[BigFrank20]

I suspect he is partly also using us to repair his reputation inside football following the way he left Palace and I have no problem with that, and I am also quite happy top sit back a see what happens.
He'll move on one day but the club will still be there, in whatever division, as will I health and wealth permitting.

[charliemike]

What's the point of any of this negativity? The man has been given a 2 and half year contract . He has a really difficult job to do which he has hinted at . GET BEHIND THE BLOKE if you call herself supporters .

[skyclad99]

What's the point of any of this negativity? The man has been given a 2 and half year contract . He has a really difficult job to do which he has hinted at . GET BEHIND THE BLOKE if you call herself supporters .

Well said..........

[B_H_Baggie]

What's the point of any of this negativity? The man has been given a 2 and half year contract . He has a really difficult job to do which he has hinted at . GET BEHIND THE BLOKE if you call herself supporters .

If there is any negativity this is the place the express it. I have my doubts about Pulis for the long term like many others but he has a fair chance with me just like Alan Irvine and every other manager before him has had. Given the negativity from fans about Irvine there wasn't that much negativity at games, in general supporters tried their hardest to get fully behind the team in spite of Irvine so I see absolutely no issue here.

Are you saying I'm not a proper supporter if I express doubts about the new manager on here? Quite frankly I find that attitude laughable, we all support West Bromwich Albion but not all of us are so called happy clappers while we aren't all negative either. The whole idea of these forums is to give a platform for supporters to discuss issues and share their opinions on what is happening at the club no matter what their viewpoint is.

[charliemike]

We live in a free society or so they say . Personally there ain't no point in moaning about him . I think he is the best bloke for the job , which is to keep us in the premiership . To talk more seriously it's a massive job and I have no illusions about the task in hand . I think he realises this has well. Good luck to the bloke .

[B_H_Baggie]

As I say I'm sure the vast majority of people who have any doubts about Pulis will get behind the team 100% on a match day. On paper Pulis is clearly the best qualified for the job of trying to keep us in the Premier League, I just have my doubts about him in the long term especially given how we deal with transfers and that being the reason why he walked out on Palace just days before the season started.

[charliemike]

How many managers have we had and given them 12 month rolling contracts . They are backing PULIS by giving him his own team . Now the scouts are up the road . It will be very interesting to see who comes in in that field . I view all this in a positive way for the short term . Now we need to move some of the deadwood on the playing side out with a little luck .

[Atomic]

How many managers have we had and given them 12 month rolling contracts . They are backing PULIS by giving him his own team . Now the scouts are up the road . It will be very interesting to see who comes in in that field . I view all this in a positive way for the short term . Now we need to move some of the deadwood on the playing side out with a little luck .

I completely agree. You have to give Jeremy Peace enormous credit. He f*d up completely by giving Irvine the job but he wasn't stubborn, he didn't p*** the fans off for a year or two, he wasn't blindly arrogant, he gave Irvine enough time to allow him to convince, he didn't do that and Peace got rid of him. Some other chairmen would've kept irvine for ages as an act off stubborn arrogance but not Jeremy, he obviously realised he had made a big mistake and he changed it.

He, like most right minded fans, obviously sees the value in Pulis, he realises what he now has - a top quality manager / head coach and he is backing him. Most fans are the same but there is always a vocal negative minority. It would help Pulis, THE CLUB and everybody else if those people put a sock in it and preferably jumped on side.

[Bigrob80]

I for one have only managed a couple of games this season at the hawthorns but I sung for my team while they were on the pitch, those games were under Irvine! At the next game I get to I will sing my heart out for the team! I don't see any grounds for US to be concerned, we don't know how this will go yet, let's have some positive support for our team and manager!
In a few weeks we should have a just of what's going on, I for one think it will be positive! Cummon baggies and Cummon pullis!
 

[Adder]

I completely agree. You have to give Jeremy Peace enormous credit. He f*d up completely by giving Irvine the job but he wasn't stubborn, he didn't p*** the fans off for a year or two, he wasn't blindly arrogant, he gave Irvine enough time to allow him to convince, he didn't do that and Peace got rid of him. Some other chairmen would've kept irvine for ages as an act off stubborn arrogance but not Jeremy, he obviously realised he had made a big mistake and he changed it.

