Tony Pulis Then

drewks · 31-12-2014, 15:03

So it looks like this will happen, I for 1 think it's JUST what we need at this moment and if TP can get us playing like he did Palace last year then it's 'good times ahead' IMO.

Just found this article that I remember reading at the end of last season - well worth a read and provides a good and different insight of the man
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27253266

Beefy 1965 · (This post was last modified: 31-12-2014, 16:37 by Beefy 1965.)

Yep all over Twitter ,most newspapers, Sky etc,.........

Radio WM saying he will be announced tomorrow with either a 1 and or a half or 2 and a half year deal Thumb up

Also plenty off outgoings and incomings,........

January should be very interesting Whistle

Seems we are going for a little Stability then.

A lot of reports saying it will be a 2 and a half year deal, no rolling 12 month contract this time,

Tom Ross ‏@thegoalzone 27m27 minutes ago
Pulis will have final say on all transfers in and out. It’s understood he will work under the same set up as previous head coaches #wba

Tom Ross ‏@thegoalzone 27m27 minutes ago
Free Radio understands that Tony Pulis is set to appointed by the weekend on a 2 and a half year contract. #wba

Bournemouth Baggie · 31-12-2014, 17:56

I may well be having to Google the recipe for humble pie come April when we are hopefully safe with 5 games to go. Right now however I bitterly disappointed.

Beefy 1965 · 31-12-2014, 17:59

Oh Stevo

I understand why people would be unsure about Pulis,

But Palace fans had nothing but great things to say about him and his style of football,

Keep the faith Thumb up

'The idea which is being put around that the chairman didn't want to back Tony in the transfer market because he didn't like the style of play is frankly mystifying.
'When he took over he had to work with the squad he inherited and he organised them to play with pace and power and be really quick through the pitch.
'The result was some fantastically exciting games and some brilliant nights at Selhurst Park that got the ground absolutely buzzing.
'Nobody was complaining about the style of play when Palace beat Chelsea near the end of the season, or won 3-2 at Everton, or drew 3-3 with Liverpool.
'People were saying that was one of the most exciting games seen at Selhurst Park in years.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footbal...z3NUWjpa1d
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Stairs · 31-12-2014, 18:15

Very interesting.

I know people are worried, understandably, that TP will bring negative football to The Hawthorns. But to be frank, the football has not been fantastic for a considerable time.

I for one am confident that TP will keep us up whilst stabilising our defence and will try to play the football he was putting out there with Palace.

In my mind only Megson and Hodgson, to a degree, has managed to stop West Brom leaking goals. We have always had to score 2 goals to stand any chance of a win.

Short-term, if he plays negative football and we survive this year I will be content but I won't be happy with hoof ball next season. But I really don't think that will happen.

A two and a half year contract is a big decision and a significant change of policy by JP. Maybe this shows that JP has come to and end of his 'experimental' period and has decided he does not want to risk the clubs demise and will go with tried and tested managers to ensure regular, financially stable (and profitable) football in the Premiership.

As an Albion fan of over 50 years, it might be negative to say this, I will be happy to be mid table 10-14 place for a couple of years and a cup run or two under TP's command. It is not something I have enjoyed very much as an Albion fan (The Three Degrees and Ossie period is lost in time).

My hope is that we get established as a mid table Premiership team and if that happens but TP is not the man to take it further we will be at least attractive to other quality managers when the time comes.

Maybe I will see a Cup win and a European campaign before I wind up my mortal coil.

**Ska'dForLife-WBA** · 31-12-2014, 18:22

The club shop may need to stock up on these for matchdays...

drewks · 31-12-2014, 19:29

OK it's only the Mirror, but some interesting stuff here:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/n...is-4899848

Jan transfer budget...........his own coaching staff............ £2 million A YEAR contract......WHAT'S HAPPENED TO JP?? Has he been watching reruns of A Christmas Carol all week? Big Grin

tidy · (This post was last modified: 31-12-2014, 21:48 by tidy.)

I genuinely hope everyone is happy. Tony Pulis must be. It's not every Christmas you're given a football club to play with.

Fingers crossed.

drewks · (This post was last modified: 01-01-2015, 13:55 by drewks.)

Having slept on it, and after a few beers to dull the dreaded Man Flu, a bit of clarity hit me.

These are MY views, and obviously others will have different ones.

Most of us follow The Baggies because of a tradition of TRYING to play football in 'the right way'. The problem is, in my 50 years of supporting them, the game has changed - but seemingly we haven't. Trying to play in this way has worked very VERY fleetingly - under RDM briefly, TM briefly, and of course Big Ron.
I would guess that this would be a total of about 4 years if added up; the rest of the time we've tried, but generally failed to play the right way AND get results.
How pi**ed off have we been over the last few years when we've sailed into a 2 goal lead and then thrown it away? How many times? We've had a soft underbelly for years and teams know this. TP being put in charge IMO is a definite statement from JP - NO LONGER, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
We NEED to toughen up. We NEED to stay in the top flight, and whilst nothing is guaranteed I think JP should be applauded for this hugely brave move which is bound to upset some people with it's apparent change of direction for the club.

I realise that some would rather watch us try and play in our traditional way, losing more than we win in WHATEVER league (and IMO we WERE going down), but I'd rather stay in the PL and have a Palace-like TP team to watch, one that has speed, flair and nous, and can sometimes grind out a result when needs be.
I'm pretty sure that we won't be throwing away too many 2-goal leads away now!

betterthanbaird · 01-01-2015, 13:57

Irvine was never going to last and I'm happy with Pulis, we can finish top 12 with a good Jan imo but obviously survival is the priority. He'll make our defence very solid and we do have some attacking talent and he'll probably add some more so I think we can be positive about this. I've always felt the issue of him being direct has been overstated, one of his main tactics is usually pace on the wings which we all want anyway.