What Sheffield Wednesday boss Tony Pulis has said to critics of his style of play

Sheffield Wednesday have announced Tony Pulis as their new manager and one thing has been the focus of the debate around his arrival amongst Owls fans this week.
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Pulis has been nailed down by many as having a particular syle of play. It’s often direct. It’s often uncompromising. It’s not exactly expansive. And in a world where seemingly everyone thiks they can play like Manchester City and Liverpool, his teams largely don’t.

Is it entertaining? Not always. But, of course, that all depends on what you want from your team. When you’re sitting at the bottom end of the Championship, finding someone who will have the team winning and doing it in style isn’t going to be an easy feat.

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And so it appears Wednesday are going down the line of finding a boss who is going to make them difficult to beat, and let’s be honest, that’s not something the Owls have been over the past few years.

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)

Pulis has been wearing the tag of a managerial ‘dinosaur’ for quite some time now, ever since his Stoke City side were roughing up the fancy-dans of the Premier League and reaping rewards, too.

Now 62, he’s admitted that he was frustrated by the way his tactics are described, but it also seems like he’s at peace with it now.

People have a perception of you and that’s very difficult to change, he said while manager of Middlesbrough, his last job since his departure from the Riverside in 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)
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“If you look at the stats, which these people never want to do because it’s easier to just stick a tag on someone, we play less long balls at Middlesbrough than virtually any team in the division.

“There is no point me wasting time and energy worrying about that. People have their opinions, I can’t change them. I’ve always been bloody single-minded, which is probably why I’ve been in the game so long.”

Back when in charge of West Brom and just about to undertake his 1,000th game in charge, Pulis went on to explain in the Guardian what it is he does at clubs.

“You get pigeonholed,” he said. “You accept it or you fight it. I’ve accepted it. That’s what people think and it doesn’t bother me.

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"People go on about my style of play. But I tell you what I do – I go into football clubs, I try to find out what systems suit the players and I try to get the damnedest out of those players. That’s what I’ve done everywhere I’ve been.

"I’ve got a load of centre-halves who can’t pass. You want them to pass out from the back, but you have to look at their strengths and work round that.”

Now that Pulis has taken over at Wednesday, fans will at least know what they are going to get. Accepting it is another matter.

However, should it work out and the wins are being chalked up with increasing regularity, then the type of criticism that has eminated from supporters on social media this week might well dilute somewhat.

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Chris Holt, Football Editor