of Staffordshire. He was given the award for his efforts to support sports journalism students at the university. On April 15, 2013, he was also awarded the award at the University of Wales, Newport. Pulis ran in the 2009 London Marathon to raise funds for the Donna Louise Trust, which helps with a children's hospice. He completed the marathon in 4 hours 31 minutes 57 seconds. Pulis and Nick Hancock climbed to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in May 2010 to raise money for the Donna Louise Trust, a Stoke-on-Trent based charity. After his lawyer told Stoke-on-Trent that the city would suffer as a result, he avoided a driving ban in March 2012. Pulis, an Olympic Torch bearer for the 2012 Summer Olympics, appeared on May 31. Pulis completed a 450-mile rowing challenge from Tower Bridge in London to the Eiffel Tower in Paris on June 1, 2015. He and Nick Hancock and other staff for the Donna Louise Hospice in Stoke once more. The seven-day nautical challenge raised over £250,000 for the charity.

Pulis is a Catholic and attends regularly. His mother died on September 13, 2010, the same day Stoke hosted a Monday night match against Aston Villa. Pulis made a dramatic return to the dugout after the half-time break, having skipped the first half in the home crowd. Villa were 1–0 up at this point, but Stoke won by 2–1 and their first points of the season.

Source

Playing career

Pulis began his football career with Bristol Rovers, where he attended their school of football excellence in Eastville from Newport YMCA. Pulis cites his time with Eastville as a solid grounding experience for his Rovers teammate and friend Ian Holloway, who is also making it in football administration. "We learned our trade at a football club with really, really good people with old fashioned values," I'm sure that it's because of the way we were brought up that we've been able to go on and accomplish what we've achieved." "The basic principles were drilled into us, both on and off the field." We were given nothing and we had to work really hard for everything we could find."

Pulis made 85 appearances for the Pirates before moving to Happy Valley AA in 1982. In his eight-month tenure with the club, the team finished second in the Hong Kong First Division League and lifted the Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield. He returned to Rovers in the following year and made another 45 league appearances before transferring to Newport County, 1984. Pulis was always destined for top-level leadership at Newport, New Jersey, and his former County teammate David Giles believes Pulis was always destined for top-level leadership.

Harry Redknapp, a county engineer, joined Pulis at AFC Bournemouth, spending three years at Dean Court before joining Gillingham in 1989. Pulis, on the other hand, returned to Bournemouth a year later to serve as a player/coach. He made 16 appearances, scoring one goal, when in this position.

Managerial career

Pulis was promoted to manager in 1992 after Harry Redknapp's departure from the club to Premier League side West Ham United. Pulis spent two seasons at Bournemouth, 1992-93, and 1993-94, the "Cherries" finished in 17th place before going on.

Pulis then joined Gillingham in 1995, turning a squad that had struggled in the Football League to a promotion-winning one in his first season and laying the groundwork for the club's eventual promotion to the First Division for the first time in history. The "Gills" were 2–0 up with less than two minutes remaining in the 1999 Second Division play-off final, despite Robert Taylor and Carl Asaba's prolific partnership, only to see Manchester City score twice, the equalizer in injury time, and after that triumph a penalty shoot-out 3–1. Pulis was sacked by the club after the loss despite allegations of gross misconduct. He brought a £400,000 court case against Gillingham chairman Paul Scally for unpaid compensation, which was settled out of court in 2001 for £75,000.

Pulis was the city's manager from July 1999 to 2000, before the 1999–2000 season. Pulis' appearance was met with mixed reception after a long time at Bristol Rovers. He made several decent deals, including Steve Jones and former Rovers manager Peter Beadle, but only six months into his tenure as boss, and home fans yelled for him to leave. He followed Portsmouth shortly, after Milan Mandari took over as chairman in May.

Pulis left Bristol City in January 2000 to become Portsmouth's boss. He took Portsmouth from the bottom of the table to mid-table, but he lasted only ten months in the job before being fired and replaced by Steve Claridge in October 2000.

Pulis was out of work for two years before Stoke City's boss Steve Cotterill's resignation early in the 2002–03 season led to Pulis' dismissal. Pulis stepped into a relegation war, and it seemed that the club would be relegated to the Second Division only a year after being promoted. Pulis' signings of striker Ade Akinbiyi and goalkeeper Mark Crossley, who were on loan from Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough respectively, helped turn around the club's poor run. Stoke beat Reading 1–0 on the final day of the 2002–03 season, with Akinbiyi scoring the only goal of the match. Pulis ranked Stoke's demise in 2002-03 as one of his finest managerial accomplishments.

