Former Bristol Rovers and Bournemouth defender, Tony Pulis has now taken on the role as Sheffield Wednesday FC’s new manager. His predecessor, Garry Monk, was with the club for 14 months with a 31.0% success rate. Wednesday fans everywhere are hoping that Pulis can keep them out of the relegation zone WITHOUT repeating what happened when he managed Crystal Palace!
Rumoured managers to take over Sheffield Wednesday included Phil Neville, Sol Campbell and Eddie Howe (whose odds with William Hill were 25/1).
At the age of 19, Pulis received his FA Coaching Badge and then at 21 received his UEFA 'A' license, making him one of the youngest professional players to have these qualifications.
Pulis took his first managerial steps in 1992 when he took over Bournemouth and eventually went on to spend 7 years at Stoke City (2006-2013); however, he is potentially best known for his short career at Crystal Palace in the 2013-2014 season.
As part of his contract for Palace, Pulis had to keep The Eagles up in the FA’s Premier League and stay until August 31st to receive a £2million bonus from the club. Reassuring the club that he would stay, this bonus was given to him early – under, what is claimed to be, false pretences. Tony Pulis left the club on August 14th - the day after he received his bonus.
Having claimed he needed the money to purchase land for his children, Palace pursued to sue Tony Pulis for misleading them to give him his bonus. In 2016, Crystal Palace won the case forcing Pulis to pay the club back £3.7million (his bonus and damaged to the club).
Now moving on to Sheffield Wednesday, Pulis has a difficult job on his hands as The Owls are 23rd in the Championship and currently facing relegation (as of November 19th). The Sheffield club, at the beginning of the season, started with a 12-point deduction due to a breach of the EFL’s profitability and sustainability rules; however, due to an appeal this deduction has been reduced to six points.
Even without point deductions Wednesday would be sitting not-so-comfortably at 20th. The Owls are not having a great start to the 2020-2021 season; however, with Tony Pulis in charge, they may have the potential to stay in the Championship.
The question which is on everyone’s mind is – Will Tony Pulis be able to gain back his reputation if he keeps Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship?