AFC Bournemouth Pulis was promoted to the position of manager in 1992, following Harry Redknapp's decision to leave the club for
Premier League side
West Ham United. Pulis spent two seasons at Bournemouth, both seasons saw the "Cherries" finish in 17th position before moving on.
Gillingham Pulis then joined
Gillingham in the summer of 1995, The
following season Gillingham started poorly, sitting in the relegation places towards the end of 1996, but improved to finish in 11th place and just six points below the promotion play-off places. The
1997–98 season saw further improvement, with the Gills finishing in 8th place and missing out on the play-off places only on the goals-scored rule. In the 1999
Second Division play-off final, the "Gills" were 2–0 up with less than two minutes left, following goals by the prolific partnership of
Robert Taylor and
Carl Asaba, only to see
Manchester City score twice, the equaliser in injury time, and after that win a
penalty shoot-out 3–1. Following the defeat, Pulis was controversially sacked by the club amidst claims of gross misconduct. He later brought a £400,000 court case against Gillingham chairman
Paul Scally for unpaid bonuses, which was settled out of court in 2001 for £75,000.
Bristol City Pulis was appointed manager of
Bristol City in July 1999, prior to the start of the
1999–2000 season. A previous long stint at rivals
Bristol Rovers meant that Pulis's appointment was met with mixed reception. He made several reasonably big purchases including
Steve Jones and former Rovers player
Peter Beadle, but his popularity hit an all-time low only six months into his term as manager and when rumours surfaced of a switch to
Portsmouth, home fans chanted for him to leave. He moved on to Portsmouth, where
Milan Mandarić had recently taken over as chairman.
Portsmouth In January 2000, Pulis left Bristol City to become manager of Portsmouth. He took Portsmouth from the bottom three to mid-table but lasted only ten months in the job before being dismissed and replaced by
Steve Claridge in October 2000.
Stoke City Pulis was then out of work for two years, before the resignation of
Stoke City's manager
Steve Cotterill early into the
2002–03 season led to Pulis being given the job that November. Pulis immediately found himself in a relegation battle and it looked likely that the club would be relegated back to the Second Division only a year after being promoted. Pulis, however, completed the signings of striker
Ade Akinbiyi and goalkeeper
Mark Crossley, on loan from
Crystal Palace and
Middlesbrough respectively, who helped turn around the club's bad run. Stoke avoided relegation on the final day of the
2002–03 season with a 1–0 win over
Reading at the
Britannia Stadium, with Akinbiyi scoring the only goal of the match. Pulis rates Stoke's survival in 2002–03 as one of his best achievements in management. In the following season,
2003–04, Pulis guided the club to an 11th-place finish. Tensions grew between the manager and chairman,
Gunnar Gíslason, in the
2004–05 season. Pulis was frustrated with his lack of transfer funds which led to
Dave Brammer and
Steve Simonsen, both of whom were
free agents, being his only significant signings prior to the start of the season. Pulis, however, did add
Anthony Pulis, his son, and
Lewis Buxton to his squad in January 2005. The disagreement between Pulis and the club's Icelandic ownership culminated with Pulis parting company with the club on 28 June 2005. He was dismissed for "failing to exploit the foreign transfer market" by then chairman Gíslason. Following his dismissal, Pulis bemoaned the club's decision to sell Ade Akinbiyi to
Championship rivals
Burnley, stating, "We sold our top scorer and never replaced him." Dutch manager
Johan Boskamp was named as Pulis's successor on 29 June 2005, a day after Pulis was dismissed.
Plymouth Argyle After a brief spell assisting with training sessions at
Boston United (then managed by his friend
Steve Evans), Pulis was appointed as manager at Championship side
Plymouth Argyle in September 2005, managing to turn a floundering team into one that with the right investment could challenge for a top half/play off place in
2006–07. The turn-around coincided with the loan of West Ham United central defender
Elliott Ward and the club improved even further with the permanent signing of
Lilian Nalis from
Sheffield United. Plymouth Argyle ended the season 14th in the Championship table.