Pulis guided the team to an 11th-place finish in the ensuing season, 2003-2004. In the 2004–05 season, tensions between the manager and chairman, Gunnar Gslason, soared. Pulis was dissatisfied with his lack of transfer funds, which culminated in Dave Brammer and Steve Simonsen, both of whom were free agents, being his first major signings before the season began. Pulis, on the other hand, did bring Anthony Pulis, his son, and Lewis Buxton to his team in January 2005. Pulis and the club's Icelandic ownership came to an end on June 28th, 2005. By then chairman G.slason, he was fired for "failing to exploit the international transfer market." Pulis bemoaned the club's decision to sell Ade Akinbiyi to Championship rivals Burnley after his dismissal, saying, "We sold our top scorer and never replaced him." Johan Boskamp, the Dutch manager, was appointed as Pulis' replacement on June 29, 2005, only a day after Pulis was fired.

Pulis, the former manager of Plymouth Argyle, managed to turn around a floundering team to one that had the right investment, which may have been a challenge for a top half/play off site in 2006–07. The turn-around coincided with Elliott Ward's loan, and the club progressed even more with the permanent signing of Lilian Nalis from Sheffield United. The Plymouth Argyle finished the season on 14th in the Championship table.

Pulis was the object of an investigation by former club Stoke, who had recently parted company with Bohan Boskamp following Peter Coates' takeover of the club. According to reports, Plymouth turned against this tactic. Pulis will be back as Stoke manager on June 14, 2006, according to the Stoke's owner, who revealed it on June 14, 2006.

Pulis bolstered his squad for the 2006–07 season with the permanent additions of Danny Higginbotham, Ricardo Fuller, and Vincent Péricard. Lee Hendrie, who was a student at Aston Villa, was the subject of his most notable coup. Following a poor start to the season, Hendrie's signing, as well as the loan signings of Salif Diao, Andy Griffin, and Rory Delap, coincided with a change in form for the Potters. Prior to the January transfer window, Stoke finished as fourth in the table.

Pulis was named Manager of the Month in April 2007, after Stoke swelled up 11 points from five league games. Stoke promoted them to seventh position in the table on equal terms with sixth-place Southampton. On the final day of the season, Stoke defeated Queens Park Rangers 1–1. Prior to the 2007–08 season, Pulis sold several key players; club captain Danny Higginbotham was one of a number of players to leave, joining Sunderland for £3 million. Pulis, on the other hand, utilised the loan market again, signing five players on loan, including Ryan Shawcross of Manchester United, with just five of these loan signings converting into a permanent contract in January.

Stoke City was promoted to the Premier League on the season's last matchday, marking Stoke's first top flight campaign in 23 years. Pulis admitted that he needed to develop his squad upon promotion, but he also stated that the club would not go 'above the top' in terms of budgets. Dave Kitson, a striker who joined Stoke for £5.5 million, was the best signing of the summer for the club. Arsenal defender Adama Sonko joined Newcastle Wanderers for £3 million, Amdoulaye Faye from Charlton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee, and former Southampton player Danny Higginbotham rejoined his former Sunderland for an undisclosed fee. Pulis was also able to move players, including his son Anthony Pulis and striker Jon Parkin.

Stoke's mid-season slump made them one of the top relegation candidates in the Premier League season after a promising start to the season. Sheffield United's James Beattie and West Ham winger Matthew Etherington's January additions helped to revive the team's season. Stoke dipped in and out of the relegation zone before March, when a good run of form lifted them over the top three. The Premier League's 2–1 victory over Hull City on May 9, 2009, guaranteed their Premier League survival. Pulis has been lauded for his work with Stoke on a limited budget, and in particular his job of keeping them in the Premier League. He had been considered a candidate for the Premier League's Manager of the Year award in 2008–09.

