#3 Tony Pulis
Welshman Pulis might not have his teams playing the most mesmerising style of football, but you can’t deny that he’s effective – during his career as a manager he’s never suffered a relegation, and working mainly at smaller clubs, he usually keeps a tight budget and acts as a major annoyance to the larger clubs and the flashier managers of the Premier League. He also led West Bromwich Albion to a solid 10th place finish. So why’s he on this list?
Well, a lot of it depends on the ambitions of West Brom and their new Chinese owners. If simple mid-table safety in the Premier League is enough for them then Pulis is likely safe. Last season was an improvement on 2015/16’s 14th place finish and the Baggies never found themselves in a relegation scrap. But what can’t be denied is the horrendous way the team finished the season.
On February 25th, West Brom defeated Bournemouth to put themselves on 40 points – the usual marker for Premier League safety. From there – an excellent 3-1 win over Arsenal in March aside – Pulis’s men seemed content to simply sit back and relax. They only earned a further five points all season, and ended up losing nine of the 12 games post-Bournemouth. Simply put, it was shameful.
Throw in the less-than-attractive football, and if new owner Guochuan Lai and his chairman John Williams have any more ambitions for the club than mid-table mediocrity, a change may be required and Pulis may have to head elsewhere.
