Tony Pulis – The Man of the Hour for Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace find themselves in an unenviable position this season. Sitting at second last place in the table with only 7 points from 12 games (which incidentally is their worst points tally ever) and suffering on multiple fronts, Crystal Palace need a boost. Their defence is perhaps the leakiest this season, conceding at least once in every fixture with a ‘goals conceded per game ratio’ of 1.91, the only exception being their 0-0 draw against Everton. Passing has been another major area of concern for Palace, so much so that the Eagles have managed just four passes per minute this season. That is indeed shocking by any standards. To top this off, Palace’s attack has been far below par since the beginning of the season. That coupled with the number of goals they have conceded has made it extremely difficult for the Eagles to win matches in the league.

Enter Tony Pulis, the Welshman known most for his contribution as Stoke City’s manager till the end of last season when he was shown the door by the club’s owner. Pulis has been instrumental in Stoke City’s performance and growth as a club since he took over as manager first in 2002 and then again in 2006 after a fallout with an uncooperative board in the summer of 2005.It is surely one thing to achieve promotion into the English Premier League but it is quite another thing to sustain it. However, Tony Pulis has been there and done that. He lifted Stoke City from the brink of relegation into the third division of English football to make Stoke City a regular feature of the Premier League. He was also the first manager to reach the F.A. Cup Final with Stoke City and that speaks volumes about the abilities of the Welshman.

People who have worked with and under Pulis regard him as one of the most underrated managers that English Football has seen. Tony Pulis also has this uncanny ability to find diamonds in the rough and identify incredibly valuable players that others would have overlooked. He brought on Rory Delap and snapped up Ryan Shawcross from Manchester United and both are considered masterstrokes within the footballing fraternity. With the January transfer window approaching, Pulis would be on the lookout for players who would be the right fit at Crystal Palace.

While he was at Stoke City, Pulis was always trying to evolve the Potters’ game so that the other teams in the Premier League would be unable to figure out what Stoke would do next. His tactics varied according to the situation and he never allowed the team to rely on just a few concentrated strengths to keep Stoke from becoming predictable. Rory Delap’s stunning long throws became an integral part of a lot of Stoke’s assaults but Pulis made sure that it would remain an important and not necessary part of their attack. The next season, this tactic was utilized but not depended upon as Pulis subtly altered the game and evolved the way Stoke play. This is what Crystal Palace need. Their style of play has become rather predictable and Pulis will bring in fresh ideas and years of experience along with him to Crystal Palace.

Pulis has a mountain to climb but it is not something that he will be doing for the first time in his career and probably will not be the last. The new manager will definitely have something up his sleeve and hopefully it will bring about something positive for Palace. Palace still have a fighting chance to remain in the league with Pulis at the helm. Crystal Palace face fellow strugglers Norwich City in their upcoming match as the League enters week 13 and it will be Pulis’ first match as manager. He has already announced that he is going to rejig the line-up that beat Hull City last weekend and will have to play without Yannick Bolasie who was shown a red card in the same match. The odds are in Palace’s favour as they remain unbeaten in their last five meetings with Norwich City including 2-1 victories in their last two visits to Carrow Road.

Yes, the Eagles definitely need a boost and perhaps Tony Pulis will prove to be the proverbial ‘shot in the arm’ that will lift Crystal Palace from the rut they are currently in. At the end we can only wait and watch.