Return to Stoke City In May 2006, Pulis was the subject of an approach from former club Stoke, who had recently parted company with manager Johan Boskamp, following
Peter Coates's takeover of the club. Plymouth reportedly turned down this approach. On 14 June 2006, however, it was announced that Pulis would be returning as manager of Stoke. Pulis bolstered his squad for the
2006–07 season with the permanent additions of
Danny Higginbotham,
Ricardo Fuller and
Vincent Péricard. His most notable coup was the loan signing of
Lee Hendrie from
Aston Villa. Hendrie's arrival along with the loan signings of
Salif Diao,
Andy Griffin and
Rory Delap coincided with a change of form for the
Potters following a poor start to the season. Stoke went as high as fourth in the table prior to the January
transfer window. Pulis was named Manager of the Month for April 2007 after Stoke picked up 11 points from 5 league games. This unbeaten run lifted Stoke to seventh in the table, on equal points with sixth-place
Southampton. A 1–1 draw against
Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the season, however, led to Stoke finishing eighth in the
Championship. Pulis sold several key players prior to the
2007–08 season; club captain Danny Higginbotham was one of a number of players to depart, joining
Sunderland for £3 million. Pulis, however, utilised the loan market again, signing five players on loan, including
Ryan Shawcross from
Manchester United, with a few of these loan signings joining on a permanent deal in the January transfer window. Pulis guided Stoke City to promotion to the
Premier League on the final matchday of
the season, to be Stoke's first top flight campaign in 23 years. Upon promotion, Pulis admitted the need to strengthen his squad but he also made it clear that the club would not go 'over the top' with spending. Stoke's biggest summer signing was that of striker
Dave Kitson, who joined from recently relegated Reading for £5.5 million. Kitson was followed by the captures of
Seyi Olofinjana from
Wolverhampton Wanderers for £3 million,
Abdoulaye Faye from
Newcastle United for £2.25 million,
Amdy Faye from
Charlton Athletic for an undisclosed fee,
Andrew Davies joined for £1.2 million from Southampton, defender
Ibrahima Sonko signed for an initial £2 million fee from Reading and former
Potter Danny Higginbotham rejoined his former club from Sunderland for an undisclosed fee. Pulis was also prepared to move players on, including his son Anthony Pulis and striker
Jon Parkin. After a promising start to
the Premier League season, Stoke's mid-season slump left them as one of the favourites for relegation. The January additions of Sheffield United's
James Beattie and West Ham winger
Matthew Etherington, however, helped rejuvenate their season. Stoke dipped in and out of the relegation zone until March, when a good run of form lifted them above the bottom three. Their 2–1 win away to
Hull City on 9 May 2009 secured their Premier League survival. Pulis has received much praise for his work with Stoke on a limited budget, in particular his achievement of keeping them in the Premier League. He was mentioned as a possible candidate for the 2008–09 Premier League Manager of the Year award.
The following season saw Stoke consolidating their Premier League status rather than facing relegation, and also saw them reach the quarter-finals of the
FA Cup with victories over
York City,
Arsenal and Manchester City before losing to
Chelsea at
Stamford Bridge. Stoke finished 11th in the
Premier League with 47 points, a place higher and two points more than last season. Pulis made his 300th appearance as Stoke manager with a 3–0 win over
Blackburn Rovers on 6 February 2010. The result was Stoke's largest top-flight win for nearly 24 years after a 4–0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1984. Following criticism from
Fulham player
Danny Murphy over the way Pulis sets his team out to play, Pulis decided to release a six-minute statement defending the management staff and club as well as questioning Murphy's agenda. After a number of controversial refereeing decisions that went against Stoke, Pulis advocated the introduction of a relegation system for referees to stop poor decisions. He became only the third manager in Stoke's history to guide the club to the semi-finals of the FA Cup after a quarter-final victory over West Ham. They then went on to beat Bolton 5–0, making Pulis the first manager to guide Stoke to an
FA Cup Final. Stoke, however, lost the final 1–0 to Manchester City, with
Yaya Touré scoring the only goal. By reaching the final, Stoke qualified for the
