Tony Pulis

Pulis made 85 league appearances for the Pirates before leaving to join Hong Kong club Happy Valley AA in 1981. He returned to Rovers the following year and made a further 45 league appearances before moving to his home town club Newport County in 1984. At Newport, Pulis became a popular member of the squad and his former County teammate David Giles believes Pulis was always destined for top-level management.

With County struggling financially, Harry Redknapp signed Pulis at Bournemouth, spending three years at Dean Court before joining Gillingham in 1989. Pulis, however, returned to Bournemouth a year later to take up a player/coach role. He made 16 appearances, scoring one goal, while in this role.

Pulis was promoted to the position of manager in 1992, following Harry Redknapp's decision to leave the club for Premier League side West Ham United. Pulis spent two seasons 1992–93 and 1993–94 at Bournemouth, both seasons saw the Cherries finish in 17th position before moving on.

Pulis then joined Gillingham in the summer of 1995, whom he managed for a further four seasons, turning a team that had struggled at the very bottom of the Football League into a promotion winning one in his first season, and laying the foundations for the club's eventual elevation to the First Division for the first time in their history. In the 1999 Second Division play-off final, the Gills were 2–0 up with less than two minutes left, following goals by the prolific partnership of Robert Taylor and Carl Asaba, only to see Manchester City score twice, the equaliser in injury time, and after that win a penalty shoot-out 3–1. Following the defeat, Pulis was controversially sacked by the club amidst claims of gross misconduct. He later brought a £400,000 court case against Gillingham chairman Paul Scally for unpaid bonuses, which was settled out of court in 2001 for £75,000.

Pulis was appointed manager of Bristol City in July 1999, prior to the start of the 1999–2000 season. A previous long stint at bitter rivals Bristol Rovers meant that Pulis' appointment was met with mixed reception. He made several reasonably big purchases including Steve Jones and former Rovers player Peter Beadle, but his popularity hit an all-time low only six months into his term as manager and when rumours surfaced of a switch to Portsmouth, home fans chanted for him to leave. He moved on to Portsmouth shortly, where Milan Mandarić had recently taken over as chairman.

In January 2000, Pulis left Bristol City to become manager of Portsmouth. He took Portsmouth from the bottom three to mid-table but lasted only ten months in the job before being sacked and being replaced by Steve Claridge in October 2000.

In the following season, 2003–04, Pulis guided the club to an 11th-place finish. Tensions grew between the manager and chairman, Gunnar Gíslason, in the 2004–05 season. Pulis was frustrated with his lack of transfer funds which led to Dave Brammer and Steve Simonsen, both of whom were free agents, being his only significant signings prior to the start of the season. Pulis, however, did add Anthony Pulis, his son, and Lewis Buxton to his squad in January 2005. The disagreement between Pulis and the club's Icelandic ownership culminated with Pulis parting company with the club on 28 June 2005. He was sacked for "failing to exploit the foreign transfer market" by then chairman Gíslason. Following his dismissal, Pulis bemoaned the club's decision to sell Ade Akinbiyi to Championship rivals Burnley, stating, "We sold our top scorer and never replaced him." Dutch manager Johan Boskamp was named as Pulis' successor on 29 June 2005, only a day after Pulis was sacked.

In May 2006, Pulis was the subject of an approach from former club Stoke, who had recently parted company with manager Johan Boskamp, following Peter Coates' takeover of the club. Plymouth reportedly turned down this approach. On 14 June 2006, however, it was announced that Pulis would be returning as manager of Stoke.

After a promising start to the Premier League season, Stoke's mid-season slump left them as one of the favourites for relegation. The January additions of Sheffield United's James Beattie and West Ham winger Matthew Etherington, however, helped rejuvenate their season. The £3.5 million signing of Beattie was widely considered to be one of the most prudent purchases in English football that season. Stoke dipped in and out of the relegation zone until March, when a good run of form lifted them above the bottom three. Their 2–1 win away to Hull City on 9 May 2009 secured their Premier League survival. Pulis has received much praise for his work with Stoke on a limited budget, in particular his achievement of keeping them in the Premier League. He was mentioned as a possible candidate for the 2008–09 Premier League Manager of the Year award.

Pulis was awarded an honorary degree at the University of Staffordshire on 10 July 2009. He received the reward for his contribution in helping sports journalism students at the university. He was also awarded the award at the University of Wales, Newport, on 15 April 2013. Pulis participated in the 2009 London Marathon to raise money for the Donna Louise Trust which assists a children hospice. He completed the marathon in 4 hours 31 minutes 57 seconds. In May 2010, Pulis climbed to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro with Nick Hancock to raise money for the Stoke-on-Trent based charity the Donna Louise Trust. In March 2012, he escaped a driving ban for speeding after his lawyer claimed that the city of Stoke-on-Trent would suffer as a result. On 31 May 2012, Pulis was an Olympic Torch bearer for the 2012 Summer Olympics. On 1 June 2015, Pulis completed a 450-mile rowing challenge from Tower Bridge in London to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. He once again teamed up with Nick Hancock and other team members for the Donna Louise Hospice in Stoke. The seven-day nautical challenge eventually raised over £250,000 for the charity.

The following season saw Stoke consolidating their Premier League status rather than facing relegation, and also saw them reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with victories over York City, Arsenal and Manchester City before losing to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Stoke finished 11th in the Premier League with 47 points, a place higher and two points more than last season. Pulis made his 300th appearance as Stoke manager with a 3–0 win over Blackburn Rovers on 6 February 2010. The result was Stoke's largest top-flight win for nearly 24 years after a 4–0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1984. Following criticism from Fulham player Danny Murphy over the way Pulis sets his team out to play, Pulis decided to release a six-minute statement defending the management staff and club as well as questioning Murphy's agenda.

Pulis is a Catholic and regularly attends church. His mother died on 13 September 2010, the same day that Stoke had a Monday night fixture against Aston Villa. Pulis made an unexpected return to the dug-out after the half-time break, having missed the first half, amidst huge applause from the home crowd. At this time, Villa were 1–0 up but goals from Kenwyne Jones and Robert Huth gave Stoke a 2–1 win and their first points of the season.

After a number of controversial refereeing decisions that went against Stoke, Pulis advocated the introduction of a relegation system for referees to stop poor decisions. He became only the third manager in Stoke's history to guide the club to the semi-finals of the FA Cup after a quarter-final victory over West Ham. They then went on to beat Bolton 5–0, making Pulis the first manager to guide Stoke to an FA Cup Final. Stoke, however, lost the final 1–0 to Manchester City, with Yaya Touré scoring the only goal. By reaching the final, Stoke qualified for the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League, after Manchester City confirmed a place in the UEFA Champions League. Club chairman Peter Coates said in May 2011 that Pulis is Stoke's greatest ever manager.

In the Europa League, Stoke were drawn against Croatian giants Hajduk Split, where Stoke won both legs 1–0 to become the first Stoke side to win a two-legged European tie. Pulis signed former England internationals Jonathan Woodgate and Matthew Upson on free transfers to strengthen his centre backs following the departure of Abdoulaye Faye. He took charge of his 800th competitive match in August 2011. On transfer deadline day, Pulis signed Cameron Jerome from Birmingham City as well as Tottenham Hotspur duo Peter Crouch and Wilson Palacios; Crouch, at a fee of £10 million, broke the club's transfer record for the fourth successive season. In the group stages of the Europa League, Stoke were drawn against Beşiktaş, Dynamo Kyiv and Maccabi Tel Aviv, and after a 1–1 draw against Kyiv in December, Stoke qualified for the knock-out stages. Pulis described the achievement as a "milestone" in the club's history. Stoke were handed a glamour tie against Spanish giants Valencia in the round of 32. He reached 400 matches as Stoke manager in January 2012. Stoke lost both legs against Valencia 1–0 and exited the Europa League. In the second leg in Valencia, Stoke took a largely reserve side and named just four substitutes which included academy captain Lucas Dawson. This attracted much criticism of Pulis by supporters but he defended his choice. Stoke finished the 2011–12 season in 14th position.

Stoke, however, made a poor start to 2013 picking up just a point in January and a frustrating transfer window saw just two new arrivals American winger Brek Shea and England goalkeeper Jack Butland. Performances and results remained poor in February and Pulis came under heavy criticism from supporters after an uninspiring home defeat against West Ham. Victories against Queens Park Rangers and Norwich City saw Stoke avoid the threat of relegation and they finished the 2012–13 Premier League season in 13th position. It was a season of little progress at Stoke, and Pulis left the club on 21 May 2013 after a meeting with club chairman Peter Coates. Speaking after his departure, Pulis revealed that he was disappointed by Coates' decision but accepted his reasons. He was replaced by another Welsh manager, Mark Hughes.

On 23 November 2013, Pulis was appointed manager of Crystal Palace on a two-and-half-year contract, taking over from Ian Holloway. His first win came on 3 December 2013, a 1–0 home win against West Ham. During the January transfer window, Pulis made five signings, all of which came on transfer deadline day. He signed Tom Ince on loan from Blackpool, while permanently signing Joe Ledley from Celtic, Scott Dann from Blackburn Rovers, Jason Puncheon from Southampton and Wayne Hennessey from Wolverhampton Wanderers. The new arrivals helped Palace to become a more solid team defensively and they went on a run of five consecutive victories, which included wins over Chelsea, Cardiff City, Aston Villa, Everton and West Ham. This run of form earned Palace mathematical safety and saw Pulis named as Manager of the Month for April 2014. Palace finished the 2013–14 Premier League season in 11th position with 45 points, which saw Pulis named as the Premier League Manager of the Year.