He, like most right minded fans, obviously sees the value in Pulis, he realises what he now has - a top quality manager / head coach and he is backing him. Most fans are the same but there is always a vocal negative minority. It would help Pulis, THE CLUB and everybody else if those people put a sock in it and preferably jumped on side.

Not sure if you can stop people having opinions though. The results of the Pulis v Sherwood pole showed that approx. 20% didn't want Pulis. A lot of those are likely to be different people to those who slagged off Irvine, from the start no matter what he did. I wanted Sherwood due to style of football worries but I can see why the club went for Pulis and I've no intention of slagging him off.

[Standaman]

I preface my comments with my view that I firmly believe that coaches have been elevated in importance in the modern game to a point which is almost bizarre. The notion that somehow by appointing Pulis we have at a stroke removed the threat of relegation is a case in point and in fairness to the man he spent a lot of time at his press conferences trying to debunk the myth.

Equally coaches turnover so rapidly that it is almost impossible to pass judgement on their impact. In this instance his contract is for two and half years which would give him 2 full seasons and two summers to shape the squad at the end of which time what we are looking at beyond any doubt is Tony Pulis' Albion.  Whether he gets to that point is anyone's guess. As others have pointed out his departure from Crystal Palace over transfer policy does not bode well in terms of a relationship with Peace but the two of them must have come to some understanding on this matter or Pulis would not have signed in the first place.

With regard to  Pulisball I would take issue with those who think Palace's football last year was a dramatic departure from what Pulis had done at Stoke. It certainly was different from that he deployed at Stoke in the first few years that they were in the Premier League, but Stoke were evolving under him before he left, although given his reputation he was very unlikely to be given much credit for it.

However the central tenants remain the same and start with a solid defensive shape  based on a 4-4-2. He does not rotate much and once he settles on a back four he play it week in week out. It would suggest that by the end of this month if your name is not on the team sheet there really isn't any point in you being here.  When I looked at some of his Stoke squads it was noticeable how few players he used it really did revolve around a core of about 13 players.

His sides have never scored lots of goals but they have been very effective in converting goals into results. The Hull game was a case in point 1 goal 3 points and in truth it was dreadful to watch although no worse than the away fixture before Christmas. However I think those fans who are expecting anything else beyond solid organisation and grinding results out by whatever means possible certainly in the short term are whistling in the dark.

Never has a Head Coach appointment been greeted with such euphoria but I fear this will wear thin when we facing this type of football over the long term.
 

[charliemike]

One thing that I have accepted is something others haven't . We have played poor football most of our time in the premiership . In the championship it was good because of the quality of who you are playing against . Under hodgson it was organisation and counter attacking with long, odemwingie and lukaku . We don't have these players now so it's been dire . Even when at home there was only 2 players up front . How can you score goals when you only have 2 players up front , no pace from wide . This team needs a clear out and a different approach . There is only 4 or 5 teams that are equipped to be expansive with there football and we ain't one .

[bry]

Of course everyone has an opinion, and this is just mine. Personally I find negative opinions about Pulis at this moment in time pointless and ultimately divisive. It’s all about If If If. If we stay up; If Pulis doesn’t fall out with Peace; If we play like Stoke; If we …. I feel that this thinking leads us to end up with the atmosphere we had at the Hull game. Quiet, nervous and un supportive. Waiting to see what happens, not enjoying just being at the game, not supporting the team no matter what. We criticise our players when they don’t try or play in a negative way (or even might play sometime in the future) isn’t that what we are doing as fans if we don’t create a positive atmosphere to support the team. I’m not saying fans can’t criticise, but a positive, noisy singing supportive crowd are a part of what makes the very thing supporters say they want, a successful exciting winning team. I guess its all about attitude. If you set out to watch the Albion with a negative mind set that’s what you will see and how much you will enjoy the match. It is said that a team reflects a managers personality, I think this is also the case with a clubs supporters. I have colleagues at work that no matter what changes or instructions we are given their default position is to moan about it. Sorry if this opinion makes me a "happy clapper"

[frazzle]

I don't think its really negativity, I just think people are coming down off the 'anyone but Irvine' high and now starting to think what this could mean.