Stoke saw them win by a storm rather than relegation, and they also reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, defeating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge during the season. Stoke finished 11th in the Premier League with 47 points, a spot higher and two points more than last season. Pulis made his 300th appearance as Stoke manager with a 3–0 win over Blackburn Rovers on February 6, 2010. Stoke defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1984 by a 4–0 victory. Pulis' decision to release a six-minute statement supporting the management staff and team as well as questioning Murphy's agenda following criticism from Fulham player Danny Murphy over how Pulis sets his team out to play.

Pulis, a nees' referee system, wanted to avoid poor decisions after a string of contentious refereeing decisions against Stoke. After beating West Ham in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, he was only the third manager in Stoke's history to lead the team to the FA Cup semi-finals. Stoke defeated Bolton 5–0, making Pulis the first manager to direct Stoke to an FA Cup Final. Stoke, on the other hand, lost the final 1–0 to Manchester City, with Yaya Touré scoring the only goal. Stoke qualified for the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League by qualifying for the first time since Manchester City announced a place in the UEFA Champions League. Pulis is Stoke's greatest ever manager, according to club chairman Peter Coates in May 2011.

Stoke were paired with Hajduk Split, where Stoke defeated both legs 1–0 to become the first Stoke side to win a two-legged European tie. Following Abdoulaye Faye's departure, Pulis signed former England international Jonathan Woodgate and Matthew Upson on free transfers to improve his center backs. In August 2011, he took over his 800th competitive match. Pulis signed Cameron Jerome from Birmingham City, as well as Tottenham Hotspur's Peter Crouch and Wilson Palacios; Crouch, who paid £60,000, broke the club's transfer record for the fourth consecutive season. Stoke was drawn against Beşiktaş, Dynamo Kyiv, and Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League's group stages, and Stoke defeated them 1–1 in December, qualifying for the knock-out stages. Pulis characterized the effort as a "milestone" in the club's history. In the round of 32, Stoke was a glamour match against Spanish giants Valencia. In January 2012, he played in 400 games as Stoke manager. Stoke lost both legs against Valencia 1–0 and left the Europa League unbeaten. Stoke's mainly reserve team took the second leg in Valencia, with just four replacements, including academy captain Lucas Dawson. Pulis was chastised by many supporters, but he defended his decision. Stoke took 14th place in the 2011-12 season.

Pulis was back in the transfer market in the summer of 2012, allowing Ricardo Fuller to leave and bringing in a number of new midfield players. Geoff Cameron and Maurice Edu, Scottish pair Jamie Ness and Charlie Adam, Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Michael Kightly, Blackburn's French prospect Steven Nzonzi, and former England international striker Michael Owen were among the guests on stage. Despite a difficult opening series of fixtures, Stoke got off to a slow start to the 2012-13 season. Pulis has said that he wants to see the remainder of his managerial career at Stoke and that he wants to change his team's style of play. Stoke went on a ten-match unbeaten streak from October 10 to December, with one of Europe's best defensive records.

Stoke, on the other hand, got off to a slow start in 2013 by getting just one more new arrivals, including American winger Brek Shea and England goalkeeper Jack Butland. After an exciting home loss to West Ham, Pulis' results remained poor in February and Pulis' performance suffered. Stoke won over Queens Park Rangers and Norwich City, removing the possibility of relegation from their view as they entered the 2012–13 Premier League season in 13th position. Pulis left Stoke on May 21, 2013 after a meeting with club chairman Peter Coates, it was a season of little progress. Pulis expressed dissatisfaction with Coates' decision but acknowledged his reasons after his resignation. Mark Hughes, another Welsh manager, had him dismissed him.

Pulis was appointed manager of Crystal Palace on a two-and-a-year deal on November 23, 2013, taking over from Ian Holloway. His first victory came on December 3, 2013, a 1–0 home win over West Ham. The team went on a string of five consecutive victories in the early part of 2014, which included victories over Chelsea, Cardiff City, Aston Villa, Everton, and West Ham. Pulis was named Manager of the Month for April 2014 after a stretch of form at Palace. Palace finished the 2013–14 Premier League season in 11th place with 45 points, winning Pulis as the Premier League Manager of the Year.

Pulis was recruited by the BBC in 2014 to be a pundit for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. When he wasn't working, he used his spare time to hunt down new players and see different bosses at work. Pulis left the club "by mutual consent" shortly before the upcoming 2014–15 season, saying that it was because he was not being backed in the transfer market by the Palace board. A high court judge had ordered Pulis to pay Crystal Palace £3.7 million for fraudulent misrepresentation in a dispute with Steve Parish over a £3.7 million "survival" compensation paid to him two weeks before he announced his resignation in November 2016.