On 1 January 2015, Pulis was appointed head coach at West Bromwich Albion. He won his first game in charge 7–0 against Conference Premier side Gateshead in an FA Cup third round match. During the January transfer window, Pulis secured the services of former Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher, who Pulis soon promoted to first team captain, with Chris Brunt as deputy. Under Pulis, the Baggies went through February unbeaten, keeping three clean sheets in a row in the process. West Brom's form saw Pulis named as the Premier League Manager of the Month for February. West Brom secured victories over Chelsea and Manchester United, and Pulis duly led the team to a 13th-place finish in the Premier League.

During the summer of 2014, Pulis was hired by the BBC to be a pundit for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. When he was not working, he used his spare time watching other games to scout new players and to see different managers at work. Shortly before the start of the subsequent 2014–15 season, however, Pulis left the club "by mutual consent", saying that it was because he was not being backed in the transfer market by the Palace board. In November 2016, Pulis was ordered by a high court judge to pay Crystal Palace £3.7 million for fraudulent misrepresentation in a dispute with Steve Parish over a £2 million "survival" bonus paid to him on his request over two weeks earlier than contractually necessary the day before he announced his departure.

As preparations began for the 2016–17 season, Pulis was finally able to sign long term transfer target Matt Phillips on a four-year deal from Queens Park Rangers. Phillips was followed through the door by Everton defender Brendan Galloway to joined on a season-long loan. On 29 August 2016, the club agreed a deal with Tottenham to sign Belgian international Nacer Chadli for a club-record transfer fee of £13 million. On transfer deadline day, Chadli was joined by the pacey Watford fullback Allan Nyom, who joined for an undisclosed fee believed to be £3 million. The last player to join was the unattached Hal Robson-Kanu, who had an impressive Euro 2016 campaign with the Wales national team.

The 2017–18 transfer window started with the departure of captain Darren Fletcher to rivals Stoke. The first signing of the summer was the forward Jay Rodriguez from Southampton for a fee of around £12m. Pulis had tried to sign Rodriguez in the two previous transfer windows but Southampton were reluctant to do business. The following day Chinese striker Zhang Yuning joined the club for an undisclosed fee and was immediately loaned to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen for two seasons. The next signing was Egyptian defender Ahmed Hegazy who joined on loan with an option to trigger a permanent transfer. There was also a change to the management team with the retirement of long-time assistant Dave Kemp. He was replaced as Assistant Head Coach by former Albion manager Gary Megson. On 11 August 2017, Pulis signed a further contract extension which committed him to the club until 2019. Upon signing he said: "I'm delighted to extend my contract because it continues the stability within the Club which is essential for its progress."

Pulis was sacked as West Brom manager on 20 November 2017, after a poor run of results where they had won only four of their last 22 Premier League games, a run stretching back to 2016–17. He left with West Brom occupying 17th place in the table. Throughout his tenure, concerns had been raised by supporters over his perceived "negative" brand of football, and a lack of progress at the club.

On 26 December 2017, Pulis was appointed as manager of Championship club Middlesbrough, replacing the sacked Garry Monk, who left the club ninth in the Championship table, after an indifferent first half to their season. On that same day as his appointment, Pulis was present in the stands to watch Middlesbrough, managed by Academy manager Craig Liddle in the interim period, defeat Bolton Wanderers 2–0 at the Riverside Stadium. Pulis' first match in charge of Middlesbrough ended in a 1–0 home defeat to Aston Villa.

Pulis' first win as Middlesbrough manager came on 1 January 2018, a comeback 3–2 victory at Preston North End. As the season continued, Middlesbrough temporarily began to suffer under the similar results under Pulis that they received under Monk's management, though Pulis turned the team's fortunes around, and they finished fifth, qualifying to the play-offs. However, they were defeated 1–0 by Villa, thus being confirmed as a Championship club for another season, much to the devastation of the club's fans, players and staff.

On 13 November 2020, Pulis returned to management after over a year out of football, joining Championship club Sheffield Wednesday, the second consecutive appointment for which he had replaced Garry Monk.

Middlesbrough Schoolchildren Celebrate Tony Pulis’ Birthday | Middlesbrough FC arrow-down-grey arrow-down-red arrow-down-white arrow-down arrow-left-grey arrow-left-white arrow-left arrow-right-black arrow-right-grey arrow-right arrow-up-red arrow-up back-to_ block crest-white crest double-yellow download dropdown-white-left dropdown-white-up dropdown-white dropdown extra-time facebook-white facebook freekick full-time gallery goal-dissallowed goal-dissalowed lion-white lion swansea icons live-flashing live-scores lives-scores load-more loading location login menu min-by-min miss pen-missed pen-scored penalty-awarded play-video-white play-video player promotion-arrow quote-bottom quote-top red-card right-arrow-black right-arrow save search-white search snapchat sound stadium stats

Children from Priory Woods School in Middlesbrough surprised Tony Pulis with cake and balloons this week to celebrate the Boro boss’ birthday.