FIVE interesting Tony Pulis stats as Sheffield Wednesday announce former Premier League manager

If it’s Championship experience you’re after, Tony Pulis has got plenty...
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Sheffield Wednesday have found their man with the Owls announcing his appointment on Friday night.

Pulis was interviewed for the Owls job prior to Garry Monk’s appointment last year, but it certainly seems this time around there has been an end product involving the former Stoke City boss and Wednesday’s Dejphon Chansiri.

Read More
Chansiri confirms ‘many managers’ have applied for the job amid Pulis reports
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The 62-year-old left his position at Middlesbrough last year, and he could be seen as just the ticket for a Wednesday side who will have survival as their primary objective given their six-point deduction.

We took a look at some interesting stats surrounding the Welshmen as it looks increasingly likely that he’ll be in charge of the Owls by the time they face Preston North End on November 21st.

Relegation? Never!

In a managerial career that has spanned almost three decades, Pulis have never been relegated… He’s had spells with Bournemouth, Gillingham, Bristol City, Portsmouth, Stoke Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough, and despite finding himself in a relegation scrap on several occasions, ‘TP’ has always managed to get the job done.

Tony Pulis, then manager of West Bromwich Albion and Man City's Pep Guardiola shake hands on prior to the Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Manchester City at The Hawthorns on October 28, 2017.  (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)Tony Pulis, then manager of West Bromwich Albion and Man City's Pep Guardiola shake hands on prior to the Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Manchester City at The Hawthorns on October 28, 2017.  (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
Tony Pulis, then manager of West Bromwich Albion and Man City's Pep Guardiola shake hands on prior to the Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Manchester City at The Hawthorns on October 28, 2017. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

In addition to that, Pulis has actually never been relegated at any stage in his career, not as a manager, coach or during his lengthy career as a player.

A Century of Wins

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Pulis has a lot of experience in the Championship, taking charge of 243 games since the league was formed in its current format back in 2004, and he is just one game away from securing his 100th win in the division.

He’s drawn 75 and lost 69 since his first season in the Championship in 2004/05, with his most recent game being a 2-1 victory for Boro over Rotherham in May 2019.

Tony Pulis is heavily linked with the vacant position at Sheffield Wednesday. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)Tony Pulis is heavily linked with the vacant position at Sheffield Wednesday. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Tony Pulis is heavily linked with the vacant position at Sheffield Wednesday. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

Don’t expect many goalfests…

Typically, Pulis’ teams in the Championship don’t score too many, but they don’t concede a lot either. In the 243 games he’s been in charge of at this level, his sides average 1.16 goals per game in their favour, conceding 0.94.

August 2018 was the last time one of his teams won by more than two goals in the league – when Middlesbrough beat Sheffield United 3-0.

His record v Wednesday

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

There haven’t been too many meetings between Pulis and the Owls, with the former Stoke man having only come up against SWFC on 10 occasions over the course of his career.

In fact, it was only in 2018 that he picked up his first win at Hillsborough (at his fourth attempt), when Middlesbrough won 2-1 at S6, and his only other win over Wednesday was back to December 2002 when Stoke picked up a 3-2 win.

Overall, he’s won two, lost three and drawn five against Wednesday.

Formations

Looking back at Pulis’ recent formation choices on transfermarkt.com, one interesting thing is the fact that, from the start of 2019 to the end of his tenure in Teeside, he was using a three-man defence, and for the most part was doing it in the same setup as Garry Monk with 3-5-2.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In his most recent 20 games, Pulis varied between 3-5-2 and 3-4-2-1, also using 5-3-2 and 5-4-1 on a couple of occasions.

More Owls news

Thank you for reading this article, one of dozens we publish every single day to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative coverage of YOUR club. This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to from the football team at The Star, please consider taking out a subscription to our new discounted sports-only package. You'll find all the details at www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions/sports.