Top manager award for Pulis? No thanks!

With the Potters’ first season in the Premier League now over, many want the ‘Manager of the Season’ award to go to our Tone.

There’s no doubt that he is a strong contender for the award which goes to the manager who the League Managers Association thinks has achieved the most during the year after taking into account the clubs’ budgets.

Fulham boss, Roy Hodgson is another natural contender having swept the London club to 7th place and a Europa League spot for their first time.

Any Managerial award is often regarded as a poisoned chalice by many in the sport. Certainly, it’s not been good news for us in the past.

In April 2007, Tony got the monthly Championship award after guiding the Potters to play-off contenders with an unbeaten month. The next (and final) game was in May but we drew away against QPR to miss out on the play-offs by a couple of points.

Then in the following season, Tone won the February award after we’d gone on a five game winning run and promptly lost two and only won once in March. Whilst we did end the season in runners-up spot, some winning consistency in those vital games may have meant that I wouldn’t have lost the use of my fingernails in the last two matches against Colchester and Leicester.

So while I hope the gaffer does get the recognition he deserves for his achievements this season, let the actual award go to Roy Hodgson. With all those European games to play and not the largest
of squads, he just might need all the ‘luck’ he can get next season.