Monk out, Pulis in: Sheffield Wednesday fans air their opinions on a manic seven days

Garry Monk departed alongside his backroom staff and there were links with Paul Cook, Ryan Lowe and even Sven Goran Eriksson before Tony Pulis became the man to step into his shoes.

A busy week indeed.

But how has it all gone down with Wednesdayites? We spoke to four prominent fans for their take.

Will Lowley - @LowleyW, Wednesdayite and the man who runs the Wednesday Youth social media accounts

The dismissal of Garry Monk was one that was justified however, the timing was a surprise to myself.

Wednesday fans will be no stranger to the fact that the football has not been up to scratch over the past 10 months, seven wins in 34 matches simply was not acceptable.

Sheffield Wednesday could have done a lot worse than the man they went for, Tony Pulis. He’s a manager who should keep the Owls up, but can he take them any further?

In previous times we have seen Pulis commit hard to beat tactics but not the most aesthetically pleasing style of play.

More recently, Wednesday fans may remember the 2-1 defeat to Tony Pulis’ Middlesbrough at Hillsborough in 2018, where they witnessed a goal line scramble in the last kicks of the game.

Bodies on the line. Replicating that of a Rugby Scrum but helping Boro hold onto the victory, in a season where they conceded the fewest goals in the championship (41).

Ben Woodcock - @Ben_Woody23, The Wednesday Week podcaster and journalism student at the University of Sheffield

The timing of the decision has come as a slight surprise. If Monk had been sacked after the Wycombe game I don’t feel many would have batted an eye-lid.

However, the week leading up to his sacking was much more positive, a win against a then unbeaten Bournemouth followed by the news that six points were to be rescinded went some way to patch over the awful previous week.

Reinforced by a draw with Millwall, which could have been a victory, even Garry Monk was perhaps thinking his job would be safe for at least a couple of weeks.

Of course, home form is what has ultimately cost him, but he seems to have laid the foundations for progress.

My ideal man to build on those foundations would have been Paul Cook. Promotion’s with Chesterfield, Portsmouth and Wigan, he’s earned his shot at a job the size of Sheffield Wednesday. He possesses an infectious personality, one that could galvanise this squad that seems to have been playing with the handbrake on for months.

I’m not overly-inspired by Tony Pulis, he’s been a manager on the merry-go-round since leaving Stoke City. I understand we aren’t going to be relegated with him at the helm, but I don’t think we would with Monk. It doesn’t seem like a progressive appointment in my eyes.

Steve Walmsley - @SheffWedWOTM, War Of The Monster Trucks editor

I tried to be supportive of Garry Monk, I recognised he walked into a difficult situation and needed time, space and support.

He received them but a good start this season was always going to be needed given the results and performances since Xmas. Unfortunately the start wasn't good enough and the Luton, Rotherham, Wycombe and Millwall games were too much like what we had seen before, so there was no surprise when a change was made.

Decent bloke but it just didn't work.

Ideally I would have gone for Paul Cook as a breath of fresh air, but with experience of a Championship battle and playing decent football into the bargain.

But Mr Chansiri has gone for Tony Pulis, which is a statement of commitment as that won't be cheap. Given our current situation he is a very good fit and will hopefully keep us up. Mr Chansiri went for Steve Bruce as an experienced figure to try to rebuild the football side of the club and that appeared to work well until he walked out.

I sense Tony Pulis is being asked to finish the job that Bruce started. We'll see if he fits with Mr Chansiri and if he's the right man. We need someone to be - good luck to him.

Peter Løhmann – @ploehmann, Sheffield Wednesday stats wizard

Monk leaving felt inevitable - just as it did when Carvalhal and Luhukay left. Stark discord between the game his self-help bookish words invoked and the game we all saw and which probably wouldn’t have felt anything other than distant even if we’d been there in the stadium to see it instead.

Everything about Chansiri hiring Pulis feels depressingly predictable - and telling: Another reboot in the same framework. Another manager hired on what he has done rather than what he could do. Another spite-driven ascetic, promising to build a club of pride to paper over a squad of mental eggshells.

Pulis, famously never relegated, but also with a career goals scored average of 1.17 per game - only marginally better than Monk’s 1.12 at Wednesday - and even with Assombalonga, Braithwaite, Gestede, Bamford, Traoré, Ashley Fletcher his Boro managed just 1.35.

We’ve not moved on from when Carvalhal left three years ago: Stop defence being leaky. Should a chairman persistently and unabashedly clamouring for promotion not also be similarly offensive in appointing his new manager? Paul Cook (1.51 goals per game), optimistic, attacking, man-managing, squad-building, youth-focusing seems a much better fit and stepping stone for the future.

Hiring Pulis instead feels more like a half-involved chairman’s punishment of the players, and in turn fans, than an attempt to build a longer term future.

MORE FROM OUR WEDNESDAY WRITING TEAM

Keiren Westwood back in first team training at Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday player first to speak out on Tony Pulis appointment - and Garry Monk sacking

"One of the best clubs in the country" - Harry Redknapp on Tony Pulis taking charge of Sheffield Wednesday

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