Pulis was appointed head coach of West Bromwich Albion on January 1, 2015. In an FA Cup third round match against Conference Premier Side Gateshead, he won his first game in charge 7–0. Pulis obtained the services of former Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher, who was promoted to first team captain by Pulis shortly after, with Chris Brunt as deputy. The "Baggies" went through February unbeaten, retaining three clean sheets in a row in Pulis. Pulis was named Premier League Manager of the Month for February by West Brom's form. West Brom secured victories over Chelsea and Manchester United, while Pulis duly led the team to a 13th-place finish in the Premier League.

Pulis signed striker Salomón Rondón for a club record fee of £12 million from Zenit Saint Petersburg for the 2015–16 season. Pulis's comment that he wanted Leicester City to win the 2015–16 Premier League and the players' motivations was lauded by The Daily Telegraph for spoiling their opponents Tottenham's celebration party. Pulis was recruited by ITV in the summer of 2016 to be a pundit for UEFA Euro 2016 in France. To commentate live on the Welsh national team, he was used for his expertise and previous punditry experience. Pulis also appeared live on the game, such as Spain–Turkey.

Pulis reached the milestone of 1,000 games as a professional manager, against Stoke, his former club. Pulis signed a one-year deal at the end of October. The deal committed him to the club until the summer of 2018. Pulis was one of the six-man shortlist for the Premier League Manager of the Season award, before losing out to Chelsea boss Antonio Conte as the season came to an end. The club finished in the top half of the table under his leadership, occupying 8th place for the majority of the season before losing only two points in their final nine games to tenth. Pulis signed a new contract extension on August 11, 2017, extending his stay with the club until 2019. "I'm delighted to prolong my deal because it maintains the club's vital for its development," he said on signing.

Pulis was fired as West Brom's manager on November 20, 2017, after a poor run of results in which they had won just four of their last 22 Premier League games dating back to 2016–17. He was left in the table with West Brom occupying his 17th position. Throughout his time as coach, accusations about his ostensible "negative" brand of football had surfaced, as well as a lack of progress at the club.

Pulis was appointed as the boss of Middlesbrough in December 2017, replacing the club's defunct Garry Monk, who left the club ninth in the Championship table, after an uneven first half to their season. Pulis was in the stands at his appointment on the day of his appointment to watch Middlesbrough, who was managed by academy director Craig Liddle in the interim period, defeat Bolton Wanderers 2–0 at the Riverside Stadium. Middlesbrough's first match in charge of Pulis ended in a 1–0 home loss to Aston Villa.

Pulis' first victory as Middlesbrough's boss came on January 1, 2018, a comeback 3–2 victory at Preston North End. Middlesbrough temporarily suffered under Monk's direction, but Pulis turned the team's fortunes around, finishing fifth in qualifying to the play-offs. However, they were defeated 1–0 by Villa, thus being confirmed as a Championship club for another season, much to the club's supporters, players, and staff's loss.

Pulis' first full season as Middlesbrough continued to produce well through February, including a 3–2 victory over Pulis' former club West Bromwich Albion. His side held a top-six finish until March, but they fell out of the top six for the first time this season. Pulis left the club at the end of the season because his decision not to renew his contract was not made.

Pulis returned to coaching after more than a year out of football, joining Sheffield Wednesday in his second straight appearance for which he had replaced Garry Monk. During his first week, Mike Trusson as his assistant manager and Craig Gardner as the first-team coach. After Josh Windass was dismissed after 17 minutes, his first match in charge ended in a 1–0 loss against Preston North End. Adam Reach scored his first point in another away game, a 1–1 draw against Swansea City, giving him his first goal of his reign. He had a bad start for any manager at Sheffield Wednesday after losing by 2–0 to Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, taking 3 points from a potential 24. In a 1–0 victory over Coventry City in his ninth game as boss, with Tom Lees scoring the winning goal. Pulis' chief was fired on Sunday, December 28, 2020, after winning just one out of ten league games. Pulis' dismissal was based on a major disagreement between Pulis and club owner Dejphon Chansiri over transfer proposals for the forthcoming January transfer window, according to Sky Sports. Chansiri later described Pulis' appointment as a "mistake."

Source