My view is this: Pulis is experienced, knows the league and has a decent record at this level. He is similar to Hodgson in many respects in that he is seen as a pair of safe hands. From that point of view I'm pleased that he is with us. I have also been generally impressed by the things that he has said and done since his arrival.

On the flip side I have never liked his style of play. He was at Stoke for a number of years, building a squad with a lot of money that reflected his style of play. I hated his football and the cynical tactics at Stoke and I would be gutted if we bring that here but I expect he will.

When he came people started talking about Gamboa etc, but for me his arrival signalled the end of that type of player, and I don't expect Gamboa or Blanco to get anywhere near the team.

It's one thing staying in the Premiership but if it means that we become known for being a big cynical bullying team then I'd be gutted and ultimately I think that's what will happen. People will take Palace as an example that this may not happen,but I struggle to see how half a season with Palace is a better indicator than 20 odd years management playing pretty dire football.

I personally took lot of satisfaction from the Mowbray days, and I know that will sound daft but I was right behind what he was trying to do. It was entertaining, and who knows what would have happened if he had stayed, though his subsequent lack of success suggests it was the right thing to do.

Personal opinion.

[stokelad84]

People keep talking about cynical play. The most cynical thing I've seen so far is Sessegnon going down very easy before the first goal against Gateshead.

[SmethDan]

You have to give Jeremy Peace enormous credit. He f*d up completely by giving Irvine the job but he wasn't stubborn, he didn't p*** the fans off for a year or two, he wasn't blindly arrogant, he gave Irvine enough time to allow him to convince, he didn't do that and Peace got rid of him. Some other chairmen would've kept irvine for ages as an act off stubborn arrogance but not Jeremy, he obviously realised he had made a big mistake and he changed it.

Randy Lerner, he of the 'Porn Stars for Beginners' stage name.
Annoying Villa fans for years.
Long may it continue.
SOTV.
 .

[SmethDan]

People keep talking about cynical play. The most cynical thing I've seen so far is Sessegnon going down very easy before the first goal against Gateshead.

I keep hearing rumours that Charlie Adam will be winging his way to the Hawthorns.
My, that'll get a few tongues wagging and a few keyboards twitching.
 .

[Chipperfan]

I have no problem with Pulis being appointed. He was a pragmatic appointment at a time where much of the good work of previous years appeared to be unravelling.

Realistically there wasn't too much choice was there? Sherwood is pretty much unproven, Jol has the air of a man who us fed up with management, after that who else?

At the moment Albion need stability by any means, after the disappointment of Clarke's second season, the circus of Mel's time (whatever the cause of the comedy we had become personally I liked the bloke but the club seemed in total disarray) and the doomed tenure of Irvine the club desperately needs a period of calm and rebuilding.

Let's hope the Pulis can deliver that in his two and a half years here.

[PepeMel]

Happy birthday tone

[SmethDan]

Happpy birthday for yesterday Mr Pulis.

[wba606]

at stoke he hardly played any acadamy players aswell, and i cant imagine him playing players like garmston either.

[stokelad84]

at stoke he hardly played any acadamy players aswell, and i cant imagine him playing players like garmston either.

That's always a convenient dig, but the truth is the Academy didn't produce any good players. The best youth player by a clear distance was Ryan Shotton. He's now struggling to get into the Derby team at the level below.

[B_H_Baggie]

at stoke he hardly played any acadamy players aswell, and i cant imagine him playing players like garmston either.

Have Stoke had any come through their Academy into the first team since he left? We have only really had Berahino come through and become a regular in the last few years.

[Adder]

Have Stoke had any come through their Academy into the first team since he left? We have only really had Berahino come through and become a regular in the last few years.

Our full academy set-up is relatively new (8-10 years) so the likes of George Thorne and Saido are among the first batch of graduates from this setup....there would be hopes of a few others following in coming years but they will need a chance to prove themselves.

[Dan]

I doubt we'll see too many youth break throughs but at the same time he doesn't seem completely averse to them, Shotton made 23 appearances in 2 consecutive seasons in the premier and he's not even particularly good. Mind you, Adil Nabi aside we don't seem to have anyone who's going to be knocking on the first team door within the next 3 seasons either.