Pulis appointed as Wednesday manager
Sheffield Wednesday have wasted no time in finding a successor to Garry Monk as the club announced the appointment of Tony Pulis as their new manager on Friday.
Monk saw his contract terminated on Monday with the Owls having picked up 12 points from 11 games so far this season, showing little signs of improving on the dismal form during the second half of last season in which they managed to win only 17 points from their final 23 games.
Pulis brings with him a vast bank of experience having managed over 1,000 games. The Owls will be the 11th team that he has taken charge of since starting his managerial career at Bournemouth in 1992.
During his near 30-year career as a boss, the 62-year old has enjoyed plenty of success. He led Gillingham to promotion for the 4th tier in his first season in charge in 1996 and in 2008 he managed Stoke City to promotion to the Premier League. Perhaps more impressively Pulis was able to keep the unfancied Potteries club in the top flight and establish them as a Premier League club. He led them to the FA Cup final in 2011, earning Stoke a place in the Europa League in 2011-12. Pulis parted company with Stoke City in May 2013 having managed them to a 13th place finish that season.
The 62-year-old was appointed as Crystal Palace boss in November 2013 with the club struggling in the Premier League. He went on to record a 43% win record in the remainder of the season as Palace finished in 11th place, earning Pulis the Premier League manager of the year award.
More recently the Welshman spent 2 years in charge of West Brom in the top flight between 2015 and 2017. His last job was also following the departure of Garry Monk – he took over at Middlesbrough in 2017, leading them to the Championship play-offs in 2017-18 and 7th place the following season.
Pulis has received criticism throughout his career for the direct style of play adopted by his teams but this has brought him a level of success at many clubs and Wednesday fans will be hoping he can lead the club to better results than they have managed in the last 3 seasons.
As has been the case with recent appointments at Hillsborough, the length of contract of the new manager was not detailed within the formal announcement at this stage, some sources speculated that the appointment is initially to run until the end of the current season while others suggested Pulis may have agreed a 2.5 year deal.
Pulis first match in charge of the Owls will be the away match against Preston North End on Saturday 21st November.