Tony Pulis faces Stoke City on Saturday for the first time since his departure last year. It promises to be an emotional afternoon for the baseball-capped Crystal Palace manager.
He has famously never been relegated as a manager but survival this season would eclipse any of his achievements in the Potteries – and how he would dearly love to beat the side he took from the doldrums to dizzy heights in seven years.
In 2006 Stoke were in the Championship, their players forced to train in portable buildings on fields scattered with dog mess, but Pulis – reappointed by lifelong fan and owner Peter Coates – dragged the club up by their dirty bootlaces before embarking on an odyssey few could have predicted.
The decision to bring the Welshman back for a second spell was controversial at the time. “I thought he was the man who could get us promoted on a sensible budget and he did it in two years, which was probably better than I expected,” said Coates.
“You have to learn quickly when you get into the Premier League and we had to hit the ground running. I don’t think any of us could have imagined what was to follow.”
What followed was a stirring segment in Stoke’s history and their progress is now a blueprint for many clubs aiming to sustain themselves among the elite.
After delivering promotion Pulis had five years at the top table, an FA Cup final and a sojourn into the Europa League where they reached the last 32, creating an art form out of putting noses out of joint.
Pulis had £8 million signings on the bench, years after targets had ridiculed the prospect of moving to the Britannia Stadium. His dedication was never more evident than in September 2010 when, hours after the death of his mother Jean, he returned to the dugout in the second half to inspire his team to victory over Aston Villa.
Perhaps inevitably, however, the journey had to end and in May he departed, following months of uncertainty over his future.
The reasons for his exit remain a mystery, but the poor results in 2013 are not believed to be significant. The perceived lack of entertainment is the general feeling while his demands to prevent complacency alienated influential members of the board behind the scenes.
“I took them as far as the club wanted me to take them, and that was fine,” said Pulis. “I can sit back and look at what we achieved. There are too many great moments which stand out there. The great thing about leaving a football club you have been at for so long is that it was very amicable.”
Pulis is uncertain of the reception he will receive from Stoke’s travelling fans, but many plan to wear baseball caps as a tribute.
Coates, who was 76 this week, insisted Pulis's achievements will never be forgotten. “We had some good times, brought in some tremendous players and obviously went far in Europe. We left on good terms and remain friends.
“He’s a great appointment for Palace and he will use every trick in the book to keep them in the league. We had seven great years with Tony and we now hope to have seven great years with Mark Hughes.”
Like Pulis, the appointment of Hughes polarised opinions, largely due to that excruciating spell with Queens Park Rangers, but there have been tangible signs of progress over the past three months.
Hughes’s teams, when they have succeeded, have proved uncompromising but not short of flair and Stoke aim to steadily evolve, rather than throw away the principles that served them so well.
There is a focus on more possession and passing this season and Stoke are certainly less direct.
Pulis always used to scoff at criticism over his approach yet Palace observers have insisted they are playing more attractive football under him than they did under predecessor Ian Holloway.
Kevin Phillips was at Palace when Pulis was appointed.
“To be brutally honest Tony came in at a time when there wasn’t an awful lot wrong and it was an easy transition,” he said. “He’s very disciplined and made it very clear what he wanted from the team early on. He’s made Palace defensively tight and invites teams to attack. They soak up pressure and then hit teams on the counter-attack, using pace and width.”
Pulis’s mission would be enhanced by new signings but so far the transfer window has proven a slog. He is working with one of the smallest budgets in the league and has seen countless approaches for players collapse due to Palace’s wage structure.
Steve Parish, the chairman, has taken a short break in the Caribbean so Pulis is expected to do the majority of his business in the last week.
“Palace is a very good club and it’s remarkable to think we are now in the Premier League,” he said. “Two and a half years ago the club nearly went out of business but now we’re getting Manchester United and Arsenal at Selhurst Park.
“There is still a lot of work to be done, with the squad, the academy and the structure, to get it up to standard. When you look at the football club and where it is, survival here would be as big an achievement as anything I have done during my career.”
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