West Bromwich Albion have confirmed that they have sacked head coach Tony Pulis, following the 4-0 defeat at home to Chelsea on Saturday.
The Baggies have only amounted ten points from their first 12 games in the Premier League, and find themselves in the precarious position of 17th in the table.
West Brom Sack Tony Pulis
A statement from chairman John Williams on the club’s official website reads:
“These decisions are never taken lightly but always in the interests of the Club.
“We’re in a results business and over the back end of last season and this season to date, ours have been very disappointing.
“We would like to place on record our appreciation of Tony’s contribution and hard work during a period of transition for the Club which included a change of ownership. We wish him well in his future endeavours.”
Gary Megson has taken over first team duties on an interim basis as Pulis becomes the fifth manager to be sacked by a Premier League club this season.
Where Did It All Go Wrong?
Pulis has long been known for favouring substance over style. Patience wore thin amongst the supporters, however, after seeing only one home win in eight months.
West Brom are bottom in the possession stat this season, as well as scoring only nine goals so far and having the second worst chance creation rate in the league.
After a busy summer transfer window in which Pulis broke the club’s transfer record twice, the owners would have been expecting more from the Welshman.
Since reaching the 40 point mark last season in March, West Brom have won only two games. It is understandable that the club felt that Pulis wasn’t the man to take the club to the next level, especially with the significant investment.
The patterns of play that Pulis employs, including fielding three defensive midfielders consistently, means that gaining effective results is imperative to keep fans and chairmen happy.
Pulis did have his successes with the club, including an impressive 10th place finish last season. This built on the consecutive finishes of 13th and 14th in the previous campaigns and indicates that a few dire months have undone the stability that he had built.
The former Stoke City and Crystal Palace manager is a safe pair of hands and has never finished a season with less than 42 points, even when he joined Palace in complete disarray.
Generally, he has done this on a small budget as well, which make his feats all the more impressive.
However, this wasn’t enough to appease supporters and owners alike on this occasion, when money was actually spent, and the club are looking for more than Pulis can offer at this stage.
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