Archive for the ‘Stoke City’ Category

Tony Pulis’ brand of football hearkened back to the bad old days (or good depending on your footballing preferences) of Graham Taylor’s Watford, long-ball, hoof and chase approach, so it’s more than fitting to tribute him with that oldest and hoariest of Internet traditions: the listicle. Here are ten fairly random and subjectively chosen things that Pulis’ Stoke City bestowed on the world.

1. Tony Pulis’ baseball/golf hats.

The hat was so ubiquitous on the touchline, Tony Pulis looked positively naked without it as his appearance in an Olympic torch relay demonstrated. Whether it was an honest stylistic choice, or a good luck charm, or a poor man’s toupee, the hat was Tony Pulis and Tony was the hat.
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Tony Pulis set to leave Stoke City #scfc. More details later

— John Percy (@John__Percy) May 21, 2013

That’s from the Telegraph’s man in the Midlands. Already the Twitter machine is awash in debate over just what the hell Stoke are up to. While people generally maintain Pulis’ 4-5-1, physical mid, banging up balls to a tall centre-forward approach was a choice demanded by pragmatism and necessity, the tactic was always one option among several. Pulis spent years fashioning Stoke in the image of the game he knew best. It’s hard to imagine another side that would welcome Ryan Shawcross and Dean Whitehead with open arms.

The thing is, Stoke is now modelled on Pulis’ approach, and the major question is if the club can withstand a significant change in footballing style without ushering out a core group of players and buying new ones. And if they want to maintain those wet nights at Stoke, who could fill Pulis’ shoes? Even Big Sam doesn’t play that game any more…