TONY Pulis hid a family tragedy at the start of his last season as Stoke City manager. Unbeknown to everyone but close friends and colleagues, his world was thrown into turmoil in the summer of 2012 when his first grandchild, Olivia, contracted a virus and died just a fortnight after her birth. His daughter, Laura, has since given birth to a baby boy, but Pulis says Olivia will never be forgotten. And now he is asking his old fans to donate towards Laura’s attempts to raise several thousand pounds for Bliss, a charity for babies born too soon, too small or too sick, when she and her husband run the London Marathon in April. And he shouldn’t be short of donations from this end of the country if the response to his departure from Stoke is any indication. Letters of thanks are still arriving at Pulis’s Dorset home, he says, and he has lost count of the number of goodwill messages landing through his letterbox over the past eight months. And he can’t put a number on the amount arriving from the Potteries and overseas simply addressed to, “Tony Pulis, Bournemouth, England”. Pulis also insists his relationship with the Coates family, notwithstanding the emotional wrench of being asked to leave Stoke last May, has remained as solid as it could be in the circumstances. Chairman Peter Coates was the first to contact him, albeit by text, after his appointment as Crystal Palace manager was officially announced, while he has also had amicable conversations with City director John Coates. Privately, Pulis is not certain what reception awaits him from those Stokies travelling to Selhurst Park for Saturday’s re-union. He needn’t worry, surely, for even the vast majority of those wanting a change of manager last May appear to still appreciate his efforts during his nine seasons as their manager. Not that Stoke fans will find it easy making themselves heard on Saturday in something like the bearpit atmosphere which once characterised every home game at the Britannia Stadium during the early years of Premier League football in the Potteries. The majority of Palace fans appear to have brushed aside any reservations they felt at Pulis’s appointment back in late November after seeing him whip his team into competitive shape for the relegation battle ahead. And he in turn has found them not just supportive, but also realistic after no doubt recalling the sorry experience of being immediately relegated on every previous trip into the Premier League. Don’t faint, but Pulis is even making noises about approving the Academy structure at Selhurst Park, but don’t think he has gone soft on that old chestnut, he just believes there is a bit more sweat and tears being spilt in south London. He won’t have gone soft on his management style, either, for Pulis remains a man so driven and motivated, so in fear of complacency, that he will drag all and sundry with him by imposing ever greater demands on those around him. It won’t always make him popular – it certainly didn’t behind closed doors at the Brit – but it usually gets the job done. And saving Palace from relegation will surely eclipse similar acts of escapology at Portsmouth and Stoke City.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 09:22:47 +0000
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