Is Tony Pulis the man for Crystal Palace?

Former-Stoke boss Tony Pulis is expected to be named the next Crystal Palace boss in the next few days

Crystal Palace have got themselves in a right mess this season.

The Eagles currently sit bottom of the Premier League table with just four points from their first 11 games in the top-flight.

Palace have claimed just one win and one draw in Premier League this season.

Palace are six points away from safety and look doomed to relegation back into the Championship after just one season in the top-flight.

Linked

This season has been a real disaster for Crystal Palace so far. The Eagles parted company with boss Ian Holloway in late October, but have still yet to find a new boss. Palace have been linked with a number of bosses.

The likes of former-Chelsea full-back Dan Petrescu and former-Eagles striker Iain Dowie have been linked with the vacant position. However, the favourite for the job is former-Stoke boss Tony Pulis.

Solid

Tony Pulis did a very solid job at Stoke and kept the Potters in the Premier League for four seasons. The Potters were known for their physical and direct style of play in the top-flight though. They were also renowned for being a hard team to beat.

Criticism

Pulis started receiving criticism towards the end of his reign at Stoke. The reason for the criticism was the direct style of football and it was no longer getting results. The Potters finished in 13^th position in the Premier League last season, but looked in danger of being relegated for much of the back end of last season.

Stoke’s style of play under Pulis may have been criticised, but for much of Pulis’ time at the Britannia Stadium the Potters got pretty decent results.

New Stoke boss Mark Hughes has not exactly enjoyed a sparkling start to the season, as the Potters are in 17^th place in the top-flight, just a spot above the drop zone, so Pulis was not doing such a bad job.

Out of their depth

Crystal Palace have looked out-of-their depth this season so far. Ironically one of their better performances of the season came against Everton in a 0-0 draw in their last top-flight outing before the international break.

The game was only the second of the season that Palace have not lost in the Premier League. The performance suggested that there is potential within their squad to perform at the top level, particularly considering they were playing against a very good Everton team.

Panicked summer

One of Crystal Palace’s main problems is that their summer transfer dealing was rather a panicked affair. A number of players were signed in the summer and did not even make Palace’s 25 man Premier League squad. French defender Florian Marange joined from Bordeaux, while forward Stephan Dobbie joined on a two-year-contract deal. Neither was registered for the Premier League squad.

Former-boss Ian Holloway has to take a fair share of the blame. The other promoted clubs have been rather more successful in their transfer dealings and brought in quality rather than quantity. Palace did the exact opposite.

Although Hull and Cardiff brought in players in the summer, the core of both the teams has stayed relatively the same from the teams that won promotion. The players that have arrived though are better than the ones they replaced in the team and the teams are stronger this season.

Steady

If as expected Tony Pulis is appointed as Palace boss he will no doubt steady the ship. He will make Palace hard to beat and sort the wheat from the chaff in the Eagles squad. Palace are apparently close to appointing a new boss and it appears that Pulis will be the new Palace boss, as former-assistant boss Keith Millen believes that Saturday’s trip to Hull will be his last in charge.

Popular

The Welshman seems to be a popular choice amongst the Crystal Palace fans. Some fans may be put off by his reputation for playing direct football, but if the Eagles survive the drop by playing direct football I doubt that many fans of the club will be complaining by his appointment.

Difficult

The new Crystal Palace boss will have a major job on his hands attempting to keep Palace in the Premier League this season. A new manager could give the Palace players the confidence boost they need, but as it stands the Eagles are slumping rather than soaring.

Is Tony Pulis the man for Crystal Palace?