2011–12 UEFA Europa League, after Manchester City confirmed a place in the
UEFA Champions League. Club chairman
Peter Coates said in May 2011 that Pulis is Stoke's greatest ever manager. In the Europa League, Stoke were drawn against Croatian giants
Hajduk Split, where Stoke won both legs 1–0 to become the first Stoke side to win a two-legged European tie. Pulis signed former England internationals
Jonathan Woodgate and
Matthew Upson on free transfers to strengthen his centre backs following the departure of Abdoulaye Faye. He took charge of his 800th competitive match in August 2011. On transfer deadline day, Pulis signed
Cameron Jerome from
Birmingham City as well as
Tottenham Hotspur duo
Peter Crouch and
Wilson Palacios; Crouch, at a fee of £10 million, broke the club's transfer record for the fourth successive season. In the group stages of the Europa League, Stoke were drawn against
Beşiktaş,
Dynamo Kyiv and
Maccabi Tel Aviv, and after a 1–1 draw against Kyiv in December, Stoke qualified for the knock-out stages. Pulis described the achievement as a "milestone" in the club's history. Stoke were handed a glamour tie against Spanish giants
Valencia in the round of 32. He reached 400 matches as Stoke manager in January 2012. Stoke lost both legs against Valencia 1–0 and exited the Europa League. In the second leg in
Valencia, Stoke took a largely reserve side and named just four substitutes which included academy captain
Lucas Dawson. This attracted much criticism of Pulis by supporters but he defended his choice. Stoke finished the
2011–12 season in 14th position. In the summer of 2012, Pulis was again busy in the transfer market, letting Ricardo Fuller leave bringing in a number of new midfield players. In came American duo
Geoff Cameron and
Maurice Edu, Scottish pair
Jamie Ness and
Charlie Adam, Wolverhampton Wanderers winger
Michael Kightly, Blackburn's French prospect
Steven Nzonzi and former
England international striker
Michael Owen. Stoke made a steady start to the
2012–13 season despite a tough opening set of fixtures. Pulis has stated that he would like to see out the remainder of his managerial career at Stoke and that he is starting to change his side's style of play. Stoke went on a ten match unbeaten run from 10 November to 29 December, and held one of the best defensive records in Europe. Stoke, however, made a poor start to 2013 picking up just a point in January and a frustrating transfer window saw just two new arrivals American winger
Brek Shea and England goalkeeper
Jack Butland. Performances and results remained poor in February and Pulis came under heavy criticism from supporters after an uninspiring home defeat against West Ham. Victories against Queens Park Rangers and
Norwich City saw Stoke avoid the threat of relegation and they finished the
2012–13 Premier League season in 13th position. It was a season of little progress at Stoke, and Pulis left the club on 21 May 2013 after a meeting with club chairman Peter Coates. Speaking after his departure, Pulis revealed that he was disappointed by Coates's decision but accepted his reasons. He was replaced by another Welsh manager,
Mark Hughes.
Crystal Palace On 23 November 2013, Pulis was appointed manager of Crystal Palace on a two-and-a-half-year contract, taking over from
Ian Holloway. His first win came on 3 December 2013, a 1–0 home win against West Ham. In the early part of 2014, the team went on a run of five consecutive victories, which included wins over Chelsea,
Cardiff City, Aston Villa,
Everton and West Ham. This run of form earned Palace safety from relegation and saw Pulis named as Manager of the Month for April 2014. Palace finished the
2013–14 Premier League season in 11th position with 45 points, which saw Pulis named as the Premier League Manager of the Year. During the summer of 2014, Pulis was hired by the
BBC to be a pundit for the
2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. When he was not working, he used his spare time watching other games to scout new players and to see different managers at work. Shortly before the start of the subsequent
2014–15 season, however, Pulis left the club "by mutual consent", saying that it was because he was not being backed in the transfer market by the Palace board. In November 2016, Pulis was ordered by a
high court judge to pay Crystal Palace £3.7 million for fraudulent misrepresentation in a dispute with
Steve Parish over a £2 million "survival" bonus paid to him on his request over two weeks earlier than contractually necessary the day before he announced his departure.
