[valpayne]

I don't usually join forums but I'm compelled to join this one as I cannot believe some of the reaction i'm reading.
Ska'd is right. Irvine was a nice bloke but sadly not a PL or even a lower league manager/HC as stints at Preston and Sheff W have proved.
It was in fact a totally bizarre appointment and I was saying to all who would listen that I'd never even heard of the guy and trouble was certainly ahead
and so it has proved. Recently I texted my dad and predicted the following..... midway through QPR match at 2-2 I texted We've completely blown this and I'm waiting for the inevitable Austin hat trick    I also predicted a thrashing from Man C and the traditional loss at Stoke and West Ham to and by new years day we'd be in the bottom three.... this remains to be seen but I'm pretty spot on at this so far, I should be a betting man  
So why am I vexed at some comments on here I'll tell you? I don't give a flying fig if Pulis is a this, that or the other whining welshman etc because despite all the opposers to this guy, He is a winner, fact! He kept Stoke in this league for years and he totally turned Palace around last year as they climbed out the bottom three and we sank ever closer to it finishing horribly close in 17th. All the voices at WBA said they didn't want that to happen again and guess what? Its happening now so my only beam of light, and believe me I'm not a TP fan at all but, he is the one available manager that has the PL experience, the nouse and b**ls to save any team like WBA from certain relegation. My fear is his demands and the change of management structure that will be needed to accommodate them will screw any deal up and we will go down. Tim Sherwood certainly has the B***s but he hasn't got the experience and that worries me a great deal. JP needs to put his ideals to one side right now and give TP what he needs to save this club because we are in deep s*** and playing pretty football isn't working folks god help us if we get this next appt wrong

Each to his own but I don't want to watch a bunch of thugs intent on stopping the opposition from playing and hoping for a set piece or knock down from a hopeful hoof outfield. The pro-Pulis crowd seem to assume that he would guarantee us premier league football next season - there is no such guarantee and the nightmare scenario is having this man playing his brand of goofball in the championship - I for one won't pay my money to watch it.

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What would be interesting would be to see how many people who are in favour of Pulis actually go to games. I don't mean this in a disparaging way, but I can see why people who don't attend would be attracted by his apparent success rate. What I would find more difficult to understand is support from those who have actually endured watching Pulis' Stoke over the last few years. Again, this post isn't meant as a criticism of those who don't or can't attend on a regular basis, nor to suggest that their opinions are any less valid.

Zinman I'm not a fan of TP trust me he drives me nuts but I simply cannot see a better short term solution. He has a proven record is all I'm saying and right now we need that experience and survival instinct. You're absolutely right. Nothing is guaranteed but If you can see a better candidate out there I'm all ears. I'm not an expert I played for Mile Oak as a teenager as well as local and school teams I know nothing about nothing except two things. 1 We are losing week after week after week 2 We need to recruit somebody that can turn a losing team round asap or thats it. Championship football is guaranteed. I don't want to see us hoof the ball either mate but I'm gutted at seeing us lose matches every single s*****g week its heart breaking.