TS: Pulis vs. Allardyce

too early to tell. was a time when fat sam was admirable in a gruff kind of way, and pulis is already beyond that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ix0yl5lKw0

VERSUS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLJn6DKRfYc

I cannot STAND Pulis. BSA is at least funny.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

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oh the ironing

tony pulis would not do any better in this poll that i would, i would get as many votes in this poll as an other manager in this poll that you could name.

http://i.imgur.com/vzpLM.jpg

djorkaeff, campo, n'gotty era bolton side was dope imo, just a shame jardel & rivaldo didnt work out

if they'd kept sam ronaldinho wouldve been tempted i'm sure

Earlier in the week, Allardyce said he wanted to turn the former world player of the year back into "a proper player".

"We've taken in all kinds of waifs and strays, who were out of shape and out of sorts," said Allardyce.

"Sometimes it just comes down to putting an arm around a player and making him feel wanted again."

On Sunday, Rivaldo gave his strongest hint yet that he would commit to a move to the Reebok Stadium.

"I want the challenge of trying to get Bolton into Europe for the first time in their history. It is an exciting time."

Big Sam's ambulance chasing never really took off at Newcastle or Blackburn in quite the same spectactular style. He signed Jay Jay Okocha as well. Suppose those kind of players would pick Qatar or the US over Bolton these days, left Allardyce obsolete already.

NeilAshton_NOTW Neil Ashton
Big Sam took legal action through LMA to have @thebig_sam shut down. (Real) Big Sam: "some of the comments were disgusting."

Heaven needed 500 unfunny cultural references a day

think it had had's day but allardyce is a precious choad

i don't think he really has a case, but lma headed notepaper doubtless caused twitter to roll over

nice to know the fat cunt saw it at least

ugh, 'had had its day'

@PhilBrownPNE only remains because it really is him

Need to know thebig_sam's reaction to being shut down. Well, not really.

http://twitter.com/itsthebigsam

http://twitter.com/thebig_sam

What do you people think of Tony Pulis and Stoke?

they're fucked if they think crouch will fit in.

Forgot about this. Was going to say that I think I might be falling for them, but thought I'd test the water first.

Water appears safe, go ahead. The Rafa thread doesn't need another 200 posts when he hasn't bothered to get a job yet.

Don't know why, but I found Pennant's positioning for goalkicks on Saturday kind of fascinating - really high up the pitch level with Walters, ready for the flick on from Crouch. I mean I guess it's obvious that he's going to get himself into a position for a flick-on but still.

Thinking about that Pennant thing - I like the unexpected, unexplainable stuff that makes you think "how did he do that?", but I also like being able to see that a team/player has a brain. One moment that sticks in my mind is from West Brom last season, when Lucas cleared the ball from inside our area towards Andy Carroll on the halfway line. The ball bounced, and before Carroll had even connected with the ball, Dirk Kuyt set off on a run into the West Brom half, knowing that Carroll would win the aerial challenge with the defender and flick it on to him. He didn't wait, he just went, and that decision to anticipate what was going to happen resulted in him getting a head start on one of the two defenders marking Carroll, and him runing through on goal and getting a shot in.

least you expect really?

From Kuyt? Suppose so, but it's just kind of "Yes! He gets it!" isn't it. Plenty of players who just don't think these things through. Pat Nevin did a montage of Dembele last night showing how poor his movement off the ball was whenever Fulham were on the attack.

well, from any players playing together for a while.

Bilic's big thing, when he was on match of the day, was 'partnerships, not formations', your dm knowing what the fullbacks liked, the cms knowing what the wingers preferred runs were, etc

Think I jinxed Stoke.

Well done!

I like Pulis' squad-building. Talented players who've had rough patches - several, in Pennant and Etherington's case - that he can give belief to, fused with rugged, hungry blokes whose best is maybe a bit below the elite level, but who he can get performing at or near to their peak week in, week out. A squad built around the virtues of turning up and sticking together every single time. Not spectacular, but it's a bloody difficult task to pull off for the length of time he's done it. It's the sort of partnership where, once it ends, neither side is likely to ever be as good again.