Tony Pulis Your abiding thoughts?

[Blanco 4,916]

I don’t think he was half as bad as many made out. He wasn’t popular from the start and was always on a hiding to nothing. Five wins out of the last six wasn’t enough to make the playoffs and I think that should have been the minimum requirement so the decision to move him on was the correct one. I think the minimum requirement of the new manager should also be the playoffs no matter who is appointed to the position.

 

I'm still not convinced you aren't actually Tony Pulis.

 

His football was terrible, the home form was *** diabolical, and he lied repeatedly. He was just as bad as many made out.

 

All down to opinions brunners

[Smogzilla 7,482]

I agree with Blanco to an extent. Places like these are a bit of an echo chamber at times and there was a large portion of Pulis tenure where, despite the anger on here, people were tolerant of him on the terraces. Of course, nobody LIKED the football, but it was a means to an end.

 

However, this changed in the brentford game. The crowd saw his subs as cowardly and from there everything changed. He couldn't stop the slide and was finished.

[Neverbefore 10,937]

I don’t think he was half as bad as many made out. He wasn’t popular from the start and was always on a hiding to nothing. Five wins out of the last six wasn’t enough to make the playoffs and I think that should have been the minimum requirement so the decision to move him on was the correct one. I think the minimum requirement of the new manager should also be the playoffs no matter who is appointed to the position.

 

Mate it's good to agree with you on something again! 100% the minimum expectation for pulis and the next manager is play offs. The squad we have should be good enough with a couple of additions. It someone comes in and plays slightly better football and ends up 9th or 10th they have failed also. You look at other squads in this league and The quality of our players is higher than most.

[Tudders80 674]

Hated the appointment. So maybe clouded judgement after the fact but...

 

Looking back it looks almost like we got in a guy to stop us falling down the division. Paid a fortune to get rid of as many valuable assets as possible and make a profit while keeping our heads above water.

 

We went from a statement of smashing the league one season to no statement at all the next.

 

He is a liar, a fraudster and quite frankly a crap manager when expectation is to be towards the top end of the league. He may find a low end Premier league team again. If he does, I pity that clubs fans.

[BegSteeleOrBoro 55]

I agree with Blanco to an extent. Places like these are a bit of an echo chamber at times and there was a large portion of Pulis tenure where, despite the anger on here, people were tolerant of him on the terraces. Of course, nobody LIKED the football, but it was a means to an end.

 

However, this changed in the brentford game. The crowd saw his subs as cowardly and from there everything changed. He couldn't stop the slide and was finished.

 

The thing with playing a style that is a “means to an end” is that you have to actually reach the end you are aiming at - otherwise it’s just pointlessly negative. I think he was the wrong manager to try and mount a promotion charge with the players Monk bought. He did well in the first season, mainly because he got a good performance out of Traore. He failed miserably in the transfer windows (partly due to his reputation I believe) and his negative football either dispirited or scared off the better creative players we had (Bamford particularly).

 

The worst thing though was the press conferences and the way he treated the fans (and some players) like crap. No doubt that contributed to the disillusionment. Claiming that he was fixing the club while we fell apart on the field showed spectacular misjudgment. Won’t miss him and I wouldn’t wish him on any other club (except Leeds)

[Jimmy 140]

Wasn’t a big fan of the appointment, but wasn’t dead against it either as I thought the crap that the WBA fan’s were saying was hyperbole.

First six months weren’t enough to judge him on I felt, but the semi final against Villa was the start of the turn for me.

A good start this season gave me hope I’d got it wrong, but as the season went on it became increasingly obvious how poor and out of date his management methods were.

[chickenlunch 315]

personally I think it's impossible to judge him as he was never given the players that he actually wanted. He was forever papering over the cracks. I thought he did a great job to get us into the playoffs in his first season tbh & should've built on that this term. Whether this season's failings were his fault or club's is up for debate, but missing out on the play-offs gave both sides an easy out.

[Tom 2,492]

I just don't think he was very inspiring. Not for the fans or for the players.

I always felt with Karanka, up until the walk-out week when everything went balls-up, that players were giving 110% for him. Average Championship players like N'sue, Clayton and Friend would be consistently reaching a level above.

With Monk, although the managerial appointment was all wrong, I felt as though the squad we had was actually decent, and the right guy coming in after him could have gotten the best out of them, and we could have seen something quite special.

I would argue that no player has ever truly stood out under Pulis. Traore obviously had a very good run, but the fact is, he wasn't some undiscovered gem. He was a former Barcelona player who had been twice signed by Premier League clubs. I'd argue that it was the run of games in the team that got the best out of Adama, rather than anything Pulis did. Randolph, as a goalkeeper did his best work as a result of the rest of the players underperforming, meaning that he was busier, so Pulis can't really claim credit for that either.

I tend to have quite a good memory when it comes to Boro events and matches, but in five years I'll genuinely struggle to remember any given match of this tenure, and that's the cold hard fact: It hasn't been memorable, it hasn't been entertaining, it hasn't been fun.

[Rioch's Braves 711]

personally I think it's impossible to judge him as he was never given the players that he actually wanted. He was forever papering over the cracks. I thought he did a great job to get us into the playoffs in his first season tbh & should've built on that this term. Whether this season's failings were his fault or club's is up for debate, but missing out on the play-offs gave both sides an easy out.

He spent £20 million on average players and brought in a cart horse in Hugill, and a non playing winger in VLP, our failure to make the play offs is entirely down to Pulis.

[Changing Times 12,339]

I agree with Blanco to an extent. Places like these are a bit of an echo chamber at times and there was a large portion of Pulis tenure where, despite the anger on here, people were tolerant of him on the terraces. Of course, nobody LIKED the football, but it was a means to an end.

 

However, this changed in the brentford game. The crowd saw his subs as cowardly and from there everything changed. He couldn't stop the slide and was finished.

 

As someone 'on the terraces' I can say it as fact that there were plenty of people unhappy with things long before Brentford.  Don't mistake apathy for tolerance.

[LinoJo3 3,191]

Spent all pre season moaning about lack of width and pace, sold/lost our 2 best forwards, signed 3 centre mids and a defender. Moaned abit more about our lack of pace and width.

 

***ed away £20m on said players, moaned about other managers wasting Steve’s money all while sat there raking it in as our highest ever paid manager.

 

Talk about points per game, I’d love to see a ‘points per pound (£)’ table drawn up, I have a feeling he will be around the bottom.

[Neverbefore 10,937]

personally I think it's impossible to judge him as he was never given the players that he actually wanted. He was forever papering over the cracks. I thought he did a great job to get us into the playoffs in his first season tbh & should've built on that this term. Whether this season's failings were his fault or club's is up for debate, but missing out on the play-offs gave both sides an easy out.

 

I dont know why I'm biting on this. But go on. What players did he want that he didnt get on the budget he had? He had over 20mil to spend and spent it all on players that were superfluous to our current playing squad. Then he got a winger which he was begging for, and ddint play him. Some will say he wasnt good enough, but he said himself that he was training really well and he only wasnt being played because Tony was happy with the system we had and he ddint fit in it.

 

So what do you think he was missing?

[Neverbefore 10,937]

And also dont forget that 2 years ago he had a winger who is now accepted as one of the best in Europe and he refused to play him.

 

The man is a complete parody of himself. He has nothing to offer football and he should retire and go spend time with his family.

[Will 2,958]

And also dont forget that 2 years ago he had a winger who is now accepted as one of the best in Europe and he refused to play him.

 

Who?

[Neverbefore 10,937]

Gnabry.