West Bromwich Albion On 1 January 2015, Pulis was appointed head coach at
West Bromwich Albion. He won his first game in charge 7–0 against
Conference Premier side
Gateshead in an
FA Cup third round match. During the January transfer window, Pulis secured the services of former Manchester United midfielder
Darren Fletcher, who Pulis soon promoted to first team captain, with
Chris Brunt as deputy. Under Pulis, the "Baggies" went through February unbeaten, keeping three clean sheets in a row in the process. West Brom's form saw Pulis named as the
Premier League Manager of the Month for February. West Brom secured victories over Chelsea and Manchester United, and Pulis duly led the team to a 13th-place finish in the
Premier League. For the
2015–16 season, Pulis signed striker
Salomón Rondón for a club record fee of £12 million from
Zenit Saint Petersburg. Pulis's statement that he wanted
Leicester City to win the
2015–16 Premier League and the motivation of his players was credited by
The Daily Telegraph with spoiling their rivals Tottenham's celebration party. In the summer of 2016, Pulis was hired by ITV to be a pundit for
UEFA Euro 2016 in France. He was used for his knowledge and previous punditry experience to commentate live on
Wales. There were other games such as
Spain-Turkey where Pulis also commentated live on the match. Six games into the
2016–17 season, Pulis reached the milestone of 1,000 games as a professional manager which came against his former club, Stoke. At the end of October, Pulis signed a one-year extension to his contract. The extension committed him to the club until the summer of 2018. As the season drew to a close Pulis was part of the six-man shortlist for the Premier League Manager of the Season award, eventually losing out to Chelsea manager
Antonio Conte. The club finished in the top half of the table under his guidance, occupying 8th place for much of the season, before a poor run of only two points in their final nine games saw them drop to 10th. On 11 August 2017, Pulis signed a further contract extension which committed him to the club until 2019. Upon signing he said: "I'm delighted to extend my contract because it continues the stability within the Club which is essential for its progress." Pulis was sacked as West Brom manager on 20 November 2017, after a poor run of results where they had won only four of their last 22 Premier League games, a run stretching back to 2016–17. He left with West Brom occupying 17th place in the table. Throughout his tenure, concerns had been raised by supporters over his perceived "negative" brand of football, and a lack of progress at the club.
Middlesbrough On 26 December 2017, Pulis was appointed as manager of Championship club
Middlesbrough, replacing the sacked
Garry Monk, who left the club ninth in the Championship table, after an indifferent first half to their
season. On that same day as his appointment, Pulis was present in the stands to watch Middlesbrough, managed by
Academy manager
Craig Liddle in the interim period, defeat
Bolton Wanderers 2–0 at the
Riverside Stadium. Pulis's first match in charge of Middlesbrough ended in a 1–0 home defeat to
Aston Villa. Pulis's first win as Middlesbrough manager came on 1 January 2018, a comeback 3–2 victory at
Preston North End. As the season continued, Middlesbrough temporarily began to suffer under the similar results under Pulis that they received under Monk's management, though Pulis turned the team's fortunes around, and they finished fifth, qualifying to the
play-offs. However, they were defeated 1–0 by Villa, thus being confirmed as a Championship club for another season, much to the devastation of the club's fans, players and staff. In Pulis's first full season as Middlesbrough, the team had a relatively strong run of results through to February, including a 3–2 away win against Pulis's previous club
West Bromwich Albion. His side went on to maintain a top six position until March, though a run of six consecutive defeats saw them drop out of the top six for the first time that season. Middlesbrough finished the season in 7th and Pulis left the club when the decision was taken to not extend his contract.
Sheffield Wednesday On 13 November 2020, Pulis returned to management after over a year out of football, joining
Championship club
Sheffield Wednesday, the second consecutive appointment for which he had replaced
Garry Monk. He brought in
Mike Trusson as his assistant manager and
Craig Gardner as first-team coach during his first week. His first match in charge ended in a 1–0 defeat against
Preston North End after
Josh Windass was sent off, after 17 minutes. He got his first point the following game in another away game, a 1–1 draw against
Swansea City, with
Adam Reach getting the first goal of his reign. After the 2–0 defeat to
Nottingham Forest, he broke the record for worst start for any manager at Sheffield Wednesday, obtaining 3 points from a possible 24. He won his first game as manager at the ninth time of asking against
Coventry City in a 1–0 win, with
Tom Lees scoring the winning goal. On 28 December 2020, Pulis was dismissed as Wednesday manager after having secured just one victory from ten league games. Sky Sports reported that major disagreements between Pulis and club owner
Dejphon Chansiri over transfer plans for the upcoming January transfer window were the main cause of Pulis's dismissal. Chansiri later described his appointment of Pulis as a "mistake". ==Style of management==