Tony Pulis on the managers, clubs and football cities Built Different

Tony Pulis has never seemed particularly interested in making football more complicated than it needs to be.

That probably explains why, across a conversation that covered Liverpool, Chelsea, Wrexham, Middlesbrough, Stoke and half the EFL, he kept coming back to the same thing.

Can you tell what a team is trying to do?

If the answer is yes, you’re normally somewhere close.

Speaking to Midnite as part of our Built Different Index, Pulis gave his take on some of the managers and football cities standing out ahead of the new season.

The Index looks at what makes clubs feel different away from the league table, including how deeply football runs through their local area.

That gave Pulis plenty to get into.

Iraola looks ready for Liverpool

Moving from Bournemouth to Liverpool is not exactly a gentle promotion.

Pulis knows the pressure changes instantly, but he sees enough in Andoni Iraola’s work to think he’ll handle it.

“From my own personal experience, looking at what he's built up at Bournemouth and the way he's done it, it's very basic, simple football,” Pulis said.

“They play football: they pass and move, but they get up the pitch quickly and get back quickly. He wants fit, progressive players, so I think they will be successful. I think they'll challenge.”

For Pulis, the big thing is that Iraola’s sides look like Iraola sides.

“He's got a clear identity of the way he wants his teams to play.”

That matters more than whether that identity happens to be fashionable.

Pulis makes the same point later when talking about Swansea.

“I don't care what the identity is, as long as you can recognise it.”

Thirty passes before halfway or two passes before somebody sticks it in the channel. He’s not especially bothered.

Just look like you meant it.

Experienced heads still count

Chelsea came up for similar reasons.

Pulis believes Xabi Alonso’s decision to bring experience into a young squad could prove important, particularly with Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck around the group.

“With so many young, promising players coming through at Chelsea and the changeover that they've had, they need stability, not just on the pitch, but off the pitch as well.”

It reminds him of Darren Fletcher at West Brom.

“He'd knock on the door, talk to me, and mention certain things that might or might not be going on.”

That part of management rarely gets much attention.

Nobody makes a tactical thread about the senior pro who spots something going wrong in the dressing room before the manager does.

Pulis clearly values it.

Wrexham’s Hollywood story misses the important bit

Wrexham are one of the most talked-about clubs in football, but Pulis thinks people sometimes focus on the wrong part.

The owners get the headlines.

Phil Parkinson’s stability gets less.

“Everyone's quick to talk about the American owners and the Hollywood aspect, but in a way, they're almost a model teams should be following at the moment in terms of stability with the manager and how well he communicates upwards.”

There’s been no great crisis to test that relationship yet.

Pulis knows that matters too.

“It will test the American owners when they do have a dip, if they have a dip, and we’ll see how good they are then.”

For now, though, Parkinson keeps delivering.

That tends to make everything upstairs look a bit easier.

Middlesbrough really are a football town

One of the standout clubs in Midnite’s Built Different Index was Middlesbrough.

The club ranked inside the top four, with the Index showing that an average Riverside crowd is equivalent to around 18% of the town’s population.

That did not surprise Pulis.

“The North East is a very special area when it comes to football. They are deeply passionate.”

He also has huge respect for Steve Gibson and the connection between owner, club and area.

“We do not have many owners left who are so genuinely connected to their local area and their football club.”

For Pulis, that relationship is a big part of why Middlesbrough feels different.

This is not a club that happens to sit in a town.

It is one of the things the town revolves around.

He expects them to be competitive this season too.

“There were a lot of positives to take from last season,” he said.

“I think they will definitely be there or thereabouts this season.”

And then there’s Stoke

Stoke’s Built Different Index result gave Pulis a slightly different statistic to consider.

His old club ranked 65th overall.

More importantly, given the popular mythology of Pulis-era Stoke, the city’s average wind speed only ranked 45th.

Naturally, he had an explanation.

“Yeah, we used to have wind machines blowing when I was there, but they have closed them now... only joking!”

So there we are.

Rory Delap’s throw-ins. Wind machines. Case closed.

On the current Stoke side, Pulis is optimistic.

He knows Mark Robins and several people around the club, including Jon Walters, and believes the ownership still cares deeply about Stoke-on-Trent.

“John Coates has taken over from Peter, and John, similar to Steve, is just mad about the football club and mad about Stoke-on-Trent as an area.”

That local connection crops up again.

Different club. Same point.

Winning still comes first

For all the talk about identity, Pulis has one fairly major condition attached.

You still need results.

He said it while discussing Ian Evatt at Blackpool.

“The most important thing now for Blackpool is simply to win football matches.”

And again when asked what advice he would give Aaron Ramsey at Oxford United.

“The single most important thing a young manager like Aaron has to learn as quickly as possible is that you have to win football matches.”

Style is welcome.

Entertainment is welcome.

Neither buys you much time when you’re 19th in November.

That is where pragmatism comes in.

Pulis praised John Mousinho for changing Portsmouth’s approach at home last season and becoming more direct when the situation called for it.

“It was pragmatic in certain ways, but extremely effective.”

Fratton Park rather enjoyed it too.

Funny, that.

The clubs that feel different usually know what they are

That might be the thread running through the whole conversation.

Pulis likes managers with a recognisable idea.

He likes owners who understand their clubs.

He notices places where supporters and football are tied together properly.

That is also what the Built Different Index is trying to get at.

Some clubs are bigger on paper. Some spend more. Some dominate the conversation because they are in the Premier League.

Then there are clubs where football feels stitched into the place itself.

Pulis has managed enough of them to know the difference.